After being tormented by Zhao Shiyun for half the night last night, Lin Yan got up in the morning, holding his waist and grimacing. Although he enjoyed it, he really shouldn't have agreed to let him do it again.
Zhao Shiyun was up at dawn and grinding soybeans. He soaked two buckets of soybeans last night, about 20 pounds. A fish pond had just been built in the neighboring village, so he expected a lot of people to come buy tofu.
Twenty pounds of soybeans can make about 70 pounds of tofu. If they can't be sold out in cold weather, they won't go bad. After returning home, he'll go to the neighboring village to buy some fish. After all, the fish in the river are not as diverse as those in the pond.
Put the soaked soybeans into a stone mill, add an appropriate amount of water, and slowly grind them. Once they are ground into powder, they become soy milk. Then filter the soy milk with gauze to remove the dregs and make it more delicate.
After grinding the soybeans, it's time to boil the milk. There are two large pots at home. One pot is boiled first, and then another is boiled after Zhao Shiyun finishes grinding the second bucket. This step is done by Zhao Qiming. Pour the soy milk into the pot and heat it until it boils. Stir constantly during the process to prevent it from sticking to the pot.
After the soy milk was cooked, Zhao Qiming poured a large bowl of it and put it on the table so that his family could drink it while having breakfast. It would taste even better if he added some sugar.
Then the remaining soy milk can be used to make brine. He adds gypsum and stirs it while adding, allowing the soy milk to solidify into tofu pudding.
Finally, Li Yuemei took over and poured the tofu pudding into a mold covered with gauze, wrapped it with gauze, pressed it with a heavy object, and squeezed out excess water. After a period of time, tofu was formed.
After pressing the tofu, Li Yuemei sat down to rest. Just as she was about to make breakfast, she saw Lin Yan got up. Her eyes curved, and she remembered her son telling her this morning that Yan Ge'er was tired last night and asked him to sleep more. She felt happy.
Seeing everyone working hard in the yard, Lin Yan blushed slightly and said quickly, "I got up late, I'll go make breakfast now." After that, he hurried to the kitchen.
After entering the kitchen, Lin Yan looked at the ingredients and decided to make some simple pancakes. There were still some cabbages that Yu Ge'er picked yesterday, so he could add them in.
He first boiled the porridge, then washed and chopped the cabbage, mixed it with flour, and added water to knead it into a dough. He then cut it into small pieces, flattened them, and formed them into pancakes. He lit a fire in the stove, greased the pot with oil, and placed the pancakes in one by one.
At this time, Zhao Shiyun finished grinding beans outside and walked into the kitchen after smelling the fragrance. He glanced back and saw that his father and mother were busy. Yu Ge'er hadn't gotten up yet and no one saw him. So he gently hugged Lin Yan from behind and said softly, "You've worked hard. I should have let you rest a little longer."
Lin Yan was startled, turned around and saw it was him, patted his hand and said angrily, "You scared me!"
"hey-hey……"
Lin Yan broke free from his hand, "Be careful, someone saw it..."
"No, I've checked. Dad and Mom are busy. Yu Ge'er usually doesn't get up so early." Zhao Shiyun said shamelessly.
Yu Ge'er doesn't have to help with making tofu at home, so he usually doesn't get up so early. After getting up, he helps sell dried tofu, do housework, feed chickens, and take care of the vegetable garden.
Lin Yan had no choice but to continue making pancakes, while mumbling to himself, "There's no need for so many things to be particular about as a family. Seeing you all busy, I can't be lazy."
Soon, the pancakes emerged from the pan, golden and crispy. Lin Yan placed the pancakes on the table, scooped up a large bowl of porridge, and brought soy milk with sugar to the main room. Everyone gathered around, eating pancakes and drinking soy milk while discussing the day's work. Laughter and joy echoed through the courtyard.
After breakfast, Zhao Shiyun and Lin Yan packed up and prepared to return home. Li Yuemei had already packed the gifts she had bought yesterday into a small backpack, and she also filled a bowl with a few pieces of tofu, which was freshly made and still warm.
Zhao Shiyun wore the black cotton clothes her mother had made for her at the start of winter, so they wouldn't get dirty easily while working. Lin Yan wore a light blue short coat with a fur collar, which was both warm and made her look even whiter.
This color of cloth was given by the Zhao family when they proposed marriage. Zhou Chunlan cut it and made a short jacket for Lin Yan while he was making his wedding clothes. When making it, she thought that Lin Yan was afraid of the cold, so she went to the cloth shop in the town to buy a fur collar and sew it on.
This fur collar had been imported from the north, ranging in price from cheap dog and sheep hair to expensive fox and mink fur. Zhou Chunlan spent a hundred coins on a woolen one and brought the remaining cloth to him in her dowry box.
The two of them packed up and put the basket on their backs. Zhao Shiyun was afraid that the tofu would spill in the basket, so he held it in his hand. It wasn't far away anyway.
*
Seeing Zhou Chunlan looking out the door from afar, Lin Yan trotted a few steps and called out, "Mom, we're back."
Zhou Chunlan was so happy to see the two of them that she couldn't stop smiling: "You're back! Come in quickly, it's cold outside."
Zhao Shiyun followed behind, took off the backpack, and the three of them sat down in the main hall.
"Ah." Zhao Shiyun called out.
"Hey, you guys sit down, I'll go make some tea. Drink some hot tea to warm yourself up." Zhou Chunlan boiled water early in the morning.
Lin Yan stood up and walked towards the kitchen: "Ah, let me help you."
After brewing tea and bringing it to the main room, Zhao Shiyun had already taken out the things from the backpack. He handed the candied haws to Zhou Chunlan, "Ah, candied haws."
"Hey kid, I don't like this..." Zhou Chunlan said embarrassedly. She felt really embarrassed that the younger generation knew that she loved sweets.
Zhao Shiyun didn't expose the truth, and only said, "I bought some candied haws yesterday, and there were only a few strings left, so I bought them all. The boss gave us a discount, so everyone got some."
Zhou Chunlan then took it. Lin Yan picked up a piece of sweet cake and handed it to her: "Mo, have this. This is delicious."
Zhou Chunlan took it and tasted it. It was indeed delicious, with a sweet taste. "What's added to it? It's sweet."
"It's honey." Lin Yan smiled.
They chatted about family matters, ate snacks and drank tea, and soon it was almost noon. Zhou Chunlan saw that there was still a bowl of tofu, so she immediately decided to make stuffed tofu for Lin Yan.
"That's great. I haven't eaten it for a while." Lin Yan cheered.
Zhao Shiyun took the pork belly to the kitchen and said, "Ah, let me chop the meat. I'm strong and can chop quickly."
"Okay, I'll wash the vegetables."
*
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