Chapter 92: Sauce Making【VIP】
The Shen family wanted to build a new house, but there were not enough strong laborers in the village, so Shen Qingshan asked his wife to ask his eldest sister to find some capable people in Shanghe Village.
Then he took Tian Baolai and Huang Dongsheng to the next town to buy mules and cattle.
The three of them walked in a hurry and even had to take their breakfast with them to eat on the road. They had to set off quickly because the sticky and hot weather looked like it was going to rain.
If it rains harder, the return trip will be difficult and the family members will be worried about the three of them.
In Huangji Supply and Marketing Cooperative, Chen Yao and Yang Wenying came to take over the business temporarily.
A customer came to buy food. Before he could even call out "Shopkeeper Huang" as usual, he was startled by the strange young lady in front of him.
"I'll weigh whatever you need. Manager Huang has gone to the next town to purchase goods, so I'll take over today." Chen Yao explained to the customer with a smile.
The customer was selecting fresh vegetables while looking at Shen Yao: "Are you Shopkeeper Huang's?"
"I'm his cousin. You just want these two bunches of vegetables, right? Do you need anything else?"
"Yes, another piece of tofu and three flatbreads. The flatbreads you sell are easy to cook and taste great. You're the only one in town that sells these flatbreads."
Chen Yao couldn't help but smile when she heard her praise. She packed the things for the customer and put them in her basket. She collected the money and sent the customer out.
Just after seeing off the guests, Yang Wenying came towards her slowly, carrying a backpack and two cups of milk tea in her hands, carefully avoiding passers-by.
"Didn't we agree to buy only two iced drinks?" Before Chen Yao could go forward to take the backpack for Yang Wenying, she saw that the clerk from the grain store next door was faster than her.
He rushed to Yang Wenying, took her backpack and returned it to the supply and marketing cooperative.
"Thank you, this is for you." Yang Wenying gave the cup she ordered to the waiter.
The waiter refused to accept it. A glass of iced drink was a real treasure these days. "No, you're welcome. Shopkeeper Huang treats me to food and drinks every day. It's nothing more than a small favor."
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and went back to the shop to work.
Yang Wenying gave Chen Yao some iced sour plum soup and urged her to drink it quickly before the ice melted.
This iced drink is expensive now, mainly because the ice sales office in Qingfeng Town has a limited amount of ice sold every day, so it is impossible for her to buy ice cubes.
The two little girls sat on low stools drinking iced drinks. Chen Yao looked at the things in the backpack and asked, "What did you buy? Don't spend your money carelessly. Ask your brother for anything you need. We don't know when Sister Baozhu will be back."
"I know. It was my brother who gave it to me before I left. I told him that everyone in my family was short of mosquito nets, and he just took out two taels of silver and told me to spend it as I pleased." Yang Wenying was drinking jasmine-flavored pearl milk tea with a lot of boba.
After all, she was still a little girl. Chen Yao took a sip of her drink with her own straw. It was very sweet, and the two of them switched back.
"Ayao, our family is building a house in the back. Do we really have to move our beds into the yard to sleep at night?" Yang Wenying was still a little fussy about etiquette and was a law-abiding person at heart.
Chen Yao glanced at the mosquito net and said, "When the house is demolished, people must sleep outside. If you don't want to, you can sleep at my aunt's house. Then cousin Dongsheng will go to my aunt's house and sleep with his cousin."
When Yang Wenying heard Chen Yao's arrangement, she was unhappy. She didn't want to cause trouble for everyone: "Forget it, I, I'll sleep with you. If you can do it, I can do it too."
Chen Yao pinched Yang Wenying's bulging cheeks, then looked at her hair, which had changed into a young girl's bun, and said soothingly: "Wenying, we will sleep in our own yard. There are fences and mosquito nets to shelter us. Don't be afraid."
"Every household in the village sleeps like this after the summer begins. If you don't believe me, go back to the village today and ask Luo Dunzi and the others." The boys almost soaked in the Yan River after the summer began.
If there weren't so many fugitives over there, Chen Yao would also like to go swimming in the water.
"really?"
"I'm not lying to you." Chen Yao finished her last sip of sour plum soup and stood up. "You stay here for a while, I'll go out and buy some wine jars."
"What do you need a wine jar for?"
Chen Yao leaned over and whispered in Yang Wenying's ear: "Last time, my father and I found a few wild grape vines in the mountains. When they are ripe, I want to pick them and try making wine."
"You can also make wine? Is it drinkable?" Yang Wenying looked shocked.
"I don't know how, but your brother is a walking encyclopedia. He told me the method. This is my first time trying to make wine."
"Then I also want to--" Yang Wenying grabbed Chen Yao's hand and finished drinking the ice drink. Before her red little mouth could speak, Chen Yao guessed what she wanted to say.
"You want to try it too, right?"
Yang Wenying nodded vigorously.
"Okay, you watch over the shop while I go buy some wine jars."
Yang Wenying instantly released her wrist: "Go quickly and come back soon."
Chen Yao bought a total of ten wine jars, five for making wine water and the other five for making soybean paste.
Let’s do it while we can. The temperature of 26, 27 or 28 degrees is just right for making the sauce.
Chen Yao agreed with the store owner about the ten empty wine jars. She hired an ox cart to pick them up in the evening. She paid half of the deposit and weighed eight kilograms of sugar before returning to the supply and marketing cooperative.
At noon, the two of them cooked some flatbread in the shop. In the evening, they recorded the accounts, closed the shop, and paid the rent.
As soon as Chen Yao and Yang Wenying arrived home, they heard the cries of mules and cows outside.
People came up the rural road and asked, "Ayao, your family bought mules and cows again."
Before Chen Yao could answer, Huang said, "Grandma Zheng, this is not bought by my cousin.
"Oh, that's incredible! I wonder when my family will be able to buy one."
"Grandma Zheng, don't worry. Your children are all very ambitious. It's only a matter of time before they buy mules and cows." Miao took off the apron in front of her, raised her hand and hurried over to grab her son's ear.
Before leaving, I told my children to come back home immediately after buying the ox cart and not to show off in the village.
Huang Mei didn't treat her son well either, but the child was grown up, and she had to save some face for him in public. So she took off her sleeves and said to her sister and brother-in-law, "We won't have dinner at home tonight. We have to go back and settle the mule."
Before Huang Xing could step forward to mediate, the elders of both families had already urged their children to drive the mules and cattle back to their respective homes.
Shen Qingshan didn't realize he had made a mistake, so he asked his daughter with a playful smile, "Hey, my dear daughter, how come you bought the wine jar so quickly? Daddy will go to the mountains tomorrow to see if the wild grapes are ripe."
Chen Yao glanced at her mother's face and dared not say anything. She whispered in defense: "Not all of it is used to make wine. I have to make soybean paste tomorrow."
Huang Xing snorted coldly and called her husband into the main room to lecture him.
A light drizzle began to fall at this time, and it became heavier and heavier, and the air was filled with the fragrance of soil.
Yang Jizong moved ten wine jars into the kitchen and while preparing dinner, he took out ten taels of silver from his pocket and handed them to Chen Yao.
"Where did you get so much silver?" He gave Wenying two taels in the morning and now gave her ten taels. She didn't believe that Yang Jizong could earn so much by copying books?
Yang Jizong fished out the blanched bean sprouts and mixed them into a salad. "Remember the four students who came to our middle school to make paper? I gave them capital and they opened a papermaking shop. Business is pretty good."
Chen Yao suddenly understood what was going on. "Then why are you giving me this money?"
"What's mine is yours. From now on, everything I earn will be yours. You can use it however you want." After saying this, Yang Jizong pushed Chen Yao away and asked her to go back to the house to wait for dinner. She didn't have to stay with him in the kitchen and endure the heat.
Chen Yao's heart was just like the hot weather. She put the ten taels of silver into her arms and did not leave. Instead, she made dinner with him: "I'll keep this money for you first."
The next day, the sky was still gloomy and the rain continued.
Huang Mei got up early and had breakfast at home. She was worried about her daughter and felt restless. She didn't know where her daughter and husband had gone with the tea merchant, and whether it was raining there like at home.
As Tian Baolai was tidying up the shed for the mule, he saw his mother's worried look and said, "Mom, aren't you going to order some tofu today?"
"Go, of course you should go. I'm just worried about your sister." Huang Mei took the apron sleeves from the house and walked out. After taking a few steps, she came back to get the straw raincoat and hat.
When passing by the Shen family's house, Huang Mei saw two little girls busy on the porch in the yard, so she pushed open the fence door and went in to ask, "Ayao, what are you and Wenying busy with? Did you receive the letter from your sister Baozhu when you went to the city yesterday?"
Chen Yao filtered the water from the soybeans that had been soaked last night and asked Wenying to put them in to cook first. She walked towards Huang Xing outside and said, "Aunt, my cousin hasn't written yet. Don't worry, my cousin will be fine with my uncles. Dongsheng waits for letters in the shop every day and will send them back to us as soon as he gets them."
Huang Mei really missed her daughter. After listening to A Yao's words of comfort, she raised her hand and touched her face: "Good girl, auntie just misses your cousin."
Huang Mei took out a handkerchief and wiped away the tears and rain from her face.
Chen Yao immediately reached out and held her hand: "Aunt, my cousin is not at home, and I am here to accompany you. I will make soybean paste for you to eat. I guarantee that you will feel good after eating it."
"Ayao is so considerate. Your cousin and your uncle are just like two peas in a pod. He only cares about his mule and doesn't care about your aunt at all."
"I'll speak well of my cousin on behalf of my aunt later."
After Huang Xing came out of the main house, Huang Mei's mood had been much bettered by Chen Yao, and the two sisters went hand in hand to look for Miao.
Chen Yao looked at her father, who looked listless, and approached him to ask, "Dad, can you still go into the mountains today?"
"What are you going to do? Your mother scolded me last night, telling me to worry more about the rabbit hutch and the silkworm room. She also urged me to use Dongsheng's ox cart to go to the city to pull bricks and tiles. My daughter, you know your father's driving skills. It's raining now, and your mother is really good at it."
Shen Qingshan sighed. Although he complained, his body was still very honest and did what he had to do.
With no one else at home, Chen Yao suddenly asked Yang Wenying, "Can your brother drive a car?"
Yang Wenying paused while holding the strainer, a little uncertain: "How about waiting for brother to come back at noon and asking in person."
"Yeah." Chen Yao and Yang Wenying continued to concentrate on making the sauce.
The cooked soybeans will break into pieces when squeezed. Pour all the cooked beans onto a bamboo plate to drain the water and spread them out to dissipate the heat.
After the beans cool, they are coated with finely ground flour.
Yang Wenying cut the linen at home into pieces and spread them on four bamboo plates. She watched Chen Yao spread layers of soybeans wrapped in flour on top, and then she found the old quilt they both used to cover themselves with and covered the four bamboo plates with it.
"Ayao, is this soybean still afraid of the cold?"
Chen Yao was amused by Yang Wenying's tone and told her that the purpose of covering the beans with a quilt was to make the beans grow hair, and then these hairy beans would be dried and made into bean paste. The drier the bean paste was, the more fragrant the bean paste would be.
When the weather is good, add the soy sauce into the salt water and stir it every day.
Yang Wenying felt that making soybean paste was very troublesome and time-consuming: "When can we eat it, and how do we eat it?"
She was very skeptical whether hairy things could be eaten?
The weather was hot, and if the leftover food was left overnight, she would feel sick the next day just by smelling it. If it grew hair, wouldn't it be just like the ones in the backyard toilet -
Yang Wenying couldn't help retching when she thought about it.
"It has to be dried in the sun for at least a month. This soybean paste can be mixed with noodles, spread on pancakes, and used as a dip for pickles. What's wrong with you? Do you feel like vomiting?" Chen Yao raised her eyes and glared at her.
Yang Wenying waved her hand and rushed out to her brother's room, her voice full of despair. "I'll go get some pen and ink. You should think carefully about how to write to Manager Lu to discuss the cooperation on velvet flowers."
Chen Yao closed the door and chased after him. She didn't need to take pen and ink, and just wrote directly in Yang Jizong's room.
Yang Jizong said that she could enter and leave his room as she pleased.
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