“We have a lot of sweet potatoes and potatoes at home, and the cellar is full. We need to get rid of some of them soon, otherwise they won’t stay piled up in the yard. The weather is getting colder and they’ll freeze,” Lu Chuan said.
“Sweet potatoes can be used to make sweet potato starch to make noodles, and potatoes can be used to make starch that can be used in daily cooking,” Xu Han said.
"Is the space full now? How much more can we put in it?"
"It's already full. The space that was previously empty is now filled with ginger, scallions, and sweet potatoes. Once we finish processing the cattle and sheep in the next couple of days, we'll be able to free up quite a bit of space!"
"Then I'll start dealing with the cattle and sheep tomorrow. Let's get rid of these first and make some room."
"Okay, then I'll marinate the chickens and ducks in the space tomorrow. They can be air-dried or stored in the warehouse. The beef can also be made into beef jerky."
"Okay, let's get some rest early tonight! Dealing with meat won't be easy in a few days," Lu Chuan said.
So the two tidied up and went to sleep.
A good night's sleep...
The next day, the two got up together. Xu Han took out breakfast from her space: salted duck eggs, steamed buns, and millet porridge, which was delicious and good for the stomach.
After breakfast, Xu Han helped take the cow to the riverbank, where Lu Chuan processed the beef himself.
Xu Han returned home and began to marinate the meat. She took out some pheasant, wild duck, and wild rabbit and washed them clean by the water in the backyard.
When cleaning, be sure to thoroughly clean the inside of the chest cavity, removing all blood clots and other contaminants, otherwise the marinated meat will be fishy and unpalatable.
After cleaning everything, it was lunchtime. We didn't marinate a lot this time, only 20 of each kind. Although the weather is already quite cold now, and the marinated items won't spoil, it was still a bit hot at noon.
I'll marinate some to eat first. I'm eating fresh meat every day, and I want to change things up.
In a few more days, around November, we'll be able to produce meat in large quantities.
I'm pickling a lot now mainly because I'm afraid it will spoil and go to waste. Although the temperature in the mountains is colder than outside, it's still quite warm at noon.
Hook all the cleaned chickens, ducks, and rabbits onto the rope to dry the surface moisture, and start marinating them tomorrow.
Xu Han closed the courtyard gate and went to the riverbank to check on Lu Chuan's situation.
In just one morning, Lu Chuan had already processed the three cows, skinning them and dividing the meat into portions and packing them into baskets.
When Xu Han arrived, Lu Chuan was preparing to process the fourth cow.
Xu Han used her consciousness to lay a row of leaves against the wall in the space, and then arranged the beef in different places in piles.
If you pile the same parts together, it will be easier to find the part of the meat later without having to rummage through it.
After arranging them, the beef from the basket inside the space was taken out and piled up together. Since time was frozen inside the space, there was no need to separate them, as they were all fresh.
Some of the beef was still warm! It was all put in right after it was prepared.
After finishing, Xu Han took out lunch from her spatial storage and told Lu Chuan to wash his hands and eat lunch first.
There's no need to rush, there's plenty of time! Sweet potatoes and potatoes won't spoil in a short while.
After the two finished lunch, Xu Han took some beef shank home. She washed it, marinated it, cooked it, and ate it cold, which was also delicious.
As soon as I got home, I went to the backyard and put the beef shank in a wooden bucket to soak in the blood-removing water. I changed the water several times until there was no more blood. I'll marinate it tomorrow.
I was just thinking about marinating some chicken, duck, and rabbit, and I didn't even remember that I also had beef!
Oh! Right, there's also fish! We can make preserved fish too. So Xu Han took some fish from her space, cleaned them, and hung them on a rope to dry, to be pickled together tomorrow.
The amount of meat being cured this time is not large; we will cure it in large quantities when the weather gets colder, so the process is quick.
After hanging the fish up, Xu Han went to the riverbank to help Lu Chuan process the wild buffalo.
Working together was much faster; they processed three cows in the afternoon, and it wasn't even dark yet! Lu Chuan and Xu Han then cleaned the tripe and intestines of the cows together.
Lu Chuan went to wash the tripe, while Xu Han took advantage of the fact that the intestines hadn't been processed yet to first remove the fat from them, otherwise the fat would be covered in poop that couldn't be washed off.
After removing the fat, it's easier to handle the feces. At least the butter on top is still edible, and the intestines are easier to clean; a quick rinse is all it takes.
The intestines and stomach are delicious, but they are too difficult to handle; they are hard to clean and time-consuming.
After cleaning, the large stone slabs used for grazing cattle were also washed clean, and the blood flowed away with the river, preventing large animals from coming to the area.
The two of them took the prepared beef and went home together.
When she got home, Xu Han made another boiled beef dish, but this time, unlike before, there were bean sprouts in it.
Fragrant boiled beef served with rice makes for a simple yet delicious meal.
After dinner, Xu Han sipped her tea and asked Lu Chuan, "Lu Chuan, how about we buy a donkey?"
Lu Chuan looked up at Xu Han, puzzled, and asked, "Why did you suddenly decide to buy a donkey? Didn't you say before that you wouldn't be able to farm much more land and wouldn't be buying livestock?"
"I didn't buy it before because I didn't have that much money on hand, and besides, I really wouldn't need that much."
Now I'm thinking about all the sweet potatoes and potatoes we have at home. We need to make a lot of starch. If we want to make starch, we need to grind the sweet potatoes into a paste. If we grind them by hand, there will be too much to grind completely.
If we use a stone mill, someone needs to push the millstone, and someone else needs to add sweet potatoes and water. It would be too time-consuming for two people to do it.
If we buy a donkey, I can do all this myself, and you'll have more time to do other things, like farming or hunting, right?
Most importantly, I'm a rich woman now, buying a donkey is just a piece of cake for me!
Xu Han talked on and on, and at the end she even boasted that she was rich.
Lu Chuan couldn't help but laugh when he saw this, and upon thinking about it carefully, it made sense, as there were quite a few sweet potatoes at home!
Grinding sweet potatoes is indeed a big project. When Xu Han made konjac tofu before, it took her a long time to grind all three konjacs.
If we grind sweet potatoes that way, I don't know if we'll even be able to eat sweet potato noodles this year!
After thinking about it for a moment, I understood the pros and cons. Anyway, I don't lack money now, so why not buy something that can save time!
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