Without further ado, the whole family got to work.
Under Zhao Xian's guidance, they first broke off the leaves of the purslane one by one, removed the old leaves and stems, and then washed the leaves clean.
Then Li Chun'e started boiling water. It would take some time for a large pot of water to boil, so Zhao Xian found two large wooden basins and filled each basin halfway with water.
Now all that's left is to wait for the water in the pot to boil. Zhao Xiaosheng brought over a bundle of firewood from the woodpile outside; it would take quite a bit of firewood to boil this water.
Finally, the water in the pot boiled, and Zhao Xian grabbed a handful of vegetable leaves and put them into the pot. After the leaves softened, he took them out and put them into a basin of cold water.
Repeating this process, in no time all the vegetable leaves had been blanched in boiling water and then soaked in the cold water in the basin.
At this point, the water in the pot had turned dark green and had an unpleasant smell.
"These vegetable leaves need to be soaked in cold water for at least three hours to remove the bitter taste from the leaves."
There's nothing else to do now. Tomorrow morning, I'll take the vegetable leaves out, wash them again, and let them dry for a while before making kimchi.
Although the family was very excited, they still had to wait for several hours, so they had to go to bed.
Zhao Xian's family used to be quite well-off; they had a large house with many rooms.
Zhao Xian has his own room and lives in the east end of the house. Zhao Xiaosheng and Zhao Xiaoshan share a room and sleep in the same bed. Zhao Xiaosheng's mother and Zhao Lingling live in the west end of the house.
Zhao Xian lay in bed, unable to fall asleep for a while.
Today is his first day in this dynasty. He has already learned about the situation here and will live here from now on.
He had traveled from another time, and from now on he would have to live with this family day and night; he had no other choice.
He needs to work hard to pay off his debts and buy land so that his family can live a better life.
He didn't know how much time had passed before he finally fell asleep. When he woke up, it was already broad daylight, and his family had already gotten up to work.
At this moment, his mother was washing vegetable leaves, while Zhao Xiaoshan strung two ropes in the yard to dry the vegetable leaves.
Before he transmigrated, the first thing he did every morning was brush his teeth and wash his face, but here there was no toothbrush, toothpaste, or even a towel.
Just then, her mother brought over a basin of hot water.
"Zhao Xian, go wash your face."
"Mother, let me do it. How can I let you fetch water for me to wash my face?" Zhao Xian felt bad.
Perhaps this scholar was used to a life where everything was done for him, and even his mother had to prepare his wash water for him.
Zhao Xian's words surprised Li Chun'e. What was wrong with this scholar?
In those days, women had a low social status, and the men in the family were the absolute authorities. What women had to do was to support their husbands, raise their children, and take good care of the family.
As the eldest brother, Zhao Xian was supposed to take on the responsibility of supporting his family after his father's death. However, he failed to fulfill his duties as the eldest brother, and the family was struggling to be supported by his mother and younger siblings.
Zhao Xian sighed. From now on, he would take good care of the family and make sure they lived a good life.
The face was washed in a small wooden basin, the water was steaming, and there was a piece of linen cloth in the basin, which was probably used to wipe the face.
After Zhao Xiangan finished washing his face, Xiao Sheng, Xiao Shan, and Lingling came to wash their faces one by one. Although there was no shortage of water at home, this had become a habit.
He was determined to change his family's lifestyle, making them not only wash their faces in the morning and evening but also brush their teeth, and each person should have their own towel, instead of using the same basin of water to wash their faces.
As he was thinking about these things, Li Chun'e had already washed the leaves of the water spinach and laid them out to dry on the rope.
Zhao Xian took a small piece of leaf and put it in his mouth to try it. It was crisp and had no bitterness at all, which was exactly what he wanted.
Seeing Zhao Xian put a leaf in his mouth, the others followed suit and tried it. It wasn't bitter or astringent, and even had a hint of sweetness.
This tastes much better than ordinary wild vegetables; they never expected that wild vegetables could be so delicious.
"No one eats beef tendon because people don't like its bitter taste. Once that taste is removed, it becomes edible and the pickled vegetables made from it taste even better."
"Our family will still need to make money from pickled vegetables in the future, so please don't tell anyone about this. Once the villagers find out that *Niu Ben Cai* (a type of mustard green) is edible, the *Niu Ben Cai* in the fields will be snatched up very quickly."
"Understood, brother, we won't tell anyone." The family nodded solemnly.
"I'm going to town to buy some seasonings for pickling vegetables. It'll probably take more than an hour. After I get back, we can start making pickles," Zhao Xian said before heading to town.
He looked at the linen clothes he was wearing and thought for a moment before deciding to put on the long gown instead.
The long gown had been washed clean by Li Chun'e and hung in the room. Zhao Xian put on the gown, tidied his hair, and then went out.
He could have bought the ingredients for making kimchi directly from the system without going to town, but he didn't want his family to know, as it would be difficult to explain later.
He also plans to visit restaurants and eateries in town to promote this kind of kimchi.
Normally, making kimchi takes at least three days, but he didn't want to wait that long, so he planned to add some baking powder to speed up the fermentation process, so that he could have kimchi in half a day.
There was only one oxcart in the village, and it was already late. The oxcart had long since left, so to get to the town, one either had to walk or wait for a passing vehicle.
It would take more than half an hour to walk there, but if I encountered a horse-drawn carriage, I could reach the town quickly. Fortunately, I had nothing else to do, so I decided to keep walking and get on the carriage if I came across one.
He walked quickly forward, and after a short while, a carriage came up behind him.
"Going to town? Two coins for the ride." The driver slowed down and asked any pedestrians he encountered.
“Okay, I’ll go to town.” Zhao Xian got into the carriage.
The carriage sped along and soon arrived in town. Zhao Xian paid two coins and got off the carriage.
Since my kimchi isn't ready yet, I'm currently looking for target customers, which are restaurants and hotels.
He glanced around and saw that there were twenty or thirty restaurants and eateries of all sizes in the town, but no more than ten of them were large-scale.
If a few companies are willing to cooperate with me, I can sell a lot of kimchi every day, and the income will be quite considerable.
After walking around for more than half an hour, he had a tael of silver and more than twenty copper coins in his pocket. There was nothing left to buy, so he decided to go back to the village.
He was about to turn back when he suddenly heard a man's voice behind him.
"Brother, please wait a moment."
Zhao Xian turned around and saw three people behind him. Although they were all dressed in ordinary clothes, their demeanor suggested that they were not ordinary people.
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