Qiao Lan thought for a while, "I don't want the eggs. Ask the woman if she wants dried tofu. Cut a bowl and show it to her. If she wants it, ask her to bring two bundles of firewood in exchange for dried tofu."
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After hearing this, Mrs. Liu went out to reply.
"My family has no shortage of eggs, but my mother-in-law said that if you are willing to ask for them, you can bring two bundles of firewood in exchange for dried beans." Mrs. Liu took out a bowl of dried beans and showed them to the old woman.
The old woman looked at the dried tofu and asked curiously, "What is dried tofu?"
"It's a kind of food made from beans. It tastes quite fresh. It's cooked in broth. I'll pick a piece for you to try. You can try it." Mrs. Liu said and handed a piece to the old woman and cut it off.
of dried beans.
"Why is this so embarrassing?" the old woman laughed, took Liu's dried tofu, stuffed it into her mouth and tasted it.
It had a rich sauce color and neat cuts. The moment the old woman stuffed it into her mouth, a strange fragrance exploded between her lips and teeth.
this……
This is much better than meat!
After chewing the dried tofu in her mouth, the old woman looked at the young and beautiful Liu in front of her and asked doubtfully: "Can it really be replaced with firewood?"
Liu smiled: "Of course it's true, how could I lie to you! Just take this basket of eggs back. When you bring the firewood, remember to bring a bowl."
Old woman: "Okay, I'll get it right now!"
The old woman happily came out from behind Duan's house with a basket of eggs, as if she had picked up a big bargain.
An acquaintance of the village woman on the roadside asked, "Let me tell you, there are so many chickens in the Duan family's backyard and they can't even finish the eggs they lay. Why would they let you trade their eggs for meat?"
The old woman smiled: "I won't tell you, I'm going home."
Seeing this old woman smiling happily, the people in the village were a little surprised.
How can I still smile so happily after being rejected?
After a while, the old woman came back with her son and two large bundles of firewood on her back.
The old woman knocked on the door and said something to the Duan family. Then, under the guidance of the Duan family, she placed the bundle of firewood next to the chicken coop on the back slope and placed it outside the chicken coop wall.
Mrs. Liu also followed her promise and handed the old woman a bowl of dried tofu, asked her to take it in a bowl, put it on a plate and took it away.
Before leaving, Mrs. Liu also warned: "Don't store this dried tofu. It can only be stored for two days at most. Eat it as soon as possible."
The old woman smiled and nodded.
It's not cost-effective to give meat. Once the meat is boiled, it will shrink a lot, and when it's served on the table, it won't be enough for one person to share it with chopsticks.
Dried tofu is cheap, has a large portion, and is rich in protein. The taste of marinated tofu is no worse than boiled meat.
The old lady walked back happily carrying the basket, but the fragrance in the basket could not be concealed.
As soon as everyone smelled it, they knew it was the Duan family's braised meat, and everyone was curious, "I really asked you to buy the Duan family's meat!"
"I didn't buy it! I exchanged it?"
"What did you change it for? Doesn't his family want eggs?"
The people in the village have nothing of value except eggs.
"Is it possible that you exchanged it for grain?" someone asked curiously. The person did not see the old woman's son carrying a large bundle of firewood to the Duan family, but knew that the Duan family bought a lot of grain from the villagers.
.
"None of them! The Duan family asked me to exchange it for firewood, two big bundles of firewood!" the old woman said happily.
"You can exchange firewood for meat?" everyone exclaimed.
The old woman quickly waved her hand, "It's not meat! It's dried tofu! It's dried tofu that has been cooked in broth. The Duan family's daughter-in-law told me that if I try a piece, it tastes almost like meat!"
As for what dried tofu is, the old woman can't tell. After all, she has never seen it before and only tasted it once at Duan's house. It tasted very good.
Seeing the old woman carrying a basket walking home, the others were slightly moved.
Compared with rare things like grain and eggs, firewood is nothing to the villagers. It is everywhere in the mountains and plains. As long as you are diligent, you can cut a large bundle in a day.
They didn't dare to open their mouths when they knew meat was expensive before, but now they knew it was cheap and could be exchanged for firewood, so they all started thinking about it.
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This time it was Mrs. Wang who heard the knock on the door in the backyard. When Mrs. Wang opened the back door, she found that her backyard was full of people, each of them carrying bundles of firewood on their backs.
Seeing Mrs. Wang, the young woman standing at the door was a little embarrassed and said, "Sister-in-law Wang, I heard that your family can exchange firewood for food. Is it true?"
There is indeed such a thing. When Qiao Lan said this, Wang was also there.
But looking at the posture of so many people outside, Wang felt that the dried tofu was probably not enough.
"Someone came to my house to exchange it before, but I don't have much dried tofu left." Wang said with some regret.
After hearing this, the villagers looked a little regretful on their faces.
"Then, can you give me half a bowl of firewood? I have a lot of firewood at home, so I'll give you four bundles of firewood in exchange!" A man shouted in the crowd, carrying a tall pile of firewood on his back.
Wang looked at the villagers in front of her and felt troubled.
She knew how difficult life was for the country people, who could not eat meat all year round. She probably heard the news that they could exchange firewood for dried tofu at home, so everyone happily came over carrying firewood, preparing to exchange a bowl of dried tofu for their teeth.
"Well, I'll go in and ask my mother-in-law if my mother-in-law made this dried tofu." Mrs. Wang said, closing the door of the room.
Qiao Lan obviously heard the excitement in the backyard at this moment, and when Wang said it, he wasn't too surprised.
Dried tofu is easy to make, but it takes longer to press the tofu after it is done. The rare thing is the spices used in this marinade.
There are some such spices in the memory of the original body. It is not an exaggeration to say that one tael of spices or one tael of silver is worth it, as well as ground chili peppers, and even things that are not available in this land.
Fortunately, not many spices are needed to make a pot of stewed soup, and the cooked stewed soup is not of much use. Even if Qiao Lan wants to save it, her family does not have the conditions to save the old stewed soup.
It is a waste to throw away the stewed soup, and it is not good to drink it directly.
"Let's go and tell the villagers that they can exchange it, but each family can only exchange one bowl. We don't have much dried beans at home, and we have to make some tomorrow. Let them come over with firewood tomorrow afternoon to exchange it.
You decide how much firewood you want. If you charge more, give more. If you charge less, give less. Only give one bowl, don't give more."
"After giving it, tell them by the way, our family doesn't cook this soup very often. We only cook it once every six months. We don't have such a meal on weekdays." Qiao Lan ordered one after another.
When the weather gets colder in the second half of the year, there will definitely be more places that need firewood.
Duan Mingjing would definitely be too busy to cut firewood by himself. Using dried beans to exchange firewood would save the need for someone to hire someone.
Mrs. Wang conveyed these words to people outside according to Qiao Lan's instructions.
Everyone in the village smiled happily and said, "Thank you, Sister-in-law Wang!"
"Thank me for what? Just thank my mother-in-law!"
"The old lady is so amazing! The dishes she makes are so delicious!"
Everyone was full of praise, and some immediately wanted to put the firewood in the Duan family's yard and bring a bowl to exchange for dried beans tomorrow.
"Don't worry, don't worry, you can bring it over tomorrow in time. I'll get a scale to weigh it first," Wang said.