Today is the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month in the thirteenth year of Yongle in Da Qi.
Early in the morning, the village, which was still sleeping soundly, was awakened by the sound of chopping vegetables and the sound of children laughing and playing.
Smoke from cooking pots floated in the sky in Shuiluo Village, and everyone began to prepare lunch. Today is the Chinese New Year, so lunch must be prepared grandly.
This year they survived natural disasters and man-made disasters, climbing mountains and wading all the way from the north to the south. This year was too difficult and unforgettable for them.
Have a good meal today, forget the bitterness of this year, and start the sweetness of next year.
The Xu family, Guan Dongyue and Wu Xiuzhu were helping wash the vegetables. They originally wanted their children to celebrate the New Year with them, but Guan Dongyue and the others disagreed and insisted that they could not disturb the Xu family.
Unexpectedly, Guan Dongyue had a fever two days ago, which shocked Wu Xiuzhu so late at night that she hurried to Xu's house and called Xu Yunjin.
After taking her pulse, Xu Yunjin found that she was not only infected with the cold but also worried too much, probably because she was worried about the future of her children.
Later, when Zhang and others found out, they forcefully asked the two of them to bring their children to Xu's house to celebrate the New Year. Not long after that, the two came to help early in the morning.
"Auntie, bring me the millet pork ribs and pickled pork with pickled vegetables. I'll put them in the steamer and start steaming them."
Xu Yunjin prepared ten dishes, which symbolize a perfect new year.
They are Braised Pork, Millet Pork Ribs, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, Braised Pig Head, Braised Pork Trotters, Braised Pork Ribs with Radish, Stir-fried Bean Sprouts, Spicy Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs, and Braised Pork with Pickled Vegetables.
Millet spareribs and pickled pork with pickled vegetables are popular among the elderly and children. Pork head meat can be eaten with wine, and a few old men can have a few drinks.
In the winter when there are no vegetables in greenhouses, fried bean sprouts are a savior for people who want to eat vegetables. After finishing the greasy food, a bowl of light pork rib soup is simply delicious.
At noon, after the ancestor worship ceremony in the village, Xu Yunnan took the firecrackers bought by Xu Wen and went to the roadside to set off firecrackers.
He is the eldest son of Xu and will be an adult next year. His family asks him to fire off the first shot of the New Year.
"We have experienced a lot this year, and we almost didn't make it to the south alive. Fortunately, there is no road ahead, and we are all safe and sound. It is also a great blessing to settle in a prosperous city like Jiujiang Fucheng.
Come, let's drink this cup. The sufferings we have suffered this year will become a thing of the past as this cup of water is drunk. Next year we will work harder to build the house, cultivate the fields, and raise the children well in the future.
When you grow up and take root in the south, life will be easy."
Today, it was Xu Dalei who spoke on behalf of the Xu family. Everyone had a bowl of tea in their bowls. Water was used instead of wine. Everyone raised their bowls and drank the tea in one gulp.
"Brother Chen and Brother Luo, you two must not dwell on the past and make good plans for your children in the future. Brother Zhuang, since you have nowhere to go for the time being, then stay in our Shuiluo Village.
, we very much welcome you to stay, and so do you two girls. Don’t be so stressed at ordinary times. If you are unsure about anything, just come to your grandmothers and aunts, and we will do our best to help you."
Mr. Xu said a few words of comfort to Chen Sihuai, Dr. Luo, Mr. Zhuang, and Guan Dongyue who were present.
Then he picked up the chopsticks and picked up the first dish, signaling everyone to start eating quickly, otherwise the food would get cold. Mr. Zhuang was the first to pick up the chopsticks and start eating without waiting, and commented while eating:
"Well, the little girl is so good at her crafts. The bean sprouts are crispy and raw. The pork head meat is so refreshing to drink with wine. The pork ribs with pickles and millet are perfect for the elderly with bad teeth. They are oily but not greasy, and the most fragrant.
This Buddha jumped over the wall. The fragrance floats ten miles away. No wonder it can make Buddha jump over the wall. When the monks smell it, they all want to break their precepts and taste the meat."
A lively lunch was spent amidst the laughter and laughter of everyone. After the meal, the elderly went for a walk to eat, and the children went out to play.
A few men and women of the Xu family went to clean up the mess. Their family didn't have the bad rule of a gentleman staying away from the kitchen. Even Xu Yunzhao would rush to do the work.
On the night of New Year's Eve, only the Xu family was eating in the tent. Old man Zhuang had gone somewhere, so there were no separate tables for men and women. Instead, the whole family was eating lively at the same table. Mr. Xu looked at the table neatly.
A family with an old face smiling brightly.
"Jin Yatou, you said before that your father and second brother should continue to go to school and take the exam. You have your own way to make money. You can tell your family about your arrangements for the coming year, and the family can help according to your arrangements."
The Xu family does not have the habit of being silent during meals and sleep. There is no need to find time to talk about some things. You can come up with ideas at the dinner table.
"Grandpa, the farm rewarded me with recipes for making tofu and konjac, and I bought some soy products myself. This is what I plan to do."
After hearing his grandfather's words, Xu Yunjin put down his bowls and chopsticks and expressed his thoughts to Mr. Xu.
"I want to build a tofu workshop in the village after we build the house next year, and let my eldest aunt and my mother-in-law take care of it. In the initial stage, the two uncles and aunts from my grandpa's family, plus Uncle Yonghe and his wife, will work together in the workshop.
Tofu.
The village found five people from poor families who were honest but smart enough to sell tofu in nearby counties. If the tofu business was good and we made money, we would recruit a large number of people in the village to make soy products.
In addition, I also want to use soybeans to make a kind of sauce, which is the kind of dark soy sauce I used to cook. It tastes great when added with soy sauce. Making soy sauce requires a lot of effort and takes a long time to see benefits.
So for this soy sauce, I gave the recipe to my uncle. The uncle first prepared the site and the things needed to make the soy sauce. As for the manpower to make the soy sauce..."
Xu Yunjin did not want to make his business stall too big from the beginning.
One is because of the manpower, and the other is because the company's own foundation is not enough and the tree is too big to attract attention, so now it only makes soy products and soy sauce.
To make soy sauce and successfully produce it, this process takes at least about a year and a half. After the soy sauce is made, she may still hold back so that it can be released so soon.
This thing is too tempting, and money and silk are so attractive that it is not enough for their family now, even if the Zhao family is behind them.
Maybe after a year or two, when her father becomes an official and her brother becomes academically successful, she might consider making soy sauce available as soon as possible.
Therefore, she didn't want to use villagers, she wanted to buy people. For a dynasty where buying and selling people was legal, this seemed to be the only way to protect her family's interests.
"Grandpa, the soy sauce matter is of great importance. I don't want to use people from the village. I can teach them to make many profitable things, or I can recruit people to work in the workshop and let them purchase goods from the workshop to sell.
But once we actually make soy sauce, our family will be in great danger, because salt is added when making it, so after it is made into soy sauce, it will contain some salt, and soy sauce is added when cooking.
, you can add less salt.
That is to say, ten kilograms of salt are used in a year. With soy sauce, we may only use seven kilograms of salt, but it cannot be used as a substitute for salt. This thing is too expensive and our family cannot afford this risk. What I want to do is benefit
People, rather than letting soy sauce become the pocketbook of the rich and powerful.”
Hearing Xu Yunjin say soy sauce is so important, everyone in the Xu family subconsciously looked around to see if anyone was around.
Xu Wen even stood up excitedly. Salt, iron, gold and silver were the most strictly controlled things by the imperial court, and the most important one was the salt mine.
The imperial court does not allow the private sale of salt. Although some people do this, there is no evidence and the emperor has nothing to do. Now the soy sauce he makes at home can actually be used as a substitute for salt to a certain extent, and the raw material is soybeans eaten by poor people.
.
In other words, as long as soybeans are cultivated, there will be an inexhaustible supply. If word spreads, their family and even their village may be razed.
"Ajin, what you said is true. Can soy sauce really replace salt to a certain extent? That's salt, the salt most strictly controlled by the imperial court."
Xu Wen suppressed his excited voice. Who knows how expensive and difficult to buy salt is now. Every time you buy it, you have to limit it, and it is still coarse salt.
If you can buy unlimited soy sauce that tastes good and can replace salt with less money, then I don’t know how many poor people can benefit from this. This chapter has been completed!