This time, without waiting for Yan Yan to assign tasks one by one, a group of people got busy. Those who lit the fire, peeled shrimp shells, washed clams... everyone performed their duties, and lunch was quickly prepared.
Before the meal started, Mrs. Shu made a special effort to bring out the coconut cake and invited everyone to try it, "Try how this cake tastes."
Mr. Sun who was closest took the lead and took a bite of the pancake. The outer layer was crispy and the inner layer was soft and glutinous with a rustic texture. It should be that fine oats were added to the glutinous rice flour.
What is even more surprising is the taste of this glutinous rice cake. One bite and your mouth is filled with the aroma of coconut. This sweet and mellow taste is much stronger than coconut water and lingers on your lips and tongue for a long time.
"Is this cake made of coconut?"
Mrs. Shu smiled, "I guessed it right, but only half of it. This cake is called coconut cake, and it contains freshly made coconut and coconut oil. The little taste is so fragrant!"
"What is coconut milk? What is coconut oil?" Several Ming people gathered around curiously, took the coconut cake and ate it. "This cake is delicious, fragrant and sweet, and it's better than drinking coconut water!"
The four little ones chatted and gestured beside me, demonstrating the process of making coconut oil and coconut mash.
When they learned that this idea was Xiao Tuanzi's, a group of people looked at Yan Yan as if they were a god.
Shu Mingzhi couldn't help but hugged the dumpling and took a bite, "How on earth did you get such a big head, and why are you so smart?"
Yan Yan's face was covered with his saliva, her nose and eyebrows were scrunched up in disgust, "Don't kiss me, stinky uncle."
"Why do I stink? Doesn't this smell great? Smell it again." Shu Mingzhi shamelessly rubbed his face in front of her, making the little dumpling clenched his fists in anger.
Mrs. Shu couldn't bear to see it, so she stretched out her hand to rescue Xiaotuanzi from his clutches, and gave him a violent shudder, "Go out and drink the northwest wind!"
Old Man Shu continued in a hurry: "Hey, it's good to drink the northwest wind. I have someone to accompany me, haha."
"I won't make trouble anymore. I won't make trouble anymore." Shu Mingzhi immediately gave up and hid in the corner with the coconut cake.
Mrs. Shu glanced at him angrily and said to everyone: "Hurry up and eat. After dinner, Akihito and Akechi will go to the pier to sell seafood, while the others stay at home and boil coconut oil."
So those who ate cakes ate cakes, and those who drank sea porridge drank sea porridge. A group of people gathered around the table and ate with gusto. Only old man Shu squatted in front of the yard and silently ate the cakes.
Take a bite and sigh, don't mention how miserable it is.
The village chief happened to pass by the door of Shu's house, and his eyes widened when he saw this scene, "Hey, third child, why are you eating here?"
As he spoke, he stretched his head to look at the happy family in the house, and then looked at Erha who was happily drinking porridge by the door, and laughed, "Not bad, not bad, your status has risen after moving to a new home, and you are now on an equal footing with dogs. Continue
Work hard!”
When he saw his brother being bullied by his wife before, he still wanted to take care of it, but now, just take care of it and just laugh about it!
Old Man Shu gritted his teeth and glared at him: "You know nothing! I'm allergic to seafood, so I can't eat that thing, do you understand? Besides, I can eat wherever I like. What does it have to do with status?"
"Yes, it has nothing to do with status."
The village chief gave him a look that said "I know everything" and smiled.
Old man Shu got annoyed when he heard the harsh laughter, turned around and went to close the courtyard door.
Before the courtyard door closed, the village chief finally remembered the business and took the time to shout: "There are too many weeds on the roadside in our village. It doesn't look good. Tomorrow afternoon, one person from the whole family will go out to pull the weeds. Don't forget it."
"I know, go away now, it's annoying to watch."
It's already annoying enough that I can't eat seafood, but why don't you come here to watch a movie? You want to piss him off to death?
*
After lunch, Shu Mingzhi gathered the seafood in the yard and prepared to go to the dock to sell goods.
Before leaving, Yan Yan asked him to buy two things. One was a porcelain bottle for coconut oil and coconut mash. Xiao Tuanzi specifically told him that he must have the best-looking bottle in the store.
Although the raw materials for making coconut oil and coconut milk are not valuable, you useless person, from getting the coconut meat to grinding the coconut milk, which one is not laborious?
After working hard for a long time, I got just that little bit. If I sell it cheaply, I won’t be sorry for the beads of sweat on my forehead.
People rely on clothes, and goods rely on decoration.
Therefore, it must be packaged beautifully and strive to sell it at a good price.
The second thing is a knife for taking out coconut meat. It’s a simple and crude way to get a few coconuts by smashing the coconut shell to get the meat. But doing too many will delay things. In order to save time, you still have to use tools.
Yan Yan spent a long time talking to Shu Mingzhi about what a meat knife looked like, and finally got an answer: there is no such knife in the blacksmith shop.
Xiaotuanzi drooped his head after hearing the bad news, and his mouth was so pouted that it could hang an oil can, "But with the knife, we can get a lot of fruit pulp and sell it for a lot of money..."
"Harm, what a big deal."
Mrs. Shu waved her hand and took out an ingot of silver. "Can't you just spend a little more money and order two knives from the blacksmith shop owner? As long as you are willing to spend money, there is nothing in this world that cannot be bought."
Shu Mingzhi took the money and gave her a thumbs up, "You still think clearly!"
After the two seafood sellers left, others started to take action.
The coconut-picking team continued to pick coconuts in the forest. Mrs. Shu led her two daughters-in-law to peel the coconut skins and get the coconut meat. Old man Shu brought some coconut milk to be ground.
There is strength in numbers.
The mountain of coconuts piled up in the corner quickly disappeared, and the pots and buckets at home were filled with wet coconut paste and thick coconut milk.
In the evening, Shu Mingren and Shu Mingzhi returned home with their trophies. They almost fell over as soon as they entered the door.
The whole courtyard is filled with a strong fragrance of coconut oil, and along with the rising smoke, it feels like you have stepped into a fairyland.
"My mother, it smells so good! I smell it, and I'm afraid I might chew the legs of the bed in my dreams at night."
Shu Mingzhi snuck into the kitchen and insisted on taking a sip of coconut oil before leaving.
"You don't even miss the oil, and you're not afraid of it becoming thin." Mrs. Shu rolled her eyes at him, handed the spoon to Sun, and extended her hand to him, "Where are the money from selling the seafood and the knife that Yan Yan asked you to buy?"
Shu Mingzhi chuckled, "The money is gone, and it's all used to buy bottles and knives."
As he spoke, he took off the cloth bag hanging from his waist and handed it out.
Opening the cloth bag, you can see that there are about ten porcelain bottles of different sizes inside. Each bottle has patterns on it, including flowers, birds, insects and fish, which are very delicate and beautiful.
Taking out the porcelain bottles one by one, you can see that there are two unique-shaped knives at the bottom of the pocket.
The wooden handle is equipped with a curved blade, which is shaped like a crescent moon. The top is pointed and looks very sharp.
Mrs. Shu immediately picked up half a coconut to test the feel. She aimed at the gap between the hard shell and the pulp of the coconut and inserted the sharp tip of the knife into it with a little force.
The arc of the blade fits perfectly with the arc of the fruit pulp. At this time, if you hold the handle of the knife and turn it around, the pulp and hard shell will be separated easily.
"Hey, it's really useful."
Mrs. Shu held the meat knife in one hand and the half piece of whole coconut meat she had just taken out in the other hand, which was extremely rare.
"You go pick some coconuts after dinner later. We'll get more at a time and ask Akechi to take them to the town tomorrow to sell them."