Crossing the Unknown Country

The next day, Su He and his friends made tofu, and took the remaining soy milk and tofu pudding to the town. They couldn't make dried tofu, and they didn't have soy sauce. Today, they started making soy sauce. There were some beans left from making tofu yesterday, so they asked their brother to boil the beans, drain the water, and evenly coat them with flour.

They drove the ox cart to the town and delivered the tofu to the three families. Then they drove the ox cart directly to the rich area to sell the tofu. Su He thought it was better to sell it here. The tofu, soy milk, and tofu pudding were all sold out. These things are sold in the market. Su He came here to sell them so that these people don't have to go out to buy them.

Su He didn't bring much each time, usually two or three families could sell out. If she sold them one after another like this, she could sell for a long time. She knew the situation well, so she didn't ask some families who were difficult to deal with. Su He was very good at sales, and every time she asked the concierge, she would give her a piece of tofu, and this time it was a bowl of soy milk. Su He's method was very effective, and the concierge would try his best to recommend the kitchen to buy her tofu. Anyway, we had to buy vegetables every day, so it was normal for a large family to buy some tofu.

Su He did not think about selling it slowly at the market, as it was not cost-effective. He did not make much money, and it would be better not to do this business if he had to spend more time on it. Su He left three pieces of tofu, one for each of the clinic, the bookstore, and the cloth shop, just to have something new. They were all very happy and thanked Su He for his consideration. These interpersonal relationships were getting better and better under Su He's slow maintenance. Su He knew that all favors were not one-sided. When people give you convenience, you must also give something in return.

Su He rushed home at 3 p.m. today, thinking about her soy sauce and soybean paste. Su He went back and spread the beans evenly in a winnowing basket, wrapped them with cotton cloth so they were not exposed to the outside, clamped them tightly, and placed them in a dark, humid cellar, and then placed them on a shelf. After about five or six days, you can put them in boiling water to cool, add salt and expose them to the sun, cover them with a thin cloth, stir them every morning and evening, and they will be ready in about a month.

Su He has been observing the condition of the beans for the past few days. As long as they don't develop black mold, it's considered a success. Five days later, the beans all grew white mold, and Su He knew that this time it was a success. This is also due to the fact that there is no oil at home, so the beans generally won't go bad. Then prepare the purchased ceramic jar, mix the soy beans in the ratio of one pound of beans, one pound of water, and three ounces of salt, and move it to the sun to start drying. At this time, Su He made a small cone-shaped basket for himself, ready to drain the soy sauce.

The family still makes tofu as usual every day. These days, the four brothers follow their father to the town to sell tofu, so that they can take turns to go out and see the world. Su He also needs to look after his own sauce jar. The first thing he does every morning is to stir the sauce with a special stick until it is evenly mixed up and down. He repeats this method again in the evening. In the middle, because it was too thick, he added cold salt water twice. Also, it must not be exposed to rain, otherwise the sauce will go bad.

After more than a month, the soybean paste was ready. Su He put the small pointed basket in the middle of the sauce jar and began to drain the soy sauce. He poured the sauce from the basket twice a day and added salt water from time to time. After about two to three to four months, the soy sauce would be ready. In the meantime, you can also boil soybean paste with sugar, water, salt and pepper, and then drain some water with a cloth to make a reduced-prescription soy sauce. Of course, it is not as delicious as the soy sauce after half a year, but this is not bad either.

Su looked at the reduced-prescription version of soy sauce, and directly added water and soy sauce to cook some cut and steamed tofu cubes. After simmering for half an hour, soak it to color it, then take it out and dry it in the sun. It can be kept for three or four days without any problems, and the shelf life is longer if it is stored in the cellar. In the future, there will be one more dish at home, and you can eat dried tofu directly without cooking.