Traveling to an ancient peasant family: I got rich by doing business

The manual labor in ancient times was certainly not as efficient and convenient as the modern meat grinder, so Li Yu did not hold out much hope for Han Sheng.

She felt that as long as Han Sheng could make it roughly right, it would be fine, and it didn't have to be in the form of meat paste.

But Han Sheng's results were much better than she had imagined.

The large meat particles are almost invisible, which is very suitable for making meatballs. However, it takes a long time to chop the meat. At this speed, you can't make too many finished products in a day.

Li Yu thought about it and decided not to make so much in the early stage. He would make sure that everyone liked it and then find a way to increase the production.

The three members of the Han family became a little nervous when they saw Li Yu's response. They were worried that Li Yu would be dissatisfied.

Fortunately, Li Yu didn't let them wait too long. He coughed lightly and said, "Brother Han Sheng did a very good job. But as you can see, this job is a bit tiring."

"How can this be considered tiring?" Han Sheng said with a simple smile, "I go up the mountain to chop wood every day, which is much more tiring than this."

"Since Brother Han Sheng is willing, then we have settled it. From now on, Brother Han Sheng will come to my house every afternoon and cook the meat according to my requirements. The daily wage is 15 cents."

Fifteen cents?

Some people in the village went out to work as laborers building houses, earning only ten cents a day. In comparison, what Li Yu gave was really a lot!

Han Sheng agreed without hesitation.

"Sister Li Yu, don't worry, I will definitely follow your instructions. I will do whatever you ask me to do."

"Han Sheng will definitely not let you worry. But..." Han's mother hesitated, "Li Yu, Han Sheng is a man. Isn't it inconvenient for him to go to your house? It's okay for him to be framed, but I'm afraid those people in the village will tarnish your reputation."

Li Yu understood what he meant. In ancient times, a woman's chastity was more important than anything else, and she happened to be a widow. If Han Sheng went to their courtyard every day, there was no guarantee that someone would gossip about her.

But she had thought of this a long time ago. She held Han's mother's hand and patted it, saying, "It's not just Brother Han Sheng. Aunt Wu and Sister Xiangyun also work for me every afternoon. Besides, I can put the chopping board in the yard, open the gate, and let Brother Han Sheng chop meat in the yard. This way, others can see it and won't say anything."

She was so thoughtful that Han's mother didn't think about anything else. She thanked Li Yu profusely, as if she regarded Li Yu as the benefactor of their family.

*

Li Yu wanted to make beef meatballs, but the Dayu Dynasty had many controls on cattle. Cows could not be slaughtered unless they died of illness or old age. The butchers in the town might not sell beef once every half a month, so she could only settle for the next best thing and make pork meatballs first.

The next day, Li Yu bought five catties of hind leg meat, and then went to several drugstores to buy some saltpeter and herbs. The drugstores in the town had little saltpeter in stock, and ordinary people didn't buy saltpeter, so if you bought too much, it would easily attract attention. Just in case, Li Yu didn't buy that much, and stopped when he felt it was enough.

After returning home and having lunch at noon, Li Yu took out the wooden basin and the iron basin that he had asked the blacksmith to help him make when he was making the iron pot.

The iron basin is small and can be placed in the wooden basin.

Li Yu gestured, rinsed the meat, cut it into small pieces and put it in an iron basin, then asked Han Xiaomei to scoop some water and pour it into the wooden basin and the iron basin respectively.

"Sister-in-law, what do you want to do?"

Han Xiaomei asked after pouring the water.

Li Yu looked back at the courtyard door and saw that it was closed, so he whispered, "Make ice."

Han Xiaomei's eyes widened.

The weather wasn't particularly cold, so how could there be ice? Could my second sister-in-law lower the temperature?

Han Xiaomei looked at Li Yu's actions and didn't dare to speak.

Li Yu opened the bag of saltpeter and poured it into the wooden basin little by little.

After pouring it, she took out the lid and covered the wooden basin.

"Wait fifteen minutes before checking." Li Yu patted his clothes, stood up, and went to do other things.

Han Xiaomei squatted on the ground and looked at the pot for a while. She really couldn't understand what was going on, so she had to go out.

*

Two quarters of an hour later, Li Yu returned to the wooden basin and opened the lid. Seeing the situation in the iron basin, he couldn't help but smile.

Han Xiaomei was not as calm as her. Seeing the ice in the iron basin, she exclaimed in a low voice: "Ice!"

"It's ice." Li Yu moved the basin further inside and told Han Xiaomei, "Don't tell others that I can make ice, okay?"

Han Xiaomei nodded heavily, and then asked: "Second sister-in-law, why do you want to make ice?"

When the weather is cold, the meat will not spoil easily and there is no need for ice.

Li Yu briefly explained: "The meatballs made with frozen meat have a chewier texture."

Han Xiaomei: “…” Second sister-in-law is amazing, she knows everything about this!

*

Li Yu didn't let Aunt Wu, Li Xiangyun and Han Sheng know that she could make ice. Although she trusted them, they were outsiders after all, and she had to be reserved with them.

So when Han Sheng said the meat was cold, she found an excuse to fool him.

Han Sheng was, after all, an ancient man with limited life experience, and he did not doubt Li Yu's words at all.

Li Yu had put the chopping board in place in advance. She pulled the dining table in the main room outside the door and placed the newly bought chopping board on it, which was just right. There was also a chair next to the chopping board so that Han Sheng could sit on it and rest when he was tired.

So people who passed by the courtyard that day found Han Sheng working for Li Yu.

Some people, whose minds were filled with sexual matters, secretly peeked inside through the door frame, trying to find some evidence of something unclear between Li Yu and Han Sheng. However, Han Sheng was chopping meat the whole time, and Li Yu was in the kitchen the whole time, and the two of them hardly communicated with each other. Even if they did communicate, Aunt Wu, Li Xiangyun and Han Xiaomei were also present.

They are so open and aboveboard that it is impossible to arrange anything.

As they watched, they became interested in Han Zheng's behavior. Was Li Yu going to sell buns? Chopping so much meat!

The villagers didn't understand, and Aunt Wu and Li Xiangyun didn't understand either, until Li Yu made the first pot of pork meatballs, then they suddenly realized.

"You must have been a great chef in your previous life. You can make something this difficult." Li Xiangyun praised while eating meatballs.

She learned how to cook from her mother when she was five years old. After she married to Qingshui Village at the age of fifteen, she was directly responsible for the food of the whole family. Over the years, no one in her family had said a bad thing about her. Even outsiders, after eating the food she cooked, said that she had great skills.

But she is no match for Li Yu. The dishes she cooked were just ordinary ones, but Li Yu could come up with all kinds of novel ideas, which made people very enviable.

Li Yu calmly accepted Li Xiangyun's compliment and then thought about better ingredients. Now the meatballs are indeed good, but they can taste better.

At this time, Aunt Wu suddenly said, "Li Yu, I also saw how Sheng'er chopped the meat today. You want him to make the meat into minced meat. In that case, why don't you find a mortar? Wouldn't it be easier to use a mortar?