The eldest sister-in-law became rich by farming in the mountains

(Author's note: Fairy tofu is a traditional snack popular in southwest and southern my country. It is emerald green in color, has a texture like jelly jelly, and tastes cool and slightly bitter. It has helped countless people survive famine years in the past, so it is also called Guanyin tofu.)

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Since he had nothing to do anyway, Xie Li naturally agreed. There were stinking broom trees everywhere on the back hill anyway, and he could pick a large basket of them with just a little effort.

After dinner, Xu Yingtao was forced by Jiang to rest in the house. She was responsible for fetching water, Xie Bai was responsible for washing dishes, and Xie Li carried a small basket to pick leaves.

It was not until she saw Xu Yingtao fetching water to wash the leaves that Jiang realized what she was doing with the leaves.

"To make tofu." Xu Yingtao looked up at Jiang, "Mom, do we have a slightly larger piece of cloth? A clean one will do."

She didn't expect a family like this to come up with a piece of white gauze.

Xie Li was squatting nearby helping to wash the leaves. When he heard this, his eyes lit up: "Is this the tofu made by Feng the tofu maker at the end of the village? His tofu is delicious!"

It’s a pity that they can only eat it during the Chinese New Year.

Xu Yingtao shook her head: "That is made of beans. We use stinking yellow vitex leaves. The colors and shapes are different."

In her time and space, the stinking broom was also called dove leaf and tofu wood. Rub the leaves to extract the juice, add wood ash water, and you can make a jelly-like food to relieve heat - fairy tofu.

It's more like jelly than tofu.

Every summer, my grandma would make this dish every now and then, adding some sour and spicy seasonings. A bowl of it on a hot day would make you feel relaxed and comfortable, and it was a great way to relieve the heat.

Although Xie Li didn't know how leaves could be made into tofu, she couldn't help cheering.

"Sister-in-law is amazing!"

Jiang and Xie Bai were much more rational.

The mother and son looked at each other and saw suspicion in each other's eyes.

Jiang hesitated and said, "Can this stinky yellow broom really be made into tofu? Will it also be stinky after it is made?"

Xu Yingtao wanted to speak up for the stinking yellow broom.

Although this plant has the word "stinky" in its name, it actually does not stink, but rather has a unique grassy scent. When exposed to heat, the smell will be greatly reduced, leaving only a faint fragrance.

She smiled and said, "Words are not enough. Just wait and see. If it doesn't work, it's just a waste of leaves. If it works, maybe we can even make some money from this tofu."

When Xie Bai heard that it could be exchanged for silver, his eyes almost lit up.

Jiang never had many opinions of her own. After hearing what Xu Yingtao said, she went into the house hesitantly. Soon she took out a two-foot square piece of yellowed linen cloth.

"This was given to me by my eldest sister as an addition to my dowry when I got married. She asked me to make an inner garment. All these years, I have never been willing to part with it." Jiang stroked the cloth in her hand, her eyes full of reluctance. Finally, she hardened her heart and handed it to Xu Yingtao.

"Don't worry, mother. When I make money in the future, I will buy you more and better materials." Xu Yingtao promised solemnly.

Before dealing with the leaves, she took out a lot of stove ash from the stove, put it in a coarse porcelain bowl, poured in clean well water, stirred it, and set it aside, despite the shocked gazes of the three people.

Xie Li couldn't hide anything and asked whatever came up: "Sister-in-law, aren't you making tofu? What are you doing picking up the stove ash?"

This question stumped Xu Yingtao.

She couldn't say that she was going to mash the leaves of the stinking broom into juice later. The leaf juice is rich in pectin, and wood ash water is a weak alkaline substance. The alkali solution can cause the colloid to precipitate, thus forming a jelly-like solid.

If she said this, the whole family would definitely think she was crazy.

Xu Yingtao pondered for a moment and tried to explain her behavior in a way that they could understand.

She asked tentatively, "There is always something to conquer, have you ever heard of the saying that brine can make tofu taste good?"

The mother and her two daughters all shook their heads, having no idea what brine was.

Xu Yingtao was a little discouraged.

"It's brine. Have you heard of brine?"

Jiang nodded: "I know that, it's poisonous."

"Actually, a small amount of intake is not a big problem, but it's not important." Xu Yingtao brought the topic back to the topic. "In short, soy milk can only become tofu when it meets brine, and this leaf juice also needs to meet wood ash water to take shape."

Jiang's focus was off: "Can you also make the kind of tofu that Feng the tofu maker makes?"

Xu Yingtao nodded without any modesty: "Of course I will."

Not only tofu, she can cook many other things.

Although her parents divorced when she was very young and she was left in the countryside as a left-behind child, everything has two sides. If she had not been left in the countryside for more than ten years, she would not have been able to inherit many skills from her grandparents.

"Then can we open a tofu workshop in the future?" Xie Bai was worried about his family's livelihood, and when he looked at Xu Yingtao at this time, there was a bit more flattering in his eyes.

He is really adaptable.

Xu Yingtao did not argue with the naughty kid and said patiently: "Why should we compete with others for business? If we are hated by others, we won't even be able to protect ourselves. Don't worry, I can still make money from tofu like this."

Xie Bai thought about it and realized that this made sense, so he stopped talking and just watched from the side with his mother and sister.

Xu Yingtao first scalded the leaves with boiling water, then wrapped the wilted leaves with linen. Then came the long and boring rubbing process, which was not completed until all the gum in the leaves was rubbed out.

Halfway through, she ran out of energy, so the three of them washed their hands and took over. Among them, little Xie Li rubbed the most persistently and vigorously, like a tireless little donkey.

Seeing her daughter's lively and carefree appearance, Jiang couldn't help but smile: "This girl has been very strong since she was young."

With four people working together, they quickly filtered out half a basin of leaf juice from the not-so-many leaves.

The next step is the most important step - adding pulp.

The ratio of batter is very important. If it is too tender, the tofu will not clump together. If it is too tender, the tofu will become hard.

She poured the wood ash water into the green leaf juice and stirred it slowly with her hands. When she felt a slight blockage under her hands, she stopped stirring.

Although the mother and her two daughters were mentally prepared, when they saw with their own eyes that the leaf juice was mixed with ash water, even Xie Li's face showed a hint of disgust.

Xu Yingtao couldn't help laughing and said, "The grass and wood have been burned by the fierce fire, and all the dirt has been burned away. There is nothing cleaner than this stove ash."

The mother and her three children reluctantly accepted her explanation. Jiang scooped a bucket of clean water for her to wash her hands and asked, "Is this done?"

Xu Yingtao nodded: "Just let it sit for a while."

It takes about half an hour for the tofu to solidify and there is no point in just waiting around during this time.

Xu Yingtao suggested going to the back mountain to look for gifts from nature - various wild condiments and fruits for subsequent seasoning.

The Xie family has no land, but the original husband has opened up a piece of wasteland not far behind the house and is now planting soybeans.

Therefore, the family's daily vitamin intake depends entirely on wild vegetables and fruits.

Fortunately, the mountains and forests are lush and green, and many condiments such as mint, litsea cubeba, wild garlic, wild onion, and wild pepper grow here. If they are carefully combined, they can create a wonderful taste.

Jiang asked the three of them to go together and emphasized that they must not go too far. She stayed at home, picked up the hemp rope that had been put aside for many days, and continued to twist it.

This is the only income for the family right now. She can no longer allow herself to be immersed in sorrow.

She didn't have much hope for the tofu her eldest daughter-in-law mentioned.

For some reason, the stubborn kid Xie Bai changed his mind before leaving the house and said he wanted to make hemp rope at home.

Xu Yingtao didn't say much. She took Xie Li's hand, carried the basket, and went to the back mountain together with her sister-in-law.

Xie Bai, who said he wanted to stay at home to make hemp ropes, seemed to have a thorn on his butt. He ran to the kitchen after sitting for a while. After he went back and forth seven or eight times, Jiang couldn't bear it anymore.

"Xiao Bai, if you want to see, just go to the kitchen and watch. You're making me dizzy by swaying back and forth like this."

Upon hearing this, Xie Bai's cheeks turned slightly red. He then put down the hemp rope in his hand, got up and went to the kitchen.

Jiang's world finally returned to peace.

Unexpectedly, not long after the quiet time, Xie Bai's surprised voice came from the kitchen: "Mom, it's done, it's really done!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang hurriedly got up and went to the kitchen.

I saw that the leaf juice that could be stirred easily just now had now solidified into a emerald green color, which was indescribably beautiful.

"Mom! Sister-in-law didn't lie to us, she really did it!"

Jiang was so shocked that she was speechless.

If she had not witnessed the entire process of making "tofu" with her own eyes, she would never have believed that leaf juice mixed with wood ash water could make such a beautiful thing.

It is so emerald and sparkling that one can't take their eyes away.

Xie Bai's eyes sparkled with longing for the future: "Mom, if we take this tofu to the town and sell it, will we never have to worry about our livelihood again?"

Jiang came back to her senses and said hesitantly, "Ask your sister-in-law how to arrange it later."

Not long after, accompanied by Xie Li's laughter, the aunt and sister-in-law returned from the back mountain.

As soon as she stepped into the main hall, Xu Yingtao caught the joy on the faces of the mother and son. She smiled knowingly and said, "Is it done?"

"Done!" Xie Bai had long lost his previous cruelty. At this moment, he was like an excited puppy. He came forward happily, took the basket from Xu Yingtao's hand, and asked attentively, "Sister-in-law, do you need to wash all these? I'll go wash them right away."

Xie Lize flashed across the main room like the wind and went straight to the kitchen. Then, her exclamation of "Wow" was heard from the kitchen.

Xu Yingtao: "Ali and I have already washed it clean by the stream."

As she spoke, she walked to the stove and gently touched the solidified tofu, her eyes full of satisfaction.

Afterwards, Xu Yingtao took out four bowls and placed them on the stove. She used a knife to divide the tofu in the bowl into several equal portions, scooped out a piece, and cut it into evenly thick slices directly on the palm of her hand.

The jade-green tofu fell into the bowl one by one, crystal clear and exuding a fresh fragrance, which also set off the rustic beauty of the several rough porcelain bowls with cracks.

After cutting, Xu Yingtao chopped and mashed the wild fruits and vegetables she picked in the basket. In a blink of an eye, she made a big bowl of sauce with great appearance and color. Just the smell made people drool.

Pour the sauce, mix well, and then give a bowl to each person.

"Try them all."

The two little ones couldn't help themselves anymore, so they took the bowl and chopsticks, picked up a piece and put it into their mouths immediately, then they all widened their eyes.

Refreshing coriander, cool mint, spicy wild onion, sweet and sour elaeagnus...all kinds of condiments mix and blend in the mouth, and are paired with the smooth and chewy tofu with the fragrance of plants.

It is sour, spicy and refreshing, with a long aftertaste.

“Delicious!!!” the brother and sister said in unison, their faces turning red from the spiciness.

"Added dogwood?" Jiang was so surprised by the delicacy she had never tasted before that she opened her eyes wide. Soon the spicy taste exploded in her mouth, making her nose sweat.

Xu Yingtao was amused by the spicy look on her face: "Let's put it down. It's a pity that we didn't pick any peppercorns, otherwise the taste would be better."

If there is chili, the taste will be even better.

"This is delicious." Although Jiang's face turned red from the spiciness, she still couldn't stop eating with her chopsticks.

It’s not just delicious, it’s incredibly delicious!

She had lived for more than thirty years and had never tasted anything more delicious than this.

It’s just that the eldest daughter-in-law used a little too much salt this time, which made her feel very distressed.

"Sister-in-law, I know there is a wild pepper tree on the south slope of the back mountain. I will take you there tomorrow."

Xie Bai was so spicy that he stuck out his tongue, but he did not forget to show his goodwill to Xu Yingtao.

Xu Yingtao smiled and nodded: "Okay."

Seeing that the mother and her two daughters were so addicted to the spicy food that they had to gulp down water, she finally realized that the food, which was slightly spicy for her, was still too spicy for them. Xu Yingtao felt a little guilty and suggested that the mother and her two daughters eat her bowl, as her bowl did not contain dogwood.

After all, her body had just recovered and she was afraid she couldn't bear it.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the words came out, they were opposed by three people.

Xu Yingtao could only obey the majority and picked up her bowl and started eating seriously.

The tofu has a slightly bitter taste, and it is best to use sour and spicy flavors to neutralize it. Unfortunately, she can't eat spicy food for the time being, which is a great pity.

Only after the mother and her three children put down their bowls in satisfaction did Xu Yingtao ask with a smile, "Mom, can you take me with you to the market the day after tomorrow?"

Jiang was stunned for a moment before she responded: "Are you going to sell this tofu at the market?"

Xu Yingtao nodded and said confidently, "I am confident that it will be sold."

But before that, she still has to solve some problems.

For example, there are cracked bowls at home, but there is no money to buy new ones.

When doing business, details determine success or failure. A chipped bowl not only damages your image, but may also hurt your customers. Once a customer's mouth is scratched, it is simply not worth it.

Just as Xu Yingtao was hesitating about whether to use bamboo tubes instead of bowls, Jiang looked hesitant and suggested softly, "How about I go to the village chief's house and borrow a few?"

The village chief just celebrated his 50th birthday last year and bought a lot of new bowls and plates. On weekdays, whenever anyone in the village holds a banquet, big or small, they have to borrow some from the village chief.

But as soon as she said this, Jiang felt a little regretful.

Over the years, the village chief has provided a lot of help to their family, and the village chief's family accounts for a considerable proportion of the considerable debt.

Especially since she had just asked the village chief to borrow money for her eldest daughter-in-law's funeral and medical treatment a while ago, and now she had to go through the trouble again for a few bowls, Jiang couldn't help but feel a little hot on her face.

Xu Yingtao's eyes lit up: "That's a good idea. Mom, take me with you to get to know the place."

Jiang looked at her in surprise: "Are you not afraid anymore?"

As I recall, my eldest daughter-in-law wanted to hide when she saw strangers, and she never dared to look up when talking to her family members.

Xu Yingtao's smile froze instantly. She was so careless that she even forgot that she was a socially anxious person.