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

On the way home, the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law looked at each other in silence, both feeling incredible in their hearts.

It is said that it is difficult to change one's nature, but Chen's nature changed too quickly.

They still can't adapt to it.

Xu Yingtao even suspected that this Chen might have been possessed by someone just like her?

Fortunately, she soon devoted herself to the work of making koji and forgot about Chen.

Xu Yingtao first cleaned the Polygonum multiflorum flowers, and then crushed them into fine pieces in a stone mortar.

Next, she mixed the mashed Polygonum multiflorum flowers with glutinous rice flour and added clear spring water, stirring until all the ingredients were fully blended into a floc, and then kneaded it into a ball.

Finally, she rolled the glutinous rice flour into balls the size of glutinous rice balls, placed them one by one in a winnowing basket covered with straw, and covered them with a layer of straw and a towel. This completed most of the process of making the koji.

"That's it?!"

The mother and her two children nearly popped their eyes out of their sockets.

Just through the simple steps of pounding, kneading and rubbing, which only takes a moment, it is possible to complete the production of koji, a technique that is strictly controlled by the state?

To be honest, they didn't believe it at all.

But Xu Yingtao's confident and determined look made them feel a little shaken again.

Xu Yingtao placed the dustpan on the newly built bamboo rack in the main hall and said with a smile, "Actually, it would be better to have some old koji, but it doesn't matter if we don't have it. The temperature is suitable recently, so let's wait for two or three days for fermentation to see."

If there is old koji, crush it and sprinkle it on the new koji to promote the growth of mycelium and increase the curvature rate.

Seeing that the mother and her two daughters all looked skeptical, Xu Yingtao patiently explained: "There are many plants and trees in the mountains. In the eyes of doctors, they are all herbs. But for those of us who don't understand pharmacology, even if we dig up ginseng, we will only treat it as a grass root."

"Similarly, to us farmers, this hemp is a weed that even chickens don't want to eat, but to people who know how to make wine, it is a treasure."

"The reason why people often say that different trades are like different mountains is just like how hemp can be used to make wine yeast. The difficulty is not in the steps, but in the lack of information exchange. This is true for many things in the world."

The mother and her two children suddenly understood.

No wonder the country strictly guards the recipe of koji. If people knew that making koji is so simple, wouldn't everyone be able to brew wine secretly? How would the country make any money?

Xu Yingtao put away her smile and said seriously, "No matter how simple it is, our family knows how to make wine yeast, but we can't tell anyone. We might lose our heads."

She only wanted to use the wine yeast to buy herself temporary protection and would never dare to have any bad thoughts.

No matter which dynasty or era, the most profitable things are always written in the criminal law, but even if you are alive to make money, you must also be alive to spend it.

As for what the Ge family wants to do with the yeast, that is not something she can control.

The mother and her two daughters naturally knew the importance of the matter, and they all promised not to reveal a single word to anyone.

Knowing that Xu Yingtao was going to the tofu workshop, Jiang asked, "Yingtao, I'm afraid Dongni will be here soon. Should we continue to let her father help weave small bamboo baskets?"

"Of course." Xu Yingtao fetched some water to wash her hands. "We'll need it for our subsequent business."

Jiang said no more.

As soon as she left her yard, Xu Yingtao's always confident and calm expression finally showed a hint of worry.

She wasn't sure whether the Ge family was willing to help her, or even whether the yeast could ferment successfully.

But now so many people depend on her for their livelihood. If she shows even the slightest fear or hesitation, it will cause ten or a hundred times more panic to others.

No matter what, she would never give up easily.

The women working in the tofu workshop are preparing for tomorrow's orders.

When they suddenly heard that they would not have to make soy products after tomorrow, they all panicked and surrounded Xu Yingtao.

"Little boss, why do you suddenly stop doing it?"

"Are you just not doing it these few days, or are you not going to do it in the future?"

"Then what about our wages?"

Feng Xing also had a worried look on his face.

Xu Yingtao's lips curled up slightly, her eyes as firm as usual: "Don't worry, aunts and grandmas, I'm taking a few days off because I'm going to the county town to discuss business. The orders will only get bigger and bigger in the future. I'll pay you at the end of the month, and I won't owe you a penny."

After that, she looked at Feng Xing again and said, "Uncle Xing, please select the three most efficient people every month. At the end of the month, I will give each of them an extra 100 coins as a reward."

After hearing this, the women and servants no longer had the energy to think about it. It turned out that they could just take a few days off for free and get paid. If they did a good job, they would get a reward at the end of the month!

This is really great news.

When Feng Xing heard this, his heart sank back into his stomach.

If the deal fails, the young master will never boast about giving more wages as a reward at the end of the month.

He smiled and agreed: "Okay, little master, don't worry, I will definitely help you take care of this mess."

Before leaving the Feng family, Tao gave her a basket of soy products as usual.

After Xu Yingtao returned home, she made half of it into braised food and the other half into spicy strips that night.

The next day, after seeing off the last member of the jelly group, Xu Yingtao ate a few mouthfuls of breakfast casually and went to Zheng's house with a basket.

The basket is filled with jelly, cold noodles and braised spicy strips.

But this time, these were not going to be sent to the Zheng family, but to the home of the headman of Beixi Village.

Since you are going there to ask for help, you cannot go empty-handed.

When Mrs. Zhou learned of Xu Yingtao's idea, she burst into laughter.

"Silly girl, Yan Lizheng is not the kind of person who would take bribes. He is a really nice guy."

Village Chief Zheng said sourly, "Yes, he used to pick wild flowers for you every day."

Xu Yingtao opened her eyes wide and pricked up her gossipy ears.

"You old pervert, why are you saying these things in front of the children!" Mrs. Zhou rolled her eyes at her husband and took Xu Yingtao to sit farther away.

Then, Xu Yingtao learned about Yan Lizheng's character from Mrs. Zhou.

During the Dayu Dynasty, one li consisted of one hundred households, and each li had a lizheng. Nanxi Village and Beixi Village each had more than seventy households. For the convenience of management, the county government merged the two villages into one li. Finally, with the humility of Village Chief Zheng, the position of lizheng was given to Yan, the lizheng of Beixi Village.

Village Chief Yan is also a down-to-earth person. Since taking office, he has never put on airs. Unless necessary, he still gives all the power to manage Nanxi Village to Village Chief Zheng and never interferes. For decades, the two villages have always lived in peace and friendship.

But now that the food has been brought here and the Zheng family is unwilling to accept it, there is naturally no reason for them to take it back home.

When the two boys from the eldest wife arrived, everyone followed Village Chief Zheng and headed towards Beixi Village.

Mrs. Zhou was worried that Xu Yingtao would feel uncomfortable being with a group of men, so she specially arranged for Zhao to accompany her along the way.

Beixi Village is located on the north side of the downstream bank of Nanxi Village. The straight-line distance is not far, but there is a mountain in the middle, so you have to climb over it to reach it.

Without the supervision of her mother-in-law, Zhao was finally able to chat with Xu Yingtao about gossip about her parents-in-law when they were young.

Of course, you have to speak very quietly.