I trade in both worlds

When Chen Lihua heard Xu Xu say this, she guessed that she might be researching some new food recipe.

Thinking of this, Chen Lihua didn't ask any more questions.

He just smiled and said, "We don't have much wheat and rice at home, just enough for our own consumption, especially wheat, which is consumed a lot by the cakes in the store. We do have about ten pounds of sorghum and glutinous rice, but it's far from your one hundred pounds."

After hearing this, Xu Xu thought about it and decided to go ask other families.

She stood up and said to Chen Lihua, "Then I'll go look somewhere else. Lihua, you go ahead and do your work."

"Okay, sister. Take care." Chen Lihua watched Xu Xu leave, feeling curious as to what new tricks Xu Xu would come up with this time.

After Xu Xu left Xu Jizong's house, he suddenly remembered that he had not yet told her about the bamboo basket, so he went back.

She stood at the gate and said, "Lihua, I forgot something. When Uncle comes back, tell him that I need another batch of bamboo baskets. The quantity and size are the same as last time."

"Okay, I'll tell Dad when he gets back." Chen Lihua stopped what she was doing and asked, "When do you want it?"

Xu Xu calculated silently and replied, "Fifteen days."

"Yeah, okay." Chen Lihua responded.

"Okay, there's nothing else to do this time, let's go." After saying that, he turned and left, turning to Uncle Chunhua's house not far away.

Uncle Chunhua lives in an old tile-roofed house at the west end of the village with a tall locust tree in front of the door.

Erqiang, the four-year-old great-grandson of my aunt and uncle, was running around in the yard with a wooden cart in his hand, laughing happily from time to time.

"Aunt, you're at home." Xu Xu walked into the yard and greeted her with a smile.

Upon hearing the voice, Auntie came out of the house, holding a handful of freshly picked beans in her hand, and said with a smile, "It's Xuxu, come and sit down. Erqiang, go get your Aunt Xu a glass of water."

She pointed to another bench in the yard.

Erqiang obediently ran to the kitchen, and soon came out with a bowl of water, his little hands still trembling slightly.

She took out two pieces of maltose from her sleeves, handed them to Erqiang, and said with a smile: "Erqiang is really good, this is a reward from your aunt."

Erqiang glanced at his aunt and waited until she nodded before he took the candy. He carefully peeled off the candy wrapper, put the candy in his mouth, and then smiled with satisfaction.

Seeing this, Xu Xu smiled and touched his little head.

Turning to look at my aunt, I whispered to her, "Aunt, I came here to buy some food. Do you have any extra sorghum, rice, glutinous rice, or wheat?"

After hearing this, my uncle thought for a moment and said, "We still have some rice and glutinous rice, but not much wheat and sorghum. How much do you want?"

Xu Xu was delighted when he heard this and quickly said, "How much can you give me? I'll take it all."

My uncle's grandmother was a little surprised when she heard this: "Why do you need so much food? Can the family eat it all?"

Xu Xu smiled and explained: "Uncle grandmother, you know, I have many children at home and they eat quickly, so I want to prepare more."

After hearing this, Auntie sighed and patted the back of Xu Xu's hand: "Hey, you are such a hard child."

Then he continued, "How about this? I'll give you 40 kilograms of wheat, 20 kilograms of sorghum, and 30 kilograms of rice and glutinous rice each. How about that? These grains should be enough for you to eat for a while."

Xu Xu said gratefully, "That's great, Auntie, you really helped a lot."

Auntie smiled and patted the back of her hand, saying, "You can't carry all this food back by yourself, I'll pack it up later, and when your uncle Chunhua comes back at noon, I'll ask him to deliver it to you."

Xu Xu thanked him repeatedly: "Okay, Auntie, I'll trouble Uncle Chunhua to go and help move the food to my house later."

My aunt smiled and shook her head, saying, "We are all family, why should we be polite? It's not easy for you to lead a life alone with the children. Any help we can give is appreciated."

Xu Xu nodded gratefully, took out the money for buying food and gave it to his uncle's grandmother.

After staying for a while at her aunt's and uncle's house, Xu Xu went to three or four houses before she gathered all the food she needed. Everyone said they would send it to her home at noon.

Xu Xu walked home happily, swinging his hands.

After collecting all the food at noon, Xu Xu came to Xu Jizong's house again and found that the door was ajar. The yard was quiet, with only a slight sound coming from the backyard occasionally, as if someone was busy.

She walked through the front yard and came to the backyard, only to see Xu Jizong squatting under the eaves in the shade, holding a sharp knife in his hand, carefully splitting bamboo strips.

The sunlight shone through the gaps in the leaves, dappled onto his body, adding a touch of softness to his slightly weathered face.

Xu Xu called softly, "Second Uncle."

Xu Jizong looked up and saw that it was Xu Xu. He smiled kindly, "Xu Xu is here. Come and sit down."

Xu Xu walked over to Xu Jizong, sat down, and asked casually, "Are Lihua and Tuantuan taking a rest?"

"Yes, it was the middle of the day and the weather was hot, so the mother and daughter were both asleep." Xu Jizong replied.

The action in his hands did not stop: "Why don't you take a break at noon? What's the matter with you coming to see me?"

Xu Xu nodded and said, "Second Uncle, I accidentally saw a method in a book that might increase the purity of liquor. I want to try it, but I can't do it alone. I would like to ask you to come and help me steam the liquor."

Hearing this, Xu Jizong paused with the knife in his hand and looked up at Xu Xu: "What recipe?"

Xu Xu's eyes sparkled with anticipation: "It uses five kinds of grains to make wine, and finally uses distillation to produce a high-concentration liquor."

After hearing this, Xu Jizong frowned slightly.

He usually only brewed some rice wine for his own drinking, and he had never heard of the wine-making method that Xu Xu mentioned.

Moreover, if making wine with five kinds of grains fails, wouldn’t it be a waste of a lot of grain?

"If we try and fail, it would be a waste of food." Xu Jizong said with some disapproval.

Xu Xu knew her second uncle's concerns, so she explained, "Second uncle, I plan to use less food each time and try more times."

"I only plan to steam 20 kilograms of grain this time. If it fails, I will steam 10 kilograms next time. This way, even if it fails, it won't waste too much."

Xu Jizong listened to Xu Xu's words, his brows still furrowed: "Twenty kilograms of food is not a small amount."

After thinking for a while, Xu Xu persuaded: "Uncle, I know this is a bit risky. But if it succeeds, we will have money for our children to study for the imperial examinations in the future."

Xu Jizong couldn't help but feel shaken when she heard this. After all, it was not easy for a woman like her to raise so many children.

If several children have a talent for studying, it would indeed cost a lot of money.

"But the most I can do is make some rice wine for my own drinking, and it's very average, so I may not be able to help you." Xu Jizong said helplessly.