Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Having considered those possibilities, Xia Yu decided to go with her brother in the afternoon to check along the drainage ditch and see if there were any unusual phenomena. She decided to put it aside for now.

Xia Yu took out two pieces of pork belly from her spatial storage, cut them into bite-sized pieces, and soaked them in a basin of water to remove impurities. Then she took out two scallions and three large white radishes from her storage space. She also took out the cinnamon, star anise, bay leaves, and other spices her mother had bought yesterday, preparing to make braised pork belly with radishes for her family today. Originally, she wanted to make extra and send some to the old house, but then she thought about how everyone was still scrimping and saving to support her fourth uncle's exams, and whether her grandmother would be unhappy if her family ate too well, and then scold her mother. She decided against it and would wait until the pond at home was dug so they could raise shrimp openly.

"Xiaxia, come to your mother," Madam Liu called to Xia Yu from the main room.

Although she was very reluctant to go over, she still dawdled over and said, "Mom, I'm preparing lunch in the kitchen. What did you call me for?"

"We just had breakfast, it's not too late to make it later. Come to your mother's side, and I'll teach you from the very basics."

"Mom, I want to make braised pork for you today. This dish takes a while to get the flavor right. You can start making it first, and I'll put the pork in the pot to stew first, and then I'll come over and learn." Xia Yu didn't want to learn, so she negotiated with her mother. She really preferred doing housework to learning needlework.

As her own daughter, how could Liu not see through her thoughts? She knew that her daughter was just making excuses because she didn't want to learn. But if a girl doesn't learn these things, how will she manage a household after she gets married?

"Okay, then I'll wait for you. Come over when you're done in the kitchen."

Xia Yu went back to the kitchen, took a large piece of ginger, sliced ​​it, cut the scallions into sections, and washed the bay leaves, star anise, and cinnamon. She put them all into a coarse porcelain dish for later use. The pork belly that had been soaking in the water had released a lot of blood foam, turning the water a light pink color. Xia Yu took the pork out and rinsed it with clean water again.

Pour enough well water into the large pot usually used for cooking porridge, and put ordinary water in another wok, along with a few slices of ginger and scallions. Then, add the meat to blanch it. After doing all this, Xia Yu sat down by the stove and used a flint to light the firewood.

Once the water in the small pot boiled, Xia Yu stood up and opened the lid to let the pork's odor escape with the steam. She took a large spoon and stood by the pot, skimming off the foam that had risen to the surface, little by little, until no more foam appeared. Then, she used a strainer to scoop the meat out and place it in a clean bowl. She lifted the lid of the other pot to check and found that the water hadn't boiled yet; small bubbles were just beginning to appear at the bottom. She covered it and continued cooking. While the meat was cooking, she used a ladle to skim off the water from the pot and then rinsed it with clean water.

After waiting a while longer, as more and more steam rose from the large pot, Xia Yu scooped out a ladle of hot water to rinse the meat that had just been cooked. She was quick and didn't waste any time. While she was cleaning the impurities off the meat, she also heated up the wok.

She poured the meat into the pot and waited until the bottom became moist and oil started to sizzle before flipping it. She continued frying until every side was golden brown before removing it from the pot. Leaving oil in the pot, she used a steaming cloth to support the handle and vigorously rotated the pot until the entire inner surface was glistening with oil. She carefully scooped a spoonful of white sugar from a jar, quickly stirred it in the pot to caramelize it, and then poured in two ladles of boiling water from a large pot. She then added the fried meat back to the pot, along with ginger slices, scallions, star anise, and bay leaves. She poured in a suitable amount of soy sauce for color and left the pot uncovered until the water boiled again.

She put the lid on the pot, shoveled out some of the still-burning firewood from the stove, and turned the fire from a high flame to a low flame. And so it simmered slowly.

Xia Yu really didn't want to learn needlework, but her mother had spoken, so she had to go even if she didn't want to. She dawdled over to her mother's side, and Liu Shi had already sorted through the pile of scraps of cloth. The larger pieces were put together, the strips were put together, and what was left were irregular and small pieces of cloth.

"Mother, what can we do with these?" Xia Yu asked Liu Shi, holding up small pieces of fabric.

“These can be used to make sock soles, insoles, and even shoe soles after starching. As for the larger pieces, I’ll pick out the same color and make you a little jacket. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I’ll also make you a sun hat so you can wear it when you go out and not get your face red from the sun,” Liu said gently, looking at her daughter’s face.

Under Liu's gentle gaze, Xia Yu felt a warmth spread through her body and soul. She realized how blissful it felt to be loved by her mother. Faced with such a tender mother, Xia Yu's aversion to needlework gradually faded.

Liu went to the stove and took a few pieces of unburnt wood, placing them in the brazier. She then spread a piece of cloth, patchwork of various colors, on the table and began ironing the scraps of cloth she had just arranged, one by one. Xia Yu watched the antique-style iron with great curiosity and wanted to try it herself. At first, Liu, worried about her getting burned, didn't give her the brazier directly. Instead, she carefully explained the details of ironing before finally handing it over. Under her mother's guidance, Xia Yu carefully ironed several pieces of cloth.

"Ah, very good"

"That's how it's done."

"Yes, yes... okay."

"Be careful not to burn your hands..."

"It's better than what I made when I was little. I burned my hands a lot when I first used a fire poker." Madam Liu was very good at encouraging her child. She guided her while giving timely praise. Xia Yu gradually lost herself in her mother's praise. She suddenly suspected that her talent was actually in handicrafts, but girls in her previous life didn't have to learn these things, so her talent was not discovered.

Amidst her mother's praise, Xia Yu happily ironed a few more pieces. Finally, while going to the kitchen with her mother to add charcoal to the brazier, she heard the bubbling sound from the pot and remembered that she was still stewing meat. Reluctantly, she handed the brazier to Liu Shi and stayed in the kitchen to cook.

Xia Yu opened the pot, poked the meat with a chopstick, and felt it wasn't cooked enough, so she put the lid on and continued simmering. Seeing that the water was getting low, she scooped a ladle of boiling water from the well next to her into the pot. Actually, it would be best to add enough water at the beginning, but Xia Yu hadn't been cooking in the earthen pot for very long, so she wasn't quite sure how to control the heat.

Wash all the large white radishes in the space, cut them into chunks, and put them in a bowl for later use. Looking outside, she saw the sun was almost directly south. Xia Yu returned to the kitchen, drained the soaked brown rice, and poured it into a large pot of boiling water. She stirred it with a large spoon to mix the rice and water evenly. Then she placed a stone on the lid to allow the steam to circulate more freely before escaping.

She turned over the golden thread lotus drying in the yard again. Today, she took out dozens of kilograms of golden thread lotus from her space. Since her family already knew, she didn't want to hide it anymore. She just wanted to get that mountain of golden thread lotus from her space out as soon as possible and turn it into money.

If the weather stays sunny for the next few days, the first batch of dried lotus seeds should be ready in another two or three days. Then we can send them to Baohetang. I just wonder how much Manager Li will charge per pound for dried *Anoectochilus roxburghii* (a type of orchid)?