Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

This year's castor bean harvest is not plentiful. Given the current amount of castor beans, the Ji family's oil mill will definitely not operate year-round; according to the plan, it will only operate during the autumn and winter seasons.

Even if the surrounding villages follow suit and plant castor beans next year, it will only be on idle, marginal land. The only place where they might be planted in large quantities is the saline-alkali land near Ji Shuitao's house.

Because castor beans are harvested in autumn when everything is ripe and mature, and because the vertical pressing method is more labor-saving and time-saving, even if there is a large quantity of castor beans next year, from October until just before spring planting, it will be enough to press all the castor beans.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that operations may need to be carried out in all four seasons in the future. This depends not only on the castor bean planting situation but also on the sales of castor oil.

The experienced oil presser was available, and all the castor beans from every household in the village had been dried, sorted, and cleaned before being handed over. Even the castor beans from Ji Shuitao's family were delivered by car by the couple.

Unlike the traditional ramming method, this vertical oil pressing method does not require many craftsmen. So, in addition to Master Chen and his son, Ji Manchuan and Ji Manqing are enough to help in the oil mill.

Although Ji Yongling suggested finding able-bodied young men from the village to help with the work, Ji Manchuan and Ji Manqing did not agree.

The two brothers said that since the oil mill was just starting out, they definitely had to do everything themselves and know how to work, so they wouldn't dare to easily become hands-off managers.

They were farmers, not used to hiring laborers like landlords. They couldn't live without the land; even now, when the oil mill had oil to press, they still had to go to the fields to farm.

Ji Yongling also agrees with this simple viewpoint.

In her later years, she had a junior high school classmate who wanted an easy life as a boss. He invested a large sum of money to open a supermarket, but out of trust in his partner, he barely managed it. In the end, the supermarket went bankrupt because 16 employees stole from it, losing everything and even owing the bank 200 million yuan.

Therefore, you have to figure out the ins and outs of any profession first and then work your way up step by step.

With everything prepared and Liu Lu having calculated the exact date, the Ji family's oil mill finally opened for business.

"The auspicious time has arrived!" Liu Lü shouted at the top of his lungs.

There were no firecrackers, no gongs or drums, only the simple rituals of burning incense and kneeling in worship to gods and ancestors.

Grandpa Ji, along with his two brothers Ji Mancang and Ji Mantun, who had rushed back from the county, and his two brothers Ji Manqing and Ji Manchuan, solemnly bowed and knelt before the incense table, praying that all the gods and ancestors of the Ji family would bless the oil mill to run smoothly and prosper.

After the ceremony, Master Chen, the oil press master, finished his last puff of pipe. He stood up, tapped the door of the oil mill lightly with his pipe, rubbed his hands, which were covered in years of oil stains, together, and announced: "Good luck on the start of work! Let's get to work and begin pressing oil!"

"Let's get to work, pressing oil!"

Ji Manchuan and his brothers were eager to get started and followed Master Chen into the oil mill.

"Look, they're pressing oil!"

The villagers who came to watch also crowded around, pressing their faces against the doors and windows of the oil mill, eager to peek inside.

Although the oil mill belongs to the Ji family, it's also known as the Niujiazhuang Oil Mill because it's located in Niujiazhuang. It's the only oil mill in the village itself, outside of the county seat and market town.

The villagers' lives were relatively monotonous, but after the autumn harvest, life gradually became more leisurely.

A few days ago, when everyone heard that Old Ji's oil mill was opening, they all wanted to come and see the excitement and share in the joy. So today there were an unusually large crowd at the entrance of the oil mill.

Sunlight streamed through the wooden window frames into the oil mill, lending its rustic warmth to the earthen walls. Here, the arduous work of pressing oil was about to begin.

The first step in oil extraction is to roast the seeds.

Wisps of smoke drifted from the chimney of the oil mill, and the firewood in the earthen stove crackled and popped.

Master Chen poured the dried castor seeds into an iron pot, then picked up a long spatula and stirred them continuously. The smooth castor seeds tumbled in the pot, soon turning a bright yellow.

Castor seeds must be roasted and cooked before they can be ground in a mill.

Because the oil in castor beans is encased in a hard outer shell, it cannot be extracted without crushing the beans. Only by grinding the castor seeds into a very fine powder using a stone mill can the oil be extracted.

The millstone was very heavy and difficult to push, so Ji Mantun and Ji Mancang helped each other push it.

As Ji Manqing added castor seeds, he shoveled out the finely ground seeds, constantly reciting the formula that Master Chen had taught him.

"Seven parts green, eight parts yellow, nine parts crisp, ten parts burnt seeds are unacceptable. Grind sesame seeds to break the skin, grind rapeseed into a paste!"

The oil extraction processes for oil crops such as rapeseed, castor bean, and sesame are similar, with only some differences in details.

Although it was Master Chen's first time pressing castor oil, this experienced craftsman could tell at a glance, based on the size and hardness of the castor beans, how much processing was needed to maximize the oil yield.

Ji Manchuan kept the fire in the stove burning brightly, and the water in the pot had already boiled, bubbling and steaming. Chen Wa would sprinkle the dough wherever steam was coming out, until the dough was evenly distributed.

Next, Chef Chen put the castor seed powder into the steamer and stacked it up layer by layer.

A large fire was burning in the stove, and steam was rising from the pot. When you could smell the rich aroma, it meant that it was ready to steam.

Next comes the most challenging part for oil pressers – the wrapping and pressing steps.

Master Chen placed an iron ring on the ground, put a neat bundle of wheat straw into the iron ring, and then deftly filled the iron ring with the freshly steamed dough, wrapping the dough tightly with wheat straw and pressing it down firmly with his feet.

And just like that, a round tart of oil was wrapped up.

While continuing to wrap the oil balls, Master Chen instructed the people in the oil mill: "The older generation of oil craftsmen said, 'Wrap the balls tightly and work slowly.' When wrapping the balls, you must be quick with your hands, wrapping them into balls as fast as possible."

The oil yield is higher when the raw material is at a high temperature. You can't get any oil out by just dawdling! Also, you must tamp it down firmly, otherwise the oil clumps won't stick together. And the dry cake needs to be pressed to an even thickness…”

Teacher Chen taught patiently, and Ji Manchuan and Ji Manqing learned patiently. Even Ji Mancang and Ji Mantun, who came to help today, listened attentively.

Ancient craftsmen believed that "you reap what you sow, and mastering a skill requires a lifetime of effort." Therefore, when teaching apprentices, craftsmen were always afraid that their apprentices would not learn the skills well enough and tarnish their own reputation.

Master Chen stacked the wrapped oil lumps one on top of the other on the millstone base next to him, then loaded them into the press and tamped them down one by one.

Next, we'll start pressing oil in Daliang.

Because this was designed by Ji Yongling, she and Ji Manchuan had tried it before. This time, Master Chen became an apprentice, watching Ji Manchuan operate the huge oil press, using the lever principle to perform vertical pressing.

As the pulley under Ji Manchuan's command turned, the oil beam was slowly lifted. Ji Manchuan and Master Chen stacked the wrapped oil blocks and placed them into the oil well.

Ji Manchuan then gradually released the pulley, pressurizing the oil beam. By applying pressure to release the beam, the oil beam could generate a sustained pressure of nearly several hundred shi (a unit of dry measure).

Because the pressure was very high, the oil clump produced oil very quickly. As the shiny, golden castor oil gushed out, it flowed out of the mill, and the entire oil mill was instantly filled with the refreshing aroma of hot oil.

"Look, we don't need to pull up and smash the asphalt beams in this house, it saves so much effort!"

"Oh my, it's oozing oil! It's oozing oil! Look at the oil, it's bright yellow and smells delicious!"

"So fast? Only a few hours? And the oil has already been extracted?"

"Don't yell! Your loud noise is so loud it almost made me pee! Didn't you see that huge oil beam? It's thicker than the beams in the rich man's house. It must be able to press oil very quickly!"