Go back to the past to plant trees

Wu Yansheng was chatting and laughing with Shen Mengyin, completely unaware that Qin Xuemei's opinion of him had already plummeted.

However, this cannot be blamed on Wu Yansheng. Anyone would be overjoyed to have a delicate girl around them. Men are the same in every era; they all want all the girls around them to fall for them, keeping the home fires burning while having affairs on the side. However, many people have gone too far in this regard.

After learning of Qin Xuemei's attitude, Meng Yue felt helpless. She couldn't tell Wu Yansheng about Qin Xuemei's thoughts, since it was a matter between Wu Yansheng and Qin Xuemei. She could only offer some advice from the sidelines; she couldn't forcefully pull the thread of fate together.

The next afternoon, Zhao Jinquan returned from the nursery and began making tofu.

"Jin Quan, did you make this stone mill too?"

Sui Zhichao was helping out on the side, and when he saw the small stone mill, he couldn't help but ask about it.

Zhao Jinquan said, "Yes, I made it the year I came to the camp. I was bored at the time and wanted to eat tofu, so I made this."

"Can it be used to grind flour?"

"Sure, but it's not easy to grind into powder. You need to filter it with gauze and then grind it again. That way, the powder will be finer."

"That's it!"

"What do you want to grind?" Zhao Jinquan asked.

"No, I'll just ask."

After Zhao Jinquan started making tofu, people gradually came over to watch, mainly because they had never seen tofu made before.

"Is the tofu cooked directly after it's ground into soy milk?"

"Yes, would you like some soy milk? I can make you a bowl when it's cooked, with some sugar in it. It's very delicious; Brother Feng really likes it."

Ji Xiurong said happily, "Is that okay?"

Zhao Jinquan said, "Why not? We ground a lot of beans today, enough for you to eat."

“Then I’ll get a bowl for my Yan Xiangli,” Li Xiurong said as she went to get the bowl.

"Is there still that much sugar in the kitchen?" Meng Yue couldn't help but ask when she heard that sugar was to be added to the soy milk.

Zhao Jinquan said, "There are still some left, not many, but it's okay. We just need to buy more. Our quota is enough for the whole amount. If it's really not enough, I'll just make some more maltose."

Is maltose difficult to make?

"It's not difficult, it just takes time. We make it with sweet potatoes, and it's not expensive!"

"Make some for us when you have time, and we'll pay for the sweet potatoes."

"OK, no problem."

Zhao Jinquan readily agreed.

A group of people gathered around the stove, watching Zhao Jinquan cook soy milk.

"Jin Quan, you can do everything. Being your wife must be so wonderful. You can make whatever you want to eat," Ji Xiurong said, looking at the soy milk in the pot.

Sui Zhichao chuckled and said, "Of course! Jinquan is so outstanding, it's just that there aren't many girls in Bashang. If it were in the county town, they would be fighting over them long ago."

"That's right, Jinquan can do everything. What can you do? Clapper talk?"

Shen Mengyin couldn't help but complain about him.

"Shen Mengyin, do you want to hear some clapper talk? I'll play it for you!" Sui Zhichao didn't care about Shen Mengyin's complaints at all, and instead replied happily.

After talking with Feng Cheng yesterday, Sui Zhichao felt better. Knowing that Shen Mengxi and Wu Yansheng could not be together, he regained his confidence and believed that he could definitely win over Shen Mengyin.

"Stop! I don't want to hear your clapper talk. Go find a place and talk to yourself!"

Sui Zhichao smiled and did not refute Shen Mengyin's words, but his eyes inadvertently swept over the quiet Meng Yue beside him.

"Alright, the soy milk is ready, you can drink it now."

After the soy milk in the pot boiled for a few minutes, Zhao Jinquan picked up a spoon and ladled a bowl for each of the girls.

The scalding hot soy milk quickly melted the sugar in the bowl, and the aroma of soy filling the room made everyone swallow hard.

However, the soy milk was too hot to drink right away since it was fresh out of the pot.

"Da Sui, you pour me the soy milk, and I'll pour the gypsum water."

Zhao Jinquan directed Sui Zhichao to pour soy milk into the wooden bucket, while he held a stick in one hand and plaster water in the other, stirring as he poured.

"Is this enough?"

Looking at the large bucket of soy milk, Sui Zhichao couldn't help but ask.

"Cover it and wait about ten minutes for it to solidify. That's when you get tofu pudding. Put the tofu pudding on a rack and press it for a while to remove the water. That's when you get soft tofu."

While Zhao Jinquan and Sui Zhichao were busy, several girls also picked up their slightly cooled soy milk and started drinking it.

"It's delicious. I've never had such delicious soy milk before."

Shen Mengyin savored the sweetness in her mouth and couldn't help but praise it.

Qin Xuemei also said, "It really tastes good. Next time we'll buy some soybeans and make it again."

"I agree. There's still too little food available on the dam. Soybeans can be used to make many things, which can improve our meals."

They eat potatoes and black oat noodles every day, and they can't even change their diet to something else. It's true that you can't buy food here even if you have money, which is very distressing for the college students in Shangba.

"Jin Quan, do you know how to make ma pudding? I want to eat ma pudding."

"Mommy, what is that?"

Ji Xiurong said, "I grew up in Henan and often ate Ma Hu (a type of rice noodle soup), but unfortunately I can't eat it anymore after I returned to Chengde."

Zhao Jinquan shook his head: "I don't know how, I've never even heard of it."

"Isn't Lao Wei from Henan? Why don't you ask him? He might know."

“I asked him, and he said he didn’t know how. He said he had eaten it, but he had never made it.”

Zhao Jinquan subconsciously said, "Then I'll ask Brother Feng tonight, he might..."

Hearing this, Qin Xuemei couldn't help but laugh: "Jin Quan, you ask Feng Cheng about everything you don't understand! Feng Cheng isn't omnipotent, he might not know either."

"If I don't know how, I don't know how. If Brother Feng knows how, I'll learn from him. If he doesn't, then I won't do it. Besides, Brother Feng also said that as long as you want to learn, you can learn most things."

"Brother Feng also learned many things after he went up to the dam; he didn't know them at first either."

Zhao Jinquan's unconscious remark immediately silenced everyone. They hadn't expected someone who hadn't even finished junior high school to say something like that.

Qin Xuemei thought that perhaps it was because of Feng Cheng's influence. As the ancients said, a good teacher and helpful friend can influence a person's entire life. For Zhao Jinquan, Feng Cheng must be his mentor in life!

Qin Xuemei has seen many people like Zhao Jinquan, both at home and at school. Many of them live aimlessly, unlike Zhao Jinquan, who is able to live a wonderful and fulfilling life.

Zhao Jinquan has many habits similar to Feng Cheng's. At first, Qin Xuemei didn't understand, but now she realizes that Zhao Jinquan is imitating Feng Cheng, who holds a very important place in her heart.