The Transmigrated Farm Girl's Journey to Wealth

They go up the mountain to chop firewood year-round, and they all recognize this thing—acorns. Every year they rot on the mountain, unwanted. Even the poorest family wouldn't eat them. Could this kid have discovered its use?

Now that the Song family has become wealthy, they are paying close attention to their movements.

"Let's pick some to play with."

Fortunately, my mother was cautious; she peeled and soaked the acorns inside the house. They could only see her drying these in the backyard. Even if these weren't dried, the older ones would dry eventually, so it didn't matter if they saw them.

Fang Xiaoning changes the water for the acorns every day; the soaked acorns lose their previous sour taste.

Two days later, after all the helpers had gone home, he said, "Brother Feng, grind the acorns tonight."

"After grinding the soybeans, grind this."

"Xiao Ning, do we need to grind this up and boil it too? Like jelly."

"Pretty much, a bit more complicated than jelly. This is my first time making it, so I'm just giving it a try." This dish wasn't made well; the tofu was very coarse, with a grainy texture in my mouth, and it didn't taste good.

"Hey, if it doesn't work, we'll just try a few more times, no rush."

One basin was enough, and it was ground up quickly. Fang Xiaoning took a large wooden basin to filter the powder, and then the acorn powder settled.

The problem with this stuff is the hassle of changing the water. Whether you're soaking it or making powder, you have to change the water and let it settle again and again.

I'll go to the clinic tomorrow to buy some gauze. The finer the sediment of this powder, the better the tofu will taste.

“Mother, tomorrow morning you and I will do the same filtering process again.”

"Okay, I understand." Just now, Madam Su had looked very carefully.

"Keep it out of sight."

"I know, don't worry."

After soaking the acorn powder for two days, Fang Xiaoning poured out the water, looked at the sediment, and scooped some out with her hand; it was quite fine.

Carrying the basin, she went to the kitchen. "Xiao An, can you help me start a fire?"

"it is good!"

With Madam Su standing nearby, she had to watch carefully. Once she learned how, she and her in-laws could do it together in the future.

"This stuff is really a lot of work. So many days, washing and soaking, and filtering so many times."

"That's right, it takes a lot of effort to get a good price."

Upon hearing this, Ms. Su felt that the previous troubles were nothing, and she found the sediment in the basin more pleasing to the eye.

Fang Xiaoning added a little bit of lard to the pot, then added water. "Mom, there's a trick to adding water. For one bowl of noodles, you need about eight bowls of water."

“Yes.” Madam Su secretly made a mental note of it.

"Xiao An, be sure to use a low flame and cook it slowly."

"Understood, sister-in-law."

"Mom, acorn powder burns easily, so you have to keep stirring and simmer it slowly." She kept stirring with the spatula until it became a thick paste.

"Mom, look how fine this acorn flour paste is. This is because we filtered it well. This is how to make the best tofu. Xiao An, turn off the heat."

As she spoke, she ladled the paste from the pot into a small bowl and carefully spread it evenly with a spatula. It didn't matter if she were eating it herself, but if she were selling it, it had to look presentable.

"Mom, just leave it there. It'll be ready by tomorrow morning."

"Xiao Ning, this method looks similar to liangfen (cold mung bean jelly). Should it be eaten cold?" Eating it cold is definitely not an option right now. The weather is getting colder and colder. Who can stand having a cold stomach? In a few days, the liangpi business will have to stop.

"Mom is so clever. But this acorn tofu can be eaten hot too. I'll make some for you to try tomorrow at noon."

"Yes, good, good!" Madam Su covered her mouth and laughed. They could be eaten hot and sold in the winter. She heard from the two children that the family's money would be almost gone after the house was built. She thought she would have to wait until next summer to earn money again. Her daughter-in-law was really clever.

That night, lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), I said, "Xiao Ning, should we stop harvesting acorns? I went to two different houses today and they had quite a lot. How much tofu do we need to make to use them all?"

"It's alright. We have this fruit now. I've thought about it, and if we can't use it all, we can sell it at a stall next summer. If we want it in the summer, there won't be any fruit left to pick. This stuff can be stored. If it doesn't sell well, we won't buy it next year. The dried fruit can last for two or three years."

"so long?"

"They're so hard, they won't spoil easily. Let them pick them if they want. How about this, if they're set by tomorrow morning, take two pieces to the restaurant in town for the owner to try."

"Okay, when will we stop making cold noodles?"

"Let's keep it open for two more days. Didn't the restaurant say it wouldn't be open the day after tomorrow? Let's close it the day after tomorrow. I think it's getting cold, and I don't think many people will eat there tomorrow."

We can only sell about ten servings a day now.