Chapter 80: Why Didn't You Call Us?

What is brine?

Also known as 'bitter brine' or 'alkali', it is the residual liquid left in salt ponds after salt production, which crystallizes upon cooling and evaporation.①

To put it more simply, it's a byproduct made from the waste materials of traditional salt-making methods.

In the Daqian Dynasty, or even in Sang Luo's original era, it wasn’t rare for impoverished families to be unable to afford salt, especially during times of war, heavy taxation, and hardship when even basic food was scarce. During such times, the demand for brine among the lower class increased significantly.

Humans cannot survive without salt, so what do people eat as a substitute when they can't afford salt?

There are three alternatives: nitrate salt, potassium salt, and brine.

In their struggle to survive, people have come up with various methods to create these substitutes. The first, nitrate salt, is obtained in a rather unpleasant way – from the stones used in ancient dry toilets.

The second is potassium salt, which is somewhat better. It is made by soaking wood ash in water and then boiling it to produce potassium salt, which tastes similar to sodium salt.②

The most normal alternative is brine.

There are two sources of brine. One is to search the mountains for stones licked by animals, which are usually salt-containing, and boil them to produce brine. Sang Luo, naturally, has never seen this, as she dares not venture deep into the mountains. In her regular haunts, aside from small animals like rabbits, pheasants, snakes, and insects, she hasn't encountered larger animals or such stones.

The other source is to buy it. Salt shop owners usually have some brine, a byproduct of salt production with almost no cost, which they sell at a low price.

Compared to table salt, this brine is indeed very cheap. I bought two large pieces for just a few coins. Of course, consuming too much of it can be harmful to the body; moderation is key.

I, Sang Luo, am fortunately not so impoverished as to be unable to afford salt. There's a well-known saying among our people: "Use brine to curdle tofu – each has its counterpart."

This brine is obtained by diluting the salt brine. It is an excellent coagulant for tofu-making; just a tiny amount is needed for a large pot of tofu.

There are two types of tofu: soft (southern) tofu and firm (northern) tofu. The soft tofu I previously made using gypsum is what's known as southern tofu. The brine I purchased today will be used to make firm tofu, also known as northern tofu.

Previously, Shen An was very worried that our household’s income would decrease without our special "Immortal Tofu."

Indeed, though the demand for regular tofu increased slightly without the special tofu, the overall quantity sold cannot compare to having two varieties available. These past few days, the three households have been buying noticeably fewer pieces of tofu than before.

When I was collecting Immortal Tree leaves with Shen An, I mentioned that I had a plan. This plan, of course, was not about the discovered jujubes, but about diversifying our tofu offerings.

Since we already have soft tofu, I decided to add firm tofu and soybean paste to our range.

The two large pieces of brine will last me for quite a long time.

After that, I went to various pharmacies in the county. There are three in total, and I visited each to buy several spices needed for making marinated soybean products. With that, my tasks in the county were complete, and I headed home.

……

Shen An and Shen Ning were particularly anxious today. Without Immortal Tree leaves to gather, they no longer needed to roam around selling wild vegetables. There are konjac and sour dates to be found in more distant mountains, but without my lead, they wouldn’t venture out there. Moreover, at least one of them needed to stay home to guard the house.

After I left, Shen An found his own tasks, such as harvesting the third crop of ramie in the areas surrounding the village. He would cut unclaimed wild ramie and carry bundles of it home. Meanwhile, Shen Ning would sit at home stripping the ramie fibers.

After carrying enough ramie for most of the morning, Shen An stopped and joined his sister in stripping the fibers. They occasionally glanced towards the mountain path I usually take when returning from the county.

They wondered if I was able to sell all that jujube sugar I made today.

Their longing looks seemed to pierce through the autumn air.

Sang Luo, carrying her load, finally came into the siblings' view. Shen An and Shen Ning instantly sprang up, and upon seeing their elder sister carrying two fully laden baskets, they rushed over to help.

Only upon approaching and hearing what Sang Luo said did they realize that the baskets were full of cotton!

It was all cotton!!!

"Elder sister, did you sell all the sugar?" Shen An asked.

The only explanation Shen An and Shen Ning could think of was that their elder sister must have sold all the sugar to be able to buy so much cotton.

Sang Luo smiled, "All sold! Just a few more days, and we can start making a quilt."

Shen An and Shen Ning jubilantly cheered on the spot, thrilled at the prospect of a warm winter with their new quilts.

The siblings wanted to help Sang Luo, but found the bags of cotton securely tied to the carrying pole, so they simply walked happily alongside her towards their home.

As Sang Luo arrived at their place, she saw more than a dozen bundles of ramie laid on the stone path outside their yard.

Surprised, she asked the siblings, "Did you cut these?"

Shen Ning, pointing at Shen An, answered with a smile, "Big brother cut them."

Shen An praised his sister, "And Ning watched the house and stripped the ramie."

“We may be young and not very strong, but we do what we can to contribute to our household.”

Touched by their efforts, Sang Luo's eyes crinkled in warmth as she affectionately ruffled Shen Ning's hair, "You're both doing wonderfully!"

After entering the yard with her load, the chatty siblings followed, bombarding her with questions, particularly curious about how the sugar sold so quickly.

Sang Luo didn't keep business secrets from the children. She briefly explained that she sold the sugar to Yongfengzhai and added, “From now on, our crystal fruit and black sugar will be sent there.”

Shen An and Shen Ning, still young, didn't understand how coveted a sugar-making recipe could be. All they knew was that people were waiting to buy their products even before they were made, and that as long as they could produce, they could earn money. This meant their elder sister wouldn't have to toil with early departures and late returns, hawking goods through the streets and alleys, which made them very happy.

Shen An was especially eager for his elder sister to rest a bit and then take him back into the mountains to collect sour dates and hackberry fruits.

However, Sang Luo declined, smiling, "Let’s not go into the mountains right now. We need to prepare to make a new food item."

The siblings were puzzled, "What new food?"

Sang Luo answered with a smile, "It's tofu, but a different kind. You’ll know more about it later. I need to visit Chen A'nai (Grandma Chen) first."

……

To make seasoned dried tofu and firm tofu, the existing tofu molds and pressing boards clearly wouldn't suffice. These more detailed carpentry tasks were beyond Sang Luo's capabilities, prompting her to visit the Chen family to ask for Chen You Tian's assistance.

The news of creating new styles and flavors of tofu delighted the elderly Chen couple. New food, especially tofu-related, almost certainly meant that Sang Luo would involve them in selling it. This meant the potential for earning more money each day.

Grandma Chen's eyes crinkled in joy as she instructed Chen You Tian to grab his tools and help Sang Luo.

The frames and pressing boards needed for firm tofu were similar to those for soft tofu. However, producing seasoned dried tofu didn't require frames, but rather many boards.

So, after hearing about the quantity Sang Luo planned to make, Chen You Tian went to the Shi and Lu families, enlisting Shi Erlang, Lu Dalang, and Lu Sanlang to join him in cutting down trees in the mountains.

Sang Luo didn't need to worry about the follow-up tasks. As her family regularly produced various items, Chen You Tian even decided not to work at Sang Luo's home to avoid any semblance of impropriety. Instead, he chose to complete the tasks at his own home before delivering them to Sang Luo.

After all, he was well-acquainted with the work and didn't need Sang Luo to check the dimensions constantly.

Since tree felling was required, Sang Luo somewhat sheepishly asked Chen You Tian to also make two sets of shelving units for storing items in the kitchen.

The dried devil's tongue jelly slices needed to be sealed in jars for preservation. Additionally, the surplus soybeans from the daily goods exchange with the three families were being accumulated by Sang Luo in the leftover grain bags. She had already saved two large bags.

Soybeans are prone to pests, so Sang Luo dared not store them with the grains. Currently, both items were stacked against the wall farthest from the two main stoves in the kitchen. With more items being accumulated, such stacking was not a sustainable solution.

Chen You Tian readily agreed to help. Not to mention anything else, the regular tofu orders from Dong Fu Lou alone were practically gifts from Sang Luo to his family. Assisting with these minor tasks was the least he could do.

He first constructed fifteen square and sturdy wooden boards as per Sang Luo's request. These were essential for making pressed dried tofu. Each batch required one base board and four identical pressing boards. The fifteen boards were just enough for making three batches of pressed tofu.

While discussing the carpentry work with Chen You Tian, Shen Ning also came to the Chen family's home, intending to invite Little Ya to her house for some sugary water.

The sugar residues from the two jars Sang Luo brought back had been meticulously scraped out by the siblings. For the parts they couldn't scrape, they poured hot boiling water into the jars, swishing it around, resulting in two and a half jars of sugary water.

Such sugary water, a luxury even in cities, let alone the countryside, was abundant in their household – so much so that even if all three family members drank it together, they couldn't finish it in a day. Naturally, they thought of sharing it with their friends.

After informing Little Ya, Shen Ning wondered if they should also call over Chen Ershan.

Okay then, Chen Ershan is older now and doesn’t follow around the younger kids just because he craves treats. Shen Ning called him, but he didn’t come.

They also needed to inform Hu Zi and Er Niu, who were good friends with her brother. Since Hu Zi and Er Niu had siblings, it wouldn’t be fair to leave them out.

Although Shen Ning didn't know the term "play favorites," she was well aware that these were all friends who frequently helped their family. The treats had to be distributed evenly.

Therefore, while Chen You Tian and Sang Luo’s families were busy with tree-felling, Shen Ning, accompanied by Little Ya, went around inviting kids from nearby homes to come and enjoy sugary water at their place.

She didn’t mention that the sugar was homemade, only that her sister-in-law had bought a little for her and her brother, and she wanted to share it with everyone who helped pave the road last time.

The kids lived nearby, and as Shen Ning went from house to house, it was inevitable that she passed by her third uncle’s house. Hearing about the sugary treat, the children, although not shouting it out loud, excitedly whispered the news to each other – a common scene among kids.

Like Shen Jin, Shen Yin, and Shen Tie.

The three brothers thought for sure that Shen Ning must have some tasty treats.

Shen Jin pursed his lips, watching Shen Ning visiting several homes, but she never glanced their way.

Shen Yin, peering into their house and not seeing their parents, quietly asked, “Third brother, didn’t you take some pork fat scraps over last time to share with our second brother and sister? Didn’t they say they would call us if they had something to eat again?”

“Why didn’t they call us then?”

Shen Tie pondered, “Should we go and stand outside?”

It seemed like it had been a very long time since their second brother and sister had set foot in their home.

Shen Jin bit his lip, looked on for quite a while, and then suddenly spoke up: "Let's not go out. Let's go back inside."

Shen Yin and Shen Tie were perplexed: “???”

Shen Yin questioned, “Won’t that mean we definitely won’t get anything to eat?”

But ever since the family split, the two younger brothers had always just followed their older brother. Whatever Shen Jin said, they had to listen, hesitantly trailing behind him back into the house.

Shen Ning had seen Shen Jin but she deliberately chose to ignore him.

She hadn’t forgotten the last time her third aunt scolded her.

A group of children noisily rushed towards the main Shen household located on the hillside, their voices loud and boisterous.

Shen Yin and Shen Tie were somewhat dazed by it all.

The two brothers sat on small stools, looking at each other and then back at their older brother. Seeing Shen Jin engrossed in spinning a top, ignoring them completely, they both dejectedly hung their heads, silently envious as they watched the large group of children disappear into the distance.