Chapter 50

What seemed like a simple task turned out to be far from easy. After more than half an hour, Shen An's hands were sore, and he had only sawn through less than a third of the cutting board.

The little man was taken aback.

Sang Luo then took over with a smile: “Here, let me give you a break.”

They took turns, each working for fifteen minutes. Even Shen Ning gave it a try. After spending more than half an hour, they finally managed to saw off the cutting board. The trio inspected their work – surprisingly decent?

Shen An and Shen Ning were thrilled, the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction from participating in making the cutting board was indescribable. As it was already evening, their eyes sparkled with excitement as they urged Sang Luo: “Big sister, let's make dinner.”

Sang Luo glanced at the sky, finding it a reasonable idea. She gathered the sun-dried sour jujube cakes and stored them in the now-empty jar, then started preparing the evening meal.

The advantage of having two stoves became apparent: one for cooking rice and the other for making soup and other dishes, significantly speeding up the process. However, when it came to chopping vegetables, the good cutting board met its match with the bamboo knife. It required a clever combination of technique and strength – an oxymoron? Not really.

You needed to pierce the eggplant skin with the knife's pointed end – that's where finesse was needed. But to actually break through the skin, a fair bit of force was essential.

“What our household really needs now is a water jar and a kitchen knife.”

Both items were not cheap, especially the kitchen knife. Ironware was expensive at the time.

Sang Luo felt the weight of her nearly empty coin pouch at her waist. Probably less than ten coins left. Tomorrow’s earnings from selling fairy tofu and sour jujube cakes might add up to over four hundred wen. But buying both a water jar and a kitchen knife would exhaust all her current and future savings. Without a water jar, a wooden barrel could suffice for now, but even buying just a kitchen knife might deplete all her funds.

"We have guests to entertain the day after tomorrow, so I need to save some money for buying vegetables, right?"

Sang Luo's gaze inadvertently shifted to the stone mill in the kitchen.

Shen An had been curious about the purpose of the stone mill ever since it was brought home.

But his sister had been relentlessly busy since her return, with a myriad of tasks ranging from buying poultry to setting up the new bed, arranging straw and mats, and then constructing duck nests, chicken coops, and cutting boards. They had almost forgotten about the stone mill amidst all these activities.

Now, seeing Sang Luo glancing towards the stone mill while contemplating the purchase of a kitchen knife, Shen An remembered his curiosity.

"Big sister, why did we buy that stone mill?"

Sang Luo smiled, "To make money."

She patted Shen An's shoulder, "Today, I'll make another delicious dish for you, but it might be ready only by midnight."

With the children's curious and expectant eyes on her, she took down a bag of soybeans hanging from the kitchen's beam.

Shen An knew that his sister had a special plan for those soybeans. They had been waiting for so long without any clue, and today they finally saw her taking it out. The siblings exchanged glances and moved closer.

"Big sister, are you going to use those soybeans with the stone mill to make food?"

Sang Luo nodded with a smile, "Yes."

Shen An and Shen Ning were somewhat bewildered. They had eaten soybeans before; during times of food scarcity, it was a staple, but soybean rice wasn't very tasty, especially compared to regular rice. When there was enough food, soybeans were just another dish, used in making sauces. What else could they possibly be used for?

Sang Luo hadn't mentioned this, but in recent days, she mainly sold her goods at the county market, mostly transacting with copper coins rather than bartering. The soybeans she currently had were those exchanged from selling her signature 'Immortal Tofu' at various villages, amounting to a total of five sheng (liters).

For a market stall, this amount of soybeans wasn't much. Sang Luo poured them all into a bucket, then took it to the mountain spring to rinse the beans twice. After cleaning, she refilled the bucket with water and carried it back to the kitchen.

Shen An and Shen Ning followed her throughout this process, somewhat confused.

Seeing their puzzled expressions, Sang Luo smiled, "We'll let the beans soak for two hours and focus on cooking dinner for now."

Despite her secretive approach, the siblings refrained from asking further and instead assisted with meal preparation.

Sang Luo always took great care when cooking, meticulously cutting eggplants into thick slices and then into finger-thick strips, even with a less-than-sharp knife. She then put the eggplant strips in a bowl, sprinkled some salt, and tossed them to draw out the moisture.

Properly treating eggplants like this was crucial in home cooking to ensure a tender texture without excessive oil. Sang Luo believed the variety and cultivation of eggplants played a significant role in their taste, recalling the difference between store-bought and home-grown eggplants from her previous life.

She mused that many products in cities seemed hastily grown and couldn't match the quality of those cultivated in rural areas.

After mixing the eggplants with salt, she called the kids to gather some wild green onions and wild chives.

Living in the mountains, they never lacked wild vegetables, especially now that they weren't relying on them for sustenance like before. The previously harvested spots had regrown, making it unnecessary to explore further hillsides.

A short trip outdoors, and each of them returned with a handful of greens.

They mostly gathered chives, along with a handful of mint leaves from the plants they had transplanted near their house.

After washing the greens at the mountain spring, Sang Luo fetched a clove of garlic from beneath the wooden counter, chopped it, and set it aside.

By then, the eggplants were ready. She placed a tofu-filtering cloth in an empty pot, transferred the eggplants into it, wrapped them up, and squeezed out the excess moisture. Then, she instructed Shen Ning to light the stove for cooking.

Shen Ning watched closely, tending the fire and asking about anything she didn't understand. Together, they prepared a simple dinner of eggplant roasted with mint, scrambled eggs with wild chives, and a side of dandelion – the latter being extra from the chicken foraging. They served the meal on a small square table made by Chen You Tian.

After dinner, Sang Luo and the two children gathered the surplus thick bamboo branches from the previous day and that afternoon, moving them to the backyard vegetable garden. Now with chickens, they needed to build a bamboo fence to protect the plants.

Building the fence was much simpler than constructing the chicken coop, and both Shen An and Shen Ning could help, though it was time-consuming.

By nightfall, they had only completed half of the fence.

It became too dark to see, so Sang Luo stopped working. Considering the chickens and ducks in the backyard, and the potential for attracting snakes or rodents, she decided to sprinkle the bag of snake repellent powder given by the elderly Mrs. Chen along the perimeter of their house.

Now, they could sleep peacefully knowing their poultry was protected.

The powder, made of various herbs, was safe for humans and poultry alike. Mrs. Chen had provided a large bag, seeing how frequently Sang Luo used it.

As usual, Sang Luo made fairy tofu at night. However, this time, while waiting for the second batch to set, she began making tofu with Shen An and Shen Ning after the beans had soaked sufficiently.

The siblings followed the entire process, not only tasting soy milk but also witnessing how their sister-in-law magically transformed the liquid into solid tofu, just like when she first made fairy tofu.

After working most of the night, they each enjoyed a bowl of sweet tofu brain.

Just when they thought the process was complete, they realized there was more: scooping the tofu into a wooden frame lined with cheesecloth, placing a board and a heavy stone on top. About half an hour later, they watched in anticipation as Sang Luo removed the stone and board, revealing the set tofu.

Like the fairy tofu, it had solidified into blocks.

While amazed by what they saw, they also felt it shouldn't be surprising, given their sister-in-law's previous successes with fairy tofu and sour jujube cake.

"It's done. I made a small batch today, but I'll take it all to the county for sale tomorrow morning. After the feast at home the day after tomorrow, I'll make some tofu dishes for you to enjoy."

Shen An and Shen Ning, nodding like pounding garlic, wondered how tofu made from soybeans would taste compared to fairy tofu.

The anticipation for the feast day was already building among them, even though it hadn't arrived yet.

Sang Luo inspected the three blocks of tofu she had made and was very pleased with their quality, finding them no less than what was sold in supermarkets.

She used a bamboo knife to cut each block into sixteen pieces, totaling forty-eight pieces from all three blocks.

After covering the tofu with cloth again, she pondered how to price it – two or three coins per piece?

The cost was surprisingly low. Five liters of soybeans cost only twenty coins, so selling the tofu at two coins per piece was quite profitable. Forty-eight pieces would bring in ninety-six coins, netting a seventy-six coin profit after deducting the cost.

The cost of gypsum used as a coagulant was negligible.

With more experience and skill, she knew she could produce even more tofu from one liter of soybeans in the future, but for now, these were her calculations.

With the limited quantity she made today, she planned to sell all the tofu herself tomorrow, ensuring a full ninety-six coins in earnings. Sang Luo calculated that this should cover the cost of a chicken and a duck for the feast, while meat and eggs could be purchased fresh on the 25th. Given the busy farming season, the market wouldn't be crowded, and she could supplement her income by selling tofu and 'Immortal Tofu' in various villages.

She felt confident she could earn enough to buy some meat and eggs, while keeping some tofu and relying on vegetables provided by neighbors for the feast.

This planning brought her peace of mind.

After a busy day, she enjoyed a relaxing bath in her new bathtub, ensuring the chickens and ducks were fine before preparing to sleep.

Both Shen An and Shen Ning were too excited to sleep early, staying up late with Sang Luo.

Shen An, having had his fill of the new bed during the day, chose to sleep on the old bed, offering the new one to his sister and Sang Luo.

Sang Luo declined, preferring to sleep in her usual spot and suggesting Shen Ning could sleep on the new bed if she wanted to.

She liked her corner spot and the privacy provided by a curtain. The sleeping arrangement of the siblings sharing a bed was acceptable for their age in rural areas. Next year, she planned to level the adjacent hillside to extend their living space, adding two more rooms so each child could have their own.

Assured that she genuinely preferred her old bed, both siblings eagerly hopped onto the new bed together.

Shen Ning, fond of staying close to Sang Luo, rushed to the new bed but didn't forget to promise her: "Sister-in-law, I'll just sleep in the new bed tonight, and I'll come back to sleep with you tomorrow."

Sang Luo chuckled at this: "You don't need to keep me company, I sleep quite comfortably alone. You go enjoy the new bed."

Though a bit disappointed by this response, Shen Ning was more enticed by the new bed at the moment and cheerfully dashed to it, thinking to deal with tomorrow when it comes.

Shen An, understanding his role as a boy, knew it wasn't appropriate to crowd in with his sister and sister-in-law. He didn't say anything but the calm demeanor he maintained all afternoon, especially after declaring himself a young man, completely collapsed as he joyfully tumbled around on the new bed and bedding.

After their fun, the siblings each pulled out an old piece of clothing to cover their stomachs, improvising a blanket.

Observing this, Sang Luo made a mental note that their home still lacked two sets of pillows and blankets, and perhaps an oil lamp would be useful too. Depending on moonlight and the fire from the stove was workable, but not convenient.

She then lay down herself.

For the first time since crossing over, Sang Luo had the luxury of sleeping alone on a bed. Reveling in the comfort, she stretched out her arms and legs, then happily rolled over, understanding the children's joy in tumbling on the bed.

Seeing their sister-in-law rolling on her bed, Shen An and Shen Ning watched from their bed, filled with laughter.