Whose farming family has the male protagonist giving three piglets as a gift at the beginning?

Seeing that they had almost picked up everything, Mr. Su didn't squat down to join them.

Looking at the soapberries in the basket, he frowned and spoke after a long while, "I think I've seen this somewhere."

"Ah?" Su Ziling stood up, "Have you seen Grandpa?"

Mr. Su nodded, "I have some impression, I seem to have seen it somewhere." After thinking for a moment, he shook his head, "I really can't remember where I saw it. I'll tell you when I remember it. Is this thing worth it?"

In the eyes of the older generation, these things have two uses: one is that they can be eaten, and the other is that they are valuable and can be exchanged for food.

"It's valuable. It can be considered a medicinal herb, but it will be even more valuable if made into soap!" Su Ziling was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.

Mr. Su didn't know what soap was, but he knew it was valuable. He stroked his mustache and said, "I'll go back and think about it. I remember where I saw it."

"Okay, okay, they're all gone! We can go home now." Father Su clapped his hands, his eyes still scanning the ground, trying not to miss any.

Father Su took the backpack and said, "Give it to me. Be careful, the slope is slippery."

He walked in front and did not forget to turn back and help Su's mother.

After leaving the mountain, the sun had begun to set. Grandpa Su cut two bundles of grass, tied them directly to a rack and had the cows carry them back.

"Grandma! We are back!"

Su Ziling started yelling before the door was even opened.

As soon as the door opened, Grandma Su shook her head and laughed, "What good things did you pick up today?"

"Ah?" Su Ziling didn't raise his eyebrows. "Grandma, how did you know that I found something good?"

"This is easy. She found something good and started shouting before she even entered the house. Her voice was full of joy. On ordinary days, she would push open the door before shouting, and her voice would be weak." Grandma Su explained.

"Ah? So obvious?" Su Ziling grinned, "But I really found something good today, look, grandma!"

Grandma Su looked at the half basket of things in a daze for a long time, then slowly looked at her, "What is this?"

Su Ziling: "..."

It seems like you don’t even recognize me?

Seeing that she was looking at it seriously, Su Ziling thought she knew what it was. "Soapberry can be used to make soap, and can be used to wash clothes and hair."

With Grandpa Su and the others around, it was naturally not her turn to carry the ox saddle.

Su Ziling brought over a winnowing basket, took out the wild vegetables, and poured all the soapberries into the basket.

"Soap?" Grandma Su murmured softly, "I know this. It's used by wealthy families. It washes clothes very clean and leaves a nice scent. Can you make this?"

"Of course!" Su Ziling raised his chin slightly, with a bit of pride on his face.

She moved a stool and sat next to Su's grandmother, and began to peel soapberries. She said to Su's mother who was washing her hands, "Mother, you come and make dinner. I'll take care of this."

"Okay, what do you want to eat?" Su's mother responded.

After being exposed to the sun all day, she felt thirsty, so she put down the dustpan and drank some well water.

"There are radishes in the backyard, let's make some shredded radishes, stir-fry the wild vegetables we brought back today with some garlic and chili peppers, and make some mint and egg soup. I saved two pieces of bean powder from the morning, add some vinegar and mix it together, and then make some bacon and stir-fry the wild garlic?"

Su Ziling actually started ordering dishes.

"Okay, let's eat some vegetable steamed bread as the staple food. We have a lot of wild vegetables anyway," Su's mother agreed. "By the way, I see that purslane has sprouted again. It's growing quite well. We've almost eaten all the ones we dried last year, so we need to make more this year."

"If you want to eat it now, you can pick some and bring it back. If you want to make pickled mustard greens, you have to wait until June or July, when the purslane tastes its best."

The dried vegetables and purslane pickled plums that we dried last year were particularly popular, and all those made over the winter were eaten up.

Especially purslane pickled mustard greens, which tastes especially good when used to make preserved vegetable braised pork.

"June or July? That's fine too. I just passed by that day and saw a few plants growing well." Su's mother was busy at the stove, and her voice came out softly.

"How do you do this? Just peel it and it will be fine. Do you want the shell or the core?" Grandma Su was sitting next to them watching.

"Yes, just peel it off, especially the outer shell." Su Ziling took one out and demonstrated to her.

"After peeling them tonight, we can make soap tomorrow. No, we also need to buy some lard so that we can make oil."

"We still have lard at home, enough for us to eat. No need to buy more." Sua's nails were weak, so she took a pair of scissors, cut the soapberry a little, and then peeled it out with her hands.

Su Ziling smiled and said, "It's not for eating, it's for making soap."

"Lard can be used to make soap?" She had never heard of this before.

"Tea oil can also be used, but the problem is that it is hard to come by and is much more expensive than lard. Lard is still the most cost-effective."

The grandparents and grandchildren sat in the yard, chatting in low voices while peeling soapberries.

When they were halfway through peeling the fruits, Su Zizhong and his companions came back. They carried two bundles of firewood and picked some wild vegetables.

Their family uses up firewood very quickly. They need firewood for cooking at home, setting up stalls in the valley, and even in the restaurant. If they don't pick up firewood on weekdays, the firewood they cut every day is not enough to burn for a year.

"Zi Zhong is back?" Grandma Su looked up and said, "Don't come back so late next time. Go home quickly after closing the stall. If there is not enough firewood, the whole family can go up the mountain to collect some. It's dark now and you can't even see the road."

"Okay, I see. We didn't go into the mountains. We just picked up some on the roadside." Su Zizhong put the firewood away and walked to the well to wash his face.

He and the twenty-one people moved a stool around and said, "Grandma, let me do it. You take a rest."

Su Zizhong took the scissors from her hand and started peeling the fruits like Su Ziling did.

"Are you planning to make soap?" Twenty looked at it for a long time before he remembered what it was.

"Huh? You knew?" Su Ziling's voice rose slightly, with a hint of surprise in his tone.

Twenty scratched his head. "I've heard of soapberry, but I don't know how to make it specifically. I didn't expect you to know how to do it."

“Before…” Su Ziling closed his mouth. He had done it in his previous life, but at that time he had soda ash and a scale to accurately control the amount. Now, he didn’t know if he could do it.

Su Zizhong didn't hear the second half of her sentence, so he looked at her curiously, "What about before?"

Su Ziling smiled and said, "Nothing. I know how to do it, but I haven't done it yet, so I don't know if it will work."

With the addition of Su Zizhong and Ershi, the soapberries were quickly peeled.

Su's mother's meal was not yet cooked. Seeing that there was still time, Su Ziling climbed up to the cowshed and pulled down a bundle of straw.

Without soda ash, she had to make it herself.

Wood ash can be used to extract soda ash. The best materials to use are rice straw and legume stalks. Su Ziling happened to have pea stalks at home, so he was afraid that it would not work the first time, so he simply burned more.