Started as a thatched house and ended up as a female figure

The fifth day of May is the Zongzi Festival.

There was no joy and bustle as Cheng Wan imagined, and no one was visiting relatives.

Every family just eats the rice dumplings made in advance at noon, and the Zongzi Festival is over.

The people of Jiajia Village focus their attention and energy on harvesting wheat.

For farmers, nothing is more important than the work in the fields.

That's about the family's food rations and income.

Starting from the fifth day of May, the Cheng family, like other families in Jiajia Village, was busy with the summer harvest.

By the time the summer harvest is over and the soybeans are put into the ground, it’s already early June.

The orange sunset dyed the sky red. In the small courtyard of the Cheng family, everyone in the Cheng family was busy selling bamboo rice dumplings again after nearly a month.

This time, Cheng Erniu and others did not deliberately avoid the villagers when cutting bamboo tubes, polishing bamboo tubes and wooden plugs.

Because since the fifth day of May, when the eldest son of Village Chief Jia, Shopkeeper Jia, and his family returned to the village, the Cheng family’s business of making bamboo tube rice dumplings was immediately exposed to the villagers.

Shopkeeper Jia and his family didn't have any good intentions. They spread the news throughout the village and only spoke to Village Chief Jia and his family.

But who doesn’t have someone who loves to gossip?

Within two days, the news of the Cheng family selling bamboo tube rice dumplings in the county town spread throughout the village.

If everyone hadn't been busy with farm work during this period, I'm afraid many people would have come to inquire.

Cheng Wan wiped the water on her hands with a handkerchief and said, "Just make this much glutinous rice today. If you make too much, I might not be able to sell it all tomorrow."

Having personally experienced the busy farming period during this period, Cheng Wan truly felt that the hardships she endured by getting up early every day and traveling to the county town to sell bamboo rice dumplings were nothing at all.

The pricking wheat awns, the bent waist, the beads of sweat falling to the ground, the blazing sun hanging in the sky...

Cheng Wan still feels uncomfortable when thinking about this now.

If it weren't for the fact that the cooling ice packs and sunscreen spray in the delivery cabinet could be used secretly for convenience, Cheng Wan would have really wanted to give up the job.

Although Cheng Wan was an orphan in modern times, he grew up in an orphanage in the city. Later, he studied law at university and knew little about farming.

After experiencing the summer harvest again this time, Cheng Wan felt that she should just think of business ideas. Farming was really not suitable for her.

Moreover, ordinary farmers in ancient times earned too little income from farming, or no income at all. It was not easy to fill their stomachs.

Take the Cheng family for example.

The Cheng family has a total of four and a half acres of land. If the year is good like this year, each acre of land can produce an average of 1,780 kilograms of grain.

The output of these four and a half acres of land cannot satisfy the Cheng family at all, let alone the taxes levied by the court.

No wonder everyone in the Cheng family was skinnier than the last.

How can I not lose weight if I don’t have enough food all year round?

As for the bad years.

Then it's not about starvation, it's about starving to death.

Mrs. Lin and the others were busy with the work in hand while discussing the important things to do next.

Build a house, build a house, find a matchmaker.

This is about getting Cheng Daping a wife.

Cheng Wan didn't say anything about Cheng Daping being too young and he should marry a wife when he is older.

First, as a younger sister, Mrs. Lin and Cheng Daniu had the final say when it came to marrying their eldest brother.

Secondly, Cheng Daping was already sixteen years old. In this dynasty, fifteen-year-olds became adults. At the age of sixteen, it was indeed time to get a wife.

Cheng Wan feels that if you don't have the ability to change the environment, it's best to do things that adapt to the environment.

Like Cheng Daping, if he doesn't get a wife, he will be gossiped behind his back.

Cheng Wan listened to Mrs. Lin's chat and thought about the business she would do next.

Once the Zongzi Festival is over, the bamboo tube rice dumpling business will no longer be as hot as it was in those days.

Next, if you can earn dozens of copper coins every day, it will be considered very good.

At this rate, Cheng Wan couldn't imagine that it would be the Year of the Monkey and the Horse and the Moon before she could live the life she wanted to live openly.

Cheng Wan planned to leave the bamboo rice dumpling stall to Cheng Erniu, while she wanted to try another business.

tofu.

Thinking of tofu, Cheng Wan couldn't help but sigh in her heart again: "Tofu, what a delicious thing, there is no tofu here!"

Cheng Wan discovered, or realized, that there was no tofu here on the day the Cheng family started growing beans.

That day.

Early in the morning, after everyone in the Cheng family finished eating, they each carried their things and prepared to go to the ground.

While Cheng Wan was waiting for Mrs. Lin to lock the door, she casually opened a sack and saw the soybeans inside.

Cheng Wan casually asked Mrs. Lin, "Nai, how do you eat these soybeans? Press for oil? But isn't the oil we eat all lard?"

Forgive me that Cheng Wan doesn't know much about these crops. She only knows that soybeans can be used to extract oil, grow bean sprouts, grind soy milk, and make tofu, but she doesn't know anything else.

As Mrs. Lin walked, she lowered her head and fastened the key firmly on her belt.

Now the house is different from the past. There are silver ingots and many good things. The door has to be locked when no one is home.

Mrs. Lin patted the key and then answered Cheng Wan's question, "What kind of oil is extracted? Our family can't afford the oil extracted from beans. It is a rare thing that only rich families and government officials eat."

Cheng Wan nodded thoughtfully, yes, the oil extraction technology in ancient times was probably not very advanced, and vegetable oil was expensive.

"Then our family grows so many soybeans and plans to sell them for money?"

Mrs. Lin frowned and looked at Cheng Wan, as if looking at a fool.

Cheng Wan twitched the corner of her mouth and silently avoided Mrs. Lin's sight.

"Our family only has four and a half acres of land in total. The harvest for a year is not enough to feed our family. Where can we sell it?"

"Don't even think about selling beans to those who extract oil from them. That won't be the turn of ordinary people like us, and people won't look down on the beans we grow."

Cheng Wan pointed to the soybeans in front of her, "Then our family grows soybeans...?"

"Don't you remember what we used to eat after the wheat was finished? Isn't it the bean rice made from soybeans?"

Cheng Wan followed Mrs. Lin with soybeans on her shoulders and asked in confusion: "Beans and rice?"

"Yes, beans and rice. It is boiled directly in water. It is similar to the method of stewing rice. You can eat it after it is cooked."

Cheng Wan tried hard to recall the appearance and taste of beans and rice, and then her face froze.

It doesn't taste very good.

"Milk, what about beans and rice? How else do we eat soybeans?"

"Let's grow bean sprouts. Didn't you just eat them a few days ago and forget about them?"

"That's not possible. I just want to ask, Nai, have you...ever seen or heard of soy milk and tofu?"

When asking this question, Cheng Wan kept her heart in mind.

She just realized that after visiting the county town so many times, she didn't see anyone selling tofu.

"Soy milk? Pulp made from ground beans? I know this. I used to use a stone mill at home to grind it for your father and your second uncle to drink, but neither of them was willing to drink it, so they haven't grind it again in these years. .”

"As for that bean at the back you're talking about, what's the bean?"

Cheng Wan was a little disappointed and said: "Tofu."

At this moment, Cheng Wan felt that her new idea of ​​selling tofu was going to go to waste.

After all, we already have soy milk, how can we do without tofu?

Mrs. Lin turned her head, with a confused look on her face, "What is tofu? It sounds like it's made from beans, too?"

Cheng Wan's heart was pounding uncontrollably.

"It's made of beans, white, maybe a little yellow, and lumpy. Have you seen milk?"

Mrs. Lin frowned and thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"No, I have never seen anything like what you said in my entire life."

"Maybe it's something that wealthy people eat? Where did you hear about this?"

Cheng Wan laughed and said what he knew accidentally.

From that day on, Cheng Wan began to inquire about tofu, consciously or unconsciously.

Finally got the exact answer.

I dare not say that in other places, at least there is no tofu in Qingyuan County.

There was no way, there was no Internet in ancient times, the information that ordinary rural people could know was too limited, and few people had been to places outside the county.

Cheng Wan thought about going to the county town tomorrow. If she could meet Xu Zhinian, she might be able to ask her.

Moreover, the gift Cheng Wan had prepared, the pearl earrings, had not yet been given to Xu Zhinian.