The soy milk in the big pot was bubbling, and the aroma spread in the room.
Sun Cai sat by the stove fire, lighting the fire and getting up from time to time to skim off the foam.
"Madam, you can eat it now. Do you want to try the pulp?" He chuckled and turned to look at the woman beside him.
It had been half a day, and the woman had been sitting calmly, watching his every move without the slightest hint of impatience.
Making tofu seems easy, but it is not something you can learn by just looking at it. It requires the skill of an experienced person.
Sun Cai was a little proud and pretended to be casual.
The restaurant was not big, and the aroma spread to the front hall, and the two people sitting eating couldn't help but stop using their chopsticks.
"What else smells so good?" one said after sniffing.
The other took the sifted wine from the small stove and poured it into a bowl, drank it in large gulps, and was busy picking up the vegetables.
The cold dishes have been removed from the table, and there are two plates of hot dishes. The meat dishes now are just mutton, donkey, chicken, and duck. Beef is not allowed to be eaten, pork is not allowed on the table, and there are very few river prawns, fish, and crabs in Beijing.
But the meat dishes that were served at this time were not like the large chunks of meat stewed with cabbage, radish, etc. that are commonly used in ordinary restaurants, but neat slices of meat stir-fried with unknown ingredients. The taste was sweet and delicious, and the two of them couldn't help but talk about it.
Take off your chopsticks.
The fourth child came over with a tray.
"Sir, the soup is here," he said.
The two guests looked over and saw a deep pottery plate placed on it, with burning charcoal on the bottom. The deep plate was still churning, with a few thin noodles and handfuls of tender vegetables floating on it from time to time, and the aroma was overflowing.
.
"Is this soup cake?" the two couldn't help but ask.
"This is rice noodle soup." Lao Si smiled and took the bowls and chopsticks for the two of them to ladle out.
Rice noodles?
Quite novel!
However, since I sat in this store, everything was new and strange.
As expected of a suburb of the capital, it was indeed extraordinary, and the two guests couldn't help but smile.
"Wait a minute."
Watching Sun Cai scoop out the soy milk from the pot into a basin, pick up a wooden stick to stir it, and take the water bowl aside to drip into the basin, Cheng Jiaoniang, who had been silent all this time, spoke up.
Sun Cai was startled and almost threw the bowl into the basin.
"What are you putting here?" Cheng Jiaoniang asked.
Sun Cai chuckled.
"Madam, this is the key to the formation of tofu. Madam is smart." He said, "But even if you know it, it won't work. The key is to put more and less. Too much..."
"Bring it to me and take a look." Cheng Jiaoniang interrupted him and stretched out her hand.
Sun Cai had to take it reluctantly.
Cheng Jiaoniang took it, smelled it, and handed it to Sun Cai.
"Of course not." She said.
Sure enough, it's not what? Sun Cai was puzzled.
"Go ahead and do it." Cheng Jiaoniang said without saying more.
After picking up the last rice noodle, there was only a little soup left in the deep plate. After drinking the last bowl of wine, the two put down their bowls and chopsticks and exhaled with satisfaction.
I don't know if it's the smell of alcohol, the steam from the food, or the sweat from eating, but the two people sitting across from each other have glowing faces.
"I didn't expect such a small shop to have such exquisite food." One person laughed.
"The capital is really rich and beautiful." Another person smiled, waving for money, "I can't wait to go to the capital to see it."
The old shopkeeper came over with a smile.
"A total of money." He smiled.
One of the guests gave the money without any hesitation and stood up while looking around.
"Store, the dishes are clean and delicious, why is the business so deserted?" he asked in confusion.
"The shop is newly opened, and people don't know it yet." The old shopkeeper smiled and thought of something. He took out some money and gave it to the customer. "The two guests are travelers. Could you please make a gift for us?"
Good, it’s good to attract some popularity, hard work.”
The customer laughed. Business people pay attention to business transactions. They didn't care about the small amount of money returned by the old shopkeeper, or the magnanimity of the old shopkeeper who waved it away, but stretched out his hand to take it.
"The store knows how to do business, so you don't have to worry about good business." He smiled.
The fourth brother and the old shopkeeper personally escorted the two of them out, and another brother, the fifth brother, had already arrived with a horse.
"Enough feeding." Lao Wu said.
Looking at the horse, which was obviously shiny and slightly tired from running, the two guests nodded with satisfaction, stepped on the horse stone and got on the horse. They looked at the plaque again.
"Taipingju." One of them said, smiling and nodding.
The two men urged their horses forward, and soon they were far away.
"Shopkeeper, why do you want to charge less money from him?" Lao Si asked puzzledly, and he didn't hide it, he just asked it frankly.
The old shopkeeper was not annoyed and laughed.
"Sidong, how much should we charge for this table to make money?" he asked.
But the fourth child didn't know.
"Eight dollars is enough to make a profit." The old shopkeeper stretched out his hand and said, "Although I give him money, it's just his money to pay back his money."
"But, it's always good to earn more, right?" Lao Si asked, still puzzled.
The old shopkeeper shook his head.
"If you want to make more money, you have to be willing to make less." He said, "If you don't be greedy for more, you will get more."
The fourth child stretched out his hand and scratched his head.
"Anyway, it's the shopkeeper's decision. I'd better practice how to serve wine and food first," he said with a chuckle.
"Banqin."
Cheng Jiaoniang shouted.
The maid outside the door hurriedly responded and came in holding a paper bag.
In the room, Sun Cai had already placed a heavy stone on the tofu.
"You can eat it tomorrow." He clapped his hands and said, looking at Cheng Jiaoniang with some relief, "This is making tofu. It requires not only dexterity but also physical strength."
Cheng Jiaoniang nodded.
"You do it again," she said.
Sun Cai's hand slipped while he was standing on the wooden frame and he almost fell.
"Make it again?" he asked with a glare, "Madam, these tofu can't be kept for a long time, and no one will eat them after they are made. After all, they are beans, so they are ruined."
"If you don't waste it for a while, you will waste it forever." Cheng Jiaoniang said, taking the paper package handed by the maid, "You can do it yourself, I won't let you do it in vain."
Sun Cai curled his lips.
"Okay, as long as the lady likes it," he said.
Although I can't sell myself to be free and stable, I can still make some money by playing with this lady, so I should focus on my current livelihood first.
Here, Sun Cai took the soaked beans and grinded them. Occasionally, he took a look and saw that the woman was not staring at him like last time. Instead, she was asking the maid to fetch water and take a basin. She didn't know what she was doing.
Just do whatever you want. Sun Cai was busy. After a while, he had boiled the soy milk and poured it out. He sniffed, rubbed his aching arms, took the wooden stick and started stirring. When he picked up the water again,
When I was eating the bowl, I was stopped by Cheng Jiaoniang again.
"This time, let this go." Cheng Jiaoniang said.
The maid brought a water bowl over.
"That's not okay." Sun Cai shook his head and waved his hands and said, "Madam, this is not for fun, there are rules for everything."
"Let it go if you are told." The maid said, "Why is it so wordy?"
Sun Cai hissed and sucked in the cold air, helpless.
"That's okay, that's okay, I've said it first. If you don't follow my instructions, you won't be able to make tofu," he said.
"Okay, don't think too highly of yourself." The maid snorted and handed him the water bowl.
Sun Cai reluctantly took it and looked at the water bowl. It was completely different from his own. He couldn't help but smell it. There was a strange yet familiar smell.
What's this?
He couldn't help but think about it.
"Pour it down," the maid urged.
Sun Cai came to his senses and continued to move. After a while, another piece of tofu was placed on top of the stone.
It's almost evening.
Cheng Jiaoniang said nothing else, said goodbye to Xu Maoxiu and others, and took the car back. When she entered the Zhou house, it was already brightly lit.
"Madam, the water is boiled. I'm going to get some clothes to change." The maid said as she walked through the door, her steps couldn't help but pause.
A few unfamiliar maids were sitting on the porch. They smiled and saluted busily when they saw them.
"My wife is back," they said.
The maid looked surprised. She looked at them and then looked into the room. She saw a few bundles placed in the middle. The furnishings in the room were different from when they left.
"Who let you enter my wife's house!" she shouted with raised eyebrows, and quickly walked over and entered the house.
Sure enough, all the bedding and clothes hangers had been put away, a few cases had been removed, and the pen, ink, paper and inkstone were all gone.
"What is this for? Who touches a woman's things?" she shouted.
The maid smiled calmly, calmly, and saluted Cheng Jiaoniang again.
"Madam, this house is a bit old. Now that the spring rain is coming, I'm afraid it will be inconvenient. Madam asked me to repair it, so I invite you to live in the house first, and then move back after the repairs are completed." A woman said with a smile.
The maid was stunned and in disbelief.
Are you trying to drive them away? (To be continued)
