Ancient Imperial Examination Daily

Chapter 102

"It's really... Concerned about chaos!" Qi Bokun smiled wryly and shook his head.

He has been an official all his life, and he is still the Minister of the Ministry of Officials. He is very good at insight into people's hearts.But this thought, he only put it on thinking about others.For his grandson, who he regrets the most, he really didn't think about it so much besides being full of love.

"Okay, I got it. I won't mention that, just please take care of Qi Muyuan." Qi Bokun stood up, cupped his hands and bowed to Du Jinning.

Du Jinning was startled, and quickly jumped off the chair to avoid it, complaining: "Grandpa Qi, are you trying to shorten my life? I just promised to take care of your grandson, and you just repay your kindness like this?"

"Hahaha..." Qi Bokun laughed loudly and waved his hands, "Okay, okay, I was wrong again."

He got up, wrapped all the snacks on the table, and stuffed them into Du Jinning's arms; "It's getting late, and I won't let you eat. You can take this snack and eat it on the road. Let's have a long life, and it will be useful in the future." Where Grandpa Qi is, you just have to open your mouth, don't be polite."

"Thank you, Grandpa Qi." Du Jinning didn't refuse the package of dim sum, and left with his hands up.

"After you buy something, go to the teahouse. The carriage that Xiaoyuan left for you is always there, waiting to take you back." Qi Bokun urged again.

"Thank you."

It was really late at this time, and it seemed that it was the time for Zhang Hongwen to go to school.If there is no Qi family's carriage to send him off, Du Jinning has to go to the place where Zheng Lin is waiting for the carriage immediately.But now that she has a carriage, she is not in a hurry. She asked the way first, went to the market, found a grocery store, and bought some spices such as star anise, sand ginger, cinnamon bark, and grass fruit.Seeing soy sauce, she made another catty of soy sauce.This thing is quite expensive, and it cost her fifty yuan to put it in a small bamboo tube; you know, she bought a bag of spices, and it only cost thirty yuan.

"Do you have any bittern here?" she asked the grocer.

The guy was taken aback: "Brine? What is it?" Then he shook his head, "No."

"Do you want brine?" A middle-aged man happened to come in, and when he heard Du Jinning's question, he smiled and said, "Coincidentally, a businessman from the north came over the day before yesterday and sold this thing. No one here knows about it , I didn’t intend to accept it, he begged me repeatedly to get in a little bit. Come on, little brother, come this way.”

He went inside, took out a small earthen jar, and asked, "How much do you want?"

"How do you sell this can?"

The middle-aged man was taken aback, looked up at Du Jinning, and thought for a while: "One hundred Wen."

"Fifty Wen." Du Jinning directly cut the price in half, "This thing is worthless, boss, you can do business honestly. Besides, no one wants it except me."

"All right, all right, I'll sell it to you."

He didn't buy this brine, but it was a gift from the merchant in the north, and it was really worthless.

The middle-aged man also inquired that this thing is used to make tofu.Gypsum is used to make tofu in the south, but it is not used.He asked someone to try it once, and the tofu he made was thick and old, and the color was still yellow, so he couldn't sell it, so he kept it.

Now that I finally meet someone who buys brine, I simply sell them all.Anyway, the fifty coins are free, and he is not losing money.

After buying the necessary things, Du Jinning went to the teahouse, and sure enough, he saw a carriage parked at the entrance of the teahouse, and the coachman whom he had seen at noon was sitting by the window of the teahouse, looking outside eagerly.

When the coachman saw her coming, he ran out of the teahouse as if he had found a treasure, took the things in her hand, put them on the cart, and said with a smile, "Young Master Du, are you back? The villain will take you back?"

Du Jinning nodded: "Thank you."

Yuan An also came out of the teahouse at this time, and asked Du Jinning, "Would you like to sit in the teahouse, Young Master Du, to keep warm?"

"No, it's getting dark soon, I'll go home first. When the burial here is finished and the sofa is ready, ask Zhang Hongwen to write to me, and I'll come back to the city when the time comes."

"Okay." Yuan An did not insist on staying, and watched Du Jinning leave.

Naturally, this carriage was much stronger than Zheng Lin's mule cart. Not only was it designed with shock absorbers, it was less bumpy and less ventilated, making it very warm to sit in.

Du Jinning directly asked the coachman to drive the carriage to the vicinity of Zheng Lin's house, and when he got off the car, he asked the coachman, "My house is across the river, and we will be there after crossing the bridge. Please, uncle, help me carry some things and take me home."

At this time, she had a package of books, a package of spices, a package of snacks, and a tube of soy sauce in her hands, which she couldn't hold in two hands.

The coachman got Qi Bokun's private instructions, so naturally he would not refuse Du Jinning's small request, and helped her carry the things to her home, and then drove back to the city.

"The Qi family's carriage brought you back?" Chen asked.

"How do you know?" Du Jinning felt strange.

It's cold in winter and it's getting dark again. When she got off the car just now, she didn't see anyone in the village.

"Brother Wen from Zhang's family came to tell me. When he was leaving school, a servant from Qi's family came over to deliver a message, saying that the old lady of Qi's family invited you to sit at the mansion and come back later." Chen said, " Otherwise, if I don't see you coming home at this time, I won't be in a hurry?"

As she spoke, she nagged again: "No matter what kind of invitation the old lady has, you can't go home so late in the future. The road is not safe, and we are not at ease."

"Yeah, no more." Du Jinning replied with a smile, and opened the bag of dim sum, "Mother, sister, you guys have some dim sum."

Seeing Du Fangling stretching out her hand to get some dim sum, Mrs. Chen quickly slapped her away: "Eat first, and then eat dim sum tomorrow morning. If you don't eat, it will be dark."

It gets dark early in winter, but their family is too poor to bear to light a lamp.If you don't eat while there is still some light, you will have to be by the fire in the kitchen in a while.

After the family had dinner, Du Jinning took out the spices and bittern: "Mother, I got a recipe today, try making some dried tofu and sell it."

This was the idea that came to her suddenly when she saw the snacks in the teahouse today.

Their family already made tofu, but now they just reprocess the tofu.When the teahouse opens, if the business is good, the dried tofu needed every day will not be a small amount.At that time, my mother and three older sisters would be busy at home making dried tofu for teahouses and planting strawberries at the same time.She doesn't feel so tired after making money, and she doesn't have to carry the burden to sell tofu in the cold wind every day, she thinks it's good.

"How?" Chen asked.

"Don't sell tofu tomorrow. My sisters will get up again at dawn. When the time comes, make some old tofu. I'll teach you stewed tofu."

Mrs. Chen was reluctant to part with the money she earned every day, and was hesitating, but Du Jinning directly made a decision: "Don't think about it, just listen to me."

"OK then."

In order to prevent Chen from asking her why she treated strawberries, Du Jinning didn't say anything about 20 taels of silver.After eating, they each rested, and there was nothing to say all night.

The next day, the Chen family got up early in the morning to make tofu.

Lishui County is located in the south. Gypsum is used as a coagulant to make tofu in the south. The tofu produced is white and tender. It is suitable for making soup or cold salad, mapo tofu, but not suitable for making tofu.

Du Jinning liked to travel in his previous life, and he was also a foodie, so he has a lot of research on food.In addition, she has a good memory, and she can remember everything she has seen. Naturally, she knows that the northern tofu made with brine is the most suitable for making dried tofu.

I ordered the tofu with brine, and then crushed the tofu brain before serving to squeeze out as much water as possible to make it firmer.After scratching the brain, put it on the bag, and then divide it into four squares the size of mahjong.

"Hey, this is a catty of salt. You put half a bucket of water to dissolve it. After the dried tofu is cool, put it in and soak for half a day." Du Jinning told Du Fangfei to soak it, and then led Chen to boil it with the spices he bought yesterday. Make brine.

"After the dried tofu over there is soaked, you can put it in the brine and cook for a quarter of an hour. If they turn brownish red and the salt and fragrance have soaked in, then it's ok."

Chen nodded: "It's not difficult."

"This brine smells delicious. When it is cooked, it must be delicious." Du Fanghui looked at the pot of brine that was still boiling, looking forward to it.

Du Jinning came here for a short time, and she didn't have the time and money to go to the city to taste local food, so she didn't know if there was anyone in the city making dried tofu.The reason why Chen Shi and the others were asked to make this is mainly because she has the sales channel of the teahouse, as long as the dried tofu tastes good, it can be sold.

Hearing Du Fanghui's words, she thought of what happened, and asked Mrs. Chen, "Mother, have you ever eaten dried tofu?"

(End of this chapter)