The worst time travel, surviving seven years of famine

In the blink of an eye, it was the coldest time of winter. Gu Liang thought it wouldn't snow in this place, but he didn't expect it to snow all day, and the snow was knee-deep.

Winter in ancient times was a torment. The door was closed all day, and the windows were sealed with straw paper. But this cold wind, no matter how tightly you block it, can always find a way to blow in.

The fire in the house never stopped. As long as people moved away a little, their legs and hands would immediately freeze and the blood would not circulate. It was the same when hiding in the quilt. You couldn't sleep warmly at all. You didn't dare to move. If you moved, the cold wind would blow in from the bottom of your feet, taking away your only warmth.

Gu Liang secretly made up his mind that he must build a northern kang next year, otherwise the ancient technology of keeping warm would be too hard to endure. Although it was warm next to the fire, the smoke was so thick that it stung people's eyes and made their nostrils black in a short time. Even Da Xiong curled up next to the fire all day, motionless.

The kitchen rarely turned on the fire, and basically all three meals a day were solved in this fire pit in winter. In the morning, I got up and cooked a bowl of mixed grain porridge, threw in a few slices of salted bacon for seasoning, and added a little winter melon to make a meal. There was no Chinese cabbage in this era, and Chinese cabbage was only available in the Ming Dynasty.

In the afternoon, I baked a few rice cakes and taro, and made another meal. Two meals a day, after eating, it was almost dark, so I went to bed early. Gu Liang slept alone, and felt a little cold in the quilt, and began to miss his uncle.

Sometimes Gu Liang couldn't stay at home, so he would take Da Xiong out to play. Big Bear stayed at Gu's house for several months, and Old Lady Gu never lacked food for him. At this time, his body size was almost the same as that of an adult, and his black fur was shiny. Big Bear was indeed a hound with genes. He would chase anything he saw in the snow, sometimes a weasel, sometimes a rabbit. Sometimes he would even find a nest of frozen wild pigeons while digging in the snow.

The prey brought back by Big Bear also added a different surprise to this dull winter.

On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, which was the day of the Little New Year, Gu Boxi returned from Lingbao Temple.

Gu Boxi's return also made the New Year more reunited, and everyone was very happy. However, Old Lady Gu blamed him a little, saying that he would annoy Taoist Lingxu if he came back so early, and would make him think that he was not serious about studying medicine.

Gu Boxi explained that Taoist Lingxu had urged him to go down the mountain and go home a long time ago, and he stayed until now to return. He also accompanied Taoist Lingxu to celebrate the Little New Year on the 23rd.

When Mrs. Gu saw Gu Boxi say this, she quickly said that Gu Boxi didn't understand the ways of the world. Taoist Lingxu is so good to you, why don't you bring him home to celebrate the New Year together? Anyway, he is alone in the temple...

When Mrs. Li saw Gu Boxi coming back, she quietly pulled him aside and asked, "Brother-in-law, how is Taoist Lingxu's medical skills?"

"Sister-in-law, Taoist Lingxu's medical skills are very good! Look, the scars on my body have disappeared."

"Then let me ask you, what have you learned after studying for so long?"

"At present, I only know some basic medical skills and basic medicinal materials."

"It's good to know. Do you know any medicine that can make people pregnant once taken? My stomach has been quiet for several years."

"Ah, this..."

In a blink of an eye, a year has passed, the cold winter has passed, and new buds have suddenly sprouted in early spring. The melted snow soaked the firecracker confetti for the New Year, as if it had fallen all over the ground.

Although it was still cold, spring had arrived and the Gu family had entered a new year.

Soil was mixed with straw knots, water was added and stirred, and they were piled up one by one, and the sun dried them.

The family of Mrs. Wu next door had moved away before the New Year, leaving an empty house. The Gu family spent four taels of silver to buy it, which was not expensive. Although the broken house was worth a lot, it was only relative to themselves.

Within half a month, the wall was more than one person high, almost more than two meters. This height was not too high, but outsiders could not see the situation inside.

Gu Liang had already prepared the wine yeast for Taohuachong Village in advance. Mix glutinous rice and flour, add wheat bran and steam them in a pot. These things are used as culture media, and steaming is to eliminate the miscellaneous bacteria inside.

Then cool the steamed things, mix them with the selected original wine yeast, and then pat them into big pancakes as big as faces. After making these "pancakes", put them in the prepared wormwood or straw, cover them with a layer of straw, and leave the rest to time.

Originally made

The koji is more suitable in summer, but Gu Liang couldn't wait that long, so he did it in the former home of Mrs. Wu, which is now the Gu family's side courtyard. Use a brazier to heat up and observe the temperature inside the 'big cake' three times a day.

In fact, this method can also make koji without the original koji, just add hot water pepper.

After a month, the 'big cake' changed from yellow frost at the beginning to white, and the koji was done.

As for the raw materials for making wine, Gu Liang thought of many kinds. In fact, anything rich in starch or sugar can be made. The Gu family has rice, sorghum, peas, broad beans, wheat, buckwheat, etc. to choose from.

In the end, Gu Liang chose to use sorghum to make wine. First, sorghum wine is the mainstream of winemaking in later generations, and it naturally has its reasons. Second, there are more phenolic substances formed by tannins and other substances in sorghum seeds, which is the source of the aroma of wine. Third, and most importantly, sorghum is a coarse grain and is relatively unpalatable. But it is drought-resistant and has high yields, and the price is relatively cheap.

Otherwise, the Gu family would not have planted it for the first time when they reclaimed the land last year. The land reclaimed last year finally produced more than 300 kilograms of sorghum, which was just suitable for making wine.

The dried sorghum seeds were blown away with a windmill to remove impurities, and then washed with water to remove dust. The washed sorghum seeds were soaked in clean water for a day and a night. After the sorghum floated, the sorghum was taken out and put into a large pot to cook until it was soft.

This pot was specially made by Gu Liang. It was a circle larger than the normal iron pot, and the price was naturally much more expensive, costing more than one or two taels. (Refer to the Wanli Price "Wanshu Miscellaneous Notes" and "Ministry of Industry Factory Warehouse Notes" of the Ming Dynasty Wanli, but the background was pushed back a little, based on the Song Dynasty.)

This big iron pot was placed on the stove in the kitchen of the original old lady Wu's house. It was much higher, but it did not hinder cooking. As for the original pot in the kitchen, it was naturally moved away by old lady Wu. If the stove could be moved, it would probably be taken away by her. People say leaving their hometown, but in fact it is more about leaving home with a pot on your back.

After the sorghum is cooked, it is quietly waited for it to cool down, and then the koji can be added. Gu Liang breaks the koji prepared in advance into pieces and dissolves it with water, then mixes it evenly with the sorghum, and then it can be put into the jar for fermentation.