The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences
The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences Chapter 57

Chapter 57

The whole village was busy harvesting rice, and Sang Luo was not idle either. Since she didn’t have extra money, she only had two liters of soybeans. She didn’t bother going to the county town and instead went around the village selling them.

Sang Luo didn’t just accept money; she would exchange grains, beans, vegetables, or eggs. This way, doing business wasn’t necessarily harder than going to the county town. Such fresh food, they said, could also nourish the body. Without spending money, they could exchange their own produce. During this busy farming season, most households were willing to buy.

Sang Luo didn’t collect many vegetables because they couldn’t be stored, but everything else was unlimited. However, soybeans were the most popular because grains and eggs were precious to farmers, and they were reluctant to part with them.

This suited Sang Luo’s intentions the most. After the busy season, she had to supply three households. Without soybeans, how could she manage? In the following days, she didn’t bother going to the county town and instead earned soybeans. She kept some and used the rest to make tofu. The tofu she made was then sold to neighboring villages.

In the afternoon, she would borrow a small hoe and a sickle from the Chen family, put them in her basket, and head to the mountains. She focused solely on harvesting konjac and jujubes.

With her own courtyard now, everything was much more convenient for Sang Luo. After locking the courtyard gate, she would process the jujubes in the kitchen and then sun-dry them in the backyard. The chickens and ducks in the backyard had also been moved to the chicken coop outside, as had the three ducklings. Shen An had followed the other boys to build a duck shed according to Sang Luo’s design, so everything was moved outside.

However, when Sang Luo brought back the konjac for the first time, Shen An and Shen Ning were quite alarmed.

“Sister-in-law, why are you picking devil’s tongue grass? This stuff is poisonous, eating it will kill you.”

They hurriedly tried to persuade Sang Luo to throw it away.

Shen Ning was also anxious, “Sister-in-law, throw it away. Did you touch it with your hands? Wash them clean and don’t eat anything before washing your hands thoroughly.”

The level of concern they showed… Sang Luo could understand.

If not properly handled, konjac was deadly when eaten raw, and the entire plant was highly toxic. But as long as it was handled correctly, it wasn’t that scary.

“You guys call this devil’s tongue grass?”

Both of them nodded, “Yes, it’s also called monster taro. Adults always teach us not to touch it. If the villagers see it around, they’ll dig it up to prevent us from accidentally eating it.”

Sang Luo finally understood why she hadn’t seen a single konjac plant in the nearby mountains; turns out they were manually cleared.

Seeing the younger siblings looking nervous about the monster taro, Sang Luo could only say, “The poison in this can be removed through processing. Just be careful not to ingest any that hasn’t been properly handled.”

It’s not as scary as they think, and this thing actually has some health benefits. In her past life, she occasionally made it for herself in the later stages of her illness, because eating monster taro actually had some slight benefits for her condition.

She washed the monster taro directly in the mountain spring, and seeing the siblings still trying to persuade her, Sang Luo thought for a moment and said, “Actually, this thing is recorded in books. I don’t remember the title, but it goes something like this: ‘In their gardens, they have konjac and Cornus officinlis, and in their melon fields, there are taro areas.’ In the annotation, it says, ‘Konjac is a plant, and its root is called konjac. The larger ones are as big as a dou (measure), and their flesh is white and tender. They can be cooked in lye to solidify and then preserved in bitter wine for consumption. The people of Ode, the capital of Shu, cherish it.'”

This is a passage from “Ode to the Capital of Shu” by Zou Si of the Jin Dynasty. Sang Luo had done some related popular science when making a video about monster taro in her past life and roughly remembered it.

Of course, there was no Jin Dynasty or Zou Si here. She blurred the details, only mentioning the book and not the title and source, just using its content to reassure the two children that this recipe had a legitimate source, and this thing could indeed be eaten.

Shen An and Shen Ning’s expressions indeed relaxed a lot upon hearing Sang Luo’s words. Although they didn’t understand every word, they roughly understood the meaning.

“Can it really be eaten?” Shen Ning asked, half doubtful.

After all, they had been repeatedly warned by the adults in the village since childhood that this thing couldn’t be eaten. Eating it could cause anything from mild throat irritation to swelling and heat, and even death in severe cases.

It was quite difficult to change this perception in a moment.

Sang Luo smiled, “Yes, you’ll see in a moment. But just to be safe, let’s use a separate cutting board for this and don’t use a wooden basin for it. Let’s use a ceramic basin instead, and wash it thoroughly after use.”

After all, they were doing business with food at home, so it was better to be careful.

It wasn’t troublesome to make a cutting board. Sang Luo simply picked out a wooden stump from the leftover materials that Chen Youtian had handled before, washed it, and moved it into the backyard to be used directly.

Handling monster taro was a meticulous task. According to the past, rubber gloves were a must, but Sang Luo really couldn’t find any gloves here. She left a handle on the monster taro so she could grip it with one hand and peel it with the other.

To be on the safe side, she even made a trip to the kitchen, rubbed vinegar on her hands, and let Shen Ning light a fire. After quickly roasting it over the fire, she began.

After peeling the skin, she chopped it into small cubes directly on the wooden stump, filling up a basin before carrying it to the kitchen.

Shen An and Shen Ning were always cautious; even the front yard gate was locked early. Now, with the three of them in the kitchen, they saw Sang Luo deftly preparing wood ash water.

Wood ash was something they had in storage, especially for cooking purposes, ever since they built the house. It was stored in a jar and taken out as needed.

Seeing Sang Luo take out the wood ash, Shen An remembered a passage from before, “They can be cooked in lye to solidify and then preserved in bitter wine for consumption.”

He had thought it would be boiled directly, but it wasn’t.

Sang Luo led the two children to the millstone and started grinding, adding wood ash water to the mixture.

The most difficult part was controlling the proportions, but Sang Luo had done this many times in her past life and was skilled at it. Grinding, stirring, smoothing, and letting it settle.

While waiting for it to set, Sang Luo took some wood ash and went back to the backyard with the two children.

When she cut the monster taro, she had left some sprouts. Now, she rolled the monster taro sprouts in wood ash, carried them in a basket, and went into the mountains to replant them.

Replanted.

Yes, with a few sprouts left, the monster taro could grow again.

To have something to eat continuously, it was logical to replant one after digging up one.

Afraid that they might be cleared away by the villagers before they grew, Sang Luo went a bit further and also picked a lot of Cornelian cherries before turning back. By the time she returned home and rested for a while, the monster taro tofu was also formed.

She cut it into large pieces, boiled water in a pot, and cooked the monster taro tofu for an hour and a half.

Shen An and Shen Ning witnessed the whole process, feeling amazed, surprised, and somewhat dazed.

Shen Ning thought: So, things that the villagers have always said are poisonous can also be made into something edible like tofu.

Hmm, watching her sister-in-law carefully go through each step, Shen Ning believed. This thing can really be eaten.

Shen An thought: So, studying like this is good. Fairy tofu, tofu, and even the snakehead grass roots that my sister-in-law is processing now are all learned from books.

But Sang Luo hadn’t stopped yet.

This wasn’t the end.

In her past life, Sang Luo’s favorite snack was monster taro salad.

Of course, when her health declined later on, she couldn’t enjoy it anymore. Heavy oil, heavy spice, heavy flavor were out of the question. She could only make it occasionally for videos, and the final product was given to the neighbors in the mountains.

She could only eat it as a stir-fry herself, relatively plain.

But in this life, she could enjoy it. Without chili peppers…

But there were alternatives, such as Cornelian cherries, mustard, Sichuan peppercorn, black pepper, and so on. Like Cornelian cherries, this thing could even create the effect of chili oil.

Of course, Sang Luo didn’t know how to do that. She had only read some miscellaneous knowledge about ancient chili pepper substitutes in idle books in her past life. Since she didn’t know them in her original life, she naturally doesn’t know them now.

Preparing to go to Mrs. Chen’s later to ask for advice, she also needed to get some Cornelian cherries and Sichuan peppercorns from her.

What she was going to do now was to further process the monster taro tofu, creating a texture similar to tripe.

Handling something she had done before, Sang Luo, with the help of two chopsticks, easily processed it. She picked up a piece and pulled it apart lightly. “Hmm, it would be perfect if we had ice to chill it before steaming it for twenty minutes. That crispiness would be truly divine.”

Of course, it is still good now.

With the mock tripe formed in her hands, all that was left was to boil it briefly, toss it with seasoning chili oil, and it would become an irresistibly delicious dish.

The chili oil seasoning was nowhere to be seen yet, but Shen An and Shen Ning, who had watched the whole process, were also amazed.

Could such an ugly snakehead grass really be turned into something like this?

Seeing the dumbfounded expressions of the siblings, Sang Luo smiled, “We’re not done yet. I’ll go to Mrs. Chen’s later to get some seasoning for you. I’ll let you taste the finished product tonight. That’s when you’ll be truly amazed.”

Shen An and Shen Ning inexplicably felt their mouths water.

The siblings, who had worked with Sang Luo at the stall, knew that their sister-in-law had a magical talent when it came to food. Just talking about it could make people’s mouths water.

And that was exactly what was happening now.

Getting the seasoning went smoothly; Mrs. Chen had them all. As for black pepper and mustard, Mrs. Chen hadn’t even heard of them.

Hearing that Sang Luo was experimenting with new dishes, Mrs. Chen gave her everything she needed, even contributing garlic and scallions.

Back home in the kitchen, after making the mock tripe salad, Sang Luo, along with Shen An and Shen Ning, tasted it and couldn’t stop praising it.

Despite being warned about the poisonous snakehead grass, Shen An and Shen Ning, who should have discarded it immediately, were now exclaiming, “Delicious! So fragrant!”

Of course, having borrowed things from Mrs. Chen, it was only right to send her a portion of the finished product. Sang Luo cooked, Shen Ning tended the fire, and the errand of delivering fell naturally to Shen An.

Poor little Shen An, holding the bowl of mock tripe, it was so difficult to resist the urge to reach out and grab a piece for himself.

In his heart, he was also deeply envious of his sister-in-law and sister. Did they continue eating the mock tripe salad at home? Do you think they did?

Did they?

They did!

Shen An was howling; he wanted to eat too, you know?

His mouth watered so much that tears almost flowed from the corners of his mouth.

As soon as he entered Mrs. Chen’s courtyard, he hurriedly called out to her. After handing over the food and seeing the bowl of mock tripe, which smelled so delicious that his saliva almost flowed out, being poured into Mrs. Chen’s bowl, he turned and ran.

Mrs. Chen: …

Was this necessary?

She looked at the food in the bowl. Um, it did seem quite tempting.

She picked up a small piece with her fingers and put it in her mouth. Mrs. Chen’s eyes lit up!!!

Absolutely necessary! This was absolutely necessary!

Give me another piece.

Mrs. Chen ate five pieces in a row before finally restraining herself. It was a difficult habit to resist tasting delicious food when it was available for her family.

At this moment, she couldn’t help but marvel in her heart at the Sang family, always coming up with new dishes.

I wonder if I should sell this to them.

If I do decide to sell it, it’ll be so tempting. It’ll definitely make money!

Tomorrow, the busy farming season will come to an end. Who should go to set up the stall for the Shi and Lu families, and where they should each set up, should all be settled. I’ll go ask tomorrow.

The author has something to say:

â‘  The entire passage is excerpted from Xiao Tong’s “Selected Works,” and “Its garden is filled with arrowroot and Cornelian cherries, and the melon fields are rich with taro” is originally from the “Ode to the Capital of Shu” by Zou Si of the Jin Dynasty.

1 comment
  1. M&M's has spoken 5 months ago

    It sounds like a lot of work just to make konjac tofu, so I wonder how much Sang Luo will charge to compensate for all the time and effort required. With all the types of tofu she’s making, though, she’ll soon be known as a tofu specialist, lol.

    Thanks for the chapter! 😀

    Reply

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