Crossing the Four Seasons Pastoral

When the genius was dimly lit, Ye Xiaoan opened his eyes on time.These days, although the two of them slept in the same bed, they lived in peace with their quilts rolled up.Zhou Nan didn't seem very happy at first, but after making a fuss and kissing twice, seeing that Ye Xiaoan was always highly nervous, he still gave in.

Although no one in Tangqiao Town grows sweet potatoes, there are six towns in their county, and there are many villages below. It only took Zhou Nan two days to pull an ox cart back for him.It's just that it was too late when I came back yesterday, and I didn't bother to clean up.

After estimating the color of the sky, Ye Xiao'an got up after a little hesitation.Although he is not diligent, he is still full of energy when he thinks of what to do.The morning wind brought dew, he shrank back after opening the door, went back to add a piece of clothes before running out.

The sweet potato was lying on the back of the main room door, and it looked like it should weigh several hundred catties.Ye Xiaoan picked out a few to look at, and found that there were no insect eyes, so he immediately rolled up his sleeves to fetch water.

Sweet potatoes must be cleaned to make vermicelli, otherwise there will be mud in the final sediment.Although Ye Xiaoan had some confidence, he didn't dare to do it right away.He first washed five or six catties of sweet potatoes, then chopped them into several pieces and put them on a wooden tray, and mashed them vigorously with the wooden sticks he had prepared in advance.

This step used to be done with a grinder, but now it can only be done manually.The firm sweet potatoes are beaten and squeezed vigorously, and finally squeezed out of the pulp and then stirred with a bucket of water.

"Brother An, why did you wake up so early today?" Ye Xiaoan had deliberately slowed down his movements, unexpectedly Chen Xidi got up after disturbing half of it.Seeing him tinkering with sweet potatoes, he stood behind him curiously.

"I woke up when I couldn't sleep, did I wake you up?" Ye Xiaoan apologized, Zhou Lekang and Chen Xidi's attitude towards him was gentler than expected.He observed for two days, maybe it had something to do with Zhou Nan not being their biological child, and he seldom got scolded for anything he did.Of course, Zhou Nan himself is also a reassuring person.

"Your voice is so soft, how can you wake it up! I should get up at this hour." Chen Xidi said while fastening his apron, and walked towards the kitchen.In his own kitchen, he is also a bit domineering, and he handles everything by himself with his hands and feet.What's more, Ye Xiaoan really didn't show any talent in cooking. Chen Xidi didn't let him cook after trying it once, and he is still in the apprenticeship stage.

Soon there was a sound in the kitchen.Seeing that he didn't come out again, Ye Xiaoan concentrated on the work at hand.

The process of adding water and stirring is called "washing".This washing is not an ordinary washing, but washing out all the slurry contained in the mashed sweet potatoes until the sweet potato dregs can no longer wash out any color.At this time, the washing water in the wooden tray has turned turbid white, and white powdery substances can still be seen faintly.

Ye Xiaoan "washed" for half an hour, and Chen Xidi had probed it several times but failed to achieve the desired effect. Only then did he realize how difficult it was to see those fellow villagers stirring the water tank easily.Fortunately, Zhou Nan also got up at this time, and took over the work it was doing without saying a word.

"Okay, okay!" Ye Xiaoan rubbed the sweet potatoes in his hands, and found that they were so clean that there was no trace of mucus, so he happily said to Zhou Nan.

Zhou Nan stopped what he was doing when he heard this, even though he could spin his brain twice faster than others, he still couldn't understand how to make vermicelli from this plate of dirty water?

"Don't doubt it, I can make it for you tomorrow." Ye Xiaoan stretched his waist, and then remembered that he had been working so far without washing, and hurriedly scooped up the sweet potato dregs, and covered the water in the wooden tray.

His face was full of energy, and it turned out to be a self-confidence that did not match his age.The tip of Zhou Nan's heart moved slightly, as if he was scratched by something.Seeing him coming over, she reached out to hug him, and lowered her head to kiss him on the cheek.

Ye Xiaoan didn't expect that he would make such a bold move when he left the room, he unexpectedly kissed him, stretched out his hand to wipe it with a stiff expression, secretly thought it was just being licked by a puppy.

Seeing his actions, Zhou Nan was so angry that his teeth itched, and just as he was about to take another bite to get revenge, Chen Xidi came out of the kitchen and called them to eat.

"Well, I'll go wash up and I'll be here soon." Ye Xiaoan hurriedly took the opportunity to break away from Zhou Nan's hold on his hand, and ran away like a gust of wind.

"Brother An is still in a hurry. When he has a child, he has to keep his focus." Chen Xidi sighed when he saw it. He was not satisfied with Ye Xiaoan's appearance of being so skinny that he couldn't pinch a piece of flesh from his whole body, but hey. It's been almost a month and it hasn't grown well.

"He didn't even wash up when he got up early in the morning, and he's in a hurry to eat what he cooked!" Zhou Nan stepped forward to help him get the bowls and chopsticks, while explaining to Ye Xiaoan.

"By the way, so can he make vermicelli? You don't need any tools, just wash with water to make vermicelli? That thing is long and thin, and it's hard and brittle!" Chen Xidi knew that Zhou Nan pulled back the cart of sweet potatoes At this time, I couldn't help but beat a drum in my heart.

"Yes, but I haven't used it yet. As for whether it will be successful or not, you can see it tomorrow." Zhou Nan didn't say that Ye Xiaoan first proposed the method of making vermicelli, and he didn't dare to pat his chest to guarantee it would be successful. .

The water in the wooden basin has to wait for a layer of white things to form on the bottom of the basin, and the water on the surface will become clear again.Ye Xiaoan had seen this change before, so he was not in a hurry this day, he found a round pan that Chen Xidi usually used to steam pastries, and asked Zhou Nan to cut bamboo and come back to prepare vermicelli for drying.

After waiting until night, when Ye Xiaoan lifted the lid and looked again, he found that the muddy water had become clear.He tilted the basin slightly to pour out the water, then scraped off the white powder from the bottom of the basin and put it into the shallow basin.

The room of Zhou Lekang and Chen Xidi was already pitch black. Zhou Nan held up the oil lamp beside him and watched him add a bowl of water to the powder and stir it into something like batter.

"Okay!" The biggest pot in the stove room had already boiled water, Ye Xiaoan just lifted the lid of the pot, and carefully put the shallow plate down steadily.

"What are you?" Zhou Nan was confused. Although it is amazing that this kind of powder can be obtained by mixing sweet potatoes, neither the batter nor the powder can be associated with vermicelli.

"Do you know how to make tofu?" Ye Xiaoan asked him suddenly.

But tofu is a common thing. During the slack season, there are people selling burdens on both ends of the day. Which village does not have a tofu seller?Half a catty of soybeans can be exchanged for better, and children often go to other people's tofu shops to lie down and watch.

"I know, it can be made with gypsum or brine." Although Zhou Nan didn't lie down on the window to see it, but his uncle can make it. Buy elsewhere.He loves to eat fresh tofu nao, and has seen them making tofu.

"You see, bean pulp can be made into tofu, and it's not surprising to use sweet potatoes to make vermicelli?" Ye Xiaoan stuffed a large handful of pine grass into the stove, and the fire immediately burst into flames.A thin layer of powder can be steamed very quickly, and he pressed the lid of the pot with his hands to make a gesture to open it after just a handful of grass was burned.

Zhou Nan moved aside, and hot steam gushed out immediately.Ye Xiaoan opened his eyes wide and tried his best to see through the mist. The original thick white had indeed turned into a light-colored jelly with a hint of transparency, covering the entire shallow dish evenly.

"Successful?" Zhou Nan was stunned when he saw this.The steps are really simple, and he can operate it just by reading it once.But if you just imagine it, you really can't understand it.

"Of course it succeeded." Ye Xiaoan had seen others do it, and although he was happy that he had achieved the result for the first time, he didn't mess up his hands and feet.He took out the shallow plate with a rag, poked it with chopsticks, and sure enough, it was steamed into a whole piece.

"Next, pour it out and dry it on a bamboo pole, and then cut it into vermicelli shapes tomorrow morning and continue drying it." He concluded with satisfaction.

Things went better than expected.Ye Xiaoan originally thought that he would have to try at least once or twice before he could actually make it, but he didn't expect that this matter really didn't require any technical content, as long as he followed the steps.This was the first thing he did seriously after he came here, and he naturally remembered it in his heart, until he was lying on the bed, and the excitement still persisted.

This result directly caused him to oversleep the next day.When he got up and saw the sunlight in the room, he suddenly remembered the things still hanging on the bamboo poles.

Drying vermicelli is quite similar to making noodles in some places, except that it needs to be cut into thin strips before it is completely dry, so it can only be dried in a cool place when drying for the first time, and then dried in the sun after cutting. sun down.It was posted at night yesterday, Ye Xiaoan thought that he would take it back the next day when he woke up, but the sun was already high when he woke up.

He "jumped" up, and the other side was empty, and he quickly pulled his hair a few times with his hands and rushed out.

"Brother An made a really good one, I think it's even better than the one you bought last time..."

"That's a good knife skill, if you let him cut it casually, it won't be so good..."

Ye Xiaoan was anxious to take back the uncut noodles, but he ran to the main room and looked out to see that the fresh green bamboo poles were empty, and Chen Xidi and Zhou Nan were talking in front of the room.

"Brother An is up? Come and take a look at the vermicelli you made. I think it looks much better than the ones sold outside." Chen Xidi saw him at a glance and hurriedly waved.Zhou Nan had already told him that Ye Xiaoan tried to make it because he casually said that he likes to eat.As for how he knew this method, it seems that he heard it occasionally.

Chen Xidi liked these words very much.Although he was dissatisfied with Ye Xiaoan's figure and cooking skills, but luckily he was obedient, and respected him like his two sons on weekdays.Now they don't have to plan food in the ground with their hands like they did 30 years ago. Family harmony is more important than ability.

It was only then that Ye Xiaoan realized that there were cut vermicelli on the bamboo frame in front of them, which seemed to be drying there.However, he only used a small amount of sweet potatoes this time, and the noodles he made were not many.

Next, there is no need to make vermicelli, and the whole family can do it behind closed doors.The finished vermicelli is light and easy to store, and the Zhou family has a spare room, so it will not attract attention at all.

The most tiring process is to mash the sweet potatoes and then "wash" them in water. The second time, hundreds of catties of sweet potatoes were used, and of course a wooden basin cannot be used to stir them.Ye Xiaoan carried out the two large water tanks that were empty at home.Even so, the stirring required too much force for his tiny arms and legs.Fortunately, both Zhou Nan and Chen Xidi were willing to help, and it wasn't too hard for the three of them to take turns.

From making to drying, it only takes about four days if it is sunny.However, after such a round of work, Ye Xiaoan also felt that it was too strenuous, and it seemed difficult to put it into mass production.He calculated the cost silently in his heart, then turned around and asked, "How much did you buy the sweet potatoes?"

"One hundred catties of sweet potatoes cost 65 liters." Zhou Nan was tall, and he was able to air the steamed rice flour with his hand.If this kind of vermicelli can be made well, it is really profitable. Even if the people in the town can't afford it, the market in the county town is big enough.However, he usually takes a tricky way. Unless this kind of production method is built into a workshop and hired to do it, otherwise he is not willing to bear the hardships of his family.

But seeing that Ye Xiaoan was in high spirits, he didn't make a sound.

"So cheap?" Calculated in this way, it is far less than a penny per catty. This price is cheaper than the Chinese cabbage in the town. No wonder no one grows it.

"Cheap?" Zhou Nan chuckled lightly, his eyes flicked over the bamboo poles, there were only a dozen or so sheets of powder glue steamed from a hundred catties of sweet potatoes, and I don't know how much they would be left after drying.

Ye Xiaoan followed his gaze, and her smile froze.He remembered what those people said back then, a hundred catties of sweet potatoes can only yield twenty catties of vermicelli?

"What about the vermicelli?"

"It's going to be divided into places. It's almost enough to sell it for [-] in the town, and [-] in the county. If you can get it to Annan City, you can sell it for [-]."

Many thoughts also turned in Zhou Nan's mind.Even though a hundred catties of sweet potatoes cost only seventy Wen, but if you really want to start a business, the cost of a catty of vermicelli will increase by three Wen.Only by mastering this cost can the profit be maximized...

Ye Xiaoan finished the calculation with a bitter face, feeling that it was really hard work!