Farming and teaching across different worlds

I have never eaten fish and shrimp since I came here, and I really miss it.

Although dried fish and dried shrimps were not as good as fresh fish and shrimps, it was enough to satisfy his hunger.

When the three brothers came, Ji Xiuran was holding the small dried fish to taste.

Seeing the brothers, he greeted them with a smile: "You guys are here, come in and sit down. Your second brother bought some new things and will make them later, so you can try them too."

"No need, Brother Xiu Ran, we are planning to go back."

"Ah, you guys are leaving now. It's just that it's getting late and the journey is inconvenient. Why don't you stay tonight and come back tomorrow."

"No, the three of us are partners, don't be afraid, let's go now, there is still some light on the road, and we will be home in a while."

Seeing that he couldn't convince many people, Ji Xiuran turned to look at Shi Jingchen.

Seeing that they insisted, Shi Jingchen nodded, and said lightly, "You guys go back in the bullock cart, and you will send it back tomorrow. There are too many things, and it will be inconvenient to go back and forth."

Ji Xiuran also nodded, they borrowed the ox cart from the village, and they will just go talk to the villagers later.

The three of them did not refuse their kindness, and drove home in a bullock cart.

Chapter 21

After all this is done, the busy farming season begins, and the corn is about to be harvested.

Ji Xiuran didn't have to go to the field, even Dahong had to go to the field together, and he could only stay at home with the two-year-old Erhong.

Ji Xiuran felt a little embarrassed in his heart, but his family still used to treat him as a glass man, and they were not willing to let him do any heavy work.

Moreover, the Ji family's three acres of corn were broken in a day and a half, and the next step was to chop the corn stalks and peel the corn husks.

Ji Xiuran fought hard, and his family reluctantly agreed with him to peel the corn husks together.

Ji Xiuran picked up a corn, opened it and looked at it, the corn on the cob is really small, and there are few kernels.

He frowned. Looking at it this way, the yield of this mu of land was a bit low.The harvest was not very good.

But even if the harvest is not good, it shouldn't taste too bad, but it seems that I haven't seen corn grains at home before.

He asked Dahong who was peeling corn husks with him.

Dahong said with a look of embarrassment, "Third uncle, this corn is too expensive to cook, and it doesn't taste good."

Ji Xiuran showed doubts. In his last life, his hometown was in the north, and corn was the main crop.

He still knows how to eat it, and the taste is also very good, but Da Hong's words should be true.

But he didn't give up just like that. After all the corn was peeled and dried, he asked Shi Jingchen to get some corn kernels for him.

He didn't see rolling or milling in the village, so he could only pound corn ballast with stone mortar.

After removing the transparent corn husk, it is used to cook porridge.

After eating a meal of corn porridge, the Ji family all liked this way of eating.

This corn porridge is much more delicious than brown rice porridge, and the most important thing is that there is no rice bran to scratch the throat.

Ji Xiuran asked Shi Jingchen to make a stone mill for him. After boiling a large pot of corn dregs, he ground them into a paste with a stone mill. He built a stove with a round thin stone slab and made a scraper with bamboo. Made into pancakes.

Pancakes are a special food in his former hometown. You can make pancakes from any grains, such as corn, sorghum, millet, and dried sweet potatoes.

The pancakes just out of the oven are crispy and delicious. After a period of time, they may be crumbled when pinched, but they will become soft after being evenly sprinkled with water.

After being folded up like this, wrap it well. If it is not exposed to the wind, it will be soft whenever you take it out to eat.

And pancakes are very convenient to eat, you can roll them with anything, you can roll pickles, you can roll stir-fried vegetables, even if you just roll green onions dipped in miso, they are delicious.

He remembered that when he was a child, every year after the autumn harvest and before winter, his grandma's house would grind batter from eight large tin buckets and spread out a large stack of pancakes.

The three-meter-high pancake mountain, no accident, these are the family's rations for the next six months.

Ji Xiuran taught the cooking of pancakes to several women in the family, after all, they are more experienced in cooking and get started faster.

Spreading pancakes still requires high skills, and it is impossible for ordinary people to master it quickly.

After the pancakes were made, Ji Xiuran asked Shi Jingchen to cook a few dishes for him to eat.

After the pancakes were eaten by the family, they all felt good, but it was more troublesome to make.

But it's worthwhile to do more at a time.

In addition to these ways of eating, he also grinds corn into flour and pastes corn cakes. These eating methods are well accepted by his family, and he also taught these new eating methods to the villagers.

All the corn harvested this time is kept for eating, and there is no need to transport it out for sale.

Every time I sell grain, I have to walk a 50-mile mountain road, which is far and dangerous.

After finishing the corn, I have to work on the sweet potatoes.

The sweet potatoes are the main rations of the villagers in winter, and the harvested sweet potatoes are stored in the warehouse.

Take it out and eat it when there is nothing to eat in winter.

Regarding this rough storage method, Ji Xiuran was speechless, the sweet potatoes would easily go bad if left in this way.

In his memory, the winter here is not very cold, so many of the sweet potatoes they store have rotted before the winter is over.

In fact, sweet potatoes can be cut into slices and stored in the sun, and they are all sweet potatoes with white flesh.

This kind of sweet potato is not so sweet, and it tastes not as delicious as the red flesh, but it is more hungry than the red flesh.

And this kind of sweet potato is the best raw material for making sweet potato flour.

The sweet potato vermicelli and vermicelli made of sweet potato starch are resistant to cooking, chewy, and transparent after cooking, which looks very appetizing.

He had seen vermicelli in the county before. He didn't know what it was made of, but the price was indeed expensive and the quantity was limited.

This business can be done in their village.

He also happens to know how to make starch, how to make vermicelli, and vermicelli.

In addition to vermicelli and vermicelli, sweet potato starch can also be sold, which can be used to thicken rice when cooking. He believes that Zeng Junhui's Piaoxianglou must be interested in these kinds of food.

Just do what you say, after harvesting the sweet potatoes, Ji Xiuran began to teach Ji's family how to make sweet potato flour.

After making it, he taught his family how to eat it. Mother Ji made some for the family to try, and the family liked it very much.

Ji Xiuran and Shi Jingchen found Father Ji together, and took out some blueprints they had prepared earlier.

"Father, this is something I thought of recently. Look, this is the design drawing of the stone bridge I drew, this is the drawing of my new home, and this is the secret recipe of sweet potato flour I wrote."

Father Ji took the papers and looked at them carefully.

He knows sweet potato flour. His family has been busy with these things these days. He has also tasted it and thinks it tastes good.

But after he saw the design drawing of the bridge, his expression became serious.

Look carefully, and then can't help but applaud.

If this stone bridge is really built in their village, it will be very convenient for the whole village and even the surrounding villages to travel in the future.

Moreover, this design looks very strong, and it can be used for a long time at first glance, so that it will benefit for decades or even hundreds of years, and future generations can also benefit.

Father Ji looked at the blueprint excitedly, and then looked at Ji Xiuran, he didn't understand what his son meant by showing him this.

Ji Xiuran looked at him and said, "Father, the stone bridge drawn in this blueprint will cost more than 300 taels of silver to build."

When Father Ji heard the high price of 300 taels, it was as if he had been splashed with cold water.

That's right, the amount of stone used is huge, and all of these require money, but how can they afford it in the current situation of their village.

Thinking of it, he couldn't help sighing, but he still couldn't help it, rubbing the drawing, feeling very reluctant.

Seeing him like this, Ji Xiuran couldn't bear it, and comforted him and said, "Father, don't be sad, we will always think of ways to make money."

He took out the secret recipe and said to him: "Father, look at this, I want to use this to make money, do you think it is feasible?"

Father Ji looked at the piece of paper and said, "Xiu Ran, tell Dad carefully what you think."

The Ji family has an inexplicable trust in Ji Xiuran, as long as it is something he says, the Ji family will believe it unconditionally.

It was the same this time, when Ji Xiuran said there was a way to make money, Father Ji believed him.

"Father, I want to build a flour mill in the village. When the time comes, let the village provide space. Anyone in the village can contribute money if they want to participate. Then, the money will be shared according to the money paid."

Father Ji still felt a little confused when he heard it: "Tell me more carefully, what is the share."

"Father, building a flour mill requires money to build a house, buy tools, and buy raw materials. We can ask the village to provide the land for building the house, so that the village will take a part of it. When the time comes, whoever wants to pay, then we will According to the amount of money paid, the share is calculated, so that the total share of [-] points can be calculated according to the share of each family."

Father Ji nodded and said, "That's fine, but these things should be discussed with your Uncle Li."

The uncle of the Li family that Father Ji mentioned was the head of Qingshan Village.

This matter is a major event concerning the entire village, so of course it must be discussed with him, the head of the village.

Ji Xiuran also understood, nodded and said: "I know, then father will call uncle whenever he thinks it is appropriate, and explain carefully, besides this matter, there is also this."

Ji Xiuran showed the last piece of paper to Father Ji, and said, "Father, this is the blueprint of the new house I designed."

Father Ji looked at it and said, "What new home?"

"My third brother and I's new home is in the old house. We have made up our minds. After a while, we will find someone to build the new home.