12dz Chapter 126 Sour Plum Drink
Chapter 126 Sour Plum Drink
"It does feel a bit strange, I'll just not come again." Song Jiaojiao thought that since they wouldn't have any more contact, she didn't take the matter to heart.
I made this trip alone and didn't get home until the afternoon.
The first thing to do after getting off the carriage was to have Meng An move the rice to the sweet potato shop. There were two stoves in the sweet potato shop that were used to make sweet potato vermicelli before. Now that they couldn't make sweet potato vermicelli, they were perfect for steaming rice.
"Aunt Li, we need to steam 150 jin of rice every day from now on. After steaming, spread it on a winnowing basket, and when it's almost cooled, cover it with gauze and let it air dry in the shade," Song Jiaojiao said, pointing to the newly bought winnowing basket and gauze.
"So much? Did you sell all the food for today?" As soon as Aunt Li arrived, she saw Xu Fang teaching everyone how to make rice candy, until Song Jiaojiao and the others worked overtime last night to prepare the food.
“That’s right, we need to supply 300 jin every day. We’ll steam as much as we can today, and then we need to steam 150 jin of rice every day. If we don’t have enough manpower, you can hire more people. We need to make sweet potato candy and also fry rice candy. I’m planning to have the sweet potato candy made at the processing workshop first, and we’ll just fry the rice candy here.” Song Jiaojiao thought that it was still a long time before the harvest of He Shou Wu, so the production of sweet potato candy should be moved there first. At this rate, the sweet potatoes might not last until the next batch of sweet potatoes was harvested.
"Alright, alright, I'll have them come tomorrow. Do they need women again this time?" Aunt Li smiled broadly, her eyes practically disappearing. The bigger Song Jiaojiao's business grew, the better life would be for the villagers.
"Let's hire two men to process the malt, and help with things like moving heavy objects." Song Jiaojiao had seen the aunties struggling to move vats last time; a woman's strength is ultimately no match for a man's.
"Okay, I've got it all written down. I'll get back to work now." After saying that, Aunt Li found two people to wash and rinse the rice and put it in the steamer. There was enough rice in the steamer, so Aunt Li had also washed and soaked the rice beforehand. Soaked rice takes less time to steam. Seeing that Aunt Li knew what she was doing, Song Jiaojiao left.
Seeing that it was still early, they took Xu Fang with them and went to the barren mountain. They had seen some grapes starting to ripen last time, so they decided to go and see if there were any to pick. Song Jiaojiao took the news brought by Liu Xuewen quite seriously and thought she would prepare the things in the next couple of days before going to the county.
Last time, Song Jiaojiao planned to see if she could ferment fresh milk to make a chewy texture for butter, but she got so busy that she forgot all about it. By the time she found out, the milk had gone bad and was covered in mold. In the end, Song Jiaojiao threw the whole bucket away.
I'll have to try again this time. If I succeed, I can make a lot of desserts to enjoy during my free time.
The two arrived at the barren mountain. The vineyard area was laden with fruit. After the fruit ripened, Song Jiaojiao closed the gate to prevent the chickens, ducks, and rabbits from entering. However, these chickens were very clever, and many managed to fly in. Seeing the grapes scattered on the ground, Song Jiaojiao felt a pang of heartache.
When these chickens saw their owner come in, they remained calm and unhurried, and some even flew directly to the grapevines to eat grapes.
Enraged, Song Jiaojiao picked up a bamboo pole and began chasing the chickens, thinking to herself, "I haven't even had a chance to eat yet, but you poultry have already done it."
He chased her until she was out of breath before finally managing to drive the chickens away, and then he and Xu Fang began picking grapes.
Each person had a pair of scissors and only picked the ripe ones. Bunches of deep purple grapes hung on the vines, looking very tempting. Song Jiaojiao picked a bunch and tasted it. It was not bad, not particularly sour, probably three parts sour and seven parts sweet.
In no time, the two of them had cut quite a few grapes. There were still many ripe ones in the yard. If they weren't cut off today, they would probably fall to the ground tomorrow. Song Jiaojiao then asked Xu Da to take Meng Qi to cut the grapes, while she, Mu Xue, and Xu Fang had to sort out the grapes at home.
The spoiled grapes are put directly into a bucket to feed the pigs later. The dark purple grapes are picked out to make wine, while the lighter-colored ones are used to make jam. The method for making grape jam is the same as for most jams: peel and remove the seeds, add sugar, and then you can start cooking.
The first batch of grapes had ripened quite a bit, and Xu and Da had to carry two more baskets on their backs to harvest all the ripe ones.
It wasn't until lunchtime that Song Jiaojiao and the others managed to clear out half of the grapes. After eating, they continued their work, soaking the grapes they intended to make into jam in sugar in a cool, shady place until tomorrow.
The grapes used for winemaking were rinsed first and then laid out to dry in an oil-free winnowing basket; that would be done tomorrow. By the time the grapes were sorted, it was almost midnight. Having been bent over picking grapes the whole time, Song Jiaojiao felt like she could barely feel her back anymore.
The next day, the weather was sunny and clear, clearly a good day.
Mu Xue and Xu An went to school early. After Song Jiaojiao learned that the village school had been built when she came back last time, she made Mu Xue start learning to read. Previously, Bai Shuqin taught the two of them at home, but now that Bai Shuqin and Mu Qing have gone to the county, Mu Xue's literacy can only be learned in the village school, which is also a good opportunity for Mu Xue to experience the joy of childhood.
After breakfast, Song Jiaojiao started making wine. She and Xu Fang quickly prepared two large vats of grapes and waited for them to ferment naturally.
Next, it was time to make grape jam. Since there were still quite a few earthenware jars left over from making apricot jam last time, Song Jiaojiao didn't prepare bamboo tubes this time. She poured all the prepared grapes into the pot and started cooking. After bringing it to a boil over high heat, she simmered it over low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning, until the liquid thickened and could be lifted into a thin stream.
By the time the grape jam was ready, the morning had passed. In the afternoon, Song Jiaojiao took out the medicinal herbs for the sour plum drink she had bought last time, washed them with water, and soaked them in five catties of water for 25 minutes.
After soaking, pour the soaked ingredients into a clay pot with water. First, bring it to a boil over high heat, simmer for five minutes, then reduce to low heat, add yellow rock sugar, and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Song Jiaojiao was also making rock sugar mung bean soup to cool everyone down, especially the workers who had to stay in front of the stove and watch the fire, their sweat never stopped.
Once the plum juice was ready, the mung bean water was almost done too. Song Jiaojiao poured both types of water into wooden buckets to cool. She first ladled herself a bowl of plum juice, which tasted sweet and sour just like in her previous life. This recipe was something Song Jiaojiao had stumbled upon in her previous life when she had nothing to do. She made it at home in her spare time and instantly fell in love with the sweet and sour taste, especially when paired with ice. A cup of this in the summer was the perfect way to cool down.
When both buckets had cooled down enough, Song Jiaojiao and Xu Fang each carried one bucket down to the workshop, inviting everyone to rest and have some water.
Aunt Li saw the rose-red water in the bowl and noticed its sour smell. She asked Song Jiaojiao, "Jiaojiao, is this another new dish you made?"
"Yes, Auntie, this is plum juice. Try it and give me your feedback," Song Jiaojiao replied with a smile.
Aunt Li took a sip of the plum juice in her bowl. Mmm, it was sweet and sour, very refreshing, especially in this kind of weather. Having a bowl of it instantly made her feel refreshed.