Zhao Zhitong, who 'defeated' all unmatched in the village, stood on a tree branch, hugging the trunk with delight. Her smug little expression didn't even last a minute.
Sun Mei's gritting voice came from afar: "Zhao Zhitong! You're climbing trees again!"
"Ah!" Zhao Zhitong yelled, quickly scrambling down the tree: "My mom's calling me, I need to go. Let's battle another day."
After saying this, she dashed off, her little legs moving fast.
Sun Mei brought Zhao Zhitong home, closed the door, and, in a bad mood, started scolding: "Aren't you just so impressive, huh?"
She had just come from the village chief's house and overheard people talking about her daughter, saying she was fighting all around the village entrance.
When she hurried over, she saw a group of little kids gathered under a tree, and Zhao Zhitong standing atop it like a monkey king, looking so impressive, Sun Mei just wanted to cover her face.
"A girl acting like this, what would people say? Who would dare marry you when you grow up?"
Zhao Zhitong didn't feel anything was wrong at all, she pouted cutely: "Plenty would marry me."
Every time they played house, everyone scrambled to make her the bride.
Sun Mei: "..."
At this time Zhao Dong also returned from Butcher Zhao's house. Pushing the door open, he saw his wife and precious daughter in a face-off and asked: "What's going on here?"
Sun Mei, angrily, put Zhao Zhitong in Zhao Dong's arms and said with frustration: "Your daughter, I can't manage her anymore, you do it yourself."
Then she recounted how Zhao Zhitong had been 'wreaking havoc' at the village entrance.
"Oh!" Zhao Dong listened with a bit of pride: "Daughter, you're so amazing, awesome! You inherited my aura from back in the day."
Sun Mei: "..."
Zhao Zhitong looked up in worship: "Wow, daddy, you were also great at climbing trees when you were little?"
Zhao Dong immediately started bragging: "Of course, no one in the whole school could beat me, back in the day..."
Sun Mei looked speechless: "Zhao Dong!"
You're supposed to educate the kid, and here you are, bragging instead.
Seeing his wife's expression, Zhao Dong immediately stopped, hurriedly changing the subject, putting on a serious face: "Ahem, but awesome as you are, you must still listen to your mom, no more climbing trees! Otherwise, daddy will spank your little butt."
Zhao Zhitong, hugging Zhao Dong's neck, started to act coy: "Okay, Tongtong will listen to mom."
Once Sun Mei was in the kitchen, Zhao Dong let Zhao Zhitong down, pinching her little face: "Good girl, go play now. Daddy and Mommy still need to deliver tofu to your uncles and elders' houses."
No sooner had he said this, Sun Mei came out of the kitchen, carrying the portioned tofu.
...
Besides giving some to their close neighbors, Sun Mei also took a few bowls of bean curd to the village well.
There, many villagers gathered to chat, and she let everyone taste the food, essentially doing a free ad.
By the time she returned, it nearly was dark.
Zhao Dong had already begun cooking in the kitchen. His skills weren't that great, but he managed to cook porridge and heat some buns.
When Sun Mei returned, the porridge was done. She quickly stir-fried two dishes: stir-fried tofu dregs and garlic-tossed hollow vegetables.
After a day, the veggies in the garden were ready to eat. The hollow vegetables were picked from there.
They called it Yong Cai here, a very common vegetable that most households grew in their gardens.
Sun Mei was already a good cook, and maybe it was just an illusion, but tonight's hollow vegetables seemed even more delicious and refreshing.
The refreshing hollow vegetables, with the aroma of garlic, tasted simply perfect. The family was extremely satisfied with the meal.
Zhao Dong lavishly praised: "Wife, your cooking is getting better and better."
Zhao Zhitong, patting her round little belly, sweetly praised her mom's good cooking too.
With tofu sales starting the day after, that evening, after dinner, the two began preparations.
Zhao Dong first moved out a large vat from the storage room, which was originally used for storing grains.
After cleaning it thoroughly, it could be used for soaking soybeans. The vat was quite large, over a meter high, and could soak almost a hundred pounds of soybeans at once.
For the first day, without a standard, Zhao Dong decided to soak 50 pounds of soybeans to test the waters.
By the time they finished everything, it was already very late. Zhao Dong and Sun Mei quickly washed up and went to bed.
Early the next day, with the sky still dark, the two got up early. Zhao Dong took advantage of the early hours to fill two large vats in the yard with water.
Then, together with Sun Mei, they loaded the soaked soybeans into burlap sacks and placed them on a cart.
For convenience's sake, they first put them in burlap sacks for transport, then add water once at the mill, since it was right by the river.
Sun Mei also loaded several large wooden barrels onto the cart. Once secured, Zhao Dong pushed it out the door.
They headed toward the village entrance, crossed a bridge, and walked along the river path until they reached the mill.
The mill was built very close to the river, using water flow to power it, allowing it to run day and night, milling thousands of pounds of grain.
Next to the mill was also a water pestle house, which was 'creaking' as it powered de-husking for farm households.
The water mill and water pestle house were built by the Wei Family of Xiaoyi Village, the only water mill in the surrounding villages.
The Wei Family's ancestral home, where a few scholars had come from, and this generation had someone who became a County Magistrate outside. The Wei Family counted as one of the prominent families around here.
The current head of the Wei Family, Mr. Wei, hadn't studied much but placed great expectations on the younger generation. The private school where Sun Mei taught cooking was funded by the Wei Family for their children's studies.
The mill was managed by a middle-aged man, who warmly greeted Zhao Dong as he pulled up with the cart.
He was surprised to see Zhao Dong there for milling soaked soybeans but didn't say much.
Zhao Dong inquired about the price and yield. He learned that the rate was by the hour, two coins per hour, and fifty pounds of soybeans could be milled in a morning.
Zhao Dong calculated that it was quite cost-effective, so he paid the deposit.
"What's your name?" the middle-aged man asked while taking out a ledger.
"Zhao Dong."
"Alright." The middle-aged man took out a brush and wrote down a line. Zhao Dong glanced at it, recognizing some traditional characters, but he could guess it was his name, the type of grain to be milled, and the deposit paid.
Finally, the man had Zhao Dong make a handprint, then let him go. As Zhao Dong left, he reminded him to come once in between, otherwise the wooden barrels might not be enough.
Zhao Dong nodded gladly, agreeing. Not having to stay there the whole time and only needing to come once mid-way was very convenient. After thanking him, he pulled the cart back home.