A small plot of land in a mountain village

Chapter 65 Grinding Tofu

That evening, Zhang Niu returned home and overheard many villagers chatting about the hill under the big camphor tree at the village entrance. From afar, he heard Uncle Zhang's voice: "Do you know, my relatives said that the hill was leased by people from our village." Soon, someone retorted, "My aunt's cousin works there. I heard he's a high-ranking official from the provincial capital who's planning to build a villa on that hill." As soon as someone said this, another person immediately objected.

Zhang Niu listened by the roadside for a while and felt it was all too chaotic. This was such an exaggeration, with all sorts of relatives suddenly appearing. Listening to this, Zhang Niu headed home. These villagers these days really know how to gossip!

When I got home, I saw the village chief coming out of his house with a smile on his face. He greeted Zhang Niu and then went outside. Inside, my mother was busy chopping vegetables. My father was sitting in a chair, looking very relaxed.

He poured himself a glass of water. "Dad, what did the village chief want to do at our house just now?"

"He just comes in to chat for no reason, and by the way, he invited us to his house for his baby's one-month celebration in a few days."

"The village chief's wife has given birth again?" Zhang Niu asked without thinking.

"What are you talking about? His son's wife gave birth to a baby girl. She'll be a month old in a few days."

Zhang Niu scratched the back of his head. "I don't know. I don't know who's getting married or anything."

"At home, no one will laugh at you, but if you speak without thinking outside, people will laugh at you. What will happen to so-and-so's son? Your old man won't know where to put his face then."

"What are you two talking about? It's time to eat," Mom's voice came from the kitchen.

During dinner, after Dad finished a bowl of rice wine, he said, "Come home early in the morning. We're making tofu tomorrow." Zhang Niu, who had just swallowed a mouthful of rice, asked, "Why do we have to make tofu all of a sudden? Doesn't our family not really like to eat it?"

"Someone at your aunt's house has had a funeral, and they asked our family to grind some tofu and send it over."

"Oh, I thought it was us trying to take advantage of them."

As I was leaving, I saw my mother carrying a bucket and pouring water into a large wooden tub. It was filled with soybeans that had been sun-dried in the autumn; each one was very plump. She had already taken a lot to town to make soybean oil before the New Year. At that time, Zhang Niu's shop sold them for six yuan a pound, and many vendors were buying them. Not many people were selling them; most people kept them at home to eat or to use for making tofu balls for the New Year.

Soybeans need to be soaked overnight until soft before being put into the millstone. People in town generally prefer to buy gypsum tofu in round wooden basins. Square-shaped tofu isn't sold as well.

The next morning, Zhang Niu got up early and herded the newly raised ducklings out of the duck shed. Now, Xiao Hei could join in the fun too. He dashed into the shed, startling the ducks, who quacked and ran towards the door. A few unlucky ducks, slow to react, got trampled underneath. What a pity!

Zhang Niu quickly called Xiao Hei back, otherwise the ducks behind would have been terrified. Luckily, Zhang Niu wasn't raising egg-laying ducks, otherwise they wouldn't have laid eggs after being scared like that.

When I got home, a large millstone that had been sitting in the lobby for a long time had been brought out. It was made entirely of stone and had been passed down for who knows how many years; it was no exaggeration to call it a treasure.

The white millstone shows no signs of aging. It has been cleaned, and both layers can be separated. When in use, the top round millstone can be folded back up. A wooden bucket sits beneath the small spout.

Dad brought over a big bucket of soybeans. Yesterday the soybeans were plump, but now a thin layer has peeled off, a sign that they've softened. Making tofu also requires a T-shaped tool. And the grinding area has to be in the main hall; the beams of the main hall are essential for grinding tofu. You just need to swing the straw rope at the horizontal end of the T-shape over the beam to start grinding.

Zhang Niu couldn't grind tofu properly, so he had to scoop the soybeans with a water ladle. Each time, he would scoop a little and pour it into the small hole in the millstone. The white soybean liquid would then drip into the wooden bucket from the gap between the two millstones. There was also a method to adding the soybeans: only half a ladle at a time, and it had to be poured in when the soybeans were almost ground. Otherwise, they would get stuck in the gap. This meant that grinding one side of the mill would take much longer.

A bucket of freshly ground soybeans is brought into the kitchen, and the soybean liquid is poured into a large pot after it boils. The firewood burns brightly, and the boiling soybean liquid becomes soy milk. The younger sister waits there early with a large bowl. After the soy milk boils, she scoops out several bowls with an iron ladle and places them on the table. Freshly made soy milk tastes better than what's sold outside, which is usually diluted with a lot of water.

Zhang Niu quickly downed a bowl of freshly heated soy milk, filling his stomach instantly. His mother took out a clean tofu strainer and poured the soy milk into it—a crucial step in removing the tofu dregs. The amount of dregs removed determines the smoothness of the tofu. This requires meticulous work. A large bucket of soybeans had already been ground, and the father and son took the millstone outside to wash it.

When Zhang Niu returned with the millstone, the tofu was already made. It was placed in a round tofu basin, covered with gauze, and steam could be seen rising from it.

"Let's bike you to town!" Mom said.

"understood."

Dad had already placed the entire basin of tofu on the bike by the time he reached the front yard. "Don't ride too fast on the road. Otherwise, you'll break the tofu," Dad's voice came from behind. Needless to say, Zhang Niu knew that he couldn't ride too fast on the dirt road.

Along the way, you can see villagers cleaning up cabbages that were damaged by the freezing weather, and you can also see cabbages wrapped in straw ropes. They still look very fresh and tender.

Going uphill was tough for Zhang Niu; he had to drag himself up, panting heavily. This was the hardest part of riding all the way to town. The other dirt roads weren't suitable either.

Zhang Niu, riding his bicycle leisurely, saw a black sedan drive past him. In that fleeting moment, Zhang Niu saw someone inside looking at him, but the car was going too fast for him to see clearly. He watched them go in the direction they disappeared into the distance, guessing they were heading to some desolate place.

Watching the car drive away, Zhang Niu got back on his bike and rode back to town.

Upon arriving in town, they came to a small shop in an alley. The busy aunt noticed Zhang Niu and said, "You've brought it so early."

"Yes. I heard you needed it urgently. That's why I came over as soon as it was ready; look, it's still warm."

After carrying the tofu down, Zhang Niu went inside, drank some boiled water, and then said, "If there's nothing else, I'll head back now."

After saying goodbye to my busy aunt, I rode my bike home. The return trip was much faster, even though it was very bumpy.

Back at Happy Cottage, Zhang Niu ran up the hillside, expecting the car to still be there, but when he went up to check, the black car was nowhere to be seen. Two bamboo houses had been built, the same style as Zhang Niu's, but much taller and two-story. Zhang Niu had wanted to build a similar house before, but he didn't have much money back then.

The mountain paths leading outside were all paved with stones; looking back at my own path, it paled in comparison. The rich are indeed rich. People were busy working by the pond, and shouts could be heard intermittently.

First update. Please recommend and add to your favorites. Another 4000-word update tonight.