Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside
Chapter 83 - 083 Livelihood【2】

Chapter 83: Chapter 083 Livelihood【2】

Their family was living beyond their means. Although the silver from the Qi Mansion provided some support, after purchasing essentials for daily living, only twenty taels remained from the original thirty-two.

Without land to their name, that sum of silver was needed to buy land and to build a house. He also needed to continue his education. Each of these was an expensive undertaking. They must find a way to earn money; otherwise, those twenty taels would never be enough.

After hearing this, Third Grandpa pondered for a while before saying, "We are new here and our business is a novelty. If it does well, it is sure to make people envious. Don’t rush things. Wait until New Year’s Eve to discuss it with several families."

As newcomers, several families needed to band together to survive. They couldn’t let a business venture drive them apart. Therefore, Third Grandpa planned for several families to work together on the tofu business and specifically discussed it with Gu Jinli.

Gu Jinli agreed. Having experienced fleeing famines, she fully understood the importance of banding together in ancient times.

The family decided to put the matter aside for now and revisit it on New Year’s Eve.

The next morning, Father Luo, Qin San Lang, Gu Jinli, Gu Jin’an, Luo Wu, Luo Huiniang, Tian Erqiang, and Tian Xiaohua went into the mountains together.

None of the families had much meat for the New Year, so they went to Dafeng Mountain to see if they could hunt some game.

They entered the mountains at dawn and didn’t return until dusk. They found quite a haul: five hares, three pheasants, and a roe deer; they also gathered a sack of wild sweet potatoes—a rich harvest indeed.

"We have meat for the New Year now. This roe deer alone must weigh thirty or forty pounds. After we slaughter the deer tomorrow, along with a few chickens, we can offer sacrifices to our ancestors and eat our New Year’s Eve dinner together," Third Grandpa said, holding a torch and looking at the trove on the ground, a smile appearing on his serious face. Life was getting better.

Several families came to see the hunted game. The roe deer was the most admired and was circled and observed for the duration it takes to drink a cup of tea.

After inspecting the game, the adults asked Gu Jinli about the tofu. Third Grandpa asked them not to worry and said he would talk about it after the New Year’s Eve dinner.

Although the families were anxious to know about the tofu, New Year’s Eve was the next day, and they could wait another day. Having heard this, they refrained from pressing further.

Ms. Chu said to Gu Jinli, "Xiao Yu, let’s make some tofu for the New Year’s celebration tomorrow—the bean dregs cake and the tofu are delicious." They hadn’t bought many New Year goods; apart from coarse grains, their diet consisted of the game they found and the radishes and cabbages bought from villagers—nothing else.

"Okay, let’s make tofu tomorrow. Anyone who wants to make tofu, soak the soybeans tonight after you get home. Soak about five pounds per household. Tomorrow, bring the soaked soybeans to Aunt Luo’s yard, and we all can grind the beans together. After it’s done, you can take it back to your homes," Gu Jinli replied.

"Ei, sounds good, we’ll go and soak the soybeans right now," Aunt Tian said, delighted. Their yield of tofu and bean dregs from the soybeans was substantial. She realized last night that half a pound of soybeans could feed her family until they were full. Her household was short of both grain and money; she wished Gu Jinli would make tofu every day.

The families stood in the yard, discussing the preparations for the ancestor worship the next day, before each returned to their own home.

As dawn broke on the following day, the families were busy. The men were responsible for slaughtering the game; the women dealt with the offerings for the ancestors and prepared for the New Year’s Eve dinner; and Gu Jinli and the other older children were occupied with grinding beans to make tofu.

They had to make a lot of tofu that day. Grinding the beans alone took three long hours—from early morning until midday—before all the beans were ground. They carried buckets of soy milk to Gu Jinli’s home, where she handled the tofu-making.

Everyone curiously stayed to watch her make tofu, but they didn’t quite understand how it was turned into tofu.

They only knew that the soy milk was poured into a pot and boiled. After boiling, Gu Jinli would add a bowl of water, and after a while, the soy milk turned into tofu pudding. The pudding was scooped up and placed into a wooden box, then pressed with a stone for half an hour, and it became tofu.

"It’s miraculous," Gu Qingliang exclaimed in amazement at the boxes of tofu.

Gu Yumei scoffed, "What’s so miraculous? It’s just a cheap thing made from beans..."

Gu Dexing quickly tugged at Gu Yumei’s sleeve, interrupting her.

When they came, Aunt Tian had warned them that tofu was a good thing and that currently, only Gu Jinli knew how to make it. They were advised not to offend her; if they did, they wouldn’t be able to get tofu in the future, and only they, brother and sister, would have to ask for it!

Gu Jinli chuckled, looking at Gu Yumei and said, "Lowly thing? Since you’re such a lowly thing, then spit out the tofu you’ve eaten." She really couldn’t stand Gu Yumei, who, even after fleeing the famine and leaving their old home, still acted like she was the granddaughter of the village chief. She was simply sick in the head.

Hearing this, Gu Yumei’s eyes turned red with anger, pointing at Gu Jinli and said, "You, don’t be so smug, I will definitely make something better than tofu!"

It’s just making tofu, after all. Everyone fawned over her, but she wasn’t convinced.

There was also something else that made her even more furious. Her father was clearly the son of the village chief, so why wasn’t the ancestral worship meal on New Year’s Eve held at their house but at Gu Jinli’s house instead? Just because Third Grandpa and Third Grandma lived with them? But Third Grandpa and Third Grandma were only of higher generation, not the village chief!

Gu Jinli saw through her thoughts and said bluntly, "Are you not convinced? If you’re not, just keep it to yourself until you really can make something better than tofu."

She pulled out the dagger she carried with her and shook it at Gu Yumei, saying, "Pull your finger back, or I’ll chop it off, believe it or not?"

Gu Yumei remembered how Gu Jinli had severed Wu Da’s tendons, turned pale, hastily withdrew her hand, and dared not point at Gu Jinli again.

Gu Jinli smiled and said, "That’s more like it."

Gu Yumei was infuriated by Gu Jinli to the point of near-death, wanting to leave but not daring to, as they still needed to take tofu back with them. Otherwise, they would face a scolding from Aunt Tian and could only continue staying at Gu Jinli’s house.

After the tofu was made, Gu Jinli let them take the tofu back, "Now that it’s cold, just put the wooden box in the courtyard to freeze, and it should last for six or seven days."

Great Chu was bifurcated by Central State, with Jianghuai to the north bordering Central State and to the south next to Jiangnan. Strictly speaking, it was neither a northern nor southern territory, and it was still very cold here during winter.

"Eh, we know." The children from several families moved their own tofu back home.

Because of the gathering for New Year’s Eve dinner tonight, the women from these families were already preparing things in Gu Jinli’s kitchen. Seeing that she had finished her tasks, Mrs. Cui called out to her, "Xiao Yu, come and teach your aunts how to make bean dregs cakes and tofu dishes."

"Coming." Gu Jinli went to the kitchen and made a pot of bean dregs cakes, bean dregs balls, a batch of Fried Five-Spice Tofu, meaty red-braised tofu, and spicy tofu: "There are some other tofu recipes. I’ll teach the aunts later."

"Are there other ways to cook it? This tofu is really a treasure." The women from the various families were delighted. They let Gu Jinli rest and tried to make a few more pots themselves.

In the evening, before the New Year’s Eve dinner, except for the Qin family, the people from several families originally from Gu Family Village all gathered in Gu Jinli’s courtyard for ancestral worship and to commemorate the deceased villagers.

Thinking of those villagers who died tragically, the families cried bitterly until Third Grandpa spoke up to console them, and then everyone ceased their weeping.

The Qin family also worshiped their ancestors in their own courtyard, but without ancestral tablets, they just set up an altar and used a whole chicken to pay homage to the deceased.

After their family finished the ancestral worship, Third Grandpa personally went to invite them over for New Year’s Eve dinner. This had been agreed on earlier, and the Qin family did not decline. The grandparents and grandchild came, each with swollen, red eyes from crying.

The New Year’s Eve dinner was sumptuous, with two big basins of roe deer meat, two pots of stewed chicken, four large bowls of red-braised rabbit meat, two large pottery bowls of dry-fried bamboo rat, two large plates of bean dregs cakes, bean dregs balls, several kinds of tofu dishes, and two large basins of meat-filled Bai Cai dumplings, along with a big pot of sweet potato old rice porridge.

Although the variety was not extensive, the portions were substantial. Around thirty people ate until their bellies were full.

Gu Defa, Gu Dewang, Brother Cheng, Gu Qingxi from Brother Mu’s family, Jin Niu, and Gui Niu, these younger children, were particularly delighted, their tiny bellies becoming round.

After the New Year’s Eve dinner, Third Grandpa spoke about the tofu business: "Xiao Yu made tofu, and this tofu is a fresh delicacy. One jin of soybeans can produce more than three jins of tofu, which is very cost-effective. If the tofu is well made, it’s extremely delicious. I was thinking, since our families are all poor, without money or land, we need to find a way to earn money, and selling tofu seems like a good business."

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