Therefore, when they came, they had already prepared all the tools.
"Xu Xiu, I really didn't expect that you would also know this plantain herb is a medicinal material. If it weren't for your discovery, we would have truly missed out on this great fortune!"
As soon as she entered, Lin Zhi said to Xu Xiu with a smile.
"I discovered it by accident too. I knew about plantain herbs before. Once, when I was getting medicine, I unintentionally heard the doctor say this. Then that day, when I saw this plantain herb, I thought about it, and it really looked extremely similar to a plantain herb. So, I had your Zhiyong go inquire in the county town. Who knew, upon inquiring, it really turned out just as I said?"
"It seems that after leaving the old Zhang family, your luck is slowly coming," Lin Xia also said with a smile.
"Exactly! I say that the old Zhang family doesn't have a single good person!"
"Alright, alright, hurry up and go to work. You women love discussing these gossipy things," Zhang Haifei said with a simple smile.
"Alright, then we'll start now!"
"Mmm, it's in the backyard over there, there's a large patch of it. I have to finish tidying up these bamboo shoots before I can go," Xu Xiu said with a smile.
"Look at what you're saying! We'll go pick it. Aren't you Zixuan washing them here? Besides, if it weren't for your suggestion, we wouldn't even have known about this! I say, even if you did nothing, we should still give you a portion of the silver from selling the plantain herb."
Lin Zhi said to Xu Xiu.
"Exactly, exactly! Without your suggestion, where would we have made this discovery? There are so many plantain herbs, and the medicinal herb shop buys them for a good price too. Where else could we find such a good thing?"
"..."
A few of them chatted and laughed as they walked towards the backyard.
Xu Xiu also followed behind them all the way. She also carried a basket on her back, but she was preparing to load the bamboo shoots that Liu-Tou and Qi-Tou had pulled out.
Every time she made a trip back, the two brothers had already piled up another heap.
She just needed to load them back.
This time, she not only wanted to sell the dried bamboo shoots to the restaurant, but also wanted to sell the recipe for pig offal.
She didn't know if she could get a good price for it.
If she could, then at least one of the brothers could go to the academy.
Liu-Tou is already seven years old this year, just the right age to go to the academy.
Qi-Tou is still alright; He's six this year, so he can wait another year.
Of course, if both could go together, they could look after each other, and she would feel more at ease.
It has to be said, these rural women work with such dexterity.
In less than two quarters of an hour, a few of them were already walking back to their courtyard carrying baskets full of plantain herb.
And Zhang Zixuan in the courtyard wasn't idle either; not only did he have to peel the bamboo shoots, but he also had to boil them once in clean water.
Now that the plantain herb had been brought back, he also needed to wash it.
Fortunately, he was sitting in a wheelchair, so it didn't affect his handiwork.
In the backyard, Liu-Tou watched Xu Xiu load large handfuls of bamboo shoots into the basket and said heartbrokenly:
"Mom, when I grow up, you won't have to do these things anymore. Then, all these rough jobs will be done by me."
Hearing this, Xu Xiu was stunned on the spot.
Looking at the little boy in front of her who hadn't even reached her chest, Xu Xiu's heart immediately surged with a pang of sadness.
Since childhood, no one had ever said such considerate, caring words to her face.
Her life was like a machine, operating non-stop every day.
She didn't even know tiredness, didn't know hardship, and didn't know how to release her feelings.
She only knew how to operate every day under constant tension.
However, after transmigrating here, she understood familial love.
She even experienced the feeling of being understood and cared for by someone.
Squatting down, looking at the little boy whose face was covered in mud from pulling bamboo shoots, Xu Xiu instinctively stretched out her right hand, gently stroked his cheek, and said softly:
"Mom isn't the least bit tired. This little bit of work is already very easy for Mom. As long as you are well, what does this little bit of work matter to Mom?"
Actually, Xu Xiu wanted to say more, to tell them to go back to the courtyard and rest for a while.
But Xu Xiu herself also knew that even if she said it, the two brothers might not listen.
They were very sensitive; they would only completely stop once all the bamboo shoots in this bamboo grove were pulled out.
Xu Xiu herself also knew that bamboo shoots only grow during this period.
After this period, the bamboo shoots won't grow anymore. If you wait again, it will be next year.
On the way back, Xu Xiu also picked a bunch of wild chives and wild garlic from the roadside to take back.
She didn't know if people here knew these things were edible.
But in the time she had been here, she really hadn't seen them eat these foods.
When she returned again, Zhang Zixuan had already started washing the plantain herb.
"With this bamboo pipe water, washing things is indeed much more convenient," Zhang Zixuan said with a smile when he saw Xu Xiu return.
Especially since Xu Xiu had considered his inconvenience and placed the water pipe at exactly the height of his wheelchair.
He only needed to move slightly to wash, completely effortlessly.
"Mmm, I'll sun-dry the first batch for two days, then I'll go to the county town to see what price Yuexiang Restaurant offers for this dried bamboo shoot?"
"You're so confident that Yuexiang Restaurant will buy it?"
"Haven't you tasted it? Don't you have confidence?"
Zhang Zixuan: "..." To be honest, he really did think it was delicious.
Thinking this, he immediately understood where her confidence came from.
"How much silver do you think we should sell this dried bamboo shoot for per catty?"
This dried bamboo shoot is different from a plantain herb; even after drying, it weighs more than a plantain herb.
Naturally, the price should be cheaper.
"This is really hard to say, but for a restaurant, if they truly think it tastes good, they should be willing to offer a price. After all, this is a fresh food, it can get them many new customers."
Zhang Zixuan analyzed truthfully.
"That's what I think too. I have several more recipes on hand. I'll make them for you to try tonight. If they're good, I can discuss them further with Manager Wu."
"Recipes?"
"Mmm, yes, these are all fresh foods I researched myself. I hope to sell them for a good price, so I can send both brothers to the academy later."
Thinking of Liu-Tou's thoughtfulness earlier, Xu Xiu felt even more that she couldn't delay him.
However, after hearing Xu Xiu's words, Zhang Zixuan didn't speak.
He really didn't know how to describe it.
If he said he didn't support her, she always managed to surprise him.
But if he supported her, it felt a bit like trying to get something for nothing.
He also knew Xu Xiu's cooking skills; to describe them truthfully, they were just average.
But looking at her, so excited in front of him, Zhang Zixuan didn't know what to say for a moment.
"I know you don't believe me, but it's okay. I'll make it for you to try tonight. If you all think it's perfect, then I'll take it to Manager Wu to try."
Although Xu Xiu was also quite confident about this dish, she was still somewhat unsure about the taste preferences of people here.
It was best to let her own people try it first.
As for pig offal, it's really only troublesome during the washing.
When stir-frying, if you add plenty of seasonings, the taste naturally won't be too bad.
Thinking of this, Xu Xiu started to worry again.
She didn't know about other families, but in all her years of cooking, she really hadn't seen anything like soy sauce.
She didn't know if it simply didn't exist here, or if their family just didn't have it.
If it really didn't exist, she might have truly found an opportunity to make a fortune.
Thinking this, Xu Xiu asked Zhang Zixuan again: "Have you ever heard of this thing called soy sauce?"
"Soy sauce? No, is it oil? Squeezed from what?"
"You really haven't heard of it?" Xu Xiu asked excitedly.
If even Zhang Zixuan hadn't heard of it, then it probably really didn't exist.
Because he had worked as an escort outside in previous years, traveling north and south, he could be considered well-informed.
"Truly haven't heard of it. Describe it, what is it? I'll think again!" Zhang Zixuan spoke again.
Seeing Xu Xiu so excited, he was really afraid she would be disappointed by nothing.
"It's not oil. It's a seasoning also used for cooking, but it's made from soybeans, a black liquid thing. Have you seen it?"
Hearing this, Zhang Zixuan really pondered carefully, but ultimately shook his head.
"Really haven't heard of it. When Zhiyong and Haifei come back later, I'll ask them again."
"If you haven't even heard of it, then it probably means this thing doesn't exist yet," Xu Xiu said quietly.
"Do you have some other ideas?"
"Mmm, I do have another idea, but it still depends on whether I can make it successfully. Right now, it's just an idea," Xu Xiu said mysteriously.
According to her understanding, the most important ingredient for making soy sauce is soybeans.
And at this time, other things weren't plentiful, but soybeans were the most abundant.
Usually, two or three coins could buy a catty.
Thinking this, Xu Xiu became even more eager to make a trip to the county town.
Because she really had too many things to buy.
Not only did she need to buy things, but she also had many things to do.
When she carried the bamboo shoots back for the last time, both Liu-Tou and Qi-Tou also came back carrying a large bundle of bamboo shoots.
Not only them, but Zhang Zhiyong and the others also came back together.
"Have dinner here tonight," Xu Xiu said with a smile.
"No, no..."
"It's settled. Tonight, I have something I need your help with!"
"Sister-in-law, As long as you ask, if we can do it, we'll try our best," Zhang Zhiyong said with a smile.
Originally, they planned to go home for dinner and then come back here to wash the plantain herb.
Seeing Xu Xiu say this now, they guessed it was probably about that.
Looking at the courtyard full of plantain herbs, he felt happy inside.
He had never imagined they could earn such a sum of money.
Compared to this, it was even more than what the shop owners in the county town earned.
In just this half day, each of them had made over a dozen trips. Roughly estimated, even after drying, it should be over ten catties.
Fifteen coins per catty, ten catties is one hundred and fifty coins. Even split three ways, that's fifty coins each.
Calculating this, it delighted him.
You know, working in the county town, toiling from dawn to dusk, you only earned about fifteen coins a day.
Some even only twelve coins.
And even so, people scrambled to do it.
"You rest for a while first, then we can talk while we eat!" Xu Xiu said with a smile.
Seeing Xu Xiu so insistent, Zhang Zhiyong and Zhang Haifei had no choice but to stay.
"Xu Xiu, really, you don't need to cook rice. We can just have some porridge," Lin Zhi quickly stopped her when she saw Xu Xiu about to put rice in.
"We've been busy all day today. If we don't eat our fill, where will we get the strength to work?"
"Seeing you use rice like this, my heart aches for you," Lin Xia couldn't help but add.
"What's there to ache about? People are iron, rice is steel. If you don't eat your fill, nothing else matters. If you really can't stand watching, see that pork over there? Help me trim the bones off that, trim them out!"
"Do you want the fat and lean meat separated?"
"No, no, no need to separate those, just help me trim out the bones."
Hearing this, Lin Xia and Lin Zhi didn't think much and walked towards that side of pork.
"Xu Xiu, I have to say, it's no wonder Old Liu Shi was so angry. Your pig really was just at the age to put on fat. You butcher it like that, it's no wonder she goes crazy with anger!" Lin Zhi said with a smile.
"I bet she's probably still sulking now," Lin Xia also agreed.
"Who cares about her? If she wants to be angry, let her be. I can't control her. But if she provokes me, then I won't be as polite to her as before."
"You should have been like this long ago. Look, now that you've separated—no, severed ties—you severed ties. Look, once you severed ties with the old Zhang family, good fortune started coming one after another. You'll see, away from that old Zhang family, your life will definitely be better."
"That's..."
The women were busy chatting and laughing there, while the men over there were also constantly processing the plantain herb.
"After just half a day of sunning, it's already this dry. After sunning for two more days, it should be ready to take to Renhe Medicinal Shop."
Renhe Medicinal Shop was the largest medicinal herb shop in the county town.
Usually, they rarely dealt with such a large medicinal shop.
Those who frequented such high-class medicinal shops were all noble people.
For country folk like them, those who joined in were usually selling medicinal herbs.
As for buying medicine, there was no need to go to a place like Renhe Medicinal Shop.
"Mmm, if the weather is good tomorrow, sunning it for one more day should be about right."
"Then what are we waiting for? We have to wash all this plantain herb tonight, even if it takes all night," Zhang Haifei said excitedly.
"I have to say, it's really convenient to have water here," Zhang Zhiyong said with a smile.
"Exactly! Just a twist and the water comes out. Even having a well at home isn't as convenient as this."
Hearing this, Zhang Zixuan was also quite proud.
It has to be said, the current Xu Xiu was indeed quite different.
The various ideas in her head were all very different; she was completely like a different person compared to before.
Xu Xiu had already processed the morning's pig offal once with plant ash.
Of course, using salt to process it would be better, but salt here was very expensive.
Even in ordinary households, when cooking, they had to add salt carefully, not daring to be extravagant.
Considering this, Xu Xiu used plant ash to wash it.
Even so, she cleaned it very thoroughly.
One set of pig offal, after washing like this, still filled a large wooden basin.
If this dish was really popular, Manager Wu at the restaurant would like it very much.
After all, one set of pig offal only cost two or three coins, yet one set could be stir-fried into several dishes.
Calculating it this way, this one set of pig offal could practically be called a zero-cost business.
Any manager who knew arithmetic shouldn't refuse this method.
The most important thing now was for her to make the pig offal delicious.
Thinking this, Xu Xiu washed the wild garlic she had picked earlier.
Then she cut it into small sections and added a few chilies.
These chilies were also casually picked on the way back.
It had to be said, Zhang Village was poor, but wild vegetables were everywhere.
The people here didn't know about them, but that didn't mean she, transmigrated from the apocalypse, didn't know.
She was also thinking of going to pick those bracken ferns in a while, pickle them, and then take them to Yuexiang Restaurant and sell them.
"Liu-Tou, make the fire a bit stronger."
"Okay, Mom!"
When everything was ready, Xu Xiu then added the prepared chilies and wild garlic.
After releasing the fragrance, she poured in the pig offal from the side.
In no time, the entire courtyard was filled with fragrance.
"Mom, it smells so good! What are you making?" Liu-Tou asked curiously.
When he came back, Xu Xiu had already finished processing the pig offal, so Liu-Tou didn't know that what she was stir-frying now was pig offal.
As for pig offal, even folks like them in the countryside don't like to eat it.
So, Liu-Tou really hadn't ever seen properly processed pig offal.
Besides, Xu Xiu had already cut it into sections, so Liu-Tou had even less idea.
"Mom won't tell you now. Try it later and see if it tastes good. If it's good, Mom will make it for you often in the future, okay?"
Xu Xiu felt they could afford this dish.
One set of pig offal costs two or three coins. For their family of five, even eating it for four or five meals wouldn't finish it.
Two or three coins were even considered expensive; sometimes, if no one wanted them, Butcher Zhang would just give them away.
Mainly because pig offal was really too unpleasant to eat.
"Xu Xiu, I have to say, I really can't compare your cooking skills," Lin Xia said with a smile beside her.
"This is nothing. If you really like it, come over often to eat in the future."
As she said this, the pig offal in the pot was ready to be served.
Pig offal becomes tough if stir-fried for too long, and it won't taste as good then.
The heat control also needs to be grasped well.
Then Xu Xiu quickly stir-fried a plate of bamboo shoots and bracken ferns, and used some pork belly to stir-fry a bunch of wild chives.
Added together, it made four or five dishes. Placed on the table, it looked quite abundant.
Seeing there was still a bit of fire left, Xu Xiu casually took some of the bamboo shoot strips Zhang Zixuan had sun-dried outside and threw them onto the fire to roast.
Roasting on fire was naturally faster than sun-drying. Roasting them overnight would dry the bamboo shoot strips by tomorrow.
"Alright, everyone come eat!" Xu Xiu called out to everyone.
"It smells so good! We could smell it even while washing the plantain herb over there. Looking at it, it really seems quite good," the few of them said, looking at the dishes with a smile.
Lin Zhi and Lin Xia also washed their hands and went over, but when they saw the dishes on the table, they immediately became curious.
"Xu Xiu, I don't think I've seen these dishes of yours before? Where did you get them?"
"You haven't seen this one either?" Xu Xiu pointed at the plate of wild chives.
Lin Zhi shook her head, "I often cook, but I really haven't seen this vegetable. This... is it good?"
Actually, Lin Zhi wanted to ask if it was edible.
But after smelling the fragrance, she swallowed those words.
"It's delicious. These are called wild chives. You try it quickly, see if it tastes good."
Because they had a whole pig, Xu Xiu wasn't worried about oil, so she was generous with it.
She thought, if they all thought it was good, then she would dig more to store while she had time during this period.
It was spring now, and there were many wild vegetables at the foot of the mountain. It seemed they just didn't know about them.
It seemed fate had arranged for her to transmigrate to this village, treating her quite well.
Hearing Xu Xiu's words, a few of them carefully picked up a few small pieces and put them in their mouths.
After tasting them, their faces immediately showed surprise.
"It's delicious, really delicious! Are these really wild chives?"
"Yes, look, there's still some over there. I didn't use it all," Xu Xiu pointed to the bunch of wild chives not far away.
"Ah? So this is it? These are these called wild chives?" Lin Zhi asked curiously.
"Yes, I just called it that casually. I also casually picked two bunches on the way back just now. You try it quickly. If it tastes good, tomorrow you can also pull some to take back and cook."
"That would be wonderful."
"And this one, you try this one too!" Xu Xiu pointed again at the plate of pig offal.
This plate of food was her main dish for tonight.
Whether she can get a good price tomorrow depends on this dish.
"This... what kind of dish is this? It doesn't look like meat, it looks more like..."
"Like what?" Xu Xiu asked curiously.
"Is... is it pig offal?" Lin Xia asked curiously.
No wonder she knew, because Zhang Haifei's father was Butcher Zhang.
Usually, when no one wanted the pig offal, throwing it away was a pity, so they would take it back to eat themselves.
"Exactly! This is pig offal. Quickly, quickly, you try it too, then give me some suggestions, and I'll improve it," Xu Xiu said excitedly.
She hadn't expected Lin Xia to recognize it.
However, to Xu Xiu's surprise, after she said this, the others didn't take the next step.
The expressions on their faces were also indescribable.
"What? You don't believe in my cooking skills?" As she said this, Xu Xiu deliberately picked up a piece of pig intestine and put it in her mouth.
"Mmm, the flavor is really very good!" Xu Xiu exclaimed.