webnovelfull Chapter 139 Dried Tofu
Chapter 139 Dried Tofu
Song Jiaojiao thought that although she hadn't seen any large carnivores in Qingshui Mountain, apart from the mother wolf she had encountered last time, she hadn't seen any others.
However, the adult wild boars were not to be trifled with, nor were there herds of mountain goats. Unfortunately, Song Jiaojiao was just a weak woman and could only watch the delicious food in the mountains. She had been here for a year and had never seen a single stall selling mutton or beef.
Beef was prohibited from being slaughtered privately by the government, but sheep were not. People here thought sheep had a muttony smell, so gradually no one sold them anymore. Over time, only Song Jiaojiao's family in the village had a sheep.
"Okay, I understand. Will it still be three meters this time?" the village chief asked, thinking that the other side of the barren mountain was at that height.
"Yes, keep it at this height. But this time it's best to make two layers. It's okay if it takes longer, safety is the main priority. Just use local wood. Anyway, I'll have someone clear away the small trees in the back so I can plant fruit trees later."
Considering how large this place is, it seems we'll need to cultivate a lot of seedlings this time. Currently, we have apricot, peach, grape, and kiwi trees. The strawberries are grown in greenhouses, and Song Jiaojiao has collected quite a few of the trifoliate oranges that Liu Xuewen brought back last time; I just wonder what they'll look like after transplanting them.
"Okay, it seems we'll need quite a few people this time. We were originally planning to set up the greenhouse after the busy farming season so we could sell vegetables in the winter, but it looks like we'll have to postpone that."
The village chief remembered that Song Jiaojiao's greenhouse sold a lot of vegetables last winter, and he originally wanted to lead the villagers to do it properly. But now that Song Jiaojiao wants to build a workshop, and there's such a big mountain, it seems unlikely.
“Uncle Wang, if we don’t have enough manpower, we’ll hire more people. The pay this time is 25 wen a day. If our village doesn’t have enough, we can hire people from other villages. They’ll all get the same pay, but meals won’t be included.”
Song Jiaojiao hopes that the villagers can repair the greenhouses. If the hot pot restaurant can be opened later, a lot of vegetables will be needed, and Song Jiaojiao's two greenhouses are not enough.
"Okay, I understand. I will consider it carefully when the time comes. If we have enough manpower, I will consider the village's affairs," the village chief said after thinking for a moment.
Seeing that everything had been discussed, the village chief didn't linger and had to go back to prepare the necessary paperwork.
The next morning, Song Jiaojiao set off in her donkey cart. Mu Qing, the horse-drawn carriage driver, had gone to the county and hadn't returned yet. Luckily, they still had a donkey at home. When she bought it, Song Jiaojiao had asked Wang the carpenter in the village to make a carriage, as she didn't want to go out in the cold wind.
This time, it was just Song Jiaojiao and the village chief. They went to town and completed the paperwork for purchasing Qingshui Mountain.
Afterwards, the village chief took Song Jiaojiao to Sifanglou, took the dried tofu down, and went to attend to his business.
Manager Wang happened to be at the door and saw Song Jiaojiao, so he helped her move the dried tofu to the back kitchen.
"Madam Song, is this the new thing you mentioned last time?" Manager Wang asked, looking at the items wrapped in oil paper in the basket.
“That’s right, take a look.” Song Jiaojiao took out a piece, unfolded the oil paper, and several pieces of dark brown dried bean curd appeared in front of her. The aroma of dried bean curd was clearly noticeable.
"What is this? It smells like braised meat."
Shopkeeper Wang looked at the things in front of him with suspicion.
Song Jiaojiao didn't answer him. She just took a piece of dried tofu, washed it clean, sliced it thinly, and mixed it with cilantro, scallions, and chili oil to make a cold dried tofu salad.
Then I took another piece, sliced it thinly, and arranged the slices neatly in a circle on the plate, with chili powder in the center.
They pushed it in front of Manager Wang, saying, "Manager Wang, please try it first."
Shopkeeper Wang first tasted the cold-dressed dried tofu. The dried tofu with chili oil was very chewy, fresh, fragrant, spicy and numbing, which was very appealing to the taste buds.
Dried tofu dipped in chili powder has a completely different texture, but both methods have their own merits.
"It is quite good. In the summer, it would be a great snack to accompany drinks, but now that the weather is getting colder, it may not be so easy to sell."
Manager Wang objectively stated the matter, explaining that he thought this thing called dried tofu could only be served cold.
"I never said that dried tofu can only be eaten cold. Like bean curd sticks, dried tofu can be fried, stir-fried, or boiled. It's a very common way to cook it, and each method can unlock different delicious flavors. As for what it will turn out like, that depends on the chef of Sifanglou. If Manager Wang doesn't believe me, you can ask the chef to stir-fry a dish with dried tofu right now."
Song Jiaojiao thought that the method of making this dried bean curd was very ordinary and there was nothing particularly noteworthy, so she left it entirely to Sifanglou.
Upon hearing Song Jiaojiao's words, Manager Wang called over the head chef and quickly stir-fried a dish. In no time, a plate of stir-fried tofu appeared in front of the two of them, and judging from the technique, it looked like stir-fried fatty pork.
Shopkeeper Wang tasted the stir-fried tofu and found it to be just as Song Jiaojiao had described. The stir-fried tofu was not as firm and was slightly soft, but the taste was excellent. Even though no meat was added, it still had a meaty aroma.
"It's good. I wonder how much this dried tofu costs?" Manager Wang asked.
Song Jiaojiao thought that the most important raw material for dried bean curd is spices. However, as long as the brine is not spoiled, it can be used indefinitely. In addition, the workshop needs to braise dried bean curd every day, so the cost is not high. Then there is the cost of the workers. Each batch of dried bean curd is only about 20 jin (10 catties), and it takes two days to make. Dried bean curd costs about two yuan per jin, so it is indeed difficult to set a price.
When Manager Wang saw Song Jiaojiao frowning and looking worried, he wondered to himself, "Is this dried bean curd really that difficult to make?"
"How about this, 30 coins per pound. Making dried tofu is quite time-consuming, taking at least three days, and the yield is not large each time. This price is indeed the result of careful consideration."
When Manager Wang heard the price, he breathed a sigh of relief. It was much cheaper than dried bean curd sticks, and it was rare to find such a low price at Madam Song's place.
"Okay, this price it is. How much dried tofu can you provide each day?"
"This basket contains all the dried bean curd that has arrived recently. We only have about twenty catties a day at most. Dried bean curd is something we really can't supply in large quantities." Actually, it's not that we can't supply in large quantities, but Song Jiaojiao makes so many different kinds of things that she simply can't keep up with the demand.
She thought, why not find the owner behind Sifanglou to open a workshop together? If she continued like this, she didn't know when she would be able to let go.
Although Manager Wang was disappointed, there was nothing he could do. Song Jiaojiao's village did indeed have a small population. Several times he had considered asking if it was possible to cooperate with Sifanglou, but he was afraid of scaring people away, which would be a terrible mistake.
"Alright, let's make the dried tofu and mung bean powder together." It seems we can only satisfy Sifanglou in Yunshui Town for now.
Manager Wang never imagined that even the Sifanglou restaurant in Yunshui Town wouldn't be able to provide any food later on. It wasn't because there were too many people, but because his boss had taken the food away to open a new shop, leaving him with nothing.