Chapter 9 - 9 Chapter 009 Daughter Resembles Mother (1/2)
9 Chapter 009 Daughter Resembles Mother
Translator: 549690339
“You, a little girl, dare to claim you can grind better tasting tofu than me?”
“If Aunt Wen doesn’t believe me, why not give it a try?” Zhuang Qingning laughed aloud: “Why not let me grind a batch of tofu for Aunt Wen to taste? If the tofu I grind tastes good, you’ll let me rent this tofu factory. If it doesn’t taste good, then we’ll drop the matter, how does that sound?”
At her words, Mrs. Wen burst into laughter.
Her eyes slightly narrowed, her laugh exaggerated, she displayed none of the kindness expected of the elderly. Instead, there was a sense of harshness that was unnerving.
“Competing in this gamble with a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl, that’s interesting.” Mrs. Wen smirked: “My tofu hot pot hasn’t been used for a long time, so starting it up again isn’t unacceptable.”
“But let’s be clear upfront, if you can’t make tofu that tastes better than mine, it’s not as simple as just not renting the tofu factory. You’ll have to leave my tofu factory, one step at a time, on your knees. Do you think that’s acceptable?”
“Agreed.” Zhuang Qingning replied immediately, without hesitation.
“You’re refreshingly decisive, unlike those who dilly-dally.” Mrs. Wen took a sip from her bowl of porridge: “Then, sooner is better than later, you say you can grind better tasting tofu, I am eager to taste it.”
“There are ready beans in the tofu factory. Clean up the grinding mill and let’s start.” Mrs. Wen instructed.
“Agreed.” Zhuang Qingning complied and left with Zhuang Qingsui for the tofu factory.
Despite being called a tofu factory, it was merely two large rooms in Mrs. Wen’s house used for grinding tofu. Everything necessary was inside, but since it hadn’t been used for a while, it was covered in a thick layer of dust.
The sack of beans was leaning against the wall. Zhuang Qingsui untied the rope securing the sack and grabbed a handful of beans to examine in the dim light of the room.
They were fine, well-preserved. There were no signs of mold, spoilage, or insect infestation.
She took the winnowing basket hanging nearby, used a small broom to sweep off the dust, and poured in a small sack of beans.
“Qingsui, sort the beans first. Discard the blackened and rotten ones in this little basket at the side. I’ll clean this water tank used for soaking beans.”
The water tank hadn’t been used for a long time, was covered in a thick layer of dirt, and needed thorough cleaning. Otherwise, the beans soaked in it might easily spoil.
Zhuang Qingsui agreed and sat down on a small stool to meticulously sort the beans.
The light in the room wasn’t good enough, and she thought about going out to the courtyard to sort the beans. But remembering the state of Mrs. Wen’s courtyard, she dismissed the idea and went back inside with the winnowing basket.
But the light inside was really bad, and Zhuang Qingsui was worried that she might not clean the beans thoroughly. If the tofu turned out bad, she wouldn’t be able to win over Mrs. Wen and rent the tofu factory…
After pondering it for a while, Zhuang Qingsui finally decided to place the winnowing basket near the edge of the doorway and started sorting the beans carefully.
Meanwhile, Zhuang Qingning placed the cleaned water tank properly, and tidied up all the tools needed for making tofu, including the large stove for cooking soy milk and the stone mill for grinding…
Meanwhile, Zhuang Ruman’s family was having their meal.
Cornmeal pancakes, cornmeal paste, served with pickles.
“Mother, you put too much cornmeal in these pancakes, it’s choking. My throat has been hurting recently, eating this irritates it more. Can you make me some white flour pancakes instead?” complained Zhuang Qinghe with a pout.
“Mother, my throat is also uncomfortable.” Zhuang Yuanzhong echoed besiders her.
“If everyone eats white flour, who will eat the cornmeal?” Zhuang Ruman replied discontently: “Our farmland is limited, so we have only a small harvest. If we all eat white flour, how are we supposed to manage?”