Chapter Forty-Five: Savoring Delicacies

  "What are you doing, sneaking around and eavesdropping on adults' conversations?" Zhao's expression changed from surprise to anger as she saw Xi Mei walking in nonchalantly from outside.

  Oh no, I forgot that Mother hated it when they did things secretly. Pulling up the corners of my mouth, I put on a bright smile, "Mother, aren't I just a little excited? Hehe, excited, excited."

  He looked at her little appearance and was surprised, "You still know what excitement is, come and tell your aunt, how to be excited."

  Old lady, you think you can pretend to be serious and we won't know you're teasing the kid? At least be professional, your smile lines are already showing.

  No time to bicker with her mother-in-law for now, she still had a flattering expression on her face as she looked at Zhao Shi, "Mother, didn't you say there's nothing to sell? We can sell breakfast items, I like drinking tofu brain."

  Zhao suddenly heard the term "tofu brain" and was a bit stunned, "What is tofu brain? I've never heard of it?"

  This sentence is like a thunderbolt on a clear day for Xi Mei, it's bad, she won't be able to wear it anymore, no wonder I haven't seen anyone selling that in town several times, it turns out it doesn't exist in this era yet.

  But why is there tofu in the world, but no tofu brain? With a puzzled expression, Zhao's mother coughed and suddenly came to her senses. "Mother, I heard that from the chef at Zhang's house. He said that in his hometown, there was a dish called tofu brain, which was very delicious."

  "Really? How come I don't know about it? You're not lying, are you?"

  Sister Xi saw her mother's suspicion, nodded as if pounding garlic, "Of course it's true, Mother, look at how innocent and lovely I am, how could I lie?" A really can't-be-more-real expression.

  Seeing her mother still looking a bit disbelieving, she hastily added, "Mother, at that time you were only worried about Father, how could you have had the energy to worry about me?"

  Mr. Zhao thought for a moment, and at that time he was so confused that he didn't know what to do, how would he know what Xiao Yatou had done? But soon he reacted, "You said, on the day your father was locked up in prison, you still had the mood to ask about food?"

  I'm so fed up with my sister, why is it so hard to tell a lie? With her innocent big eyes staring at Zhao's face full of grievances, I really want to say, "Mom, I was wrong. Don't torture me anymore."

  Xue saw Xi Mei looking pitiful and scolded Zhao, "What's wrong with you? She's so young, what does she know? Seeing something interesting, of course, she'll ask questions. Can't be like you, flustered and at a loss?"

  Seeing someone speaking for her, Xi Mei quickly ran to the back of her second aunt and hid her face behind her, grabbing her pants leg with her small hand.

  Seeing this, Zhao smiled and shook his head, "Alright, alright, I won't pursue it anymore. Now hurry up and come out, tell us how to make that tofu thing of yours."

  "It's tofu brain." Mr. He added, "Regardless of what it is, can you make it, dear sister?"

  Seeing their distrustful eyes, Xi Mei puffed out her small chest and proudly said "Of course I will, my memory is great, isn't today the day I taught Big Aunt to make Saliva Chicken?"

  "Alright, let's get down to business." Zhao cut off Xi Mei's self-praise.

  "Got it. But are we doing it now? Isn't that a bit rushed?" Xi Mei thought to herself, having just finished dinner, if they did it again, wouldn't they be too full?

  But He, who was impatient by nature, said, "What's the hurry? Finishing things early will make you feel more at ease."

  There's nothing much to say about this happy event for my sister either, after all, she's also very anxious.

  "It's no good." Xi Mei suddenly remembered that soybeans need to be soaked overnight before they can be cooked. The three women were startled when Xi Mei suddenly said it was no good.

  "What's wrong now? Isn't everything all right?" Mrs. He asked hastily.

  Sister Xi shook her head, "No way, Auntie. This must be made with soybeans that have been soaked overnight."

  Hearing this, Zhao and the others couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Hey, what's the big deal? It's just waiting for one night, what's so hard about that?"

  Who was it that just urged others to hurry up? The bad guy.

  After the three daughters-in-law had cleaned up the bowls, chopsticks and tables, it was already late. The three families bid farewell to Old Man Chen and Madam Chen, and they all returned home. On their way back, they made an appointment to meet at Zhao's house early tomorrow morning to discuss making tofu brains.

  They finally arrived home, and Xi Mei was carried on Chen Tianfa's back into the house. Hey, this girl fell asleep comfortably on her father's back. Chen Tianfa secretly said to Xi Ju, "Look at our little daughter, she can eat and sleep, if she continues like this, she'll really become a little pig."

  Zhao's glare made Chen Tianfan even more uncomfortable, and he hastily put down the child and was about to return to his own room.

  The girl who was put down secretly opened her eyes and covered her mouth with a smile.

  The next day, it was still a bit dark, and Zhao's wife gently pushed Xi Mei, "Xi Mei, Xi Mei wake up."

  The little girl turned around impatiently, how annoying, disturbing people's dreams so early in the morning. Zhao saw that the little girl had turned around and continued to sleep, couldn't help but smile a little, and continued to push her tirelessly, "Xi Mei, hurry up and wake up, your aunties have all arrived, they're just waiting for you."

  Pink tender mouth muttered something, if Zhao usually still had the mind to watch Xi Mei's 'performance', but it was really late, so Zhao had to take matters into her own hands and help Xi Mei put on her clothes.

  No one expected that just as she sat up, Xi Mei fell down again while picking up her clothes, making Zhao Shi both angry and amused.

  Finally, Zhao spent a long time waking up Xi Mei, and it was early in the morning that she had already sweated profusely. Looking at her daughter rubbing her eyes with a tired face, she helplessly sighed and carried her to the kitchen.

  The cool breeze that came suddenly in the morning made Xi Mei shiver, and this time she was completely awake. "Mom, where are we going? It's not dawn yet."

  Zhao picked her up and hugged her, it's a bit of a hassle to pick up the big girl. Listening to his daughter's question, Zhao replied, "Of course, we're making tofu brain, didn't we agree last night? You forgot again?"

  Thanks for the reminder, I finally remembered my task for today, hehe, "Of course I remember, I remember."

  Walked into the kitchen, was teased by He Shi and Xue Shi, struggled to save his own little face from their hands, shouting loudly, "Stop messing around, stop messing around, we need to get started."

  Xue asked curiously, "Well, little master, what should we do first?"

  Sister Xi stroked her smooth chin, pretending to think, and suddenly looked enlightened. "Auntie, you and my mother quickly go grind the soaked soybeans into soy milk, then filter out the soybean dregs."

  Watching the two of them go to work at the millstone according to their own requirements, he continued to instruct Mrs. Xue, "Second Aunt, you quickly go and light the fire, heat up the pot."

  Then, after a brief pause, "Let's cook some dried mushrooms and wood ears that the sisters picked on the mountain." He took out the gypsum from the kitchen cabinet, which he had brought back from the old house yesterday, and looked at Xue Shi with an air of mystery.

  "Second Aunt, you'll know what this is for in a moment." Thinking that Zhao and the others would arrive soon, she first instructed Xue to make the sauce. In her heart, she sighed that it would be even better if there were golden needle mushrooms. She hadn't seen any golden needle mushrooms; next time they went out to play, she must pay attention to whether there were any or not.

  Watching the mushrooms and wood ears rehydrate, before Xi Mei could say anything, Xue Shi had already chopped them up. According to Xi Mei's request, she added oil to the pot, and after it heated up, she stir-fried the prepared scallions, ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, and other spices until fragrant, then threw in the chopped mushrooms and wood ears.

  Is that all? Xue didn't think it was so simple, Xi Mei reminded her "It's not over yet, we still have to make the fire bigger, add soy sauce, then add water, bring to a boil, and sprinkle in the beaten eggs."

  These simple steps were no match for Xue Shi, who had been in the kitchen for many years. She quickly finished what Xi Mei said, and Xi Mei sent her encouragement in time, "Second Aunt is great."

  "Don't give me any more nonsense, what's the next step?" Xue asked.

  "Add some cornstarch to thicken the sauce." After saying that, he couldn't help but sigh, if only they had water chestnut flour here, who would still use cornstarch?

  When the fermented bean paste was ready, Zhao and his family had also finished making the soy milk. Because of the money in front of them, they were driven to work hard, so they sweated a bit on that cool morning. He didn't mind at all, but instead felt amazed by the tofu brain that was about to be born.

  "Xǐ mèi, jiē xià lái gāi gànmalē?" Zhao shì mō le yī bǎ zhǒu shàng de hàn wèn zhe. "Bǎ dòu jiàng guò lǜ hǎo le zánmen yòng dà huǒ shāo kāi jiù kěyǐ le."

  Translation:

  "What's next, sister?" Zhao asked, wiping the sweat from his head. "After filtering the soy milk, we can boil it with a big fire and it will be ready."

  It's that simple, looking at their suspicious faces, Xi Mei nodded, of course it's just that simple, she just needs to put something down in the end.

  When the soy milk is boiling, turn off the heat. Then dissolve the calcined gypsum with clear water and pour it into the pot in one go, saying "done" to the three people who are staring blankly.

  "Is that all? Are you kidding us?" He asked incredulously.

  "Alright, just wait a bit." Kai Xi covered the pot lid with a mysterious smile on her face. Seeing this, they didn't say anything else.

  After enduring for a quarter of an hour, Xi Mei eagerly opened the lid and looked at the tofu pudding that had condensed into white flowers in front of her, finally succeeding.

  Zhao and the others were stunned the moment Xi opened the lid, and Xue stuttered "This was just water a moment ago, how did it freeze in an instant?" and even waved her hand.

  Xi Mei ignored the three people who were making a big fuss, took out her own bowl and chopsticks, scooped up some tofu pudding, poured on some sauce, chili oil, Sichuan pepper oil, and scallions, and started drinking with relish.

  "It's really delicious." Satisfied with a sigh of relief, it's indeed still the same taste as before.

  Just as I was about to sigh in admiration, a pair of large hands suddenly snatched the bowl away from me.