The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences

Chapter 23

When Sang Luo returned home, the younger siblings had already woken up. They noticed that the bamboo basket and the newly bought bag of grains were missing, and two pieces of fairy tofu were also gone. They guessed that their sister-in-law had gone to the Chen family’s house.

So they simply took out the newly made stone hoe and went to the back of the house to turn over the few vegetable plots they had opened before.

By the time Sang Luo returned home, a small patch of the vegetable plot had already been turned over, and the weeds that were turned up had been picked up along with their roots and thrown aside.

Seeing Sang Luo, Shen Ning eagerly went up to her and said, “Sister-in-law, my brother and I are turning over the vegetable plot. The hemp we’re drying is also getting watered.”

The little girl’s proud little appearance was truly cute. Sang Luo couldn’t help but praise her for a few words, then put the bamboo basket back in the house and joined in the busy work. The difference was that the siblings were turning over the vegetable plots that had already been cleared, which was relatively easier, while Sang Luo was dealing with the uncultivated mountain land.

After days of no rain, the soil had become compacted, the roots of the wild grass were deeply embedded, and there were many small and large rocks in the mud. By mid-afternoon, Sang Luo had put in a lot of effort, but she had only managed to cultivate less than half a square meter. The pile of stones and grass roots she had picked out had already formed a heap.

She understood why the Shen family hadn’t cultivated this mountain land before. Cultivating was indeed exhausting, and the soil quality wasn’t good either. Besides the wild grass with its strong vitality, there might be something else planted there. Without meticulous care, it would be difficult for anything to thrive.

But with meticulous care, human labor was limited. Instead of wasting it on such barren land, why not invest it in better fields?

For Sang Luo, however, this was the only land she could manage.

After a day of hard work, they gathered the fish baskets, had dinner, and what Sang Luo most wanted to do was take a refreshing bath.

But it was just a dream. There was no bathroom, no tub. She could only take Shen Ning to a nearby stream, which was relatively secluded and clean, with Shen An guarding from a distance. They wore their clothes and washed them hastily in the water.

It was the third day already, dealing with this every day. Sang Luo felt like she would never be dirtier in her life.

There was no shower gel or shampoo either. Fortunately, she had wood ash. After filtering out impurities, it worked pretty well for cleaning and degreasing.

At that moment, Sang Luo regretted it especially. In her past life, during the years living in the mountains, she clearly had access to the internet and often browsed certain websites. She even uploaded quite a few videos and gained some popularity. Why hadn’t she thought of expanding into the realm of handmade content creators, learning how to make soap?

She vaguely remembered reading in some novel that pig pancreas was used, but beyond that, she knew nothing.

Otherwise, wouldn’t that skill be considered a golden finger?

Of course, it was just wishful thinking. How could all the good things in the world be hers to seize?

After washing herself, Sang Luo watched Shen Ning wash her hair. Shen Ning could only wash a small area above her head. She called the little guy over to help her wash her hair thoroughly. After washing, they both wore wet clothes and quickly put on the dirty outer clothes they had placed on the rocks before heading home.

There weren’t many people in their mountainous area to begin with, and with Shen An leading the way, they proceeded smoothly without any surprises or dangers.

Compared to her and Shen Ning, Shen An, the boy, had it much easier. He didn’t need to hide or avoid anything. He could just find a clean spot near the nearest mountain stream and wash himself with just his pants on.

Preparing for the second time to set up their stall, the three of them were much calmer. At least the two little ones weren’t getting so excited that they couldn’t sleep.

Sang Luo rested well that night. Before going to bed, she prepared everything she could. She only got up for half an hour in the middle of the night to do some work before returning to bed and falling asleep peacefully.

The next day, when it was just getting light outside and the birds were chirping on cue, Sang Luo quickly got up with the two little ones. After washing up, she cut the solidified fairy tofu into sixteen large pieces and some small bits and corners, gathered the things she needed, brought the piece of hemp cloth she had obtained yesterday, and set off for the village three miles away.

Because this time they were selling door-to-door in the village, they didn’t even need to prepare lotus leaves.

Shen An still felt a little uneasy because they hadn’t brought the bamboo tube with sugar water for sampling the fairy tofu today.

“Sister-in-law, without sugar water to taste the fairy tofu, will it sell well?”

Sang Luo knew, of course, that having sugar water for sampling would make the fairy tofu sell better, but she didn’t have that much cheekiness to keep asking the old lady for malt sugar. The basis of interpersonal relationships lies in sincerity and moderation. If the balance wasn’t struck properly, it would only end up annoying people.

She said, “It will, we’ll just visit a few more households and explain more.”

The atmosphere in Sanli Village on market days and non-market days was quite different. It was much quieter now. However, being a large village with several shops, it naturally had more people than the small villages like Shili Village.

At this time, the men in each household took advantage of the early sun before it got too hot to work in the fields, while the women took care of household chores, cleaning, and preparing breakfast.

As they walked along, Shen An, full of ambition, imagined how he would help with shouting and selling the goods once they arrived at Sanli Village. But upon entering the village, he found that without the bustling atmosphere of market days, it was hard for him to open his mouth to shout.

There were outsiders carrying bamboo baskets on their backs, but the two women sweeping at the entrance of the village didn’t pay them any attention.

There were too many outsiders coming and going in their village; perhaps they were just going to the shops in the village to buy things.

It wasn’t until that young woman with two children shouted crisply, “Fairy tofu for sale! Cooling and detoxifying, delicious and refreshing~”

The two women almost simultaneously looked over curiously.

Fairy tofu, what was that?

Yesterday, Sang Luo had indeed caused quite a stir at her own stall, but it was limited to that area. She sold her goods too quickly, and there weren’t many villagers in Sanli Village who knew about fairy tofu.

Sang Luo approached, seeing a woman sweeping the floor pause, staring at her. She smiled and asked, “Madam, would you like to buy some fairy tofu? It can be eaten cold or cooked, sweet or salty. Mix it with sugar water for a refreshing dessert, or cook it like any other dish for a delicious meal.”

The woman hesitated and didn’t speak.

Sang Luo then took a clay pot from Shen An’s basket and said with a smile, “Would you like to try a small piece? Bring a bowl, and I’ll give you a small piece. You can make some sugar water yourself or use it as you would for making cold dishes. Mix it and taste it. If it’s delicious, you can buy it. If it’s not, this small piece won’t cost you anything.”

Upon hearing that it wouldn’t cost anything, not to mention this woman, even another woman next door who was also sweeping the floor, heard this and came over with her broom, ears perked up. “It won’t cost anything? Can I have a piece?”

“Sure, Madam, go get a bowl. It’s better to put some seasoning in the bowl so it tastes better.”

The woman understood. Just like eating vegetables, those boiled in plain water were definitely not as tasty as those seasoned.

“Then wait for me, I’ll make some sugar water and come back.” The woman smiled and hurried back home.

Free food to taste? It’s a waste not to try it.

Seeing that their neighbors were all joining in, the woman who was first approached by Sang Luo also became interested. “I’ll go get a bowl too.”

In the blink of an eye, both women left, leaving Sang Luo with the two children standing there.

Shen An and Shen Ning were both a little excited. If someone was willing to taste it, they would probably be willing to buy it, right? People in Sanli Village were richer than those in their village.

While waiting, Sang Luo didn’t idle either. She stood there and shouted to attract customers. It didn’t take long before people started peeking out of their gates.

Perhaps Sang Luo’s continuous calls prompted the two women, who promised a free taste, to hurry up. They came out quickly, each with a few children trailing behind them.

The woman Sang Luo first approached was probably preparing breakfast at home. She went back to her kitchen and fetched some ingredients that were originally meant for cooking. Adding salt, soy sauce, and sprinkling some chopped scallions, she quickly mixed them into a savory sauce.

The other woman, who approached on her own, came out quickly with a bowl of water that had just been boiled. It didn’t look hot, and the color didn’t resemble malt sugar dissolved in water.

Seeing Sang Luo examining her bowl, the woman chuckled, “Honey water. Miss, you should give me a little more to taste; otherwise, I wouldn’t have spent money on the honey.”

Honey, that was really a splurge.

In ancient times, it was a luxury item, affordable only to wealthy families. Few ordinary people bought it. It seemed that this woman either had a decent family background and could afford such luxuries, or someone in her family had obtained a beehive in the mountains.

Sang Luo smiled and handed the clay pot to Shen An to hold, then took out a bamboo knife and a wooden spoon from Shen An’s basket.

The tasting piece had already been cut at home, into Mahjong tile-sized squares. She scooped up a piece with the wooden spoon, made a few cuts with the bamboo knife, and the piece of fairy tofu for tasting was divided into four smaller pieces.

The jade-like tofu rolled into the sauce, and the several children watching couldn’t take their eyes off it, especially the child from the woman’s family holding the sauce bowl. This was meant for their family.

“Mom, give me a piece to taste.”

“Auntie, give me a piece to taste.”

The three children gathered eagerly.

Both women had spoons in their bowls, turning Sang Luo’s sales scene into a food-tasting event. Several other women who had originally just glanced at Sang Luo’s calls couldn’t resist and joined in.

“What are you selling?”

“Can we taste it?”

“Zhuzi, is this thing delicious?”

The child who was asked was from the family tasting the savory sauce.

Not every household had honey water, so asking the child who tasted the savory sauce would provide a reliable reference.

The child named Zhuzi nodded and said, “It’s delicious.”

Then, with envy, he looked at the siblings next door and asked eagerly, “Erlang, is the honey sauce delicious?”

“Delicious, so delicious!” The child named Erlang used his actions to show everyone how much he loved this new food. He tugged at his mother’s sleeve and pleaded, “Mom, it’s delicious; please buy it; I really want to eat this.”

But it was such a small piece, it would disappear after just a few bites.

The woman, being pulled by her son, now put the last piece into her mouth. As she chewed, her eyes lit up, and she turned to Sang Luo, asking, “Miss, how do you sell this fairy tofu?”

As she asked, she glanced at the size of the tofu in the clay basin, and it seemed quite substantial.

Clearly interested in buying, Sang Luo smiled and replied, “It’s not expensive, two cents for a piece, and it’s quite substantial, enough to fill a large bowl.”

Two cents wasn’t expensive for villagers from Sanli Village, who could earn a bit of money by working in the mountains or fields. The woman agreed readily and said, “Alright, give me a piece.”

Upon hearing this, the children around her cheered, and the eldest girl took the initiative to go back to fetch money from her grandmother.

With one purchase made, the woman, now with a taste of saltiness in her mouth, found herself being tugged at by her children and sister-in-law, urging her to buy more.

But she didn’t refuse, nodding and saying, “Alright, give us another piece. Wait here, let me go back inside to get money.”

Having tasted it, both families have decided to buy it.

As the woman turned to go back for money, neighbors who had only come to watch the commotion started going back home to get bowls. Not everyone wanted to buy, but everyone wanted to taste for free.

Sang Luo wasn’t worried about them tasting it; it was better if they did. As she advised to accompany it with sauce, she also seized the opportunity to attract more customers. As the commotion grew, more people nearby came out to watch.

Shen An and Shen Ning were excited, occasionally glancing towards the direction of the pork stall.

Meat, oh meat, they would finally get to eat it today.