Chapter 67: Returning to the Village to Borrow a Stone Mill
Li You was very happy to see everyone so enthusiastic.
That being the case, it was time to go buy some soybeans.
Soybeans are a very ancient and important food crop with a cultivation history spanning several thousand years.
They originated in China.
They are also one of the most versatile and beloved types of beans.
When the soybeans are not yet mature, the pods are greenish-yellow and densely covered in fine hairs, and the beans inside are a bright green.
At this stage, they are called edamame.
They are a very popular food.
Boiled in their pods, they are a very popular late-night snack that pairs well with drinks, beloved by many.
After the soybeans have fully matured and aged, the pods dry out, and the beans turn yellow.
Once the beans are removed and dried, they become what everyone commonly calls soybeans.
Li You and his four companions arrived at the first stall selling soybeans.
"Ingredient: Soybeans.
Quality: Inferior."
’These soybeans look pretty good. Each one is quite plump.’
’But since they’re inferior quality, I’ll check out the other stalls.’
After checking two more stalls, he finally found some of medium quality.
From the outside, these soybeans didn’t look much different from the ones at the previous stalls.
If it weren’t for his system, Li You would have just bought them from any old stall.
"Boss, how much for the soybeans?"
"3.5 yuan a jin. Want to buy some?"
’The price is right.’
Li You nodded. "I’ll take two jin."
Generally speaking, one jin of soybeans can produce three to five jin of tofu.
Making seven or eight, or even ten jin of tofu this time should be about right.
"Alright."
The stall owner grabbed a bag and started weighing the soybeans.
Seeing Li You finally make a purchase, Ye Shengge, Zhao Yanglin, He Xianfei, and Qu Feng all breathed a sigh of relief.
They had seen Li You pass up several stalls and were afraid that he wouldn’t find any soybeans that met his standards.
If that happened, they wouldn’t be able to make tofu.
Thankfully, he had finally bought some.
Two jin of soybeans cost seven yuan.
Li You took the soybeans from the owner and paid by scanning a QR code.
Next, he needed to buy gypsum powder.
Because he was making soft tofu, he needed gypsum powder as a coagulant.
This gypsum powder is obtained by calcining raw gypsum at high temperatures, making it edible. It’s not the same as the raw gypsum powder used in construction materials.
The quality of gypsum powder varies even more widely.
He had to search the entire market before finally finding a stall with medium-quality powder.
Li You bought half a jin for eight yuan.
He definitely wouldn’t use this much, but he could keep the rest as a backup.
After that, it was time to head back to the restaurant.
He didn’t manage to buy any cabbage. But that was fine; he could just introduce twice-cooked pork with cabbage next time.
...
After Li You returned to the restaurant on his motorcycle, Ye Shengge, Zhao Yanglin, He Xianfei, and Qu Feng also arrived one after another.
Before the soybeans could be ground into soy milk, they needed to be soaked in clean water for several hours to swell.
So, the grinding would have to wait until the afternoon.
Ye Shengge, Zhao Yanglin, and the others knew this, so their enthusiasm didn’t wane; they were still very much looking forward to it.
Li You took out a large aluminum basin and poured all two jin of soybeans into it.
He sorted through them.
He picked out the few bad beans.
Then he poured in clean water.
Next, all he had to do was wait for the soybeans to slowly soak and swell.
Since there were no other customers at the moment, Li You decided to take the opportunity to go back to his village and borrow a stone mill.
He asked Ye Shengge, Zhao Yanglin, and the others to watch the shop for him, then set off on his motorcycle.
...
Twenty minutes later, he was back in the village.
There was a villager named Liu Jialiang, who was in his fifties.
Li You remembered that he had a stone mill at his house that wasn’t too heavy.
He also had an electric tricycle. It would be perfect to borrow his tricycle to transport the stone mill.
You needed a tricycle to carry a stone mill. It would be difficult to manage on a motorcycle.
’Time to go take a look.’
He went straight to the outside of Liu Jialiang’s courtyard.
Not far away, there was a weir pond.
Someone was fishing.
Li You took a closer look and saw it was Liu Jialiang.
He turned off the motorcycle’s engine, got off, and parked it securely.
He walked over.
The sound of the motorcycle engine had attracted Liu Jialiang’s attention, and he was turning his head to look.
Li You smiled. "Uncle Jialiang, any luck?"
Liu Jialiang smiled back and said, "Caught a few crucian carp. Xiaoyou, were you looking for me?"
Li You nodded and said, "Uncle Jialiang, I remember you have a stone mill at your house. Is it still there?"
Liu Jialiang said, "It is. We just used it to grind beans for tofu a couple of days ago. What’s up, Xiaoyou?"
Li You felt a surge of joy and said, "I’d like to borrow it for a bit. I’m going to grind some beans, too. I want to try making some tofu."
Liu Jialiang nodded. "Go ahead and take it. But, Xiaoyou, do you need tofu for your restaurant? It’d be much more convenient to just buy it! Making it yourself is time-consuming and a lot of work."
Li You smiled. "I just want to try making it myself once, to get a feel for it."
Liu Jialiang nodded. "Well, that makes sense. Come on, I’ll take you to get it."
"Thanks, Uncle Jialiang."
"Don’t mention it. By the way, I hear business at your restaurant is pretty good now. Is that right?"
"It’s true, more and more customers have been coming."
"That’s good, that’s good."
"..."
The two of them arrived in front of the stone mill as they talked.
This stone mill wasn’t particularly large; the grinding stones were about 40 centimeters in diameter and 12 centimeters thick.
The total weight of the stone mill was about 200 jin. Plus, the upper and lower grinding stones could be separated.
So, it wasn’t too difficult to move.
This was exactly the kind of stone mill Li You was looking for.
"You’ll need a tricycle to haul this thing. Xiaoyou, how about I use my tricycle to take it over for you? Are you taking it to your restaurant?"
Li You was just about to ask to borrow the tricycle when Liu Jialiang offered.
’This way, I don’t even have to ask.’
Li You smiled. "Uncle Jialiang, I was just about to ask to borrow your tricycle. But it’d be too much trouble for you to deliver it. I can just take it myself."
Liu Jialiang said, "If you take it yourself, you’ll have to ride the tricycle back later to get your motorcycle. Now *that’s* a hassle. It’s better if I take it for you. Besides, I was just fishing. I don’t have anything else to do."
"Well..."
Li You thought for a moment and said, "In that case, I’ll have to trouble you to make the trip, Uncle Jialiang."
Liu Jialiang said, "It’s no trouble at all. By the way, do you have a straining bag setup for filtering the soy milk and a mold for pressing the tofu? Want to take those along too?"
Li You’s eyes lit up. "If you have them here, Uncle Jialiang, it would be great to take them too."
After grinding the soybeans into soy milk, the milk needs to be filtered to remove the okara.
There are many methods for filtering.
Using a hanging straining bag is one of the most common and effective methods.
Li You had originally planned to build a simple straining bag setup himself. Now that Liu Jialiang had one, it was a perfect solution.
As for the tofu pressing mold, other containers could be used as a substitute.
However, having a dedicated mold was, of course, better.
So, Li You was delighted.
Liu Jialiang nodded. "Then let’s take them all with us."
Next, Liu Jialiang drove the tricycle over to the stone mill.
Working together, the two of them lifted the upper and lower grinding stones onto the tricycle one after the other.
Liu Jialiang then brought out the straining bag setup and the tofu mold from his house.
He put them on the tricycle.
He got on the tricycle and set off.
Li You went outside the courtyard, got on his motorcycle, and followed behind.
Half an hour later, they arrived in front of the restaurant.
When Ye Shengge, Zhao Yanglin, He Xianfei, and Qu Feng saw them, they all quickly gathered around.
...