Chapter 88: Chapter 53: Acorn Flour

Qingmu took a winding path to Li the carpenter’s house on the south side of the village.

It was a small courtyard enclosed by stone walls. A corner of the yard was piled high with curly wood shavings. A large black dog swaggered forward, barking furiously at Qingmu, but was silenced by a shout from Li the carpenter, who was just stepping out.

“Qingmu! Here for the wooden tub? It was finished yesterday. I’ve just oiled it and left it to dry.” He guessed Qingmu’s purpose the moment he saw him.

Qingmu quickly said, “Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Li. When can we use the tub?”

Li the carpenter boasted proudly, “You can use it as soon as you get it home. Don’t you worry, I used good quality wood.”

Qingmu smiled. Juhua had been nagging him about it for a while now. He followed Li the carpenter into his workshop and immediately spotted their tub among all the wooden wares filling the room.

A puzzled look appeared on Li the carpenter’s stubbled face. He asked Qingmu, “Why did your family order such a deep tub for bathing? How much water will that take? Isn’t that a lot of trouble?”

Qingmu replied, “My younger sister is frail and gets cold easily. A deeper bath with more water will keep her from getting sick from the chill.”

“Ah,” Li the carpenter said, nodding repeatedly. “That makes sense. You have to be careful. Anyway, for us farmers, as long as we’re diligent, there’s no shortage of firewood. And you’ve dug your own well, so you have water readily available.”

Qingmu said, “Exactly. Uncle Li, here is the money for the tub.”

Li the carpenter quickly took the money and counted it. Six hundred cents in total. His face broke into a brilliant smile. “Here,” he said, “let me help you hoist it up.”

With his help, Qingmu hoisted the tub onto his shoulder, took his basket, and left.

Clutching the six hundred cents, Li the carpenter walked into the main house, chuckling. Seeing his expression, his wife, Mrs. Wang, asked, “Did you get the money?”

Li the carpenter smiled and handed her the money. “Got it. No credit this time. Ever since Aunt Zheng started selling pork offal every day, they’ve got quite a bit of money on hand.”

Mrs. Wang asked, “You took six hundred cents from him. Isn’t that a bit much?”

Li the carpenter said, “Not at all. The labor cost is the same. It’s mainly because the wood is expensive—I used that good piece of timber I had at home for him.”

Hearing this, Mrs. Wang had nothing more to say.

Qingmu returned home with Zhang Huai, carrying the tub on his shoulder. Juhua was at the doorway, talking with Big Mouth Zhao. It was unclear what Big Mouth Zhao had said, but Juhua was giggling brightly.

Seeing this, Zhang Huai immediately felt a pang of jealousy.

Qingmu found it a bit strange too. He called out, “Big Mouth, what are you up to?”

Big Mouth Zhao’s dark face suddenly flushed. He said, a little bashfully, “Oh, nothing much. Just came to buy some pork offal and head meat. Whoa! Why is this tub so big?”

The moment Juhua saw the tub, she abandoned Big Mouth Zhao to go inspect it, not forgetting to call back over her shoulder, “Come pick it up tomorrow morning!”

Big Mouth Zhao agreed, gave Zhang Huai a smile, and then turned to leave.

Watching his retreating figure, Qingmu asked Juhua, “He’s buying pork offal, so why isn’t he taking it now? Why wait until tomorrow?”

Juhua was leaning over the rim of the tub, peering inside. She ran her hand along the inner wall as she answered, “He’s having guests over tomorrow—someone’s coming to meet him for a potential match. I told him to pick it up tomorrow so it’ll be freshly cooked and taste just right. Brother, what kind of wood is this tub made of? Why does it smell so nice?”

Qingmu replied, “I don’t know either. But it’s definitely good wood, or else Uncle Li wouldn’t have charged so much. Normally, a tub like this would cost two hundred cents at most. Uncle Li said it was a piece of timber his father left behind, and he didn’t recognize it either. There wasn’t much—just enough for one tub—so he asked if I wanted it. I saw it, thought it looked good and smelled fragrant, so I told him to use it.”

Juhua grew even more delighted to hear this. ’So the wood is an heirloom from the carpenter’s family! Judging by this fine grain and its natural fragrance, it must be something special. I’m afraid Li the carpenter might have taken a loss. If it’s really high-quality wood, how could an extra four hundred cents possibly cover it?’

’Oh my! A half-full tub of water, a sprinkle of chrysanthemum petals… how wonderful it would be to soak in that! Amidst the steam, it would be the “Beauty Emerging from Her Bath,” except in my case, more like an ugly duckling. Hehe! Just like Yang, but instead of “warm spring waters caress jade-white skin,” it would be “warm spring waters wash scabby skin.”’

Amusing herself with these private jokes, she looked up with a smile still on her face and finally noticed Zhang Huai. “Huai Zi, you’re here!” she exclaimed.

Zhang Huai was quite vexed. ’I’ve been standing here for ages! First she was talking to Big Mouth Zhao, then she was fawning over the tub, treating me like I’m invisible. But looking at her cheerful face, it’s impossible to stay mad.’

Qingmu quickly pulled Zhang Huai over to look at the acorns soaking in the basin. They had gathered so many that they still hadn’t finished processing them all. He began to explain in detail how to prepare them.

Zhang Huai listened intently. After a moment of thought, he said, “I suspect people could eat these too, if they were leached a few more times.”

Qingmu looked at him in surprise. “You’re right. That’s what Juhua says, too. She’s always talking about preparing some to taste, but we’ve never had the time.”

Zhang Huai was overjoyed to hear this. “Juhua really said that? She really said people can eat them?”

Qingmu laughed. “Of course. She said if pigs can eat them without any problem, people definitely can too.” As he said this, he felt a bit awkward. ’Why does everything always come back to pigs?’

Just then, Juhua called out from the kitchen doorway, “Brother, what are you two doing? Come help me grind the acorns.”

Qingmu turned to look at Zhang Huai, and they both smiled.

So they walked into the kitchen. Qingmu asked, “You’ve soaked the acorns?”

Juhua said, “Yep! A whole bucket is soaking. Once they’re ground up, I’ll make something you’re sure to love.” She smiled at Zhang Huai. ’A ready-made laborer.’

Although the family was poor, they had a complete set of basic tools and utensils, which was what satisfied Juhua the most. This stone mill, for instance, would save them a great deal of effort.

The stone mill was in the far corner of the kitchen, taking up nearly half the space. A large wooden basin was placed underneath it, lined with a large piece of white gauze to catch the ground slurry.

Mrs. Yang was sitting in front of the stove feeding the fire. She said to Zhang Huai, “Huai Zi, you’re here! Just in time to help our Qingmu with the mill—that thing is incredibly heavy. This whole big bucket of acorns… can you really eat it all once it’s ground? Well, if you can’t, it’s no big deal. The pigs can eat it.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Zhang Huai replied. He often came over to hang out with Qingmu and would stay for meals, helping out with chores. Seeing that Mrs. Yang wasn’t treating him any differently than before gave him a sense of relief.

Qingmu felt even more awkward. Juhua chided, “Mom, what are you talking about? Why would we grind it so finely to feed the pigs! Hmph, just wait until I make it. After you taste it, we’ll see if you still say it’s for pigs.”

Seeing that the basin was already in place, Qingmu asked, “Juhua, have you washed the mill?”

Juhua said, “I have. It’s all ready. You two can start grinding.”

Qingmu then took the mill handle from the wall, fitted it onto the stone mill, and began to grind with Zhang Huai, one pushing and the other pulling. The handle CREAKED and the mill RUMBLED, their sounds blending together like a little tune.

Juhua sat by the side of the mill, continuously scooping up acorn kernels and water from a bucket with a ladle and pouring them into the feed hole in the center of the top millstone. As the upper stone turned, a creamy yellow slurry flowed out from the sides and into the wooden basin below.

Looking at the acorn flour, which resembled rice flour, Juhua thought, ’If I leach it for one more day, it’ll be ready to eat. I’ll make acorn tofu. The other recipes are too much trouble, and since it’s cold, it’s better to keep things simple. The tofu can be braised, served cold as a salad, or cooked in a hot pot.’

Lost in her thoughts, a smile touched her eyes.

While pushing the mill, Huai Zi kept stealing glances at her. Gazing at her, he became momentarily lost in a daze, and his pushing became uneven. The handle felt awkward, thrown off balance, and the grinding became less smooth.

Qingmu watched him and sighed inwardly, then deliberately asked Juhua, “So Big Mouth Zhao has a matchmaking meeting tomorrow? Who’s he meeting, and what village is she from?”

Before, he never would have asked Juhua such a question in front of Zhang Huai. But now that he knew of Zhang Huai’s feelings, he naturally didn’t mind.

Hearing her brother’s question, Juhua recalled Big Mouth Zhao’s bashful expression and couldn’t help but smile again. She had found his reaction amusing earlier and had asked him about it out of curiosity.

Big Mouth Zhao was a straightforward, uninhibited person. He had never looked at Juhua strangely and was actually quite fond of her, so he told her all the details. “It’s Old Cheng’s niece. She’s eighteen this year. Tomorrow, her family is visiting Old Cheng’s house, and they’ll come over to my place to meet me. Her family seems nice. They don’t care much about a betrothal gift, they just said if we’re a good match, it’s a deal!”

After saying this, he scratched his head and gave a silly grin.

Juhua asked with a smile, “So, do you have any requirements?” She didn’t know why she had become so gossipy, but perhaps it was because talking with Big Mouth Zhao felt so easy.

Big Mouth Zhao grinned widely and said, “What requirements could I have? They don’t mind that I’m poor, so what right do I have to be picky? I heard from Old Cheng’s wife that the girl is very honest. Honest is good. I like honest people. If she were one of those clever, mischievous types, I wouldn’t know how to handle her.”

This made Juhua burst out laughing.

Her laughter left Big Mouth Zhao baffled. He asked, “What? Did I say something wrong?”

Juhua quickly said, “You’re absolutely right. You need an honest person to build a life with. Big Mouth, you’re quite insightful.”

And Big Mouth Zhao chuckled happily.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep