Transmigration: The Little Chef Calls The Shots-Chapter 52 - Making Cold Skin Noodles_1
Chapter 52: Chapter 52 Making Cold Skin Noodles_1
Chapter 52 -52 Making Cold Skin Noodles_1
Seeing the bags of grain Lin Yuan brought home, both Lin Wei and her sister were amazed, especially at the several bolts of fabric.
Since the household’s silver was always handed over to Lady Yang, their clothes were basically altered from adults’ garments by Lady Liu or were hand-me-downs from Lin Siyu.
They had never worn new clothing from childhood to adulthood.
Hearing that their eldest sister said the fabrics were for them, they were even more delighted and rushed into the west room with the fabric to show their mother.
Lady Liu, however, was much calmer.
Seeing the fabrics, she asked Lin Yuan in detail about her purchases.
As an adult, she had some understanding of the market prices in town and quickly realized something was amiss.
But, since the children were all caught up in the excitement, she didn’t feel it was the right time to ask any questions and simply joined her daughters in happily examining the fabric.
For lunch, they made rice porridge with white rice.
Lin Yuan also heated up the flatbreads she had bought in town and found them quite delicious with soybean paste.
Lin Yuan had been thinking about the matter she had arranged with Sister-in-law Guizhi.
After lunch, she immediately brought out the family’s large basin and started making dough.
She made a lot of dough, planning to set aside half to rise so she could make meat buns in the evening.
She had bought quite a bit of meat that day, and with the weather being hot, she needed to eat it quickly before it spoiled.
While kneading the dough, Lin Yuan also sent Lin Wei to Lanhua’s house.
They had never steamed buns themselves and didn’t have any starter at home, so they had no choice but to try their luck at Lanhua’s house.
After a long wait, Lin Wei returned, out of breath.
Lanhua’s house didn’t have any starter either.
It was only after she suddenly remembered seeing Xiao Shitou eating buns that she hurried to Sister-in-law Guizhi’s house and managed to borrow some starter.
This was a lapse on Lin Yuan’s part, as people in the village were lucky to have enough to eat, let alone indulge in white flour every day.
If Sister-in-law Guizhi and Laosan’s wife hadn’t been fond of Xiao Shitou and saved the little white flour they had for him, Lin Yuan might not have been able to borrow starter at all.
However, now that she had the starter, she could keep a piece for herself after steaming the buns.
Lin Yuan divided the dough in half; she had kneaded as much as five pounds of dough, which was more than enough for steaming buns.
She took out the portion for Sister-in-law Guizhi, then mixed the starter into the remaining dough and let it rise in the kitchen.
With another large basin in her arms, she headed to Sister-in-law Guizhi’s house, covering the basin with a clean wiping cloth to prevent others from seeing.
At that time, Laosan’s wife was coaxing her grandson to take a nap while Sister-in-law Guizhi, taking advantage of the quiet moment, was sorting through the sesame seeds in her house.
Following Lin Yuan’s suggestion from last time, she had roasted the sesame seeds and crushed them, which turned out really fragrant.
Not only did Xiao Shitou love it, but even Er Shuan, who usually didn’t like sesame, ate more cornbread dipped in sesame salt.
Knowing that Lin Yuan might have another use for them, she began picking up sesame stalks in the courtyard again.
With the large quantity of sesame they had grown, if it indeed could be sold for money, she planned to plant even more next year.
Upon seeing Lin Yuan come with a large basin, Sister-in-law Guizhi knew that the matter of making cold skins was likely to happen.
The two women didn’t speak much.
Lin Yuan immediately asked Sister-in-law Guizhi to get ready some clean water and a larger bucket.
Making cold skins was quite simple and didn’t require any technical skills.
As long as one mastered the method, it was quite easy.
The first step in making Liangpi is to knead the dough.
Everyone is accustomed to farm chores, so there’s no need for her to teach them how to knead.
Next comes washing the dough, which simply means washing out the starch from the flour.
This step is straightforward too; pour half a basin of water into the large mixing bowl containing the dough and knead it vigorously, just like washing clothes, until the water becomes increasingly white and turbid.
Then, pour the water into a wooden barrel to collect it.
During the first round of washing the dough, Lin Yuan explained the key points while demonstrating.
Sister-in-law Guizhi was a clever woman and grasped the knack after just one look.
Thus, the second time around, Lin Yuan handed the task over to Sister-in-law Guizhi.
Truth be told, this woman was both smart and capable, washing the dough much faster than Lin Yuan.
In no time, she finished the second wash.
At this stage, the dough was especially loose, almost impossible to gather together, and it would not get any smaller regardless of how much more it was washed.
Lin Yuan knew this signified that the dough had been properly washed.
There was about half a barrel of water collected in the wooden barrel, but it couldn’t be used to make Liangpi yet.
It had to settle overnight before it could be used the next day.
However, the day’s work was not yet finished.
To make Liangpi, you need not only the dough skin but also gluten.
Gluten is simply the leftover loose dough bits from washing the dough.
Lin Yuan scooped these bits up with a bamboo strainer into a bowl, thoroughly washed the gluten to remove the starch, and let it soak in clean water since it wasn’t time to make Liangpi yet.
Over two pounds of white flour, after all the washing, resulted in just less than a handful of gluten.
Sister-in-law Guizhi felt a pang watching this, thinking if the Liangpi didn’t sell, they would suffer a big loss!
Hearing Sister-in-law Guizhi’s complaint, Lin Yuan was filled with confidence.
The weather could stay hotter for a few more days, and once the spicy and cool Liangpi was made, it was sure to be appetizing and refreshing to eat at noon.
She was certain that this fresh item would be snapped up eagerly by customers as soon as it hit the market.
With all the prep work done, she just had to wait until the next day to steam the Liangpi.
Thinking of the chores at home, Lin Yuan decided to head back.
Tonight, she needed to steam buns, and it was the perfect time to start chopping and mincing the meat.
No sooner had she arrived home than she saw Lady Liu, with her big pregnant belly, busily cutting meat for marinading in the kitchen.
Seeing her mother sweating profusely made Lin Yuan’s heart ache, so she quickly helped her into the house.
In the east room, father was carving the mooncake molds Lin Yuan needed, and in the west room, Lin Wei and Lin Shuang were sleeping side by side.
Xiao Linshuang, infatuated with the newly bought cotton fabric, clutched it even in her sleep.
After getting Lady Liu seated on a small stool in the main room and giving her a cup of water to drink, Lin Yuan observed her mother’s pale face and her belly, which didn’t seem to be seven months along.
It suddenly struck Lin Yuan that she had forgotten to mention something to Sister-in-law Guizhi.
She had planned to buy a few hens on her trip to town to make daily chicken soup for her mother to restore her health.
But Lady Liu was already too weakened, and a sudden heavy nourishment could be too much for her, so she had intended to ask Sister-in-law Guizhi to help find someone selling eggs.
She would buy eggs to feed her mother daily, and when her health improved, she could have chicken soup or bone broth.
However, amidst the hustle of washing the dough, she had forgotten all about it.
Lin Yuan silently tapped her own forehead, lamenting that she was becoming more forgetful.
Lady Liu didn’t notice her daughter’s turmoil and took the cup her daughter handed her, pulling her down to sit together.
Since the day Lin Yuan was tricked by Laosan’s house, mother and daughter hadn’t had a good chat.
