Ordinary observers in fast time travel

Chapter 1274 Sweet Potato Flour

The four of them worked for more than an hour, grinding all twenty-odd kilograms of sweet potatoes into pulp.

"Sister-in-law, what are we going to do now?" Wang Tiehua asked curiously, looking at the sweet potato residue in the wooden bucket.

"The next step is washing the starch," Shi Jia said. "Xiao Shan, go and get the wooden bucket from the storage room, and take the gauze from the little flower house to wash it."

"Oh, okay." The two immediately turned around and went into the house, quickly bringing out their things. Shi Jia then asked them to clean the wooden tub and fetch some clean water.

Shi Jia took some sturdy firewood from the woodshed and made a stable tripod. If the roof beams weren't so high, a rope could have been hung down from them to help with the washing process.

After making the wooden frame, Shi Jia crossed two wooden sticks about half a finger thick and tied the four corners of the starched cloth to the ends of the sticks to make a simple funnel.

Wang Tieshan and the other two didn't sit idle either. Following Shi Jia's instructions, they poured the red dregs into the water and stirred them thoroughly. The purpose of this step was to ensure that the sweet potato starch was fully dissolved in the water.

Shi Jia instructed Wang Tieshan to place the large wooden bucket under the funnel. Once everything was ready, they began filtering. "Look," Shi Jia said, "scoop the sweet potato starch paste into the gauze, one ladle at a time. The paste will flow into the bucket through the fine holes of the gauze, while the coarse sweet potato residue will remain on the gauze."

The three nodded repeatedly.

“By repeating this process, we can obtain a relatively clean sweet potato starch slurry.” Shi Jia pointed to the grayish-brown liquid still in the large bucket. Well, that didn’t seem very convincing.

"Well, it needs to sit for a few more days. We need to change the water and wash it to remove impurities and dirt. In the end, the sweet potato starch will turn as white as snow," Shi Jia quickly added.

Wang Tieshan and the others nodded as if they understood, but Shi Jia knew from their expressions that he hadn't explained anything.

"Ahem, there's nothing else to do. Tieshan, have you finished your homework?" Shi Jia looked at Wang Tieshan, who quickly replied, "I've finished it, don't worry, sister-in-law. My teacher has been praising my academic progress lately."

Shi Jia nodded, "You've made progress and gotten better, but you can't let your guard down. You started school at thirteen, which means you started later than others, so you need to work even harder."

Wang Tieshan nodded vigorously, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, I will try my best."

Shi Jia trusted Wang Tieshan quite a bit, but trust was one thing; she still needed to keep an eye on him. So, after thinking for a moment, she said, "From now on, after dinner, if you've finished your homework, could you explain to us what you learned in class that day? Is that alright?"

Wang Tieshan was taken aback, but unlike the others, he did not immediately agree.

After dealing with Wang Tieshan's matter, Shi Jia turned to look at Wang Tiehua, who was looking up at her expectantly, as if anticipating something. "It's getting late, Xiaohua, you should go wash up and rest."

"Ah? Sister-in-law, I..." Wang Tiehua looked regretful, but hesitated and didn't know how to express herself.

Shi Jia chuckled and poured the last bit of slurry from the wooden bucket into the gauze funnel. He then shook the funnel to make the slurry filter faster.

“Xiaohua, you’re with me every day, so I already know your study progress by heart,” Shi Jia said with a smile.

Wang Tiehua paused for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Oh, right."

“However, you’ve been studying for so long, it’s time to see how it goes.” Shi Jia thought for a moment, “Hmm, summer is just around the corner, how about you make one summer outfit for each of us?”

Wang Tiehua nodded vigorously, "Okay! Sister-in-law, leave it to me!"

"Okay, thank you for your hard work. Go ahead, go wash up now."

"I'll go boil some water," Xiao Cao said hurriedly.

After sending the person away, Shi Jia sped up the filtration process. After filtering two buckets of coarse pulp, she scooped up clean water to wash the sweet potato residue, producing two buckets of liquid pulp for further filtration. She repeated this process twice, resulting in a large tub full of starchy pulp.

This bucket of slurry was left to stand for about ten days, during which time the water was changed three times, and in the end only a shallow layer of powder settled out.

"Sister-in-law, is this sweet potato starch?" Looking at the snow-white stuff in the bucket, the group was quite excited. Could it be made into steamed buns and bread like wheat flour?
"Mm." Shi Jia nodded. "Come on, let me make you something delicious to try first." In order to make sweet potato noodles, Shi Jia deliberately did not cook dinner at the Wan residence and bring it back today, but only brought some meat and vegetables.

"Mmm!" Three people, no, four people, looked at her with wide, expectant eyes.

Shi Jia was amused by the little guy's expression and couldn't resist pinching his smiling cheek. This immediately drew the little guy's displeasure, "Mommy~"

"Kid, you've got quite a temper." Shi Jia chuckled, completely ignoring that she was the one who started it.

After the laughter and commotion, it was time to make the sweet potato starch. Shi Jia first boiled water to make a slurry, then poured the remaining sweet potato starch into the slurry and stirred it thoroughly.

Shi Jia took out a strainer that she had prepared beforehand, scooped up a large spoonful of batter, and the batter immediately flowed through the holes of the strainer in a white line into the boiling water, where it was quickly cooked and set.

The children watched this scene and exclaimed in admiration, "Wow!"

"It's as long as noodles! So long! Sister-in-law, you're amazing!"

"Yes, sister-in-law is so smart!"

The little grass, who was tending the fire, nodded vigorously, "Madam is amazing!"

Shi Jia couldn't suppress the urge to smile. "Ahem, alright, hurry up and bring a bowl to fill with the vermicelli!"

"oh oh."

Looking at the pale gray yet translucent vermicelli in the bowl, Wang Tiehua subconsciously swallowed and couldn't help but reach out and pick up a vermicelli. The vermicelli was slippery, and before she knew it, it had slipped from her hand and returned to the bowl.

The little grass beside it licked its lips, its eyes full of longing.

The little guy was even more direct, tugging at Wang Tiehua's clothes and saying, "Auntie, Auntie, I want it."

"Huh?" Wang Tiehua subconsciously looked at Shi Jia, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the latter was not looking over. "Niu Niu, be good, it's not done yet. Eat it when your sister-in-law finishes it."

"Auntie, I want some." The little guy didn't understand much, and while Wang Tiehua bent down, he reached into her bowl, grabbed a handful of food, and put it in his mouth.

Sweet potato starch doesn't really have much flavor. The little guy chewed it for a while, then spat it out because he didn't like it. "No, it's not sweet."

Wang Tiehua, realizing what was happening, was startled. "Niu Niu! You can't grab it with your hands!" The little girl wasn't just learning needlework at the Wan family mansion; she had also learned a lot from the subtle influence of the other girls there.

"No, eat!" The little one was startled by his aunt's anger and waved his little hand. The rice noodles he was holding fell to the ground.

"Oh dear!" Wang Tiehua felt heartbroken upon seeing this and pursed her lips as she reached out to pick it up.

"What's wrong?" Shi Jia turned around when she heard the noise and saw her aggrieved sister-in-law, the bewildered little one, and the mess on the ground. She understood immediately.

Shi Jia pretended not to notice, "Xiao Hua, come here, let me add some sour soup for you."

"Oh, oh." Wang Tiehua nervously carried the bowl to her.

Shi Jia smiled and ladled her a full spoonful of soup.

"Thank you, sister-in-law."

"Is Zangzang delicious?"