60s: I have a store

Chapter 186 Honey
The suggestion of making sweet potato noodles soon reached the ears of the old branch secretary and the team leader.

The two of them made a plan and found that if they turned half of the sweet potatoes in stock into sweet potato flour, it would be enough to last until the wheat harvest, after all, there were only a few days left before the harvest.

So they mobilized people in the village canteen to start making sweet potato noodles.

The old Party secretary and the team leader also hoped that the villagers could eat better before the busy farming season. Eating sweet potatoes all the time was not a good idea. Not only did they get hungry quickly, but they also farted frequently.

When everyone hears that sweet potato flour can be further processed into vermicelli, who wouldn’t drool?

In just one day, Zhoujiazhuang obtained white sweet potato flour.

This is actually the starch from sweet potatoes.

To make vermicelli, further processing is required.

The next step is to make paste.

In fact, it is just sweet potato starch and hot water boiled, and then stirred. While stirring, add sweet potato flour to ensure that the batter is just right, not too thin or too dry.

"Try harder, haven't you eaten?"

"Why don't you come? It's easy for you to talk while standing. Have I eaten? How long has it been since we have eaten rice in our village?" The man immediately retorted. He didn't like people who pointed fingers at others.

You know what, this job is quite tiring.

Just like mixing cement paste at a construction site, before the advent of mixers, mixing cement was almost the most tiring job. Because the paste itself has a strong viscosity, mixing it requires a lot of strength.

"You three go help too."

Three more people joined in the mixing, and there was a large vat half full of starch slurry.

Zhou Yimin, who was watching, wanted to wait for them to finish making the sweet potato flour and take some home to eat, but he saw the people stirring the flour were sweating and he immediately gave up the idea.

People of this era don’t care so much.

It’s good enough to have something to eat, why bother about hygiene?
The gutter oil that was criticized in later generations would be snatched up in a minute in this era. No matter whether it is hygienic or not, just eat it first. Only those who are not starving to death are qualified to talk about health.

Besides, compared with the additives used in later generations, sweat is negligible.

This is different from the Ganges water food in India.

At least they don't use feet to step on it or clamp it with armpits. The sanitary conditions are many times better than those on the streets of India.

It was just that Zhou Yimin was a little embarrassed to eat the food when he saw other people's sweat dripping down. It would have been fine if he hadn't seen it, and he would have eaten it anyway.

"Boil water." The person who knows how to make sweet potato vermicelli ordered.

Right next to it, a large pot of water was boiling.

Someone started to use a colander to scoop a large spoonful of the batter and quickly put it above the pot of water. The batter would leak out of the colander and become strips of vermicelli.

The colander is made of a gourd ladle with a few small holes poked in the middle.

This step is called leaking wire.

At this point, it is easy to know whether the slurry is qualified or not.

If the noodles are neither too thick nor too thin and are not broken, they are suitable. If they are rolled too fast and broken, it means that the paste is too thin and dry starch should be added to make the dough moderately tough. If it is difficult to roll or the speed is too slow and the thickness is uneven, it means that the paste is too dry and some wet starch should be added.

"Pick it up and put it in the cold water tank over here." The man commanded calmly.

When the shredded silk sinks to the bottom of the pot and then floats to the surface, it can be taken out of the pot and needs to be cooled down by passing through a cold water tank.

"Hurry up and hang the vermicelli on the wooden sticks, rinse them in the vat, and then take them out to dry."

The cooled vermicelli should be bundled by hand and threaded onto a wooden stick, then passed through another cold water tank to cool down, and constantly shaken until the vermicelli becomes loose.

Finally, they are taken out to dry outdoors and become the sweet potato vermicelli we usually see.

"How is the best way to eat this vermicelli?" Some people have already thought about how to eat it.

"Pork stewed with vermicelli?" "What are you dreaming about in broad daylight?" Soon, someone poured cold water on him.

Where does the pork come from?
"In eight or ten days, won't our village be slaughtering a pig?" This is not just a dream. According to the practice of previous years, before the wheat harvest, the village usually slaughters a pig and gives everyone two good meals.

After these words were spoken, everyone present couldn't help swallowing.

Pork stewed with vermicelli usually uses sweet potato flour and potato flour.

"Yes, it's pork stewed with vermicelli."

……

In the afternoon, a group of children came to Zhou Yimin's house with bruised faces and noses.

"Grandpa Sixteen, this is the honey we found." As he said that, he placed the large bucket of honey and honeycomb behind him in front of Zhou Yimin.

They also wanted to eat the honey, but their family asked them to send it to Grandpa Sixteen.

They can have food to eat, books to read and clothes to wear, all thanks to Grandpa Sixteen. They should know how to be grateful.

Zhou Yimin looked at them all with bruises on their faces and noses from being stung, and at the same time, he felt moved but also a little amused.

It's hard to refuse such a good intention.

He put the honey aside and asked them to come over one by one so that he could pull out the bees' stings for them.

When a bee stings a person, the person usually dies.

This is because their stingers have barbs, which cannot be pulled out smoothly after stinging a person, causing damage to the internal organs or even pulling them out, leading to the death of the bee.

The bee's stinger evolved from an ovipositor and consists of a dorsal stinger and two ventral stingers, the ends of which are connected to the venom glands and internal organs in the body.

After being stung by a bee, the swelling will go away quickly by simply pulling out the stinger.

Then, Zhou Yimin took out some soap and water and wiped the little guys. Bee venom is acidic, so you can apply soapy water or sodium bicarbonate.

"Wait, don't go yet." Zhou Yimin called them again.

He carried the honey into the house, and then took out some food from outside the house. Taking advantage of a child was something Zhou Yimin was not good at doing.

There are the White Rabbit milk candies that everyone likes, as well as fried dough twists and preserved fruits.

Each child was given 5 pieces of White Rabbit Toffees, 3 pieces of fried dough twists the size of two fingers, a handful of preserved fruit, and a piece of beef jerky. The children returned home with a full load and were overjoyed.

Sure enough, Grandpa Sixteen would never let them down.

They were given 5 pieces of White Rabbit milk candies. They had eaten this kind of milk candy not long ago. It was also given by Grandpa Sixteen. It was delicious.

Fried dough sticks, preserved fruits, and beef jerky are all their favorite foods.

It’s still Grandpa Sixteen who understands them.

They were very happy to exchange the honey for these foods.

So they added: "Grandpa Sixteen, next time we see honey, we will all..."

Before they could finish, Zhou Yimin interrupted: "Next time you see a beehive, come back to me, don't be stupid and get stung by the bees."

They don't take honey at all.

You have to use smoke to drive the bees away first. People who are professional don't need any protective measures at all, and they won't be stung by bees. They can easily collect honey.

"Okay!" A group of children responded in unison.

After sending these little guys away, Zhou Yimin began to process the honey and extract it from the hive.

(End of this chapter)