The Little Life of a Big Landlord

Chapter 86 Grinding the Mill

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The long-tailed purple sheep were also exceptionally docile. When they saw someone coming to milk them, they didn't even move. Clearly, the ewe must have experienced this before. She kept nibbling at the ground.

The milk was purplish-white, like a milky white milk with a faint purple tinge. A strange fragrance permeated the air, like that of poppies, giving one a sense of exhilaration and bliss.

"This goat milk must taste good..." Wei Qingqing looked at a bucket of goat milk and swallowed slightly.

"Of course, this milk is known as the 'wisdom milk' on Fengyun Star..." Yang Ming said.

"Smart milk only enhances intelligence; it has nothing to do with taste," Wei Qingqing retorted.

"Hehe, you're right," Yang Ming chuckled.

"Honey, I suddenly remembered something. In Inner Mongolia, they seem to preserve cow's milk and mare's milk by making milk wine. Why don't we make milk wine too?" Wei Qingqing said.

"How would we know how to make this? We've never even had a drink before," Yang Ming said, but his eyes lit up.

"There must be instructions online..." Wei Qingqing said.

The two milked a large bucket of goat milk, then went home and searched online.

Open Baidu, enter the keyword "milk wine", press enter, and sure enough, a lot of links appear in the search results.

After examining and comparing various methods for a long time, the two finally found a seemingly reliable and simple method, and thus began brewing milk wine.

The brewing method of milk wine is simple and originated from the nomadic people of northern my country in ancient times. It is said that milk was put into a water bag and shaken continuously, causing the milk to separate, with the clear part rising and the turbid part sinking, just like Pangu creating the world. The clear part, after fermentation, becomes milk wine.

Milk wine has a low alcohol content, is semi-transparent, and has a slightly sour taste; it can be considered a nutritious drink.

After working for most of the day, the milk was finally separated. Then the whey was put into jars, a little wine was added, and it was placed in a suitable place to ferment...

"Whether it works or not, let's treat it as an experiment..." Yang Ming said.

"Mmm!" Wei Qingqing stretched and sat on the kang (heated brick bed). "Honey, I want to eat persimmons. They've been ripe for so many days, they must be red by now."

"If you want to eat, go wash yourself. Don't be too lazy, or you'll easily develop a 'spare tire' around your belly. Hmm, while you're at it, wash one for me too..." Yang Ming said, taking off his shoes and getting onto the kang (a heated brick bed). He sat on the edge of the kang, leaned against the stack of quilts, and acted like a big shot.

"You're such a lazy pig..." Wei Qingqing muttered angrily as she looked at Yang Ming's leisurely manner, and went to the west room to wash persimmons.

"We've dried all the chestnuts at home. In a little while, you can make some roasted chestnuts..." Yang Ming said.

"I don't know how..." Wei Qingqing complained.

"If you don't know how, just learn! Who is born knowing everything? There's a saying, 'One is never too old to learn.' Comrade Wei Qingqing, you should actively join the ranks of learners..." Yang Ming smiled, but his tone was serious. The key was that Wei Qingqing wasn't in the east room, otherwise, seeing his smug look, she would definitely tickle him.

"Comrade Yang Ming, what's that saying? 'Self-reliance leads to abundance.' I think you should go to the old revolutionary base areas to learn this revolutionary spirit. You're starting to look more and more like a landlord..." Wei Qingqing said seriously, lifting the curtain to reveal two large red persimmons in her two small, wet hands, one of which had already been bitten.

"Comrade Wei Qingqing, you've worked hard..." Yang Ming said, reaching for the large persimmon in Wei Qingqing's hand.

"Huh?" Wei Qingqing smiled mischievously, twisting her body to prevent Yang Ming from getting it. "Do it yourself, and you'll have plenty to eat and wear."

"My wife washed it, so I can eat it without any guilt..." Yang Ming snatched the persimmon that Wei Qingqing had bitten, then quickly shrank to the edge of the kang (heated brick bed) and started eating. The persimmon was sweet, soft, thick, and juicy, with a faint, refreshing taste, making it exceptionally delicious.

"That's mine..." Wei Qingqing said angrily.

"It's okay, I don't mind your bad breath."

"You...you're the one with bad breath..." Wei Qingqing sat down on the kang (heated brick bed) angrily.

"Why are you sitting down? Didn't I tell you to make roasted chestnuts? Hurry up, I'm waiting to eat them..." Yang Ming nudged Wei Qingqing with his toes.

"You're the landlord now..." Wei Qingqing grumbled discontentedly as she went to the outer room to make roasted chestnuts. To be honest, she had actually learned how to make them by watching Liu Nannan make them.

The sweet aroma of roasted chestnuts gradually intensified and slowly wafted out.

"Not bad! You... you really do it quite well?" Yang Ming listened to Wei Qingqing's roasting chestnuts and smelled the tempting sweet aroma. His stomach was rumbling with hunger, so he came out to take a look. When he saw Wei Qingqing stirring the chestnuts with a large spatula, he couldn't help but praise her.

"Hmph!" Wei Qingqing rolled her eyes at Yang Ming, but she was secretly pleased. This guy had finally praised her.

"Is it cooked yet?" Yang Ming reached out and took a piping hot chestnut out of the pot. This thing was really hot, so hot that Yang Ming kept turning his hand over it.

"Now I know what it means to snatch chestnuts from the fire. Are your paws burned yet?" Wei Qingqing couldn't help but chuckle at Yang Ming's disheveled appearance.

"It's not hot at all..." Yang Ming endured the heat, peeled the chestnut, put it in his mouth and chewed. "Hmm, not bad, tastes good, but it's not quite cooked yet. It'll be ready in a little while."

The chestnuts were roasted, and a whole basin of bright red roasted chestnuts filled the basin. Wei Qingqing was really generous; she roasted 30 or 40 jin (15-20 catties) of chestnuts in one pot, enough to last a long time.

The couple snuggled together on the kang (a heated brick bed), eating chestnuts around a large basin.

"Yang Ming, Qingqing..." Aunt Liu's voice rang out, and then the curtain was lifted, and Aunt Liu walked into the room.

"Sister Liu, have some chestnuts. My wife just roasted them, and they're just as good as yours," Yang Ming said.

"Don't listen to his nonsense. This is my first time cooking, and I'm nowhere near as good as Aunt Liu..." Wei Qingqing said modestly, beaming with pride.

"Hehe, you two are really something," Aunt Liu said, picking up two chestnuts. "I'm grinding tofu, and pushing the millstone is too tiring, so I'm borrowing your animal. I told you beforehand, I'm not paying rent."

"What's that saying again? Where there are people, there is exploitation..." Yang Ming sighed.

"Wherever there are people, there is a world of intrigue... Speaking of which, Aunt Liu is indeed too domineering, almost like a robber." Wei Qingqing was the straight man.

"You two are taking turns criticizing me, aren't you? Alright, alright, I'll make some tofu and bring you two pieces..." Aunt Liu rolled her eyes.

"That's more like it..." Yang Ming and Wei Qingqing exchanged a glance, chuckled, and said in unison.

Yang Ming went to fetch the donkey for Liu Sao, but Wei Qingqing went with Liu Sao to the mill. The mill was right next to Liu Sao's house; it belonged to Liu Sao and was the only mill in the village. This mill used to be very lively, but now? Since everyone now eats machine-ground flour, the mill is basically idle. Generally speaking, it is only used to grind cornmeal or tofu.

The rumbling sound came from the grinding millstone turning and rubbing against each other. The little gray donkey trotted around the millstone, while Aunt Liu, holding a broom, kept sweeping the pre-soaked beans into the small hole at the top of the millstone.

As the millstone continued to rotate, some milky white soy juice gradually spilled from the edge of the millstone, falling into the small groove around the millstone, and then flowing down the groove from the outlet into the bucket below.

"Making tofu is actually very simple. First, you soak the soybeans, then grind them in a stone mill to make soy milk, and then you add coagulant," said Aunt Liu as she swept the soybeans into the small hole.

Finally, all the beans were ground. Aunt Liu told the donkey to stop, gathered all the bean residue that had accumulated in the millstone trough, and then ground them again.

The soybean dregs were poured onto the millstone, and the donkey started moving again. As Liu Sao swept the soybean dregs into the small hole, she scooped some water from the side and poured it in. Slowly, a lot of milky white raw soybean milk was ground out and flowed into the small trough below. It then flowed through the outlet on the trough into the bucket below.

In this way, Aunt Liu ground a whole bucket of raw soybeans to make soy milk.

After unloading the donkey, Yang Ming led it back, and then Liu Sao and Wei Qingqing made the braising sauce together.

First, pour the raw soy milk into a large pool. Then, grind the brine stone and boil it to make a large bowl of thick brine. Pour the brine into the raw soy milk, and you're done. Just wait for the raw soy milk to solidify into tofu before eating.

Wei Qingqing was curious about this thing and watched it intently from the side.

As time passed, the raw soy milk gradually changed, and the milky white raw soy milk began to solidify, turning into a trembling paste.

"This is too delicate! I remember the tofu I bought was always coarse and yellow," Wei Qingqing said with some surprise.

Aunt Liu was cleaning up the soybean dregs when she heard this and said, "The most important thing about tofu is the coagulation of the brine. If you add too little brine, it won't set properly; if you add too much, it will be coarse and tough. The one you're talking about definitely had too much brine..."

"Oh, so that's how it is?" Wei Qingqing nodded, seemingly understanding.

"I've gathered the soybean pulp together. You can take it back to feed the chickens later. Feeding chickens with soybean pulp makes their eggs as tender as tofu," said Aunt Liu.

"Sister Liu, we'll take the soybean dregs, but we can't do without the tofu..." Wei Qingqing said with a smile.

"Alright, alright, look at how stingy you are! Do you think your sister-in-law would skimp on your tofu?" Aunt Liu rolled her eyes. Wei Qingqing is getting more and more mischievous these days.

"Hehe..." Wei Qingqing chuckled.

"Yang Ming, Yang Ming...you surnamed Yang...you get out here right now..."

Suddenly, a commotion arose outside, creating a bustling atmosphere, clearly indicating that there were quite a few people outside.

"What's going on?" Wei Qingqing's face turned pale instantly. She stood up to leave, but Aunt Liu grabbed her arm. "Don't go, it's someone from Old Wang's family..."

"What should we do? Yang Ming is outside..." Wei Qingqing tried to break free from Aunt Liu, but found that she couldn't break free at all with her strength. She didn't know how Aunt Liu was so strong.

"Don't go out, I'll go out and take a look." Aunt Liu pressed Wei Qingqing down on the small stool, afraid that she would run around and shout. She tied her up with a rope, stuffed a piece of cloth into her mouth, and then turned and went out.

"What are you doing here?" Yang Ming came out of his yard and glared at the group of people who had come to his door. He didn't know all of them. Besides the Wang family, there were quite a few unfamiliar faces.

"You surnamed Yang, you let your dog bite people, we're here today to demand an explanation from you." The speaker was Zhang Lanhua, Wang Quangen's wife.

"Yeah, yeah, you didn't satisfy us today, I'm fucking burning your house down."

"Hey Yang, if you don't give us an explanation today, this isn't over..."

"You son of a bitch, if you dare not pay the medical bills, I'll fucking kill you..."

Zhang Lanhua started it, and everyone else followed suit with their own comments.

"What are you doing? Are you bullying me?" Aunt Liu ran over and stood in front of Yang Ming.

"Hey! Sister Liu, what's your relationship with that guy surnamed Yang? Why do you always have to get involved in everything?" Zhang Lanhua couldn't stand the sight of Sister Liu and couldn't help but speak in a sarcastic tone.

"That Yang guy is really lucky with women. I heard his wife is a great beauty, but I didn't expect him to have a middle-aged woman by his side. Damn it, people say that a rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow, but this Yang guy is good at it, he's got them all." A sleazy voice suddenly came from the crowd.

"I heard that the woman surnamed Yang is as beautiful as an angel." Another lewd voice came out.

These guys are so foul-mouthed, their mouths are like toilets. Yang Ming didn't want to talk to them and was about to take action...

"Zhang Lanhua, is this the person you brought? You think you can force us to drop the charges by bringing a bunch of thugs? You wish! Your man is going to jail. You should know this is Zhengjia Village. Tell them to get out of here right now!" Aunt Liu's chest heaved with anger.

"Sister-in-law Liu, let me put this to you, if you don't drop the charges... Hmph, my nephews and nieces are all involved in the underworld. If they do anything outrageous, I can't stop them." Zhang Lanhua sneered.

"You little bitch, you've been a widow for years without a man to comfort you, huh? Hahahaha..."

"That young widow is damn sexy, she smells like tofu. Is she the legendary 'Tofu Beauty'?"

Aunt Liu turned pale with anger.

"Big Black..." Yang Ming was furious. He couldn't stand it anymore and said in a low voice.

"Woof woof..." Big Black, who had been waiting for a long time, suddenly barked twice.

Wang Wang Wang...

A bark seemed to echo Big Black's call, and then a pack of spotted dogs came rushing out from behind the house, quickly taking positions and surrounding Zhang Lanhua and her group. A small black greyhound had been crouching on the gravel road in front of Aunt Liu's house, cutting off the enemy's retreat. A fat puppy that looked like a wolf lay down in the roadside grass, ready to pounce and deliver a fatal blow if the enemy retreated.

"Roar..." With a low growl, Big Yellow appeared out of nowhere, its fur standing on end, and slowly approached the crowd.

"Damn it, a bunch of punks have surrounded us..." A thuggish-looking young man emerged from the crowd and walked towards a spotted dog, carrying a brick in his hand. This young man was one of the people who had cursed Aunt Liu quite rudely earlier.

"Yazi, come back..." Zhang Lanhua quickly called out to the boy, knowing how fierce Yang Ming's dog was.

"Auntie, this puppy is quite plump. Let's have stewed dog meat tonight. A dog this big should have tender meat." The sleazy young man ignored Zhang Lanhua's words and walked directly towards a spotted dog.

The spotted dog didn't move, but stared innocently at the person walking towards it, making Ya Zi almost feel sorry for it.

"You son of a bitch, I'll smash you to death..." Ya Zi picked up a brick and smashed it down on the little spotted dog's head.

The little spotted dog stared blankly at the brick hurtling towards it. Just as the brick came crashing down, the little spotted dog moved, and the brick fell past it. The dog, startled, stumbled. The little spotted dog, seizing the perfect moment, tilted its head and bit down on the dog's wrist, which was holding the brick. With a powerful bite, it snapped the dog's wrist bone.

"Ouch..." The sharp pain in his wrist made Ya Zi scream.

"You little bastard, I'll smash you to death..." Two thugs, seeing that the broker had been wronged, immediately cursed and went to his aid with bricks.

These two were the ones who were spewing foul language earlier.

At this moment, the puppies next to them moved. The two puppies rushed towards the two men. The spotted dogs were not slow to begin with, and their slender bodies made them look like eels, slippery and easy to handle. The two puppies crawled directly between the two men's legs, darted behind them, and bit their buttocks.

"Awoooooo..."

The two boys screamed in pain.

"Hey Yang, what do you want? You dare to unleash your dogs to bite people? Murder! Murder!" Zhang Lanhua immediately panicked. These three were her nephews. If they were bitten and harmed, how could she explain it to her brothers?

Yang Ming clapped his hands, and the three puppies immediately let go. The three of them scrambled back to the main group.

"Get out of here right now, or I might go easy on you, but our dog won't..." Yang Ming sneered and pointed to the way Zhang Lanhua and the others had come from.

Zhang Lanhua and the others looked back at the road they had come from, and saw a slender little puppy sitting quietly in the middle of the road, motionless.

"Hey Yang, don't be fooled by your many dogs. We've brought over a hundred of us today. If you know what's good for you, drop the lawsuit and pay my nephew Wang Dafang's medical expenses. Then we'll pretend nothing happened, and we won't bother you anymore. We'll all live peacefully. But if you don't know what's good for you, we'll risk getting bitten to death by the dogs to keep you here," Zhang Lanhua said bluntly.

"Is that what you all think?" Yang Ming looked at the people behind Zhang Lanhua, some of whom were from the village.

"You don't need to ask them. Those who came today are all from our own clan. We didn't bring anyone beyond five degrees of kinship..." Zhang Lanhua sneered.

Yang Ming turned and went back into the house, brought out a chair, and sat down casually at the gate. "Let me tell you clearly today, you want me to drop the lawsuit? Impossible! Wang Quangen cheated me out of 35 yuan, do you think I can just let it go so easily? Absolutely not! As for Wang Dafang's medical expenses? Didn't you sue me in court? As long as the court makes a judgment that satisfies me, I will pay whatever amount is due..."

"You, surnamed Yang, don't be so stubborn. Do you know how many people the Wang family has around here? If you go too far, don't blame us for being ruthless with you," Zhang Lanhua said through gritted teeth.

"Ruthless?" Yang Ming sneered.

"You and your wife had better not go out at night, otherwise, don't blame others if you suffer a loss," Zhang Lanhua threatened.

"Hmph," a cold glint flashed in Yang Ming's eyes, "Then we'll wait and see, and see if you make us suffer first, or if we'll kill Wang Quangen in prison first..."

"You surnamed Yang, we'll see..." Zhang Lanhua smiled coldly, then led her large group away...

"What's going on? What are you doing?" At this moment, Zheng Dabao led a group of Zheng family members and surrounded them, blocking Zhang Lanhua and the others' path. These people were all holding iron hoes and shovels.

"Old Zheng, what are you trying to do?" Zhang Lanhua asked, frowning.

"Zhang Lanhua, where did all these people you brought come from?" Zheng Dabao asked, pointing to the group of unfamiliar faces behind Zhang Lanhua.

"My family heard that the scenery in the mountains is beautiful, so they came to visit..." Zhang Lanhua said.

"Then what are they doing with those bricks?" Zheng Dabao said angrily.

"Why are you carrying a brick? What kind of question is that? When you're tired, just sit down and rest for a while," Zhang Lanhua said nonchalantly.

"You..." Zheng Dabao was speechless with anger. A brick really wasn't a weapon.

"But you, with your Zheng family, with iron shovels and hoes..." Zhang Lanhua sneered.

"Shovel dog poop..." Zheng Dabao said through gritted teeth.

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(End of this chapter)