Divorced by her husband's family and rejected by her own! She defiantly turned her life around

"Alright, then I won't keep you any longer. Go home early, so the children don't keep crying and looking for their mother."

"Grandma, come to Liujia Village when you have time and keep Mom company."

"Okay, Grandma has remembered."

On the way back, Madam Feng held Liu Siyue's hand and said, "Siyue, it was all my fault. I didn't think of your cousin's children and didn't prepare red envelopes for you in advance."

"Mom, it's nothing, and the children haven't lost any of their New Year's money."

"April, since we're heading back early today, why don't you take me to see the farm?"

"Look at how impatient you are. The land is right there; it's not going to run away."

"Second Uncle, it's the New Year right now. If you go, you'll have to give the servants a reward. We didn't bring anything today. If we go, the servants will see through us and say we don't know any manners."

Don't underestimate managing servants; it takes skill to get them to work wholeheartedly for their master. If you can't control them, they won't respect you and will do things that show their power, such as being a servile servant and ignoring your words.

Second Uncle, you need to establish your authority now, just like the village chief.

"Where did my second uncle learn that?"

"Second Uncle, you're the head of the household now, you have plenty of confidence, what are you afraid of? Take your time."

"Okay, Second Uncle will listen to you."

When they got home, Liu Ruyun and the others surrounded them. "Dad, Mom, April, you're back! We thought you wouldn't be back until after dark."

"Since Yao'er is home, we'll go early and come back early."

"Grandma's house must be very lively today. All my cousins ​​are back. It must be a big family gathering."

"Cousin, you have no idea, there were so many people that there was nowhere to stand. The main room was packed with people, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I almost passed out."

"How many people do you think there are? I roughly counted, and there are about 30. If you all go, there will probably be 40 people. I have to admit, Grandma's family is very large."

Liu Siyue hugged Yao'er, kissing her left and right, growing more and more fond of this pink dumpling. The child was also very happy to see her, and would flap her arms for a hug as soon as she saw her.

"Cousin, do we have any soybeans at home?"

"Yes, what kind of dried soybeans do you want?"

"This is a recipe for making tofu. I plan to teach this skill to my grandma's family. Let's try making tofu at home first, and then I'll teach it to them."

"April, are you really planning to give such an important recipe to Grandma's family?"

"If you don't believe me, ask your mother. I've already asked Grandma and the others to prepare things. Grandma's family doesn't have a proper business, so it's still Mom who's worried. If I teach them a skill, Mom won't have to worry about her family's affairs anymore."

"April, your mother owes you so much."

"Mother, we are mother and daughter. As long as I have the ability, it is only right that I help you relieve your worries."

Liu Ruyun took the tofu recipe and looked at it. It didn't seem too difficult to make. The key was the braising liquid.

"In April, tofu doesn't seem difficult to make; the key is in the braising liquid."

"My cousin is so smart. She figured out the key to making tofu right away. I'll teach you how to make the braising liquid. You can prepare the other things first."

"Cousin, we only use fine salt at home. Do you have any coarse salt left?"

"You bought all the fine salt in the house and have been using it all along. We don't have any coarse salt at home, so what do you need it for?"

"Cousin, take some of our fine salt and go exchange it with someone for some coarse salt. I need it."

"How much coarse salt do you need?"

"Bring back 5 jin first, or you can buy them."

"Okay, I understand."

Liu Ruyun went to several stores before she finally bought five catties of coarse salt. Salt is a precious commodity, so no one buys more than one or two catties at most.

Liu Siyue went back to her room to rest, and Liu Ruyun prepared the ingredients according to the recipe. After dinner, Liu Ruyun said, "Siyue, everything is ready. Father has also made the strainer. How many kilograms of beans do we need to soak?"

"Since this is our first time making this, we'll soak 5 jin (2.5 catties) of beans. We'll start soaking them right after we finish eating. The beans have to be carefully selected so that there are no rotten beans mixed in, as that's bad for your health and will also affect the taste."

"Okay, hurry up and eat, stop talking."

After the meal, the two sisters got busy, and everyone helped to select the beans. Liu Siyue taught Liu Ruyun how to make brine with coarse salt. "Cousin, do you know why coarse salt tastes bitter?"

"I don't know, why?"

"Because there is something in it that we can't see, and it tastes bitter. And it is precisely this stuff that can be used to curdle tofu."

Liu Siyue began teaching Liu Ruyun how to make brine. "The brine we make is very diluted, and we need a lot of it when making tofu, so we need to boil the brine now to evaporate the water."

Pour the liquid from the coarse salt into a pot and start boiling it. Slowly, the water evaporates, leaving some crystals at the bottom of the pot. "Cousin, what you see is brine. It's not edible; it's poisonous."

"It's poisonous! How can you make tofu with poison? Won't people die from eating it?!"

"So this is the key: the amount of braising liquid must be controlled. If you put in too little, the liquid won't solidify, and if you put in too much, it will taste bitter and you won't be able to eat it."

This requires technical skill, and also the ability to accumulate experience through continuous production.

"I see. It looks simple, but it's not so simple in practice!"

"Alright, put everything away and hide it well so no one accidentally eats it."

Early the next morning, Liu Dawang took Liu Ruyun and her sisters to the village's stone mill to grind beans. Since it was the New Year, no one in the village used the stone mill, so they ground the beans slowly, several times, to make them as fine as possible.

Back home, the family closed the door and started making tofu. The whole process was incredibly lively and bustling. Liu Siyue had prepared the condiments for the tofu pudding in advance, some salty and some sweet.

Liu Ruyun followed the steps in the recipe one by one, and finally reached the step of adding the braising liquid. "April, I'm afraid to do this step of adding the braising liquid. Why don't you do it?"

"Cousin, I've never done this before; I learned it all from books. Just go for it!"

Liu Ruyun added brine while stirring, watching the liquid slowly thicken and begin to clump. She then stopped stirring, and the whole family leaned over the pot, watching quietly to see how this pot of liquid would turn into tofu. Slowly, the liquid in the pot solidified into a single block. "It's done, it's done, it's really solidified!"

Liu Siyue scooped out half a bowl with a spoon, tasted it, and found it wasn't bitter, but rather tender and smooth. "Cousin, you're amazing! Everyone should try some!"

"It has a bean flavor, and is tender and smooth, just like steamed egg custard."

"Go and get your bowls, so you can have a good meal."

Liu Siyue scooped out a small half bowl for each person, "Come with me."

Each person held a bowl in their hand and followed behind, looking exactly like beggars going to the street to beg for food. Liu Siyue was the leader, leading the way, followed by a group of henchmen.

"Look, here are the seasonings. If you want it sweet, add brown sugar water; if you want it salty, add this bowl of seasonings."

"Cousin, we all want to eat it, what should we do?"

"This way, some are sweet and some are savory, so everyone can try them and see which one they prefer. The savory ones can be seasoned according to individual taste."

"Everyone has tried it, some say the sweet one is better, some say the salty one is better, opinions vary."

"In April, this is a new food that can be sold for breakfast."

"Okay, let's hurry up and make the tofu."

Liu Dawang helped scoop the tofu pudding into the prepared tofu buns, then tied the openings, pressed them down with a thick bluestone slab, and waited for the tofu to be finished.