From Folly to Fortune：I Rewrite My Life After Rebirth!

Chapter 80: Chapter 80 Making Cold Noodles

There is still water in the green bean starch, so Mu Shuangshuang took a piece of clean gauze and asked Xiao Han, Little Zhi, and Yu Si Niang to each hold a corner. Then she poured the green bean starch from the bucket into the gauze, and once the four corners were gathered, Mu Shuangshuang said to Yu Si Niang.

”Mom, help me find an iron hook.”

The iron hook Mu Shuangshuang mentioned is normally tied to a carrying pole and is used for carrying loads, almost every farming household has it.

Yu Si Niang easily found the iron hook, and Mu Shuangshuang used the rope connected to the hook to tie the green bean starch tightly, then pointed to the rope hanging from the beam.

”Mom, let’s hang this green bean starch on the rope together. After the water drains, I’ll come back.”

The rope hanging on the beam is meant for hanging things, especially freshly ground soy milk or rice milk stuff.

Mu Shuangshuang chose to use a rope with an iron hook to hang the green bean starch, as it’s convenient to hang up and just as easy to take down.

While the water was draining, Mu Shuangshuang went to the kitchen to prepare the sauce for the cold noodles.

Since ancient seasonings were limited, Mu Shuangshuang only chose a few simple ones: dried chili peppers, clear oil, garlic, green onion, ginger, vinegar, and sesame seeds. For now, she’s only making a sour and spicy flavor.

Xiao Han helped by keeping the fire going, and Mu Shuangshuang chopped the dried chili peppers into small pieces, minced the garlic, and chopped the green onion.

”Xiao Han, I’m trusting you with the fire. It can’t be too big, or else the dried chili peppers will get burnt.”

Mu Shuangshuang poured half a pound of oil into the pot, which startled Yu Si Niang. The farm’s clear oil is almost as expensive as meat, twelve coins per pound, and Mu Shuangshuang using half a pot of oil meant spending six coins.

”Shuangshuang, what are you planning to make with this oil? Do you need mom’s help?”

Mu Shuangshuang smiled and shook her head, keeping her eyes fixed on the pot. Once the unique fragrance of clear oil had vanished from the air, she had Xiao Han adjust the fire lower, and when the temperature of the hot oil dropped a bit, she started adding in the minced ginger, garlic, green onion, and chopped chili peppers into the pot.

The pot mixed with these ingredients gave off an enticing aroma, but the dried chili pepper was also quite pungent.

”Achoo...” Xiao Han, who was tending the fire, wasn’t spared and kept sneezing, looking up to see his sister giggling while covering her nose.

Just as he was about to say something, another sneeze took over, forcing him to keep observing the fire situation while covering his nose.

”It smells so good, Shuangshuang... Achoo... How did you learn to make this?”

Yu Si Niang was absolutely curious. She had no idea when her daughter even learned to cook.

”I learned from Aunt Si. I’ve watched her cook many times, and mom can cook as well, right? Shuangshuang just used more ingredients this time.”

As they spoke, bubbles began forming in the pot, and Mu Shuangshuang quickly added pepper, three spoonfuls of sugar, and carefully stirred it all until the simplest cold noodle sauce was ready. After it cooled down, she sealed it up in a jar to bring it to town tomorrow.

Preparing the seasoning was just a small episode; the real hassle was making cold noodles. The green bean starch hanging on the beam was roughly about eight or nine taels, and after adding water to make cold noodles, it should be around six or seven pounds.

At two taels per bowl of cold noodles, it should yield around thirty bowls, bringing in a sizable income.

”Alright, the most crucial moment for us has come. Everyone, let’s make a final push.”

For the green bean starch with water drained out, Mu Shuangshuang used a ratio of 1:6, so for nine taels of green bean starch, she added six pounds of water to the pot.

”Xiao Han, leave the last stage of controlling the fire to mom.” Mu Shuangshuang was worried her first batch might fail, so she was more cautious than usual.

With Yu Si Niang now tending the fire, the flames in the stove became much steadier.

”Mom, don’t make the fire too big, or the cold noodles won’t turn out right.”

Yu Si Niang opted for medium heat, watching as her daughter continually stirred the pot with a rolling pin. As soon as bubbles started forming, she didn’t even have time to ask before Mu Shuangshuang spoke.

”Mom, you can lower the fire a bit now. Our cold noodles are almost ready.”

As soon as Mu Shuangshuang spoke, everyone in the kitchen fixed their eyes on the pot, eagerly anticipating what the first batch of cold noodles would look like.

But Mu Shuangshuang continued stirring the pot slowly, gradually making the contents more transparent with more bubbles surfacing.

”Alright, the cold noodles are done!”

Seeing the contents of the pot, which didn’t look all that special, Mu Shuangshuang picked up a large wooden basin typically used for washing clothes, now cleaned to hold the cold noodles.

Mu Shuangshuang placed all the cold noodles in the wooden basin, which rested on two long benches, just waiting for them to cool before being cut into desired shapes.

”That’s all it takes?” Little Zhi’s eyes widened, momentarily incredulous. If not for the lingering smell of chili oil in the air, she wouldn’t have believed something could be made this quickly.

”You could say that, but it hasn’t solidified yet. Once it has, then it’s truly done.”

”Sister, do you plan to mix these cold noodles with the chili oil to eat?”

The fiery chili oil poured over the cold noodles would surely taste delicious.

”Xiao Han is so smart, but sister still has one more thing to do.” Mu Shuangshuang said mysteriously to the two little ones. ”Whoever guesses right will get a reward tomorrow.”

”I know, I know!” Little Zhi raised her small hand, ”Clean up the mill thoroughly, don’t cause trouble for Aunt Xiao Yun.”

Not to be outdone, Xiao Han followed up. ”Dispose of the bean skins and residue properly.”

Mu Shuangshuang nodded in satisfaction. ”That’s right, sister will bring you something delicious tomorrow. Since we borrowed Aunt Xiao Yun’s place, we have an obligation to restore it to its original state.

The way it was, we can’t change it because of us. As for the green bean residue, boil it with some sugar, and it makes a great cooling and refreshing drink.”

While grinding the green bean milk, Mu Shuangshuang deliberately asked Yu Si Niang why green beans were so expensive. She learned that most farming households had limited land, so they typically only planted staple crops.

Unlike soybeans, green beans had lower yields and were not as filling as soybeans, so naturally, fewer households planted them, leading to higher prices.

”That’s great, we can have green bean water tonight.” Little Zhi timely exclaimed, causing the others to burst into laughter.

The feeling of family together is wonderful, even if it’s just drinking green bean water made from leftover skins after grinding bean milk, they are incredibly happy.

Mu Shuangshuang looked at the beautifully shaped cold noodles in the corner tub with a slight smile of satisfaction.

Hopefully, this time, what she’s made can earn a little money.