I was a stepmother in ancient times, and I led my whole family to wealth.

Chapter 254 Salted Duck Egg Success

However, seeing Gu Chenglin's increasingly sinister expression, the others fell silent.

Dongfang Jin didn't continue the conversation on that topic, but instead asked Yang Zhu how the braised meat at home was selling.

Have any of your chicks hatched yet?

Yang Zhu replied to each one.

After asking her, Dongfang Jin asked about the Lin family's sesame paste. Lin Min said that it was the end of the year and they could sell out every day.

The problem is that there's a shortage of sesame seeds, and the forestry department is saying they'll increase the amount of sesame and peanuts they plant next year.

When Lin Jiang went out to collect sesame seeds, he also told the farmers to plant more next year, and that he would buy as much as they planted.

“My father-in-law said that at least five more millstones will be added to the family next year.”

Dongfang Jin laughed: "You can buy a donkey to pull the millstone; that's much easier than grinding sesame seeds by hand."

Yang Zhu waved her hand: "Someone on my mother's side used a donkey to grind flour and almost kicked someone to death. No, no, that's too dangerous."

Dongfang Jin asked in confusion, "I saw people using donkeys to pull millstones, and they covered the donkeys' eyes, but no one was kicked."

It seems so?

Anyway, when she went to Song Bin's farmhouse, the mill there used donkeys to grind beans. They would cover the donkey's eyes with a gray cloth, and the donkey would just walk around the millstone by itself, which was very quiet.

Yang Zhu exclaimed in surprise: "You can do that? You can just blindfold a donkey and it will work?"

Dongfang Jin nodded: "I think the reason is that they are afraid the donkey will steal the food, and even more afraid that it will get dizzy from circling around the millstone."

Lin Min nodded after hearing her explanation: "I think so too. The things we grind are all things it can eat. It was probably frightened when it kicked people."

That's a good idea. Looks like we should buy a donkey; her family isn't short of money now.

After breakfast.

Everyone went about their business.

Gu Chenglin followed Shen Qijun to the county. Dongfang Jin took out two mousse cakes and asked Lin Min and Yang Zhu to take them back to their families for the children.

It's said that Gu Chenglin bought the cake at the border, which is convincing because cows are readily available at the border, and foreigners there often drink milk.

After they left, Gu Yumei sat in the room, sulking.

Dongfang Jin looked at her with amusement: "Don't be angry, we'll deal with whatever comes our way."

If they dare to come, I'll make sure they regret it.

But they waited until dark, and the Gu family never came.

At dinner time, Sun Xing carried a basin of braised meat, Gu Chunsheng carried a basket of vegetables on his back, and Xu Changhua carried two jars of pickled vegetables.

Xu Changshan carried a jar of salted duck eggs, while Lin Yu carried a basket on his back containing two jars of wine and two bottles of sesame oil.

When Dongfang Jin saw the porcelain bottle containing sesame oil, he suddenly remembered the glass bottle. It seemed that the Guo family should try it.

Gu Yumei peeled open a salted duck egg and looked at the oozing butter inside: "Is it done?"

Dongfang Jin took a bite and praised, "Not bad, I was just saying that, I didn't expect you to actually make it."

I have to say, the people of ancient times were really clever.

Xu Changshan scratched his head sheepishly: "Sister-in-law, you've made it so clear. If we still don't do it well, we'll really be ruined."

Dongfang Jin waved his hand: "There are specific requirements for this. How long to sun-dry it, the ratio of the pickling ingredients, the storage place and time, and the cooking temperature all need to be controlled, otherwise the egg yolks won't produce oil."

Hearing her praise, Xu Changshan grinned and said in a simple and honest voice, "Yes, my wife keeps a little notebook with her every day."

Even when boiling these duck eggs, I would stand there counting them, afraid of overcooking them.

She didn't cook much this time, worried it wouldn't keep well; besides a few she kept at home, she had me bring them all.

"It's alright. If they marinate long enough, we'll cook them all and send some to Ping An Restaurant."

The rest... just send them to Yunxiang Restaurant. When you get there, just give them your and Gu Chenglin's names.

After saying that, Dongfang Jin took a few duck eggs, cut them in half, put them on a plate, and brought them to Ma Wencai's table.

"Try them all."

Jun Qixian followed her example and cut up a few pieces to feed the children.

Fang Shiyu looked at the oozing butter from the duck egg yolks, which still emitted a fragrant aroma. He picked up a piece and ate it. After taking a bite, he exclaimed in surprise, "Jin-jie, could you send some to our families first, and then deliver them to the restaurant?"

Dongfang Jin looked at Xu Changshan: "How many kilograms did you pickle at home?"

Xu Changshan was so excited that he stammered, "Big brother, it's about... about... three, three hundred jin."

Dongfang Jin nodded. It seemed they had collected quite a bit over the past few months, but it was still too little.

Looking at Fang Shiyu and the others, he said, "Ten catties per family, no more than that, this is probably not enough to go around."

After finishing a piece, Long Er looked at Long Jiu with a hint of lingering satisfaction and asked, "Didn't you send the recipe back?"

Long Jiu and Dongfang Jin shook their heads together. Dongfang Jin said, "I'm not sure how many duck eggs there are, or whether they can be pickled, but we can raise more ducks next year."

In the future, ducks can be used as a signature dish. Changhua will make braised duck, while Yunxianglou will make roast duck separately and become a roast duck restaurant.

You guys can tell your families that you can raise more ducks next year.

"Send the duck eggs to Changshan's family. If they have any extra chicken eggs, send them over as well."

Guo Yuming raised his hand: "There's a river near my family's brickyard. Is it possible to raise a large number of animals there?"

Dongfang Jin: "Yes."

Long Jiu walked over, holding the duck egg he had just snatched: "It's okay to store it in this cool weather, but it won't be easy to store it in hot weather."

Without even thinking, Dongfang Jin said, "There's ice in the summer, and besides, these are all preserved with salt, so they won't spoil in a short time."

When Long Er heard her mention ice, he exclaimed, "Ice is so expensive! Besides, who would store so much ice in their ice cellar just to use it for this? What a waste!"

Dongfang Jin looked at them and smiled slyly: "I have a brilliant plan, you'll see when the time comes."

After saying that, he looked at the bowl of braised meat that Sun Xing had brought over, reached out and picked up a chicken foot and started eating it.

"Third Brother, we must plant these chilies next year. The meat made with fresh chilies tastes different from the meat made with dried chilies."

Sun Xing chuckled and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you. I'll plant chili peppers on those five acres of dry land near the north mountain next year."

Gu Chunsheng then spoke up: "My family had a meeting, and my great-grandfather said that next year we should make sure that not a single piece of land is left idle, and that we plant everything that can be planted."

"Sister-in-law, you don't know, my great-grandfather's mouth is always busy these days. He has bad teeth, but he loves to eat the popped beans you gave him."

Sun Xing looked at Dongfang Jin and said, "In the old days, those broad beans were used to feed cattle. Now, they've come to your hands, and after you've done it, they've become a delicacy."

My grandpa enjoys a bite every night, one fried peanut after another, one fried broad bean after another, it's so satisfying.

My grandma loved that boiled dish the most; she said it was soft and flavorful.

Xu Changhua chimed in, "That's right. We never knew before that Sichuan peppercorns, which even birds don't eat on the mountain, are a seasoning for enhancing aroma and removing fishy smells."

And then there's star anise, something everyone avoids like the plague.

My mom now puts a star anise in every cabbage stir-fry, and let me tell you, the taste is completely different, and it's so much tastier.

Dongfang Jin watched them chatter away: "Next spring, we'll get started. I plan to build another waterwheel over the South River."

In this way, all the land north of the South River will have water for irrigation. If any of you have land, start digging irrigation ditches in the spring. Once the ditches are dug, you won't need to carry water by shoulder poles to irrigate your fields anymore.”

She spoke casually, but her words stunned everyone in the room.

what is that?

Are we really no longer going to have to carry water to irrigate the fields?

This is a good thing, because none of them have ever had blisters on their shoulders from being rubbed raw by a carrying pole.

That feeling was truly unbearable; if only we had a waterwheel…