The whole family stocked up on supplies two years in advance, so they could live a life of luxury wh

Xing'er nodded:

"Aunt Huang, you go eat first. Leave this to me. I guarantee you'll all love the tofu I make today."

She was talking to Huang Si Niang when Zhang Shi came over with a bowl of coarse rice. "Xing'er, are you hungry? Eat something first."

"No need, Mother, I've already eaten. You go ahead and do your work. Just teach me how to cook; I promise I can do it well on my own."

Huang Si Niang was a clever woman; she understood Xing'er's meaning perfectly well. She grinned and said:

"People say you've changed for the better. I didn't really believe it before, but now I truly do. Xing'er is a good girl. We don't have to lift a finger, which makes things easier for us."

"Yes, Aunt Huang, please take my mother over to sit and rest. The tofu will be ready in a little while."

Before Zhang could say anything more, Huang Si Niang had already smiled and pulled her away.

Xing'er looked at the tofu and cut it into small pieces. Then she looked down and saw a small earthenware pot of sesame oil under the stove. This was oil pressed from hemp seeds.

Sesame oil is easy to make, and the raw materials are readily available.

Therefore, even the slightly wealthier families in the village could afford it.

However, the land in Xinghua Village is too barren, and the crops grown there are not very good.

The crops were sparse, and a mu of land could yield at most one shi of rice. After paying taxes, there was hardly any grain left over, and this was only when the weather was good.

If the weather turns bad, there will be no harvest. In such cases, the only option is to borrow money from the landlord and work to repay it. Therefore, most people in Xinghua Village are in debt.

Therefore, they were much poorer than the nearby villages. Most of the villagers would go to the town to find work when they had nothing to do, and most of the money that Xing'er squandered came from the money that her whole family earned by going to the town to find work.

The Li family probably owes at least ten taels of silver in debt.

As she was thinking, she reached into her spatial storage and retrieved a jar of lard. Xing'er scooped out a large spoonful of sesame oil and added a small spoonful of lard.

"Sizzle~"

Once it hits the pan, the white lard immediately mixes with the sesame oil.

It has a unique, indescribable fragrance.

When the hot oil in the pot started to smoke, Xing'er picked up the cutting board and put the chopped tofu into the large iron pot. The oil immediately burst open, and the originally white tofu gradually turned golden in the waves of oil.

After frying one side, she flipped the tofu over with a spatula and continued frying the other side.

The aroma of fried tofu instantly filled the air.

The villagers, who had been eating coarse rice, all turned their attention to the stove.

Everyone exclaimed in amazement as they watched Xing'er bustling about:

"This sesame oil fried tofu smells so good! This girl has fried the sesame oil to the point that it smells like lard. It smells so good I'm practically dizzy."

The dog looked proud as it heard its father's words:

"Now you know why we like playing with Sister Xing'er, right?"

"Dad, I've told you before that Sister Xing'er makes incredibly delicious food. She often climbs trees to pick fruit for us. Just wait and see, the tofu Sister Xing'er makes can't even compare to what's sold in the city."

The grass beside them giggled along.

"That's right, that's right. Sister Xing'er always manages to find wild chicken eggs and wild duck eggs when she's out, and she feeds them to us. We love playing with Sister Xing'er."

Upon hearing this, Wang pursed her lips and said:

"What you call wild duck eggs and wild chicken eggs? Those aren't wild; they're from our own farms. Xing'er just stole them, and I haven't even confronted you about it yet!"

Tiger Head knew that Madam Wang disliked them, so he spoke sarcastically:

"Your ducks ran away once, and it was us and Sister Xing'er who helped bring them back. So what if we eat a few of your eggs? If Sister Xing'er had found out in time, your chickens and ducks would have been gone long ago."

"Oh, you almost lost my chickens and ducks. You're quite the smooth talker, claiming you're helping me. Do you think I need your help?"

"If you don't care, then leave. Who cares if you're here?"

"Cough cough~"

Li Lao Jiu heard his wife's words becoming increasingly inappropriate, and Li Lao Ba's face darkened. He quickly spoke up to stop her, because the Fu Sheng family was different now than before, and it wasn't appropriate to talk too much.

Wang rolled her eyes at Hu Tou. She wanted to say something after hearing this, but Li Lao Jiu coughed twice at her, and Wang shut her mouth.

Li Laoba finally believed his son's words. His son used to say how good Xing'er was to them, but he didn't think so. Now, he could smell that Xing'er had made tofu smell like meat.

This skill is truly extraordinary.

While the villagers were discussing it, Xing'er was frying tofu while sprinkling it with salt, and at the same time adding a small cup of soy sauce and water. She planned to add a little sugar after it boiled, and then boil it again.

Finally, add the finely chopped scallions, cut into half-inch lengths.

Then slowly remove it from the heat.

The villagers of Xinghua Village rarely have the means to consume salt in large quantities; they have to be very careful with every bit of salt they have at home. However, Xing'er's space is full of salt, which is why she makes her dishes look, smell, and taste absolutely delicious.

After seeing the tofu cooked, Wang ran over excitedly.

She stared at the pan-fried tofu with scallions in the large bowl, her mouth watering. She reached out and picked up a piece, putting it in her mouth. As soon as it entered her mouth, her eyes lit up. "Wow, this tofu is so delicious!"

The dog also ran over and carried the first bowl of fried tofu to Uncle Fusheng's table.

At the same time, he didn't forget to give Wang a disdainful look.

Wang smiled sheepishly:

"Xing'er, it's because your cooking is so delicious that your aunt wants to try it first."

Xing'er smiled slightly and served her a second bowl.

There were twelve tables in total in the village. All the pots, pans, chairs and benches were brought from their own homes. The women at each table rushed over to serve fried tofu, and the fragrant fried tofu was gone as soon as it was served.

However, the villagers couldn't bear to eat the tofu that was stuck in their bowls.

They would scoop up a big mouthful of brown rice before taking a small bite of fried tofu.

They hadn't tasted salt in a long time. Huang Si Niang even licked the bottom of the bowl clean. Not to mention the others, after the bowl of fried tofu was emptied, everyone swallowed hard as they looked at the remaining oil stains at the bottom of the bowl.

In the end, Li Laojiu suggested adding a large bowl of brown rice to the bowl containing the fried tofu, so that the brown rice could coat the flavorful oil completely, and each person could have a spoonful.

Everyone at the dinner table agreed with this approach, saying it was fair to all families.

Xing'er stood not far away and saw the villagers doing this. She couldn't help but lower her head, and her nose tingled with sadness. The poor people in ancient times were so miserable. They cherished even the slightest bit of oil.

Zhu Dadan said enviously:

"Fusheng, your good fortune is yet to come."

Li Fusheng's right hand was still immobile, but he still chuckled happily when he heard this.

The Zhu family was the wealthiest family in Xinghua Village. Even he now envied Li Fusheng, not to mention how envious the other families in the village were.

This meal greatly satisfied the villagers' craving for food, making them feel even more comfortable than during the New Year. Li Fusheng's status in Xinghua Village soared instantly.

As a result, Zhang and Old Lady Li's status among women rose significantly.

After the meal, the women and young wives helped Zhang and Old Lady Li clean up the earthen stove thoroughly.

On their way home, Gou'er, Hu Tou, and Zhao Di secretly hid the chestnuts and jujubes that Sister Xing'er had given them. They would occasionally eat one, and their hearts were filled with sweetness, as if they had eaten honey.