After the family split up, my stepmother and scumbag father begged me to come home.

The next morning, Lin Qianqian and her younger brother got up early. She cooked some porridge, and the two siblings each drank a bowl.

"Sister, the white rice porridge is so delicious." Lin Yulong drank it with great relish.

Ding Xiaohu's voice came from outside the door: "Sister Qianqian, Ah Long!"

Lin Qianqian put down her bowl, got up, and opened the door.

"Sister Qianqian," Ding Xiaohu called out.

"Tiger's here," Lin Qianqian replied with a smile.

"Sister Qianqian, is it really safe to eat those poisonous potatoes? I'm really worried about it," Ding Xiaohu asked in a low voice.

"When has Sister ever lied to anyone?" Lin Yulong said confidently while washing the dishes. "If Brother Hu doesn't believe me, I'll eat first today, and you can eat later."

"I can eat, I can eat, Aunt Su wouldn't lie to me." Ding Xiaohu chuckled.

"Alright, let's get to work." Lin Qianqian rolled up her sleeves. "Let's get all this done today."

The poisonous potatoes we dug up yesterday still had soil on them.

"Ah Long, you two carry water into the vat." After saying that, Lin Qianqian picked up the broken knife and began to peel the skin. She cut it into pieces and soaked it in the water vat.

Cassava contains cyanogenic glycosides, which can produce highly toxic hydrocyanic acid if not handled properly. Thorough peeling, full soaking, and boiling uncovered are all essential steps. Soaking should last 6 to 12 hours, with the water changed during this time.

"Sister Qianqian, are you just going to soak like this?" Ding Xiaohu asked curiously.

"Yes, it needs to be soaked long enough to remove the poison." Lin Qianqian didn't even look up. "The poison is all on the skin, so it needs to be peeled off completely, leaving not a single red spot."

"Sister, shall I peel it for you?" Lin Yulong said.

"Yeah, let us help you out," Ding Xiaohu chimed in.

"This job can't be done carelessly, I'll do it myself." Lin Qianqian waved her hand, "You two go play first."

Lin Qianqian spent the whole morning peeling cassava, her fingers turning black from the cassava pulp.

During that time, I asked two little ones to change the water in the cassava soaking tank twice, and now it's crystal clear.

"Finally finished." Lin Qianqian just wants to rest for a while now.

The two little ones cooked lunch, and Lin Qianqian didn't even want to eat.

Lin Qianqian slept soundly for a long time, only to be woken up by the growling of her stomach.

It was already getting dark when I got up and found that Ah Long and Hu Zi were not home.

"They've probably gone somewhere to have fun." Lin Qianqian got up to look at the cassava soaking in the water tank.

"Let's soak a little longer!" Lin Qianqian muttered to herself when the courtyard gate opened. Lin Qianqian looked over and saw Ah Long and Hu Zi.

Tiger was carrying a basket. "Sister Qianqian, you're awake! Come and eat! My mom made this. Ah Long and I have already finished eating. I brought this especially for you."

Lin Qianqian was starving at the moment, and Hu Zi's timely help was truly a godsend!

After exchanging a few polite words with the basket, the group went inside.

Lin Qianqian was munching on a pancake, while the two little ones were lying on the edge of the water tank, watching the cassava in the water.

Lin Yulong reached into the water and stirred it a couple of times, looking at the cassava chunks that had turned white from being soaked.

"Sis, is it soaked yet? When can we cook it?"

"Wait a little longer." Lin Qianqian walked over, munching on a pancake, bent down to look, and asked, "Has the water been changed?"

"We changed, we changed! You changed when you slept," Ding Xiaohu interjected. "Ah Long and I were exhausted, so we ate two extra pancakes last night!"

Lin Qianqian nodded, reached out and picked up a piece of cassava, squeezed it, and then brought it close to smell it.

The faint bitter almond flavor is almost undetectable; it's about ready when you can't smell anything at all.

"Let it soak overnight, then cook it first thing tomorrow morning." She put the cassava back.

"By the way, do you know which family in the village has a stone mill?"

"Sister Qianqian, my family has one. My grandpa used to make tofu, but my dad didn't learn it. After my grandpa died, it was put in the woodshed. My dad only uses it occasionally when he's grinding flour," Ding Xiaohu babbled on.

That would be wonderful! Lin Qianqian was worried that the villagers would be superstitious about poisonous potatoes and wouldn't lend her the stone mill! If it were Aunt Ding's family, it would be much easier to arrange.

She plans to grind some of the pulp into cassava starch and try selling it to restaurants.