Chapter 229 - 149: Mapo Tofu
Zhou Yan hadn’t expected to see the deaf-mute boy who sold tofu here again.
The boy clearly hadn’t expected it either. He froze for a moment upon seeing Zhou Yan, then his face quickly broke into a smile. His fingers danced as he tried to say something to him.
Zhou Yan could sense the boy’s cheerful mood from his smile, but he couldn’t understand sign language at all. He had no choice but to look helplessly at the old woman beside him.
The old woman smiled and waved a hand, gesturing for the boy to go inside.
Clearly, she couldn’t understand him either.
The boy scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed. He beckoned for the two of them to enter, then offered to take the basket from the old woman’s hands.
The old woman smiled and handed him the basket, then introduced him to Zhou Yan. "This is Lai Fu, Li Hua’s grandson."
"He’s the one I bought my tofu from this morning," Zhou Yan said with a smile.
"No wonder! I was just thinking, since when did Suji get someone else who can make West Bank Tofu, and with such good skill too." The old woman’s expression cleared with understanding. She stepped into the courtyard, looking at Lai Fu’s back with some surprise. "He went by himself? He can actually sell tofu?"
"He was alone, but he’s not very good at it, to be honest." Zhou Yan recalled the boy from that morning, huddled in a corner with a timid look in his eyes.
’If I hadn’t lent a hand, he might not have sold those two blocks of tofu all day.’
’But he’s my grandma’s cousin’s grandson... so doesn’t that make him my cousin?’
’Or as they say, my country cousin?’
Zhou Yan followed them into the courtyard.
The house looked half-collapsed from the outside, but it opened into a large, tidy courtyard. A small stone mill sat near the eaves, and by the courtyard wall, a larger, unused stone mill was covered by a straw raincoat.
There were several rows of bamboo poles in the yard. Two of them were hung full of yuba.
[An extremely good yuba]
Zhou Yan raised an eyebrow.
’Heh! So besides making great tofu, Grand-aunt’s yuba is top-notch too.’
To the side was a thatched hut with a thin wisp of smoke rising from it. The aroma of pressed tofu wafted out from inside; it seemed someone was drying it.
Under the eaves were two person-high stacks of tofu molds and various other tofu-making tools. They were also arranged neatly, but they looked like they hadn’t been used in a long time.
"Back when business was good, they even kept a donkey to turn the mill. Li Hua would set up a stall in Suji Town, and her son would take the donkey cart to sell in the villages. Business was booming. Li Hua was a pretty girl, so everyone called her the Tofu Beauty back then," the old woman said, looking at the unused large stone mill in the corner, her smile tinged with nostalgia.
Zhou Yan was a little puzzled. ’Making tofu is hard work, but if business was that good, how could they have ended up living like this? They haven’t even repaired their collapsed house.’
His own grandmother had made a living selling braised dishes, raising five sons all by herself. Each of them had started their own families and lived respectable lives.
"Fenfen, you’re here." An old woman appeared at the door of the main hall, leaning on a wooden cane. She was gaunt and stooped, her cotton-linen clothes hanging off her frame as if draped on a tree branch. Her sparse silver hair was tied back carelessly into a small, weed-like tuft.
Her palm-sized face was wrinkled like a dried-up bitter melon.
She came out on her cane, clearly unable to put weight on her left leg. Her eyes were a little red and swollen, and she squinted at the two people standing in the yard.
"Li Hua, what are you doing out here? Hurry back inside." Zhou Yan’s grandmother rushed forward to support Mrs. Sun, her eyes full of pity. She asked with concern, "Is your leg still giving you a lot of trouble? Are your eyes any better?"
Zhou Yan’s heart tightened. This grand-aunt was younger than his grandmother, but her complexion was so much worse.
The image of a candle guttering in the wind flashed through Zhou Yan’s mind.
"It’s nothing, I’m used to it." Mrs. Sun grinned, tilting her head back and squinting at Zhou Yan. "And which grandson is this? So grown up I don’t even recognize him."
"Grand-aunt, I’m Zhou Yan," he said with a smile, quickly stepping forward.
"He’s the fourth son’s boy. He’s already twenty this year. You probably haven’t seen him much," his grandmother explained.
"I remember. I was there when Tie Ying gave birth to him. He was like a little kitten back then, and in a flash, he’s grown this tall." Mrs. Sun chuckled, her tone filled with emotion. "Come on, come in and sit."
His grandmother helped her through the door. They moved slowly, step by step. It took them a full two minutes to cross the few meters to a chair and sit down.
"You came all this way; you didn’t have to bring eggs and things. Just having you here to see me makes me very happy," Mrs. Sun said, shaking her head.
"I brought you some braised pork head. Want to try a piece?" his grandmother asked with a smile, taking out the braised meat wrapped in oil paper.
"I thought I smelled braised meat! Yes, I want some. It’s been so long since I’ve had the pork head you make, Fenfen." Mrs. Sun nodded, a flicker of excitement crossing her withered face.
"Here you go, here you go." His grandmother unwrapped the oil paper, then went into the kitchen to get a pair of chopsticks, which she handed to Mrs. Sun. Beaming, she said, "Give it a try. I didn’t make this one, Zhou Yan did. He’s opened a restaurant now, so he’s carrying on my braising tradition."
"Really? That’s amazing!" Mrs. Sun was surprised. She picked up a piece of pork head with her chopsticks and chewed it slowly with the few teeth she had left. Her wrinkled face seemed to smooth out as she nodded repeatedly. "Mmm, delicious! It tastes exactly like yours, Fenfen. Zhou Yan is a fantastic student."
You could tell she was genuinely happy to be eating the braised pork head.
The boy named Lai Fu came out with two cups of tea. Both had crushed rock sugar in them—this era’s version of sweet tea.
"Lai Fu, come and try the braised pork head your cousin made." Mrs. Sun beckoned to the boy and picked out a piece of pork head for him too.