Chapter 186 Making Soy Sauce
Qianhuan put all the helpers hired from the village to work in the factory building at the outermost part of the workshop. They did tasks such as soaking, washing, and boiling soybeans.
Qianhuan led everyone to soak the soybeans overnight. The next day, when the soybeans were swollen and wrinkle-free, Qianhuan asked them to help wash the soybeans.
The soybeans need to be washed several times. After being washed thoroughly, they should be poured onto bamboo fences to drain.
Then pour all the drained soybeans into a large pot and start cooking. Keep adding firewood to the fire and keep stirring the pot.
Because the amount of firewood needed was quite large, Qianhuan didn't have the time to collect firewood, so she asked the villagers to collect it, and Qianhuan would buy it for a large load for a few cents.
Because Qianhuan's workshop was open for business, they needed to buy firewood or purchase soybeans, bamboo fences and other tools, and also recruit helpers. Many villagers helped to earn some money for their families, and everyone was very grateful to Liang Laoer's family.
And those villagers who had looked down on Liang Laoer's family before were now regretting their decision, because whether Qianhua was purchasing food and utensils, or recruiting helpers, she never considered those people who had gone too far before.
When they are cooked, take out the beans and spread them all out on a bamboo fence to cool. When they cool to 35 degrees, the soybeans will already be fragrant and very tempting.
At this stage, the helpers' work was completed, and the next step was the most critical step of making the koji. Qianhuan only brought the servants, parents, uncle and two aunts to complete the next process.
Qianhuan taught everyone to sprinkle a layer of raw flour on each bamboo fence spread with soybeans, then sprinkle a thin layer of wheat bran, and mix them evenly with the soybeans. This is to make the sauce.
Afterwards, the mixed soybeans were moved to the greenhouse, where many custom-made wooden racks were placed. The bamboo fences were placed on the racks in order and covered with some thick, worn quilts. These worn quilts were specially purchased by Qianhuan.
Because the weather was still relatively cold, koji making required additional time, so a charcoal fire was always burning in the greenhouse. The servants took turns adding charcoal to the stove day and night to ensure the temperature of the greenhouse was maintained.
Koji making is crucial to the entire soy sauce brewing process. It can be said that there would be no soy sauce without koji making.
There were no thermometers to measure temperature in ancient times, so Qianhua could only rely on her experience of making soy sauce with her grandmother when she was a child to make koji.
When it comes to the stage of making koji, all the processes come to an end for the time being. The next step is to wait seven days for the soybeans to produce koji.
On the second day after the soybeans were brought into the room to make koji, Qianhuan took everyone to the greenhouse during the day to untie the quilts and stir the soybeans, in order to ensure even fermentation.
On the seventh day of fermentation, yellow-green mycelium began to appear on the surface of the beans. Qianhuan was very happy because this indicated that she had successfully made the koji.
Qianhuan asked everyone to help take out the bamboo fences and pour the fermented beans into the thousand-jin jars. Each large jar could produce about 1,000 kilograms of soy sauce by pouring more than 300 kilograms of beans into it.
Then the helpers started to help boil water, and all the boiled water was scooped into large wooden barrels to cool.
Then Qianhuan began to teach her parents and others how to pour fine salt into cold boiled water in a certain proportion, and then pour the salt water into all the large vats.
The reason for using cooled boiled water is because raw water is unhygienic. Qianhua has very strict requirements for food production.
Making soy sauce uses a lot of water. Fortunately, they had dug an ancient well when they built the workshop, making it very convenient to get water.
After pouring the salt water into the jar containing soybeans, Qianhuan asked everyone to follow her example and stir it in each jar until the beans were evenly soaked.
At this stage, the soy sauce is basically halfway successful, and the next step is to dry the soy sauce.
This is a long process, which requires at least four to six months of drying. The longer it is dried, the stronger the sauce flavor will be. Qianhuan decided to dry it for 180 days.
"Dad, Mom, our soy sauce is basically halfway successful. The next step is to dry the soy sauce for six months. After six months, you can just wait to taste the delicious soy sauce." Qianhuan said to her parents confidently.
The young couple were full of expectations. They now had unconditional trust in their daughter's words. If their daughter said she could make a seasoning that could rival meat sauce and fish sauce, then she would definitely be able to do it.
Qianhuan then solemnly instructed Liu Youcai, "Uncle, next, you will take all the helpers to be responsible for the drying of the soy sauce. When the weather is fine, the soy sauce jar can be fully opened so that it can get more sunlight, which will be more conducive to the fermentation of the soy sauce. If it is windy and rainy, it must be covered, otherwise the soy sauce will be contaminated and ruined. The soy sauce will have to go through 180 days of sun exposure and night dew, which is a heavy task."
"Qianhuan, don't worry, your uncle will definitely bring everyone to take care of you. If there is anything else you need to pay attention to, just tell me, so that your uncle won't be ignorant and make mistakes." Liu Youcai felt that as long as there was something he could contribute, he would be very active.
"I will go to the county town with Ji Feng to buy some gauze. At night, I need to seal the mouths of these jars with gauze to prevent unclean things and bacteria from entering the jars. The edges must also be sealed, leaving no dead corners for bugs to enter." Qianhuan carefully explained the things that needed attention.
Liu, her two sisters, Liang Laoer and others were also listening carefully. These hundreds of large vats cost a lot of money. If they could be successfully made and sold, their families' future lives would be completely changed. Naturally, they had to keep an eye on these large vats.
When the soy sauce had just been dried for a while, Qianhua would ask everyone to stir it with a clean long wooden stick every day, so that every bean could be soaked in salt water and ferment evenly.
When everyone has nothing to do, they will watch the soy sauce jar while weaving bamboo baskets.
The bamboo baskets are a new job that Qianhuan assigned to them. When the soy sauce is almost dried, they need to put the bamboo baskets into the soy sauce jar, and the sauce will seep into the bamboo baskets.
Yunfeng Village is located in the southwest of Dayuan. No matter it is winter or summer, the sunshine here is particularly abundant, which is extremely beneficial for drying soy sauce.
After handing over the task of drying the sauce to her parents and uncle and aunt, Qianhuan felt relieved.
Wenjie still went to Mr. Fan's house to study every day. He was now completely focused on his studies. After finishing his studies at Mr. Fan's house, he would go back to the teahouse to help teach the servants how to read and write.
At Qianhuan's request, Cai Xiaoye and several brothers also learned to read with Wenjie. Qianhuan didn't want the people who worked for her to be illiterate. Although they didn't need to speak fluently, they still had to recognize basic characters.
Qianhuan finally had some free time to continue practicing archery and horse riding.
Before she knew it, Rong Yu had been gone for more than a month. Qianhuan still missed her senior brother occasionally, and she turned this longing into motivation for studying.
Occasionally, Qianhuan would continue to learn martial arts from Mr. Cai when he was free.
Liang Laoer's workshop and house are surrounded by high walls, and there is still a lot of empty space inside.
Qianhuan bought all kinds of fruit trees and flower trees and asked everyone to help plant them in the vacant courtyard. When the trees bloom and bear fruit, it will be very pleasant to sit under a small table and drink tea while appreciating the flowers.