Chapter 15 Jade Dragon Chang'e returns to the West Sea, and there are many interesting anecdotes about the cycle of life and death

Section 37 Yulong (Bi Fujian)'s wife and friend Fan Xuefeng taught the art of making "wine koji".

Author: Xiao Zhai Xiao enlisted

[Narrator] It is said that after the marriage between the Heavenly Court Oiran Chang'e and the Marshal of the Jade Dragon, they chose to travel on their honeymoon, and the queen mother asked for leave to take the opportunity of the honeymoon to visit the West Sea to visit the parents of the Jade Dragon and the subordinates of the Jade Dragon when he was in charge of Dongting Lake.

How can you see a rainbow without wind and rain! How can you produce a jade dragon without tempering! There is a dragon king temple, where there is a Guanyin Pavilion!

Chang'e's mother-in-law and Jade Dragon's mother-Lulu, in the 'Commander Suite' of the Xihai Dragon Palace Guest House, told Chang'e about the two reincarnations of life and death before the Jade Dragon was tempered in Tianzigang!

"There is no 'pole tree', so 'wild anise' is used. Sister Wang, I'll go find 'Wild Anise', you find some bread grain (corn) to grind into flour, and when I find 'Wild Star Anise' and come back, let's go to 'Drunken Fish'!" Fan Xuefeng said to Wang Lihua.

[Distant view, close-up view plus close-up] [Narrator] Fan Xuefeng soon found the 'wild star anise tree' from the mountain and picked back the 'wild star anise seeds' weighing about half a catty. Fan Xuefeng first boiled the 'wild star anise seeds' into soup with a pot, and then mixed the soup from the 'wild star anise seeds' with Wang Lihua's ground grain (corn) flour, and put it in the pot to steam and mature into a 'block' - a hair cake. At 10:30 a.m., Wang Lihua and Fan Xuefeng steamed the cooled corn (corn) flour into a 'block' cake and threw it into a puddle (called a blister in the north) with an area of about 2 square meters yesterday under the sleeves of the two of them with their bare hands and bare feet. At two o'clock in the afternoon, Wang Lihua and Fan Xuefeng walked to the edge of this puddle (known as water bubbles in the north) with a basket woven with rattan. I saw that the puddle (called the blister in the north) was full of swirling water circles. The depth of each water circle is 10 to 20 cm. There is a crucian carp of different sizes spinning constantly. Fan Xuefeng boiled the 'wild star anise seeds' into soup mixed with corn flour and steamed to form a 'lumpy' "fish food", which takes about 3 or 5 hours to exert its medicinal effect after being swallowed by herbivorous fish (which does not harm other fish) in the water. Fish that swallow this "fish food" into their stomachs will "lose their consciousness" after 3 or 5 hours, just like a human being who is drunk and spins uncontrollably in the water. The "dizzy" spinning time of each fish is determined by the weight of the "fish food" it swallows. The more "fish food" that fish swallows, the longer it will take for a fish to spin like a dizziness. Swallow fish that has been boiled into soup with 'wild star anise seeds', mixed with corn flour and steamed to form 'lumps' of "fish food". Under normal circumstances, the drug only needs to be "dizzy" and rotated for 3-5 minutes before it can automatically wake up and return to its original awake state.

Wang Lihua and Fan Xuefeng jumped into the puddle at the same time, and quickly used rattan baskets to scoop up one crucian carp after another under the water pattern circle, not knowing the danger, not afraid of people and demons, and constantly spinning, and put them into the wooden barrel with clear water in advance. It only takes 3 to 5 minutes to catch a stun-like crucian carp and put it in clean water (depending on how much drunkenness each fish takes) to wake up and return to its original state of being alive and kicking. In less than 10 minutes, they had caught a crucian carp weighing about 5 kilograms. These crucian carp, which are "unconscious of fish (people) affairs" and can pant with their mouths, weigh about half a catty each; The small 5 is about about one pound. When Wang Lihua and Fan Xuefeng came to Park Mingzhu's "newlywed" room with the crucian carp in the wooden barrel, the crucian carp weighing about 5 kilograms that was originally placed in a wooden barrel with clear water in advance was "unconscious of fish (people) affairs" and could pant with its mouth open. One by one, they all came to their senses. The fish kept bobbing their heads and tails in the barrels, 'crackling and horning' and jumping around. Accompanied by the water droplets that bloomed from time to time in the wooden barrel, Park Mingzhu happily teased the two children and said: "Xiaolong Xiaofeng (Xiaohua Xiaoyu's nickname), don't cry, don't cry!" Mommy is about to have milk! Don't hurry up and thank your Aunt Wang and Aunt Fan! Wang Lihua immediately caught two half-catty large crucian carp, descaled and dug out the intestines. Quickly put the two crucian carp that were still beating with fish blood into the pot. Wang Lihua immediately cut the "water gourd" into two halves of the water scoop, scooped two scoops of water from the water tank and put it in the pot, put some salt, and covered the pot. Fan Xuefeng lit the firewood under the stove, boiled the crucian carp in the water in the pot and boiled it over low heat for half an hour, and a pot of fresh white crucian carp soup was boiled. The next day (actually 8 hours later), Xiaolong Xiaofeng (Xiaohua Xiaoyu's nickname) "sucked" Park Mingzhu's breasts that were not too shriveled and had milk and stopped crying! Wang Lihua and Fan Xuefeng, as mentioned above, gave Park Mingzhu a crucian carp soup that he had been suffering for thirty days in a row (drunk twice in the middle). Xiaolong Xiaofeng (Xiaohua Xiaoyu's nickname) "sucks" her mother's endless milk every day, and when the moon is full, both brothers and sisters are white and fat, sturdy, and very cute!

Wang Lihua and Fan Xuefeng mentioned the "pole tree" mentioned when they wanted to go to the "drunken fish", which is a particularly rare tree species in the Tianzigang area of the south of the Yangtze River. Herbal water made from the branches and leaves of the 'pole tree' is poured directly into the shallow rice paddies or puddles, and the fish in the shallow rice paddies or puddles. Most of the "pole trees" that people see are only more than one meter high, and there are very few "pole trees" that are more than 2 meters high. The material of the "pole tree" is harder than oak wood. The surface of the "pole tree" is particularly smooth after the skin is removed. Therefore, the locals use it to make "weighing instruments" - "wooden pole scales". Although there are many types and patterns of today's electronic weighing instruments - "electronic scales", the craftsmen who make "wooden pole scales" in the Tianzigang area (Qidong radiates to Qiyang and Shaoyang areas) have always inherited the process of making "wooden pole scales" from generation to generation! With the ecological environment being polluted and destroyed by man, there are fewer and fewer "pole trees" used to make "wooden pole scales", and the Tianzigang area is basically extinct. Therefore, the traditional craft of making "wooden poles" in Qidong, Qiyang and Shaoyang should be declared as "(United Nations) intangible cultural heritage" for protection!

Wang Lihua and Fan Xuefeng mentioned the 'wild anise' mentioned when they wanted to go to 'Drunken Fish', during the Shang Dynasty in the 11th century BC. It can be found everywhere in the Tohoku region. Since Wang Lihua and Fan Xuefeng demonstratively used the 'wild anise' drunk fish for Park Mingzhu's 'milk'. This proven 'drunken fish' method and drug. And it spread quickly in his tribe. After learning that the 'wild anise' could 'get drunk with fish', the humans of the neighboring tribes flocked to the northeast to dig the 'wild anise' tree. At that time, the 'wild anise' tree in the northeast region suffered a catastrophe! After thousands of years of evolution, there is no trace of the 'wild anise' tree in the northeast region today. However, in the western regions of Yunnan, Guizhou and Hunan in southern China, the 'wild anise' tree is deeply rooted and grows freely with abundant fruits every year.

This kind of "wild anise tree" is similar to the "star anise tree" that is an authentic "star anise seed" (which is used by people as an edible seasoning and is called 'big food' by the people of Tohoku). The "seeds" of the 'wild anise' tree bear a maximum of 5 horns! Some profiteers who are self-interested in making "wild anise seeds" are dozens of times cheaper than "real star anise seeds", so they are making "thirteen spices" and "big powder". It is mixed with powder made from 'wild anise seeds' and sold at a high price. Ordinary people don't know the old reason, and some people feel dizzy after eating more food mixed with "big powder" mixed with 'wild star anise powder'. This is actually the effect of 'wild star anise powder'!

[Distant view, close-up view plus close-up] [Narrator]

After Park Mingzhu gave birth to Park Chunyu and Park Chunhua twins, due to excessive bleeding, postpartum weakness and too little milk. Park Chunyu and Park Chunhua, two babies, were so hungry that they often cried. In addition to teaching Park Mingzhu the ancestral recipe of "eating more pig's trotters and drinking more fresh (crucian carp) fish soup", Fan Xuefeng also taught Park Mingzhu the ancestral recipe of "drinking glutinous rice and sake lees to nourish blood and strengthen the body"! Wang Lihua and Fan Xuefeng, two middle-aged women, poured all their love into Park Mingzhu. The two of them were tolerant to Park Mingzhu's father last year and took in Bi Fujian, who escaped, as well as Bi Fujian's family and Bi Fujian's adjutant's family. Be grateful and reciprocate. They poured all their gratitude to the father of Park Mingzhu, the leader of the tribe, into his daughter Park Mingzhu. Women originally have the instinct to be careful, soft-hearted, and caring for others! Wang Lihua and Fan Xuefeng saw that Park Mingzhu was weak and lacked milk after giving birth to twins. While the two of them felt heartache, they discussed all day long how to help Park Mingzhu strengthen their physique!

Adjutant Jin Sheng's wife, Fan Xuefeng, was born into a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in the Tianzigang area, and she knows many uses of Chinese herbal medicine! For more than half a year, she and her husband Jin Sheng escaped from the Tianzigang area to Huanren Mountain north of the Taizi River, and felt very sorry for the extremely rich wild Chinese herbal medicine (species) resources near the station. She saw that the "fine pungent and lotus root" growing in the woodland were much better than the "fine pungent" and "lotus root" in the south, and she had the idea of brewing "glutinous rice distiller's lees" to nourish the blood and strengthen the body of Pu Mingzhu for "postpartum body weakness"! Fan Xuefeng's heart arrived, and on the second day of her and Wang Lihua's "drunken fish", she went up the mountain to collect a large number of 6 types of Chinese herbs such as "fine spice" and "lotus root", and mixed some "rice bran powder" according to the proportion of making "koji" (the rice seeds brought by Wang Lihua from Tianzigang were sprinkled in the low-lying and damp ground in the early spring, and in the late autumn and early winter, hundreds of catties of rice and millet had been harvested), and for the first time alone (leaving her parents) to make and inherit the full set of process of "koji" production! "Koji" is fermented and dried for 15 days (in the shade of strong sunlight) before it can be used.

It was a sunny afternoon, Park Mingzhu held the two children and came to the living room separated by Wang Lihua and Jin Sheng, Wang Lihua and Fan Xuefeng came out at the same time to assist Park Mingzhu to take care of the two babies who had just reached the full moon. Fan Xuefeng saw that Pu Mingzhu was tired and pale from taking care of the two babies in the "confinement", so she said to Wang Lihua with heartache: "Sister Wang, Mingzhu is weak after giving birth, and her body has not recovered well. I want to brew some 'glutinous rice sake lees' for her to drink, so that she can replenish her blood!" Do you say it's good! ”

"Good! However, before I left the Tianzigang area last year, I didn't bring 'koji' with me in a hurry. When you left Tianzigang last year, did you bring the 'koji' from which you brewed 'glutinous rice sake lees'? Wang Lihua said to Fan Xuefeng.

"Nope!" Fan Xuefeng replied.

"How do you brew 'koji' without 'glutinous rice lees'!" Wang Lihua said to Fan Xuefeng.

"Of course it's not a problem! There must be a road before the car reaches the mountain, and the 'mountain people' already know the wine recipe! Sister Wang, let me tell you, the herbs used to make koji here. It's even better than our Tianzigang area! Koji made from 'glutinous rice sake lees'. Back more than 20 days ago. I'm done! Now it's just your glutinous rice! Fan Xuefeng said to Wang Lihua very happily.

"Glutinous rice is not a problem! The rice seeds I brought from Tianzigang last year included two or three catties of glutinous rice, and this year I have harvested forty or fifty catties of glutinous rice. Leave more than 20 catties as a seed, and the remaining 30 catties, tomorrow I will grind it out with a stone mill, and make 'glutinous rice lees' for you, so that the pearl can replenish the blood! Wang Lihua said to Fan Xuefeng.

"Sister Wang, Sister Fan, you two are for my confinement. It's been a lot of scheming, brains, and effort, so how can I be grateful to you both in the future! Just now, you two are researching to make 'glutinous rice sake lees', can you really use it for me to 'replenish blood'? Park Mingzhu said to Wang Lihua and Fan Xuefeng.

"Of course! Pearl, 'glutinous rice sake lees' with fresh eggs, the main effect is to nourish blood and strengthen the body! You've lost too much blood 'postpartum' and your body has been weak! After Xuefeng brews the 'glutinous rice lees', you scoop a tablespoon into a pot every morning and add a bowl of water to boil, and then beat a fresh egg and put it in a bowl to melt with chopsticks. Pour the boiling 'glutinous rice lees' into an egg bowl that has been melted with chopsticks, stir well, and drink the whole bowl of 'glutinous rice sake lees' on a warm and empty stomach. Our grandmother told us that women often drank this 'glutinous rice sake lees'. It is mainly to replenish blood and strengthen the body. Mingzhu, you gave birth to twins who bleed too much, and after drinking ten days and a half of 'glutinous rice sake lees', your body will soon recover! Wang Lihua said to Park Mingzhu.

"Sister Fan, how long does it take you to brew 'glutinous rice lees'?" Park Mingzhu asked Fan Xuefeng what she said.

"The weather was nice for 24 hours; When it's cold, sometimes it takes up to 48 hours. Fan Xuefeng said to Park Mingzhu.

"Sister Fan, when you make 'glutinous rice distiller' tomorrow, you must call me and let me learn how to make 'glutinous rice distiller', okay?" Park Mingzhu asked Fan Xuefeng what she said.

"Good!" Fan Xuefeng said to Park Mingzhu.

"Pearl! I'll tell you that with the 'recipe' of 'koji and glutinous rice', you will make 'glutinous rice lees' yourself.

To make 'glutinous rice sake lees', you must first have 'koji'. With 'koji', it's easy to make 'glutinous rice lees'. When I was making 'glutinous rice lees' in Tianzigang, I first had to go to Xuefeng's house to buy 'koji'. Xuefeng's father is a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, and his family has been making 'koji' for generations. You have to buy as many catties of glutinous rice as you want to make 'sake lees'. The 'koji' made by Xuefeng's family is sold by the grain, and how much is a grain of 'koji'. If the ratio of koji to glutinous rice is not right, the effect of sake lees will be different. If there is more glutinous rice and less 'koji', the 'sake lees' will not be able to melt well; if there is less glutinous rice and more 'koji', the 'sake lees' will have a high alcohol content (alcohol content), and it will be intoxicating when drunk! According to my experience of making 'glutinous rice lees' for many years, a grain of 'koji' weighing about 25 grams can be used with about 3 catties (1,500 grams) of glutinous rice. Different people's 'koji' (other people's koji recipes are different, and the sake lees content is also different), and different weights of glutinous rice are used. Mingzhu, remember, with Xuefeng's 'koji', the ratio of 'koji' and glutinous rice 'recipe' is according to what I said, to ensure that the 'glutinous rice lees' you make tastes the best, sweet and not intoxicating! Wang Lihua said to Park Mingzhu with a smile.

"Sister Wang is right! Mingzhu, you just need to remember the ratio of 'koji to glutinous rice' that the eldest sister just said, and the rest of the program will be at a glance! Fan Xuefeng said to Park Mingzhu very seriously.

"A grain of 'koji' weighing about 25 grams, with glutinous rice weighing about 3 catties (1,500 grams)! I'm right! Sister Wang! Sister Fan! Park Mingzhu said to Wang Lihua and Fan Xuefeng, the two eldest sisters, with a solemn face.

On the second day, Fan Xuefeng and Wang Lihua, in the living room separated by Wang Lihua and Jin Sheng, taught Park Mingzhu the whole process of brewing 'glutinous rice lees'! In fact, the process of making 'glutinous rice sake lees' is similar to the process of making "rice (rice) wine" passed by Bailongma to Zhu Yingjie of Zhushan Yuan in Tianzigang area (the author will not repeat it here). The secret to the difference in the amount of sake (essence) between "rice (rice) sake" and "glutinous rice sake lees" is that four kinds of Chinese herbs are used to make the koji of "rice (rice) sake". Six kinds of Chinese herbs are used to make the koji of "glutinous rice sake lees". Therefore, the "sake lees" (sake lees - the meaning of the Tianzigang area, which refers to the 'cooked rice grains' left in the pot after the evaporation of the alcoholic sparkling 'wine' water that has been fermented for half a month after fermentation) in the pot cannot be eaten, and can only be used as livestock feed! The glutinous rice grains fermented with koji are called "glutinous rice sake lees"; The glutinous rice grains and water (containing trace amounts of alcohol) in the "glutinous rice sake lees" are directly available for consumption.

In the afternoon of the same day, Wang Lihua cooked (good) three catties of glutinous rice in a copper pot and ground it with a stone mill in the morning, and then rolled it into a bamboo dustpan with a spoon to cool. Fan Xuefeng smashed a grain of koji in advance, took Pu Mingzhu's hand, and tried the temperature of the glutinous rice. When she felt that the temperature was suitable, Fan Xuefeng used her hands to spread the powdered 'koji' evenly onto the glutinous rice. After that, Fan Xuefeng asked Pu Mingzhu to mix the glutinous rice sticky with 'koji' with both hands and put it into a clay porcelain jar. The mouth of the cylinder is covered with a large leaf. At more than five o'clock in the afternoon of the next day, Wang Lihua, Fan Xuefeng, and Pu Mingzhu arrived at the same time, took away the leaves, and a mellow smell of wine came from the tank. The servants took a look into the jar and saw that the dry sticky rice that had been put into the jar yesterday was all soaked softly in the shiny (wine) water. Park Mingzhu happily said to Wang Lihua and Fan Xuefeng: "Xie Lu Xie two eldest sisters, I have also learned to make glutinous rice lees!" Sister Fan, you have to tell me how to make 'koji' in the future! Otherwise, your koji runs out, and I still won't be able to make glutinous rice lees. ”

"Mingzhu, don't worry! This is the first time I have used your Chinese herbs to make 'koji', and I don't know if it's easy to use or not. This time, the 'koji' was successful, and I will teach you how to make koji tomorrow. Fan Xuefeng said happily to Park Mingzhu.

'Good!' Hello! Park Mingzhu happily said "yes" in two voices!

'Good!' Hello! ''Good!' Hello! Wang Lihua and Fan Xuefeng also happily followed Park Mingzhu to learn to say "good" in two voices! In the living room separated by Wang Lihua and Jin Sheng, they are the mothers of children who do not understand speech for the time being, and in the practice of teaching each other to learn new skills, they sincerely create a harmonious, happy, warm and high-spirited (big) family atmosphere.

Later, Fan Xuefeng not only taught Park Mingzhu how to make koji for 'glutinous rice lees', but also taught Park Mingzhu how to make 'koji' for (rice) rice wine. After Park learned these methods, she passed them on to her daughter and neighbors. These proven winemaking techniques have been passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years. No matter how the "chemical koji" of sake brewing changes, they have always maintained these sake brewing processes. Among the human beings on the whole earth, only the process of brewing 'glutinous rice sake lees' and rice (rice) wine in their tribe is exactly the same as that of brewing 'glutinous rice sake lees' and rice (rice) wine in the Zigang area today! (2014-3-17Written at No. 183, Xingyuan Community, Tudian Street, Tongxiang City, Zhejiang)

To find out what happened next, please continue reading VIP Chapter 15, Section 38 (to be continued......)