Hearing a few people say this, Lu Zhengan did not shirk. After all, there are indeed a lot of peaches, and if you make them by yourself, you will probably have to be busy.

"Then go get some water, wash the peaches, cut them in half with a knife, and remove the peach pits inside."

Lu Zheng'an said that the work was not complicated, but the people present were all old men, and they usually didn't enter the stove house many times at home, and the kitchen knife was really not very handy. Fortunately, a few people did a lot of work at home to chop firewood, and they became proficient after a while.

Several strong men sat around the door of the hall, and the five baskets of peaches were made in just an hour. Lu Zhengan asked them to help move the processed peaches into the stove house, and when he saw that the sky was gloomy again, he brought the peaches that had been specially set aside for a few people, and let them go down the mountain.

Lu Tiezhuan and a few people left After a while, the heavy rain crackled again. Lu Zhengan sat alone in front of the stove quietly watching the dancing flames, and he couldn't help but have some doubts in his heart about whether he could succeed in what he did.

However, since it has been decided to find another way, it will not be possible to fail for fear of failure. Fortunately, there is nothing lacking at home, but there are many peaches. And if there are chickens, ducks and geese at home, it is not wasted.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhengan added another piece of firewood to the stove, and when he saw that the iron pot had already begun to emit bursts of white smoke, he got up and poured the processed peach meat directly into the pot. At the same time, half of the sugar bought from the village grocery store was poured into it, and then the lid was closed and re-cooked.

Lu Zhengan looked at the fire in the stove and silently counted the time in his heart. After about half an hour, he immediately got up and washed his hands and uncovered the lid.

At the moment when the lid of the pot was made, a peculiar aroma rushed to the face. Lu Zhengan waited sideways for the vapor in front of him to dissipate a little, and then used chopsticks to clip a piece out of it.

Lu Zhengan poked the piece of peach flesh with his chopsticks, and felt that it was already a little soft inside, so he immediately used a fence to remove all the peach flesh from the pot and spread it evenly on the steamer.

After the peach flesh in the pot was completely cleaned, Lu Zhengan put the steamer back on the fire, and Mo Yo steamed it for about a quarter of an hour. After removing the lid of the steamer, I saw that the moisture on the peach flesh inside had been almost steamed, so I withdrew the fire from the stove.

At this point, the flesh of the peaches is already a little soft, but it is still in the shape of a whole piece of peach flesh. After the temperature dissipated a little, Lu Zhengan tasted a piece of the peaches, and felt that the peaches were rich and sweeter, and then scooped the soup from the previous peach into a clay pot.

After steaming, these dried peaches can be placed directly under the sun to dry. It's just that it's raining outside again, and Lu Zhengan can only experiment with other methods first.

After bending down to re-set the fire, Lu Zhengan waited for all the water vapor in the pot to be steamed clean, and then poured some of the peach flesh into the pot. Gently use a spatula to turn the peach flesh inside the pot to prevent the peach meat from sticking to the pan and pasting the pan.

However, because the peach meat has been steamed, when turning the peach meat, Lu Zhengan's action is extremely light, for fear that he will accidentally turn over the peach meat.

As time passed, the originally soft peach flesh in the pot slowly shrank due to the water steaming dry. After a piece of peach flesh shrank to only one-half of its original size, Lu Zhengan picked up a piece and took a bite, and found that the peach flesh was soft and sweet, and the taste of the peach itself had not been lost at all.

In this way, Lu Zheng's heart will be reassured. Shovel the finished peach meat into the cutting board and start the next pot.

……

Lu Zhengan picked a total of five baskets of peaches, and there were still a little more than four baskets left after removing the peach pits. With the previous experience, Lu Zhengan, who was greatly confident, roasted all the four baskets of peach meat overnight.

When Lu Zhengan came out of the stove house, the sky was already white. At this time, the light rain was still dripping, and the sleepy Lu Zhengan rushed into the back room and slept until the beginning of the afternoon, when he woke up in a daze.

After feeding the chickens, ducks, and geese with hungry necks stretched out, Lu Zhengan found some food to pass away his empty stomach.

After the four baskets of fresh peaches are baked, only half of the basket remains. Lu Zhengan was worried that the rain and tide would affect the taste, so he put it in a bamboo basket with a dry cage cloth.

Except for the dried peaches made by Lu Zhengan, which were soaked in sugar water at the beginning, nothing was added, and the shape was not as good as the ones sold in the shops outside.

Fortunately, the peaches are fresh, and the dried peaches are golden in color and very beautiful. Because there is not too much granulated sugar added, dried peaches do not taste as sweet as the outside. However, it happens to be this sweet and sour taste, which makes people not feel sweet, but more appetizing.

Putting the two bamboo baskets in his hands, Mo can have about twenty catties. Lu Zhengan silently estimated in his heart that it would take almost seven catties of fresh peaches to bake one pound of dried peaches.

At present, the fresh peaches in the market are already somewhat overflowing, and it is obviously impossible to sell all the 10,000 catties of fresh peaches in the garden. Not to mention that so many peaches can't be sold at a price, I am afraid that in the end, it will not be enough to pay the wages of several brothers in my family.

If all the more than 10,000 catties of fresh peaches are made into dried peaches, there can be about 1,500 catties. Although Lu Zhengan had never been to the dried fruit store, he also knew that the prices inside would definitely not be convenient. If a pound can be sold for 20 yuan, then after removing labor and other costs, you can earn about 25 taels.

Twenty-five taels doesn't sound like much, and it's not even worth the cost of a meal for a rich and noble family. However, this meagre twenty-five taels may be the income of a country family for five years or more.

The original grandfather taught and educated people for so many years, and the original body himself accumulated on weekdays, but only six taels. If the business of dried peaches can really be done, then he will be able to earn them a few years of income in one quarter.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhengan looked at the two baskets of dried peaches in front of him again, and he felt that it was no longer dried peaches, but yellow, orange and orange copper plates beckoning to him, so happy that Lu Zhengan almost couldn't help laughing.

However, after the joy, Lu Zhengan still remembered the most realistic and critical problem - that is, sales.

There is a way to be afraid of the deep alley because of the aroma of wine, no matter how good the quality of this dried peach is, if it can't be sold, it will be in vain. Although it can be sold by setting up a stall on the street, the cost of this dried peach is destined to make it inadequate.

It's good for ordinary people to be able to buy a three, two, or five taels, but if you want to sell it in large quantities, you have to rely on those larger shops.

It's just that Lu Zhengan is just a commoner, with no identity background and no connections, so it is a little difficult to get in touch with the shopkeepers of those big shops. Even if he took the initiative to sell to the door with a thick face, when he met such a black-hearted person, he was afraid that he would only stretch his neck and be slaughtered!

Thinking of this, Lu Zhengan suddenly remembered a person in his mind, who was Song Huaishu's father, Song Xiren.

The Song family's shop in the town is not small, and the daily business is not bad, and they should know many rich and noble squires who have cooperated with the town or the surrounding areas. If you can get the help of Old Man Song in this matter, I am afraid that it will be a lot easier.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhengan couldn't sit still. However, it was too late now, and it was already dark when I rushed to town with my things. Therefore, Lu Zhengan advised himself not to be in a hurry, and waited until dawn tomorrow to go to Song Huai's house again.

However, when Lu Zheng'an packed two catties of dried peaches and rushed to Hualong Town after breakfast the next day, what he didn't expect was that Mrs. Jiang also hurried to Song's house with her reluctant old sister Mrs. Zhang.

CHAPTER XXVIII

The rainy days for several days slowly calmed down the originally anxious Song Huaishu.

Looking at the dense rain curtains outside the window, I remembered all the things I had done since I met Lu Zhengan. Song Huaishu imagined in his mind what kind of attitude the other party would have after he made his mind clear to Lu Zhengan.

In the midst of all kinds of emotions, the rain that had been falling for three days finally stopped in the middle of the night.

When Song Huaishu got up and pushed open the window, he found that the sun was shining outside the house, and the sky was like a wash, and after being stunned for a moment, he changed his clothes at an unprecedented speed, pushed the door and walked out of the room.

At this time, Song Lan was preparing breakfast in the kitchen. Seeing Song Huaishu get up, he hurriedly beckoned him to wash up quickly.

"Hurry up and wash it up and eat, I cooked some millet porridge and mixed a bean, what else do you want to eat, my mother will get another one."

Song Huaishu didn't have much to eat breakfast, and shook his head when he heard Song Lan's inquiry. "It's enough to eat, and I'm not very hungry when I wake up early, just drink some millet porridge." Ask your father what he wants to eat, and you can get him a little bit, and leave me alone. ”

Just in time, Song Xiren came out of the latrine, and was about to ask his wife to cook two salted eggs for him, but before he could open his mouth, he heard Song Lanshi say: "Your father doesn't pick and choose, and our mother and son will have to go out in a hurry, so let's make do with it." ”

Song Xiren, who was not picky, silently swallowed the words he was about to say, and sighed helplessly, "You two wait to go down to the street to buy something and bring it, no matter what, don't go out empty-handed." ”

Hearing this, Song Huaishu had a fever at the root of his ears, but he still nodded obediently.

By the time breakfast was finished and cleaned up, it was almost hour. Seeing that the sun hanging in the sky was getting stronger and stronger, Song Huaishu found a fence and handed it to Song Lan.

"The sun is getting stronger and stronger, so my mother should cover it so as not to get heatstroke."

Song Lanshi couldn't help but sigh at Song Huaishu's intimacy in his heart, nodded with a smile, and was about to say a few words to Song Xiren, who was staying at home. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and Song Lan had no choice but to give up and let her husband open the door first.

However, when Song Xiren opened the door and saw Mrs. Jiang and Mrs. Zhang standing outside the door, the expression on her face could not help but stiffen, and her mood could not help but sink a little.

"Why is Boss Song so surprised to see our old sister?" Mrs. Jiang pinched the handkerchief to cover her mouth and smiled.

Hearing Mrs. Jiang's voice, Song Xiren immediately reacted, and after hurriedly pulling the door panel open, he sideways welcomed Mrs. Jiang and Mrs. Zhang in. "It's true that I didn't expect it, so please sit inside."

After the two entered the door, Song Xiren raised his voice and asked Song Lan's family to help serve tea. At the same time, he knocked on the side and knocked on the side what the two of them meant by going to the door at the same time.

Although the Song family is not a wealthy family, it also has some family background. For such people, Mrs. Zhang was not too anxious to come to the door to urge. Although the government will also scold, compared to the government's scolding, the real money stuffed into the hand is the actual thing.

Now that a Jiang matchmaker suddenly interjected/came in, although Zhang matchmaker was unhappy in her heart, she didn't dare to show it too obviously. After all, she still wants the job of the official media, and if she smashes it because of this, it will outweigh the loss.

"Boss Song, your little brother hasn't decided yet, right?"

Song Xiren was stunned for a moment when he heard Mrs. Zhang's words, but then nodded. "It's not decided yet, it's not a trivial matter for a child's life, you have to keep your eyes open."

Song Lan and Song Huaishu, who were carrying tea, saw the two matchmakers coming to the door, and they already understood what they meant. It's just that at the moment, he has something in his heart, and when he sees the matchmaker coming to the door, he is a little anxious.

Song Lanshi noticed the worry between Song Huaishu's eyebrows, so he stopped and stretched out his hand to hold him, and when he saw Song Huaishu's brows frowning slightly, he opened his mouth to comfort: "Mother knows your thoughts, and she will never easily agree." ”

Hearing this, Song Huaishu was relieved, nodded to Song Lan's family, and said in a low voice: "Let's go, let's take a look first." ”

When Mrs. Jiang saw Song Huaishu following behind Song Lan's family, her first reaction was that the other party was indeed as the old sister Mrs. Zhang said, she looked beautiful and delicate, but she was too thin. In addition, the other party is not tall, and at first glance, I thought that he was a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy.

However, after taking a closer look, Mrs. Jiang found that the other party was very familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere.

However, before Mrs. Jiang could think of anything, she suddenly heard a knock on the courtyard door again. Everyone turned their eyes to the gate of the courtyard, only to see Lu Zhengan walking in carrying a small bamboo basket.

When Mrs. Jiang saw that it was Lu Zhengan, she was immediately shocked and stood up from her chair.

Lu Zhengan never expected to meet Mrs. Jiang here, turned his head to look at Song Huaishu on the side, changed the basket in his hand, and said with a smile: "When I saw that the door of your house was open, I knocked on the door and came in, but I didn't expect that there would be guests in your house today." ”

As he spoke, Lu Zhengan greeted Mrs. Jiang, who had already gotten up from the hall. "What a coincidence, I met Granny Jiang here."

Originally, Mrs. Jiang just thought that Song Huaishu was familiar, and she didn't remember where she had seen him for a while. After seeing Lu Zheng'an, Mrs. Jiang reacted that the mother and son she had seen in the Lu family that day were none other than Song's mother and son.

Thinking of this, Mrs. Jiang pinched the handkerchief and couldn't help laughing. "This is really a coincidence, I originally wanted to introduce you to meet, but I didn't expect you to know each other for a long time. That being the case, it's nice to save my tongue. ”

Mrs. Jiang's words made everyone present confused. On the contrary, it was Song Lan's who reacted first, and stepped forward to pull Song Huaishu, who was in a trance, and smiled at Mrs. Jiang.

"You can't say that, no matter what, I still have to thank the sister-in-law of the Jiang family for this heart."

At this time, Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu also reacted, and the two of them glanced at each other, their faces a little confused.

What a shrewd character Mrs. Jiang is, seeing Lu Zhengan's expression, she knows that he is absolutely interested in this little brother of the Song family. At this time, he didn't say much nonsense, raised his foot and stepped out of the threshold, beckoned to Mrs. Zhang, who was stuck inside, and said, "It's time for our old sister to save trouble, let's go back to other things first." ”

After greeting Mrs. Zhang, Mrs. Jiang turned her head and stretched out her hand to Lu Zhengan and pointed. "You kid and the old woman don't tell the truth yet, but after you are done, I still have to drink this thank you for the matchmaking wine."

Hearing this, Lu Zhengan couldn't help laughing. "Look at what my mother-in-law said, isn't it a coincidence, but don't worry, mother-in-law is indispensable."

……

Seeing off Mrs. Jiang Miao, the atmosphere in the Song family's small courtyard became a little awkward for a while. On the contrary, Song Lan's reaction was quick, and while asking Lu Zhengan about the situation at home in the past few days, he beckoned him into the house.

This is not the first time Lu Zheng'an has come to the Song family, but for some reason, this time he has inexplicably increased his pressure. Quietly glanced at Song Huaishu, and saw him following behind with his head down, and for some reason he felt a little amused in his heart.

"Come on, don't bring something every time."

Hearing Song Lan's words, Lu Zhengan reacted to what he was still carrying in his hand.

Standing up from the stool, he walked in front of Song Xiren with the basket and said, "Don't hide it from my uncle and aunt, I came here today because I want to ask my uncle to help me palm my eyes." ”

Lu Zhengan came to the two of them, stretched out his hand to remove the cloth towel covering his face, took a piece of dried peach from it and handed it over.

"Uncle, try it, what is the difference between this dried peach and the one sold in the shop?"

When Song Xiren heard this, he took the dried peach in his hand, put it under his nose and sniffed it, then opened his mouth and took a bite.

Lu Zhengan saw that Song Xiren looked serious, and he didn't dare to open his mouth to disturb him. When he turned his head and saw Song Huai standing aside with a blank eye, he also took a piece from the basket and handed it over.

After Song Xiren finished eating the dried peaches, he looked at Lu Zhengan and asked, "These dried peaches are not as sweet as those sold in the shop, and they have a bit of skin when they bite into them. However, the peach flavor is relatively strong, and it has a slightly sour taste, and the taste is okay. ”

After speaking, Song Xiren raised his eyes to look at Lu Zhengan, and his expression seemed to be a little surprised: "You did it yourself?" ”

Lu Zheng'an's family has more than 10 acres of peach orchards, and he is afraid that he is busy selling fruits. Song Xiren was originally a little worried about Lu Zhengan, but he didn't expect the other party to find another way in a blink of an eye.

Hearing this, Lu Zhengan nodded. "The last time I sent Huaishu and my uncle back, when I passed by the dried fruit shop, I came up with a solution. It's just that this is the first time I've made this thing, and the craftsmanship and taste are inevitably a little lacking. Therefore, he had the courage to ask his uncle and aunt to give him some advice. ”

When Song Huaishu heard that these preserved fruits were made by Lu Zheng'an, his eyes subconsciously looked at his hands hanging at his sides. When I saw a few red and swollen wounds on my face, I couldn't help frowning. But now that his parents are there, Song Huaishu is distressed and doesn't ask much, just sits silently and doesn't speak.

Song Lan liked the taste of the dried peaches sent by Lu Zheng'an, but she felt that it was very appetizing to eat the sweet and sour in her mouth.

"It's a little inferior to the one in the shop, but it's good that you can do it yourself." Song Lan nodded in praise.

When Song Xiren said that he would ask him to help give him some advice, he already roughly understood what he meant. He lowered his head and thought for a moment before asking, "How many catties can you make of this preserved fruit?" ”

Hearing Song Xiren say this, Lu Zhengan immediately replied: "If there is no accident, I can still make about 1,500 catties." ”

Song Xiren nodded, "What I make is a little different from what I sell in the store, and the price is not comparable." And it's not the peak season for the preserved fruit business. If you want to sell at a high price, you have to wait until the holidays. This preserved fruit is very susceptible to insects, so how long are you likely to store it? ”