Every time she flipped through a picture, Grandpa Bai would introduce the herb to her and briefly tell her what it treated.
Soon, she found a few medicinal herbs that could treat injuries. One was Panax notoginseng and the other was Red sage. There was also the Dipsacus japonicus that Grandpa Bai had mentioned.
She wanted to secretly pick herbs and give her father a surprise.
With a small goal in mind, Zhao Zhitong felt very fulfilled. Her entire body was filled with energy, and her previous dispiritedness was swept away. At dinner, she still had a good appetite. She ate more than half a steamed bun and a bowl of porridge.
Zhao Dong and Sun Mei also noticed that Zhao Zhitong was not in a good mood during the day.
However, the tofu store was about to open and both of them were very busy, so they did not have time to care about her. They just wanted to spend time with her after they were done with work tonight.
Unexpectedly, the little girl's mood recovered by herself during dinner. The two of them were relieved.
After dinner, Zhao Zhitong thought about picking herbs tomorrow, so she climbed into bed early to sleep.
It was a little stuffy in the room, and Zhao Zhitong had already fallen asleep. Sun Mei and Zhao Dong held big fans in their hands and chatted softly.
Sun Mei said, "When we're busy, I think it's better to have an older brother or sister at home. We can have someone to play with Tongtong. She won't feel neglected."
Sun Mei thought of something and said, "It's fine if there's a kindergarten. There are teachers and classmates in the school."
Zhao Dong fanned himself and rubbed his leg with one hand. "Our family doesn't have money now. When the Tofu store makes money, we'll send Tongtong to school. I think Meng Xuejiu likes our Tongtong. He should accept her."
Speaking of this, Sun Mei recalled that whenever she met Meng Xuejiu, his love for Tongtong would always be obvious.
Sun Mei couldn't help but smile proudly. "Our Tongtong will definitely be sent to school. I don't expect her to be successful. I just want her to be sensible and understand right and wrong. I don't want her to be easily deceived."
At this point, Sun Mei paused and continued, "However, not only does Meng Xuejiu like our Tongtong, but the private school belongs to the gentry. He has requirements for the students in the entrance hall. I wonder if he will agree to our Tongtong's admission."
What Sun Mei was worried about was that Squire Wei would not accept Zhao Zhitong because she was a girl.
Through these days, she realized that Squire Wei was not the kind of person who thought that girls should not study.
This could be seen from the fact that his daughters were also studying in school.
Another thing was the constraints of this dynasty. Women had not reached the point of not being able to leave the house. That kind of tragic state could be said to be a period of low status for women.
As for the fear that Squire Wei would not accept her, it was because he valued the atmosphere of the private school very much, so he had requirements for the students who entered.
Zhao Dong nodded and remembered it in his heart. "When the time comes, I'll bring something to Squire Wei's house to ask him. Alright, wife, go to sleep quickly. We still have a lot to do tomorrow."
"Tomorrow is another busy day." Sun Mei sighed. "I suddenly miss modern life. In my previous life, it wasn't so tiring."
As she spoke, she lay down.
Zhao Dong said, "By the way, if Tongtong is bored at home tomorrow, let her go to school to play with Mr. Meng and the students. Send some food to the school and let Tongtong eat lunch at school too so that she won't have to go back and forth."
Sun Mei replied. "Sure."
Hence, the entire night was silent.
The next day, at dawn, which was five or six in the morning, Sun Mei and her husband got up.
The soybean milk had already been filtered the night before. Now, they only needed to boil it and put it into the gypsum to shape it.
Therefore, he was not in a hurry. Zhao Dong first went to fill the water tank. Sun Mei put the beans that she had soaked last night into a sack.
After he was done, Zhao Dong helped Sun Mei stoke the fire and pushed the packed soybeans out the door.
It took about 15 minutes to boil a pot of soybean milk, and 30 minutes to shape the tofu.
By the time Zhao Dong returned from delivering the beans, Sun Mei had already cooked a pot and was digging into the grinding tool.
Zhao Dong hurriedly weighed it. This big pot produced about 30 catties of tofu.
As it was their first day of selling, the two of them could not guarantee that they would sell them all, so they made two pots first: one pot of tofu and one pot of soybean.
By the time he was done, it was already seven o'clock in the morning.
The farmers here only ate two meals a day, one at nine o'clock and one at ten o'clock.
It was time for the villagers to go home and cook.
Zhao Dong went to open the door and moved a table to the door. It was officially open for business!
Some villagers who had eaten tofu yesterday returned from the fields and went to Zhao Dong's house.
The first to arrive was the village chief's eldest daughter-in-law, Madam Tian. As soon as she entered, she praised loudly, "Sun Mei, your culinary skills are really good. We stewed the tofu with cabbage last night. It's very delicious. It's as fragrant as meat!"
Zhao Dong chuckled. "This tofu is really meat among plants. It's so nutritious."
Tian Cuihua laughed."Haha, is that so? Then are they close? You don't know but my in-laws don't have good teeth and can't eat meat. Coincidentally, this tofu is soft and tender, and it suits their taste. Look, when I woke up today, they urged me to buy it."
The Zhao family's door was open. Villagers would pass by the door from time to time. Tian Cuihua deliberately raised her voice so that the people outside could hear her.
Zhao Dong and Sun Mei knew her good intentions, so they were naturally extremely grateful. When they cut the tofu, they even gave her an extra tael.
At this moment, Shitou's wife, Sun Sanniang, also rushed over. As soon as she arrived, she went straight to the point. "Brother Dong, give me two catties of this. Tofu, right? And two bowls of this beancurd. This is too delicious. You don't know, but Shitou actually snatched food from the child yesterday. Haha."
With the support of Tian Cuihua and Sun Sanniang, the two loudspeakers, the courtyard quickly attracted many villagers.
Sun Mei greeted the villagers with a smile and handed the matter of selling tofu to Zhao Dong.
She went to the kitchen and wrapped a piece of tofu in a steamer cloth. She placed it in the basket on her back and prepared to take it to school for the children and the teachers for free. It could be considered an advertisement in Xiaoyi Village.
"Tongtong, let's go to school."
Sun Mei carried the basket on her back and looked around the courtyard, but she did not find that little girl. Not only was she curious, but in the past, she would have pestered her to ask when she would go to school.
Today, she ran away without a trace.
At that moment, behind the house, Zhao Zhitong was digging up Plantago asiatica. When she heard Sun Mei's voice, she answered at the top of her voice, "Mother, Mother, wait for me."
As she shouted, her two small hands attacked together. She kicked the ground and pulled with all her might.
"Ouch!"
The Plantago asiatica was not uprooted. Instead, it broke from the root. Zhao Zhitong fell to the ground.
Sun Mei said, "Tongtong, what are you doing? Hurry up."
Sun Mei's voice came again. Zhao Zhitong endured the pain in her butt and got up. She hurriedly threw the weeds into the space and rubbed her butt before running out.
Zhao Zhitong replied. "Coming~"