Chapter 142: Tofu’s Prospects
Even in its super-simplified version, even without one of its soul ingredients, Sichuan peppercorn, this plate of Mapo Tofu that Xiang Chuan had tried every way to load up with heavy seasoning still won over the male crowd at the dining table with its rich aroma and heavy taste. Eating it together with the noodles that had been boiled in hot water and then rinsed cool with drinkable cold water, that flavor, in the words of 30,000 years ago, was “something even immortals wouldn’t trade for.”
Only Xiang Chuan frowned with a complicated mood as she slurped the noodles.
She hadn’t noticed anything when tasting the flavor in the pot just now, but only after mixing it with the noodles did she discover that this thing would be better called “Minced Meat Stir-fried Tofu · Spicy Version” rather than “Mapo Tofu · Simplified Version.” Without the numbing sensation from Sichuan peppercorn, eating this tofu with the mindset of eating Mapo Tofu would get you properly criticized online in the 21st Century.
But the name Mapo Tofu had already sunk deep into the hearts of everyone at the dining table, and Xiang Weiguo even immediately added this dish to the recipe in the home kitchen after tasting a bite.
Seeing this, Xiang Chuan suddenly felt immense pressure: If some Sichuan person transmigrates over in the future and discovers that Mapo Tofu has become like this, will they rush over to assassinate me?
After this bout of wild overthinking, it instead made Xiang Chuan more determined to quickly gather 21st Century seasonings in the modern era.
To make up for the shortage of seasonings, Xiang Chuan added far more chili oil to this Mapo Tofu than in previous dishes. Soon, everyone at the dining table who had chosen the spicy version of Mapo Tofu was sweating profusely. Seeing this, Xiang Chuan quickly had Da Xing bring milk and soy milk; dairy products are quite effective at eliminating the spiciness in the mouth.
Those who chose the non-spicy version of Mapo Tofu — Xiang Chuan firmly refused to admit that was Mapo Tofu, at most it could be called tomato minced meat tofu — like Xiang Xue and others, looked toward another dish on the dining table: tomato tofu steamed fish.
The version without tofu had been personally cooked by Xiang Chuan the day after the Class Competition ended for the family to taste fresh. The tenderness of the fish and the sweet-and-sour texture of the tomatoes immediately captured the whole family’s stomachs. If not for the fact that the Agriculture Bureau’s freshwater fish industrialized farming plan had just started, making fish hard to come by on the market, the home would definitely schedule two or three meals of fish dishes every week at least.
This version with added tofu looked thicker in soup compared to previous ones. Scooping with a spoon, the tender and smooth tofu and fish wrapped in tomato sauce looked very appealing, especially the tofu. The white tofu and red tomato soup formed a strong color contrast, and with the tofu’s unique soft texture, mixed into the tomato sauce it looked especially enticing.
Xiang Chuan scooped a spoonful into her mouth. The fish bones had been cleanly processed by Xiao Chu, and the tender fish slid down her throat after gentle chewing. The tofu neutralized the relatively single-note texture of the tomato sauce, and the tofu that had absorbed the tomato sauce and fish juices was given another layer of flavor — sweet, sour, tasty, thick, and enticing. It was perfect for eating with rice or mixing with noodles.
Because today’s two main dishes were one sweet-and-sour appetite-opening and one aromatic-spicy heavy, it could be seen from the completely cleaned-up mixed noodles on the dining table that if there had been rice, everyone would probably have uncontrollably polished off three big bowls each. Even girls like Xiang Xue and Ouyang Yating, who usually paid more attention to maintaining their figures, couldn’t resist adding a second bowl of mixed noodles.
As a result, the somewhat stuffed crowd had to collectively move to the gym next to the entertainment room for simple post-meal exercise. This was also the first time Xiang Chuan learned that the home even had a gym, after all, the “memory” of her past self had never come in here.
She had never seen any of the facilities in the gym; each one seemed loaded with anti-gravity equipment. Rather than calling them fitness equipment, they were more like VR game equipment. But when she saw Xiang Xue and Ouyang Yating skillfully step onto the grid-shaped floor tiles that were lifted by anti-gravity, hovering two or three centimeters off the ground, and begin accelerated walking, Xiang Chuan suddenly realized: So it’s an anti-gravity treadmill!
Thus, she happily joined in the anti-gravity treadmill race-walking activity together.
Modern medicine is advanced, and technology development in beauty is leaping forward. Modern beauticians and medical researchers, referencing material conversion technology, have developed tech that converts and harmlessly expels human body impurities. Therefore, it’s hard to see fat people or obesity patients in the modern era. However, even with such convenient technology, the government still advocates for moderate exercise in daily life. Modern humans don’t differ much from Earth-era humans in biological structure; daily life and work still require using limbs, so joints and nerves need to maintain certain flexibility, lest in an environment where increasingly advanced tech products cover every aspect of life, everyone stays home without stepping outside or touching the ground.
She used to be a homebody girl, and in her previous life a long-sedentary corporate slave. Xiang Chuan lasted only over ten minutes in this rare anti-gravity treadmill race-walking before her legs went soft and she conceded defeat. Unwillingly sitting on the gym’s anti-gravity chair, she watched the others enthusiastically working out. Xiang Xue even opened a live stream while race-walking to chat with the viewers.
What’s with this atmosphere where only I’m not doing well? Xiang Chuan, sitting on the chair, depressedly bit her straw while drinking the fruit milk Da Xing had brought.
After an hour of exercise, everyone dispersed to do their own things. The A Bite of China Club crowd ran to the entertainment room for super close-up chase-live-streaming of a TV series. When Xiang Chuan prepared to follow along to rewatch My Own Swordsman, she was taken by Xiao Ye to Xiang Weiguo’s study room and office.
As soon as she entered the door, she saw her parents each holding a cup of soy milk chatting animatedly. Seeing her come in, they had her sit in front of the desk.
“Xiao Chuan, taking as a premise that your so-called soy products circulate in the market, in your view, what level does bean yield need to reach to meet market demand?” Xiang Weiguo didn’t beat around the bush and directly threw out the issue he had just been discussing with his wife.
“At least a quarter of total staple food production,” Xiang Chuan thought for a moment and answered based on her pitifully limited crop yield knowledge. Seeing her parents’ surprised expressions, she quickly added: “Mainly because beans have wide uses. Take the soybeans I acquired this time: fresh beans can be used to make dishes, and also for oil extraction; soy pulp can be made into food or feed for livestock. Next is making tofu. According to intel from information turbulence, beans can make more kinds of tofu than the one we ate today; they can be air-dried into dried tofu, or using other materials made into tofu pudding that can be used as dessert. And then seasonings: one of ancient famous cuisines, Chinese cooking, can’t do without soy sauce. Additionally, they can be made into broad bean paste, miso, fermented black beans, and other seasonings. Whether savory, sweet, or spicy, they can handle it all, more flavorful than just using salt, sugar, and chili… That’s what the information turbulence materials say.”
Xiang Chuan, a bit carried away in speaking, didn’t forget to add that last sentence.
Xiang Weiguo took a sip of soy milk. Smelling the warm bean aroma from the drink, he gradually formed an intention in his mind, looked back at his eldest daughter, and asked:
“Xiao Chuan, can you sell the processing authorization for soy products to Yue Xiang?”
