After pointing out a few minor mistakes in the greenhouse built by Hu Hanyun in Hanjiazhuang, Li Zexuan left in a hurry.
"Madam, do you have any soybeans or mung beans at home?"
Back home in Chang'an, Li Zexuan saw Han Yuxi in the courtyard and asked directly.
Yes, he wanted to get some bean sprouts to eat.
Although greenhouse vegetables can provide vegetables on a large scale in winter, water from far away cannot quench local thirst, and it will take at least two months to eat them. The vegetables their family ate yesterday were all shipped from Prince Wei's Mansion.
It doesn't hurt to do this once or twice, but if it happens too many times, it won't be pretty.
The small patch of bean sprouts in Lao Hu's field in the afternoon made Li Zexuan's eyes light up. It takes a long time for greenhouse vegetables to mature, but bean sprouts don't need to! In this season when vegetables are scarce, crisp and refreshing bean sprouts feel much more delicious than big fish and meat!
"Ms. sir, there should be 扉 (lǜ, same pronunciation as green) beans at home, but what are soybeans~?"
Han Yuxi heard the sound, thought about it, and asked a little strangely.
Both mung beans and soybeans have been cultivated in China for thousands of years, even before the Western Zhou Dynasty. The ancients called mung beans rhododendron beans. Although they have different words, they have the same pronunciation. Therefore, when Li Zexuan said mung beans, Han Yuxi could also understand what he meant. .
But soybeans are different. At this time, there was no such term as soybeans. Later generations generally believe that the word "soybeans" was first used in the Tang Dynasty's "Kaiyuan Zhanjing" (written between about 718 and 726 years) and "Soybeans". When books such as "Youyang Zazu" appeared, all the words used before were the words "shu" and "soybean".
There is another interesting story about soybeans. During the reign of Emperor Wenzong Li Ang of the Tang Dynasty, a strange thing happened in Chang'an, the capital city: Soybeans, an agricultural product that was originally a mediocre agricultural product, soared overnight, with one stone of soybeans selling for ten taels of gold! It is said that Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty loved big-breasted women. A palace maid named Wang beside him flew up a branch and turned into a phoenix just because a certain part of her body was unusually prominent. She was promoted to Zhaoyi and became a popular person around Emperor Wenzong.
With this successful precedent, the concubines in the harem began to buy and hoard soybeans in large quantities, and they must eat them with every meal. Because according to traditional Chinese medicine theory, soybeans have a certain breast enhancement effect. Driven by the frenzy of buying by the concubines, the price of beans in Chang'an City has risen faster than modern housing prices!
"Uh...it's soybeans, madam, do we have soybeans at home~?"
Li Zexuan patted his head, summoned the memory of this body's predecessor, and quickly changed his words.
"Yeah! Yes! What does your husband want soybeans and squid beans for?"
Han Yuxi responded.
Li Zexuan laughed and said: "Hey! Madam, you will know when the time comes!"
After that, he happily went straight to the kitchen, asked the cook Aunt Zhao for a scoop of mung beans and a scoop of soybeans, and soaked the two types of beans in clean water. In his previous life, Li Zexuan's grandmother's house often made bean sprouts. He is quite familiar with the steps of sprouting bean sprouts. Soaking the beans in water is only the first step. According to his grandmother's experience, the beans must be soaked for at least 8 hours before proceeding to the next step.
"Ms. sir, why are you soaking the beans? Do you want to grind the tofu?"
Han Yuxi followed in and couldn't help but ask after seeing what Li Zexuan did.
When Li Zexuan heard this, he turned around, looked at Han Yuxi's chest and said with a wicked smile: "Mr., I can only eat tofu, but I can't make it!"
"Ms. sir, what are you talking about? Aunt Zhao is still here!"
Han Yuxi's cheeks turned red with embarrassment and she said angrily.
Although she didn't understand what "eating tofu" meant, seeing the naughty smile on Li Zexuan's face, she guessed the general meaning, secretly thinking that sometimes her husband-in-law looked like a gentleman, and sometimes he was lewd, bad, and... How special!
Aunt Zhao outside the door quickly coughed and walked away.
Seeing Han Yuxi's shy face, Li Zexuan couldn't bear to tease her any more, so he got back to the point and said: "I soaked the beans for my husband to make them sprout. Although our family has two greenhouses to grow vegetables, if we want to eat the vegetables in them, we don't need to say anything." It takes two months. After the beans sprout, take the stems and stir-fry them in a pot. It is also a delicacy! Before the greenhouse vegetables come out, this dish is a very good substitute!"
Han Yuxi was obviously not the kind of boudoir lady who didn't eat fireworks and didn't know anything about farming. She frowned and said, "Ms. sir, these beans have been soaked in water. I'm afraid they won't germinate, but will become smelly!"
Li Zexuan smiled and said: "Of course I won't let it soak in the water all the time. There are still many steps to take! When tomorrow morning, my husband will take out the beans and put them in a bamboo sieve covered with wet gauze. Then put them in the bamboo sieve. In a basin filled with water, the basin should not be too big, just enough to allow the beans to breathe.
Another piece of wet gauze needs to be covered on the bamboo sieve, and finally a slightly heavier bowl is pressed on top. The weight of the bowl can make the bean sprouts grow thicker. Next, the beans will be sprayed with water three to six times every day to keep the beans moist. After showering, continue to cover with wet gauze. By the fifth day, the bean sprouts at the corners have grown and have roots, so they are ready to eat! "
Han Yuxi listened carefully, and at the end, she asked: "Ms. sir, how do you know so much? Have you ever done it with your own hands before?"
Mainly because Li Zexuan said it in a serious manner, she couldn't help but wonder if Li Zexuan had made bean sprouts before, that's why she was so surprised.
Li Zexuan touched his nose. Although he had never done it himself, he had seen his grandmother do it many times.
"Ahem! That's right!"
Li Zexuan coughed dryly and said vaguely: "Anyway, madam, you will be able to see what these bean sprouts look like in five days, and you will be able to taste this delicious food!"
Han Yuxi put her hand into the basin, gently stroked the soybeans in the basin, raised her head and said: "My lord, Zhuangzi and Yanhuang Academy need you. You still have many things to do, so I will leave this matter to you." Come and do it! I have memorized all the steps you mentioned before, so it is not a troublesome thing at all. I will definitely do it for you!"
Li Zexuan thought for a while, nodded and said: "That's good! I'm here to help you!"
He is still very assured of his wife's ability to do things. In some matters, Han Yuxi was so meticulous that he even felt inferior to him. The daughter-in-law he married seemed simple, but in fact she was not simple.
"Ms. sir, dad already knows that you want to promote greenhouse vegetables in Zhuangzi. He said that since you are sure to cultivate vegetables in winter through this method, then you can use this to make the other six Zhuangzi in our family rich in one fell swoop! But dad said There is one thing you may have overlooked, he asked me to remind you!"
Han Yuxi took her hand out of the basin and suddenly said seriously to Li Zexuan.
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