He was a good man, truly good, working like an ox without a hint of fatigue. Bai Chenggang pushed Xu Changqing aside and took over grinding the millstone, leaving her to add the soybeans.
As time passed, the soaked soybeans were ground into a white paste, poured into a cheesecloth bag to be strained. Next came pounding the bag, heating the wok, and adding the coagulant.
There were plenty of people eager to do these jobs, but pushing the millstone was a different story. For some, just a few turns would make the world spin.
Xu Changqing saw that her family's batch of beans had been finely ground. She had no intention of fighting her aunts for the remaining tasks.
For instance, her older cousin from her second uncle's family wasn't suited for heavy lifting, but she could always tend the fire. As for strenuous jobs like straining the slurry, her maternal and paternal uncles handled them with great efficiency.
