The village head followed her gaze. When he saw what was in the bamboo basket, his face instantly changed.
"What's going on! Who told you to give konjac to our honored guest!"
It was true that konjac was unique to their island, but it was extremely troublesome to process. If not handled carefully, one might experience itchy skin and swollen lips and tongue at best, or even foam at the mouth at worst!
Even the locals who knew the risks would only reluctantly boil it with plant ash water to satisfy their hunger when they were on the verge of starvation. If Li Ying ate it carelessly and lost her life, wouldn't it be repaying kindness with enmity?
"V-village head... don't be angry. We just wanted to bring some local specialties for our benefactor. We really couldn't find anything rare, so we took the konjac..."
A villager explained sheepishly and quickly tried to carry the basket of "konjac" off the boat.
The village head knew he couldn't offer anything good and was so ashamed that he wished he could find a hole to hide in. But Li Ying's eyes lit up. She carefully put the basket of "konjac" away as if it were a precious treasure.
The konjac plant looked strange, and its flowers often emitted a putrid smell that attracted mosquitoes and flies. In ancient times, it was often called "demonic taro" or "ghost meat," and everyone avoided it.
Li Ying was quite surprised that these villagers knew how to eat konjac.
A thought occurred to her. Instead of setting off in a hurry, she pulled the village head aside and whispered to him.
"Village head, let me introduce myself again. I'm Li Ying. I'm the one who made the recently popular potato and sweet potato noodles."
The village head looked at her in astonishment, his mouth agape.
Everyone in the coastal fishing villages knew the name of Boss Li from the Fishing Village Night Market!
Now that she had introduced herself, the village head, who was a quick - witted man, knew that she must have some good business to discuss with him. Without hesitation, he was about to kneel down and kowtow.
"So it's Boss Li! We really had no idea! Please feel free to give your instructions!"
Li Ying liked his straightforwardness. She got straight to the point.
"Village head, I've taken a fancy to this konjac. I'm interested in purchasing it. I wonder if you're willing to organize the villagers to plant it on a large scale? Don't worry, I won't treat you unfairly in terms of price."
Although it wouldn't be difficult for her to take the konjac back and plant it herself, the arable land on the island was limited. The villagers were either busy fishing at sea, working in the canning factory, or doing odd jobs in the town shops. There was a shortage of manpower. It would be better to adapt to local conditions and leave it to these villagers.
The village head never expected that she would take a fancy to this "demonic taro." He looked hesitant.
They had accidentally discovered the roots of the konjac while chopping firewood.
At that time, the villagers didn't know the risks. They simply washed, boiled, and ate it. As a result, everyone's mouths and tongues went numb and swollen, and they almost lost their lives.
Later, they gradually figured out how to detoxify it by using plant ash water, but they still felt apprehensive whenever they ate it.
If they weren't extremely hungry, who would risk their lives like this?
Although Boss Li was very capable, even the most skilled housewife couldn't cook a meal without rice... How could they sell this poisonous konjac at a good price?
As the village head, he was responsible for the livelihoods of hundreds of people. He really didn't dare to take the risk.
Li Ying saw his hesitation and smiled calmly.
"Village head, I know your concerns. Since I said I want to purchase it, I naturally knew that the konjac was poisonous and how to process and detoxify it to make it delicious."
She washed her hands and found an open space. While explaining, she got to work.
She washed and peeled the konjac, then cut it into large pieces. She added an equal amount of water and ground it into a thick slurry.
She started a fire and boiled the konjac slurry for an hour, constantly stirring it to prevent it from burning.
After the konjac slurry was completely detoxified and the astringency was removed, she added the prepared alkaline water and continued to boil it for another hour. After it cooled down, it became a slippery "konjac tofu."
The konjac tofu needed to be cut into pieces and soaked in cold water repeatedly to remove the residual alkaline taste. After such treatment, it was extremely delicious whether stir - fried or cold - dressed.
The village head and several villagers looked at the strange gray stuff in the pot and frowned in unison. Everyone was thinking - could this really be eaten?
Lu Xunguang promptly caught a sea duck, quickly cleaned it, and cut it into small pieces for easy eating.
Li Ying gave him an approving smile.
Since the time they were trapped on a deserted island while looking for cuttlefish bones, she had become smarter. She had prepared all kinds of seasonings in her space. Now she quietly took out scallions and ginger, fried them in the oil pan until fragrant, and then stir - fried the duck meat over low heat to render out the duck fat.
The duck meat treated in this way was only fragrant and had no fishy smell.
She added star anise, Chinese prickly ash, brown sugar, and stir - fried until the duck meat turned golden. She added a spoonful of bean paste, then oyster sauce, soy sauce, and chili segments and stir - fried until fragrant. She stewed the duck meat with yellow rice wine until it was tender and boneless, and then added the konjac pieces.
While waiting for the soup to thicken, Li Ying made an extra bowl of spicy and sour sauce and cold - dressed the remaining konjac.
The village head and the villagers stared in astonishment as Li Ying neatly served a large bowl of fragrant duck stewed with konjac and a plate of spicy and sour konjac. Under her smiling gaze, they tentatively took a bite.
It was really amazing!
The astringent "demonic taro" had become such a novel and delicious dish after being made into "konjac tofu"!
It had a crispy and chewy texture and was full of rich soup. It was no less delicious than the duck meat!
Li Ying was already full. She just tasted it slightly and then stood aside smiling, watching everyone enjoy their meal.
"Today's konjac tofu is just the simplest way of processing. If it is processed into konjac refined powder, it can also be made into new foods like konjac vermicelli, vegetarian tripe, and vegetarian kidney slices. Village head, does what I said make you feel more at ease?"
The village head quickly swallowed the mouthful of konjac strips and nodded repeatedly.
"At ease! At ease! Boss Li, as long as you don't mind, we'll do whatever you say! We'll follow you obediently!"
The two sides signed a document and agreed on the date to pick up the goods. Li Ying was satisfied. Then she called Lu Xunguang and set off back to the village.
After the boat had sailed for a while, she looked at the basket of konjac roots and was overjoyed. She casually asked, "By the way, I didn't see you when I was making the konjac tofu just now. Where were you?"
Lu Xunguang smiled and took out a small linen bag from his bosom. He showed her what was inside.
"How... how did you find so much bird's nest!"
Even though Li Ying was usually self - confident in her intelligence, when she suddenly saw more than a dozen bowls of golden - thread bird's nests appearing like magic in his hands, she couldn't help but let out a scream.
The only bird's nest she had managed to get was thanks to a hawk. How could Lu Xunguang find so much in just two hours?