Chapter 40

In the evening, Li Xiulan soaked the soybeans, and Zhang Guifen went to notify Taohua and Wang Jingui to come over the next day to learn the craft. Feng Sixi arranged two shoulder poles in a cross shape, creating four corners. He then tied a piece of white straining cloth to the corners, forming a simple yet effective tool for filtering bean dregs. The pole was suspended from a ceiling beam. The men took charge of grinding the soaked beans and pouring the slurry onto the straining cloth, which was placed over a large basin. With two people shaking the ends of the cloth, the soy milk soon began to trickle through.