典藏书目

Whenever constructing a house, first invite a person skilled in observing Yin and Yang (Feng Shui) to carefully inspect the interior. If there are evil spirits or strange phenomena, remove the roof tiles and rafters, and plow the ground once with an ox. If ancient tombs are found, it is essential to write a memorial for sacrifice and prayer, and relocate them for reburial.

Take two liang of dried silkworm frass (caterpillar excrement) from the first two harvests. Adjust the quantity according to the amount of wine. Wrap it in cloth, place it in the wine, seal it tightly, and after three days, open it for drinking. It tastes good and is beneficial to health.
Another prescription: Stir-fry red rice beans (those that are flat and slightly reddish) until fragrant. According to the amount of wine, wrap them in cloth and put them into the wine; the sour taste will return to normal.
Yet another prescription: For one jin of wine, add one or two drops of alkaline water. Test it before adding more; do not add too much or too little. After adding, heat the wine by stewing and drink it warm. Over time, the taste will change. Wine shops often use calcined stone (Duan Shi) to neutralize acidity, but consuming this harms the body.

When boiling meat, tie it with old bamboo strips from a fence to make it tender easily. Avoid using mulberry wood fire when boiling or roasting meat. To steam cured meat or ham, place a piece of red-hot charcoal on the skin for a moment to make the skin tender easily. When boiling spoiled meat, slice it and boil it together with short straw; the odor will be absorbed entirely by the straw. In summer, to freeze boiled frozen meat, boil it thoroughly, then leave it in ash overnight to freeze.
Another method: Dissolved agar (Yang Cai) can also be added. Boiling meat with vinegar in summer allows it to be kept for several days. When stewing mutton, add a handful of green grass to make it tender and non-gamey. When cooking mixed-color mutton, add a few pine nuts to eliminate toxicity, and throw in a tile from the stove side to make it tender easily. When cooking old duck, placing a tile from the stove side also makes it tender easily. To wash pig stomach and offal, use salt or sugar to prevent odor; washing with flour is also effective.
When boiling fish, add a few Sichuan peppercorns near the end to remove the fishy smell. Adding a few slices of Zhi Shi (Immature Bitter Orange) or a few seeds of Impatiens balsamina softens the bones. Adding Mu Xiang (Aucklandia Root) also removes the fishy smell. To preserve fish, marinate it first with salt and alum, wash away the slime, then marinate thoroughly with roasted salt and red yeast rice powder before putting it into a jar for long-term storage and better flavor. For pickled crabs, place a one-cun piece of Gleditsia sinensis pod at the bottom of the jar so that the roe does not become sandy or disperse. Alternatively, adding Bai Zhi (Angelica Dahurica) prevents the roe from dispersing.
To pickle ginger, first wash it with water infused with cicada slough, then place several pieces of cicada slough at the bottom of the jar; even if the ginger is old, it will have no fibers. When boiling bamboo shoots, add mint and salt to keep them tender and enhance freshness. To pickle eggplants, add a few grains of mineral green (Shi Lü); they will not turn black when cut. When eating garlic, consume it with fresh ginger and dates to avoid bad breath.
To clean ivory ware, soak and rub it with tofu dregs, or soak it in human milk for half a day before washing. If ivory chopsticks become oily, insert them into banana stalks to restore their whiteness as new. For Nanmu mushrooms, wrap them in fresh lotus leaves and leave them exposed overnight to regain their fragrance as new. To inscribe stone steles, mix cinnabar with soap pod water; the inscription will not fade.