Ancient Handcrafted Oil Extraction

"The place where I pick tea seeds is even closer, right on the charcoal-burning hill where the old master works. There are tea husks and seeds dropped on the ground, don't know how thick they've piled up. I used to pick them up for kindling. If you want, we can go now. We can bring back several baskets in less than half an hour." Biaozi, upon hearing about the delicious things that can be made with this oil, immediately thought of the abundant fallen seeds all over the mountain.

"I'll go and get tools from my big brother." Jingjing, not wanting to be left behind, pushed her chair away and went to get Tong Chen. Let's all go, hurry up, even the old medicine master should not be spared, thought Beibei secretly. Old Medicine Master, although they call you 'old,' you're barely fifty-seven or eight, not even reaching sixty. You work more efficiently than those young lads. Sesame oil friend, you just stick to being a fragrant sesame oil seasoning. I want to fry, deep-fry, stir-fry, drizzle; you really don't fit. Ah, ah, ah, ancient plant oils, I'm coming!

In no time, Tong Chen and Jingjing appeared at the door. Both had several sickles and bundles of straw ropes in their backpacks, and they carried several bamboo baskets in their hands, stacked together. Truly a young! Handsome! Dashing! great steward. Look at how thoughtful he is. Beibei mentally gave several big hearts as compliments to Tong Chen. But Miss Tong, are you sure that so many adjectives are really related to stewardship? Except for you being infatuated, otherwise you wouldn't forget that Jingjing was the one who asked for tools, right?

Don't let her down indeed. Not only did the laborers come when they set off, even the old medicine master joined the action. The whole family rushed towards the hill behind. Perhaps because Fujian is in the south, and there's no snowfall during the dry winter, or maybe it's due to the high temperature near the charcoal kiln, but in any case, all those thick oil tea fruits were lying on the ground with their mouths wide open. The dark seeds fell underneath, and it wasn't clear how thick they've piled up. But it was evident that they hadn't rotted. Beibei took a flat pole from someone's hand, fiercely hitting the fruits with a crackling sound. Then, lifting the tea husks, she turned to everyone and said, "Let's try to knock out as many seeds as possible. Pick the dry ones that haven't rotted, molded, or sprouted. Father, when you have time, help me burn these tea husks. I need these charcoal for something."

"Alright, everyone, let's start. After knocking, push the husks over there. Today, we only need to fill these baskets with seeds. Carry them back and place them next to the stone mill in the courtyard. Let's give it a try together." Tong Dinshan arranged it quite systematically. Beibei smiled with satisfaction; this cheap father is finally showing some authority as the head of the household.

In less than an hour, they filled four large baskets with oil tea seeds. The whole family left the tea seeds behind and hurried to the terraced fields to the east. Radish and vegetable seeds filled the yellow stems, making a rustling sound in the wind as the seeds hit the dried husks. Fortunately, the baby plants were still intact. If exposed to such intense sunlight for another day or two, they might have to resort to manually picking them from the soil, probably shedding tears until next year. With more than ten plots and over ten people, the harvesting, bundling, and transporting took less than an hour. The Southern and Jia Wei were assigned to find things to spread on the square ground for seed drying and husk removal.

When Beibei joined the last group returning to the courtyard, she almost burst out laughing. The two kids only took three or four bamboo trays to hold the seed stalks but laid out colorful large pieces of fabric covering the ground. Most likely, it included bedsheets from the whole family, and tonight, most people would probably end up sleeping directly on straw. The two kids were energetically jumping and stomping in the middle, claiming to be husking.

The sesame oil used in the Tong family was actually self-extracted sesame oil. At this time, sesame was referred to as "胡麻" (hu ma), and although the yield was not large, people were familiar with the cold-pressing method. Beibei only needed to provide some advice during the seed roasting and flour steaming.

The Tong family's oil extraction process involved crushing with a large millstone, using a finely woven bamboo sieve beneath the grinding disc to collect the oil paste. The oil droplets would drip into a wooden barrel below. Then, they wrapped it in cotton gauze and took it to a water millroom behind the main kitchen. They covered it with a large stone slab to continue the second pressing, utilizing the waterwheel's flow to drive a linkage that repeatedly smashed a giant log up and down. This process effectively separated the oil from the residue, producing clear, aromatic edible sesame oil.

With a small family, this method was a simple and effective way of extraction. If conditions allowed, considering the modern rural method involving straw oil embryos positioned in a long wooden beam with several iron hoops, and using a large stone for impact, the oil yield could probably be increased by five to six percent. Beibei considered discussing this with Qiao Er next time and perhaps investing in a small facility dedicated to oil extraction.