bookcurios Chapter 120 features other "fellow villagers"?
Chapter 120 features other "fellow villagers"?
Aunt Zhang came over to take the pork fat. "Second Miss, shall we continue cooking this?"
Cheng Ruoan shook her head. "Let's take care of the cellar first."
It's not that I'm worried about not being able to sell them, but that we've run out of bamboo tubes and porcelain jars, so there's nowhere to put them after they're made.
Thinking about it, Cheng Ruoan went out to buy porcelain jars again.
She walked to the front yard and saw her mother and Da Kun carrying more than ten boards of tofu, neatly stacked on a cart.
"Mother, where are you going to sell all this tofu?" Cheng Ruoan knew that her mother was good at making tofu, but in the original owner's memory, she had never seen her mother make so much tofu in one day to sell.
A single block of tofu can fit on two wooden plates, and a typical restaurant might sell only two or three plates of tofu dishes a day at most.
After Cheng's mother helped Da Kun tie all the tofu to the car, she told him to be careful on the road and to go slowly, but not to let the tofu break from the bumps.
"Go on, go with your father to deliver it. Work hard today, and I'll buy a mule to deliver the goods first thing tomorrow morning."
"Alright, madam, don't worry."
After Da Kun pushed the cart away, Cheng's mother finally breathed a sigh of relief and spoke to Cheng Ruo'an.
"Qingfeng Temple outside Songshan County tasted our tofu yesterday, so they decided not to renew their contract with the Yang family and instead placed an order with us."
They need twelve slabs of tofu every day, delivered before dark. Today is the first day, so I delivered three extra slabs.
Cheng Ruo'an had heard Aunt Zhang mention Qingfeng Temple; it was the largest Taoist temple in the surrounding counties and had many worshippers.
The vegetarian food at the temple is affordable and delicious, and both the wealthy and the poor can afford it when they go to burn incense.
But Cheng Ruoan was a little worried, "Mother, the Yang family tofu you mentioned used to be the only one in town. Qingfeng Temple gave the tofu business to you, won't there be any trouble?"
She is timid.
Throughout history, even a powerful dragon can hardly suppress a local snake, let alone their family, which is not a powerful dragon at the moment.
Mrs. Cheng sighed, "I can't just refuse business that comes to my door, can I?"
Cheng Ruoan remained silent, her brows furrowed.
That's not what she meant.
As Cheng's mother pulled her towards Cheng Ruotong's courtyard, she whispered, "An'an, I didn't tell you... but actually, we've already emptied our savings to buy this house, hire people, and furnish it."
When returning the housewarming gifts to the shop owners on Ta Ma Street, Cheng's mother shamelessly gave them tofu, thinking that at least they would know that her family was in the tofu business.
But after sending the gift, the only order received was for Youjian Inn.
Two plates each in the morning and at noon, which is two plates a day.
According to the price of tofu in the north, it costs 4 coins per piece, 18 pieces per plate costs 70 coins, and a whole board costs 120 coins.
After deducting the cost of beans and labor, Cheng's mother only earned thirty or forty coins per block of tofu.
In the past, a piece of tofu in Bachuan Prefecture cost six coins!
After listening, Cheng Ruoan sighed, "It's because soybeans are cheap in the north, so the price of tofu can't go up."
"If this weren't a family heirloom recipe, Mother, I'd want you to stop making tofu."
Cheng Ruoan was also helpless about the reduced profits caused by regional differences.
To fight for such a small profit, and to risk being targeted by local bullies, Cheng Ruoan found it hard to accept.
Cheng's mother smiled and patted her hand: "Even if it's not a family heirloom, we can't let it go. It's still a source of income."
If your older sister could make those milk-based steamed egg cakes and your hand cream and sell them all over the country, our family would be completely wealthy, and then Mom wouldn't need to make tofu anymore.
"Just trust me, it'll be quick." Cheng Ruoan had that much confidence.
When they arrived at Cheng Ruotong's courtyard, Cheng Ruoan helped her make sponge cakes. The two of them kept adjusting the recipe and baked three batches. The last batch was the best that could be achieved with the raw materials available in this era, both in terms of taste and color.
Cheng Ruoan ate the sponge cake cut into small squares. The crispy top and bottom layers were still there, while the inside was all soft and fluffy. It was delicious.
But in Cheng Ruoan's opinion, if a little bit of glutinous rice flour were added, it would become a chiffon cake.
Sponge cakes should ideally be small and crispy on all sides.
Cheng Ruoan reminded her, "Big sister, you'd better go around asking blacksmiths if they can make molds for baked chicken cakes. That would make them look nicer."
If we need to make gift-boxed sponge cakes later, we can do that directly.
The current methods are somewhat crude.
She used the large iron plate she took from the villa as a baking pan, poured in the prepared cake batter, baked a large batch, and then cut it into pieces.
Cheng Ruotong was copying down the proportions of the materials and had a piece of cake in her mouth. She didn't have time to reply to Cheng Ruoan, so she could only nod and say "uh-huh".
Cheng's mother: "Your eldest sister is still busy. When we go out to buy the porcelain jar later, we can ask the blacksmith if they can make one."
Cheng Ruoan thought it was a good idea and nodded: "Shall we go now?"
"Let's go." Mother Cheng packed two plates of steamed egg custard into a food box, handed them to Xiao Cui'er, and said, "Take these to Xin Ge'er, Niannian, and Doctor Hu."
The mother and daughter went out again, heading straight to the kiln where they could customize porcelain jars.
The blacksmith shop was on the same road, and as the two walked by, they casually asked the master if he could make blacksmiths.
Do you need me to draw a diagram for you?
Cheng Ruoan was worried that the blacksmith might misunderstand something just because it was only described verbally.
The blacksmith waved his hand, telling them to wait in front of his stall. After a while, he went into his small shop, took out an iron object, and asked Cheng Ruoan, "Is this the kind of plate you're talking about?"
Cheng Ruoan was stunned when she saw it.
Isn't this the same frying pan used for selling "egg and meat burgers" on the streets today?
On the square iron plate, there are nine neatly arranged round pits.
Could it be that egg and meat burgers are already being sold in the Great Xia Dynasty?!
impossible.
In ancient times, the cost of this stuff was ridiculously high. How could people back then possibly have run a food business?!
Could it be... that there are other "fellow villagers"?
Cheng Ruoan suddenly tensed up, "Where...where did this come from?"
The blacksmith glanced at her and said, "I made it. Where did it come from? It was a gift from the Emperor."
Cheng Ruoan: ...
There's no need to speak in such a sarcastic tone.
"Master, please don't be offended. What I mean is, how did you come up with the idea of making such an iron plate?"
The blacksmith snorted: "A few years ago, a girl came to me asking me to make something, saying she wanted to make the best-selling street food."
They made me make five calls and pay a deposit, then said the business wouldn't go well. Not only did they refuse to give me the remaining money, but they also demanded my deposit back, causing me to lose over ten taels of silver!
Cheng Ruoan's heart pounded.
Someone actually came to the blacksmith to have it made specifically for them!
There's a high chance this person is wearing it too.
Cheng Ruoan was so engrossed in her inexplicable emotions that she completely failed to notice the blacksmith's fierce attitude towards her.
However, Cheng's mother frowned in displeasure, put her hands on her hips, and roared, "This isn't something we ordered but didn't buy, why are you yelling at my daughter!"