Ordinary observers in fast time travel

Chapter 1275 Hot and Sour Rice Noodles

"Delicious!" Lu Xing'er nodded vigorously. She had been enjoying sour and spicy food lately, and this bowl of hot and sour noodles was just what she wanted.

"Young Madam, eat slowly." Granny Lu was genuinely worried that her young mistress might choke to death one day.

Lu Xing'er ignored Granny Lu and, like a child desperately seeking validation, looked at Wan Anfu, who was slurping noodles next to her, and asked, "Big sister, isn't it delicious?"

"It's really good."

Wan Anfu nodded, inwardly confirming his belief in this hot and sour rice noodle dish he had never tasted before. "Is this something new that the kitchen has created?"

Lu Xing'er nodded, "Yes, it was Master Li who made it."

"Not bad, this noodle has a good chewy texture. I wonder what it's made of." Wan Anfu couldn't help but frown. Food was scarce at the front lines, and ordinary people were going hungry, while the wealthy were...

She quickly shook her head, trying to shake off the dangerous thoughts in her mind.

"I heard it's made from sweet potatoes." Lu Xing'er was also very curious and couldn't understand how something that becomes soft and mushy when cooked could be made into such chewy noodles.

"Sweet potato?" Wan Anfu asked in surprise. "You mean this is made from sweet potatoes? How is it made?"

"Huh? I don't know." Lu Xing'er shook her head and immediately suggested, "Why don't we call Master Li over and tell us about it?"

Wan Anfu was speechless. She was also a little curious, but whatever, the grain requisition was almost done anyway, and she could rest for two days.

"Okay, then let's call her over." Wan Anfu nodded.

Hongliu, who was standing nearby, immediately turned around and went out.

When she arrived in the courtyard with her entourage, Lu Xing'er and Wan Anfu were already served fruit tea and snacks.

"Master Li, the hot and sour noodles are delicious." Lu Xing'er spoke first, her tone lively and even tinged with admiration. It has to be said that a customer like Lu Xing'er is the best reward for a chef.

"I'm glad you're happy, Madam," Shi Jia said with a smile. She was genuinely surprised; Wan Anfu was here too? She had known about Wan Anfu's return for half a month, but hadn't seen him until now.

Lu Xing'er nodded, "Okay, make me hot and sour noodles for the next few days."

"Young Madam, you should pay attention to a light diet now," said Granny Lu helplessly.

"Oh dear, Granny, it'll only take two days, it won't hurt," Lu Xing'er said coquettishly.

Wan Anfu, standing nearby, couldn't bear to watch any longer. He had known his sister-in-law was charming and naive, but he hadn't expected her to still be like a child. "Ahem."

Granny Lu looked embarrassed, and Lu Xing'er looked at her with suspicion.

Wan Anfu looked at Shi Jia and said, "Master Li, I heard that this hot and sour noodles are made from sweet potatoes. I wonder how you made them so chewy?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Jia smiled, thinking to herself that it had finally arrived. Of course, she wanted to promote her sweet potato noodles, but as an ordinary person, she was powerless to do so, so she could only find someone capable, and the Wan family was the target she had chosen.

As Shi Jia explained, Wan Anfu became increasingly surprised. "You mean sweet potatoes can be made into flour?"

“Yes.” Shi Jia nodded. “A few days ago, the climate in Jingzhou Prefecture was hot and humid. The yams and sweet potatoes at home either got moldy or sprouted, which wasted a lot. I was thinking about whether there was a way to preserve them for a longer period of time.”

Upon hearing this, Wan Anfu felt a surge of emotions. When she returned to collect the grain this time, she saw countless moldy and sprouting sweet potatoes, which were all grain!

"At first, I thought that completely drying the sweet potatoes would help them last longer, but it rained every day, and there was no sun," Shi Jia sighed. "Just when I was struggling with this, I had a dream. That's how I came up with this method for making sweet potato noodles." A serendipitous encounter in a dream—that explanation seems more reasonable, right? Shi Jia shrugged, indicating that it didn't matter.

"Then how do you know that the method you obtained in your dream is correct? How can you be sure that it can be preserved for a long time after being made into sweet potato starch?" Wan Anfu asked calmly.

"Huh? I don't know either, but I'll give it a try. Anyway, the sweet potatoes at home have sprouted and been infested with insects, and we can't finish them all at once. If it works, we'll make a profit!" Shi Jia said with a smile.

"As for whether it can be preserved for a long time, I have no idea." Shi Jia shrugged, then suddenly smiled slyly, looking like a sly wolf. "However, Miss, you and the young mistress have both tried this sweet potato starch. What did you think of the taste?"

"Could you do it for me and show me?" Wan Anfu suddenly asked.

Shi Jia raised an eyebrow. "Sure, Miss, are you planning to cooperate with me?"

"cooperate?"

“Yes, as you should know, I plan to open a food shop in the city in the future. This sweet potato vermicelli is my idea. Nobody knows how to make it. If I open a shop, and with my cooking skills, I'm sure I won't lack customers,” Shi Jia said confidently.

Wan Anfu frowned, thinking to himself, "If this sweet potato starch can truly be preserved for a long time, it's a matter of great importance to the people. But using it to run a restaurant would be penny-wise and pound-foolish."

Then the other party said, "My family is just a small, insignificant family, and it's probably not easy for us to establish ourselves in this prefectural city. But if you have the title of 'Young Miss,' it would be a completely different story. Of course, if you're interested in cooperating with me, I won't be stingy. How about 20% of the profits?"

Shi Jia had the air of a shrewd woman.

Wan Anfu looked her up and down and suddenly felt that the person in front of him was very complicated. At first glance, she was a gentle and quiet woman, but upon closer inspection, she was full of shrewdness and calculation. However, upon careful observation, she also had a sense of detachment from worldly affairs.

She said, "Let's not rush into the cooperation. Let's see if this sweet potato starch can be stored for a long time as you said."

Shi Jia nodded, "Okay."

Having already made sweet potato starch once, Shi Jia was quite skilled at it. Five days later, Shi Jia poured away the clear water that had settled, revealing the snow-white sweet potato starch.

"It is indeed as white as snow, but how do you turn it into vermicelli?" Wan Anfu asked. "Also, with hundreds of pounds of sweet potatoes, is this all you'll get?"

Shi Jia nodded and sighed. The yield of sweet potato starch was indeed not high, especially for these sweet potatoes that had been stored for half a year. A yield of 10% was already considered good.

She wanted to say that fresh sweet potatoes have twice the starch yield, but then she realized that she hadn't "tried" it and probably didn't know that. So she kept her mouth tightly shut.

Wan Anfu frowned and ordered someone to weigh the sweet potato starch.

Shi Jia reminded her, "Miss, there's still moisture in it. We'll only know how much powder it contains after it dries."

Even with wet starch, Wan Anfu's heart sank when he saw the weight on the scale. This yield meant that to make one pound of sweet potato starch, nine pounds of sweet potatoes would be wasted.

Nine catties of grain! That's enough to feed a soldier for at least five or six days. How could the imperial court waste so much grain?

At this point, Wan Anfu was stuck in a dead end. He hadn't thought about the difference between sweet potatoes and other grains at all, and was simply comparing them with rice and wheat flour. The more he thought about it, the more naive he felt his ideas were.

She couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Shi Jia, standing to the side, was somewhat bewildered. Was she really that disappointed? Should she tell her about the starch yield of the new sweet potatoes? As for how she knew? Didn't she say that she got the recipe from a dream?

Yes, she finally remembered what lies she had told.