After the courtyard and house doors were opened, the women rushed to the molds they had made.

"Why is mine a little hard? Is it not working?"

"Yes, look at the sandy, granular texture that Sister Zhou made. Isn't that what Madam meant by 'successfully making sand'? Yours is too hard. It's so hard that it makes a sound when you tap it."

"How's mine? I can't tell if it's successful or not."

The women discussed amongst themselves, some feeling uncertain about their performance, while others were anxious about their poor results.

Shui Qing said, "First, unmold the food, then cut it into small pieces. Everyone should try one of each to see the differences, and then we can judge which one is the best."

It's all about craftsmanship, and you have to admit that some people are just naturally gifted. Even with the same teaching methods, their creations just look and taste better than others'.

To do business and sell goods, you need good products, right?

Of course, it should be done by someone who knows how to do it and does it well!

Hearing the lady offer them brown sugar, and that they could eat as much of this precious brown sugar as they wanted, the women couldn't help but swallow hard. Then they realized that they couldn't judge which one was the best without trying it, so they carefully picked up a piece in front of them, took a small sip, and then picked up another piece.

Those who tasted Sister Zhou's cooking had wide, sparkling eyes. They nodded and said, "Sister Zhou's cooking is so delicate, it feels like it might fall apart in your hands. It has a slightly grainy texture and melts in your mouth with just a gentle touch! It's delicious."

When he reached the food in front of Gong Xiaomei, he frowned and said, "Gong Xiaomei, this is so hard, like a rock, and it's so sticky!"

“I’ve eaten maltose before, and Gong Xiaomei’s is just as sticky as the maltose I’ve eaten before.”

Sister Zhou was all smiles, while Sister Gong was on the verge of tears.

"I did exactly as Madam said, so why is there such a big difference?"

The key issue is that she doesn't even know what she did wrong. Besides, Sister Zhou and the others were able to make it, but she ruined a whole pot of sugar!

Shuiqing said, "You can summarize your own experience. It's normal that you didn't do well yesterday since it was your first time doing it."

I will stay in Bamboo Forest Village for a few days until you are proficient, and then we will decide how to divide the work.

Upon hearing that it concerned the division of labor, everyone became nervous and surrounded Sister Zhou, asking for her experience.

Sister Zhou looked completely bewildered and muttered, "I don't know either. I just kept stirring it while making the sand. I stirred it for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, until it looked like peanut butter, before pouring it into the mold."

Is that the reason?

I don't know if it's the same for the other women, but they can try!

When boiling brown sugar for the first time, everyone stirred it vigorously, and as expected, they made brown sugar with a sandy texture!

By the third day, apart from a few women who really didn't know how, the rest were already quite skilled.

For Shui Qing, this number of people was enough.

She selected eight more from them, closed the door, and taught them how to make white sugar.

It's actually very simple. Just add an appropriate amount of ground charcoal to the brown sugar juice to absorb the color from the brown sugar, then filter it with gauze. Keep the other steps the same, and after it cools naturally, white sugar will precipitate out.

The selected women hadn't expected it to be so simple.

Then they realized that it was because the lady had told them this that they thought it was simple. If they had to use their brains to think about it, they probably wouldn't be able to come up with this method in a lifetime, no, several lifetimes!