At the Weihe River wharf, Wang Yan arrived early this morning, just as dawn was breaking. Upon reaching the shop entrance, she took out her shop's sign and placed it outside.

There aren't many people buying things at this time, and we haven't received any banquet invitations today.

But today they need to collect some seasonings, which are actually lemon seeds.

Last time Wang Yan ate at Baifanlou, she thought there was a lemon flavor in the food. It was the soft cheese dish.

Moreover, she seemed to remember seeing a record of lemons in "Lingwai Daida" when she was in modern times.

So I took the opportunity to ask Shen Jiamu, and she said yes. And many of the candied fruit desserts also contain lemon seeds.

Wang Yan: ...Wait, why haven't I seen this before?

In fact, Wang Yan had seen lemon slices before; in modern times, they were always cut into rings with the peel on. This was highly recognizable and had become a fixed way of thinking.

In ancient times, it was cut into small pieces. Wang Yan, upon tasting it for the first time, mistook it for a green kumquat. That's why she didn't recognize it.

Wang Yan asked her to help transport some back, and she readily agreed.

Bringing it from Panyu is much cheaper than buying it in the capital.

Around 7 a.m., a boat rowed over from the Bianhe River dock.

Fatty Wang and Wang Yan quickly ran over, and the whole boat was full of lemons.

This is the Shen family's large ship. After arriving at the Bian River, they specially hired a local small boat to deliver it to them.

The boatload of lemons that someone sent him was just a side thing.

Spices, coral, agate, glass, and tortoiseshell imported from abroad were the main items.

The boats would only stop at the Bianhe Wharf, because the owner of Shen's General Store would be there with a group of employees waiting to collect these items.

After Wang Yan and the others unloaded the lemons, they discovered that the gift included not only lemons, but also a bag of pepper, a piece of benzoin, and a piece of ambergris.

Wang Yan asked the shopkeeper who had come to escort the goods, "Uncle Hai, how much are all these?"

"One tael of silver will suffice."

...Not to mention anything else, this bag of pepper alone must cost a hundred taels, right?

Not to mention that with the development of maritime transport, large quantities of pepper are being shipped back every year, so the price of pepper is not as high as it was in the previous dynasty.

Even if it's cheaper to buy things overseas, don't you know how much the transportation costs are along the way?

It's not that expensive, but it's still pricey. How could so much stuff cost only an ounce!

But Manager Hai wouldn't listen; the young lady had instructed that he only wanted one tael.

The lemons were specially bought in Panyu after they made a detour back.

Lizi is a local product, and it's not expensive. Besides, we're all acquaintances here, so they definitely wouldn't charge a high price.

The spices were sent over as instructed by the young master. Manager Hai wasn't sure which ones to send, so he sent over everything that was on the ship.

So in the end, after all the tearing and ripping, they still ended up buying a boatload of lemons for a mere tael of silver.

Wang Yan discussed with Sister Ying, "I feel rather embarrassed, buying so many things for only one or two taels of silver."

Wang Ying, now fully conscious, looked at her sister with disbelief. "Are you alright? You gave her ten recipes and didn't ask for a single penny."

And you promised Li Mengzi when she came back that you would make a new dish and give her a recipe.

Do you know how much your recipe is worth? She should give you these lemons for free.

Let me tell you, no matter how many recipes you have, don't let them slip out of our family's kitchen from now on.

The dishes to be prepared for the banquet have already been ordered. As for the other dishes, if you really want to make them or try them out, that's fine too.

"Make a few dishes at home yourself, instead of feeding this person and that person every day!"

"knew."

Wang Yan gave away ten recipes for free, not because she was waiting for future profit sharing.

As for why Lemon was willing to research a new dish for Shen Jiamu, it's because Shen Jiamu said he would bring back sweet potato starch for her.

At this time, sweet potatoes did not yet exist in this dynasty. When he described this plant to Shen Jiamu, Manager Hai was listening in.

"Boss Wang, we seem to have seen this overseas. It tastes sweet after being cooked and is also very filling."

Because it tasted so sweet, we thought we'd bring some back and plant them to make sugar.

But the locals don't allow it to be sold or taken away.

Wang Yan immediately perked up when she heard that, "Could we make it into cornstarch and bring it back? Or vermicelli?"

Then he went on and on about how to make the vermicelli.

After listening, Manager Hai pondered for a moment, then said, "I will give it a try."

Then, in her excitement, Wang Yan blurted out that she brought back lemons to test the dishes, and that she would add a new dish to Shen Jiamu's menu after the test.

When Manager Hai came to deliver the lemons this time, he told Wang Yan that the newly dispatched ship would be back in three months, and that it might bring back the sweet potato starch that Wang Yan wanted.

So, what can I say? Even if we don't have sweet potato starch on hand, we can still make oil-splashed noodles!

After carrying about ten baskets of lemons, the family was tired and hungry, but they didn't want to eat tofu.

There weren't any other dishes on hand, and I didn't want to eat oden.

Wang Yan had been craving hot and sour noodles, but somehow she suddenly switched her mind to oil-splashed noodles.

I bought a bowl of noodles from the old lady next door who sells noodles, and also picked up a handful of her bean sprouts.

Place bean sprouts at the bottom of the bowl as a lining, then scoop the hand-rolled noodles directly into the bowl, and top with chili powder, minced garlic, salt, sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and chopped scallions.

A spoonful of hot oil could splatter all four of their noodles.

It's sour, spicy, and chewy. Stir it with chopsticks until it turns bright red and shiny, and it's very satisfying to eat.

The family was engrossed in slurping their noodles, and when they were almost finished, Aunt Wang had a sudden inspiration. "Hey, what if we switched from selling tofu to selling noodles?"

Stir-frying tofu every day is quite tiring. Our family doesn't have the time for that now. We have to stop making tofu or chicken strips whenever we have a banquet.

The diners were somewhat dissatisfied; wouldn't it be great if one item could be removed?

We don't need to cut or fry the tofu. Customers buy our tofu just to enjoy a spicy kick.

Wouldn't noodles be better? They'd probably be more filling than rice, and the spiciness wouldn't be reduced!

Wang Yan nodded, "Then let's switch." Slicing and frying chicken strips every day is tiring enough.

Fortunately, the oden makers had help from neighbors like Aunt Cai, Aunt Lu, and Aunt Erhua.

Wang Yan asked Aunt Wang, "How much do we sell this for?"

"Ten coins a bowl, the same price as the smooth noodles on Ma Xing Street."

Alright! The smooth noodles are mixed with almond sauce and sesame paste, while theirs are mixed with chili powder and oil. At this price, it should sell well.

After discussing the noodle-selling arrangement, the family continued slurping their noodles, too preoccupied with eating to think about anything else.

After we finish eating, I'll write a sign and hang it outside, saying that we won't be selling tofu starting tomorrow.