Chapter 255 Processing Strawberry Jam
When Boss Ji passed by Su Tai, he took the initiative to greet her.
Su Tai returned the gift and asked, "Boss Ji, are you not planning to sell strawberries this year?"
Boss Ji patiently explained, "To be honest, this year's strawberries are not much better than the wild fruits on the mountain. Such fruits cannot be sold at a high price. Your village chief is stubborn and refuses to lower the price. If this continues, I'm afraid that all the strawberries in your village will be lost this year.
I'm only telling you so much because of our long-term cooperation. Please try to persuade me. I'll come back in a few days. If you're willing to lower the price, I can still get some goods."
"Thank you." Su Tai watched Boss Ji leave before walking up.
When Shen Ying saw her, he sighed repeatedly and almost cried, "What should I do? The fruits haven't grown yet! Oh!"
Su Tai tried a few strawberries, but she couldn't swallow them. She was sure that others wouldn't buy them either, so she fell into deep thought.
Huang Xinghua continued to weed gloomily with her head down.
After a while, Su Tai walked towards Shen Ying and said thoughtfully: "Village Chief, this year's situation is indeed special. We can't just sit there and wait for death. What I mean is that if the fruit can't be sold at a high price, then we have to find a way to make it valuable."
"Hmm? Do you have any good ideas?" Shen Ying looked at Su Tai eagerly and pointed at her to find a solution.
Su Tai's mouth twitched slightly, and when she met Shen Ying's pitiful eyes, she finally compromised, "I am thinking about making jam. We definitely can't sell the fruits like this this year, so as not to ruin our reputation, but we can process the strawberries into strawberry jam.
If the fruit is not sweet, we add sugar and honey. The resulting strawberry jam has the sweet fragrance of strawberries and beautiful color. It is also easier to transport and can be sold to state capitals outside of Lizhou.
But we have to order a batch of beautiful ceramic jars in advance so that we can sell the jam at a good price."
Shen Ying was filled with longing and excitement. He could not think straight and just kept agreeing, "Okay, okay, we'll do what you say. You decide on the ceramic pots. These pots are very well made. I asked a nearby master craftsman and he said that these pots cost seventy or eighty yuan each. I can't find any ceramic pots cheaper than yours."
Su Tai nodded repeatedly, "That's fine, I'll go get the ceramic jars, but the place to process the jam has to be in the village. My place is used to make pot cakes and schools, so it's not suitable for processing strawberries."
Shen Ying expressed his understanding, "Then we can go to the village courtyard and build a big shed there. It will be convenient to get water there, which is suitable for work."
Su Tai was thinking of the same thing and reminded: "If the village chief wants to find someone to set up a tent, it's best to put a large wooden board right above the pot to prevent dirt from falling into the pot and affecting our jam.
In addition, you can use well water to wash strawberries, but it is best to use spring water to boil strawberries, the kind of clean mountain spring water without impurities. I will prepare the sugar needed for boiling. We have a lot of sugar at home and we have familiar merchants, so we can get it cheaper. "
Shen Ying smiled from ear to ear, "Thank you for your help. I'll go and arrange it first, and you can go and order the ceramic jar."
After Su Tai returned home, the first thing she went to was the Fire Time and Space Brick Kiln Factory. Now she is almost becoming a VIP of the brick kiln factory.
When the boss saw her coming, he immediately stepped forward to entertain her.
Su Tai immediately told him what she wanted, "Boss, I want this oval white porcelain jar that holds one pound, preferably in a sky blue misty color, with a few strawberries painted on it."
She explained her idea in detail.
The boss uses the computer to create the pictures until Su Tai is satisfied.
The ceramic jars are quite exquisite and cost ten yuan each.
Su Tai temporarily ordered 10,000 of them, and then went to the food street.
The grocery store in the food court sells rock sugar wholesale for five yuan per pound, and if you buy some white vinegar, that's about it.
She arranged everything, and the village chief also called the villagers over to work.
Putting up the shed and building the stove are simple tasks that can be completed in one day. Even the roof problem emphasized by Su Tai was also handled very well.
She originally thought that the village chief would have people cover the roof with wooden boards, but unexpectedly he had people cover it with burlap.
The cloth not only prevents dirt from falling into the pot, but it is also very light and there is no need to worry about collapsing the shed.
The thickened large water tank is used to boil strawberries, and one tank can produce two to three hundred kilograms of jam.
With these things, making jam is obviously much easier.
Two days later, the first batch of white porcelain jars that Su Tai ordered arrived.
The villagers were all stunned when they saw the exquisite jar, and no one dared to touch it.
"My goodness, such a beautiful jar, how much does this jam cost?"
He asked the question on everyone's mind.
Su Tai looked at them with amusement and said slowly, "One pound of strawberries can make about seven ounces of jam, and a white porcelain jar can hold one pound of jam. What I mean is that our jam cannot be sold cheaply. Three hundred coins per jar, what do you think?"
The villagers nodded hesitantly. If nothing else, they would definitely buy the jar for the three hundred coins.
With these jars, the villagers gained confidence in making strawberry jam and began to pick the first batch of strawberries.
Since the whole village agreed to share the profits from the cooking, the weight of the strawberries sent by each household had to be recorded.
At this time, the children who were studying in the school came in handy. They were all arranged by the village chief to work in the courtyard. Whenever someone sent strawberries over, they would register them and ask the other party to sign their name.
The strawberries were given to the little girls and ladies in the village, who were responsible for washing and removing the stems of the strawberries, then cutting them into cubes and handing them over to the men in the village.
They cooked it according to the method taught by Su Tai.
In fact, making strawberry jam is not difficult. The key is the heat and constant stirring. You can't stop.
Once the bottom is burnt, the whole pot of strawberry jam is ruined.
These are all treasures of the villagers. Everyone wants to arrange four or five people in each large vat to take turns stirring them, and they dare not be distracted at all.
When the strawberry jam is almost ready, the village woman puts the exquisite white porcelain jars into the pot for distillation and disinfection. Finally, she puts the strawberry jam into cans and then steams and sterilizes the jars for the second time. After cooling, the finished product is obtained.
When the first batch of strawberry jam was made, Shen Ying took the lead in opening a can and let the villagers taste it one by one.
Su Tai brought out the big steamed buns that she had prepared in advance and said loudly, "Everyone try dipping the buns in it to see how it tastes."
The villagers hurried forward and took one each, fearing that they would be left behind and lose one.
The steamed buns dipped in jam taste full of the rich aroma of strawberries and the fresh fragrance of wheat. The taste is so fascinating that not only the children can't stop eating it, but even the adults can't stop eating it.
Xu shouted excitedly, "Village Chief, it's done! I think three hundred coins a can of such delicious strawberry jam is too little!"
Su Tai sneered, "Second Aunt, we have to give some money to the merchants who buy from us, otherwise who would come to us to buy goods?"
"Hahahaha." Everyone laughed.
After the first batch of strawberry jam was delivered to the warehouse, the villagers continued to work.
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