Jiang Sheng was starting to doubt whether the ancients were talking nonsense.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Xianglian was stubborn. She rolled up her sleeves and said firmly, "If that's the case, then I'll give it a try!"
As the weather gets warmer, the production of preserved meats at Zanhua Courtyard gradually decreases. By July and August, they will basically have to sell off their winter stock, and she won't have much to do.
Cooking for the children became Zhang Xianglian's favorite thing to do.
Since Jiang Sheng was curious, she rolled up her sleeves and tried it out, even using her own savings to buy ten chicks.
Killing and cleaning the chicken was easy, but Zhang Xianglian encountered difficulties when marinating it. Jiang Sheng only said that the chicks should be marinated for a day, but did not say what to use for marinating.
Fortunately, Jiang Sheng had read through the miscellaneous collection again last night, and now she said confidently, "The book says that spices should be stir-fried in salt to make them fragrant."
Unfortunately, the miscellaneous collection is just a simple description, not a recipe, and does not mention which spices were used.
Zhang Xianglian then put all the spices for the cured pork into the mixture, stir-fried the salt until fragrant, and then evenly rubbed it onto the ten chicks.
After marinating for a day, pat off the salt and hang it to dry next to the cured meat and sausages.
After about ten days, the chicks' skin will be dry, but they are still a ways off from being ground into powder.
Unfortunately, due to the weather, it would rot if left to dry any longer.
Zhang Xianglian had no choice but to bake the chickens. After burning two of them, she finally baked all eight chickens until they were crispy, then ground them into a fine powder and mixed them into the dough.
I did use only water when cooking the noodles, but how could noodles with added chicken powder not be delicious?
A bowl of plain boiled noodles from the market was spotted by Jiang Sheng and suggested by Aunt Zhang, who then worked hard to make it. Now it is placed in the center of the table, waiting for the five children to taste it.
"This, this is the legendary noodle that can be boiled in plain water and still make people unable to stop eating it?" Jiang Sheng curiously circled the bowl of noodles, looking at it back and forth.
Zheng Ruqian, exhausted from hiring people these past few days, said listlessly, "Just try it if you're curious."
As soon as he finished speaking, the bowl of noodles was pushed in front of Xu Mo.
Jiang Sheng was well-behaved and adorable. "Big brother has worked the hardest, so big brother should try it first."
"My sister suggested it first, so she should try it." Xu Mo chuckled, then, noticing the saliva in her mouth, pushed the bowl back to her.
It was clear that a bowl of noodles was destined to be passed around.
Zhang Xianglian brought four bowls of noodles to their rescue, saying, "Don't be modest, everyone has some."
Five children, one bowl of noodles each, perfectly balanced, everyone gets something.
Jiang Sheng finally felt relieved and picked up her chopsticks, picked out a noodle, and carefully put it into her mouth to taste.
At first bite, it tastes like ordinary noodles, but upon closer chewing, a rich chicken flavor emerges. The chewy texture of the noodles blends perfectly with the rich aroma of the chicken, and you can even taste a tiny bit of chicken occasionally, elevating the overall taste of the bowl of noodles.
"How is it? Is it delicious?" Zhang Xianglian asked nervously after working hard for more than ten days.
Jiang Sheng nodded seriously.
It tastes good, but the most important thing is that the things in the miscellaneous ancient texts are truly presented in front of you. Although it was made by Aunt Zhang, it was also her idea that led to the discovery of the white noodles.
For the first time, Jiang Sheng experienced the charm of learning.
At the same time, Zheng Ruqian put down his empty bowl of noodles and asked, "Auntie, is there any left over? Can I have some?"
Zhang Xianglian replied with a smile, "There's still a lot left, I've already chopped them up and put them on the cutting board."
When Zheng Ruqian went to the kitchen, Zhang Qiquan and Liu Cui were also tasting the plain noodles and praising them highly. When they saw him pick up the remaining noodles, Zhang Qiquan reacted the fastest, "Does the Second Young Master plan to sell these noodles to Youranju?"
"Let's give some to Manager Hao to try," Zheng Ruqian chuckled, making no mention of selling it.
Zhang Qiquan knew that this kid definitely wanted to raise the price.
Plain noodles are not easy to make, so they can't be sold cheaply. As for how much they can be raised to, that depends on Zheng Ruqian's silver tongue.
The next day.
Zheng Ruqian went to Youranju again and got an order for fifty catties of white noodles. The deposit alone was ten taels of silver, and there would be forty taels of silver left after delivery.
In other words, plain noodles were sold for an exorbitant price of one tael of silver per pound.
Zhang Xianglian was shocked, and Jiang Sheng was also shocked.
The road ahead is uncertain, the main road is shrouded in fog, and everyone who comes here stumbles along, either testing the waters or suffering losses.
But a bowl of noodles, which they stumbled upon by chance, allowed Jiang Sheng and Zhang Xianglian to gradually see what lay ahead and to find their own path.
Zhang Xianglian's path was the clearest among them.
She knew she had no special skills and was a divorced woman, so she never thought of remarrying or having children again.
She treated all the children in the flower-adorned courtyard as her own, but as the children grew up, the role of a mother alone was too inadequate. Especially after trying cured meat, sausages, and fish, and now plain noodles, Zhang Xianglian was no longer satisfied with just taking care of the children.
She wanted to live a life worthy of her own, and she wanted to play a role other than "mother" or "wife".
Plain noodles were just the beginning. Zhang Xianglian secretly decided to make more delicious dishes and expand the workshop's business. If she lived to see the day she could open her own shop, that would be absolutely wonderful.
Jiang Sheng's thoughts were much simpler. Having experienced the benefits of learning, she worked much harder than before.
Not only did he finish reading the miscellaneous collection that his older brother had sent him, but he also asked for two more books.
Considering that she didn't need to take the imperial examinations, Xu Mo gave her more books that could broaden her horizons and improve her knowledge, rather than the Four Books and Five Classics or the Women's Precepts.
Perhaps time flies by too quickly when studying.
Before we knew it, the results were released.
Jiang San and Jiang Si have returned with new roast ducks. The two martial arts practitioners have been working tirelessly day and night and have lost weight.
Zheng Ruqian told them to rest well and arranged for newly hired people, accompanied by Wang Xiaosong, to go to Anshui County to continue transporting roast ducks.
He stayed with everyone in the courtyard where the flowers were in the hairpin.
According to the old custom of Anshui County, the top three winners are not listed on the plaque, but are instead delivered to their homes by a special person.
Today, several wails and howls have been heard outside, some from excessive excitement, others from disbelief, but there has been no sound of gongs or drums.
Jiang Sheng wondered, "Isn't my older brother in the top three?"
Then you'll have to go and see it for yourself on the plaque.
As the sun rose higher, the siblings could no longer sit still. They packed their things and headed straight for the plaque at the entrance of the examination hall.
They started by looking at the back and counted one by one from the front, but Xu Mo's name was nowhere to be found.
As they were about to reach the beginning, with only two or three names left, Jiang Sheng's back was soaked with sweat.
No sooner said than done, a cacophony of gongs and drums erupted behind them.
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