As the first batch of sweet potato vermicelli was cut out and hung to dry on bamboo poles, everyone seemed to see a glimmer of hope.
With the sun so strong these days, these sweet potato vermicelli noodles will become very dry after being dried in the sun for three days.
If these sweet potato vermicelli really sell well, the business will surely be very good in the future, and the sweet potatoes in this surrounding area will become a goldmine.
While everyone's eyes were fixed on her, Shen Qingyu heard feedback from the village head.
“Qingyu, someone came to ask me why sweet potatoes have to be washed so thoroughly? They said it won’t kill anyone if they’re not clean, so what can you do about it? I couldn’t reason with them…”
It turns out that some sweet potatoes have pits and bumps on them, making them particularly difficult to clean by hand.
In this situation, using a knife or something similar to dig would take a lot of time.
They wanted to save themselves the trouble, but Shen Dasong directly took over the task of checking the cleanliness of the sweet potatoes. If they were even slightly unclean, he would send them back to be washed again.
This also saves Xiao Taohua from offending people out of consideration for personal relationships and face.
Anyway, he has no ties now, no children, and no fear of offending anyone.
Uncle Lizheng listened to some people's complaints, saying that Shen Dasong was too strict and wouldn't allow even a speck of mud, which they couldn't understand.
Shen Qingyu thought for a moment and then understood.
In the countryside, people don't pay much attention to "standards" or "food hygiene." They figure it won't kill them, so they just make do.
Therefore, it's normal for them to complain about the need to wash sweet potatoes thoroughly.
Shen Qingyu thought for a moment, then told the village head directly, "You should inform everyone that sweet potatoes won't be harvested tomorrow, you do it like this..."
When the village head heard this, he was surprised, but he agreed.
If these ideas are not unified, conflicts with fellow villagers are inevitable in the future.
So the next morning, Shen Qingyu went to the sweet potato starch workshop.
A long queue had formed outside the workshop, all there to deliver sweet potatoes.
She checked carefully and found that although everyone had washed diligently, there was still mud in some crevices, which they hadn't cleaned with a knife.
Upon seeing Shen Qingyu arrive, the crowd immediately erupted in noise.
"Qingyu? Why haven't you started collecting sweet potato vermicelli yet? Everyone's been waiting for ages."
Shen Qingyu smiled and said, "Everyone arrived very early today. I noticed that some of you came from other villages. You must not have had breakfast yet, right?"
Everyone was taken aback, but they all nodded in agreement: "That's right! Coming early means it's not so hot, and once we're done, we can go home and dig up a load of sweet potatoes to bring over."
Shen Qingyu nodded with a smile: "That's perfect. Someone brought us sweet potatoes yesterday, but there was mud in them. We didn't find it during inspection, so they've already been made into sweet potato noodles. We can't let them go to waste. Today, I'll treat everyone to half a bowl of spicy and sour sweet potato noodles."
Shen Qingyu waved her hand, and everyone from the sweet potato noodle workshop brought out a large wooden platter, the kind used for serving dishes in the countryside.
The plate contains neatly arranged bowls of hot and sour sweet potato vermicelli.
The chili oil poured over the sweet potato noodles looks appetizing.
"Come on, one bowl each, everyone have a taste."
Someone quickly picked up a bowl and took a bite.
The hot and sour sauce was perfectly seasoned. They wanted to praise it as soon as they tasted it, but the next second, their expressions changed.
There's sand in that sweet potato starch; if you're not careful, it can gnaw on your teeth.
Someone bit so hard that they almost made a mask of pain.
"Ouch! There's sand in your sweet potato noodles!"
"Yeah, it's hurting my teeth!"
Shen Qingyu continued with a smile, "Yes, this is the vermicelli made from the sweet potatoes you delivered yesterday. Do you all think a bowl of this vermicelli should cost thirty coins?"
Someone blurted out, "This little bit of noodles, with sand in it, can sell for thirty coins? I wouldn't even take it for three!"
Shen Qingyu looked towards the direction of the conversation, nodded, and smiled, "But this sweet potato noodle dish is planned to sell for one tael of silver per serving at Guiyunlou in both the prefectural city and the capital! That works out to thirty coins per bite!"
"Hiss..." Someone gasped!
"Why is it so expensive?" some people questioned.
"Who would be willing to eat such expensive food?"
Everyone was immediately shocked.
Shen Qingyu's smile faded: "If all sweet potato starch is of this quality and still sells for such a high price, who would want to buy it?"
"Anyone who buys this is a fool!"
Even if he buys it, if he keeps getting sand in his mouth, will he buy it a second time?
"If no one buys them, what's the point of me collecting these sweet potatoes from all around? Why should I offer them ten coins a pound? No matter how many I make, I won't be able to sell them!"
"If I'm going to lose money if I make it, I might as well not make it!"
"If this deal falls through, you'll only be able to keep your sweet potatoes for yourselves or feed them to the pigs. And you'll still be charging ten coins a pound?"
"Everyone can go to town and ask around. Fresh sweet potatoes are lucky to sell for five coins a pound! And not many people want them!"
"Is this what you want?"
Everyone fell silent and looked at each other in bewilderment.
No wonder Shen Qingyu repeatedly asked everyone to wash themselves properly; it turns out the consequences of not washing properly are so serious!
Xiao Taohua lowered her head, her face full of guilt.
When she first started harvesting sweet potatoes yesterday, she felt that she didn't need to be too particular and that it was fine as long as they looked roughly the same. She let go of the mud and sand in the crevices.
Later, when Shen Dasong inspected the area, he was exceptionally strict, and many people's sweet potatoes were sent back to be washed again.
Only then were the sweet potatoes properly washed.
Shen Qingyu simply added some "ingredients" to the initial 60 jin of sweet potato starch and made it into hot and sour noodles for everyone to try.
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