Chapter 237 Pepper Seeds
"You mean there are seeds in the sachet?" she asked tentatively.
Xiao Zhao nodded repeatedly and moved the sachet forward a little more.
Sang Yu then picked up the sachet in her palm, gently opened it, and revealed the contents inside.
It was wrapped in a layer of original linen, and it felt like grains inside. Could they be the seeds of some flower?
She stretched the mouth of the sachet a little wider, trying not to destroy its original appearance. After all, this should be the only memory that Xiao Zhao's mother left her.
He took out the things inside with some effort and opened it gently. After just one look, Sang Yu was stunned on the spot.
Is this - pepper seeds?
It was a small, flat seed with a bud in the middle. It turned out to be a dried chili seed, but I didn't know what kind of chili it was.
The pepper seeds she had been longing for for so long were finally available so easily?
Sang Yu was unable to come back to her senses for a long time. She felt that the pepper seeds in her hand came too easily, which made her feel unreal.
"Xiao Zhao, where do these seeds come from?" After a long time, she finally remembered to ask the real person. So many pepper seeds could not appear out of thin air. They must have come from somewhere.
Xiao Zhao continued to write on the ground. This time, there were a lot of words, but based on the context, Sang Yu could still guess what it was.
"Your father bought it from a traveling merchant caravan with a sheep? Why did he buy it?"
It was sewn into the sachet and obviously no one knew its original name and function, so why would they buy it?
"Dad said the merchant told him the seeds came from a foreign country and would produce beautiful green flowers."
“…”
Sang Yu thought carefully, what color are pepper flowers? It seems to be white?
These overseas peddlers are willing to tell any nonsense to sell their products.
Sang Yu even vaguely guessed that perhaps even the peddler selling the seeds didn't know what kind of seeds these were and was just making up the story.
However, she still had a doubt. Why did she feel from Xiao Zhao's words that overseas merchants were very common in their area? Was the shipping industry developing so rapidly in this era?
"Xiao Zhao, do you often meet overseas merchants at your father's residence?" she asked the question in her mind.
Xiao Zhao shook his head decisively, reached out to erase the words written on the ground, and wrote again on it.
"It's not common. That's the first time I've seen it."
Precisely because it was so rare, his father wanted to buy it and grow a mountain of foreign flowers to give to his mother.
Unfortunately, I don’t know if it was due to the unfamiliar climate or some other reason, but the seeds never germinated. In the end, the remaining ones were put into sachets as souvenirs.
Sang Yu mobilized his brain and carefully recalled the high school geography. The southwestern region that fought against China in history should be the Vietnam region in later generations.
It is close to small Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, and some countries are even surrounded by the ocean, so it is not impossible that the shipping industry is developed.
These pepper seeds may have been brought back accidentally when they were trading from the other side of the continent. The taste was too spicy for ordinary people to accept as food or seasoning, so they were discarded.
After many twists and turns, he was deceived into being sold to Xiao Zhao's father, and finally fell into her hands. It can be said to be a kind of fate.
Seeing her holding the seeds in a daze without saying anything, Liu Mao looked at the seeds in her hand with some curiosity, and asked, "What kind of seeds are these?"
"Chili seeds." Sang Yu answered honestly.
"Oh, so they are pepper seeds." Liu Mao nodded, but soon realized something was wrong. "Pepper seeds? Are they the peppers you just mentioned?"
He was immediately overjoyed: "Then can we make spicy hot pot right away?"
"No." Sang Yu shook her head in denial. "Chili peppers are not cold-resistant plants. Even in Lingnan, where the temperature is high year-round, we have to wait until at least February or March to force the seedlings to grow and plant them."
"It takes about two to three months from planting to flowering and fruiting."
The growth cycle of plants is naturally so slow, and without the constant temperature and humidity vegetable greenhouses of later generations, how could she get peppers that could grow, bloom and bear fruit as usual in winter?
Wait, she can’t build a vegetable greenhouse, but doesn’t she have a greenhouse at home?
There are quite a few seeds in the sachet, so she might as well give it a try, grow a few seedlings first and then plant them in the greenhouse.
If it can really grow and bloom normally, then she will pollinate it artificially and she will always be able to produce a few peppers.
If they cannot grow normally and are frozen to death, that’s okay. We still have pepper seeds and can grow seedlings and plant them in large quantities in spring.
Although he had made up his mind, Sang Yu didn't show any sign of it on his face. Whether this plan would succeed or not was another matter. Even if it did succeed, he didn't know how many peppers could be produced.
In order to avoid making Liu Maobai too happy, it is better not to say it for now.
Seeing that Liu Mao still looked worried, Sang Yu smiled confidently.
"It's okay, Brother Liu. With this oden, your business will not only not continue to decline, but will gradually become prosperous. Believe me."
This is a best-selling convenience store item that has lasted for decades. It is the best winter food besides roasted sweet potatoes. She is very confident about it.
Her ideas have always been unique. Since he has chosen to follow her, he must trust her. Liu Mao is very clear about this.
However, he still couldn't forget the spicy hot pot, and thought that when the peppers were ripe next year, he would definitely learn the recipe and method of making spicy hot pot.
Although this is also a collaboration, Sang Yu does not plan to continue with the previous 30:70 profit sharing.
Last time, Liu Mao took the lion's share because he was responsible for all the ingredients, manpower, sales and other steps, which was very laborious.
Secondly, since this was their first collaboration, Sang Yu deliberately gave him more profits to win him over.
After all, when there are benefits ahead, people will be more hopeful in doing things.
This time was different. Oden seemed simple, but if Sang Yu hadn't prepared the ingredients first and prepared the broth properly, could Liu Mao have figured it out on his own? Impossible.
Even if she wanted to strengthen her control over Liu Mao, she could provide him with the soup base every day without teaching him the specific recipe.
Just like the franchise stores in later generations, they bought seasonings from the headquarters, poured them directly into the pot and cooked them. After cooking, they served them to customers, without knowing the proportion of the soup base.
But...is it necessary for her to be so wary of Liu Mao?
It was just a piece of oden. If he really kept the recipe secret and wanted to start his own business, she could make it public in a matter of minutes, and every street and alley in Lingnan City would be selling oden.
What is truly valuable is never the prescriptions she comes up with, but the person who can continuously provide the prescriptions.
Obviously Liu Mao also understood this, and he took the initiative to suggest that he could take a smaller share of the profits from oden.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com