Chapter 33 The Crystal Powder Workshop, by all accounts, could be considered a first-generation factory! ...
Lin Yao and Liang Shi went to the address given by Xu Zhiheng. When they pushed open the wooden door, they were both stunned and stood there for a moment. There were at least a hundred people in front of them.
What surprised Lin Yao was not the sheer number of people, but the fact that among them were elderly people, children, women, and even men with physical disabilities. Their eyes all turned to Lin Yao, while Lin Yao turned her gaze to Xu Zhiheng; an eerie silence fell over the room.
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Xu Zhiheng broke the silence first, waving his hand, "How about it? With so many people working at the crystal powder workshop, producing a hundred catties a day is definitely not a problem, and it will be easy to sell to various places soon!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Yao finally came to her senses and nodded repeatedly, "Young Master Xu is absolutely right."
Xu Zhiheng noticed the doubt in Lin Yao's eyes and said, "Let's talk in private."
Xu Zhiheng led Lin Yao and Madam Liang to the small courtyard in the workshop where the manager handled affairs. He poured a cup of tea for each of them. "Miss Lin, you don't need to worry about the output. These old, weak, women, children, and disabled men may work a little slower, but there are many of them. Besides, I have equipped the crystal powder workshop with twenty donkeys, and these animals will be responsible for pulling the millstone."
Lin Yao took the teacup but did not drink it. "Young Master Xu, aren't you worried that the recipe will be leaked?"
"So this is what's causing your concern, young lady. There's no need for you to worry, young lady. The workers responsible for the first and second steps are all contracted by my Xu family. By the time the ingredients reach these elderly, weak, women, children, and disabled men, they will already be the sweet potato starch you mentioned. They only need to complete the subsequent steps. Moreover, everyone working in the crystal workshop has signed a contract. If they leak any information, they will be punished with sixty strokes of the cane and fined one hundred taels of silver."
Lin Yao hadn't expected all the workers to sign such harsh contracts. A strong adult male would be unable to move freely for more than half a month after being beaten with sixty strokes, let alone these elderly, weak, women, children, and disabled men; they might even be beaten to death. However, upon reflection, this made sense, since no businessman would put his trade secrets at risk. "Young Master Xu is indeed very thoughtful."
“Young Master Xu, there is something else I would like to discuss with you.” Lin Yao turned to the side and gestured to Madam Liang beside her. “This is my sister-in-law, whom my family has known for many years. I taught her the essentials of making crystal powder when I was at home. In the future, I will also have to take care of the stall’s affairs. If you could let my sister-in-law take charge of the powder-making area in the workshop, guide the workers’ operations, and strictly control the product quality, it would definitely ensure the quality of the workshop’s crystal powder. I wonder what Young Master Xu thinks?”
Xu Zhiheng looked at Madam Liang. This woman had been by Lin Yao's side when they sold hot and sour noodles last time, so she must be quite familiar with making crystal noodles. He nodded in agreement: "Since Miss Lin strongly recommends her, then Madam Liang will take on the role of manager of the noodle-making area."
Madam Liang was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed, "Thank you for your trust, Young Master Xu. I will do my best to live up to your expectations." As soon as Xu Zhiheng left, Madam Liang lowered her voice and said, "Ayao, the people in Young Master Xu's workshop look very different from those in other workshops."
Lin Yao nodded slightly, "As long as he can work, that's fine. Young Master Xu probably has his own considerations."
When they returned to the workshop, everyone was moving dried sweet potato starch. After all the basins were moved to the pots, Lin Yao cleared her throat. "Everyone, this is the starch we'll be using in a little while. Next, we'll make this starch into crystal powder." As she spoke, she scooped up a spoonful of starch and showed it to the workers around her.
“First, you need to add the right amount of water to the starch. For a large wooden basin of starch like this, you'll need about five ladles of water. The water can't be too much or too little. Too much water will make the batter too thin, and the noodles will break easily; too little water will make the batter too thick, and you won't be able to make noodles at all. When you're making them for the first time, you can add water in small amounts several times.” Lin Yao explained as she poured water into the basin, while simultaneously stirring constantly with a long wooden chopstick. Soon, the originally dry starch transformed into a thick, even batter, slightly whitish in color. “Stir until there are no lumps and it has a smooth paste-like consistency.”
Next, Lin Yao picked up a specially made strainer using a water ladle. She had already taught Xu Zhiheng this method, so everyone in the workshop had one. She slowly poured the rice flour batter into it. "Look, everyone," she said, "this strainer is the key tool. By letting the batter flow through this small hole into the boiling pot, it will take shape." She gently shook her hands, and the batter slowly fell from the small hole at the bottom of the strainer, straight into the steaming pot below. The water in the pot was already boiling, and as soon as the rice noodles entered the pot, they instantly set and gently rolled in the water.
"The heat is also crucial. If the heat is too high, the noodles will easily fall apart; if the heat is too low, they won't cook through. You need to keep a close eye on them to make sure the water in the pot stays boiling." Lin Yao stared intently at the pot, her hand never stopping as she used the strainer to continuously transform the batter into noodles.
Soon, the glass noodles in the pot gradually became translucent. "Once the crystal noodles are transparent, they can be taken out and rinsed with cold water." Lin Yao used long chopsticks to scoop out the glass noodles and put them into a large basin filled with cold water. "This step can quickly cool down the glass noodles and also enhance their elasticity, making them more chewy."
After a while, Lin Yao took out the noodles that had been rinsed in cold water, drained them, and neatly arranged them on a bamboo tray. "At this moment, our sweet potato noodles are basically made. However, they still need to be hung up to dry so that the moisture can evaporate completely, so that they can be preserved for a longer time."
After Lin Yao finished demonstrating, she looked up and saw a crowd of people surrounding her. There was a middle-aged man with one arm, a boy with one eye, an elderly woman nearing seventy, and many women with children... She looked away and said, "Alright, now everyone try it out. If you have any questions, you can ask me or this Manager Liang who is in charge of guiding you."
Lin Yao moved among the crowd, patiently instructing them on the key points of the movements. Just as Xu Zhiheng had said, these people, though seemingly frail, were remarkably efficient at their work. However, Lin Yao still harbored some curiosity. Ordinary merchants, to improve production efficiency, would choose those with quick hands and feet for the work. Was he a great philanthropist, helping the poor and weak? Or was he simply trying to cut costs by using cheaper labor?
Lin Yao was lost in thought when she suddenly felt a small hand gently tug at her skirt. Looking down, she saw a chubby-cheeked girl, about five years old, with her hair styled in cute double buns. The girl's clothes, though faded from washing, were clean and tidy, and her large, round eyes were fixed on her with curiosity. "Sister, are you Brother Xu's wife?" the little girl asked in a clear, sweet voice.
Hearing her daughter's question, Xie San Niang was startled. She instinctively wiped her hands quickly on her apron and hurriedly reached out to pull her daughter back, saying, "A-Xi, don't be so rude!"
Seeing this, Lin Yao quickly raised her hand to stop Xie San Niang and gently squeezed the little girl's chubby little hand. "No, I'm just doing business with Young Master Xu."
Chen Huanxi tilted her head, scratched it, and then asked, "Oh? Are they friends?"
As soon as he finished speaking, an arm reached out from Lin Yao's side and steadily picked up Chen Huanxi. "Yes, Big Brother and Miss Lin are friends, good friends who earn copper coins together." Xu Zhiheng said with a smile. He had just finished explaining his business to the workshop manager when he turned around and saw Lin Yao being pestered by this little guy.
Xu Zhiheng held Chen Huanxi in his arms, a gentle smile on his face. It was a smile different from his usual affected, joking one; it was like that of a doting older brother. Xu Zhiheng pinched Chen Huanxi's cheek. "Axi, why are you running around all by yourself?"
Chen Huanxi's eyes sparkled, and she cupped her face in her little hands, shaking her head. "I saw that my sister is pretty, prettier than a flower, and I want to play with her."
Xie San Niang watched from the side. Today was the first time she had met Lin Yao, and she was afraid that Lin Yao would refuse to let her work in the crystal powder workshop in a fit of anger. She was very uneasy. "Young Lady Lin, this child is usually lively and active and has no manners. Please don't take offense."
Lin Yao quickly waved her hand, "Sister Xie, please don't say that. Ah Xi is so innocent and cute, I'm happy with her."
Xu Zhiheng smiled and chimed in, "A-Xi's personality is endearing, and Miss Lin isn't a narrow-minded person either." He put Chen Huanxi down and patted the little girl's head.
The production process of crystal powder is complex and labor-intensive. Although the production difficulty is not high, it requires a large number of people. After Lin Yao went to the workshop for five consecutive days, she completely handed over the reins to Liang Shi to manage alone.
Meanwhile, Liu Dazhuang and Liu Dabao toiled away in the mornings, digging konjac and making konjac noodles and crystal powder. In the afternoons, they would carry two large baskets of konjac noodles and crystal powder out to sell. On the first day, few people bought his products, so he imitated Lin Yao by offering samples. According to him, almost everyone who tried the konjac noodles bought some afterward. However, the crystal powder couldn't be sampled, and despite his persistent persuasion, he had only sold two portions in the past few days.
Lin Yao was not surprised by the result. She only set up her stall in town for one day before going to instruct the workshop she was working with Xu Zhiheng on. Although Aunt Li was selling crystal powder at the dock, it had only been there a short time, and many people did not yet know what crystal powder tasted like.
After much deliberation, Lin Yao decided she should continue selling crystal powder in town to tap into the market among ordinary people. However, if she were to bring A-Yu to town, Lin Cheng would be overwhelmed at the docks, requiring her to hire another person. But she didn't know many people left in the village. With this in mind, she decided to ask Liang Shi.
“Ah Yao, if you trust me, you might as well hire your brother Da Zhuang’s aunt. Uncle Liu went up the mountain before the New Year and… Now he’s left with only his wife and children to depend on each other, and they are living a very difficult life.” Liang added, “Uncle Liu’s family are all honest people. Your father even went hunting with him when he was a child.”
Lin Yao recalled that it was the hunter Lin Cheng had mentioned who had died on the mountain when she had just transmigrated and was preparing to go up the mountain.
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Author's Note: Writing is hard work, please add this to your favorites! [starry eyes]
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