When Meng Zhao arrived at the village, the village head had already gathered all the prepared staff. Now that the workshop's output was increasing, she was worried that one drying room would not be enough, so she decided to build two drying rooms at once.
Meng Zhao knew she wasn't an expert, and ancient materials weren't as abundant as modern ones. She was also worried about whether her drawings were suitable, so she specifically asked the village head to find two experienced craftsmen who frequently worked on kang (heated brick beds) to get their opinions.
The two examined it for a while, and gradually expressions of confusion and bewilderment appeared on their faces.
"The method for building this kang (heated brick bed) is similar to ours, except that the way the smoke is stacked is different. But I don't quite understand the one above. The flue is crooked and twisted. I wonder if the smoke will not come out."
When designing the blueprints, Meng Zhao referenced the technology of modern kang (heated brick beds) and kilns. He also talked with a craftsman who had worked on kangs before. Theoretically, it was feasible, but whether it could operate well in actual use still needed to be tested.
After thinking for a moment, Meng Zhao said, "You two are both experienced craftsmen. Let's try it out according to this blueprint first. If there are any problems, we can make changes."
So everyone started construction at the pre-prepared site, first laying bricks. These were all blue bricks, made primarily of clay. In modern terms, clay is a material produced by the long-term weathering of aluminosilicate minerals. It has high viscosity. After being mixed with water, it is shaped into bricks and fired at high temperatures to become blue bricks.
Although it is far less sturdy and durable than cement bricks, it has good water absorption, strong air permeability, and better heat preservation, making it quite suitable for building kang (heated brick beds).
With everyone working together, the foundation of the drying room was finally completed. Then, they began to build the sealed room above.
Unlike ordinary houses, this house is surrounded by flues. When the smoke passes through, it conducts heat to the bricks and adobe bricks next to it. These heated bricks and adobe bricks act like small heat storage devices, thus maintaining a warm environment in the whole house and achieving the purpose of drying starch.
The design of the flue is also important. If the smoke passes through too quickly, it will cool down easily once the fire stops, which will waste a lot of fuel and increase costs.
Therefore, while ensuring the flue is unobstructed, the smoke should be allowed to circulate inside as much as possible to prolong its residence time, thus achieving a continuous heat preservation effect.
After a long day of work, they finally finished building the basic structure of the drying room. However, the gaps between the bricks were still drafty and needed to be filled to seal and insulate the room.
So Meng Zhao led his men to haul several more cartloads of loess, mixed it evenly, and then pasted it little by little onto the piled-up drying room, filling all the gaps to prevent the heat from escaping from other places.
After the drying room was finally built, it still couldn't be put into use immediately. It needed to be dried and air-dried for a period of time to become more stable. Meng Zhao temporarily put aside the affairs here and took Shen Yun to the Shen family's courtyard.
It hasn't rained for the past few days, and the potato noodles have been left to dry in the yard without being tended to. As the moisture evaporated during the drying process, they have now become slightly curled up.
Together with Shen Yun, Meng Zhao took the bamboo poles down from the shelf. Looking at the pure white potato starch, Meng Zhao was extremely satisfied; it was a purely handmade product with no additives.
Shen Yun looked at the potato noodles in her hand with curiosity. "Sister Meng Zhao, is this potato noodles? It looks just like regular noodles."
"Yes, it does look a lot like noodles, but the taste and texture are completely different. Potato noodles have a smooth and chewy texture and a unique flavor. When we get back to the county, I'll cook you a dish, and you'll know once you try it."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yun's eyes lit up instantly. No dish made by Sister Meng Zhao was ever bad.
Because the potato noodles were hung up rather haphazardly, with varying lengths, Meng Zhao prepared a sharp guillotine in advance to cut off the uneven parts at the bottom, leaving only the neat parts at the top. Then, he tied them into bundles with hemp rope and loaded them onto the vehicle.
These cut-off pieces shouldn't be wasted, so I put them in two burlap sacks to use in cooking.
There was just too much potato starch, and it was dry and took up too much space. One cartload wasn't enough to carry it all, so Meng Zhao kept some, put it in a bag, and hung it on the roof beam to take with him when he came back next time.
When they returned home, Madam Gu was busy in the yard. Seeing them pulling a cart full of potato noodles, she exclaimed in surprise...
"My God! How can there be so many?"
Meng Zhao said with a smile, "This thing looks bulky, but once it's soaked and softened, there won't be that much of it."
Meng Zhao put the crushed potato starch that she had just put into the bag into warm water to soak, and then cut the potatoes and pork belly into pieces of roughly the same size.
Heat oil in a wok, add scallions and garlic to sauté, then add the chopped pork belly and stir-fry until fragrant. Add potato slices, then add the soaked potato noodles, season with salt, stir-fry evenly, and remove from heat.
Madam Gu was the first to pick up her chopsticks and take a bite. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Zhaozhao, this is the taste of potato noodles! The texture is so smooth and tender!"
"These potato noodles absorb the soup so well, I feel like they're soaked in broth," Shen Yun, who was standing next to her, also praised.
Meng Zhao picked up a hot steamed bun, placed a piece of stir-fried potato noodles in the middle, and took a bite. The wheat aroma of the bun, the smoothness of the potato noodles, the richness of the pork belly, and the softness of the potato slices blended perfectly in her mouth. Taking a bite when she was hungry was simply a feeling of pure bliss.
The two children were so full they could barely eat anymore. Madam Gu also thought the potato noodles tasted delicious, so she asked:
"Zhaozhao, are you going to sell these potato noodles at the shop?"
Meng Zhao nodded. "Yes, it's a bit monotonous to only have noodles on weekdays. These potato noodles taste great. If we take them to the shop, customers will definitely love them."
As soon as Meng Zhao made the suggestion, everyone nodded in agreement.
When the potato noodles were ready for sale, Aunt Feng'e had recovered and returned to work. No one could match her in terms of voice and enthusiasm.
"Mengji's new braised pork dish is now available. The delicate and springy potato noodles are so delicious that you'll want to have a second bite after the first. Sir/Madam, would you like to come in and try it?"
A customer was drawn into the shop by the call and said, "Give me a bowl of potato noodles to try."
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