Chapter 172: Five-fingered Peach and Beet Cultivation
While waiting for news from Andre, Jiangyou took advantage of the time when the lunch rush was over and the number of customers in the store had dropped significantly to ask Aunt Wolf for her opinion.
This virtuous and talented old teacher was indeed well-versed in the etiquette of the upper class, and she had no particular objection to Takumi's choice of dishes. After all, this country's culinary culture was far too meager, and mainstream religions didn't impose many restrictions on what could be eaten or drunk. There were only a few things you could eat and drink, and if they banned this and that, there would be even less to eat.
What's more, half of the ingredients used by Jiangyou are beyond the scope of people's knowledge of ingredients in this country. Let alone imposing a ban, they don't even know that such things can be eaten.
Therefore, the greatest help Aunt Wolf provided was to further beautify and improve the pictures presented by Jiangyou in the contact book, and draw a beautiful design of the finished dish, and then carefully mark the ingredients, required ingredients, general taste, and possible allergic symptoms or risk warnings of the possibility of causing dissatisfaction among the nobles.
The names of the thirteen dishes were transformed into thirteen pages of pictures and ingredient lists.
"This way, it becomes the organizer's responsibility to review the dishes," Auntie Wolf said shrewdly. "If there's anything wrong with the ingredients, toppings, or presentation of a dish, they'll point it out."
"Wow! That's amazing!" Jiang You exclaimed in admiration. She looked at the sky, then at the flow of customers in the store, and called Na Xia over, saying, "I have to go out for something. I'll leave the store to you~"
"Huh?!" Nasha was half excited and half nervous, "Leave it to me?!"
"Well! This is a good opportunity for you to practice." Jiang You smiled and changed the menu, temporarily removing the dishes that Naxia had not learned. She also took out the recipe for mixing drinks and said, "If someone orders a drink, mix it according to this recipe. Take a look first, and ask directly if you have any questions."
Naxia took the wine recipe, read it carefully, and under Jiangyou's guidance, she identified the jam jars, ice boxes and wine jars one by one, and nodded solemnly.
"Whether you're scooping wine or jam, you need to use a sterile, water-free, oil-free, clean, and dry spoon. You absolutely can't mix them! Just remember this. Mixing wine isn't much different from mixing brine or batter." Jiang You patted Nasha's shoulder calmly. "I'll be back soon. Jericho, lend me your mule."
"Okay, give it a carrot and it will listen to you," Jericho replied.
"Hey, this is easy." Jiang You picked up a small bamboo basket and put a few carrots in the basket from the kitchen. "Then I'm leaving~"
She staggered out the back door carrying a small bamboo basket, mounted Jericho's mule, and galloped towards Holly's old house.
When she and Andrei had previously traveled to and from the Axe mansion, Jiangyou had memorized the route, so this time, she was quite familiar with the route. Jericho's mule was incredibly docile, consuming only one carrot per 100 kilometers. He was much easier to talk to than Diego, who would bite a human skull at the slightest disagreement.
Before she left, she sent a message to Holly. When she arrived at the Axe mansion, the young botanist had already prepared various plants and magical plants similar to her description and was waiting for her at the door.
"Good afternoon~" Holly waved to her, and his butler immediately came forward and took Jiangyou's mule.
Jiang You let out a "Hey Yo" and jumped off the mule. He took out a bag of coins from the skull and said, "Here, this is the dividend from the previous batches of vegetables. The detailed financial statements are also inside."
Holly opened the purse, took a look, and weighed it with satisfaction. "It's really a pleasure to work with you. Here, the plants that meet the characteristics you described are all here. As far as I know, there are many plants that can clear away heat and detoxify, and remove dampness and toxins, but I don't know what the special fragrance you mentioned is like..."
He opened the door of a greenhouse, and sure enough, there were all kinds of potted plants there, including flowers, grasses and trees. Jiangyou took out his spiritual wood and identified the plants one by one. He soon saw a plant with leaves forked like five fingers and fruits like hairy peaches.
She pulled at the roots of the plant, sniffed it, and said happily, "That's what I was talking about!"
"Oh, this is Ficus microcarpa, a plant of the Moraceae family. It's non-toxic and can indeed be used as medicine." Holly thought for a moment, "Many potion masters use it to treat rheumatism and edema."
"That's right!" Jiang You also performed a poison detection technique on the plant, and after confirming that it was correct, he said happily, "How much is this one?"
"Two silver coins." Holly was a little confused. "Don't you need me to make an 'investment'?"
"Not this time," Jiangyou said with a grin, "I've taken a job as a home cook, and the ingredients will be reimbursed! But," she rubbed her bony claws, "I have a suggestion that could make me a lot of money! Holly, do you know beets?"
Sugarcane in the south and beets in the north—this is something we learned in geography classes in middle and high school. However, unlike the naturally sweet sugarcane, early wild beets did not have the high sugar content of later generations. They tasted both sweet and bitter, with a strange flavor and a rather unpleasant texture. People only ate the leaves, often using them as animal feed.
Beet sugar production can be considered a product of modern chemical industry research. In the world of Jiang You, German chemist Margraf first discovered the presence of sucrose in beets through chemical testing in 1747. It was not until 1786 that his student Ahad, through continuous selection and repeated hybridization, cultivated the world's first sugar beet variety.
From then on, sugar beets, which had been neglected for a long time, came into people's attention and became an important raw material for sugar production.
Jiang You was not a botanist and knew nothing about plant hybridization, but Holly did! She only needed to point Holly in the right direction and let this Hafu botanist try hard. Wouldn't they be able to make a lot of money together?
"Beets?" Holly shook his head in confusion. "No, I haven't heard of this plant." His eyes gradually lit up. "But the name... could this plant produce sugar?"
"Yes," Takumi smiled mysteriously. "This vegetable looks like a large reddish-purple radish. But as far as I know, sugar beets require the continuous domestication and hybridization of several wild beets, and then continuous artificial selection before they can be successfully cultivated. I can give you a general idea. Want to make a fortune together? Partner?"
"Yes! Of course!" Holly imitated Jiang You's movements and rubbed his hands excitedly. "If we can really cultivate this kind of crop, we will really make a fortune!"
"I don't want much, we can split it 70% and 30% of the profits. I'll provide you with the direction, and you'll be responsible for the selection and cultivation. Of course, since you do more work, you'll naturally get the biggest share." Jiang You smiled slyly, "It's a good deal, right?"
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