Chapter 41 Chapter 41
Chapter 41
In the fifth year of Ansheng, on the morning of the eighth day of the first lunar month, in the West Market of Bianjing.
"You'll have to wait another quarter of an hour for the next batch, and the purchase limit is still ten. If you don't want to queue, you can come back later." Madam Su said to the customer at the back of the line, "It's estimated that the queue will take a long time."
Madam Su had the same idea as Su Yinyin. She was worried that customers would wait in line for too long and then the products would not be sold. That would be too much trouble.
But no matter what they said, the team remained motionless and said, "It's okay, we can wait."
"Yes, I ate your thumb-sized jujube paste cake yesterday, and then I went to try other jujube paste cakes. The taste was completely different."
"Yes, we just have to wait."
"That's it. There are so many people."
The women who were talking were basically accompanied by maids. They were the mothers of Su Xian's classmates.
After returning home yesterday, the children from several families shouted that they wanted to eat thumb-sized date paste cakes, so they must go buy some.
That's fine, what else is there to say? The Jinshi teacher said that it's best to bring this kind of snack when taking the Tongshi exam.
It's just that the children want to eat, and the teacher also said so, so they must come in person.
I didn't expect to meet him nearby, so we came over together.
Hearing that this was opened by the family of the child's classmate, one of the women said, "What kind of family is this? The store must be quite big."
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone saw the small Hui Nu snack.
Is it this big?
No way, someone who studies under a Jinshi scholar wouldn't be so poor.
"I heard that there is a family with very ordinary conditions. I think it is them."
Two women frowned, wondering if the teacher had accepted the gift from their family and deliberately recommended them, the suckers, to buy it.
“Are dim sum really that delicious?”
The women were just complaining to themselves, but they didn't expect that the people in line would hear them: "It's really delicious, I tell you, it's worth it, even though it's only ten cents a piece, the taste is simply amazing."
Mrs. Liang was pleasantly surprised: "There are so many people queuing, it must taste good."
After that, he winked at the woman walking with him and said, "This is Xiaohong's family home."
Little matchmaker?
Everyone looked over quickly.
Yes, Xiaohong’s parents’ home.
They live in West City, so who wouldn't know Little Matchmaker?
Forget it, just buy her snacks.
Fortunately, they didn’t have to queue up because they were classmates and they were told that a few copies had been reserved for them in advance.
After hearing this, Madam Su smiled and said, "I have already stayed here. You don't need to pay. We are all classmates."
Su Xian also talked about this when he got home yesterday, and he still felt a little aggrieved.
He only ate one thumb-sized jujube paste cake, and the rest were "snatched" away by his classmates, who even exchanged them with good writings.
Mrs. Liang said, "How can this be possible? There are so many people waiting to buy. We don't have to queue up, so we've already taken advantage of it."
She quickly asked the maid to give her the money. She looked at the extremely cute little girl next to her and asked in surprise, "Little Matchmaker?"
Su Yinyin looked up, bowed sweetly to her brother's classmates and their families, and greeted them obediently.
After shouting for a while, the women felt softened.
This little girl is so adorable, I really want to hug her.
Soon they realized another thing: the customers in the queue looked at them with envy and even jealousy in their eyes.
Why?
Because of these snacks.
"The new furnace is ready, please don't crowd."
The aroma that hit them in the face stunned everyone.
Is this the date paste pastry that my son cried for?
But the taste is completely different!
Everyone quickly took theirs and took a quick bite.
Mrs. Liang, who had tasted all kinds of delicious food, her eyes lit up and she lined up with her maid.
How can these ten be enough for us to eat? We must buy more.
The other women blushed slightly.
Just now I said that the store was too small and I thought the dim sum was just average, but now I have been slapped in the face.
This kind of deliciousness is unheard of.
No wonder children love to eat it, they like it too.
Madam Liang also said, "Looking at the size of the snacks, they are just right for eating during breaks in study. No wonder the teacher asked us to prepare more so that we can take them with us when we take the exam."
Everyone nodded in agreement, and other customers who were also queuing nodded subconsciously when they heard this.
He also has relatives preparing for the imperial examination, so why not tell him and ask him to prepare like this?
Seeing that the line was getting longer and longer, Madam Su did not stop for a moment. It seemed that she still needed to find a helper.
But this search will take a long time, and Aunt Wang and her family in the countryside will definitely not be able to find the right person.
Fortunately, a military lady I knew before had recently moved to the outskirts of Beijing, so it would be appropriate to invite her over.
Madam Su was honest. Now it is unknown how long the Thumb-shaped Date Paste will remain popular, so this is just a temporary job. Once the popularity has died down, we can talk about whether to stay or leave.
This kind of recruitment is very common. They don’t need people during slack seasons, but recruit workers during busy seasons.
No one knows how much this snack can be bought for.
Hui Nu Dim Sum started out as a small shop, but now has a warehouse, a kitchen, and regular workers, and its business is booming.
The new helper naturally hopes to sell more snacks so that she can earn some money for the family.
Madam Zhou came to help before, earning fifty cents a day. It’s still the same now, but the days are longer, so she cherishes this job very much.
In the south city, at Wang's Bakery, a waiter held up five thumb-sized jujube paste cakes and respectfully handed them to his boss.
"Is this the food they lined up to buy?" Wang Dongjia took a closer look, "It's really good."
"Master Liu, please try it."
The chef known as Master Liu is a pastry chef hired by Wang's Bakery. Not only does he specialize in dim sum, but he is also very good at making the eight small pieces, which are also the signature dish of Wang's Bakery.
Chef Liu did not eat it directly. Instead, he observed the shape of the pastry first, carefully looked at how it was made, and then smelled it: "It smells like milk, but it must have been made with milk or goat milk."
"That's not right. It doesn't smell like milk at all."
“I still add it to the water.”
After breaking the filling, Master Liu pinched a small piece to taste it and said: "This filling is solid, and the dates used are also good. It took a lot of effort to make it so delicate."
The filling is not too difficult to learn. A master chef can tell how it is made just by tasting it.
The ones made in ordinary stores are not amazing. When making the date paste, they are too lazy to filter out the residue and the amount of sugar added is not accurate, so it is hard to describe the taste.
The date paste filling of Hui Nu’s dessert is made with great care.
But you can learn to make the jujube paste, but what about the skin?
Master Liu discovered that the skin not only has a milky aroma, but also a rich oily aroma, which is actually blended with a sweet aroma.
The most important thing is the epidermis.
How is this puff pastry made and why is it so different?
If Su Yinyin knew Master Liu's analysis, she would definitely praise him as amazing.
You can tell how it is made just by tasting the jujube paste.
As for the skin, it is a blind spot in our knowledge, so it’s no wonder that Master Liu can’t taste it.
"Then can you try to make it? Many pastry shops in Beijing are researching thumb-sized date paste pastries, and we can't fall behind." Wang Dongjia said quickly.
"Okay, I'll try, but I can't guarantee it will be exactly the same."
This has been the case in most major dim sum restaurants in Beijing in recent years.
If one company comes up with a new product, other companies must try it, otherwise they will fall behind.
Generally, dim sum becomes popular for half a month or a month, and then is almost always copied by other stores in the same industry and becomes a standard snack in every store.
Especially in the major dim sum shops in South City, the business is booming. South City is inhabited by dignitaries, who are more picky about what they eat and use. If you are not careful, you will be abandoned by customers.
It's difficult.
Hui Nu Dim Sum's business is not affected for the time being, because her dim sum is truly unique.
Even colleagues from the Military Department asked Deputy Envoy Su to help buy some, otherwise they would have to wait in line for half an hour.
After Madam Zhou came over, the pressure in the store was relieved a lot, and Su Yinyin was forced by Madam Su to rest.
A baby this young shouldn't be overworked.
The business in the store is so good, it’s really worrying.
The store only closed for half a day on Su Yinyin’s birthday.
But even when taking a half-day break, the store door was knocked countless times.
Li Ruiyuan took home a box of snacks given by baby Yin Yin.
Others had to queue up to buy the snacks, but baby Yinyin packed so many of them that he couldn’t finish them.
Half a day later, Hui Nu Dim Sum's business increased instead of decreasing.
Lady Wang, who came over to deliver dates to the store, said, "It is said that the snacks in the capital city only last for half a month, but now it has been more than ten days."
At that time, Su Yinyin wanted red dates, and Wang Niangzi, who worked as a helper in the store, specially selected the best ones for her.
Unexpectedly, that was just the beginning. Not only did Huinu’s desserts require more and more red dates, but most of the dessert shops in Beijing also started selling desserts made with date paste.
Many farmers in the suburbs of Beijing have been asked for the price of their red dates, allowing the farmers to make a small profit from the red date paste craze.
So although Madam Wang couldn't come here to help often, she earned some money from it.
The red dates that Madam Wang brought were big and sweet. She specially left them for Huinu as snacks.
Su Yinyin trotted over to take a look and nodded, "Thank you, Madam Wang. We are almost out of red dates at home."
Not only that, the price of red dates in Beijing has gone up a bit.
"I should thank you," said Lady Wang, adding, "Now many pastry shops are making pastries stuffed with jujube paste. Aren't you afraid?"
Not to mention Su Yinyin, even Madam Su laughed: "Don't be afraid, we have a secret recipe."
It’s not that the mother and daughter are proud, but no matter how other dim sum shops try to replicate it, they can’t figure out the secret of the thumb-sized jujube paste pastry.
Who made the steps so complicated?
Date paste pastry is not a delicacy invented by Huinu Dim Sum.
There are even more diverse desserts made with jujube paste.
But each family has its own tricks for making this snack, and the taste is just slightly different.
So they are not afraid of being imitated by their peers.
Because no one can imitate the essence at all.
Other stores didn't bother with that either. Since they couldn't make the same milky crispy crust, they just focused on the date paste.
By February, a wide variety of date paste products appeared in the markets across the capital.
There are jujube paste cakes, jujube paste sesame cakes, and jujube paste crisps with a layer of cream added on top of the jujube paste, trying to add milk.
After tasting it, Su Yinyin felt like she never wanted to touch jujube paste again in her life!
Why taste?
Peer research!
They investigate their own business and can also look outward.
After eating, Su Yinyin confirmed: "Three of the shops make better date paste, as if honey is added, and the quality of the red dates seems to be better."
Madam Su nodded: "But no one has tried it on the surface, but they seem to use milk instead of water, but the fishy smell is not as good."
"This Wang's Bakery makes the best. They use the best date paste as the filling and the most mature traditional method for the crust. In order to increase the flavor, they specially add sweet cream."
Of course there was cream in ancient times. There was a dessert called Sushan, which had cream icing on the top. However, it was quite expensive, so it was only available in South City.
The chef of Wang's Bakery must have tasted the aroma of milk, but felt that the taste of milk instead of water was too light and fishy, and adding too much sugar would make it too sweet, so he thought of using cream as a condiment.
This master chef's knowledge of dim sum is truly profound.
At the same time, his date paste is the best.
According to the different flavors outside, Huinu Dim Sum has also made certain improvements to its thumb-shaped date paste pastry.
Replacing the white sugar in the date paste with the sweeter multi-flower honey may make the raw material more expensive, but it adds a refreshing sweetness that is more in line with the taste of the people of Bian Jing.
Su Yinyin thought to herself, no wonder the snacks in Bianjing have been updated so quickly, everyone is making improvements.
The dim sum produced through hard work in this environment will definitely be more in line with the customers' tastes.
In order to let the people of Bianjing eat better dim sum, these dim sum shop chefs will work harder!
However, for Huinu Dim Sum, the research on dim sum was suspended for one day because her brother Su Xian was about to take the examination for children, and the whole family was nervous.
On the sixth day of February, Li Ruiyuan also came along.
He had a lot of things to do before and after the New Year, and even this time the imperial examination, the Grand Tutor brought him to participate in it, but he still found time to come for such an important matter.
Li Ruiyuan spent this winter in the capital. The weather was still very cold and he couldn't sleep at night.
But he still stayed in the capital, ate more than before, and grew a lot taller during the winter.
At the gate of West Market Imperial Examination Hall, Su Yinyin held her brother's hand. Although she didn't say anything, her eyes were full of comfort.
Deputy Envoy Su patted the child on the shoulder and said, "This is your first imperial examination. It doesn't matter how you do. We'll talk about it later."
Madam Su squatted down and said, "Don't put so much pressure on yourself. In a few more years, the family can afford it."
"Yes, brother, let's just try it." Su Yinyin followed.
Li Ruiyuan nodded: "You are twelve. Most people need to be at least sixteen or seventeen to pass the exam to become a scholar. They can already be called geniuses."
The scholar next to him seemed to want to say something but stopped himself. Finally, he waved his hand, trying not to put pressure on the students and asked them to hurry into the examination room.
This group of six students all came over to say goodbye to Madam Su, Su Yinyin.
They all bought Su’s snacks!
Not only is it delicious, but it is also convenient for scientific research. I must thank you.
The Jinshi teacher was extremely nervous, and Huang Xiucai supported him and said, "It doesn't matter. Four of them passed the exam last year, so they should be able to pass this year."
"How can it be irrelevant?" The Jinshi master gritted his teeth, "Last year, there were more than ten candidates, and only you passed the exam. The others were not motivated and thought it was because I didn't teach them well, but five of them failed."
"If not many students pass the exam this year, what will happen to my reputation?"
The guy is worried about his enrollment this year.
Su Yinyin secretly glanced at the scholar, and seeing the old man's gray beard, she handed over a snack: "Master, this is the improved thumb-shaped jujube paste pastry in our store, would you like to try it?"
After all, he introduced business to our store, so we must thank him!
The scholar's beard curled up. Huang Xiucai took the snack for him and thought of another thing in his mind: "By the way, who was the old scholar who annotated your brother's article before? Why didn't I see him instruct Su Xian again?"
What is happening?
When Su Yinyin saw Yuan Rui, she realized that the Jinshi master did not want her brother at that time, but it was the teacher of Yuan Rui's family who annotated the article, which made the Jinshi master change his mind.
Yuan Rui replied: "The Master is quite busy."
Busy preparing for the provincial and imperial examinations.
If sister Yin Yin's brother fails the exam this time, he will arrange for a new teacher.
I don’t want to make Yin Yin sad.
Is it his teacher?
The Jinshi teacher looked carefully at the child in front of him. He was about eight years old, and apart from being too thin, he had an amazing demeanor.
Who could his wife be?
Yuan Rui noticed the gaze, lowered his head slightly, and looked at the nervous Yin Yin again.
The Wanlong Kingdom's children's examination follows the old rules of the previous dynasty and is a bit like a modern audition.
Register for the exams and select the best ones in rounds.
The primary election will be on the sixth day of February, and more people will be "eliminated" at the same time.
At the end of the whole day, all the students coming out of the examination room looked pale.
Some younger candidates even cried uncontrollably.
The real exam is nothing like usual ones.
Su Xian turned over the new year but was only twelve years old. At his young age, he was one of the few who could hold on. After coming out, he even said, "I think the answer was not bad."
Su Xian is not the kind of person who brags, so he must be confident in what he says.
But before the teacher could put pressure on them, the Su family couple took the child away directly: "It doesn't matter. I've already said that it doesn't matter what the test result is."
"Yes, you are young, so you should study for a few more years."
Su Yinyin took her brother's hand and said, "Yes, we are here to give it a try."
When Huang Xiucai looked at the Su family, there was a hint of envy in his eyes.
Ordinary people rarely say this.
The cost of studying for the imperial examinations is staggering, and ordinary families will inevitably have more expectations when supporting their students.
But the Su family will never put such pressure on us.
No wonder the Su family is so popular and they all like to play with Yin Yin and the others.
Come to think of it, this is what Yuan Rui is like?
The results of the first round of the Tongshi exam will be announced three days later.
During these three days, Su Xian continued to study behind closed doors. Regardless of whether he passed the exam or not, he would prepare for the next round of exams in advance.
It would be best if he passed the exam, but if he didn’t, he would work harder.
Su Yinyin was preparing new snacks.
Given the popularity of Bian Jing dim sum, the sales of thumb-sized jujube paste pastry will gradually decrease.
One is that it is not that rare anymore, and the other is that other dim sum shops are also looking for alternative methods. Although the results are different, the taste is the same to serve customers.
Is this the reason why Chinese cuisine has a long history and so many branches?
As long as they can make customers happy with their meals, they will do their best!
However, the new snacks prepared this time are not that complicated.
Su Yinyin is preparing to make a fuss in the next exam.
The thumb-sized jujube paste pastry was unexpectedly selected by my brother’s teacher as food for the imperial examination because it does not stick to your hands and does not fall apart.
That means there is a big market for imperial examination food.
The Tongshi exam only requires one day in the examination room, but the Huishi exam requires three days.
More food is definitely needed.
It also has to provide sufficient calorie intake, taste good, and be healthy enough, or at least not upset your stomach.
Following this direction, dim sum is essential.
What could be more filling and provide more energy than a mixture of sugar and oil?
So Su Yinyin's suggestion to her mother was: "Make a set of snack boxes, all of which are bite-sized, with both salty and sweet flavors."
“At the same time, it can’t have any strange smell or be too weird.”
"Just enough to eat for two or three days."
Following this direction, Su Niangzi and her daughter began to think about the food boxes for the scientific expedition.
To prepare for the next examination candidates.
By then, there will be thousands of candidates in Beijing, so there will definitely be a market, and it can even become the norm.
One could make a fortune from the annual Tongshi examination and the provincial and metropolitan examinations held every three years.
Dim sum is easy to make, but how to put it together into a complete food box is a problem. Madam Su has put a lot of effort into this aspect.
Deputy Envoy Su scratched his head, wondering why the whole family was busy and he was the one with the least time.
Prince Ning has been coming to the West City Military Division more often recently. When he met Deputy Envoy Su, he asked one more question: "Did your child take the Tongshi exam this year? I remember that he was not very old."
Deputy Envoy Su respectfully handed his luggage to his superior. Prince Ning had always been nice to them, so he naturally had to show respect: "My Lord, my son is twelve this year. This is his first time to take the exam, so I'll give it a try."
Seeing the other party saluting so respectfully, Prince Ning resisted the urge to dodge and could only cough lightly: "Is that so? It's already good enough to be able to take the exam. I wonder who his teacher is?"
Deputy Envoy Su answered seriously, and Prince Ning stroked his beard and said, "I haven't heard of it, but your child should have good talent and should not be buried."
"Nancheng Shan Family Academy will recruit new students in April and May. When the time comes, I will give you a letter of recommendation and let your child study there."
Shan Family Academy?!
really?
Not to mention Deputy Envoy Su, all the other officials accompanying Prince Ning were jealous.
That is Shan Family Academy.
Many young people in South City want to go there to study, but the opportunities are very limited.
They only accept those who are talented or study hard.
From Tongshi to Jinshi, he can teach.
Prince Ning is so kind and takes special care of their brothers from the West City Military Department.
Deputy Envoy Su knew where that was and would definitely not refuse. He quickly bowed to Prince Ning and thanked him, saying excitedly, "Thank you, Prince Ning. I really have no way to repay you."
"It's okay, it's okay. You have done your duty well. It's just a small favor for me."
"Besides, your child can take the Tongkat Ali Exam at the age of twelve, which shows that he is quite good."
Prince Ning was slightly relieved after completing the "task" assigned by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The Su family was indeed lucky, and he was fortunate enough to be able to be so close to His Royal Highness.
The next morning, Prince Ning received another thank-you gift from the Su family. One of the snacks was the thumb-sized date paste pastry that he had eaten at the emperor's place.
I'm pretty lucky.
Su Xian became even more nervous when he knew that he could go to Shanjia Academy.
There are two kinds of students in the Shanjia Academy. One kind has good grades and costs very low fees, and the other kind requires letters of recommendation, which costs a lot of money a month.
Which one is he?
The private schools he changed to were getting more and more expensive, how could he be so selfish.
Fortunately, the results of the children's exam will be out soon, allowing Su Xian to finally have a good night's sleep.
He tossed and turned in bed last night, fearing that he would have to spend a lot of the family's money and let his sister and mother work hard selling snacks every day. How could he bear it?
Seeing that the first round of the Tongshi exam was on the list, Su Xian's eyes moistened. He buried his head in his mother's body, holding his sister tightly in his hands: "I passed the first round of the exam."
Shanjia Academy should be a little cheaper.
He still needs to work hard for the next exam!
To others, it was a surprise that twelve-year-old Su Xian could pass the first round.
There are still two rounds of exams to come, and he stands out among the group of 17 or 18-year-olds.
It was not until February 15th that Su Xian successfully entered the third round, which was also the final round.
There are only four classmates left in the private school.
Whether you can pass the exam depends on this exam!
Su Xian had dark circles under his eyes and looked extremely stressed.
Su Yinyin was no longer in the mood to make lunch boxes for the scientific expedition and she focused on accompanying her brother wholeheartedly.
Su Xian nodded to everyone and walked into the examination room.
Do better in the exam and don't pay too much tuition.
He is probably the only student who wants to do well in the exam in order to save tuition fees.
Su Xian had thought about it before the exam.
Regardless of whether he passed the exam or not, he wanted to change to another private school.
Private schools nowadays are really too expensive, and he couldn't bear to see his mother and sister working hard to make snacks every day.
You can still study by changing to another private school.
But he didn't expect that the private school would have to be changed.
But my father's boss arranged a better one for me.
Shanjia Academy, a place that all students in Beijing have heard of.
The price varies with the level of knowledge.
He didn't pass the exam to become a scholar, and I'm afraid the tuition will be very high.
Su Xian asked his classmates privately and heard that it would cost several dozen taels of silver a month.
How is this possible?
He would never go.
When he thought about this, Su Xian felt that every word he wrote was money.
A scholar should not be so utilitarian, but if he writes a good word, it can save his parents and sister a little bit of hardship.
Sitting in the examination room, Su Xian took a deep breath.
He can do it.
He will definitely pass the exam.
When the test papers were handed out, he, the youngest candidate, was the calmest and wrote very steadily.
Hand in the paper in the evening.
Next, we will wait for the announcement of the results.
Su Xian wiped the sweat from his head and hugged his sister who ran over.
For the sake of his sister and his family, he must use the least tuition fee and get the best ranking.
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