"Huanhuan, boil a pot of water for me," Gu Lili called out to Huanhuan outside the house.
Gu Huanhuan heard Gu Lili's voice, responded, and went to boil water.
The squeezed malt residue needs to be fermented a second time with hot water for about half an hour.
Gu Lili poured the squeezed malt juice into a pot and began to boil it, skimming off the foam as she boiled.
Boiling maltose is a very time-consuming process that requires a lot of patience.
Gu Lili then instructed Gu Erniu to build a simple stove and boil the fermented liquid in the old broken pot at home.
Once it has thickened, put it in a pot to simmer.
"Huanhuan, go find four bowls," Gu Lili said to Gu Huanhuan with a smile, while looking at the pot.
The sugar water in the pot already smelled sweet, with a hint of malt.
Gu Huanhuan took the bowl over, and Gu Lili filled it with sugar water before calling the three siblings to come and drink.
Wow, it's so sweet!
"It's as sweet as the honey my grandma gave me!"
"Yes, yes, sister, what is this? It tastes so good!"
The three siblings took a sip and couldn't help but praise it immediately.
Gu Lili also picked up the glass, took a sip, and indeed it was sweet to her heart.
“This is called maltose. The malt is ready now. When it’s ready, we’ll take it to town to sell and save money to build a house, okay?” Gu Lili looked at the three siblings with a smile.
The three of them nodded emphatically and laughed.
At this moment, Gu Erniu finally understood what Gu Lili was doing.
He decided to learn how to make maltose properly so that Gu Lili would have less to do.
Although he had done business with malt, he felt that Gu Lili's candy would definitely sell very well.
As the siblings chatted, the sugar syrup in the pot thickened and began to bubble.
Gu Lili quickly found a clean earthenware jar, filled it with the contents, and let it cool.
Gu Lili turned around and went back into the house, closed the door, bought some glutinous rice flour, and decided to sell some hard candy.
"Huanhuan, light the fire again, I'll cook something." Gu Lili said to Gu Huanhuan with a smile.
Gu Huanhuan lit the fire, and Gu Lili started frying the noodles. Once the noodles were done, she set them aside.
Gu Lili poured half of the syrup into another bowl and stirred it back and forth with chopsticks to make it cool.
When the candy was cooled to a temperature that wasn't too hot to handle, Gu Lili called Gu Erniu over to help pull it apart.
Pulling candy is also hard work; it takes about half an hour for two people to pull it back and forth.
After only fifteen minutes of pulling, Gu Lili was exhausted, but the candy was no longer sticky.
Looking at his brother and sister, who were covered in sweat, Gu Sigou said with concern, "Sister, second brother, you should rest for a while."
Gu Huanhuan also stepped forward and used her sleeve to wipe the sweat from Gu Lili's forehead.
"You two, bring us a bowl of water. We can't stop pulling this candy, or we won't be able to pull it anymore," Gu Lili said with a smile.
After hearing this, the two siblings quickly went to pour water for Gu Lili and Gu Erniu.
The two finished their water in one gulp and quickly continued pulling.
After about half an hour of stretching, the sugar turned white and became longer and thinner. It even developed very beautiful textures.
Gu Lili then made Gu Erniu stop, then used the back of a knife to break it into small pieces, and sprinkled some glutinous rice flour to prevent them from sticking together.
"Alright, you guys go ahead and try it!" Gu Lili breathed a long sigh of relief after finishing her work. Pulling candy like this was really tiring.
The three siblings had been eager to try it out for a long time, and when they heard Gu Lili speak, they all gathered around.
However, no one took more than a few pieces of broken sugar; they all knew that these were meant to be sold and couldn't be eaten freely.
Gu Lili said to Gu Erniu, who was licking his hands, "Erniu, go find a bamboo stalk, cut it into smaller pieces, and we'll take it to town to sell tomorrow."
Upon hearing what Gu Lili said, Gu Erniu grabbed his knife and headed towards the west end of the village.
Seeing this, Gu Sigou jogged after Gu Erniu to help.
"Huanhuan, cook some rice. I'll make braised pork for you guys when I get back!" Gu Lili said to Gu Huanhuan.
After working so hard all day, it's time for dinner again.
Yesterday, Gu Lili bought a lot of pork belly. She'll take a little over a pound of it later and stir-fry it with maltose to make braised pork. It'll definitely be a great dish to eat with rice.
After instructing Gu Huanhuan on what to do, Gu Lili found a small bowl, took a few pieces of maltose, and headed towards Grandpa Village Head's house.
When Gu Lili arrived at the village head's house, only the village head's grandmother was cooking. As soon as she saw Gu Lili, she grabbed a kitchen knife and ran out.
"Lili, come and eat! The food will be ready soon!" The village headwoman called Gu Lili into the house while putting her kitchen knife behind her back and smiling a little embarrassedly.
Gu Lili quickly waved her hand, "No need, village head grandma, our family has finished cooking. I made some candy and brought some over for you to try. I can also borrow your scale for a day. I want to go to town tomorrow to see if I can sell it."
As Gu Lili spoke, she handed the sugar in the bowl to the village head's grandmother.
Grandma, the village head, didn't know what Gu Lili had given her. She just felt that the children had a hard life and she shouldn't accept things from them.
They refused repeatedly, saying, "Oh dear, you little rascal, do you need to give something in return just to borrow a scale? You should take it back and sell it. We can't accept it, we can't accept it."
Gu Lili smiled and said, "Grandma Village Head, please take it. It'll be good for us to taste it and see if we can make money from it."
Since Gu Lili needed to make her money legitimately, she naturally had to spread the word that she wanted to sell her things.
It just so happens that the village head is well-liked, and people like to chat with her wherever she goes. It's a good opportunity to spread the word through the village head's mouth.
When the time comes, no one will suspect anything if I want to build a house, buy land, or a horse-drawn carriage.
After hearing what Gu Lili said, the village head took Gu Lili's bowl, took a small piece, and tasted it.
"Oh my, it's so sweet, Lili! You're such a skillful girl. If you were to sell these, they would definitely sell well." The village head's eyes narrowed with sweetness.
Sugar in this era was also made from fermented grains, but it didn't taste as good as sugar made from fermented malt and glutinous rice.
And it's very expensive. She asked about it that day and found it was even more expensive than in Yandu, costing 100 wen per jin.
Gu Lili was certain of this, which is why she decided to sell maltose.
If the price were the same but the quality were much better, Gu Lili believed her candy would definitely become a hot commodity.
Gu Lili smiled and said, "Then I'll take your kind words!"
“Take the rest back and sell them; these things are expensive!” said the village headwoman.
When her family married Dazhu's wife, they bought a pound of the fruit specifically to entertain relatives and friends who came to the wedding.
They're all soaking in water, and when someone comes, they pour a bowl for them to drink.
Grandma, the village head, vividly remembers the price when she bought it.
Gu Lili's candy seems even sweeter than the ones I bought, so it can fetch an even better price.
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