Chapter 135
In an instant, the oranges turned red again.
While Lu Bo and the manager were arranging the men to pick oranges, Gu Ran took Pei Liu with the first few dozen kilograms of oranges he had picked and entered the newly built workshop that specialized in making orange candy.
In previous years, the oranges were sold out first, and then the orange jam and canned oranges were made. As for the dried tangerine peel, it was made after that.
In order to facilitate overall management and as the workshops are used seasonally, the workshops for making orange jam and canned oranges are divided into two areas although they are both located in the same place.
As for dried tangerine peel, since it can only be pickled after drying for more than a year, the time is staggered with the time for making tangerine jam and canned tangerines, so a special workshop was set up in the middle of the three drying platforms.
The place where orange candy is made is another newly built place.
Firstly, this is a new product conceived by Gu Ran, so naturally he has to try it first to see if it works. Secondly, orange marmalade, canned oranges, dried tangerine peel, and orange candy all have their own different production processes. Gu Ran makes money from these products, so naturally he has to pay attention to confidentiality.
Different workshops produce different products, which firstly reduces the possibility of product technology being leaked. Secondly, every year Yang Jinling hires two different groups of people to make orange jam and canned oranges, but the names of these two groups of people are registered and they are only responsible for one process, which reduces the risk of one person learning three processes. Finally, all the guys who work in the Gujia Gongju Workshop must sign a confidentiality agreement. If the news leaks out, they will have to pay double compensation. It also warns people who work not to casually disclose the skills learned in the orange grove to others.
Although other people who grow orange groves will probably learn from her over time, the longer it takes them to learn, the longer she can monopolize the market for this product. She can make a few more profits first, and then when other fruit farmers join the competition, she can compete on quality, quantity, and product diversification.
Orange candy is Gujia Gongju’s new product this year.
Whether making orange hard candy or orange soft candy, the production process is similar. The first step is to peel and core the orange, remove the white fibers, and then squeeze the juice.
If there is no juicer or processor, you can use a stone mill to grind out juice. There is a windmill in the orange grove, so Gu Ran directly uses the windmill mill to grind the orange juice, which can be used directly after filtering.
Then prepare the ingredients for making soft candies and hard candies respectively. White sugar - if you want the best quality, you can prepare camphor sugar. If it is medium-priced, you can just prepare white sugar. Starch, maltose, lemon juice - when you want to make orange candy with a sour and sweet taste, add it when the orange is too sweet. Tangerine peel - to increase the concentration of orange, and so on.
Then comes the cooking step. According to different recipes, add the above ingredients and orange juice together and cook. When it is cooked to a certain degree, you can move the pot, pour it into a mold and refrigerate it slightly.
Generally speaking, it takes longer to make hard candy than soft candy. Soft candy can be diced after refrigeration, but hard candy must be cut into small pieces before it is completely cooled and retains a certain degree of softness. Gu Ran has not yet found a small mold that can be used directly to hold hard candy, so he took them all to the cold storage room in the workshop.
When building this orange candy workshop, Gu Ran specifically asked Uncle Wu to build a sealed warehouse. It is now filled with ice cubes that she took out from the No. 10 space compartment. It is specially used to store ice and refrigerated goods. Next to the refrigerated warehouse is a small rest room, which will be used as an ice room. Not only can she cool down here, but she can also make some iced drinks and frozen foods at any time. Then she will have a source for using the ice cubes.
Whether it is soft candy or hard candy, just refrigerate it for about an hour.
Gu Ran took out the finished gummy candy, cut it into thumb-sized pieces, and then coated it with sugar. The crystal clear orange gummy candy was formed.
She tasted one herself and thought it tasted good, then took another one and handed it to Pei Liu.
"Sixth Lady, try it and see if it's sweet enough."
Gu Ran originally intended to let Pei Liu take it and eat it, but unexpectedly, when Pei Liu saw her handing over the candy, he bent down, opened and took the candy from her fingers and gently put it into his mouth.
Not only did the lips that were biting the candy touch her fingers, but the tip of the tongue that was stretched out to lick the candy also swept across her fingertips, bringing a burst of warmth.
A tingling sensation suddenly spread from her fingertips to her heart, making Gu Ran feel numb. She looked up at her, "Sixth Mother?" What's wrong with her?
"sweet."
Pei Liu slowly bit the candy in his mouth and looked at her calmly with a burning gaze.
Gu Ran felt only burned by that gaze, and quickly turned his head to pick up the cut and frosted candies. However, when he glanced at the hand that had just picked up the candies, his face flushed slightly.
Although she thought Liu Niang was very beautiful from the beginning, she became more and more amazing as she grew older. Even she almost fell in love with her stunning beauty!
Pei Liu looked at Gu Ran who was lowering his head to pack up the orange gummies, walked over, slowly bent down, raised his hand, and stretched out his hand as if to hug him.
Gu Ran felt a warm breath coming towards her. Just as she was about to turn around, she saw Liu Niang's long arm coming around her, as if to hug her. Startled, she had to look up at her: "Liu Niang?"
"It's delicious. I'll take another one."
Pei Liu continued to speak calmly, his eyes unchanged.
Gu Ran lowered his head and saw that the hand that seemed to be coming to hug him picked up a piece of candy and slowly retracted it.
She suddenly felt a little embarrassed and a little angry. What was she thinking?
"Well, it's delicious. You eat it first. I'll go get the hard candy." After saying this, Gu Ran fled.
Pei Liu tilted his head and quietly watched her slender figure slipping into the cold storage room. He was not disappointed, but smiled slightly and then threw the candy in his hand into his mouth.
Fortunately, Er Niang didn't seem to have no reaction to him!
In the cold storage room, Gu Ran covered his pounding heart and slapped his forehead: She is indeed a peerless beauty, her charm is irresistible!
What's wrong with her?
Could it be that I am also like others, completely obsessed with Liu Niang?
Even if you are addicted, you still have to have some self-control!
Gu Ran slowly regained his composure and took out the hard candy, feeling puzzled: I used to be immune to beautiful women, but lately, why do I find myself increasingly unable to look Liu Niang in the face?
It is clearly for pleasing the eyes, but I dare not even look at it. How can I keep it?
As more and more oranges were picked from the orange grove, people from Jianzhou Prefecture who came to receive the oranges to be sent to the palace in the capital also arrived at Dunzi Island on an official ship.
Even the first batch to mature was harvested later than other tributes shipped back to the capital.
Therefore, this batch of tribute oranges harvested on Dunzi Island will be the last batch of tribute for the southern government this year, and will be transported to the capital together with the tax grain paid for the autumn harvest.
Gu Ran, who received the news in advance, asked Lu Bo to transport the oranges prepared for the royal family from the warehouse early in the morning.
Select the best batch of oranges from the picked ones, and then select the ones of similar size and best skin from this batch, all of which look orange and plump.
After being inspected by officials who came to inspect and approve the goods and handed over the red-seal document, this batch of more than 3,000 kilograms of Gujia tribute oranges were loaded onto horse-drawn carriages in batches and transported to the Dunzi Island ferry.
Since reaching a cooperation agreement with Mr. Shen, and because the Shen family's villa is also on Dunzi Island, Gu Ran and the Shen family expanded the entrance and berth at the original ferry crossing.
Not only can it berth more ships, but it can also allow the Shen family's large ship to enter and dock here during non-shipping periods.
Fortunately, the port was expanded and built, which made it convenient for official ships to dock and for the first batch of Gujia tribute oranges to be transported onto the ship.
When the official ship took away the oranges, it also took away the first batch of orange candies made by Gu Ran and Pei Liu.
If the masters in the palace like it, the Gu family’s signature dish in the future will not only be tribute oranges, but also tribute candies.
The remaining sugars, except for some sample sugars, were left to Manager Xu and Xu Sanlang, who were the second group to come to the island to pick up the goods.
The Fusheng Trading Company in Damao City has already opened. With the help of the Qiao family, it has been running quite smoothly since its opening.
The Xu family transferred several experienced managers and bankers from the trading companies in the capital, and a caravan was also formed. Two cargo ships were also equipped for this purpose. One was to transport the goods collected in Damao City to the north and south, and the other was to transport the goods purchased from the north and south to the branch in Damao City for sale.
In this way, the goods sold by Fu Sheng in the capital and Jianzhou will include more local products and goods from around Huizhou.
Seeing that the business was running smoothly, Xu Sanlang returned to Jianzhou.
He also built the Fusheng Trading Company in Jianzhou, so naturally he had to come and take a look. Then he would take the last batch of goods before the New Year and transport them to the north, and then he could return to the capital to celebrate the New Year.
It happened to be the time when Manager Xu brought people to Gu Ran to collect the goods, so he brought the gifts that General Qiao asked him to help bring to Gu Ran and went to Dunzi Island together.
The master and servant ate the orange candy and looked happy: Although the weather is cold now, the oranges have a longer shelf life than ordinary fruits, but when they are first loaded on the ship for shipment, a lot of ice is still needed, and after arriving in the north, damage is inevitable.
If oranges could be made into fructose, they would have a long shelf life and would not easily spoil. Furthermore, "this orange candy is brightly colored and crystal clear, and it looks like it could be sold for a lot of money."
"That's right. If I were to sell this kind of fructose in a local shop, I'd estimate it would cost two hundred coins per pound."
This is in Jianzhou. Because Jianzhou produces a lot of sugar, the local sugar price is similar to the salt and rice prices, which is cheaper than other places. But if it is taken to the north to be sold, the price will be different. It all depends on how the merchant sells it.
"Mr. Gu, how many of these orange candies do you have on hand? I'll buy them all." Xu Sanlang waved his hand and said proudly.
"Not many. Apart from the oranges ordered by the government and your Fusheng, the rest are used to make orange candies. We have been busy making them these days, so we can only make about a hundred pounds." Gu Ran said, "It's a pity that there are not many oranges, and you have to hurry back to the north."
"It's nothing. Even in normal times, I think this orange candy will sell well. Please prepare a batch of this fructose for me next spring."
"I'll make this orange candy after I've finished making the marmalade and canned oranges that were ordered. I'm afraid I won't have enough oranges by then."
"Haven't hundreds more trees been transplanted?" Gu Ran asked him to help send a letter to Manager Xu in the capital to buy mature orange trees. Xu San already knew that more orange trees had been planted in the orange grove.
"Yes, I transplanted more, but ever since the reputation of the Gu family's tribute oranges spread, the late-ripening batch of oranges has almost all been reserved. Moreover, Mr. Shen's family, who live in the same village as me, also plans to buy a batch of oranges from me. They want both the oranges and a series of products. I'll have to see if the harvest is enough."
“How many acres of orange trees do you have now?”
"Nearly eighteen acres."
"That's too little. Your oranges are so good, why not plant a few dozen acres?" Xu Sanlang said, "This island is so big, you should plant at least 50 acres!"
"We'll take it one step at a time. Now that these orange trees are producing fruit stably, we'll consider expanding the planting further."
"Anyway, if you still want to buy fruit trees, ask Manager Xu to buy them for you."
As Xu Sanlang put down his teacup, he was about to call Manager Xu, but he saw Manager Xu outside directing the men to load the oranges into the truck. Pei Liuniang next to him was also moving things around, and she would glance at them from time to time.
Xu San originally went to see Manager Xu, but met the gaze of Pei Liuniang who glanced at him. He was stunned for a moment, then silently withdrew his gaze. Unsure, he looked back again and happened to see that Pei Liuniang was no longer looking at him, but at Gu Erniang who was drinking tea beside him.
He glanced at Gu Erniang again and saw her smiling at Pei Liuniang. He glanced back and saw Pei Liuniang squinting her eyes and smiling faintly in the autumn sun.
If people didn't know Pei Liuniang's identity, it would look like a handsome man secretly flirting with his beloved lady.
Xu Sanlang pinched the fan in his hand and fanned it slowly: "Gu Erniang?"
"Um?"
Xu Sanlang moved closer to Gu Ran and saw Pei Liuniang carrying a basket of oranges to the carriage. He then asked in a low voice, "Do you think there's something wrong with Pei Liuniang?"
"Yeah." Gu Ran was about to nod, but after hearing Xu Sanlang's words clearly, he glanced at him suddenly: "What do you mean?"
"I..." Xu Sanlang fanned himself, wanting to speak frankly, but he hesitated for a moment, so he coughed dryly, "I told you, don't tell anyone else? Especially that Pei Liuniang?"
"What's so secretive?"
"You better be careful. I suspect..." Xu Sanlang glanced at Pei Liuniang who was busy outside and said in a low voice, "I suspect Pei Liuniang has a hobby of polishing mirrors!"
Gu Ran was holding a teacup and bringing it to his mouth. When he heard Xu Sanlang talking about the benefits of mirror polishing, he was so scared that he almost dropped the teacup in his hand. He hurriedly put the teacup on the table and looked at Xu Sanlang angrily, "Xu Sanlang, what kind of indecent things are you talking about?"
"I'm reminding you just for the sake of being serious. Didn't you notice that Pei Liuniang's eyes were looking at you in a strange way?" Xu Sanlang clicked his tongue.
It's no wonder that Pei Liuniang dressed like a man, otherwise, her expression would have allowed others to see something was wrong.
"impossible."
"Then you should pay attention to it in the future." Xu Sanlang said, waving his fan. "I am telling you this out of kindness because of our long-term cooperation."
Gu Ran glared at Xu Sanlang, wiped his hands that were wet with tea with a huff, and thought about Pei Liuniang's recent words and deeds, and was stunned: No way?
In the yard, because of his great strength, he helped to load the oranges onto the carriage. From time to time, he glanced at Gu Ran and Xu Sanlang who were sitting in the courtyard drinking tea. Seeing that the two seemed to be arguing, he frowned.
"Hey, Liu Niang, thank you so much for your help."
Manager Xu, who was standing by, watched as Juguo quickly moved everything, and gave Pei Liu a grateful smile. He then looked over at her as she looked at the young master and Gu Erniang in the yard.
"What are they arguing about?" Pei Liu seemed to be talking to himself, but also seemed to be asking Manager Xu.
"Our young master has a good temper, how could he quarrel?" Manager Xu shook his head in disbelief.
"But, Second Mother is unhappy." Pei Liu was dissatisfied when he noticed Gu Ran's angry expression.
Hearing that Second Lady Gu was unhappy, Manager Xu suddenly remembered something. "Oh, maybe it's because the person that Boss Gu asked our firm to look for hasn't been found yet. It's no wonder. There are so few clues, and it's hard to find her in a short time. Just like you, Sixth Lady, you've been looking for Sister for over two years. We've been to so many orange orchards, but we haven't run into anyone who has seen her before."
Pei Liu glanced at Manager Xu and asked, "Second Mother asked you to find someone?"
"Yes." Manager Xu nodded and asked, "By the way, Sixth Lady, haven't you looked for the women working on your island? Maybe your sister is also working in the Gu family's orange grove?"
"I've looked, but I can't find anyone." Pei Liu shook his head and asked again, "Who is Er Niang looking for?"
"Aha, it's a young man who was exiled from the capital to Jianzhou." Manager Xu replied.
My husband?
Pei Liu's face darkened. What kind of husband was Er Niang looking for?
Or is he an exile, exiled here from the capital like her?
So they met in the capital before the Qin family got into trouble?
"What kind of man?" Pei Liu asked patiently.
"Didn't Mr. Gu tell you?" Manager Xu was a little surprised.
"I've been busy lately and haven't had time to ask." Pei Liu's face darkened. "Manager Xu, please tell me so I can help Second Mother find someone."
"Hey, it's said that there's a young man named Lu, Lu Yilin, about fifteen to eighteen years old, from a family of officials in the capital. Because his father got into trouble, he was exiled to Minzhou. Their family..."
Pei Liu's body suddenly stiffened, his ugly face turning pale. After a long moment, he blinked and slowly looked at Manager Xu: "Tell me, what's the name of the man that Second Lady is looking for?"
"Lu Yilin!"
Pei Liu's mind seemed to be struck by thunder, and everything went blank. He turned his head with difficulty and looked towards the other end of the courtyard again, his eyes falling on Gu Ran.
When his consciousness returned, many fragments flashed through his mind, and he pieced them together bit by bit. He breathed a sigh of relief and asked softly, "When did Second Mother ask you to find this Lu Yilin?"
"A few months ago, not long after you returned to Jianzhou, Mr. Gu asked me to pay for the orange trees he had ordered."
"Besides the name and family background, are there any other clues?"
"Ah, yes, there is a pattern of a jade pendant..." Manager Xu felt around his body, took out the last jade pendant pattern he had kept, and handed it to Pei Liu.
When Pei Liu took it, his hands were shaking slightly.
He carefully uncovered the pattern and his eyes fell on the jade pendant in the middle. He stared at it for a long time, his expression gradually brightening and his eyes lit up.
"Sixth Lady?"
Manager Xu saw that Pei Liuniang looked a little strange. She had been looking at the blueprint for so long that she felt a little uneasy.
Pei Liu came back to his senses and looked at Manager Xu.
"Are you okay?" Manager Xu sighed and asked.
Pei Liu smiled and handed the blueprint to Manager Xu: "It's okay!"
It was the first time that Manager Xu saw Pei Liuniang smile when he looked her in the eye.
But seeing her smile, as bright as a lotus, Manager Xu was stunned and almost forgot to breathe. He took the drawings in a daze and watched Pei Liuniang turn and leave before he slowly came to his senses!
Oh my, it's true. When they heard that the orange grove was being used to pick fruits, many shop assistants rushed to come, just to catch a glimpse of the Sixth Lady of the Pei family from afar. If she hadn't been dressed as a lady, who knows how many bees and butterflies would have been attracted to her.
Just, that smile just now almost took away the old man's soul!
No, no, from now on, you have to stay away from Pei Liuniang, so as to avoid...
"Have all the oranges been loaded?"
"It's all installed, Saburo-kun."
"What about the orange candy?"
"Don't worry, the 136 kilograms of orange candies given by Mr. Gu have all been packed and sealed."
"That'll do."
Xu Sanlang turned around and saw Gu Ran walking out of the courtyard gate to see him off. Pei Liuniang had already walked to her side, following closely. She glanced at Gu Erniang meaningfully, saluted, and left with her fan in hand.
Now that things have come to this, it’s up to her whether she believes it or not, whether she is on guard or not.
Gu Ran watched the Fusheng Trading Company's convoy leave. He was shocked and suspicious about what Xu San had just said. When he saw Pei Liuniang coming over and standing beside him, he felt uncomfortable for no reason.
Fortunately, after Uncle Lu gave instructions to the manager in charge of counting and shipping goods, he brought the registration list of goods that had just been shipped and the silver for her to review. She took a few quick steps, moving a little further away from Pei Liuniang, and then took the shipping record handed to her by Uncle Lu to look at it.
But she always felt that there was a pair of eyes behind her, falling on her.
Maybe it was because of the illusion he had after hearing Xu San's words, Gu Ran actually thought that the gaze that he usually felt nothing about was now burning hot.
Tsk!
"Boss, this is all I have to sell to Fusheng Commercial Bank today. Could you please count the silver and see if it's correct?"
When he picked up the heavy box, he noticed Pei Liuniang coming up from behind him.
Gu Ran subconsciously twisted his neck.
"Second Mother, the silver is heavy, I'll do it!" Pei Liu had already snatched the box of silver from Gu Ran's hand as he spoke. "To the accounting office?"
Gu Ran looked at Pei Liuniang, who was smiling, and nodded.
In the accounting office, Pei Liu suppressed his joy and carefully took out the silver ingots from the box and placed them on the table.
Gu Ran looked at Pei Liuniang who was working seriously, and at one moment he thought she was pretty, and at another moment he thought she was scary.
Xu San is really a piece of shit, he only knows how to talk nonsense to scare people!
Perhaps it was just because Liu Niang was tortured so badly by the number one thief in the world and escaped from the devil's cave that she met such a kind-hearted sister. She had been so good to her over the years and no one else was close to her except herself, so she developed admiration for herself.
That’s right, this is called the suspension bridge effect!
Liu Niang is grateful to the sisters who saved her from suffering, and she has deeper feelings for herself. What's wrong with that?
Even if Liu Niang is too dependent on me, everything will be healed when she gets married or finds her own husband in the future.
Well, yes, that must be it.
Gu Ran nodded secretly.
"Second mother?"
Gu Ran heard Pei Liu calling out, came to his senses, and looked towards her.
Pei Liu met her gaze and smiled unusually gently: "The money is all here, Second Mother, you can count it!"
Gu Ran was dazzled by the beautiful smile. She nodded and stretched out her hand to count the silver. Pei Liu also stretched out his hand. Her fingers touched a pair of broad and warm palms, and she shrank back as if she had been electrocuted.
"This is the middle. Should we count from the beginning or the end?"
Gu Ran didn't hear Pei Liu's words clearly. He just felt dizzy, his heart beat faster, and suddenly turned around.
"Second mother?"
"I, I'm going to find Lin Er first to explain some things!" Gu Ran held his forehead and walked out quickly.
She, she would never...
It’s over, it’s all Xu San’s fault for talking too much!
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