Chapter 78
Gu Ran stopped the donkey cart and his eyes fell on the thriving betel leaves.
The leaves facing the sun are rich green, and the semi-cylindrical fruit cluster standing in the middle is filled with small berries tightly packed together.
Betel leaf, a herbaceous plant of the Piperaceae family, tastes sweet and spicy.
Because she doesn't like spicy food very much, and if she wants to eat spicy food, she can just go to the sauce store and buy some chili peppers. She doesn't eat much normally, so she rarely uses betel leaves as an ingredient.
When I cook, I only occasionally pick betel leaves to remove fishy smell and enhance flavor, and use them as ginger slices.
But Gu Ran knew that according to the rumors in his first life, there was a unique sauce in ancient times that was made from betel leaves and was called konjac sauce.
It is said that konjac sauce from the south is shipped to the north and sold for five hundred taels of silver per jar.
It's a rare commodity.
But Gu Ran also understood the reason.
Because in the current prosperous dynasty, pepper is still a rare spice and its price is higher than gold.
Betel leaves, also in the Piperaceae family, might have been able to compete with pepper in value, but because not many people knew about it at the time, it was naturally rare.
How could Gu Ran not be jealous of such a profitable sauce?
She immediately went back home and pondered the betel leaves that had climbed up the wall. She picked up a tender leaf, wiped it, put it in her mouth and chewed it, while thinking about how to make this precious betel leaf into a sauce.
Gu Ran knew from the original owner's memory that peppers were not yet widely cultivated in the Great Sheng Dynasty, and most of the peppers used to make chili sauce were from Cornus officinalis. Therefore, she had imagined that this konjac sauce was so precious, and besides its value, it was probably because of its spiciness.
However, konjac sauce was introduced to the north from the south, and people in the south generally do not like spicy food. Therefore, Gu Ran thought that although konjac sauce is spicy, it cannot be described simply by the word "spicy".
If it’s too spicy, people in the south can’t get used to it; if it’s not spicy, people in the north don’t like it.
So konjac sauce may be a slightly spicy condiment.
The betel leaves she was chewing tasted the same way.
There is a hint of sweetness in the spiciness, which is a bit like a very mild sweet and spicy sauce.
Sweet and spicy sauce.
Gu Ran's eyes lit up.
That’s right, when making konjac sauce, you should make it sweet and spicy, or spicy and slightly sweet.
As for whether it is too sweet or too spicy, when making the sauce, just add more sweet or spicy ingredients to balance it. At worst, you can make two flavors and let Xu San try them to see which one he prefers.
Gu Ran rubbed his hands, and couldn't wait to pluck the large piece of betel leaves and berries in front of him, and then quickly try to make the sauce he had imagined.
Obsessed with this, Gu Ran spent every day hanging around the kitchen and the fields behind the house. By the middle of the month, she had finally prepared two kinds of konjac sauce with different degrees of spiciness, which she brought along with the red mushrooms she had picked to Xu San, the steward of the Xu family.
This time, she didn't sell many red mushrooms to Xu San. Since she was not short of money, she naturally kept more of these nutritious red mushrooms for herself, so she only made twenty taels of silver.
The steward was still quite dissatisfied, but then Gu Ran smiled and presented the steward with the two small jars of konjac sauce.
They are really two small cans, weighing only three or four ounces.
The reason why konjac sauce is expensive is, firstly, its uniqueness, and secondly, its rarity.
If it is a commonly seen sauce with large portions, it certainly cannot be sold at such a high price as rumored.
Besides, if Konjac was really sold at such a high price as rumored, it would probably be a luxury item that only the most powerful and wealthy families could afford.
So no matter how much konjac sauce Gu Ran made, she couldn't sell it out in large quantities. Otherwise, how could she highlight the rarity and high value of konjac sauce?
So she specially bought this kind of small jar, which is the size of a porcelain jar that girls use to store rouge and powder. It looks like the jars and pots she puts in the workshop to store jam, blank and without any pattern, just waiting to get the effect that looks ordinary but is actually amazing.
"This is the sauce I specially collected for your husband. It is extremely rare and precious. You must make sure to deliver these two jars of konjac sauce to your husband." Before leaving, Gu Ran gave Manager Xu many instructions.
This is related to whether you can make a lot of money, so it is never too much to be careful.
"Don't worry, Madam Gu, I will personally deliver this sauce to my husband."
Manager Xu has been with Xu San since he was exiled. Gu Ran did business with Xu San several times, and he followed them. He knew that both Gu Ran and Xu San were doing valuable business.
Not to mention anything else, just looking at the red mushrooms she sent, he had to report this matter to Xu San. It might be another big deal.
Sure enough, Xu San and Mr. Xu - Mr. Xu had not left yet. They were waiting for the large merchant ship to be fully loaded with cargo and then set off to return to the capital at the end of the month.
After Xu's father and son tasted the konjac sauce, Xu San immediately went to Xiaxi Village to find Gu Erniang.
As soon as Gu Ran saw Xu San coming to his door with his manager and servants, he knew that this business was secure.
"Second Mother Gu, Second Mother Gu, I, Xu San, thought you were good at collecting wild produce, but I never imagined you'd have such a delicious sauce!" Xu San was not shy. As soon as they met, they sat down at the small table in the courtyard of the small house and got straight to the point. "Which local family did you ask to make this? I'll take whatever you have."
"Xu San, you guessed wrong. This konjac sauce was made by me."
"You made it?" Xu Sanlang was startled. Seeing that Gu Erniang didn't seem to be lying, he was still skeptical. "You can actually make sauces?"
"Of course, after being exiled to Jianzhou, I have to do everything myself. I go to the kitchen more often, so naturally I know a thing or two about sauces. What's more..." Gu Ran smiled and served tea to Xu Sanlang: "Xu San, you know where I come from, right?"
Xu Sanlang was just about to pick up the teacup to drink, but after hearing what Gu Ran said, he couldn't help but look up at her again.
How could I not know?
The fake daughter raised in the boudoir by the Marquis's Mansion, the former fourth wife of Prime Minister Qin's Mansion, a tough character who could not be provoked during exile, and now, a hunter who dared to enter the miasma forest alone.
"After all, you were once a noble lady raised in the care of an aristocratic family. You've seen all sorts of rare things in that mansion, so naturally, you know more than the ladies of ordinary families." Gu Ran slowly explained to Xu Sanlang, "This konjac sauce is not difficult to make as long as you know the recipe. A few days ago, I was away from the south and disdained to do these culinary things. Now that I live here, I happen to see the ingredients that can be used to make konjac sauce, so naturally, I can make it too."
"You have seen the secret recipe of this sauce in the Marquis' Mansion?" Xu San was surprised.
Gu Ran nodded calmly, "This is called Konjac Sauce. Now that you've tasted it, Xu San, I think you have an idea of whether it can be sold in the north."
Xu San said nothing, but was thinking quickly in his mind.
In other words, the konjac sauce made by Gu Er Niang must be a rare thing known to the powerful and wealthy, so the price must be very high. Moreover, the taste is one degree less spicy than that of dogwood, and two degrees more sweet than that of dogwood. After the spiciness wears off, the aftertaste is endless. I wonder what kind of ingredients can produce such a taste. Could it be, like the red mushroom, a mountain product found after going deep into the miasma forest?
"How many do you have?"
"The ingredients for konjac sauce are hard to come by, and the method of making it requires a lot of skill. I spent a lot of spices and effort, but I only made ten jars."
As he spoke, Gu Ran brought out a jar of konjac sauce.
As soon as Xu San saw the equally ordinary white jar, his eyes lit up.
The jar was not big, about the size of a fist.
"Well, how much are you willing to offer, Xu Sanlang?"
"Then what does Second Lady Gu think this jar of konjac sauce is worth?"
Of course, Gu Ran couldn't ask for a high price, so he just said that he wanted to sell a jar for five hundred taels.
The asking price of five hundred taels was the asking price after the merchants transported it to the north, not to mention that this price was probably inflated. She is now in the place where konjac is produced, so no matter how high the price is, it won't be sold for much, so let's give her a discount!
"How about fifty taels?"
"Fifty taels in total." Xu San made the final decision.
"No, one jar costs fifty taels."
Xu San was stunned, and the steward and the servants sitting next to him widened their eyes.
What sauce is so expensive?
How dare you bid fifty taels for such a small jar?
"Mrs. Gu, I know your konjac sauce is rare, and I admit it's very good, but fifty taels for a jar is out of the question." Xu San shook his head firmly. "If you want to make this business work, show some sincerity."
"I'm offering this price to you, Mr. Xu San, out of sincerity. You know, this konjac sauce can be sold for five hundred taels in the capital."
"Five hundred taels?"
Xu San and the manager both gasped.
Gu Ran nodded. No matter whether it was true or not, he would first raise a big banner and lie if he could.
Xu San laughed and clapped his fan, "Gu Erniang, if that's the case, I'm afraid this business is no longer for me. You should find someone else!"
"I also heard from others that this konjac sauce is really worth the price."
"I believe that Second Lady Gu lived a life of luxury in the Marquis' Mansion, and she must have heard of this konjac sauce. So, may I ask, Second Lady Gu, is the jar of konjac sauce worth five hundred taels the same size as the one you prepared? Does the konjac sauce worth five hundred taels taste exactly like the one you made yourself? Also, where and from whom did you hear of this konjac sauce? Which powerful families in the capital have enjoyed it?"
Gu Ran was speechless for a moment after being questioned by Xu San.
Tsk, it seems that Xu San is not easy to fool!
"Then Xu San, if you really want to buy it, how much money are you willing to give me?"
"How much of this konjac sauce can you make in a year?"
"It took me half a year to make just ten jars!" Gu Ran said with difficulty, "This ingredient is very rare, just like red mushrooms. You have to go into the miasma forest to pick it, which is not easy. It's even rarer than red mushrooms, and there is only one crop a year, so I can only make ten jars!"
Xu Sanlang looked at Gu Ran, then at the jar of konjac sauce. After a long pause, he said, "Since it's fifty taels and Gu Erniang thinks it's too little, I can only offer ten more taels."
So, sixty taels?
Gu Ran was a little reluctant. This was a bit low compared to her expectations, and she wanted to bargain: "Xu Sanna, you..."
"Second Lady Gu, it's not that I don't want to pay a high price, but I don't know if this konjac sauce will be as popular with the powerful and noble families in the north as you said. I'm also taking the risk. If it sells well, I'll come back to buy from you and raise the price. But if it doesn't sell and I lose money, then this is a one-time deal."
"Sixty taels. If you're willing to sell, I'll buy all ten jars of konjac sauce. If you're not willing, I, Xu San, will have to give up on this deal."
Xu San said bluntly, "Gu Erniang, I've done business with you for many years, and have never offered you an unfair price."
That’s true.
Gu Ran looked at Xu San, then at the jar he had brought out. "Well, alright, considering our always pleasant cooperation, I'll sell it to you for sixty taels."
Xu Sanlang laughed and gave the steward a look, and the steward went to take out the silver.
Gu Ran asked the maid to follow her into the kitchen and help her take out the other nine jars of konjac sauce that had been prepared earlier.
While they were busy, Xu Sanlang sipped his tea and looked around the courtyard. His eyes fell on the various dried goods drying at the sun. He put down his teacup with great interest, stood up, walked over to take a look, and then caught a glimpse of the red tangerine tree beside it.
"Mrs. Gu, are you also growing orange trees?"
"Ah, when I first settled down here, I saw someone selling one, so I bought one and started growing it. Isn't it beautiful?"
"That's right." Xu San casually pinched the orange leaves and added, "I also signed a big deal with the Liu family from Donglin Township, the village next door to yours."
"You ordered oranges from him for this autumn, right?"
"Well, you know?"
"Of course, I met Mr. Liu when I went to your house in the capital for a feast."
"Oh, you also know Liu Dongjia?"
"I worked in his orange orchard last year, picking oranges."
"Their lucky oranges are famous throughout Jianzhou. They're said to be tribute oranges. If you don't reserve them early and pay a lot of money, you won't be able to buy them. The Liu family's orange trees are in full bloom this year, so they're expected to produce a lot of fruit."
Xu Sanlang walked around the courtyard, looking around, and soon found the cat's nest.
He bent down and looked, but didn't see a cat.
Of course, when Xu Sanlang brought people to knock on the door, Daju, who was afraid of strangers, took the three little ones and hid in Gu Ran's dormitory.
"You also have a raccoon slave?"
"Yes! She just gave birth to three puppies!"
Xu Sanlang smiled, stood up, narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at the tidy little house, and sat down at the original coffee table again.
"By the way, didn't you say that Pei Liuniang lived with you?"
"..., yes, but she wasn't originally from Xiaxi Village. She settled in another village. She's been out on business recently and isn't here. Why, do you want to see her?"
"That's not necessary."
Xu Sanlang looked at the flowers planted in an orderly manner in the sunlight-dappled courtyard. They were simple and elegant, and he felt a rare sense of peace despite having hurried here.
Seeing that the servants had moved out the konjac sauce and put it away, the steward handed the sixty-liang silver ingot to Gu Er Niang and slowly stood up to say goodbye.
"Mr. Xu San, take care. If you find a good job in the future, I will look for you again." Gu Ran politely escorted the people out of the cottage, watched them get on the carriage, and waved goodbye.
Xu Sancai was about to get on the carriage when he heard Gu Ran's words. He turned around and glanced at her. Seeing her smiling happily in front of the cottage, he smiled back and said "OK" before getting into the carriage.
Inside the carriage, the steward looked at the ten jars of konjac placed neatly across from him and shook his head repeatedly, "Ah, Sanlang Jun, this Gu Erniang never speaks a word of truth. If it weren't for you, someone else would have been deceived by her. Fifty taels a jar, how can you eat gold?"
Xu San laughed and patted his knees lightly with his fan: "This Gu Erniang is really interesting."
"Interesting?" The manager was surprised.
"He's a capable man."
The steward agreed that Gu Erniang was capable. "Yes, she seems to be a woman of character. When I heard she was divorcing the young master of the Qin family, I thought she was short-sighted and worried that her future would be ruined. Who would have thought she would survive all alone in Xiaxi Village? Look at her house today, wow! She has the courage to enter the miasma forest and has made one deal after another with you, my lord. How can an ordinary lady compare to her?"
"Hmm!" Xu San opened the fan with a snap, fanned it slowly, and smiled slightly.
In the small house, Gu Ran, who had just earned sixty taels of silver, smiled and took the silver out of the box and placed it on the table: "One ingot, two ingots, three ingots..."
The six silver ingots sparkled in the sunlight, so bright that Gu Ran couldn't help but squint his eyes.
ha!
Sixty taels.
Although it was far from the amount of money she had imagined she would earn, sixty taels was still a huge profit. It all belonged to her, and she didn't need to split it in half with anyone!
Gu Ran admired them with a smile for a long time before he picked up the silver ingots one by one and put them into the box. He closed it with a click and put it into the workshop.
Her valuables, such as land deeds, house deeds, etc., along with all the money she earned, were kept in the drawer of the desk in the workshop. No one could find them, so they were safe and easy for her to take.
Entering the workshop, she counted the fortune she had saved up over the past few days: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven...
Very good, the silver she has saved now is more than one hundred taels.
The previous earnings plus the profits from selling mountain deer not long ago, plus the profits from the He family's selling of roasted grass jelly in the past few months, all added up to more than one hundred and forty taels of silver.
Gu Ran couldn't help but feel excited.
Having been in Dasheng Dynasty for more than a year, he has saved such a huge sum of money. It is not something that everyone can do easily.
It seems to me that I am quite capable.
Gu Ran narrowed his eyes and smiled, touched the small bag and looked at his entire fortune for a long time, then put the one hundred taels away carefully and placed it together with the gold leaf, treating it as his permanent assets.
The remaining forty taels should be enough for me to spend for two years!
From now on, I won’t have to risk my life so often to go to Lantau Forest.
After putting the money away, Gu Ran was so happy that she turned around and called out to her room, "Daju, Xiaoju, Xiaohua, Xiaohei, grandma is going to make some fish for you, do you want some?"
Daju's voice came from the side room.
"Big Orange, Big Orange?"
After a while, the big orange furry head popped out from the door, looked around, sniffed, and meowed.
"Come out, my dear little orange girl, hurry up and call my grandchildren out."
Perhaps because it didn't smell the scent of a stranger, the big orange cat jumped out of the room and walked along the corridor. Its drooping tail gradually stood up and wagged slowly. It walked to Gu Ran and rubbed against him.
Gu Ran immediately picked up Daju and rubbed him vigorously with both hands: "Coward!"
In the wing room, the three little ones who had not returned after their mother left also poked their heads out. Seeing their mother on the other side, they also jumped out with a meow, and crawled to Gu Ran's side, rubbing against his feet.
"Okay, stop acting like a spoiled brat. Grandma will make you something delicious now."
After making delicious cat food for Daju's family, of course I have to make a delicious meal for myself. I feel so proud of myself for being able to save such a large sum of money in such a short period of time. I have to reward myself well.
So Gu Ran looked at the small warehouse and the inventory in the space. The weather was so hot, so he decided to make some ice rice to cool off.
Iced rice naturally requires ice first.
Gu Ran used a lot of ice in space grid No. 10 last year, but it didn't matter, because the temperature of that space grid was kept at minus ten degrees Celsius. She could move water in at any time. Relying on the low temperature and the large amount of remaining ice in the space grid, the water could be turned into ice in a short time.
And for her own enjoyment, she also prepared some clean edible ice.
It is just at this time that you can use it to make delicious food.
The rice used to make ice rice can be ordinary white glutinous rice or black glutinous rice. Gu Ran only has white glutinous rice on hand at the moment, so he steamed the glutinous rice first, steaming it thoroughly and dry it a little, so that it will have a harder and chewier texture when eaten.
While steaming the glutinous rice, wash some red beans and soybeans and cook them together. Cook them until they are soft and sticky, and they will taste better when served cold.
Now that everything that needs to be cooked has been cooked, it’s time to prepare the rock sugar water.
Put rock sugar into the pot and melt it, then add a little honey, stir it, and pour in ice water. She should have added some banana essence, but she didn't have it. In her early life, when she made ice rice, when she didn't add banana essence, she would think of adding some condensed milk or milk tea. Now she just waited a while and added a little of the stored milk, which also gave it a different flavor.
After the rock sugar water is prepared, prepare some other ingredients.
The ingredients of ice rice are generally added according to your own preferences, such as taro balls, grass jelly, peanuts, peach kernels, coconut flakes, etc., but more often they are fruits cut into pieces: watermelon, dragon fruit, mango, strawberry, anyway, it depends on what you want to eat or what you have on hand.
The main ingredient of ice rice is watermelon. In the south of the Great Sheng Dynasty, watermelon is an expensive commodity and very rare. She has been looking for it for a long time but couldn't find it, so she hasn't been able to eat it until now. Not to mention dragon fruit, it hasn't been delivered yet!
There are mangoes, but they are very expensive. She gritted her teeth and bought some, but she couldn't bear to eat them. It seems that she can reward herself with one today.
Fortunately, other fruits are cheap.
Of course, you can cut the lychees you bought a while ago into small pieces and add them in. Then you can add the yellow apricots, and then add some taro balls, grass jelly and konjac. I think the ingredients will be enough.
After the fruit ingredients are cut, you can take some edible ice, crush it, crush it into crushed smoothie, and mix it directly into the rock sugar water.
After the glutinous rice is steamed, put it into a large bowl with the boiled red beans and soybeans, then add some peanuts, peach kernels and other dried fruits, top it with the fruit pieces of your choice, and finally pour in the prepared rock sugar water. A colorful ice rice is ready!
The main feature is the richness of ingredients.
For those who suffer from the bitter summer heat, the ice rice looks tempting in color and tastes cool and refreshing, which is naturally a very appetizing choice.
While Gu Ran was eating the ice rice with relish in the corridor, Daju's family was also eating cat food beside her and snoring.
Gu Ran took a bite of the ice rice and looked at the cute furry ball, feeling so comfortable in his heart.
When Big Orange, Little Orange and Little Black finished their meals and washed their faces and ate their paws, Little Flower was still the only cat concentrating on eating.
Gu Ran took a look at the little fur ball and couldn't help but think of her grandma.
Tsk, I don’t know. Where is the person who said he would take a vacation for up to half a month now?
Then he remembered the time he got hurt when he picked her up from the trap.
Could something have happened and he couldn’t make it back?
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