Chapter 75 When did milk and sugar become so highly contested...?
Previously, I only thought that people around Xiuning County liked sour and spicy food.
But after opening the dessert shop, Guo Baiwen carefully checked the accounts and discovered that desserts were just as popular as spicy and sour ones.
Although the raw materials for desserts are more expensive than those for hot pot, the shop's monthly revenue is not higher than that of hot pot.
But the number of walk-in customers coming to the store every day has increased significantly.
Even if it's just a few coins to buy some to take home and try, the special flavor of their sweets and pastries spread far and wide throughout the west of the city.
On this day, Guo Baiwen, as usual, took his ten-day break and went to a nearby village to buy raw materials in a rented oxcart.
Because the quantity of milk powder is limited, he would also buy some fresh goat milk and cow milk every month to make dried milk, then grind it into milk powder and mix it with the milk powder provided by the system.
This combination of textures actually makes the milk date taste even more unique.
In addition to cane sugar, in order to prevent the pure sugar flavor of his own desserts from being too obvious, he would also buy some high-quality cane sugar and mix it together.
The large pile of things he bought, even when mixed with the things he took out of the warehouse, wouldn't look out of place when stacked on the oxcart.
Every ten days, as was his habit, Guo Baiwen would go to the owner of the oxcart rental shop. When the owner saw him approaching from afar, he would greet him with a beaming smile: "Brother Guo, you've come so early today?"
"Good morning, Mr. Zhou! Have you had breakfast yet?"
"We've eaten, we've eaten. We knew you'd be coming today, so as always, the oxcart and the driver are already waiting."
Hearing what Boss Zhou said, Guo Baiwen felt somewhat helpless.
He had actually considered buying an oxcart or a donkey to save himself the trouble of renting one every day.
Unfortunately, whether it was a cow or a donkey, whether he coaxed them with food or threatened them with a whip, they didn't seem to obey his commands.
He had tried renting a car without hiring a driver before, but that prevented him from even getting out of the city gate.
Fortunately, the owner of this carriage company, Mr. Zhou, was an honest man. The cost of renting a carriage and a driver was not too expensive each time. After he went back and carefully calculated, he realized that he only needed to rent a whole carriage three times a month.
Although the price was about the same as buying livestock directly and feeding it fodder every month, the coachman's skills were much better than his.
"I'm really sorry to trouble you again, Mr. Zhou." He said as he handed over the deposit for today's car rental.
Boss Zhou didn't open it to count the contents; he simply picked up the bag and weighed it in his hand, roughly estimating the exact number inside. His smile remained unchanged. "Look at you! What are you saying!"
"Still in the same old spot!"
After thanking Boss Zhou, Guo Baiwen went to the same spot he had been sitting in.
Sure enough, he found Mr. Lin sitting in front of the car, eating a pancake while waiting for him.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Master Lin, the oxcart headed out of town along the usual route.
Guo Baiwen didn't need to buy much this time, and he originally estimated that he should be able to go back by noon.
I'll have some free time this afternoon to practice calligraphy at home, following the new calligraphy model that Master Guo has provided for me.
That was his original thought, but when he visited several familiar farms, he found that all the milk had been sold out.
Left with no other option, Guo Baiwen had to settle for second best and prepare to buy some goat milk to take home.
Goat milk has a stronger flavor than cow milk, so it needs to go through several additional deodorizing processes before it can be made into dried milk.
But you don't know until you ask, and when you do ask, you find that there's no goat milk left.
Guo Baiwen was completely baffled. He couldn't understand why cow's milk and sheep's milk had become so sought-after.
There was no other way but to go to even more remote villages to ask.
As a result of this trip, all the goat milk and cow milk within a 30-mile radius were sold out—not only that, but even cane sugar, which was not difficult to buy in the past, was gone.
Seeing their regular customer Guo Baiwen arrive, the milk and sugar sellers felt a little embarrassed. They explained that a day earlier, someone from the city had come and said he needed the goods urgently, so he had paid extra to buy them all.
If Guo Baiwen is in a hurry, he will have to go to a place further away to buy it.
There was no other way; the originally planned route had to be extended further and further.
Finally, after much difficulty, I managed to buy the goods more than 40 miles away from the county town. However, because I was a newcomer, the raw materials I bought this time were more expensive than those I had bought before.
The quantity is also insufficient.
On the way back to the city, not only Guo Baiwen, but even the oxen pulling the cart had to rest twice.
By the time we got back to the city, it was almost dark.
Mr. Zhou, the owner of the carriage shop, had been waiting at the door for a long time. When he saw him finally return, he breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly asked, "Brother Guo, why did you take so long today?"
It wouldn't have mattered if he hadn't asked, but once he did, Guo Baiwen himself was completely baffled and couldn't figure it out.
When did milk and sugar become so sought-after?
Boss Zhou has many people coming and going, and his information might be more up-to-date than his own, so he simply asked Boss Zhou if any wealthy family in the county was hosting a banquet.
Otherwise, how come all the sugar and milk within a 30-mile radius have been sold out?
Upon hearing this, Boss Zhou pondered for a long time.
After a long pause, he slowly shook his head and said, "I have never heard of such news."
If a wealthy family were to host a lavish banquet, many people would come to inquire about the carriages or drivers in his carriage company.
But these past few days, just like usual, haven't seen any major ups and downs.
Unable to get any answers, Guo Baiwen could only suppress his doubts and pay the extra rent to Boss Zhou and the oxcart driver before heading back to his shop with a pile of things.
Guo Xiaohua had been waiting at the back gate of the yard for a long time. When she finally heard someone knocking, she hurriedly took off the door bolt and saw Guo Baiwen outside. She couldn't help but ask, "Why are you back so late today?"
Grandma asked me several questions while I was eating, worried that something might have happened on the way.
Fortunately, although he returned a little late, his arms and legs were fine.
Guo Baiwen had been carrying a lot of things and had walked for a long time. He hadn't even had dinner yet, and he was completely exhausted.
He didn't have time to answer Guo Xiaohua's question, and just handed over the things, saying, "Let's move the things inside first."
When he was finally able to sit down and rest, Guo Baiwen ate three bowls of rice in one go.
She even drank two bowls of soup.
It wasn't until I put down my chopsticks that I felt like I had finally come back to life.
After finishing his meal, he sat on a low stool under the eaves and took off the straw sandals he had been wearing that day.
Sure enough, two large blisters appeared on the soles of my feet and the tips of my toes at some point.
He was holding the lampstand up to himself and looking at it.
Grandma Guo came over at some point and saw it, exclaiming, "Oh dear, how come there are two such big blisters?"
Worried that it would affect Wenzai's walking in the next few days, they insisted on getting an embroidery needle to pop the blister.
Guo Baiwen was both amused and exasperated upon hearing this. He tried to dissuade him a few times, but found that he couldn't persuade him otherwise.
I could only say that I would do it myself after I soaked my feet in the evening.
This finally calmed Grandma Guo down.
Returning so late, the sugarcane he bought was fine, but the cow's milk and goat's milk he bought couldn't be kept for too long in this weather. After resting for a while, Guo Baiwen brought out a wide-mouthed earthenware pot and prepared to slowly heat and boil it.
These are definitely too late for tomorrow, but luckily we still have a lot of stock at home.
It's more than enough to cover two or three days' worth of supplies.
So when Guo Baiwen had finished boiling and concentrating the milk and then spread it evenly on the gauze, he was just about to place the prepared bamboo sieves under the well-ventilated eaves.
When I looked down, I was surprised to find that Yang Qiaomai hadn't gone home yet, which was unusual for her.
It's already this late—
He glanced at the sky outside.
As she was helped down from the bench by Yang Qiaomai, she picked up her straw sandals from the ground and pretended to put them on, asking, "Qiaomai, is there something you need from me?"
He had been to Yang Qiaomai's house a few times. It was fine when Banshan was there, but whenever only his sister and niece were home, he would pack up and rush back as soon as he finished work.
It's rare for him to be delayed until this time.
Yang Qiaomai had been silently watching the shopkeeper put on his shoes, but when he suddenly heard the shopkeeper ask him this question, he couldn't help but panic.
He seemed hesitant, or perhaps he had something he couldn't say.
Guo Baiwen thought for a moment, then quickly put on his shoes, washed his hands and wiped them, before leading the people into the main room.
After closing the door, he patiently asked again, "What exactly happened?"
Seeing that there were only herself and the shopkeeper in the room, Yang Qiaomai, who had been hesitant to speak, suddenly had tears welling up in her eyes. Before Guo Baiwen could say anything more, her knees buckled and she knelt down on the floor of the main room with a thud.
A small patch of dust suddenly rose from the previously settled gray mud floor.
Guo Baiwen was startled by his actions.
"What are you doing?!"
Such a huge gift before the New Year is even here, it's terrifying!
Just as he was about to take two steps forward to help the person up from the ground, he heard Yang Qiaomai suddenly look up at him, her eyes brimming with tears, and continue, "Shopkeeper!"
Guo Baiwen felt utterly exhausted from the day's events, and could only nod and watch him, waiting for an opportunity to help him up, mumbling in agreement, "Yes, yes, go on, continue."
Seeing that the shopkeeper was still so polite, Yang Qiaomai bit her lip and finally revealed the reason for the matter, "Yesterday, Mr. Li, the owner of Fuwang Candy Shop on the next street, somehow came looking for me in Plum Blossom Alley..."
Guo Baiwen had been nodding 'uh-huh' randomly, but after hearing what he said...
The head that was about to be lowered suddenly wouldn't go down.
The "uh-huh" that was on the tip of her tongue suddenly rose half an octave, turning into a question with a hint of disbelief: "What did you say?!"
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