Chapter 13 Sugar Production
Cui Hejin listened to his mother's sad nagging, a flickering and deep light flashed in his eyes. He gently comforted her, "Mom, it won't always be like this."
Old Madam Cui only thought Cui Hejin was comforting herself.
She didn't want to disturb her son's mood by talking too much, so she had to go and get busy.
…
Donghe Village is not far from Beining Town, and it takes about half an hour to walk to the town.
When she arrived in the town, Jiang Zhiluo felt as if she had suddenly moved from a secluded place to a prosperous place.
It was already mid-morning, and all the shops in the town were open, with customers coming and going constantly.
There were several ships docked at the pier not far away. There were people moving goods on the boats and ashore, and a manager was directing them. There were also many people setting up stalls by the pier, selling all kinds of food.
There were also peddlers carrying shoulder poles and shouting.
There are also tea stalls.
Jiang Zhiluo could smell the strong aroma of food as she walked over there with her basket on her back.
It was much more lively than the village and the noise was quite loud.
She watched carefully.
There are also many businessmen at the dock looking at goods, negotiating prices and doing business.
When Jiang Zhiluo arrived at the dock, she saw the full load of goods being carried down the dock. There were also many people coming down from the boat to buy food. After buying the food, they boarded the boat, which then set sail directly without stopping.
Jiang Zhiluo never thought that such a small pier could be so lively.
And the food business at the pier seems to be good, but there are too many food stalls, stretching from one end to the other.
There are many shops next to the pier, and each shop has many people coming and going, so business seems to be good.
Many ships unloaded their cargo and then loaded other cargo onto the ships for transport back.
Jiang Zhiluo looked at it and thought about opening a shop at the pier.
But she also knew that a shop in a good location like the pier would definitely not be cheap, and even if she had the money, she might not be able to buy the shop.
After observing for a while, Jiang Zhiluo walked into the town.
The shops on both sides of the street sell all kinds of things.
However, Jiang Zhiluo discovered that Zou Ji Pastry Shop and Rouge and Powder Shop had the best business.
Especially there was a long queue outside Zou Ji Pastry Shop.
Someone said while waiting in line, "Zouji's cakes are still the best."
"That's right. Their pastries have been open for decades. It's an old shop and they make delicious pastries. My children love eating their pastries. They came all the way from the west end of the town just to buy some to take back."
"Oh, you should have lined up earlier. Some snacks are sold out early if you line up late."
"I hope the brown sugar date cake doesn't sell out. My mother likes to eat it and says it's good for the body."
"That's right. It's good for women to drink more brown sugar. I couldn't buy brown sugar anywhere else, so I thought I'd come to Zou Ji Pastry to see if they had any brown sugar for sale."
"Brown sugar is out of stock here. It's usually not available, and the women on the boats are all crazy about it."
"That's right. Think about it, fishermen are often in the sea and rivers, and their bodies are very cold. Drinking some brown sugar is indeed good for the body. Even if it's a bit expensive, you should buy some from time to time."
When Jiang Zhiluo passed by, she happened to hear everyone talking about this.
Her expression changed. Brown sugar?
Brown sugar is made from sugarcane.
Sugarcane is mainly distributed in the south, so there should be more brown sugar in the south. If it is transported to the north, the price should increase a bit.
Thinking of Mrs. Cui's lack of energy and blood, Jiang Zhiluo's expression changed and she asked, "Sister, please tell me how much is the brown sugar in their store?"
"Fifty or sixty wen a jin, or you buy it by the piece. A piece costs about two wen."
When Jiang Zhiluo heard the price, she was stunned for a moment.
I really didn't expect that brown sugar is so expensive in this era.
Yes, in this fictional era, the sugar-making technology may not be very mature. Also, due to regional differences, it is normal that brown sugar is expensive in the north.
When Jiang Zhiluo heard this, she thought about it and decided to make brown sugar.
She makes her own brown sugar.
But there is no sugarcane in the north.
But there is another way to make brown sugar, and that is to make it from beets.
They grow a lot of sugar beets here in the northern state, and they have sugar beets at home.
If that's not enough, she can always buy beets.
Because every family grows beets, the price of beets is cheap, and you can buy a pound for one cent. Moreover, at this price, there may not be anyone buying them even if you set up a stall in the market.
Thinking about this, Jiang Zhiluo felt a little hot in her heart.
But Jiang Zhiluo was not in a hurry, she continued to observe.
She noticed that many people bought malt candy at Zou Ji.
Many women who went out to buy things also brought their children with them.
The children were unable to move when they saw the candy, "Mom, I want candy, eat candy."
“I just bought it last time and I’m still eating it.”
"Mom, I don't want to. I want to eat candy. It's delicious."
Many women cannot resist their children and buy some candies along with snacks.
Jiang Zhiluo was watching quietly from the side. A piece of candy cost two cents.
Many people buy five or six yuan at a time, and some even buy ten yuan, just to make their children happy.
After buying the candies, the child jumped for joy with the candies in his hand. The woman couldn't help laughing when she saw the child's happiness.
Yes, parents are reluctant to buy things for themselves, but they are willing to buy things for their children.
Jiang Zhiluo looked thoughtful.
Then she went to a rouge and powder shop and found that the low-quality rouge and powder cost two or three taels of silver per box, and many people were buying it.
Jiang Zhiluo understood just by looking at it that there are many people who love beauty in every era.
A box of rouge like this can bring in a lot of net profit.
After walking around for a long time, Jiang Zhiluo had a clear idea in her mind.
She went directly to the grain store and bought 20 kilograms of glutinous rice, which cost eight cents per kilogram, totaling 160 cents.
Jiang Zhiluo felt a little distressed when she thought that she only had 840 coins left after buying the glutinous rice.
But some things still need to be bought.
She went to the butcher's stall and bought a large bone and a pound of meat to cook in the evening.
The meat here costs twenty cents per pound, which is really expensive.
No wonder the villagers are reluctant to eat meat on weekdays and only buy a kilogram or two during the Chinese New Year.
She went to the grocery store again and bought some oil paper.
It is better to cut it into pieces and pack it with maltose and brown sugar.
Yes, Jiang Zhiluo bought glutinous rice to make malt sugar.
Although she was planning to make malt sugar, tomorrow was the time to visit her parents, so she still bought a few pieces of sugar to take back to her parents' home for her younger brothers and sisters to eat.
One dollar per person, she didn't buy much.
Anyway, she will make these candies herself later.
As for beets, she could buy them in the village, where they would probably be cheaper.
Jiang Zhiluo put the things in the backpack and covered it with something, but actually she put them in the space.
This way she could walk briskly, and when she reached the door of her home, she would put the things from the space back into the backpack. In this way, the secret of the space would not be discovered by anyone.
It was already past noon when Jiang Zhiluo returned home with her things.
She guessed that the old lady and Cui Hejin should have already had lunch.
She planned to just have a simple meal when she got home as she had a lot of work to do in the afternoon.
Just as I reached the street leading to my home, I saw Mrs. Cui standing at the gate of the small fenced courtyard from afar.
She seemed to be looking forward to this side.
Jiang Zhiluo was stunned for a moment, then quickly walked over and asked, "Mom, why are you standing at the door?"
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