Chapter 13 Jasmine Cake is now available at a stall!
Two days passed, and the courtyard wall was now completely built, and the butterfly tiles on the roof were laid neatly. After waiting for a rainy day, Wei Jinyun checked the shop for any further leaks and went to Zhouji Brick and Tile Shop to settle the remaining labor costs.
Shopkeeper Zhou just smiled when he heard this. In the past, he would settle the bill as soon as the yard renovation work was completed. This Madam Wei was really smart.
Seeing that the two brothers in the shop seemed to be having a great time working for Madam Wei, and even kept talking about "Madam Wei", he often cursed them, but he agreed with Wei Jinyun's idea.
Without the sound of building walls around them, the four generations of grandparents and grandchildren cleaned the yard early in the morning. The remaining bricks and tiles were neatly stacked in the corners of the wall, and the mud on the ground was swept thoroughly.
By the afternoon, there was no more flying dust in the whole yard, and the branches were full of locust flowers.
In the yard, there was a long table that Manager Wang had brought along with his cart. It was polished to a shine. The whole family gathered around the table, picking jasmine flowers for Wei Jinyun.
Of the two baskets of jasmine she bought from the small vendor, only one was left, as the other was used up by Wei Jinyun when she was experimenting with making pastries.
In the past two days, in addition to her two younger sisters, Meng Ge'er, who often came to her shop from her right side, and Zhang Renbai, who lived on the left side, had eaten countless of Wei Jinyun's experimental products.
The three little kids ate so much that their bellies were so full that they could hardly eat any more, but they still praised every dish for being delicious.
Zhang Renbai was not wasteful at all, but when he heard Meng Ge'er say, "It's even more delicious than the lotus crisps that Sister Wei gave to everyone two days ago," he frowned bitterly for the whole afternoon.
But at night, he figured it out.
Why was he asked to try the jasmine cake? Why wasn't it Uncle Li who sells knitwear? Why wasn't it Brother Wu who runs the gourd soup shop? Why wasn't it Brother Wang who runs the porcelain shop...
Wei Jinyun was fiddling with the jasmine flower mold she had just carved when Zhang Renbai and Meng Ge'er walked in together.
There is only one clerk in charge of his stationery store. Can he introduce everyone?
"This flower mold of yours is so beautiful, it looks like the real thing."
Wei Fuling blew away the sawdust on it, looked carefully with one half-closed eye, and touched the pattern inside with her hand.
"Indeed, indeed, Miss Wei actually has this skill."
Zhang Renbai also took one and praised it, "Ya, it's really Da Ya!"
Wei Jinyun had carved this herself from pieces of wood she had obtained from Carpenter Wang. The patterns on the cart were in pieces, and although she didn't have the strength to carve them, her pastry mold making skills were inherited from her grandparents.
The molds for her grandmother's pastries were all carved by her grandfather, and the patterns were drawn by her grandmother. When she was a child, she learned most of the techniques by following her.
There was a small mountain of jasmine flowers piled in a flat basket nearby. The calyxes had been cleaned by several people, and the fragrance of jasmine flowers filled the air.
Wei Jinyun finely mashed the peeled fresh jasmine petals into a paste, filtered out the coarse residue with a cloth, mixed it with glutinous and sticky rice flour, fried it in a pan, and kneaded it into a light green cake.
In another large porcelain bowl, there were soaked mung beans. She had tried date paste and red beans, but neither of them matched as well as the taste of mung beans and jasmine.
Wang Qiulan boiled the water under the steamer and laid a half-wet fine white cloth on top.
White mist rose from the steamer above the boiling water, and the aroma of mung beans placed on the steamer cloth filled the entire courtyard. Wei Jinyun timed it carefully, and after about two quarters of an hour, he turned off the fire and waited patiently for the steam to slowly dissipate before lifting the lid.
The mung bean paste is steamed until soft, sieved, and mixed with some brown sugar and lard, which makes it fragrant and delicious.
It has a blend of sweetness and a light fragrance, but it is not at all cloying. Wei Jinyun carefully placed it aside and let it cool slowly.
The ball-like mung bean filling is wrapped into the cake and pressed into a clean mold covered with cooked rice flour. Press it and release it from the mold to create a beautiful jasmine flower.
The aroma is wrapped in a richer jasmine fragrance, and the green jasmine cake blooms quietly. Just press it lightly with chopsticks and you can feel its softness.
The people had originally tasted the flower without using a mold, but now, holding this beautiful "flower", they were reluctant to eat it.
"I'll put it down first."
Wei Fuling held the plate and grinned, "I want to watch it for a while."
"Then I'll let go too."
Zhang Renbai stared at it for a long while, "Ya, it's really Ya!"
"If Mr. Zhang likes it, please take a few pieces and place them in the shop as a snack."
Wei Jinyun raised her eyes and smiled.
"really?"
Zhang Renbai was delighted. "When I entertain guests, I use Xuji's dim sum. They always say they eat the same dim sum over and over again. Sometimes they just drink tea and don't eat dim sum."
"nature."
Wei Jinyun smiled even more happily, "If I make some new snacks then, Master Zhang can just use them and put them on display. You don't have to pay me."
There are quite a few literati and poets in his shop.
Zhang Renbai's eyes were filled with worry.
Wei Fuqiu and Meng Ge'er didn't make much of a move. Meng Ge'er took the plate and went out to look for his mother. Wei Fuqiu took a small bite and gave Wei Jinyun a thumbs-up.
"Miss Wei wants to sell this flower cake. How much do you want?"
When Zhang Renbai entered the house, he noticed the cart in the yard. Not only had he never seen such a style before, but the cart was also engraved with plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum.
Elegant, truly great elegance.
"Six cents a piece."
Zhang Renbai's hand shook and he almost dropped the plate.
Even if he occasionally bought Xu Ji's famous crabapple cake, it would only be five cents. Did Miss Wei set the price so high on her first business venture?
Although this flower cake tastes excellent, it is not well-known and not everyone can accept it.
"Just six cents."
Wei Jinyun just smiled and said, "If Master Zhang is free, please write a message on my banner and wooden paper."
"I have time, I have time!"
Zhang Renbai has studied for many years, and his handwriting is powerful and fluent, with a bit of the flavor of Yan and Liu.
Wei Jinyun thanked him profusely, took out two half-soaked pottery pots from the well water, wet the cloth, wrapped the pots with two layers of cloth, put them on the cart together with the flower cakes, and went out.
"Just leaving?"
Zhang Renbai held the pen in his hand, feeling empty for a moment. He hadn't even used half of his ability, and he still wanted to write a few more.
He turned around and looked at his two sisters who were staring at him, "Come on, come on, Brother Renbai will teach you how to write."
Wei Jinyun said goodbye to her grandmother and sister, pushed the cart, passed through the bustling streets, and went to Pingjiang Prefecture to study.
Pingjiang Prefecture School was founded by Fan Wencheng, a native of Wu County, Pingjiang Prefecture, who had also served as prefect of Pingjiang Prefecture before it was renamed.
During the period of worrying about his mother's death, he witnessed the old teaching system that "students must be from prominent families" and the difficulty that children of common people could not get a good education. So he founded the Fuxue in Nanyuan, which was one of the earliest official schools in the Song Dynasty.
The government school was majestic, its gates tightly shut. In front of it was a broad road lined with camphor trees.
Wei Jinyun had inquired while shopping in Caoshi, and found out that the jasmine flowers sold by small vendors on their shoulders, like the ones she bought, were considered small transactions and were tax-exempt, so she didn't have to worry about paying taxes.
However, if you operate a fixed stall, you will be required to collect a tax of 130 yuan.
As long as she operates her stall normally within the area designated by the street bureau, does not cause quarrels, does not litter, and does not disturb students, the tax officials will be responsible for collecting taxes at specific times.
There were stalls near the provincial school, some selling ordinary paper, pens, and inkstones, and some selling tea, drinks, fried snacks, and pancakes, but there were very few.
After all, it is forbidden to shout loudly and disturb students around the provincial school.
Compared to here, for vendors, the markets in Changmen and Louhe have more people and better business.
But for Wei Jinyun, this was the school gate.
In modern times, if you want to set up a stall at the school gate to sell sausages, spicy fried turkey noodles and sushi, you have to reserve a spot first.
The scholars in Pingjiang Prefecture are different nowadays. Most of them like elegant things. Liking fried food is one thing, but whether they are interested in her things is another.
These are her target customers.
Wei Jinyun parked the cart under a large camphor tree diagonally opposite the gate of the prefectural school and quietly packed up her stall.
Two clay pots wrapped in wet cloth were placed at the bottom first. The water foam on them evaporated and absorbed heat to cool down the pots, so that the mint water she had boiled in the morning and soaked in the well would not get heated up in the pots.
"Wow, what a unique stroller."
Madam Qian, who was selling pancakes nearby, circled around Wei Jinyun's stall and said, "You're so young, why are you setting up a stall right in front of the school? Business here is not easy."
"I want to sell some homemade snacks to supplement my family income."
Wei Jinyun opened the cloth covering it and said, "Madam, would you like to try some?"
Madam Qian stared at the exquisite pastries on the table, somewhat surprised. "These are so beautiful, on par with those in teahouses. Did you make these yourself?"
"Exactly."
"If you have this skill, you can apply for a job as a dim sum chef at a famous teahouse. You can earn several thousand guan a month and live a relaxed life. Why bother setting up a stall and suffering?"
Madam Qian skillfully prepared the batter in her hand and said, "I won't eat it. I don't like sweet things. Madam, you don't have to be polite. Just call me Madam Qian."
It happened that they had some free time in the afternoon, before school was over, so they chatted for a while.
It turned out that Madam Qian's son was studying in the provincial school. Every day while setting up a stall here, she could also visit him.
Pingjiang Prefecture School recruited commoners and children of merchants, accepting poor children as long as they were talented enough. The school rented school land to farmers and used the rent as tuition, a very humane approach.
At the beginning of the afternoon, a melodious bell rang from the prefectural school, and the tightly closed doors slowly opened. The quiet streets were filled with students pouring out, their laughter and chatter noisy.
"Mom, are you done with the twelve egg pancakes I asked you to make after school at noon?"
Wu Sheng called his friends and crowded around to Madam Qian's stall, pouring all the money he had collected at the prefectural school into Madam Qian's money jar. "It's thirty-six coins in total, I've counted it all."
"Of course, I've installed it for you."
Mrs. Qian smiled and handed the oil paper filled with egg pancakes to Wu Sheng, "What would you like to have for dinner?"
"I love everything my mother cooks."
Wu Sheng distributed the letters to his classmates one by one according to their names. When he looked up, he saw Wei Jinyun standing beside him.
She wore a moon-white skirt and a green jacket. A wooden hairpin adorned her twin buns, and a jasmine flower tucked into her hair. The sweet scent of cakes and pastries wafted gently in the wind.
The cart is engraved with plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum, and there are a few clusters of jasmine in the vase. On the side, a banner reads "Yun Lai Xiang" in a casual manner.
When did a unique and elegant stall and a Jasmine lady appear here?
"Oh, jasmine cake! Let me see, it's called 'Linglongxue'. What a nice name."
A classmate behind Wu Sheng, fanning himself with a folding fan, glanced at the table and Wei Jinyun and smiled faintly, "Brother Wu, shall we buy some to try? Madam, how much is one piece?"
The light green flower cake was placed on the plain white drawer cloth, as delicate as jade and with a refreshing fragrance.
"Six coins a piece, with a bowl of tea."
"You can eat cakes and drink tea for six coins?"
The classmate snapped the folding fan in his hand and put it away neatly. "Give me one."
The author has something to say:
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Miss Wei smiled, but felt bad inside.
Stop it, Master Zhang. [Cat head]
"All students must be from wealthy and official families", which means that general official schools only recruit children from wealthy families and official families. The Suzhou Prefecture School was really founded by Fan Zhongyan, haha.
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