Qin Yi picked up the 800 yuan and handed it to Zhuang Qing: "It's a token of appreciation from the diners, please accept it."
Zhuang Qing also declined, saying, "We only prepared two vegetarian dishes. You cooked all the main meat dishes for this dinner, and you even made the Lei Cha (pounded tea). I feel ashamed to accept this money."
Qin Yi said with a headache, "They've already put on a tug-of-war, so let's not stand on ceremony. I'm just a guest here to freeload, and I already feel bad for not paying for the food."
"Alright then, we'll accept it."
While everyone was cleaning, Qin Yi remembered something important and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Xiao Qing, there's something I want to discuss with you, and I need your help."
While washing the dishes, Zhuang Qing looked at Qin Yi and said, "Just tell me what's wrong. We'll do our best to help as sisters."
“I’ve been doing some small business in the ancient town lately, selling food at a stall, but the guesthouses I’ve been staying in are all stilted buildings, and I haven’t seen any places where I can cook. I also couldn’t find any accommodations with kitchens online, so I’d like to borrow your kitchen to stock up on supplies. Of course, I’ll pay for it. How about 300 a day?”
"So much money? It's just borrowing a kitchen, you don't need to give us so much!" Zhuang Qing quickly declined, "I thought it was something important. We can help with this little thing. Just come over when you need it, there's no need to pay!"
"Exactly! Sister Qin, we've never seen anyone charge us for using our kitchens in our village. It makes us feel like we're running a shady business. Also, there's a reason why there aren't any guesthouses with kitchens in the scenic area now. Last year, there was a huge fire here. Because they're all wooden stilted houses, once one house starts burning, it's hard to stop. That night, half a street was burned down. The row of stilted houses on the left side of the river is all newly built this year," Zhuang Qing explained.
Qin Yi suddenly realized: "I see. I was wondering why it was so hard to find a kitchen. But we still have to pay. I'm not just borrowing your kitchen for a day or two; it might be for more than ten days. It's better to settle the bill clearly."
At this moment, Zhuang Qing whispered a few words in Zhuang Qing's ear. After listening, Zhuang Qing nodded and said, "How about this, if you don't mind, you can cancel your room at the guesthouse and stay here with us. We have an empty room. We'll cover your accommodation and food expenses for these days, still 300 yuan per day. No one should take advantage of anyone else. This way, we'll feel more at ease."
After thinking for a moment, Qin Yi agreed and grinned, "Then I'm really in luck! I can eat, drink, and stay here for free every day! Besides accommodation, I also need some fresh and dried tea leaves every day. Just sell them to me at market price."
"no problem!"
Qin Yi finally solved the major problem of not having a kitchen while setting up a stall in the ancient town. She returned to the guesthouse for her last night, and tomorrow she will begin the process of her new mission.
That night, she dreamed of developing new flavors of Lei Cha (擂茶). She prepared all the ingredients, ground them, and poured water into the tea, but when she drank it, it had no taste.
ah?
No taste?
how so?
Qin Yi felt that something must have gone wrong, so she quickly made herself a plate of grilled squid from one of the thousand recipes in her dream.
It smells amazing, and it's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside—it's delicious!
Why does Lei Cha (擂茶) have no flavor?
Could it be because this space is provided by the system, and the taste effects it can present are all tasted by the system?
In areas not covered by this world system, it can't imagine that taste, can it?
ah?
Is this even possible?
That's hilarious.
Even an omnipotent system can become ignorant one day.
Qin Yi's sense of superiority as a time traveler finally came into play.
In her dream, she held a toothpick in her mouth and imagined herself lying in a hanging basket, swaying back and forth.
"So even the food system has blind spots. How much does it know about the many intangible cultural heritage foods in the original world?"
It seems that product development can only be done in real life. Each flavor needs to be experimented with and blended to know if it tastes good.
-------------------------
The next morning, after receiving the materials, Qin Yi pushed her stall cart to the guesthouse and checked out.
The owner of the guesthouse said with a smile, "Take care, Mr. Qin! Welcome back next time!"
Upon arriving at the Zhuang sisters' courtyard, Zhuang Qing opened the door, and Zhuang Qing was inside making the bed.
“We’ve cleaned the whole house, and the bed is made with a new three-piece bedding set. If you need anything else, just let me know and I’ll go buy it for you.”
Qin Yi looked around the room. Although the furnishings were simple, the room was clean and tidy, giving people a simple yet comfortable feeling.
Opening the window reveals a view of the mountains behind the house, a scene like a painting. Taking a deep breath, you're enveloped in the scent of nature.
"This is wonderful! I love living here!" Qin Yi was pleasantly surprised. Zhuang Qing managed the house perfectly, truly living up to her reputation as an elder sister who is like a mother. It was truly admirable.
With the stall cart parked in the yard, Qin Yi immediately began studying the products for her new task.
Seeing this, the two sisters went up the mountain to pick tea, leaving her alone in the kitchen to do the work.
First, take out a set of Lei Cha mortar and pestle that were re-customized in the system.
This mortar and pestle is larger than the ones used at home, like a small jar, and Qin Yi can just hold it in her arms. The inside of the mortar and pestle is also covered with dense patterns, which makes it easy to grind the ingredients.
The pestle is also carefully crafted. Qin Yi customized a one-meter-long stick that is narrow at the top and round at the bottom based on her memory. The narrow part at the top is carved with the shape of two tender tea buds, which looks a bit like a fish tail spreading out.
This pestle is made from three types of wood: pear wood, tea seed wood, and mountain pepper wood. It is said that tea ground with a pestle made from these materials has a woody aroma and is more flavorful than ingredients ground in a food processor.
The ingredients for Lei Cha can be quite varied. Qin Yi added peas, mint leaves, honeysuckle, litsea cubeba, walnuts, red dates, dried tangerine peel, black sesame seeds, and more to yesterday's recipe.
Product development is a brainstorming session that requires repeated trials for different flavors.
Yesterday, Qin Yi made a savory hot Lei Cha (pounded tea), and today she tried a sweet iced Lei Cha, as well as flavored Lei Cha made with different varieties of dried tea leaves.
When the Zhuang sisters returned from picking tea on the mountain, Qin Yi stood at the door to greet them.
"I've made a little bit of Lei Cha (擂茶), would you like to be my guinea pig?"
Remembering the delicious meal they had last night, the two sisters nodded eagerly, "Yes, yes!"
Qin Yi smiled and took their hands as they walked into the courtyard.
The two sisters froze on the spot as soon as they entered the courtyard...
The large round table in the courtyard was densely covered with countless bowls of Lei Cha (pounded tea), some steaming hot, some dripping from the cold, some emerald green, some brown, some sprinkled with roasted rice and soybeans, and some covered with flower petals.
Even Zhuang Qing, a child with a sweet tooth, said with some fear, "Sister Qin, so you meant Yi Dian Dian..."
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