Chapter 79 79. Affordable staple food
The first time Luo Deer ate steamed bread, she thought it tasted ordinary and nothing special. It was not as delicious as white bread with honey, but it tasted much better than hard black bread.
At least it feels soft and not hard to swallow.
Although the taste is a bit bland, it is very good for filling your stomach.
Eating them one at a time, she said disapprovingly, "That's it?"
"Yeah." Luo Wei took one for himself and motioned for Lan Lan to try one.
"It's just an ordinary food. Is it worth wasting your time?" Lodel questioned.
"It's worth it." Lowe replied affirmatively: "Do you know how much the steamed buns cost?"
"Even a copper penny is too expensive for me." Lodel tried to lower the price.
"One copper coin is equal to ten pieces of bread or five pieces of black bread. It's understandable that you think it's expensive." Lovi paused for a moment: "But what do you say if it's lower than the cost of bread?"
Luo Deer frowned and said, "Don't be ridiculous. How can it be cheaper than flatbread and black bread?"
Luo Wei smiled but said nothing, with an expression that said you have no experience: "Lanlan, what do you think?"
"Delicious!" Lan Lan nodded vigorously. In less than a moment, the big steamed bun was in her stomach, with some crumbs left at the corners of her mouth. "Master, why didn't steamed buns get invented earlier? Black bread is so unpalatable."
Luo Wei did not respond to Lan Lan's complaint: "Tell the kitchen to use up all the noodles and distribute the steamed buns to everyone after they are done."
"Okay, young master." Lan Lan bowed and slowly left.
In front of Lodel, she was extremely cautious in everything she did, fearing that she would be found to have faults.
In the kitchen, the cook Am was kneading dough, humming as she kneaded.
"slim Shady!"
"Lanlan, what's the matter?"
"The young master said that we should use up all the noodles and not waste any of them."
"Okay, I understand."
The blue-haired maid turned back in a hurry, and instead of rushing into the living room, she stood guard at the door with her back bent.
There were faint voices coming from the conference room.
"Okay, go do your own thing."
"Why do you care about me?"
"Okay! Follow me if you want! You naughty sister!"
Lovi let Lodel follow him and called Lanlan to bring a bamboo basket to the puddle beside the Fulinbao Lake: "Lanlan, pick up all the bark in this pit."
Lan Lan squatted down without saying a word and put the soaked bark into the bamboo basket one by one: "Master, do you want to take the rest?"
"No, soak for a few more days." Lowe took a deep breath and suppressed his restless mood.
Finally, we can start. Will it succeed? The experiment is on the fourth floor of Fulin Castle. Since the first, second and third floors are temporarily arranged for civilians to live in, only the fourth floor has vacant rooms.
The tools were ready: a stone pool filled with water, a stone mortar for pounding bark, a water-permeable cloth to replace the bamboo screen for papermaking, and a stove and iron pot for burning fire.
Following Luo Wei's instructions, Lan Lan put the soaked bark into the iron pot, added an appropriate amount of ashes from burning grass and wood to boil it, and covered the pot with a lid: "Master, how long do you want to cook it?"
"Keep the fire going until tomorrow morning and don't let the water dry up." About ten hours, Lovey thought.
Lan Lan was in a dilemma. She felt that this would affect her job: "Master, it's been too long."
"Just watch for a while, and then call a guard on night duty over."
During the lunch break, everyone was busy. Everyone was at their own post. The extra people were assigned to make dumplings, and there would be no one available for a while. Besides, Lan Lan also needed to be familiar with the whole process so that she could help run errands in the future, Luo Wei thought.
Luo Deer did not ask Luo Wei about his plan for Lan Lan, but was a little curious: "What are you doing? The bark has been soaked for so long, can it be eaten after boiling it?"
The only thing he could think of was eating. Lovi shook his head in amusement and did not hide anything from Lodel: "I want to invent a lighter material to replace bamboo slips."
"Writing on tree bark was invented a long time ago, but it's not as convenient as bamboo slips." Lodel kindly reminded.
"Whether it's useful or not, you'll know after a while." A mysterious smile appeared on Lowe's face.
Dong, dong, dong. The sound of forging was very rhythmic. After it lasted for a while, the panda let out a long breath.
The iron blank is forged to reduce its carbon content, making it more tough.
This is the principle of hard forging.
Of course, farm tools don't require such complicated craftsmanship. They are not as demanding as weapons. In addition, Mossophie discovered that the iron made by high temperature of coke is naturally much tougher than the iron made by ordinary coal.
The iron produced by forging ordinary coal is too brittle and cannot be used unless it is hammered repeatedly many times.
"My butler! Have you had enough fun?" Evelyn grabbed the panda man's hair on the back of his neck.
"Lord Evelyn, I'm not playing. I'm making farm tools for the young master." Mosophie said wrongedly.
"I hired a housekeeper, not a blacksmith!" Evelyn emphasized, looking around with disdain: "You can just find someone to help you with this kind of small matter, why do you have to do it yourself? I won't let you come to the blacksmith shop anymore."
"No, madam, please be reasonable." Mosuofei was taken away.
Although the Pandaren are big, in the hands of the witch Evelynn, they look like a cub when lifted lightly.
The iron-faced butler takes office.
Those who sought refuge in the castle were ruthlessly expelled.
Before leaving, Evelyn did her utmost to distribute a batch of supplies. Some people received clothes, some received coins, and some were lucky enough to receive two steaming buns.
Afterwards, Fulin Castle began a general cleaning under the organization of the housekeeper.
The garbage these days has to be cleared away.
Sweep the floor, mop the floor, wipe the walls, ventilate the room, etc.
Although it seemed clean, Lovey actually felt it was not clean and asked for quicklime to be sprinkled everywhere.
So, here comes the question.
"Master, what exactly is quicklime?" Mosophie tilted his round head.
"It's the ash from burning stones in a kiln." Lowe explained simply, adding: "It can kill invisible insects and drive away filth."
"Sounds useful!" Mossophie suggested burning some.
Of course, Lowe had no objection: "Remember to find gray stones."
"How long will it burn?"
"I haven't burned it before either. You can try burning it for two days. Just burn it to ashes."
The hot steamed buns come out of the steamer again.
Lowe invites Evelyn and Messofie to try one.
The reactions of both were average.
Evelin was used to eating all kinds of delicacies, but the panda butler preferred fresh tender bamboo.
Only when Lowe mentioned the cost of steamed buns was he moved.
With a lower price than brown bread and a taste similar to white bread, steamed bread has the potential to become a mainstream food.
(End of this chapter)
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