To make the preserved eggs taste better and have a brighter color, Zhao Xian took out a small cloth bag, took out a spoonful of white powder, and mixed it into the paste.
Then Zhao Xian handed the small cloth bag to Zhao Youzhu and told him to keep it safe.
"This is called an additive. It's made through a secret recipe. You only need to add a small spoonful to make a hundred preserved eggs. Without this, it's difficult to make delicious preserved eggs. Remember to ask me for some more after you've used it up."
Zhao Youzhu quickly put the small cloth bag away. He knew the importance of this thing. With this additive, even if others mastered the secret recipe, it would be difficult to make high-quality preserved eggs.
He rolled the duck eggs in lime paste to coat them evenly, then took them out and rolled them in rice husks to coat them with the husks.
Then, place the processed duck eggs into a jar, layering them one by one. After all the duck eggs have been placed in the jar, seal the jar.
After doing all this, Zhao Xian told everyone that it would take seven days for the duck eggs to turn into preserved eggs. After seven days, the jars could be opened, and if the preserved eggs were successfully made, they could be sold in the market.
Zhao Youzhu felt that it would take another seven days, which was too long, but there was nothing he could do. If he wanted to make money, he could only wait patiently.
“Uncle, starting today, you can make one hundred preserved eggs every day. After seven days, there will be preserved eggs coming out of the jar every day, and you will be able to sell preserved eggs every day.”
Zhao Youzhu thought this method was good, but he was also a little hesitant. If the first attempt at making preserved eggs failed, then the next six days would also fail, and the losses would be huge.
But he still chose to trust Zhao Xian, and he planned to start production tomorrow, even if there were risks involved.
“After the preserved eggs are ready, I’ll have Xiaoshan help you sell them in the restaurants in town. One jar of preserved eggs can be consumed by one restaurant. We can then expand production based on sales,” Zhao Xian said.
"How much does one of these preserved eggs sell for in town?" Liu asked.
"We sell these preserved eggs to hotels in one go, which is like wholesale, so the price can't be too high. Four or five copper coins each should be fine."
Liu quickly did the math in his head: the cost of a duck egg was one coin, and the cost of making a preserved egg was four or five coins. The gross profit was three or four coins. The cost of other materials was very low and could be ignored. These three or four coins were basically pure profit. If he sold a hundred preserved eggs a day, he could earn three or four hundred coins. My goodness, he was going to make a fortune.
In the evening, Zhao Lingling returned from Mr. Lin's house, and the whole family gathered around her, asking what Mr. Lin had taught her that day.
"This morning, the teacher showed me a map, and that's when I realized how big our Northern Dynasty is. The farthest place I've ever been is my sister-in-law's house. The teacher said that there are provincial capitals and the capital city even further away from us, and he pointed them out to me on the map."
The teacher said we are all subjects of the Great Northern Dynasty, and all subjects should love their country. In the afternoon, the teacher had me learn to write the two characters for "patriotism." The teacher taught me all afternoon, and I finally learned to write these two characters. Now I'm writing them for you to see.
It seems that Master Lin has a deep sense of patriotism, which can be seen from his first day of teaching. However, such a talented and patriotic person has repeatedly encountered obstacles in his career, been ostracized, and not been given important positions. Despite his great ambitions, he was unable to realize them.
Zhao Xian took out paper and pen and handed them to Zhao Lingling. Zhao Lingling took the brush and began to write on the paper.
Zhao Lingling was very serious; she wrote out the two characters as if she were drawing a picture.
Although the strokes of the two characters are a bit mechanical, they are written fairly neatly. Zhao Lingling must have practiced many times to be able to write these two characters.
Lingling can write now, and the whole family is overjoyed and applauds.
At this moment, Li Guang walked over, silently picked up a brush, and wrote four characters on the paper:
"Patriotism and service to the people."
These four characters are in traditional Chinese characters, and they are vigorous and powerful. Without years of practice, one cannot write such beautiful characters.
"Li Guang, I didn't expect your handwriting to be so good. It seems you've practiced a lot," Qin Shiyu exclaimed.
Li Guang stared at the four characters he had written, appearing very calm, and then began to explain.
“My grandfather used to teach in a private school and had beautiful handwriting. I practiced calligraphy with him since I was a child, so my handwriting is still passable.”
Zhao Xian looked at these four words and seemed to understand something.
If "patriotism" was Li Guang's sentiment, then "serving the people" was his vision.
Early the next morning, Zhao Xian called Zhao Cheng, and the two prepared to go to the county town because they had an important matter to attend to that day.
Zhao Cheng led out the carriage, and Zhao Xian got in and they set off.
There are more than 30,000 jin of barnyard grass at home, which has occupied four warehouses in the workshop. We must find a way to deal with these barnyard grass and clear out the warehouses. The reason for buying the barnyard grass in the first place was to prepare for the next step of making liquor.
However, in ancient times, different dynasties had different policies on the management of alcohol. Zhao Xian was not clear about the policies of the Northern Dynasties on the management of alcohol, so he dared not blindly produce liquor to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.
This time, I'm going to the county town to first understand the market situation for liquor, and then find Magistrate Cao to learn more about the specifics.
More than an hour later, the carriage entered the county town. The two first stored the carriage away and then began to look for shops selling wine in the market.
There are several large wine shops in the county town. In addition, you can see some vendors carrying wine barrels and selling rice wine along the street, which shows that the Northern Dynasty probably allowed private brewing of rice wine.
They stopped in front of a shop called Juxianzhuang. The shop was very large, with a flagpole in front of the door and a colorful flag fluttering in the wind. On the flag was a huge character for "wine".
Upon seeing someone arrive, the shop assistants immediately came out to greet them.
"Please come in, esteemed guests. Our store offers a wide variety of wines at discounted prices. Welcome to our store."
Zhao Xian followed the shop assistant into the store, and the scene inside shocked him.
This place is like an ancient wine museum, divided into several sections, each selling different types of wine.
At that time, baijiu (white liquor) had not yet appeared, and the ancients had not yet mastered the technology of alcohol distillation. The wine people drank was mainly huangjiu (yellow wine).
The waiter took two small cups, poured some rice wine into them, and handed them to the two men.
"This is a new wine that just arrived at our store, called Zhuangyuanhong. Please, both of you, try it," the waiter introduced enthusiastically.
Zhao Xian took the wine cup and examined it. The wine of this era was a bit yellowish, viscous and cloudy, and had a fragrant aroma.
Zhao Cheng took the wine cup and drank it all in one gulp, without showing any expression.
He put the wine cup to his lips and took a sip, savoring it. It had a pure yellow wine flavor, and the alcohol content should be close to 20 degrees, which would have been considered a high-proof liquor at that time.
"How much is this wine?" Zhao Xian asked.
"Two taels of silver per pound, and one pot is exactly one pound."
Zhao Xian shuddered in fright. This was just yellow wine, yet it was priced so high. A farmer's annual income was more than that. If he made and sold white wine, wouldn't the price be even higher?
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