Li Yan didn't know what Qin Yue was thinking, but she was thinking about something else at the moment.
Originally, she thought Qin Yue would only give her one shop, but now he gave her two shops. Li Yan planned to sell food in one shop, and as for the other one, she already had an idea in her mind.
She wants to make soy sauce!
The production of soy sauce in this era took too long and involved complicated processes, so the price was very high. Only restaurants and wealthy people in the city could afford to buy it.
Li Yan wanted to use fermented black beans to make soy sauce. In Li Yan's opinion, as long as the price of the soy sauce is sold at a lower level, the people in the city can afford it, it would be a good deal!
When merchants from the north and south come, it would not be a bad idea to sell the soy sauce elsewhere!
As long as there is profit, there will be a market.
After Li Yan returned home, she took out the fermented black beans that she had pickled last time. She scooped out a bowl of fermented black beans from the sealed jar, which weighed about half a pound.
He also found seven or eight dried mushrooms, two bay leaves, and two star aniseed from the kitchen.
Li Yan followed her memory of making it herself, first chopping the fermented black beans, then the dried mushrooms. Hearing the ping-pong sounds coming from the kitchen, Li Xiaomei came over and asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
Li Yan kept it a secret at first: "Auntie, you came at the right time. Please help me light the fire first. You will know when I am done."
Li Xiaomei looked at her niece with a mysterious look and started to light the fire as she was told.
Li Yan first put some salt into the pot and stir-fried it. When the salt turned slightly yellow, she added sugar and stir-fried it together. When it turned caramel color, she added chopped mushrooms and stir-fried them.
Finally, pour in about three pounds of water, add the fermented black beans and spices and simmer slowly. When the juice becomes thick, Li Yan pours out the soy sauce from the pot.
Li Xiaomei looked at the dark liquid in the bowl and asked curiously, "What is this?"
Li Yan used a small spoon to dip some soy sauce and handed it to Li Xiaomei's lips: "This is my homemade soy sauce. Auntie, try it and see if it's delicious!"
Seeing the spoon being handed to her mouth, Li Xiaomei subconsciously tasted it and her eyes widened instantly: "It's exactly the same as the one I bought!"
After hearing what her aunt said, Li Yan was happy. It seemed that this soy sauce business had potential.
Then Li Yan went to the room to find a piece of gauze and filtered the crumbs in the bowl again.
A big bowl of soy sauce is ready.
"Auntie, try using this soy sauce when you cook tonight. Let's taste it and see how it tastes. If it works, I plan to start a soy sauce business!"
"Will this work?" Li Xiaomei asked uncertainly.
Li Yan did the math for Li Xiaomei: "I just used half a pound of fermented black beans. The beans cost five cents, the salt and sugar cost about three cents, star anise, bay leaves, and mushrooms cost two cents, and if we ignore the firewood and labor, the total cost is ten cents."
"It only costs ten cents! Compared with the soy sauces out there that cost seventy or eighty cents per pound, there will definitely be many people buying the soy sauce you make!" Li Xiaomei said excitedly.
Li Yan nodded. This was also the reason why she wanted to make and sell soy sauce. Even if she only made five cents per pound, it was still a very high profit.
Li Yan stared at the soy sauce in the bowl. The residents living nearby could use the utensils at home to buy soy sauce, but she wanted to expand her soy sauce business, so she needed to prepare the containers for the soy sauce!
Thinking of this, Li Yan took another bowl and poured some freshly made soy sauce into it. She said to her aunt, "I'll give some to grandma and the others to try and get their opinions."
When Li Yan came over with the soy sauce, Grandpa Li was sitting under the eaves to rest. Ever since the second son's family started digging a pond, he had to go there to supervise the work every day. Grandpa Li, who couldn't sit still, would occasionally lend a hand. His days were very fulfilling and busy.
Maomao, who was playing in the yard, saw his second sister coming with a bowl. Thinking it was something delicious, he ran towards Li Yan.
Li Yan retreated while saying, "Be careful, don't bump into it!"
Upon hearing this, Maomao stopped in front of his sister, stretched his neck, and asked, "Second sister, what is it?"
Li Yan glanced at the little guy and said, "Yes, soy sauce!"
When Maomao saw that it was not delicious, he lost interest and jumped back to pick ants.
"What are you going to do with this precious item? Just keep it to entertain guests!" said Mrs. Wu who was busy in the yard.
Can rural people afford to spend seventy or eighty cents to buy soy sauce?
In her opinion, having salt in a dish is considered the best, while soy sauce is something only rich people enjoy.
"Grandma, this is what I made, come and see how it works!"
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