Chapter 473: Start making brown sugar
When the people of Zhulin Village heard about white sugar, they asked stupidly: "Can't sugarcane only be used to make brown sugar? Can it also be used to make white sugar?"
Brown sugar is precious, but white sugar is even more precious. The sugarcane they grow can be used to make brown sugar, so how can it be used to make white sugar?
How can the same thing be made into two different things?
Shuiqing smiled and explained softly: "Yes, white sugar is just brown sugar without color, the inside is the same."
The people of Zhulin Village were incredulous.
They always thought that they were made from two different crops.
"Can we make white sugar too? God! Madam, you are so amazing!"
"How can you do everything?"
Shuiqing didn't continue to explain in detail, but only said: "Come on, let's make the first batch of brown sugar first, and then try to make white sugar. The fewer people know about the white sugar craft, the better, so we have to select the person in charge of white sugar later."
The people of Zhulin Village immediately straightened their backs and rushed forward to work according to the steps Shuiqing just said.
They had been to Shanshui Village and knew the model of the herbal medicine shop and toothbrush shop. The core skills were in the hands of a few people. Although they were all servants, their indentures were in the hands of the master, and the power of life and death was also in the hands of the master. The master did not have to worry about their loyalty, but being selected to be responsible for the core skills also represented the master's recognition of them.
How could they not perform well!
Shuiqing looked at the people who were in a mess like headless flies, and said loudly: "You line up first. Some men are responsible for moving sugarcane, and some are responsible for squeezing juice and carrying sugarcane juice to the next room to boil;
The women boiled sugarcane juice in pairs, and the fire and stirring were coordinated. One person's arm would not be able to bear stirring for more than two hours, so two people took turns;
The same is true for sand making."
The men and women of Zhulin Village did not need Shuiqing to give specific instructions, and they divided the people responsible for each task internally.
The master came this time mainly to see how they did things, and the final decision still depended on their performance. It was useless to earn anything now, and the better the performance, the more useful it was.
Shuiqing took Yan Qiuxing back to Wanxia to focus on a few women.
See if they are strong, whether they are agile and even how well they cooperate with each other.
Before coming here, I had already asked about their respective situations from more than a dozen new brides who married in from Zhulin Village.
After more than a year of getting along, these more than a dozen people have long been integrated into Shanshui Village, and they have a strong sense of belonging to the host family. When talking about the people of Zhulin Village, they can start from the standpoint of the host family and honestly tell each other's strengths and weaknesses without hiding anything.
Even if there is bias, it doesn't matter. After all, there are more than a dozen people. You can analyze it yourself by combining most of the same comments.
Yan Qiuxing returned to Wanxia while watching the women working, recalling the words taught by her mother.
Boiling sugar is a labor-intensive and time-consuming job. It was not until the sky was dark that the first batch was finally made!
Pour it into the mold prepared in advance, and it needs to cool before demolding. The sky is already dark, and today I can see what it is.
Shuiqing ordered to pack up, close the doors and windows, and come back tomorrow.
Dinner was prepared long ago. It was all meat at a glance. There were two vegetables at noon, and only one was left at night.
After dinner, Shuiqing, who had been running around all day, fell asleep better than expected after a simple wash by candlelight. He almost fell asleep immediately.
Early the next morning, the people in Zhulin Village had already gotten up. They didn't dare to disturb the master, and walked slowly to the main house to check if he was awake. When the house was built, three other main houses were built. On weekdays, they could be used as a place for the village to discuss things. When the master came, they cleaned it up and it became a separate residence.
It was quiet and comfortable, and it also allowed the master to not live in the house of their servants.
Aunt Zhou was in charge of the master's breakfast today. She used an old hen to boil a large pot of chicken soup, put hand-rolled noodles in it, and served it with a dish of appetizing pickled radish, sour and spicy pickled cowpea, stir-fried cabbage heart, and cold spinach.
Seeing the breakfast brought by Aunt Zhou, the men frowned and pointed out: "Aunt Zhou, isn't this too plain? Only the chicken in the noodle soup is meat."
"Yes, although there are four dishes, none of them is meat. The host has come here with great difficulty, how can we give them this?"
"How can we use the pickled radish and pickled cowpea we usually eat to entertain the host! No, no, we should change them all to meat."
"Yes, I think these four side dishes should be changed to stir-fried rabbit meat, fried eggs, braised fish, and bacon fried garlic, that's it! This is worthy of the host."
They can eat meat every two or three days now, all thanks to the host, so of course they have to give the best to entertain the host!
Aunt Zhou's old hen soup is really good, and the noodles are also made of white flour, but the side dishes are not good, too plain.
Aunt Zhou was also a little unsure, and said, "I asked my daughter, and she said that the host family eats like this in the morning, and sometimes it's even simpler than this."
Her eldest daughter married Mancang, and she usually takes turns to cook the host family's meals. According to her daughter, the host family sometimes has a pot of porridge with a few pickles and boiled eggs in the morning.
How could she really cook a pot of porridge for the host family? This is something she has been asking for again and again!
And the daughter also said that the lady said that there was too much meat on the dishes yesterday, so she asked to cook more vegetables today, so she only had two vegetables in the morning.
Shuiqing heard something about pickled radish and pickled cowpea in her dream, and couldn't help swallowing her saliva.
There is no way. After eating meat all day yesterday, she wanted to eat something sour and spicy to stimulate her appetite. After she woke up slowly, she heard intermittent words outside the window. She quickly put on her clothes, opened the door and walked out.
The people outside the house didn't expect that the low voices still alarmed Shui Qing. She immediately lowered her head and admitted her mistake as if she had made a mistake: "Madam, I'm sorry, we woke you up."
She obviously lowered her voice, but she still blamed them for being loud!
People in the village are used to shouting at the top of their lungs, which is why they woke up the lady.
"It's okay. I went to bed early last night and slept well." Shui Qing comforted softly, and turned her eyes to the wooden tray held by Aunt Zhou. Her eyes suddenly sparkled: "Is this our breakfast? Bring it in quickly!"
In addition to the pot of chicken soup, the other four side dishes are really good!
Aunt Zhou sighed happily and quickly brought the breakfast into the house.
She also turned back and signaled to others with her eyes: You see, our host family is not arrogant at all, and they also enjoy eating small pickles with noodles.
The men were thinking that the host's house was too simple!
Shuiqing didn't know what the people in Zhulin Village thought. She just felt that eating a bowl of authentic hand-rolled noodles with old hen soup early in the morning in winter, accompanied by two plates of pickles and stir-fried vegetables, made her feel comfortable from the inside out.
After breakfast, seeing that everyone had gathered at the door, she didn't delay any longer and waved her hand directly: "Let's go and see how the sugar is made!"