Great Tang Idyll

Book 2: Chapter 16

"This little sister here, don't be so anxious. Other people are still waiting on the side. Although the thirteen spices mix is good, you can't use too much of it at once. One pouch will last you about half a year. Half a year later, I'll still be selling thirteen spices mix here."

Zhang Xiao'bao was still immersed in the memory of selling thirteen spices mix, and wasn't aware of what was going on for a short while. He had a special smile on his face, and he added two more spoons to the paper.

"Xiao'bao, do you still want to make instant noodles or not? You keep on adding these things, but have you added salt and MSG yet? Stop it already."

Wang Juan wiped her tears away. She squatted down and stopped Zhang Xiao'bao. She stared into his eyes while speaking.

"Oh, right. I'm making the flavor packet for instant noodles. Haha, I forgot. I thought I was selling thirteen spices mix. Let's save these for cooking. I added too much star anise powder so it's not suitable for instant noodles. If there comes a day where we have offended some unreasonable and powerful people and there are no other ways to survive, I will sell thirteen spices mix. I will definitely be able to make a fortune."

Only until Zhang Xiao'bao was stopped by Wang Juan, did he jump out of the past. The days of selling thirteen spices mix are long gone.

Wang Juan nodded with red eyes, and she touched Zhang Xiao'bao's face distressingly. "Yeah, I believe you are the best. If that time does come, I will sell it with you. Who on earth is Zhang Xiao'bao? He's an amazing person who can call the wind and command the rain, and support the weight of the sky. Who dares to talk about money in front of you? Who is qualified to rant about hardships when standing next to you? Do we still need to make sauce packets?"

"How about let's not make that? Maybe we can wrap some dried veggies and dried meat together instead. We don't have materials to package the sauce. We can't put it in porcelain jars, can we? If we do, how much would we have to sell it for? If that doesn't work, then we can consider putting the sauce inside the noodles and deep-fry it together with the noodles. Didn't we already agree that we will make a coin of profit for every two portions sold? We can sell it to travellers; by eating this, they won't be nutritionally deprived on long journeys."

Zhang Xiao'bao summarized their plans in a few words, and then proposed a new approach. He smiled at Wang Juan again to reassure her.

"Okay, we'll put it in the noodles, and then when we fry it, the taste will be great. We absolutely cannot put beef in the meat and vegetable package, or else we will be running the business at a loss. Tell me, have you ever polished shoes before? When I get leather shoes in the future, I won't even bother with wiping it clean myself--- I'll get a professional to do it."

Wang Juan also returned a smile, and she whispered to Zhang Xiao'bao. She was really curious about Zhang Xiaobao's past.

"I actually did polish shoes before. Once, I polished the shoes of a kid that was about my age, and he gave me his newly bought ice cream. It was too sweet though. It's fine if you don't know how to, I'll teach you."

Zhang Xiao'bao wrapped the bag of spices that was on his hand and put it aside while he whispered to Wang Juan.

"I don't want to learn. I'm stupid and have a low IQ. It's good enough to just have you. I trust you. I want a pair of brown boots made from deer suede, and I'll leave the maintenance job to you."

Wang Juan replied with a smile.

Shi'liu turned around while humming lightly the tune her Young Master was singing earlier. She had to roll out the dough really thin so that the cut noodles would be thin, and she had to deep-fry the noodles later too. She had no idea what her Young Master and Young Miss were planning to do. What was instant noodles?

The taste must be decent since the noodles were deep-fried and there were a lot of spices cooked together with the noodles. Then then wouldn't it be better to directly add the spices to fresh noodles? Why does it need to be deep-fried first? She couldn't make sense out of it, but she figured that her Young Master and Young Miss can't be wrong.

It didn't take much time for Shi'liu to roll out the dough, cut it into thin noodles and lumped the noodles into a ball, and then she brought the noodles to the kitchen. She heated up the oil and put the noodles in for frying. After a short while, the noodles turned golden and a fragrant scent floated out.

After frying 20 portions, she finally finished frying this entire batch. She removed the excess oil and then placed the fried noodles onto a large plate. She carried the plate back and asked Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan, "Young Master, Young Miss, the instant noodles are ready. How is it eaten?"

"It's done already? Okay, I'll tell you how it's eaten. Go get a large bowl and a small bowl, and bring it here. Cut some marinated meat and fresh vegetables. Don't forget to get the salt and MSG. Bring some hot water too."

Zhang Xiao'bao looked at the fried noodles and asked the Shi'liu to bring over some things. Shi'liu worked quickly and it didn't take long for her to grab the items Zhang Xiao'bao wanted. She waited on the side to see how they prepared it.

This time, Wang Juan was the one that did the work. She put the noodles, meat and veggies into the large bowl, and she saved a bit of green onion on the side. She got Zhang Xiao'bao to prepare the spices, and then she tossed into the bowl. Hot water was added and the small bowl was used as a lid to cover the noodles. The only thing left to do was wait.

The aroma in the bowl rose slowly. Shi'liu sniffed the scent and swallowed back her drool. She couldn't wait to try it out. After about a quarter of an hour, Wang Juan said to Shi'liu, "Okay, you can remove the small bowl now. Be careful, don't scald yourself. Add the green onions in, then mix it. Have a taste and tell us what you think.."

With the Young Miss' permission, Shi'liu eagerly walked over and picked up the small bowl. She sprinkled the pieces of green onions in and mixed it with a pair of chopsticks. She took a bite, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Young Master, Young Miss, this noodle is really delicious. It tastes like shredded pork noodles. So it turns out that the Young Master and Young Miss want to eat shredded pork noodles. You could have ordered me to make that; it's easier to make than instant noodles."

Shi'liu's words left Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan speechless.

"Xiao'bao, tell Shi'liu which one is more instant. I'm not good at explaining." Wang Juan pushed this difficult task to Zhang Xiao'bao.

Zhang Xiao'bao had to demonstrate from all aspects the advantages of transporting this instant noodle compared to shredded pork noodles. It was easier to store, easier to prepare, and it tasted good. It can be soaked with water, or even with just cold water, but it can be chewed dry without water too. Although the fried noodles tasted good when eaten dry, it was a bit hard to swallow. If conditions permit, they can be carried with roasted flour at the same time.

Shi'liu was persuaded by the Young Master's eloquence and felt that the situation was just as the Young Master described. Even though the instant noodles occupied a bit more space and was a bit more expensive than roasted flour, it was better than ordinary roasted flour. The main thing is because the noodles can be crushed into powder and be eaten as roasted flour, but roasted flour cannot be made into noodles. Also, no one would put these kinds of dried vegetables into the roasted flour, let alone the seasonings the Young Master had prepared.

"Young Master, Young Miss, I understand it now. Am I supposed to work on this? I have to find two people to help me---the fungus has grown bigger again." Shi'liu suggested to Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan to add more workers.

Wang Juan shook her head, "You don't need to work on this; we just wanted to let you taste it. Just like the mian'pi, get someone else to work on it. It's not like it's a precious thing."

"Then I'm going to find someone now. Should I get someone else to prepare the seasonings too? " Shi'liu was relieved that she can still devote her time to researching mushroom cultivation.

"Don't tell others about the seasonings, let Xiao'bao make it. Even though it looks like there are just a few spices, there's a lot behind matching spices. Make more and then deliver them to our own restaurant. MSG and the seasonings will absolutely make the dish taste better. Just find someone to make the noodles."

Wang Juan wouldn't agree to giving the recipe of the thirteen spices mix to other people. When she was watching Zhang Xiao'bao put the spices onto the paper earlier, she noticed that different amounts of each spice from the big bags were added in. There were two big bags that seemed to be more expensive and, so the amount added was intentionally reduced. It was definitely not as simple as it seemed. It was not just random spices mixed together. In particular, more spices were added in later, and once one spice was added, another had to be added too.

According to the theory of two extremes, it is the harmony of yin and yang. According to the scientific theory, only the combination of these two things can neutralize the issues of the human body. It was also the same for flavors. For example, sometimes when there's too much vinegar, then it is necessary for sugar to be added.

Of course, Shi'iu did not refute, and she ran out after hearing the order to find someone to make more noodles so that the Manor can have another kind of income.

"Okay, we can take a break now. Let's go swimming. It seems like the kids on the Manor only have an IQ of only 60, what should we do? No wonder they study so hard, but their grades are still bad. Should we test the kids on the Ge Manor? And then bring the smart ones to our Manor?"

After waiting for Shi'liun to leave, Wang Juan led Zhang Xiao'bao to the back and asked as they walked together.

In contrast, Zhang Xiao'bao did not look down on those children with IQs of 60. Sometimes IQs are not everything. Everyone has their own talent, but it ultimately depends on whether you can find it and whether you are willing to spend a lot of energy and financial resources to develop it.

"Test them then. We can't let the truly outstanding people around us go by unnoticed. Usually, it's easier to train people with high IQs. Back then, that Liu'er was tested too and I didn't expect that the results would be promising. We got hold of their household registration from the police office and kept it on the Manor."

Zhang Xiao'bao looked up at the sky, and he felt that today was particularly sultry. Then, he said to Wang Juan, "Later, let's find an old man to see if it is going to rain, and see if the ants will move out."

"Then we can't go to the swimming pool. You burned all of the ants in the yard to death using limestone powder. It's good if it rains, it will be cooler. The ground is about to crack. We always sprinkle water on the ground here, but the other places are so dry, there are probably a whole bunch of open cracks.

It's a pity that there's no smelting process yet so we can't make a good water pipe. Given the technology now, it's too expensive to make a section of an iron pipe. People are better off just carrying the water on their shoulders. If we do have pipes, we can warm up the house in winter."

Wang Juan raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead. She hastened her pace because she wanted to dive in the water earlier.

*

Three days passed by in a hurry. Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan gave Liu'er some tangrams and other intellectual toys. Liu'er was able to learn quickly under the guidance of her teacher who came to give her private lessons. She didn't need to learn to write since it was enough for her to memorize the historical events.

Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan don't want Li Xun to win the trophy in the end, since that would make him overly arrogant and feel that the children on the Manor were incomparable to him. They will only let him win one game so that he can prove himself, and then this would be a good setup for the next step of their plan.

In these three days, the heavens finally sprinkled rain from the sky. For three consecutive days, there was no heavy rain, but light rain never stopped. The water in the river gradually rose, and there was a tide coming in everywhere.

However, the rain came too late, and it could not solve the drought. Some people were even more afraid that it would rain again when the grain was ripe.

I apologize for not uploading chapters consistently! I'll try to squeeze in more chapters when I have more time. Thanks for being patient and showing support.