Chapter 101: Shiitake Mushroom Sauce

The store sells raw sweet potatoes directly, no longer baked like before and then sold, the size is not as well-proportioned as the previous baked sweet potatoes are generally large. So the way of selling is different, no longer sold by the catty, a catty of eight Wenqian.

When you do the math, raw sweet potatoes are a bit cheaper than baked sweet potatoes, and the price is approachable and affordable to the general public.

The price of rice was relatively high, a bucket of one hundred Wen, which was quite a bit more expensive than the price of rice sold by other rice stores in the county, which was sixty Wen a bucket.

But the store guy explains that they have a different variety of rice, to be more fragrant and chewy than ordinary rice.

Such rice will not be bought by the general public, who only want to be able to have enough to eat and are looking for value for money, not taste.

The different selling price strategy was formulated by Wei Ruo, the sweet potatoes are mainly oriented to the general public, the price is low, so that everyone can afford to eat. If you come across a thin face that has not eaten for a long time, the store will also give a few free gifts to each other.

The sales target of rice is the dignitaries who have the pursuit of quality of life, for one thing, the rice she acquired from Huzhou Prefecture does have this quality and can afford this price, for another, the purchase cost and transportation cost of these rice Wei Ruo also has to be taken into account, and naturally, the price is also increased.

As for the mushroom sauce, Wei Ruo made it herself.

Together with Xiu Mei, she simmered a large pot in the small kitchen of Welcome Bamboo Court, and then filled twenty jars with small clay pots.

Because the first time to make a small amount, Wei Ruo did not intend to put it on sale in the store, but to use it for their own food and gifts.

The next day when Wei Ruo went to Xie Mansion for a lesson, Wei Ruo sent two jars to Mr. Wang and then two jars of mushroom sauce to Xie Ying.

Xie Ying took the two small earthen jars Wei Ruo handed her and curiously asked Wei Ruo, “What is this?”

“This one is mushroom sauce.”

“Shiitake sauce? Made with shiitake mushrooms?”

“Well, put some lard in the pot, put in the minced meat and stir-fry to get the flavor, then pour in the green onion, ginger, garlic, and diced mushrooms before adding salt, cooking wine, pepper powder, and sugar and stir-frying well. Finally, just add some soy sauce.” Wei Ruo explained.

Xie Ying listened in awe, “I can’t understand it, but it feels very powerful. Can this sauce be eaten directly? I don’t know how to cook, but I can eat it, I’ll know if it’s good or not once I’ve eaten it.”

“Generally used to mix rice, vegetables, noodles and the like, those eaten directly will be a little salty, eating is naturally edible.” Wei Ruo replied.

“Then it’s no problem.”

Xie Ying couldn’t wait for the maid to bring her chopsticks over, then opened the jar, dipped the tip of the chopsticks into a bit, and put it in her mouth.

Xie Ying’s eyes instantly lit up, “So fragrant, so delicious!”

Xie Ying really thought it was delicious, she liked the richness of the sauce, with the flavor of the meat and the mushrooms, and the richness of the soy sauce.

“It’s good that you like it. I’ll get it for you after you eat it. This needs to be fresh to be good, leaving it for too long affects the quality, I’ll make some new ones in a while and give them to you.” Wei Ruo replied.

Although it can be properly preserved for some time by firing it with soy sauce, covering it with cooked oil and taking earthen jars to seal it, in the end, it cannot be preserved for as long as it is in modern times by using preservatives and vacuum packaging.

“Good. In that case, I’ll just share a little with my brother. I won’t be able to give it to him if there are only two cans, but if there are more, just be slightly nicer to him!” Xie Ying said.

“Hmm.” Wei Ruo couldn’t help but smile, the Xie siblings’ unique way of getting along was very cute in her opinion.

###

After all the sweet potatoes were harvested, Wei Ruo was ready to plant a new crop. The land resources were limited and could not be left empty.

At this time of year, there are hill country-friendly, greens, radishes, and fava beans that are all great choices.

When you really think about cost effectiveness, this is the best time to plant wheat so that it can be harvested in the fourth to sixth month of next year’s lunar calendar.

The terrain of this Xiaoyang Mountain is not suitable for wheat cultivation, and the reason why I chose to plant sweet potatoes in the first place is that sweet potatoes do not need to do too much to the sloping mountainous land.

In contrast, it is the terrain south of the city that is more suitable for growing wheat.

When a large area of land was first opened up in the south of the city, Wei Ruo, in addition to purchasing a medicinal field with Xie Ying, also had her nurse purchase a large amount of land.

Although the land purchased by the Nurse was not as geographically favorable as those freely opened by the government to the poor people, the terrain was still much better than the mountainous land north of the city.

The price was cheap too, fifty taels of silver for claiming a full hundred acres of flat land.

After this period of improvement, the land was already in a condition to grow crops. Wei Ruo planned to plant wheat on that piece of land. When the wheat is harvested next year, it will be just the right time to plant Wei Ruo’s late rice varieties.

Not only the land subscribed by the Nurse Wei Ruo intends to plant wheat, Wei Ruo also intends to let the other people in the south of the city also plant wheat.

It is too late to plant rice at this time, but if you plant ordinary vegetables, it is not cost-effective for the poor people who have not yet solved the problem of food and clothing.

Although the people of Jiangzhe Road like to eat rice far more than pasta, but now this situation, who cares so much, can grow food to eat is the most important thing.

To push this forward with the people in the south of the city, Wei Ruo needed the help of the government.

So Wei Ruo called out to Sister Qin and told her thoughts to her. She knew that Chu Lan was profitable in this matter, so she didn’t need to beat around the bush, much less be embarrassed, when making requests with his people.

“Great Miss Wei’s great kindness, planting wheat at this time is indeed the best choice.” Sister Qin very much agreed with Wei Ruo’s judgment.

“If it is possible, I also hope that Sister Qin will help by transporting wheat seeds from the north, there are still very few wheat planted in Taizhou Prefecture today, and there are not enough wheat seeds. And the south of the city has a large planting area and needs a large amount of wheat seed, those people are already penniless, it is very difficult for them to get wheat seed by their own ability.”

“Don’t worry, Eldest Miss Wei, this matter will be taken care of by the Seventh Highness.” Sister Qin didn’t even need to go back and ask Chu Lan to give an affirmative answer.

His Highness is so concerned about reclaiming the wasteland in the south of the city that he is bound to make achievements, and now that he has come to this point, how can he not do the right thing with the wheat seeds?

Hearing this answer from Sister Qin, Wei Ruo knew that finding Sister Qin was the right choice.

Chu Lan’s involvement was still of great benefit, and this kind of thing that was not too good for the general public could be easily accomplished by him.

“I’ll first thank Seventh Highness and Sister on behalf of the people in the southern part of the city who are opening up the land.” Wei Ruo said thanks.

“There’s no need for you to be polite, the people who should be thanking you for opening up the land are the ones who should be thanking you.” Sister Qin said.