W Chapter 9

Chapter 9 Buying Flour

Chapter 9 Buying Flour

Xu Youfang wanted to go to the neighboring village to ask a doctor to come and see Ling Xing again, but Ling Xing refused.

One hundred copper coins wasn’t a small amount, especially for this family. Buying some flour with less bran to eat at home would be good.

He knew his own body; he wasn’t sick at all.

Ling Xing’s attitude was firm, and he even jumped around a few times in front of Xu Youfang to prove that he was fine.

Xu Youfang couldn’t persuade Ling Xing, so she had to give up.

With money, everything is easier to handle.

Ling Xing didn’t waste any time. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was around for supper at dusk, he talked about the things he needed for his business.

Farm families usually eat two meals a day when it’s not the busy farming season, one in the morning and one in the evening.

During the busy season, they eat three meals a day, with a dry meal at noon.

The Shen family had to go up the mountain to collect firewood and carry it to town to sell, which took a lot of physical effort, so they had been eating three meals a day recently.

However, every meal was either thin porridge or bean rice, and there was nothing substantial. Eating it was just for comfort and didn’t really fill their stomachs.

The family listened to Ling Xing’s plan while drinking thin porridge.

First, they needed to have a clay oven and steamer made.

Shen Chengshan said, “Is the steamer that Ling Xing mentioned made of wood? If so, I’ll have Second Son help you make it; he has some skills.”

Ling Xing looked at Shen Hui across from him. He saw the other party nod slightly, his voice cold and hard, “Draw the design for me.”

After speaking, he asked, “Can you draw?”

Ling Xing nodded, “I can. I’ll draw it for you after we finish eating.”

Shen Hui said, “No hurry, you can draw it before I start making it tomorrow.”

If they could make the steamer at home, they could save some money.

There was no way to make the clay oven themselves; that had to be fired at the pottery workshop.

The style that Ling Xing wanted was similar to the small medicine stove. The family had ordered a small medicine stove before because Shen Hai had to take medicine.

During the winter, whoever was cooking medicine for Shen Hai would squat in front of the medicine stove to warm their hands.

However, that stove was too small. It was fine for boiling water and medicine, but not for steaming buns and dumplings.

After knowing Ling Xing’s requirements for the clay oven, Shen Chengshan took note of them.

“I’ll take a trip to the pottery workshop when I go to sell firewood tomorrow.”

The other members of the Shen family had no objections and listened to Shen Chengshan’s decision.

This trust and tolerance made Ling Xing a little incredulous. The Shen family hadn’t even tasted what he made yet. They were just listening to him and helping him prepare and get things ready.

He knew it was partly because of his current identity, but he couldn’t deny that the Shen family was really good to him.

The two elders of the Shen family didn’t know what Ling Xing was thinking. In their eyes, Ling Xing wasn’t only someone that Shen Hai entrusted them to take care of, but also because Ling Xing had come to their family for a “Wedding to Ward Off Evil,” only to become a young widower three days after the marriage.

They were thinking of compensating him.

Since Ling Xing wanted to start a business, they would help him do it. If it succeeded, that would be great, and if it didn’t, there would be no regrets.

“Dad, Mom, which family in the village has good flour? I want to use the copper coins to buy some and make some buns and steamed buns for everyone to try.”

Ling Xing’s suggestion received a strong response from Shen Lai. He didn’t know what buns and steamed buns were, but he knew good flour.

Hearing the word “flour,” two small flames lit up in his eyes.

Shen Lai couldn’t sit still and waved his hands to attract Ling Xing’s attention, “The village chief’s family definitely has it! Brother Husband, how much do you want? I’ll help you exchange it!”

Hearing that Ling Xing wanted to try making some for them to taste, the other members of the Shen family were also very interested.

After all, it was a business that would cost a lot of money to prepare. If the taste really wasn’t good, they could see if they could figure out a way to make it more delicious beforehand.

Selling food, novelty could attract people, but what was more important was the taste.

The task of buying flour from the village chief’s house was handed over to Shen Lai. After Ling Xing counted out the copper coins for him, he ran off impatiently.

The Shen family was only half a kilometer away from the village, and he arrived after running for a short while.

The village chief’s family was just having supper. They had cooked meat today, so they were a little late.

He thought he could avoid the mealtime, but he ran right into it.

Shen Lai held the small pottery pot, feeling a little uneasy, and wanted to go back first.

The village chief’s wife, Wang Chunxia, saw him and stopped him directly, politely inviting him to eat a few bites. Of course, Shen Lai wouldn’t really sit down to eat.

However, he couldn’t help but swallow his saliva. After a few breaths, he waved his hand and refused, “I’m not eating, Aunt Wang. I’m here to buy some good flour with copper coins. My family is waiting, and they won’t let me waste time outside.”

When Wang Chunxia heard that he was buying flour with copper coins, the smile on her face became a bit more sincere. She put down her chopsticks and said, “Then Auntie can’t let you get beaten by the adults. Come in and take a look, how much do you want?”

Shen Lai was holding the pottery pot in his arms; it wasn’t very big.

“Fill this up, but not overflowing.”

If it overflowed, it would be easy to spill. If it really spilled, no matter how much spilled, Shen Lai would feel heartbroken.

The village chief’s family’s good flour was the kind that cost twenty copper coins per catty, the slightly gray kind.

Wang Chunxia weighed it with a small scale, “Exactly one catty. Auntie won’t make any money off you. You know how much it costs to buy it. Give Auntie two more copper coins as a errand fee.”

Shen Lai responded with an “Alright,” nodding as he counted the copper coins.

He carefully counted them twice, confirmed that there were twenty-two, and then handed them over.

When pouring the flour, Shen Lai stared intently. If even a little bit spilled on the table, he would pinch it up and put it in the pottery pot.

Wang Chunxia watched and didn’t say anything; those who came to exchange for flour were basically like this.

When going back, Shen Lai didn’t run as wildly as when he went to the village chief’s house, walking carefully.

He protected the pottery pot with his arm, not letting any flour spill out.

After putting the pottery pot safely on the table at home, Shen Lai finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the flour was a bit gray, not as nice in color as the white flour that had been finely ground and sifted many times, it had a strong wheat aroma.

It was pure handmade, additive-free good flour.

Shen Lai’s eyes were filled with anticipation as he stared at the pottery pot, hoping that some would be left out so that he could have delicious noodles on his birthday.

To make buns and steamed buns, you need a sourdough starter and alkaline noodles or baking soda.

Neutralizing the acid and alkali can make the noodles fluffy and soft, stimulate more wheat aroma, and even if they are cooled in a short time, they will not become dry and hard.

But the amount and ratio are also important. Too much or too little will make it taste bad.

Ling Xing made them every now and then in his previous life, so he was quite skilled.

He kneaded a small amount of dough and put it in a pottery bowl that had been scalded with boiling water and dried. It would take a certain amount of high temperature and time for the dough to ferment into a sourdough starter.

Because it was cold, creating a suitable temperature was the only thing more troublesome than in modern times.

Ling Xing thought about it for a while and could only requisition the small clay stove for boiling medicine. The firewood used was less, and the temperature above was not very high, but it felt warm when you got close.

Alkali was much easier to obtain than sourdough starter. There was a pile of straw ash in the stove, and Ling Xing took out some with a pottery pot, added water, stirred it, and let it settle.

The clean upper layer of alkaline liquid still needed to be filtered through a cloth several times.

Finally, it could be used.

Sourdough starter was not that simple. The small clay stove was placed in the east room, so it was convenient for Ling Xing to watch it.

The pottery bowl containing the sourdough starter was wrapped in a cloth and placed on the edge of the small clay stove.

Ling Xing controlled the temperature according to the amount of firewood. Only he could do this job, getting up several times at night to check it, for fear of ruining it.

Shen Lai slept soundly and didn’t notice that Ling Xing got up several times in the night.

He thought he would be too excited to sleep because he was sleeping on a bed, but he didn’t expect to sleep until dawn.

After getting up, Shen Lai squatted by the clay stove and watched for a while. He wanted to reach out and lift the cloth to see what was in the pottery bowl, but he finally suppressed his desire to look.

He was a bit mischievous, but he was also afraid that he would really ruin things.