The reason why Su Qingluan quoted the price of jam so high was to ensure that even if the total production volume of jam was small, sufficient profits could be generated.
After all, if it’s a “luxury product”, it can’t be something that can be found everywhere on the streets, right?
However, Su Qingluan did not intend to use expensive jade and porcelain as a container for jam, nor did he intend to use famous calligraphy and paintings to decorate and beautify the product.
Of course, this is not just to reduce manufacturing costs, but because Mu Xingzhi has made it clear that he wants to take over the design of the jam outer packaging.
Su Qingluan guessed that there might be some mystery contained in the designed pattern.
But Mu Xingzhi didn't say anything, and she didn't ask. Not everything is clear. For Su Qingluan, only her family and at most those lovely villagers can make her worry a little bit. As long as other things do not affect her family, she has no intention of getting involved.
Thinking like this, Su Qingluan lifted the curtain beside the carriage window and looked towards the bustling town outside the door - people in the town were still coming and going, bustling with people.
However, it was different from the summer when we first traveled through, when everyone was wearing light clothes and their faces were red with sweat. Now it was September, and the clothes on the passers-by were thicker and warmer to the naked eye. And if the sun hadn't been so warm at noon, everyone would have breathed out white water vapor while talking.
The weather is getting colder and cooler.
Su Qingluan looked at the hurried pedestrians and was a little distracted: In this era without any heating and air conditioning, human life is like a piece of grass. How many lives will be left in this winter forever?
It seemed like her movements were going to speed up.
A gust of autumn wind flowed into the carriage through the window, making Su Qingluan shiver uncontrollably. The moment she lowered the car curtain, she saw a spice shop just passing by outside the door.
Su Qingluan had an idea and thought of what to eat tonight.
"Little brother driving the carriage!" Su Qingluan patted the carriage carriage, "Can you please stop here for a moment?"
The driver of Xie Mansion is a real person: "But Mother Zhang asked me to deliver you, my wife, to the door of my house."
Su Qingluan laughed: "I just want to get off the car to buy some things. Little brother, please wait for a moment."
The young man driving the carriage nodded when he heard this, jumped out of the carriage first, took out a stool from the side and placed it at the place where he got off: "Madam, be careful, step on this stool to get off the carriage."
Su Qingluan smiled and thanked her, and then went into the spice merchant's shop.
Because Su Qingluan often has to tinker with some novel flavors or foods that he likes, he often has to use these various spices that few people would buy in Fan Shang's opinion.
But this little girl, who looks young, buys many kinds every time - there are even some kinds that only Su Qingluan himself will buy.
For example, today's peppercorns.
Because eating various spices can numb the tongue or even the entire mouth, many times they are sold not as spices, but as anesthetics.
And if people really want to buy medicinal materials, they will go to specialized pharmacies to get them. Therefore, as a store that sells edible spices, basically no one cares about the peppercorns here.
Su Qingluan not only bought peppercorns, but also Sichuan peppercorns and vine peppers, and bought some of them back. Considering the number of people in the family and the two little ones who have been eating more and more recently, Su Qingluan sold a lot of each spice. .
She is also a frequent visitor to the store, so Fan Shang has gradually become familiar with her. Not only would he give her a little extra every time, he would also tell her how to choose spices.
Su Qingluan kept smiling and listening, bringing up different topics without leaving any trace.
Although the level of Zhongyuan dialect in this conversation was second-to-none, he was very enthusiastic and talkative. Even if the article is inaccurate, he is still very enthusiastic about the amway of different spices.
This kind of enthusiastic and outgoing personality is undoubtedly very easy to get closer to others. Because of this, this businessman is very talkative and has a wide social circle. He is also familiar with the gossip spread by vendors.
So Su Qingluan was naturally able to ask some of the things he wanted to know.
For example, the prices of coarse salt and refined salt, the different prices paid by hiring long-term and short-term workers for different types of work, and the transportation costs of different transportation routes from here to other parts of the country.
These small things are not secret information, but they are too common, so unless they are engaged in related work, not many people will ask carefully.
Su Qingluan interspersed these questions with ordinary gossip chats, and carefully sorted out the information he needed in his mind.
After the spices were almost selected, Su Qingluan had some initial ideas about what she wanted to inquire about.
She nodded towards the merchant and got back into the carriage with her large and small parcels contentedly.
It was too early to come back today, only after noon. It was naturally impossible for Su Guangfu and Yang to come back from the stall at this time, but Sun Guixiang, who was already pregnant next door, was holding her waist and smiling, listening to Su Xueyan laughing and playing in the yard.
Su Qingluan put down the spices she bought and went to pick up the little girl next door who had gone crazy playing.
Although it was already autumn, Su Xueyan was not particularly well-dressed, but because the child was very energetic, she had been running wildly in the yard, and her little face was now very red.
"Aunt Guixiang, thank you for taking this little monkey!" Su Qingluan joked, touching her little sister's red face.
The little girl was unhappy after hearing her elder sister's joke: "I'm not a monkey!"
Sun Guixiang also hurriedly smiled and said: "No, no, we three girls are the best."
When Su Qingluan just came back, Sun Guixiang saw her getting off a very impressive carriage. Those who can use a carriage are definitely not ordinary people.
However, Sun Guixiang is a measured person. She knows that she should not ask more questions, so she suppresses the curiosity in her heart and asks: "Girl Su, are you thinking about something good to eat tonight? Is your aunt here?" What’s my share?”
In fact, Sun Guixiang's words were mostly joking. After all, it was very obvious that she was pregnant now. If she went to another house for dinner easily, it would be fine if everything went as usual. If she started in advance or something, don't say she regretted it. Even the neighbors who are dragged in are troublesome!
Su Qingluan also knew that Sun Guixiang just mentioned it jokingly, but she still explained seriously: "What I want to make today is shabu-shabu, but not the clear soup pot. I plan to make vine pepper pot today."
"Vine pepper?" Sun Guixiang asked curiously, "Is it a spice from Bangbang?"
Su Qingluan nodded: "And we will also add some peppercorns, Sichuan peppercorns and a little dogwood, and fry them with soybeans to create a fragrant aroma. Such spicy and greasy ingredients may not be suitable for you, Auntie. But..." Su Qing Luan was afraid that Sun Guixiang would be disappointed, so she quickly added, "Auntie, when you give birth to the baby and you are well, I will make this vine pepper pot for you again!"
Sun Guixiang laughed when she heard this: "I just said it casually, is it really like that greedy child who never forgets about eating?"
Su Qingluan raised her head and said with some pride: "The food I cooked is not something you usually see!"
Sun Guixiang was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded the tip of Su Qingluan's nose.
Returning home from next door, Su Qingluan assigned her sister the big characters to be written today.
Now Su Xueyan has mastered the eight basic strokes of horizontal strokes, vertical strokes, hooks, dots, folds and lifts. Although the brush strokes are occasionally a bit shaky due to lack of strength, this is after all limited by the lack of wrist strength due to her young age. As Su Xueyan grows older, this problem will gradually improve.
So, Su Qingluan began to teach her the most basic characters - different from Su Xueyan's own name, which was taught first, but the most basic and most difficult to master single-character characters.
For example, the "wood" I am writing now.
Precisely because this type of single character has fewer strokes and a simple structure, it is more suitable for laying the foundation. If you master the basic font structure well, you will be able to write more complex characters with less effort in the future.
Moreover, Su Qingluan is not simply teaching how to write, but through the structure of the fonts, he simply outlines pictures that the children can associate with each other faster, helping his sister to read faster.
"I'm going to learn these two words today." Su Qingluan put down the brush and let her sister start practicing by herself, "Sister, I'm going to the kitchen to make delicious food. Remember to call me if you have anything."
After giving the usual instructions, Su Qingluan turned around and went to the kitchen.
Since there are currently no chili peppers and the various condiments are not that complete, Su Qingluan does not expect to be able to completely make a rattan pepper hot pot that is comparable to modern ones. But the downgraded version she's making now shouldn't taste that bad.
Su Qingluan first poured the soybean oil that had been absorbed by various citrus fruits into a large basin, sat the iron pot on the stove, and began to carefully light the stove.
She knew before that lighting the stove was a technical job. Although Yang and Su Guangfu usually did this job, Su Qingluan still learned this skill with difficulty just in case.
However, due to lack of proficiency, it took Su Qingluan half an hour to light one of the stoves, and she herself seemed to have fallen into a coal mine. Except for the whites of her eyes and teeth, everything else on her face was white. It was pitch black.
After simply washing her face, Su Qingluan didn't care too much whether her face was completely clean - she was the only one in the kitchen now anyway - Su Qingluan turned around and started to prepare the raw materials one by one, and started the most important step. Fry the base oil.
Because the texture of the ingredients is different, the order in which they can be fried to produce the aroma is different, so it is absolutely impossible to put in all the spices and side dishes at once.
Larger spices such as ginger cubes and grass fruits can naturally be added to the oil first, while fragrant leaves, which will be over-fried if lightly oiled, naturally need to be added later.
As various onions, ginger, garlic, various peppercorns, cornel, onions and other spices were added one by one, the pot of hot oil in front of Su Qingluan gradually took on a unique and delicious flavor.
