Chapter 19 Opening Five
The four people in the private room on the second floor of Wangyouju looked at the noisy and lively scene below.
"Miss Xia is really amazing."
Lu Jingzhi drank the Sangluo wine in his glass leisurely.
As the saying goes, "I don't know who can drink the mulberry wine this year. The color is as tender as cold syrup, and the fragrance is the same as the nectar of eternal spring. If you carry a bucket with ten thousand people, you can send it to an old friend in Xiaoxiang. If you are not drunk, the mulberry wine will make people helpless. Farewell love."
The sake in the cup is intoxicating.
"Young Master Lu is so complimentary. I just read more books in my spare time."
The corners of Lu Jingzhi's eyes raised slightly, obviously he didn't believe it all. There were no such interesting methods in the book, let alone the recipes for these fine wines.
Obviously Xia Wan didn't want to explain any more, and Lu Jingzhi was sensible and didn't ask any more questions.
…
Time is like a constantly rotating spool, and our figures rush through it.
Golden fallen leaves danced in the autumn wind. They fell from the branches and touched the ground gently, making no sound.
Xia Mansion.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, Xia Wan puts all her energy into the dessert shop, planning to sell a wave of mooncakes first and then slowly launch new products.
Mooncakes are divided into Beijing-style, Cantonese-style, Soviet-style, Hong Kong-style, etc. according to region. Xia Wan plans to make Cantonese-style mooncakes and Hong Kong-style mooncakes.
The latter has low material consumption, low cost and simple production. By keeping the price low when selling, it can be promoted to the mass market and sold to ordinary people from ordinary families.
As for Cantonese-style mooncakes, they are more skillful. They are very strict about the proportion of oil and sugar. Even if they use the same materials, different people will make them with different tastes. Coupled with exquisite patterns, they can be sold to Middle and upper-middle-class families.
Xia Wan planned to leave the snowskin mooncakes to the newly hired chef.
The Cantonese-style mooncakes are made by the chef in the kitchen at home.
When making Cantonese mooncake crust, it is crucial to convert the syrup. It needs to be simmered with sugar and vinegar over low heat until it becomes translucent red. It has a sticky texture and sweet and sour taste. It can be stored in a sealed container without deterioration for several years.
In order to improve efficiency and welcome this Mid-Autumn Festival, Xia Wan asked her servants to buy a large amount of sugar and vinegar, and ordered the cook to boil them out. Once boiled, a large jar was made, which was sealed up until one or two days before the Mid-Autumn Festival. Open it again and make mooncakes.
The flour is sifted through a fine sieve into a sugar solution made of lard, alkaline water, salt and syrup, then kneaded into a cake crust and left to rest in the house. At the same time, steam and mash the soaked bean paste, add oil and sugar and fry over low heat to make sweet bean paste.
The secret to making Cantonese-style mooncakes lies in the ratio of sugar and oil. It can be said that if there is less sugar and oil, the skin of the mooncake may crack or bulge and separate from the filling.
Wrap the rolled out dough with bean paste and knead it into a ball, then use a mold to press it into a round cake shape, with patterns on it.
Finally, brush a layer of egg yolk liquid on the mooncake surface. The baked mooncake has a thin skin with plenty of fillings and a consistent shape. The outer skin is brownish-red with clear, concave and convex patterns. It looks very delicate. Compared with ordinary pastries, it can be said that It is a matter of superiority and inferiority.
The first batch of new product trials only had one bean paste flavor, which was relatively simple and didn’t take much effort. However, if it is to be sold in large quantities later, Xia Wan plans to make several more flavors, such as lotus seed paste and egg yolk, nuts, soufflé, bean paste, sesame peanut and meat-based ones, ranging from sweet to salty, which can meet the needs of most people. .
Dining room.
When Xia Yan saw the mooncakes, his eyes lit up and he was amazed: "Sister, is this a new food you have researched? This mooncake is so exquisite, the rabbit pattern on it is lifelike, just like a painting. I specially hired a master to do the carving. Are they? Why are they all so similar?"
"No, second brother, this is a mold carved by a carpenter, not a directly carved mooncake. Second brother, how about you try this new mooncake?"
"Grandma, father and mother, please give it a try~"
Xia Mu's study tour lasted a long time and she was still not at home.
Xia Yan took a bite. The skin was soft, with a strong aroma of oil. The bean paste was soft and smooth, just the right amount of sweet, not greasy and not greasy.
"Sister, this mooncake is delicious~ sweet but not greasy, more fragrant than five-nut mooncake."
"Second brother, how about you try this snowskin mooncake again?"
Xia Wan handed Xia Yan another snow-skin mooncake with a translucent skin that looked like a piece of crystal clear ice. People couldn't help but want to touch it for its cold feeling. Snowskin mooncakes are round in shape, about 7 cm in diameter and 1 cm thick, very well-proportioned.
"Hmm~" Xia Yan made a satisfied sound, "The outside is ice cold, the texture is light and refreshing, the inside is soft and smooth, the texture is rich, sweet but not greasy, it is very delicious."
Xia Yan finished one before asking his sister, "Sister, how did you make this? My brother has never tasted something like this. It has an icy and cool texture and is not cloying."
"I see that the Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, so I'm wondering if I can open a dessert shop first, warm up the first batch of customers with mooncakes, and then sell other desserts later."
Xia Wan raised her head slightly and looked at Xia Yan, wanting to hear what Xia Yan thought of this idea.
"Sure, sister, sister, your mooncakes will definitely sell well."
Xia Wan thought that she could make a batch of mooncakes in advance and give them as gifts to the small aristocratic families who have good relations with the Xia family. After the other party tastes them, they may find them delicious and ask where they bought them. Then she can tell them that it is a dessert shop that is about to open. You can use the sales model of pre-ordering and paying a deposit, so that there will be no leftover or insufficient mooncakes before the Mid-Autumn Festival and on the Mid-Autumn Festival.
"Dad, can our family use these mooncakes as gifts for the Mid-Autumn Festival this year?"
Xia Yuan looked at his obedient and soft little girl dotingly, and the little girl started to speak. There was no reason to disagree. And he also knew what his little girl was thinking, which was nothing more than promoting the business in advance, so he could save some time on publicity when it opened.
"Okay, this year's gift will be the mooncakes that Guaiguai has researched. Daddy will let them know."
"Hehe~ Daddy is good." Xia Wan leaned close to Xia Yuan, hugged Xia Yuan's arm and rubbed her gently like a kitten, coquettishly. Xia Yuan also gently stroked his daughter's hair.
Fang Shuyi on the side was very pleased to see the scene of a loving father and a filial daughter in front of her, "Wan'er, just ask the people below to do the mooncakes. You must not do it yourself. Don't make yourself tired. Give more to the people below. Just give me some money."
The Xia family is not short of money. Fang Shuyi supports her daughter to do it because she likes these things. She doesn't need Xia Wan to make much money. If her precious daughter is tired, the gains outweigh the losses.
"My dear, your mother is right. Just tell them the method and let them do it. Don't do it yourself. Just reward them with more money if they do well. If you encounter any difficulties, you can talk to dad or you. Brother said." Xia Yuan also warned.
"That's right sister, if you have any problems, come to me and my brother will solve it for you." Xia Yan said, patting his chest.
Xia Wan understood the good intentions of her parents, but she didn't intend to do everything herself, otherwise she would really be exhausted.
"Yeah. Don't worry, parents. I won't tire myself out. I will definitely tell my family if I encounter something that can't be solved."
With Xia Wan's guarantee, the family can rest assured. Xia Wan has always been reassuring in her work since she was a child, but she is also particularly vulnerable to bullying. Xia Yuan and the others are always afraid that Xia Wan will be bullied.
Xia Wan said to this that I will not let others bully me, and it is not my character to swallow my anger.
