CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 47: REFORMING STEAMED BUNS

The school bell rang, and children ran home cheerfully against the wind, bringing some liveliness to the slightly chilly Lin Family Manor due to the cold weather.

As the weather turned cold, the villagers who had gone to sea returned early. The coarse cloth garments they wore could not withstand the sea’s winds and waves; falling sick would be more trouble than it’s worth, so they simply came back early.

The once dilapidated dock had already been refurbished by Lin Wanwan. Even though the two old fishing boats, one large and one small, still looked old, moored against the new dock, they seemed three parts newer.

Lin Wanwan was sitting in the backyard, with a fire going, fiddling with things in a clay pot.

Little Qingyu was sitting far away on a small stool customized by Lin Wanwan (intentionally moved by Lin Wanwan), propping up her little head, watching Lin Wanwan tinker.

As for Hua Nong, Yun Shang, and Kun Lun, they were each busy with their own tasks.

Lin Wanwan was currently making alkali; she always felt that the Great Tang’s breads were poorly fermented and not very tasty, but she’d been delayed by many things and hadn’t found time to make yeast powder.

Of course, buying it from the modern day wasn’t impossible; mainly, Lin Wanwan thought making alkali was not difficult. She even thought of developing this skill into an industry for the clan, adding some income for the people in winter. The saying goes, teaching a man to fish is better than giving him fish, after all.

"Mother, what is this?"

"This is called soda ash, Glauber’s salt, and limestone; mother is using them to make alkali."

"What is alkali?"

Little Qingyu had a million questions, as children in the language development phase often do, never stopping her little mouth.

Lin Wanwan continued her work patiently answering.

Regardless of whether the little one understood, she would say, as eventually, the little one would surely string together a slew of questions, deviating eighty thousand miles from the topic.

After several experiments and numerous steps, Lin Wanwan finally refined the caustic soda, soda ash, and other substances she needed.

Although due to the simple conditions, the alkali Lin Wanwan extracted was not very pure, her requirements weren’t high.

Caustic soda could make soap, while soda ash became baking soda, both of which could be lucrative goods. The key was, instead of sourcing everything from the modern time, doing it DIY offered great satisfaction!

While her knowledge was still fresh and not yet forgotten, Lin Wanwan hurried to tinker all she could.

As darkness fell, Lin Wanwan finally processed the lye, placing it into small porcelain bottles she had prepared at the side.

These small porcelain bottles now contained lye, soda ash, and caustic soda. She put them all away, placing them on the high shelves in the kitchen, sternly instructing the three servants not to let anyone touch them.

Lye was not the best choice for making bread; yeast powder would work better. But regrettably, yeast powder was too difficult for Lin Wanwan, so she had to settle.

Of course, when making food for her own family, she would definitely swap in real yeast powder from modern times. After all, Yun Shang and Hua Nong wouldn’t know the difference.

"Mother, Little Jade is hungry." The little one was no longer sitting on the small stool, running around in the yard, drawn by the aroma of Hua Nong’s cooking, holding her little belly and urging Lin Wanwan.

Lin Wanwan had already tidied up, smiling, "Alright, let’s eat. Little Jade, come wash your hands!"

"Okay! Okay!" Little Jade clapped with joy, running over to wash hands with Lin Wanwan.

The next morning, an enticing aroma wafted from the Lin family’s kitchen.

Little Jade, Little Crab, and Big Ya stopped playing, rushing to the kitchen to see what was happening. Little Jade looked towards the direction of the steamer, asking Hua Nong, "Aunt Hua Nong, what are you making? It smells so good."

"Ah, little lady, I am making steamed buns, just about done."

In front of the kitchen stove, Hua Nong lifted the lid of the steamer, surprised at the six chubby white buns revealed amidst the white steam (similar to meat buns, which the Tang people liked to call most steamed food).

When Hua Nong was trained by merchants, she mainly focused on culinary arts. She made many steamed buns, but had never seen them like this. Although she used the usual method today, the only difference was adding the lye made by her mistress.

She never expected the steamed buns to come out so huge, more than twice the usual size, like little white flowers in full bloom!

Her mistress’s skills were simply marvelous, like a fairy descending from the heavens.

Though she wasn’t very adept in the kitchen, whenever her mistress did decide to make food, the results often left Hua Nong in awe (Hua Nong didn’t know many things Lin Wanwan pretended to fuss over in the kitchen were actually smuggled directly from modern times).

Little Crab and Big Ya, having once been hungry and scared, walked into the kitchen lured by the smell, looking eagerly at the steaming basket.

Little Qingyu stood on a small stool, scooped some water into a basin, and beckoned her companions, "Come over, you have to wash your hands, wash them before you can eat."

The two little ones immediately crowded together, running over to join Little Qingyu in washing hands, giggling and splashing in the porcelain basin.

After washing their hands, each of the three of them grabbed one, unable to resist the heat, and turned it around in their little hands a few times before taking a bite.

At this moment, Lin Guofu’s Third and Second Miss, under the pretense of playing with Little Jade, came over, drawn by the smell.

Still at an age of ignorance, urged on by unreliable elders at home, these few days they often visited the Lin Wanwan’s home during breakfast time to scrounge food.

At this time, the two little girls stood shoulder to shoulder at the door of the Lin family’s kitchen, watching the three eating buns, sucking their fingers and asking, "Little Jade sister, what are you eating? Is it tasty? What does it taste like?"

Little Qingyu couldn’t resist boasting to them, "My Aunt Hua Nong makes the best steamed buns! You surely haven’t tasted anything like it! Fragrant and soft, with a hint of sweetness."

Just then, Lin Wanwan, all dressed up and groomed, also walked into the kitchen, shaking her head with a laugh, taking two steamed buns from the steamer and handing them to the two children.

Though she didn’t like Lin Guofu’s family, nor was she fond of the Third and Second Misses, they were just two six or seven-year-old kids and of the same clan, after all, Lin Wanwan wasn’t overly fussy.

The two little ones from Lin Guofu’s family were overjoyed to receive the buns, bouncing and running home, not even bothering to hide their excitement.

Soon, the Lin Family Manor women, upon hearing the news, came by to see the novelty too, and before stepping in, they heard Lin Sunshi exclaiming, "My, Lin Teacher, how does Hua Nong of your family make those steamed buns? They are so rare, why are the buns so big?"

Lin Wanwan slightly nodded without speaking, while Hua Nong, still eating a bun, muttered while she ate, "Just steamed buns with the lye made by Mistress. Same ingredients, but the buns steamed out twice the size as usual."

"Wow! Twice the size?!" Lin Sunshi, holding her son, craned her neck to look at the steamer, exclaiming, "Are those steamed buns? I’ve lived for twenty-two years and I’ve never seen such handsome steamed buns."