CHAPTER 49: CHAPTER 49: LET ME TEACH YOU

"Wan-niang, I heard you’ve come up with something good again?" Lin Clan Leader asked directly as soon as he arrived.

Lin Wanwan replied, "Yes, this was taught to me by my master before. I went to town to buy some materials to make it, and it succeeded right away. Clan Leader Uncle, I think we can produce this in our clan and sell it to make some money."

Lin Clan Leader was somewhat tempted but worried that their fishing family might become merchants by selling such things. For generations, the Lin family had never been merchants, and he couldn’t let that change under his watch.

Seeing that Lin Clan Leader did not agree immediately, Lin Wanwan was not in a hurry.

At this moment, the steamed buns were ready. Lin Wanwan smiled and said, "Come on, let everyone see what the steamed bun made with baking soda looks like."

About twenty people eagerly followed Lin Wanwan and Lin Clan Leader into the kitchen, where everything was too delicate. Besides porcelain bowls and basins, there were glass utensils everywhere. Everyone was cautious, afraid of breaking anything and being unable to pay for it.

Upon seeing everyone enter, Hua Nong lifted the lid of the bamboo steamer basket under Lin Wanwan’s eyes, releasing a rich aroma of meat that made the perpetually hungry crowd drool instantly.

"Wow! How can it be so white, so big!"

"I saw Hua Nong make it, and the amount of flour wasn’t more than what I used, yet the steamed buns came out twice the size!"

Lin Wanwan took some chopsticks and smiled, "Come, everyone taste it, see if it’s good. Clan Leader Uncle, you try it first."

This basket has three tiers and made dozens of buns, enough for everyone present to have one.

"I won’t eat a whole one, just give me a bite to taste." Lin Clan Leader frowned slightly and said, "Wan-niang, your family only has a few mouths to feed. Why make so many steamed buns at once? The clansmen are just here to taste, a bite each would suffice.

You need to be frugal; the new rice still needs to be used for planting. What if there’s a shortage? Grain is more precious than copper coin. During the war years, people in the town couldn’t buy grain even with money. The direct lineage used to be much more prosperous than our branches, but what happened? Now look, it’s just you left."

"Mmm, mmm, mmm, Uncle, you’re right, I won’t be extravagant next time." Lin Wanwan nodded repeatedly, taking the lesson to heart.

Although Lin Wanwan, being a master of trading across time, would never truly face a grain shortage, she knew her power lay in Great China. But the Clan Leader’s words were not wrong, and there was no reason for her to contradict him; listening was enough.

After Lin Clan Leader finished speaking, Lin Wanwan continued to smile as she signaled Hua Nong to distribute the steamed buns, "Clan Leader Uncle, don’t worry. I’ve remembered everything you said. But today, since this is a newly made item, let’s all taste it! See how effective my baking soda is."

Everyone was indeed impatient, disregarding the heat, they quickly picked up half a piece each under the Clan Leader’s watchful eyes.

"Wow, it’s really delicious, so fragrant and soft, not sour or hard at all!"

Lin Qinshi suddenly said, "This steamed bun is like the clouds in the sky, soft and white! Right? This must be something only immortals can eat!"

"Who would disagree? Wan-niang, this thing seems like alchemy. Can we villagers really do it?"

The aroma and excitement drew over Qingyu among other youngsters; Lin Wanwan prepared a plate for them and let Yun Shang take them to eat in the main hall, while she continued talking to everyone in the kitchen, "It’s not difficult at all. Just follow me a few times, and you’ll get the hang of it."

"I think it’s not easy for us. We’re clumsy and crude. How dare we do alchemy? What if it explodes?"

Everyone wasn’t very confident, for in their eyes, Lin Wanwan was akin to a celestial being. What the celestial did, they couldn’t do.

Their greatest anxiety stemmed from a nearby mountain where there once stood a Daoist Temple. One day, during alchemy, the master exploded the furnace, blasting half the temple apart. Naturally, the master died on the spot.

This incident became talk among the folk in the villages below for years, and everyone was thankful they weren’t up the mountain to offer incense that day. But simultaneously, it gave them a psychological fear of Daoist alchemy.

Since the explosion at the temple, the mountaintop has never been repaired. The remaining junior priests joined other mountainside temples, leaving this one deserted.

So they loved the chewy steamed buns, but dared not undertake the risky alchemy that produced baking soda.

"How about letting the men try then," proposed Lin Sunshi meekly.

Lin Qinshi immediately opposed, "Men have to go out to sea and fish; rowing takes strong physical effort. We can’t let them do that and then come back to this. It’s too exhausting, and going out to sea without strength is dangerous."

"Yes, yes, men can’t do it."

Seeing everyone lacked confidence, Lin Wanwan couldn’t help but think perhaps she had simplified things too much.

At this time, Lin Clan Leader spoke, "Wan-niang, I think let’s just let it go. Whether selling baking soda counts as legal commerce, I’m still unsure. The child of a merchant can’t take exams, can’t enter civil service, and can’t dine with gentlemen. See, the clan has set up a school now, better not take risks.

Moreover, we fishermen should fish well, the farmers should farm well, that’s the proper way. Doing those unscrupulous things isn’t reliable."

Under the deeply rooted "scholar, farmer, artisan, merchant" thinking of the Great Tang, fishermen admired farmers who had lots of farmland.

Though merchants have money, merchants are deemed lowly.

The child of a merchant is likened to the child of a criminal, not much better than a servant. Wearing fine silk must be done furtively, and riding horses is forbidden, only sitting in ox carts. The authorities penalize you whenever they choose. However rich, people still look down on you.

It was only towards the end of Emperor Xuanzong’s reign that merchants, long oppressed by the ruling class of the Great Tang, began to resist with their wealth in large numbers, fighting for their own rights.

Engaging in trade for profit was regarded by most Early Tang folks as an unscrupulous pursuit, far less real than stable farming or fishing.

Lin Wanwan pondered for a moment and then said, "Clan Leader Uncle, baking soda is just a personal hobby, like the farmers in town selling their own handmade crafts during off-farm periods, it doesn’t count as legal commerce, it’s all earnest hard work, not trading for profit."

Lin Clan Leader stroked his beard and said, "Since Wan-niang you say so, then give it a try."

Lin Wanwan laughed, "We’ll produce the baking soda and sell it to all the major restaurants and inns in Wanghai Town. What do you say?"

"Good! As long as Clan Leader Uncle and Sister Wan say it’s okay, I’ll do it!" Lin Qinshi was the first to express support.

"Let Mengli handle the contacts; he works in a restaurant in town and knows a lot."

"Mengli won’t do, he’s always being cheated. The fish we risk our lives catching from the sea gets scammed at the dock and scammed again at the restaurant."