CHAPTER 51: CHAPTER 51: A MAJOR EVENT IN THE WORLD OF NOODLES

"Mengli, that was the little mystic lady your Lin Clan just recognized, right?"

Lin Mengli nodded, "Yeah, why are you here at this time? Need more seafood again?"

"Sort of. Come, I have something to tell you." Shan Xinrong pulled Lin Mengli out of the inn, "Let’s go to the Fang Family teahouse, have some tea and listen to some music."

Lin Mengli raised an eyebrow, "Are you crazy? Too much money burning a hole in your pocket?"

Shan Xinrong was unpleased, "Are you coming or not?"

Lin Mengli chuckled, "It’s not often you, the stingy rooster, pluck some feathers. How can I not go? Yes! Let’s go right away! It’s just past noon now, there aren’t many diners in the shop, we can slack off a bit."

The two quickly arrived at the Fang Family teahouse, finding a quiet corner and ordered the cheapest tea.

After two cups, Shan Xinrong smacked his lips and spoke his purpose, "Old Lin, let me be direct, earlier at the inn I overheard your conversation with your little mystic lady. Do you truly have the recipe that can remove the sour taste from fermented dough, making it fluffier?"

Lin Mengli realized, took out the porcelain bottle from the pouch Lin Wanwan gave him, handed it to Shan Xinrong, and said, "You’ve got sharp ears, it was all for this thing. Yes, our Wanwan said so, but I haven’t tried it myself. If you’re interested, I’ll give it to you at cost price."

Shan Xinrong said, "I don’t need your cost price, I just heard your little mystic lady say she wishes it to sell for two to three hundred copper coins, right? You sell me one bottle for two hundred coins, how about that? Let a brother share in your fortune."

Just earlier Lin Wanwan had whispered the total cost including the porcelain bottle, ingredients, and other items amounted to ninety-four coins. Now that Shan Xinrong is willing to purchase for two hundred coins, Lin Mengli had no objection, inwardly feeling a tinge of guilt, making half the profit off a brother!

Profit margin above half counts as quite the lucrative deal, and two hundred coins isn’t a small amount.

Yet as this isn’t his own, just what Lin Wanwan entrusted him to sell, he couldn’t very well reveal the true cost. He immediately picked the most eye-catching bottle from the pouch, one that looked like it held the most, and handed it to Shan Xinrong.

The first sale was thus successfully completed.

"Did your clan’s little mystic lady explain how to use this?"

"She did, when starting the dough mixture, add lye, just a small spoon is enough. After the dough rests, add a bit more, half a spoon is sufficient. The ratio of lye to flour basically stays at one to a hundred, then you can make fluffy, sour-free dough creations."

Shan Xinrong pulled out the cork and looked inside, finding it a white powder, somewhat like flour. Soup with doubts, he asked, "You haven’t tasted anything made from this lye?"

Lin Mengli honestly replied, "No, it’s our Wanwan who recently concocted this wonderful thing."

Seeing Shan Xinrong’s hesitation, Lin Mengli thought and said, "You try it out first, if it’s good, we can do long term business. If it’s not, I’ll refund half your coins, how about that? Pretty brotherly, right?"

Shan Xinrong slapped his thigh, "Good, old Lin, straightforward! I’m thinking, this culinary competition, I’m going to surprise everyone and win!"

Lin Mengli lifted his teacup in bold spirits, "Come, brother, I’ll toast you with tea for your success!"

Shan Xinrong is merely a junior chef at the Guest Welcoming Inn, slightly better than unpaid apprentices, monthly wages only around five hundred copper coins. Two hundred coins represent nearly half a month’s wages for him, hardly cheap, but he decided to buy and try.

If he could stand out among the junior chefs and rise to become the main chef at the Guest Welcoming Building, monthly wages would be no less than one and a half strings of coins, and he could occasionally take home unused daily ingredients, plenty of perks there.

His culinary skills could handle the job solo long ago but were always oppressed by the head chef, never promoted despite having opportunities. He was unwilling and determined to forge his own path to success.

Back in the Lin Clan, Lin Wanwan didn’t mention the sale of lye today, and the clan leader also tacitly didn’t ask.

Actually, when it comes to business, the clan leader was not enthusiastic. He had a conservative mindset; starving was better than seeing the clan members engage in commerce, dishonoring ancestors. In ancient times, engaging in trade required the courage of burning one’s ship; once classed as merchants, it impacted generations.

In Tang’s early years, merchants faced many restrictions, Li Shimin didn’t favor them much. Given this, merchants’ social status was naturally not high.

It must be known that their Hou Tao Lin Clan had scholars and officials among ancestors; although they had fallen, they were an impoverished scholarly family, not mere commoners.

If Lin Wanwan taught them to weave sandals or make delicacies for sale, it would be more acceptable to everyone. This was typical in Great Tang during agricultural downtime, common supplemental family activities, and officially wasn’t seen as commerce.

Like fishermen fishing and selling fish wouldn’t be classified merchants, as fishing wasn’t accessible to everyone, and related to livelihood, integral to the national economy.

But Lin Wanwan tinkering like alchemy to create lye, firstly unheard of, secondly, the ingredients like potash, sodium sulfate, and limestone, were things Taoists played with, unrelated to farming or fishing.

The clan’s uninformed old dames might not handle it well, worrying what if it blows up the furnace.

The clan was already lacking women; if the old dames were blown away too, only widowers and bachelors would remain—quite tragic.

Here Lin Wanwan had given up on selling lye, focusing instead on teaching children; meanwhile, at the Little Creek Town inn, a change for the face of Great Tang’s culinary world was happening.

Little Creek Town’s new day began with the rhythmic morning drum.

When the drum sounded for the third time, already the Guest Welcoming Building’s kitchen was filled.

Daily business officially started at noon, but preparation began before dawn.

Today was special because the shopkeeper announced a matter, with business booming, the kitchen staff was slightly inadequate, needing to promote one junior chef to become the head chef.

Once a head chef, leading on your own, signature dishes are a necessity; today was the moment for junior chefs to showcase their skills.

To evaluate, besides the shopkeeper and head chef, three famous "gourmet" food critics from the town were extra invited as judges.

Currently, the Guest Welcoming Building kitchen had one head chef, ten main chefs, twenty junior chefs, and various apprentices and helpers.

The twenty junior chefs mostly were apprentices of main chefs except one: Shan Xinrong, who entered with his ancestral skills.