NFBE Chapter 975 Potatoes can also be made into potato noodles!
Chapter 975 Potatoes can also be made into potato noodles!
After settling this most important matter on her mind, Bai Lu felt much more relaxed.
She took a sip of hot tea, and her mind began to race as she considered another important matter.
She went out the door and headed towards the Pingzhou government office, heading to Gu Liang's office.
Gu Liang was currently in front of the sand table, simulating the troop deployment for the winter border defense, his expression focused.
"Lord Gu," Bai Lu pushed open the door and entered, a mysterious smile on her face, "I have a good idea, would you like to hear it?"
Gu Liang looked up and saw it was her. A smile appeared on his serious face: "When has Bai Niangzi's idea ever not been a good one?"
"tell me the story."
“We’ve already got the Jurchens to grow potatoes,” Bai Lu said bluntly. “But this is only the first step.”
“We can’t just let them eat potatoes as their main meal, or simply bring them to the trade market to exchange for rice.”
"The profit margin would be too low, and it wouldn't be possible to deeply bind them to our interests."
Gu Liang nodded in agreement: "You mean... deep processing?"
He learned this word from Bailu.
“That’s right!” Bai Lu snapped her fingers. “I plan to teach them how to make a by-product.”
"Something that... can make them a steady stream of money, thus making them more dependent on us and even more inseparable from growing potatoes!"
She paused for a moment, then said, slowly and deliberately, "I want to open a chain store called—Seven Fairies Potato Noodles!"
"Seven Fairies...potato noodles?" Gu Liang's face was full of doubt.
Instead of giving a direct answer, Bai Lu asked in return, "Lord Gu, where do you think I should open the first shop if I want to open this shop?"
Without hesitation, Gu Liang replied, "Pingzhou, of course!"
"This is the most densely populated area, and it's our territory, which makes it easy to manage and promote."
“No.” Bai Lu shook her head, her eyes gleaming with wisdom. “I want to open my first shop on Jurchen territory!”
"Near their royal tent, or in their largest tribal market!"
"What?" Gu Liang was genuinely stunned this time. "Drive it to their area?"
"Then how are we supposed to make money?"
"And... wouldn't that be giving them the technology directly?"
“Good question.” Bai Lu smiled confidently. “That’s precisely the brilliance of my plan.”
"I have two main objectives."
She held up one finger: "First, think about it, now that the Jurchens have mountains of potatoes, what are they going to do if they can't finish them all?"
"They can only sell to us at a low price."
"What are potato noodles? They're delicious!"
"Whether boiled, hot pot, or cold salad, it tastes much better than simply boiled potatoes."
"Business will be good."
"They will then plant potatoes like crazy, and we can also increase our productivity."
Gu Liang was stunned.
Bai Lu extended her second finger. "Secondly, and more importantly, is information control."
"Our store is located in their heartland."
"The shop assistants and manager can all be our people."
"Think about it, what kind of place would a steaming, bustling potato noodle shop be?"
"It's the best information hub!"
"Which tribe hunted how many animals today, which tribe clashed with whom tomorrow, whose family had a new baby, who has grievances against our Great Wu... all this information will continuously reach our manager's ears through the diners' casual conversations."
"This is safer and more effective than any spies we've sent out!"
“Moreover,” she continued, “the very name ‘Seven Fairies’ is a form of cultural export…”
"We can paint the story of the Seven Fairies descending to earth on the wall of the shop."
"While enjoying the food, the Jurchens can also be subtly influenced to accept our Han mythology and our culture."
“When their children grow up listening to the story of the Seven Fairies and eating potato noodles, their sense of identification with Da Wu will naturally far exceed that of their parents.”
Gu Liang was completely shocked.
She managed to turn a small potato noodle shop into a hub for economics, intelligence, and culture...
"...So, how exactly do you make potato noodles?"
Bai Lu smiled.
“It’s very simple,” she explained. “The first step is to prepare the starch.”
Wash, peel, and mash the fresh potatoes.
"You can use a stone mill, or you can wrap it in cloth and pound it with a wooden mallet."
"The finer the powder, the better. Then add water, filter repeatedly to remove the residue."
"Let the remaining milky white liquid settle."
"After the water and starch separate, pour off the clear water on top. The white, sticky stuff at the bottom is potato starch."
"Dry it in the sun, and it becomes starch powder that can be stored for a long time."
"The second step is to knead the dough."
"Scald a small portion of the starch powder with boiling water to make a thickening agent, then knead it together with the remaining starch."
"This process requires a great deal of strength and skill; you have to keep kneading until the dough is smooth, soft, and elastic."
"The third step is to apply the powder."
Prepare a strainer with many small holes in the bottom.
"Place the kneaded dough into a strainer and press it firmly."
"The dough will be squeezed out of the small hole, forming thin, long noodles, which will fall directly into a large pot of boiling water below."
"The glass noodles cook as soon as they hit the water. Once they float to the surface, scoop them out with a strainer and quickly put them into cold water to cool them down, to prevent them from sticking together."
"And that's it! The crystal-clear, smooth potato noodles are now ready!"
Bai Lu finished speaking in one breath, and Gu Liang listened intently.
Although he didn't know anything about cooking, just by listening to the description, he could imagine how wonderful the finished product must be.
"This...this is simply the art of turning lead into gold!" Gu Liang exclaimed sincerely.
Bai Lu smiled slightly: "It's nothing."
"The real magic touch is using this bowl of potato noodles to create a loyal and prosperous bulwark for Da Wu in Pingzhou."
"Lord Gu, do you now understand why I was in such a hurry to bring my daughters over?"
Gu Liang was taken aback, then suddenly realized.
"I understand! I'll help your store increase its popularity, which will be quite unique."
"When I was in Liangzhou, I ran the Seven Fairies Milk Tea shop and did it the same way. The Seven Fairies Potato Noodles shop is just the same thing!"
Bai Lu nodded with satisfaction.
She walked to the window, gazing at the northern sky, and seemed to already see Bai Qi leading his seven chattering little ones, galloping home on the road ahead...
......
Qingzhou, Bailudong Academy.
When the headmaster handed Bailu's handwritten letter to the eldest sister, Yiyue, seven pairs of bright eyes lit up instantly.
"Mother... Mother is going to take us to Pingzhou for the New Year!" Eryue, with her sharp eyes, was so excited she almost jumped up from her chair.
"Let's go to Pingzhou! I can see my mother!" The clever March's mouth was already stretched to her ears.
"Will it be very cold in Pingzhou? I'm going to bring my best fox fur cloak." The fashion-conscious May had already started planning her trip.
Only the youngest, July, with her bright black eyes darting around, said to the tall and solemn Bai Qi beside her like a little adult, "Uncle Bai Qi, my mother said that if you don't take good care of us, you'll have to go see her with your head."
"You only have one head, but we have seven! You'd better watch out!"
The string in Bai Qi's robot head twitched, and he solemnly knelt on one knee: "Please rest assured, ladies, Bai Qi will risk his life to ensure your safe arrival at the Marquis's side!"
The group, centered around Bai Qi and his hundred most elite personal guards, protected a large and comfortable specially made carriage in the center.
When Bai Qi led his seven sisters through mountains and rivers.
The Jurchen tribes in the northern border of Pingzhou are busy.
Near Wanyan Zongbi's royal tent, a wide-open area closest to the water source and market was spotted by Bailu.
“This is it.” She said to Gu Liang and Wanyan Zongbi beside her. “Backed by the tribe and facing the trade route, it’s a perfect location for doing business, with people coming and going.”
Wanyan Zongbi had no objection to this.
Bai Lu wanted to seize the land, and he wished he could give up even his royal tent.
He was simply curious about what miracles this remarkable Han Chinese woman would create on this land.
Soon, a construction team composed of skilled Han Chinese craftsmen and Jurchen laborers moved in.
Guided by the blueprints drawn by Bai Lu herself, a building that was completely different from all the surrounding tents and simple wooden houses rose from the ground.
The main structure of this building is made of wood and stone, making it sturdy and spacious.
The front hall is the reception area, which can accommodate more than a dozen square tables; the back kitchen is strictly divided into vegetable washing area, dough kneading area, rice noodle cooking area and ingredient preparation area according to the requirements of Bailu, and even has specially designed chimneys for exhaust and underground channels for sewage treatment.
This advanced design concept amazed the Jurchen leaders who were in charge of supervising the construction!
However, they assumed that Han Chinese architecture was basically like this.
After the building was completed, Bai Lu brought a trusted manager from Pingzhou, a middle-aged man named Zhou Wen, who was shrewd, capable, and meticulous.
I began to take charge of training the first batch of employees.
The composition of the staff was quite particular: twenty strong Jurchen youths, who were responsible for nothing but one thing—mashing potatoes and kneading starch dough.
This is purely physical labor, which is perfect for utilizing their immense strength.
The other ten technical staff responsible for cooking the rice noodles, preparing the ingredients, and receiving guests were Han Chinese soldiers and their families who could speak Jurchen, handpicked by Bai Lu and Gu Liang.
In the kitchen, Manager Zhou was shouting hoarsely to instruct the group of Jurchen men: "You have to knead it in one direction!"
"Use all your wrestling strength!"
"This dough is your match. If you can't knead it until it's soft, there won't be any meat for dinner tonight!"
The Jurchen men only half understood what they were hearing, but they did understand the wrestling and the lack of meat.
So, they roared and yelled, treating the huge dough as fighting bulls, and the scene was lively and exciting!
In the front hall, a Han Chinese woman was patiently teaching several Jurchen girls how to smile, how to serve food, and how to speak in both Han Chinese and Jurchen.
"Welcome, please come in."
Jurchen girls are naturally cheerful, but when they try to learn the gentle etiquette of the Han people, they are always a little stiff, which makes everyone laugh.
Gu Liang looked at all this, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
He whispered to Bailu, "I never imagined that one day our soldiers would be here teaching the Jurchens how to serve food."
“You really treat this place as part of Pingzhou.”
Bai Lu smiled slightly and looked at the wall.
There, several painters invited from Pingzhou were painting a huge mural on the wall—the content of which was the legend of the Seven Fairy Maidens descending to earth.
The fairies in the painting, with their flowing robes and beautiful faces, are scattering a handful of luminous seeds to the world.
“This is not just a shop, Lord Gu,” Bai Lu said softly. “I want all the Jurchens to see that if they follow my rules and cooperate with us, they can live a good life.”
More than half a month later, at the north gate of Pingzhou City.
Despite the biting wind, the city walls were packed with people.
Bai Lu, wearing a cloak, stood at the front, with Gu Liang and a group of civil and military officials from Pingzhou standing solemnly behind her.
On the distant horizon, a line of black dots approached, the sound of horses' hooves like muffled thunder.
Bai Lu's heart jumped into her throat instantly.
When the familiar white family army flag came into view, her tense body relaxed slightly.
As the procession drew closer, she finally saw the enormous carriage that was heavily guarded in the middle.
"Open the city gates!" Gu Liang ordered in a deep voice.
The heavy city gate slowly opened, and Bai Qi, leading the way, rushed to the foot of the city wall, dismounted, knelt on one knee, and shouted in a booming voice: "My Lord!"
"Bai Qi has successfully completed his mission and brought the seven young ladies back safely!"
Before he finished speaking, the carriage curtain was suddenly lifted, and the seven fairies jumped down in a rush.
"Mother!"
Bai Lu no longer cared about decorum; she lifted her skirt and ran down the city wall.
“January, February, March…” she ran, tears blurring her vision, murmuring the names of each of her daughters.
She rushed to the children and hugged them tightly, tightly, one by one.
This woman, who stirred up a storm in three states and won the admiration of countless men, was just a vulnerable mother.
She misses her child very much.
Just as Bailu and her daughters embraced and wept, enjoying this belated family bliss.
A messenger from a Jurchen tribe rode swiftly to the city of Pingzhou.
He brought a handwritten letter from Wanyan Zongbi, which contained only one sentence.
"Lady White Snake, everything is ready, we are just waiting for the arrival of the Seventh Fairy."
"The first potato noodle shop on the grassland, shall we open tomorrow?"
Bai Lu held the soft little body in her arms, raised her head, and looked north.
The rising sun is casting its golden rays upon this border town.
"We'll definitely open for business tomorrow!"
On this night in Pingzhou City, Bailu's residence was brightly lit and filled with long-lost laughter and a warm atmosphere.
She did not handle any official business, but devoted herself entirely to her seven daughters.
She bathed and dressed them one by one, listened to their chatter about what they had seen and heard on the road, checked their studies, and personally combed the slightly disheveled hair of the youngest, July.
The warmth between mother and daughter melted away the cold night.
Meanwhile, a special team was setting off from Pingzhou overnight, escorting dozens of carts of supplies, braving the wind and snow, on their way to the Jurchen royal camp.
The truck was loaded with the most essential ingredients for tomorrow's opening: a seasoning powder made from more than a dozen spices from Pingzhou, a bright red and tempting chili oil, and several large barrels of broth that had been simmered for a whole day and night with beef bones and fresh mushrooms!