NFBE Chapter 291 Making Brew Starter
Chapter 291 Making Brew Starter
The Marquis of Ding'an led the Emperor to the firing range that had been prepared in advance. Along the way, the Emperor praised the Marquis of Ding'an's arrangements. Upon arriving at the firing range, the Marquis of Ding'an personally demonstrated how to use the musket to the Emperor and allowed the Emperor to try it himself.
Meanwhile, Su Nuannuan wasn't idle at the manor either. She was busy in the courtyard when Canglan Jingcheng walked over curiously. Watching Su Nuannuan deal with weeds, he asked in confusion, "Mother, what are you doing?"
Su Nuannuan focused on her work and answered without looking up, "I'm going to make some yeast to brew wine."
Canglan Jingcheng became even more curious. He pointed to the weeds on the ground and asked, "Mother, what kind of grass is this?"
Su Nuannuan stopped what she was doing, glanced at the weeds that Cang Lan Jingcheng was pointing to, and explained with a smile, "This is smartweed, which is a good ingredient for making sweet wine yeast." After saying that, she continued to spread out the washed smartweed.
Just then, Jinse came in carrying a bamboo basket of pine needles and said, "Your Majesty, I have brought the pine needles you requested."
Su Nuannuan stood up and instructed, "Wash the pine needles clean first, then dry them in the sun until all the moisture has evaporated before storing them for later use."
"Your Majesty, the wooden tub you requested has been carefully cleaned with wine," Yaoqin said loudly as she gracefully twirled a tub over.
Su Nuannuan nodded slightly, gesturing for Yaoqin to place the wooden bucket aside. Her gaze fell on the bucket, where the walls, soaked in wine, gleamed faintly, as if shimmering in the sunlight.
"Same as before, put it in the sun to dry," Su Nuannuan instructed softly.
The wooden barrel needs to be thoroughly dried to ensure that it is not affected by moisture when making the yeast.
For two whole days, Yaoqin busied herself turning the smartweed, ensuring it received even sunlight. Only in this way could she guarantee that the smartweed would dry completely.
Finally, under Yaoqin's careful care, the smartweed gradually lost its moisture and became dry and fragile.
Su Nuannuan looked at everything with satisfaction, and then said to Jinse and Yaoqin, "After the smartweed is completely dried, chop it up and grind it into powder."
Without Su Nuannuan having to lift a finger, Jinse and Yaoqin skillfully processed the dried smartweed. Their movements were swift and precise, and in no time, the smartweed was transformed into a fine powder.
Next, under Su Nuannuan's direction, the knotweed powder and glutinous rice flour were mixed together. To enrich the flavor of the yeast, Su Nuannuan also added some bran. These ingredients were skillfully blended in her hands, as if given new life.
A suitable amount of water was slowly poured in, and Su Nuannuan began to gently knead the dough. Her fingers moved nimbly through the dough, thoroughly mixing all the ingredients, and then she pinched off a piece of dough and rolled it into a ball.
Seeing this, Cang Lan Jingcheng found it very interesting and enthusiastically joined in the kneading. Although his technique was a little clumsy, he was full of passion.
Before long, round dumplings were born thanks to everyone's efforts. These dumplings were uniform in size, smooth in surface, and emitted a faint aroma of smartweed.
Su Nuannuan looked at the dumplings with satisfaction, then instructed Yaoqin to lay a layer of pine needles in the wooden barrel. The fragrance of pine needles would add a unique flavor to the yeast.
Yaoqin quickly completed this step, then placed the wheat bran-wrapped yeast balls one by one on the pine needles. After filling one layer, she added another layer of pine needles, then placed the yeast balls on top, repeating this process until all the yeast balls were placed on the tray.
Finally, Yaoqin completely covered the yeast balls with pine needles, allowing them to ferment quietly in the wooden barrel. This process requires time and patience, but Su Nuannuan believed that with such carefully crafted yeast, a delicious sweet wine would surely be brewed.
This sweet rice wine starter was something Su Nuannuan had met by chance in her previous life. The old woman brewed rice wine with a rich, mellow flavor and an irresistible aroma, leaving Su Nuannuan with a lingering aftertaste. So, Su Nuannuan humbly asked the old woman for brewing techniques, especially how to make this sweet rice wine starter.
Unexpectedly, it will come in handy in this life. Su Nuannuan couldn't help but sigh, "Nothing you learn is ever wasted!"
Time flies, and five days have passed in the blink of an eye. Su Nuannuan couldn't wait to check on the fermentation of the yeast.
As she gently lifted the pine needles from the wooden bucket, before she could even speak, her son beside her suddenly exclaimed, "Mother, there's a lot of white mold growing on the yeast! Has it gone bad?"
Seeing this, Su Nuannuan glared at her son and explained in an annoyed tone, "Don't be so alarmed. The white mold is a normal phenomenon, which means that the yeast has fermented very well. If it were black mold, then it would really be spoiled."
After hearing his mother's words, Canglan Jingcheng nodded and said, "So that's how it is. I thought it was broken!"
Then, Su Nuannuan instructed, "Jinse, quickly go and bring the winnowing basket over." Jinse responded and quickly brought the round winnowing basket over.
Su Nuannuan carefully removed all the pine needles from the yeast, then picked out the yeast pieces covered in white mold one by one and gently placed them into a round winnowing basket.
"Put them in the sun to dry, then prepare a clean, dry jar. Once the yeast is dry, you can put it in the jar and seal it for storage," Su Nuannuan said to Jinse, who was carrying a round winnowing basket full of yeast.
Upon hearing this, Jinse picked up a round winnowing basket and placed the yeast in the sunniest spot to dry.
Su Nuannuan stretched leisurely, like a lazy cat, then turned her gaze to Cang Lan Jingcheng, a faint smile on her lips, and asked softly, "Have you finished your work?"
Upon hearing this, Cang Lan Jingcheng's heart tightened, and he quickly replied, "Mother, I will do it right away." His voice was somewhat urgent, as if he was afraid that Su Nuannuan would blame him.
As soon as he finished speaking, Cang Lan Jingcheng turned around quickly and ran away like a gust of wind.
Watching her son's departing figure, Su Nuannuan shook her head helplessly and sighed with a smile, "This boy is still not as worry-free as the girl. Yao'er, on the other hand, never requires me to worry about her."
At this moment, Yaoqin walked over and, upon hearing Su Nuannuan's words, laughed and said, "The eldest princess has Miss Muge looking after her, so she doesn't even have a chance to slack off."
Su Nuannuan nodded, and said thoughtfully, "Hmm, aren't Tingfeng and Tingyu always with Cheng'er? How come they haven't managed to keep the child under their control?"
Jinse happened to return and, upon hearing Su Nuannuan's words, interjected, "Your Majesty, the duties of Tingfeng and Tingyu are primarily to protect the young prince's safety, which is different from restraining him."
Su Nuannuan suddenly realized and muttered to herself, "That's right, it seems I need to find him a master to properly discipline him."
After thinking it over, she turned to Yaoqin and instructed her, "Yaoqin, go and tell your brother to come over."