Eat in Song Dynasty

Chapter 489 Milk Tea is Here
Wen Shu did not sleep well that night, and the next morning he quickly paid the money, took the tea and said goodbye.

After they left the village, under a big tree, Liu Sheng asked Liu Zhang: "Brother, why don't we just chase after them?"

Liu Zhang did not comment. "What are you chasing? Our mission to escort her back home is a secret. Now that she is accompanied by Prime Minister Qin, it is not appropriate for us to show up."

If she was interested, she should have come out to meet him last night.

Since she was unwilling to travel with them, they could just protect each other in secret.
Over there, after Wen Shu and the others had walked for six or seven miles, they saw that the road had become very muddy, and it was obvious that it had been flooded. Fortunately, the water had receded, but the road was still not easy to walk on.

Qin Jingyang drove through and the wheels of his car got stuck in the mud several times on the road. In the end, everyone got out of the car and pushed the car to get through.

The cart loaded with tea was stuck even deeper. If Wen Shu hadn't been very strong and secretly exerted force, the three of them alone would not have been able to push it.

Fortunately, the road was not long, only about three or four miles, and after passing it, it was flat all the way.

However, when they entered the city, they were covered in mud and looked miserable.

"Let's find an inn to take a shower and change clothes first." Qin Jingyang, who was used to being clean, couldn't help but say.

Zhuo Rufeng also nodded repeatedly.

Wen Shu was spared no effort, and she was also splashed with a lot of mud.

Although the weather was hot and the mud spots had dried up long ago, they still gave off a rotten smell that was really unpleasant.

After the noise, Wen Shu asked Qin Jingyang to accompany Zhuo Rufeng to rest in the inn, while she took Father Wen to Yunshui Village to buy milk.

After this shopping spree, it was not until nightfall that we finally managed to get back to the city.

"What are you going to do with the milk?" Qin Jingyang was very curious when he saw the bucket of milk she brought back.

"If you want to know, then come in and help." Wen Shu said and went into the kitchen.

Lin'an is a very wealthy place with many high-end restaurants and inns. Some inns even have private courtyards to choose from. Wen Shu made a rare big investment and booked a courtyard just for this kitchen.

"You are responsible for lighting the fire. The fire doesn't need to be too strong, just medium heat will be fine." Wen Shu said as he began to roll up his sleeves.

Qin Jingyang obediently started to light the fire, and at the same time, he looked around to see what she was doing. He saw Wen Shu put the tea leaves into the pot and stir-fried them until the dark green tea leaves had a burnt aroma, and then added a ladle of water.

The air was suddenly filled with the aroma of tea and burnt aroma, a very wonderful smell.

Then Wen Shu poured the milk in again. When the water started to boil slightly, she quickly filled a bowl and handed it to Qin Jingyang, "Try it."

"Is this drinkable?" Qin Jingyang looked at the burnt brown tea in the bowl and his heart was beating fast.

"Forget it." Wen Shu served himself a bowl, cooled it down and took a sip.

The taste is indeed unique, with a hint of milk in the tea aroma, so it must have been a success.

The drink she made was called "milk tea" in later generations. It is said that it was very popular for a time, and young ladies in later generations would hold a cup of it when they went shopping.

She had tried to make it once when she was in Beijing, but she couldn't buy milk at that time, so the taste was a little worse.

Now that milk has been added, the taste is indeed much smoother.

"It tastes pretty good." Qin Jingyang tried taking a sip, and his eyes lit up after a moment.

"But it's still lacking some flavor." Wen Shu thought for a moment.

That night, the light in the kitchen never went out.
The next day, a long mahogany table was set up in front of the Tangquan Inn. Five large wooden barrels were lined up on the table, and the barrels were surrounded by thick straw and quilts.

This was a common method used to keep food warm in wooden barrels in winter and summer, and the people of Lin'an were accustomed to it.

However, this Tangquan Inn is a high-end restaurant in Lin'an City. Normally, stalls are not allowed in front of the door. But what happened today? There is a long row of stalls in front of the door, almost blocking the door.

That's strange.

Next to the big wooden barrel, there is a pile of small bamboo tubes, and next to it is a banner with the words: "New Bianjing Drink: Iced Milk Tea, 5 coins per spoon, first come, first served."

Five cents a spoon? This price is not cheap in the drink market.

But if it’s chilled, it’s terrible.

Nowadays, only wealthy families can afford ice cellars. If common people want to eat chilled food, they can only go to restaurants. It is rare to find chilled food on the roadside, and even if they can, the price will not be less than 10 cents.

In addition, it was a new drink from the capital, and with multiple gimmicks added up, it aroused the curiosity and attention of many people.

"Is it really five cents a spoonful?" someone asked hesitantly.

Wen Shu nodded, "Today is the first time we try the new product, the price is this, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow it will be ten cents."

The people were stunned, and then someone asked, "Is the ten-cent coin also iced?"

"Not only is it chilled, there are ice cubes in the drink." Wen Shu scooped a bowl of milk tea from the wooden barrel and put it in the porcelain bowl next to it. Everyone came closer to take a look and saw that there were indeed square ice cubes floating on the bowl of tea.

"There really are ice cubes!" everyone exclaimed.

Qin Jingyang rolled his eyes as he listened to her, not knowing what she was thinking.

Five cents for a scoop, not even enough to buy ice. After working all night, isn't this just a complete loss?

"Young lady, give me a spoonful to try." Seeing this, a fat girl spoke first.

She was afraid of heat to begin with, and after walking around for a while, she was already sweating profusely. Now that she saw the ice, she couldn't even walk.

"Okay." Wen Shu scooped a spoonful for her using a bamboo tube.

The bamboo tube was about the height of a palm and could be filled with just one spoonful.

The young lady took it and drank it immediately without waiting.

"How is it? What does it smell like?" Everyone surrounded her curiously.

The girl took a sip and said, "It tastes like tea and milk."

When they heard that it tasted like milk, they were even more surprised, because cow's milk was something only rich people could eat.

For example, the milk ice dumplings in this Tangquan Inn cost two hundred coins per serving.

"Give me a spoonful."

"Give me a spoonful."

"Give me a spoonful."

The onlookers immediately gathered around.

"Everyone, please don't push, please line up, we have everything, we have everything."

Qin Jingyang held the money box and was responsible for collecting money and maintaining order.

Wen Shu and Wen Laodi stood in front of a wooden barrel, busy scooping milk tea for people. As for Zhuo Rufeng
He left the inn early in the morning and said he was going to his family's home to kowtow to the old lady. Only then did Wen Shu know that the Zhuo family's old house was in Lin'an City.

“It tastes really good.”

"The most important thing is the ice. After taking a sip of ice water, I feel really comfortable all over."

People gave positive comments one after another, and after hearing this, Wen Shu's hands became more vigorous in scooping milk tea.

However, after the two buckets of milk tea were sold out, there were no more bamboo tubes left. Seeing that there were still many people queuing, Wen Shu could only appeal to everyone that those who lived nearby could go home and get bowls or cups to serve the milk tea.

But the people who are close to it are only a minority after all.

Most people come here while shopping and come to join in the fun because there are so many people around. They don’t live nearby.

Who would want to run back in this hot weather?

Just when Wen Shu was worried, the innkeeper came over with two waiters.

The two waiters were carrying a wooden box filled with white porcelain bowls and cups.

The owner of Tangquan Inn is named Zhang, a young man in his twenties.

He came to Wen Shu, bowed and said, "Young lady, I can't help you much, just use these bowls and cups." Then he said to the people who were buying milk tea, "After you buy milk tea, if you like, you can come into the store and sit down and enjoy it slowly."

When everyone heard this, they immediately applauded and said that Tangquan Inn was humane.

Wen Shu was even more grateful and bowed to the shopkeeper.

Shopkeeper Zhang nodded and went back to the counter to slowly sip the milk tea.

Long before setting up the stall, Wen Shu greeted him and served him three bowls of iced milk tea.

In a small teahouse diagonally opposite, Liu Sheng drank the mung bean soup in his bowl, looked at the grand occasion here, and cast a resentful look at Liu Zhang.

"If we were still with the young lady, we would definitely be the first to drink the new drink."

Unlike now, even if these people have bought it, they can’t try it.

Liu Zhang glared at him and asked, "Are you here for a mission or to eat?"

"There is no conflict." Liu Sheng muttered and drank the mung bean water in the bowl.

A dark light flashed in Liu Zhang's eyes. This young lady is really not simple.