Cute Wife Gourmet

Chapter 70 Verification
Ye Jiayao got busy as soon as she arrived at Tianshangju. Today she was going to conduct experiments on extracting agar and cream.

Zhong Xiang bought all the agar-agar and gracilaria from the market, filling a whole cart.

The manager of Qian was shocked, but later when he heard that Li Yao was going to use it, he stopped caring about it.

Everyone worked together to wash the vegetables, then soak them in alkali, and put them in large basins all over the yard in front of the kitchen.
Ye Jiayao and Zhong Xiang were extracting cream at the stove, while Deng Haichuan was in charge of lighting the fire. When the milk was boiling, a layer of fat floated on top. Ye Jiayao carefully scooped it out with a gauze bag, and then scooped it out again after it solidified.

Zhong Xiang watched from the side and frowned, "The cost of extracting these two things seems a bit high. Can the things made from them be worth the price?"

Ye Jiayao said: "Don't worry, it's definitely worth it, and you'll definitely make a lot of money."

Nowadays, who has ever eaten ice cream mooncakes? Who has ever seen crystal mooncakes? They are so novel. There are many wealthy families in Jinling City, but they are worried that they cannot buy good things with money.

She was not worried about this issue at all.

"By the way, there is an ice cellar in the city, right?"

Zhong Xiang said, "Yes, there are sixteen ice cellars, twelve of which are government-run, for the imperial palace and ministers, and four are privately run, for the rich to use."

"So, is the official ice for sale?"

Ye Jiayao knew that the quality of ice in government-run ice cellars and privately-run ice cellars was different. Government-run ones mostly used brick kilns, and the ice stored there was relatively pure. Privately-run ones generally used earthen kilns, and the quality of the ice was difficult to guarantee. Basically, they were only used for heatstroke prevention and cooling, or for freezing food.

"Of course, those run by the government are also for sale, but ordinary people are not qualified to buy them. Even officials have a fixed number of ice cubes they can purchase. However, some wealthy families have small ice cellars built in their houses to store ice for their own use, but they are few and far between." Zhong Xiang knew a lot.

"How do you sell privately-owned ice cubes?"

"It depends on the weather. If it's very hot, a hundred kilograms of ice can be sold for ten taels of silver. Usually it's around five taels of silver. Why, ice is needed to make this thing?" Zhong Xiang clicked his tongue. How precious must this thing be?

Ye Jiayao said: "It's just for preserving food. Find someone to buy a hundred kilograms of ice. It should be enough."

For now, we will use privately-owned ones. When we develop new products in the future, we will look for government-run ice cellars to buy ice from.

Deng Haichuan brought four barrels of milk, but only a small basin of cream was extracted.

Deng Haichuan asked: "What about the milk?"

"Don't worry, it won't be wasted." Ye Jiayao said, "Go and tell Shopkeeper Qian to add a few drinks to the menu today, including iced double smooth milk, iced pink lady, and iced fairy peach milk."

"Cui Dongpeng, go buy twenty kilograms of bananas and seven or eight large watermelons."

"Brother Xiang, please help me mix the glutinous rice flour with tomato juice, green vegetable juice, and purple cabbage juice and make glutinous rice balls smaller than a fingernail."

"Ask Xiao Lu and Ah Xing to recommend these drinks today."

Ye Jiayao gave the orders in an orderly manner. This was the good thing about being a chef, as she had the final say on matters in the kitchen.

When Shopkeeper Li heard that a few drinks had been added to the menu today, all of which were iced, he couldn't help but smile. It would be very refreshing to have an iced drink on such a hot day. He wondered how these drinks launched by Li Yao would taste, especially the Pink Beauty, which really made people think a lot and was very much looking forward to it.

So Shopkeeper Li went to the kitchen to find out what was going on.

I saw Wang Mingde and Cui Dongpeng pounding something. When I looked over, I saw that one was mashing bananas, the other was pounding watermelon juice, and Zhong Xiang was kneading small glutinous rice balls of different colors.

"Li Yao, where is the Pink Lady?" Shopkeeper Li couldn't help but ask curiously.

Ye Jiayao pointed at Cui Dongpeng and said, "Look, isn't that what's being done?"

Shopkeeper Li was sweating. What a boy, he was always good at making a gimmick. He gave it such a sexy name, but the result was a glass of watermelon milk. Would the customers rebel? Who cares? As long as the money was made, it was fine.

Not surprisingly, all the guests who came at noon today ordered drinks. Few restaurants offer drinks, and even if they do, the most common ones are iced sour plum juice or iced white fungus and lotus seed soup, which we are almost tired of eating. The names of these drinks look very novel, especially the Pink Lady, which I am quite looking forward to.

Soon, the waiter brought up the drinks.

Double Smooth Milk is served in a fine Longquan celadon bowl, Pink Lady is served in a precious crystal bowl, and Fairy Peach Milk is served in an exquisite white-bottomed pastel bowl.

It looks exquisite and classy at first glance.

Looking at the appearance, the Double Smooth Milk is slightly yellow in color, with a strong aroma of milk and a hint of banana. The Pink Lady is as pink as peach petals, which is very tempting. The Fairy Peach Milk is pure white milk with yellow peaches cut into small cubes. The yellow and white colors are also very appealing.

When I scooped it with a small silver spoon, I found that there was a secret hidden underneath, a crystal clear glutinous rice ball of different colors.

If you taste it carefully, you will find that the double-smooth milk is silky smooth, the combination of the two flavors has a mellow taste, and it is chilled, which makes it particularly refreshing.

Pink Lady, a blend of milk and watermelon juice, is as refreshing as a young lady in her twenties.
And the glutinous rice balls, they look cute and are soft and chewy when eaten.

One tael of silver for a small bowl is definitely worth the money. Everyone in Tianshangju, from the shopkeeper Li to the waiters, waited anxiously for the reactions of the first group of customers who ordered drinks.

Only Ye Jiayao seemed to be unconcerned and focused on cooking.

After a while, Ah Xing came out of the private room with a smile on her face.

Shopkeeper Li went up to him and asked, "How is it?"

Ah Xing gave a thumbs up: "Several customers want another portion."

Shopkeeper Li let out a long sigh and said happily, "Go quickly."

When the news reached the kitchen, everyone cheered, saying that Brother Yao had many ideas, which not only solved the problem of remaining milk, but also made a lot of money. The admiration for Li Yao was simply beyond words.

Ye Jiayao curled her lips. This is still the simplest drink. When I make ice cream, I will make you all greedy. How much should I sell it for? Even though Agendas is so expensive, people still eat it. This thing must be high-end and classy. If it wants to become a fashion and a symbol of status, it must be unaffordable for ordinary people. In this way, everyone will flock to it.

During one lunch, 69 bowls of drinks were sold. In the afternoon, customers came to the store one after another, who came specifically for the drinks, and more than 20 bowls were sold. It can be seen that the news spread quickly.

Shopkeeper Li’s eyes were almost invisible from laughing.

Ye Jiayao said, "Shopkeeper Li, the remaining ingredients should be enough to make seventy or eighty bowls, but I paid for the milk and fruit today with my own money."

Shopkeeper Li smiled and said, "The restaurant will reimburse you for the amount you have spent. Starting tomorrow, if you want to buy any materials, all the expenses will be paid by the restaurant."

Ye Jiayao calculated: "There are three buckets of milk in total, six taels of silver per bucket, plus the bus fare, it will be twenty taels. I spent five taels on fruit, five taels on ice, and eight taels on kelp and other things, and I have to include the bus fare..."

"Come on, forget it. Just go to the accounting office and withdraw fifty taels of silver." Shopkeeper Li said generously. Li Yao had thought of a good way for him to make money and increase his fame. With fifty taels of capital, he could triple it. Is there any business more profitable than this?
Ye Jiayao didn't expect the shopkeeper to be so generous and give her several more taels of silver. However, the shopkeeper was the one who made the most money, so she gladly accepted it and could buy a few more sets of clothes.

"Li Yao, prepare more materials tomorrow, as more people will probably come." Shopkeeper Li gave special instructions.

People in Jinling city love to try out new things. No matter where the food is delicious, they all have very sensitive noses and ears.

I’m afraid we’ll be able to sell three or four hundred bowls tomorrow.

"Brother Yao, Prince Jing is looking for you." Axing came to report.

Ye Jiayao said hello to Shopkeeper Li: "I know the number, but it's best not to sell too much, 200 bowls a day, and then there will be no more. Then everyone will think that this thing is precious and can't be eaten casually. The less they can eat it, the more they want to eat it. Then they will come every day, and when they come, they will not only have to drink but also have to eat. Shopkeeper, don't you agree? I'll go down first."

Shopkeeper Li was stunned, thinking about these words. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that what Li Yao said made sense. This is human nature. People don't cherish what is easy to get, but treasure what is hard to get. My goodness, this kid is more experienced in business than him.

In fact, Ye Jiayao has a lot of business skills to learn and she can’t teach them all to others. She also wants to open a restaurant herself!
"Young Prince, why are you here?" In front of outsiders, Ye Jiayao was still very well-behaved and called people what they were supposed to.

Helian Jing's eyes flickered: "I have something to ask you."

He managed to sneak out with great difficulty, and he couldn't stay long. He was very depressed recently, and every time he sneaked out, he felt like a thief. It was so good before, he could come whenever he wanted and stay as long as he wanted.

Ye Jiayao said to Ah Xing: "Ask Brother Xiang to make a bowl of double smooth milk and put it on my account."

The two went to Fuqiu Pavilion to talk.

Helian Jing spent almost the whole day thinking about how to ask. He hated himself for being so suspicious and like a nagging woman. He really hated it, but he just couldn't convince himself. Zhao Qixuan's analysis was very reasonable. After all, Zhao Qixuan had more say in this regard.

"Da Yaoyao, I came in a hurry yesterday and didn't have time to ask you how you have been these days?" Helian Jing asked hesitantly.

"I'm fine. I'll let you try my newly developed double-smooth milk later." Ye Jiayao said with a smile, muttering in her heart, there seems to be something wrong with little Jingjing!
Helian Jing asked hesitantly, "You fell into the water the day before yesterday. Are you really okay?"

Ye Jiayao spread her hands and said, "Look, I'm fine, aren't I?"

"Then... who was it that saved you? I must go and thank him."

Ye Jiayao curled her lips and said, "It's the Marquis of Jing'an, he just happened to be passing by."

It was the stupid donkey who saved her. Although she could not remember what happened, she believed that if it were not for him, she would not have fallen into the river.

Helian Jing said in a daze: "Oh, it turns out to be Brother Chunyu! What a coincidence."

Ye Jiayao said awkwardly: "Yeah, it's quite a coincidence."

"No wonder Zhao Qixuan said that he saw you, Brother Chunyu, strolling along the Qinhuai River at night last night. I thought he was talking nonsense!" Helian Jing carefully observed Dayaoyao's expression.

(End of this chapter)