Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 247: Trying to Make a Smoother and More Delicate Dough

Shen Yu looked at the increasingly muddy ground outside, and expressed his deep understanding of the fact that people were reluctant to go out on rainy days.

In this kind of weather, unless it is urgent or for a living, she would just stay at home.

Oh, no, there are students too.

This morning, Yucheng and Dundun went to school holding umbrellas as usual.

However, before they left, Li and Jiang prepared some clothes and shoes, put them in their bookcases, and told them to change into them when they got to school.

As the rain got heavier, the street in front of the store began to become muddy.

Fortunately, the courtyard was paved with bricks, and although it was soaked by the rain, there was no mud or water when entering or exiting.

Shen Yu looked at the still clean yard and felt extremely fortunate.

When she was renovating the shop, she squeezed out some money and insisted on buying broken bricks, which she pieced together to renovate the yard.

All the muddy ground in the yard was paved with bricks. Although it didn't look very good, its advantages became apparent when it rained.

At noon, Shen Yu instructed Jiang and others to reduce the amount of food sold by half.

Not many people came to the store to eat today. Most of them were waiters sent by each store to come with lunch boxes to get meals.

There were also those who came empty-handed, and Li generously gave them bamboo baskets to pack their things. The guys all happily carried the bamboo baskets back home.

Holding an umbrella in hand and carrying a bamboo basket is indeed much better than carrying a large bunch of fruits wrapped in lotus leaves.

Since Lu Lang's banquet tomorrow has been cancelled, it is impossible to keep these ten or so fish, so they can only be eaten at home.

Fortunately, there are many people in the family, so Shen Yu doesn’t have to worry about not being able to finish the food.

Seeing that there were not many customers in the shop, Shen Yu returned to the kitchen and began to think about how to make the flower cake for the county magistrate.

The two flower cakes she made before were made directly by mixing water and dough, and then making them after the dough had risen.

This time, because I wanted to make delicate flowers like orchids, I used the original method I used at Yuelai Restaurant to make flowers with leavened dough. The flowers turned out too plump and would have lost the orchid’s cool charm.

Shen Yu remembered what her master had said before, that if one wanted to make the flour smoother and create a glowing skin effect, one could add eggs and milk to the flour.

This way the flour will have a higher protein content and better elasticity.

There were eggs at home, but because they no longer used them to make reunion cakes and milk was difficult to preserve in the hot weather, Shen Yu stopped ordering any more after the Mid-Autumn Festival.

What's more, the county magistrate ordered the flower cakes to be used as offerings to Buddha.

Shen Yu wasn't sure if the milk could be used, so it was safer not to add it.

Shen Yu pondered over it and decided to try adding only eggs to see how it would work.

Because it rained today, we cooked less lunch. Even Zhou Dalang was free and went to the shop, so the noodle table in the kitchen was empty. It was a good time to experiment.

Shen Yu took a small basin and sifted the flour again. The flour she used to steam buns was better than the flour she used in the restaurant.

However, when using it to make flower cakes, it still needs to be sifted again to make the flour finer.

Shen Yu took four eggs. In order to make the flour white and fine, he cracked an egg and poured the eggshell between his left and right hands, leaving the yolk in the eggshell.

Just crack the egg white into the bowl and pour the egg yolk into the small bowl next to it.

Shen Yu cracked three more eggs using the same method, added a little fine salt, stirred with bamboo chopsticks, and then added a small amount of water.

I pinched a small piece of fermented dough and put it in to use as a starter, then started kneading it into a relatively hard dough.

Because it was an experiment, Shen Yu did not use spinach, beetroot, etc. for coloring.

Shen Yu kneaded it with his hands for a while and felt that the dough with egg white added was indeed more delicate and smoother.

After kneading, Shen Yu put the dough in a bowl and covered it with a cloth.

I took a large basin, filled it with warm water, put the small basin in it, and put another basin upside down on top. Then I placed the large basin near the stove and waited for it to rise.

Look at the dozen or so big grass carps in the big wooden basin in the corner. It feels very wet and cold because it rained today.

For lunch today, Shen Yu plans to make pickled fish.

Pickles and sauerkraut are always available at home, and they are pickled by Jiang and Li together.

The pickles were made by Li, including radish, garlic, and mustard greens.

The sauerkraut was pickled by Li. She said it was the pickling method of her hometown. There were pickled sauerkraut, pickled cucumbers, and a jar of pickled ginger.

When we eat on weekdays, there is always a small plate of pickles on the table, which are prepared in different ways using vinegar, cooking oil and some sugar. They are sweet and sour and refreshing, and everyone loves to eat them.

Shen Yu went to the shop in front and wanted to see what Zhou Dalang was doing, so he asked him to come over and kill two fish.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I walked over, I saw Zhou Dalang, Jiang, and Li standing at the door of the shop, looking into the distance and whispering about something.

Zheng Sanniang stayed obediently behind the table, waiting for the two customers in the shop to finish their meal so that she could clear the table.

Shen Yu walked over curiously, but saw the wheels of a gorgeous carriage stuck in the mud in the distance.

The driver was pulling a tall horse forward with all his might, but the mud was so soft that the wheels were slipping but would not move.

Shen Yu sighed, "I don't know who is sitting in the car. It seems that we can only get out and pull the car out."

Several people turned around and saw Shen Yu. Li said, "That's right. There are two people pushing the car from behind."

"I know where the car sank. There were some potholes there originally. The government sent people to fill them up a few days ago. I think the workers were lazy and didn't fill them up firmly. Now that it's raining, it's showing."

Zhou Dalang felt a little reluctant and said hesitantly, "Girl, do you want to go over and help them push the cart? I see it's hard to pull the people in the cart up if they don't get out. They've been pulling for a long time but still can't get up. The horse looks really miserable."

Shen Yu looked at the clean shoes and socks of his family members, then looked at the mud on the street and the people watching the fun in the nearby shops, and thought it would be better not to attract attention. Who knows who is in the car.

Just as he was about to speak up to stop Zhou Dalang from passing, he saw a middle-aged woman in her thirties who looked like a maid turning around from behind the car.

Although she was holding an umbrella, her clothes had been soaked dark by the drizzle.

I saw her holding an umbrella, lifting the car curtain and saying something to the people inside.

After a while, the curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a woman wearing a veil and a pretty red dress, with a slim figure, came out.

Then a man who looked like a servant came over, moved the sedan chair to the side of the car, bowed and stepped aside.

The girl held the woman's hand and got out of the carriage swiftly. She looked young.

The two stood beside the carriage, and the middle-aged woman held an umbrella and glanced at the shops on both sides of the street.

Seeing two women standing at the door of a street restaurant and men watching the fun at the doors of other shops, he pointed in this direction and whispered something.