Chapter 129: Ruozhu Brand Handheld Pancakes
After Dengdeng was sound asleep, Bai Ruozhu returned to the main hall: there was still some dinner left for her, but it had turned cold. She reluctantly reheated the food and ate it in the kitchen.
Only after finishing her meal, did she remember about the medicinal soup. She hurried to ask the family members about it. Since the season was dry and autumnal, the medicinal soup she made was to humidify and reduce internal heat. Her family could not immediately feel these effects, but they found the soup especially delicious.
Bai Ruozhu was content with this. She knew it would not be feasible to sell such a large quantity of medicinal soup on the streets: the costs would be too high.
"Father, mother, I am thinking of setting up a small business after the autumn harvest," Bai Ruozhu said.
Lin Pingr looked at her daughter affectionately and said, "You have a bonus from the Du Family’s pharmacy. There’s no need for you to start a business. You still need to nurse the child, and starting a business will be too hard."
"Then you can help me. When my sister-in-law comes in a while, she can also help me." Bai Ruozhu, smiling cheerfully, pulled her mother’s arm. Although she was already a mother herself, she could still act like a child in front of her own mother.
Being won over by her daughter’s persistence, Lin Pingr started to waver, while Bai Zehao agreed with Bai Ruozhu’s proposal. He chimed in, saying: "Let our sister first share her thoughts. Everyone can brainstorm together. If it’s too tiring, mom can still refuse."
Making perfect sense, Lin Pingr finally allowed Bai Ruozhu to speak.
"I’ve come up with a new type of food called ’hand-grabbing cake’. I’m certain no one sells this type of food in our town, which should attract many customers,"Bai Ruozhu said.
"Hand-grabbing cake?" Bai Zepei raised his eyebrows, "Similar to the onigiri from the Western Regions?"
Bai Ruozhu wasn’t sure if the onigiri her second brother mentioned was the same as the one she knew, so she could only shake her head and say, "I’m not sure about onigiri, but the hand-grabbing cake was developed by me. I can cook it for dinner for you to taste. If you like it, we can then discuss whether or not to start this venture."
Hearing about this innovative food made everyone in the family excited and unanimously approved it.
In the afternoon, Bai Ruozhu started preparing the ingredients for the hand-grabbing cake, with Lin Pingr assisting her, engrossed in tasks such as kneading the dough. Lin Pingr was afraid that Bai Ruozhu would tire herself out and affect her breast milk, much to Bai Ruozhu’s amusement.
When it was time for dinner, Bai Ruozhu asked, "Come on, everyone, do you want to choose a flavor?"
"What flavors are there?" Bai Yihong, just came back from the fields, was washing his hands. But upon hearing his daughter’s question, he felt an immediate pang of hunger, probably because her delicious creation was too memorable.
"There’s an egg flavor, vegetable flavor, and even a meat pancake flavor, of course, there’s also a three-in-one combination," Bai Ruozhu introduced.
"Give me a three-in-one," Bai Yihong chimed in as he felt even hungrier.
Bai Zehao who doesn’t prefer vegetables immediately responded, "I want egg and meat pancake, can this combination be made?"
"Of course, it can. As long as the combination does not taste weird," Bai Ruozhu chuckled and turned towards Bai Zepei, who said, "I’ll try one of each flavor."
Oh, so the second brother was serious about tasting carefully. It seemed he genuinely wanted to help her reflect on their potential venture.
Bai Ruozhu quickly vanished into the kitchen, starting the preparation of the hand-grabbing cake. Soon, the aroma emanated from the kitchen and wafted into the yard, causing Bai Yihong and his sons to draw in a deep breath. How could the cake smell this good?
"The thing that our little sister is making is just cake, isn’t it? The meat pancakes I’ve come across in town have never smelled so good." Bai Zehao scratched his head, was this really something their little sister casually developed?
"Come, come, come, it’s dinner time, everyone quickly come in," Bai Ruozhu carried a tray with several hand-grabbing cakes on it. Lin Pingr who was following behind her was holding a large soup bowl. She chuckled and said, "Hurry and come to the table. Ruozhu says the hand-grabbing cakes will not taste good when they’ve cooled."
The father and his sons all looked at the hand-grabbing cakes in awe, they looked entirely different from the sesame cakes they were used to. The hand-grabbing cakes were golden brown, looking very crisp and tasty, and the folded areas of the cake revealed a soft and tender interior, even someone with poor teeth could chew it easily.
Everyone sniffed the air. Bai Zepei turned to Bai Ruozhu and asked, "Is it scallion oil flavor?"
"Yes, it is scallion flavored," Bai Ruozhu nodded, then she handed them each of the cakes they chose and invited them to taste them.
Bai Yihong was the first to grab one and taste it. It was exactly like how he had imagined: the exterior was crisp, whereas the inside was tender and chewy. But different from his expectation was the taste. This cake was nothing like the pancakes or sesame cakes he used to have. Its never-before-seen taste was even more delectable, especially when paired with the inside stuffing of meat bread, egg, and fresh vegetables. He ate it all in just a few mouthfuls.
"Daughter, are there any more?" Bai Yihong asked with a bit of embarrassment.
"Father, which flavor would you like? I’ll make it for you," Bai Ruozhu said cheerfully, and started eating a cake herself.
Bai Yihong’s face stiffened, and Lin Pingr ground her teeth and hit him, saying, "You are looking down on my cooking skills. You’ll pay for it by not getting to eat next time!" She didn’t wait for Bai Ruozhu to respond and directly went to the kitchen to make several more hand-grabbing cakes.
Both Bai Zehao and Bai Zepei concurred that it was indeed delicious. When they asked about the different flavor of the cake, Bai Ruozhu winkingly replied that it was the result of scalding the dough.
As men often didn’t understand much about cooking, they just nodded their head and didn’t ask further questions.
After a while, Lin Pingr brought freshly made hand-grabbing cakes to the table. Bai Yihong immediately grabbed one and began eating. However, it was so hot that he burnt his tongue. He quickly took in a few breaths of cold air, and blew on it a couple times before continuing to eat in small bites.
"Wow, mother, your cooking skills have evolved. It tastes almost identical to the ones Ruozhu made." Bai Yihong laughed heartily and began to praise, although he couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed as he had just scorned Lin Pingr’s cooking skills.
Lin Pingr rolled her eyes and said, "This is thanks to Ruozhu’s intelligence. I think this project will succeed. Even if Ruozhu isn’t around, I can manage the stall by myself."
As it turned out, Bai Ruozhu had prepared all the ingredients in advance. Words such as the dough and the meat mixture has been proportioned well ahead of time. Hence, the preparation of the hand-grabbing cake became extremely convenient. The seasonings sprinkled on top of the cake were also proportioned well. Lin Pingr quickly memorized the proportions, which was why there was virtually no difficulty in making the cakes.
Bai Zehao, who was licking his fingers, said:"I also feel this business will certainly prosper!"
Bai Ruozhu secretly smiled, the commonly seen street food- hand-tearing cake from her previous life had become a rare delicacy in the ancient times, it seemed she had struck a gold mine. Of course, this couldn’t be separated from her unique soup powder. There wasn’t any culinary spice in these times; even if other people could mimic the appearance of her hand-tearing cake, they couldn’t replicate the flavor.
"If no one has any objections, I’ll keep working and refining the recipe. We can set up a stall in town after we finish harvesting this autumn," Bai Ruozhu said aloud after finishing a hand-grabbing cake.