"It’s truly delicious; this dish is much tastier than dry bread! Henry will definitely like it. Such a long preservation time is too suitable for mercenaries going on missions." Corbin loudly praised after eating the last bite.
Hugh wiped his mouth contentedly:
"Those mercenaries sometimes can’t bite into the dry bread and have to put it in water to boil until soft, but after boiling, it turns into a pot of paste."
As a merchant, Corbin’s conditions when going out for business were quite good; there was plenty of food in the caravan, and spices could be taken and used at any time.
But mercenaries were different. If they accepted an escort mission, like the Silver Horns mercenary squad hired by the Halun caravan year-round, they also got to follow along and eat a hot meal with enough flavor.
Corbin was someone who never mistreated himself; he brought his beloved chef wherever he went, so those following him also got to eat well.
But the missions that mercenary squads accepted most often were usually adventure missions. Things carried on their persons had to be as streamlined as possible, food was basically scavenged on the spot, so naturally, one couldn’t speak of eating well.
Hard bread and dried meat were brought along in case food ran out.
Once, Richard went on an adventure for a long time, and the mission location was where the Lich King used to live. There were no living creatures, so naturally, there was nothing to eat. The whole squad could only gnaw on the hard bread they carried, which after many days had become harder than stone.
Those who couldn’t bite it could only use water to boil it until the cake softened, then drink that gritty paste. The whole process required extraordinary willpower to accomplish. Just hearing about it made Corbin shudder.
If mercenaries had foods like potato vermicelli and mung bean vermicelli, no matter how hard they were when dry, once cooked soft, the flavor would still be chewy and delicious - truly an indispensable choice when going out on adventures.
Thinking more boldly, if the army had a type of provision with such a long shelf life, wouldn’t they not need to worry about being besieged?
In short, this was a good item. Corbin looked at the remaining uncooked dry potato vermicelli and mung bean vermicelli, smelled them, and indeed there was no food aroma.
Before tasting, this seemed like a flaw, but now he didn’t think so. No smell meant it was easy to prepare, without worrying about conflicting with the scents of spices and side dishes.
Just as the little Patriarch said, whether put into soup to cook or simply mixed like this, the taste wasn’t bad.
"Patriarch, how much do you plan to price this dish? I’ll take a few dozen catties back to eat first."
While Corbin was thinking, Hugh truly couldn’t hold back and stepped forward to ask.
This sentence pulled Corbin out of his train of thought. He glared at Hugh but was too lazy to scold him. Thinking positively, although Hugh liked private trading, this also proved he wouldn’t secretly touch the caravan’s goods, which could be considered having boundaries.
Eric tilted his head to think for a moment. One catty of potatoes only produced about one tael of starch, and he still had to make some profit, so one silver coin per catty shouldn’t be too expensive...
"One silver coin per catty, how about it?" He was a bit apprehensive in his heart; after all, this was just food. Compared to other things, it did seem a bit expensive...
Compared to hard bread and dried meat, it was indeed quite a bit more expensive. Corbin was a bit troubled and opened his mouth to say:
"Potato vermicelli and mung bean vermicelli are very delicious to eat, but the buyers will undoubtedly be mercenaries, adventurers, and wandering bards. This price isn’t very suitable for them."
Moreover, they ventured to the Illusion Dream Continent; after returning, the price would have to at least double. That way, the main buyers definitely wouldn’t buy. Other ordinary citizens might buy some to taste and know, but nobles certainly wouldn’t frequently eat this type of food.
Eric also felt that was correct. He had relied on the potato trading price with the Ox-Head tribe to set the price for potato vermicelli. As for mung bean vermicelli, the yield of mung beans was low, so the price certainly couldn’t be low.
"How about this: potato vermicelli can be sold for fifty coins a catty, provided you buy in large quantities. Mung bean vermicelli cannot be discounted; its ingredient is mung bean, so the cost is a bit higher."
Thinking for a while, he continued: "Although the preservation time of potato vermicelli and mung bean vermicelli is long, they are not just for making dry rations. They have many ways of preparation and are a very good ingredient. I will let you taste other ways of making them later."
If, because of the long shelf life, their sales scope was positioned primarily as dry rations, then potato vermicelli and mung bean vermicelli - two ingredients that frequently appeared in delicious recipes - would be truly wronged.
"You also know how to cook?" Corbin looked suspiciously up and down at the Snow Wolf boy in front of him. The simple mixed potato vermicelli and mung bean vermicelli dish just now was probably the highest level of cooking for beastmen, right?
Every year he passed through countless beastman tribes. Aside from the Ox-Head tribe, only herbivorous beastmen had a slightly higher level of cooking. The culinary skills of carnivorous beastmen made people’s vision go dark every time...
He didn’t know how these beastmen could put burnt blackened roast meat into their mouths and still eat without their expressions changing.
The Little Patriarch of the Hadu tribe being able to make dishes like potato vermicelli and mung bean vermicelli had broadened his horizons, but if one said he had high expectations for this Patriarch’s skills, he really didn’t...
Images of beastman roast meat quickly flashed in his mind. Corbin’s mouth twitched, but he didn’t refuse immediately:
"Okay, sure. Ingredients made by the Hadu tribe... surely you know more ways to prepare them."
Eric smiled mysteriously: "Naturally I know how to cook; otherwise, how could I make potato vermicelli and mung bean vermicelli?"
Why had the dark cuisine of beastmen become so famous?
Arthur only felt they didn’t know good goods; he huffed coldly and stuffed another cake into his mouth.
But there were no ingredients Eric wanted to use here; he had to return to the tribe to get them, and conveniently bring the toilet paper and the remaining soap agreed upon just now.
He left a little potato vermicelli and mung bean vermicelli for the tribe, and brought the rest here; a new batch would be made in autumn.
Just as he intended to go back, Corbin rubbed his hands and stepped forward: "I don’t know if you still have that berry wine from last time? There’s also the fruit candy; the candy brought back last time sold not badly."
The biggest reason he had to risk making this extra trip was precisely because of the jar of raspberry wine from last time. Although that jar wasn’t small, he hadn’t drunk enough to satisfy his craving. He came here this time with the intention of exchanging for more wine. Besides keeping some for himself to drink, he would try dividing the rest into bottles to sell in the shop.
Only then did Eric remember he hadn’t brought wine. While preparing new goods, he had forgotten. He scratched his head embarrassedly: "There isn’t much berry wine left; at this time, berries aren’t ripe yet, so I can’t brew a new batch. I also divided all the candy for the children to eat..."
Currently in the tribe, only brown sugar remained which couldn’t make candy, but the quantity wasn’t much; clansmen were occasionally given a little to mix with water to drink.
Corbin’s expression stiffened; disappointment was clearly visible on his face.
Hugh also suffered a heavy blow, furrowing his brows and sighing.
Seeing this, Eric hurriedly did some damage control:
"But the white liquor I recently brewed is almost ready to drink, just need to wait a few more days. If you really want to drink wine, you can wait a few days to taste the white liquor and see if you like it."
"White liquor? Could it be made from a white-colored fruit?" Hugh asked suspiciously, habitually stroking his small mustache.
Wine in the other world was mostly brewed from fruits; distillation methods didn’t exist yet. Wine brewed from other things wasn’t nonexistent, it was just that the taste was very mediocre.
Currently, wine in the other world was mainly pressed wine. High-end brewers wanted to break through and find other methods but had no clues.
Now there were even brewers who angrily scolded those using methods other than pressing as heretics. For various reasons, brewing methods here were quite monotonous.
So when Corbin heard Eric talk about white liquor, he immediately guessed it was related to some white fruit to have such a name.
He and Hugh were also regular drinkers but had never heard of any white fruit that could brew good wine. Could it also be a unique fruit of the Illusion Dream Continent?
Since this place had vast land and abundant resources, that possibility was high.