Chapter 460 - 17: Sugar Production
The indigenous people could not understand the ever-turning watermill, just as they could not comprehend the inscrutable power and fearsome range of firearms.
But for them, knowing too much was meaningless, and learning was not something that brought joy.
They only needed to know that this peculiar machine, constantly making noise, could help them work, grinding barley, wheat, or cocoa beans into powder.
...
Once the ends of the "C"-shaped artificial canal were opened, the diverted river water flowed continuously along the canal day and night.
Under the guidance of Sunday and Saturday, the indigenous people mastered the use of the watermill—it was quite simple.
After the harvested grains have been dried, they could use the watermill to process them.
Before this, the mill hadn't been idle either; the island's population consumed a considerable amount of chocolate, and Chen Zhou had the indigenous people gather a wagon full of cocoa beans, which were dried and ground in the mill.
To grind a finer-tasting chocolate, Chen Zhou specifically adjusted the gap between the upper and lower millstones to be narrower and ordered the indigenous people to process it three times over, with each session lasting no less than 24 hours.
This batch of "fine-processed" chocolate would become Chen Zhou's private reserve.
As for the indigenous people, the chocolate ground by the regular process was already sweet and aromatic enough for them, and perhaps they couldn't even adapt to the more refined taste.
...
The mass production of chocolate brought about a new problem—sugar scarcity.
To solve this problem, Chen Zhou specifically checked the sugarcane fields on either side of the mountain stream.
After more than a year's expansion, sugarcane fields now densely covered the cleared forest land, with a sea of purple-black as far as the eye could see.
The old sugarcane closest to the mountain stream had grown from wrist-thick to bowl-thick, tall and robust.
The newly cultivated sugarcane on the outside was also very flourishing—
Here, people took care of them, applied fertilizer, and even the large trees that shaded the area were cut down, providing a better growing environment than their original River Valley Plain roots.
Those old sugarcane had become woody on the outside, too tough, and the internal fibers were also thick, making them less suitable for sugar production.
The stalks slightly further on the perimeter, which were taller and of the right thickness, were filled with juice and high in sugar content, making them ideal for sugar extraction.
...
After a tour, Chen Zhou assigned tasks to Saturday, who was following him.
"All the especially robust sugarcane in the middle should be cut down entirely; the indigenous people can eat them themselves, and if they don't wish to, they can use them as cattle and sheep feed, but not too much."
Sugarcane contains rich fiber, but unprocessed sugarcane is not ideal as feed; they can only be given to cattle and sheep in small amounts, as too much can cause indigestion or enteritis.
"The circle of mature sugarcane from the middle to the outermost should all be cut down, then sent to the kiln courtyard.
The undeveloped sugarcane on the outermost edge should be preserved.
Once harvested, sugarcane seedlings must be replanted quickly within the circle to prevent a yield decline next year."
Sugar is not just a seasoning; it has extensive applications in the food industry, indispensable in making preserves, candies, juices, pastries, and canned goods.
Chen Zhou truly hoped the sugarcane fields would expand further, allowing him to achieve red sugar self-sufficiency soon.
...
On March 2nd, all the harvested sugarcane was delivered to Chen Zhou's small courtyard.
To accommodate them, Chen Zhou specially set up a gigantic rain shelter in the courtyard.
Then, the grand sugar manufacturing operation began.
...
Four meticulous indigenous people were specially permitted to enter the kiln courtyard to start the sugarcane preprocessing.
They carefully followed Saturday step by step, peeling the outer skin off the sugarcane first and then slicing the peeled sugarcane into pieces about 10 cm long.
Next, they would clean the sugarcane chunks in clean water and then press the juice out in small stone mills.
The entire process was exceedingly tedious and lengthy but not difficult.
The indigenous person in charge of pushing the mill had the heaviest workload, not only needing to lift the sugarcane but also continuously push the stone mill and replace the containers collecting the sugarcane juice.
Even with their remarkable endurance, the indigenous people couldn't withstand this rigorous work.
Therefore, every hour and a half, they would rotate the person pushing the mill, ensuring all could maintain a relatively energetic state to extract the sugarcane juice.
...
While the indigenous folk stripped sugarcane skin and juiced sugarcane busily, Chen Zhou was also occupied.
He retrieved the fine fabric from a dismantled wedding dress and wrapped it around the edges of a circular metal frame, crafting a filtering net.
The sugarcane juice filled in earthenware jars was filtered through the fabric net, removing dregs and becoming clear and pure, then poured into an iron pot.
The vigorous fire quickly boiled the sugarcane juice.
The rich sugar content turned the juice from thin to thick; during this process, Chen Zhou had to stir the sugarcane juice constantly to prevent scorching.
Under the black backdrop of the iron pot, only by scooping the sugarcane juice bit by bit with a long ladle could he observe the syrup's state accurately.
When the syrup turned from its initial greenish color to reddish-brown, and long sticky threads formed as it dripped from the ladle, that was the cue to shift heat from high to medium.
At this point, the syrup was already considered semi-finished brown sugar.
Following the normal brown sugar manufacturing process, this would be the time to extinguish the fire and quickly stir the syrup until it crystallizes into a sandy texture.
However, Chen Zhou was using a wood-fired stove, and it's not feasible to turn off the fire instantly.
Thus, he could only ladle the thick syrup out of the pot and transfer it to a nearby prepared clay basin for vigorous stirring.
This task resembled the previous stirring when the sugar was in the pot, but since the syrup had thickened, stirring became more laborious.