Fan Zehao returned and did not see his wife's figure. Upon inquiry, he learned she was in the kitchen.
As he approached the kitchen entrance, he saw the cooks peering from the doorframes and windows, which puzzled him.
He yelled at them, and they all hung their heads like scolded children, standing in a line.
Upon entering the kitchen, he discovered his wife sitting on a small stool, tending the fire and watching the contents of the clay pot with great concentration.
"What delicious dish are you making that requires such focus!"
Zhao Jiaqi turned and saw her husband had returned. Her pout, held for so long, finally smoothed out as she waved at him. "I've developed another dish, but it's missing a few key ingredients. I don't know if it will turn out well!"
She had spoken excitedly at first, but as she continued, her confidence wavered. She had never made this before, only seen cooking shows online.
Ingredients like ham and shark fin were absent, so the taste certainly wouldn't be authentic.
Seeing his wife's dejected face, Fan Zehao put his arm around her shoulder and said softly, "Let's just do our best. We can't force everything. Besides, if we can't replicate the original flavor, we can create our own. Why put yourself through so much trouble!"
Her husband's comforting words were a hundred times better than before and immediately cheered her up.
"You're right. No forcing it. As long as this pot turns out delicious, we'll use this recipe."
If they couldn't replicate it, they would imitate. Imitation wasn't illegal here.
The couple toiled in the kitchen. With her husband's help, she gained an excellent assistant, and they began to make a dish similar to Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. The main ingredients were present, but the accompanying dishes were completely changed.
A little over an hour later, two clay pots were brought to the dining table.
Duan Yao smelled the faint aroma and her stomach rumbled with hunger. She craned her neck to sniff the air near the person beside her. "Sister-in-law, have you developed a new dish again? It smells so good!"
Zhao Jiaqi replied, "Yes, I've developed two. I tested both dishes on chickens, and they didn't die."
Duan Yao was momentarily stunned by her playful remark but understood her meaning. She smiled and shook her head.
"You say such strange things. Anyone with a brain knows that poisoning the food would bring you no benefit. Who would do such a foolish thing!"
Her words were sound, but what if someone here harbored ill intentions? She couldn't be entirely at ease on unfamiliar territory.
Fan Zehao, who had been helping his wife prepare the dish, was already salivating. Seeing them still chatting, he couldn't help but call someone over to serve the soup.
The golden, thick broth wafted a fragrant aroma. A servant scooped a bowl of soup and vegetables and presented it to Fan Zehao. Immediately after, Zhao Jiaqi and Duan Yao were each served a bowl.
Zhao Jiaqi took a small sip. The taste was fresh. Although it was slightly inferior to Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, it was far superior to the other dishes on the table.
Duan Yao, having lived in the imperial palace for many years, gave a highly enthusiastic review upon tasting the dish. "Delicious, delicious! It's even more exquisite than what the imperial chefs make. Truly delicious!"
Fan Zehao, not even bothering with compliments, finished his first bowl and started on his second. By the time they finished their polite exchanges, he had already eaten two bowls. Seeing this, the two women stopped talking and eagerly grabbed their bowls to eat.
The two dishes had slightly different flavors, but both were delicious. Relatively speaking, the prices of the dishes also varied slightly.
The dish with more seafood and a greater variety of ingredients would certainly be more expensive.
The other dish, with fewer ingredients, would be cheaper. These two dishes catered to different consumer groups.
However, after tasting such delicacies, Fan Zehao's palate had become quite discerning. He posed a question: "Wife, can this kind of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall be made into canned food, to extend its shelf life? If this thing sells, I think it will make more money than anything else!"
This presented Zhao Jiaqi with a dilemma.
These were cooked dishes. To extend their shelf life, preservatives would definitely be needed.
But when faced with something she was unfamiliar with, she was truly at a loss. She shook her head. "No, this isn't like canned fruit. It's impossible to preserve it for long periods!"
The clay pots were sterilized at high temperatures, and the fruit was steamed with rock sugar. But these were vegetables, and in the heat of summer, the food would spoil in a day. How could it last for several days!
If there were preservatives, it might be more feasible.
Fan Zehao was dejected. "It seems that if we want to eat this dish in the future, we'll have to travel for a day and a half by boat!"
That remark sparked an idea in her. "Then why not use boats to transport these ingredients?"
Duan Yao and Fan Zehao looked at Zhao Jiaqi, bewildered. "What do you mean?"
To bring the cooked dishes over? They would still spoil. It was better for them to come and eat it themselves.
Zhao Jiaqi clarified, "I'm talking about fresh seafood!"
Fan Zehao, having been married to his wife for many years, understood her line of thinking. He immediately asked, "Are you suggesting we fill some boats with seawater and transport the seafood to Deming Prefecture?"
That was precisely the idea. She gave her husband a thumbs-up. "If we can keep this seafood alive for even two or three extra days, then our inner city will definitely be able to eat it!"
Why had they never thought of developing marine products before? Although Deming Prefecture had a port, the locals only preserved seafood by salting or drying it. Only a few villages consumed it regularly. They rarely went to Deming Prefecture and had never considered this aspect.
Zhao Jiaqi immediately regretted it, wishing she could slap herself. If they had discovered this earlier, it would have meant so much more profit!
"This is feasible. I'll have someone experiment tomorrow to see how many days they can survive!" Duan Yao said at once.
If this plan worked, it would be a new way to earn money: exporting live seafood to the inner city. She found that the more she interacted with Zhao Jiaqi, the more her mind became flexible, even able to make deductions.
"Alright, let's start trying tomorrow," Zhao Jiaqi agreed.
This wasn't a difficult task for them. If the experiment failed, they could use the soon-to-die seafood for cooking. After all, they ate these dishes every day.
They could eat some for the few days they were out, but after eating too much, they grew tired of it and sometimes longed for a change of cuisine.
After some inquiries, she discovered that the vegetables here were more expensive than in their own country, especially in winter when there were hardly any green vegetables available.
This gave Zhao Jiaqi a notion. She asked a vendor, "If there are no green vegetables to eat, why don't you import them from other places?"
"For example, from the inner city!"
After she finished speaking, a translator behind her chattered away.
The vegetable vendor looked troubled. "The inner city does produce green vegetables, but by the time we buy them, the cost per jin skyrockets. They're more expensive than meat. How can ordinary people like us afford them!"
The translator beside her was about to translate when Zhao Jiaqi interrupted, "I can understand the general idea!"
Although she couldn't speak the language, by guessing and listening, she had a good grasp of the situation.