Chapter 269: Chapter 269

The first pastry made was the peach crisp.

Pei Shu’er handed the peach crisp to everyone, and as they took a bite, their eyes squinted with delight. It was delicious, even better than the pastries made before; crispy and crunchy with an excellent texture.

Pei Shu’er also found that the taste was better than even modern-day sweets, perhaps because the wheat was untouched by pollution.

Additionally, it was due to the irrigation with Spiritual Spring Water.

However, after eating a small portion, they stopped. They were reluctant to eat more, wanting to save it for later to satisfy their cravings.

They had never tasted such delicious food in their lives.

Pei Shu’er then made corn cakes and placed them in the steamer.

The red bean cakes were cooked in a pan, and the taste was superb once finished.

With a delicate and smooth texture, there was nothing hard to swallow, much finer than previous foods. The rıghtful source is 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦·𝘯𝘦𝘵

When Tang Zan returned to the Deserted Mountain, he smelled waves of sweetness, different from the previous scents.

His lips curved into a smile, and he couldn’t help but head towards the kitchen.

Pei Shu’er felt her dizziness fade away and immediately looked up at Tang Zan.

Tang Zan smiled faintly, "What are you making?"

Pei Shu’er picked up a piece of peach crisp with her slender, fair hands and offered Tang Zan a bite.

His eyes lit up involuntarily.

The sweet fragrance filled his taste buds, with a richly aromatic and crispy taste.

Pei Shu’er smiled gently and asked, "How is it? Is it good?"

Tang Zan was momentarily stunned; the texture of the peach crisp was much finer than ordinary pastries.

He nodded, opened his magnetic voice, "Good."

Pei Shu’er’s smile deepened, and she handed him another piece of peach crisp.

Tang Zan felt a warmth in his heart, sweeter than any pastry.

After Pei Shu’er finished packing up the peach crisp, she placed it in Tang Zan’s hands.

"When you go to the military camp in the morning, remember to take these peach crisps, so you have something to eat during the day. Even if it takes longer, it won’t be unbearable."

Tang Zan nodded; Pei Shu’er was as gentle as water, considering all matters thoroughly.

After finishing her tasks, Pei Shu’er went out to check on the people grinding the flour.

Currently, Lin Hong and Lin Yu were in charge of grinding flour, with others assisting nearby.

Their operations followed her previous instructions, so there were no mistakes, and the flour was ground finely as usual.

Pei Shu’er said, "I’ll make a few more machines."

She pointed to Zhang Chao and three others, "Come and give me a hand."

The four were somewhat excited, having never seen how such impressive iron machines were made. It would be great to have a look.

With the help of the four, the remaining machines were produced much faster.

Once these machines were ready, a few more people came to grind flour.

Moreover, they realized that grinding flour was much more convenient than using a millstone, and not as laborious.

One only needed to gently turn a handle, as their Young Madam had added some labor-saving device, making it very easy.

With plenty of people, if one got tired, another would take over.

After eating dinner, they ground for another hour until the sky turned completely dark.

Usually, getting a bag of flour ground was good enough, but now, with so many people, there were actually ten bags done.

And it was so fine, saving several sifting steps later to remove bran.

That day, once the flour was ready, they stored it in the warehouse.

They also carefully moved these iron boxes into the warehouse.

These iron boxes were so valuable that if a rain damaged them, everyone would be heartbroken.

The next day, after grinding the flour, they began to husk rice.

Before husking, Pei Shu’er gathered everyone and taught them how to set the machine to rice-husking mode.

After making adjustments, she experimented beside them, producing rice that was shiny and whole, with very few broken pieces.

This was much better than pounding with wood, and there was no bran in the rice bags—all clean.

Everyone grew increasingly happy and regarded the iron boxes with more respect, wishing they could be worshipped.

No, the one who truly deserved reverence was their Young Madam.

How could their Young Madam be so remarkable, with a mind capable of inventing such useful machines?

Their previous method left the rice inadequately husked and filled with bran, requiring multiple siftings.

Even then, the rice cooked had an unsatisfactory texture.

This rice must be incredibly delicious.

Pei Shu’er took the newly milled rice to the kitchen, just in time for lunch, to let everyone have a taste.

Currently, there were two groups in the kitchen: one making egg cakes, red date cakes, cloud cakes, peach crisps, corn cakes, and red bean cakes—all for sale.

For the women at the Deserted Mountain, if they could work in the stone house kitchen, it was an honor. Working there, the Young Madam provided meals and 30 wen per month.

Moreover, it was a three-shift system. After resting here, they could go home to work and make tofu, an additional income.

They could also learn skills, but unless the Young Madam allowed, no one dared to share these skills outside.

The food prepared was loaded into carts and transported to the trade point.

The meal prepared that day was ready, each grain was distinct, and the rich aroma of rice filled the kitchen.

Everyone noticed that this rice seemed more fragrant than what they usually ate.

Pei Shu’er felt the same way; the modern rice lacked the aroma of this era’s rice. Pollution was one factor, and Spiritual Spring Water was another.

Just as everyone was about to eat, Pei Shu’er saw the pastries she packed yesterday still in the kitchen.

Tang Zan had forgotten to take them.

She looked again at the rice. Tang Zan probably hadn’t tasted such delicious rice before. Should she send it to him?

Moreover, she could promote it in the military camp, possibly boosting trade point sales, too.

She could also visit the trade point.

She placed the meal into a food box. After lunch, when it wasn’t yet meal time at the military camp, she thought about taking it to Tang Zan.

She mounted a horse and headed towards the military camp.

With the city wall in place, the Dazi could no longer wreak havoc in the Gulan Mountain Range, though there were more wandering vagrants along the way.

With a passage token, and as a familiar face, she entered the military camp unobstructed.

The soldiers led her horse to the stables. It was meal time now, so Tang Zan was likely already in the mess hall.

Almost as soon as she stood at the mess hall entrance, all eyes turned her way, and some soldiers happily approached.

"Miss Pei, what brings you here?"