“First, tell us about the situation in the academy cafeteria, especially the breakfast stalls. What do the other stalls sell, and what flavors do the students usually prefer? You should be clear on all of this, right?”
Connie’s first question struck directly at the core.
Ning He had already gone over this information in her head yesterday, so she explained it immediately.
“…The meal allowance given by the academy to the students each month is eight hundred Yuan Dollars. Except for meat, which can’t be eaten every single meal, they can generally afford other dishes. As for tastes, I haven’t noticed any particular preference; as long as the food tastes good, they can accept it. The breakfast stalls previously sold noodles, dumplings, steamed buns, bean paste, sandwiches, and roasted sausages. In addition, every student is provided with a free portion of soy milk or calcium drink.”
“So you’re saying, you’re the only Level 0 stall, and all the other levels are higher?” Connie’s brow furrowed.
Ning He smiled sheepishly. “That’s the current situation, but Level 0 stalls have advantages too—low cost, low pricing. Surely people will still buy from us.”
“With a monthly meal allowance of eight hundred Yuan Dollars, will students really care about that bit of difference?” Connie said crossly. Pausing, she added, “But you’re right. Since they don’t care that much about the price, we just need to focus on making the food delicious. Although these few items of yours can sell, they’re still lacking a bit if you want to outshine the other stalls. If we earn too little, it won’t be worth us joining. You said you have a way to elevate the texture and flavor of this rice cake?”
Ning He nodded. “Yes. It’s a bit more trouble, but the cafeteria has the equipment, so it just takes a bit of time. However, I think it’s still a bit lacking if we want to outshine the others.”
Ah Huai, who had remained silent all along, looked at the four breakfast items in front of him and suddenly spoke up: “If every item can reach the level of the red sugar fried rice cakes, it should be enough.”
“You mean, the flavor enhancement?”
Ah Huai nodded. “When we were at the shelter, we didn’t have any advantage in terms of ingredients. We relied entirely on outstanding taste to sell so well. Although the other stalls in the academy cafeteria are of higher level and have abundant ingredients, I think their seasonings are still limited. If you can make flavors similar to the tomato meat sauce or salad dressings, you definitely won’t have to worry about sales.”
Ning He’s eyes lit up—Ah Huai had a point.
Even a high-end restaurant like Golden Grapefruit Restaurant could only offer oil and vinegar dressing in the end. The situation with the cafeteria stalls was likely quite similar. But if she merely used soy sauce and vinegar to enhance the flavor, the advantage would not be obvious, and it would drastically increase costs—the seasonings might even turn out more expensive than the raw ingredients.
With only rice, flour, and soybeans available to use, how else could she alter the flavor profile?
“If it really comes to it, you can use our family’s sauce,” Connie said after a moment of hesitation.
Special seasonings?
How could it be that easy?
Look at how the Golden Grapefruit Restaurant resorted to such methods just for two sauces.
It was already incredible for a chef to know one or two, so how could anyone have an endless supply?
Connie was being unusually generous, but this suggestion would not work.
Ning He shook her head and sighed. “The academy has rules—external ingredients cannot be brought into the cafeteria unless prepared or brewed on the spot.”
“Then I’m afraid it won’t work. Our family’s sauce takes at least three months to ferment; there’s no time.”
Just as Connie finished speaking, she saw Ning He’s eyes light up, and she stood up with a sudden *thud*.
“I got it!”
“What?”
Ning He’s eyes shone brightly. “Have you ever had sweet fermented rice?”
“You mean… alcohol?” Connie’s expression suddenly turned excited. “You know how to brew alcohol?”
“A little bit, but it should be enough.”
Ning He’s mind felt instantly illuminated now, inspiration pouring forth like a spring.
Sweet fermented rice could thoroughly elevate the flavor profile of the rice cakes by several levels. It could also be cooked into sweet fermented rice balls or sweet fermented rice oatmeal porridge—delicious, and perfectly paired with Mianwo and Youtiao, killing two birds with one stone!
Suppressing her excitement, Connie said to Ning He:
“Although I don’t know how this sweet fermented rice you mentioned is supposed to pair with these things, I believe what you make won’t be bad. It’s just… can you really make it?”
Ning He nodded. “Give me two days. Two days later, I’ll bring the stuff over and make a few new items for you.”
“Alright. If you really make it, we agree to join,” Connie said earnestly.
Ning He grinned. “Great, then I’ll go prepare right now. I’ll leave these items for you to eat. See you in two days.”
Ning He bade farewell to the two of them, and upon exiting, she headed straight for the food supermarket, searching through all the shelves without finding what she wanted.
In the end, she had no choice but to ask a supermarket staff member.
“Distiller’s yeast? That’s a specially supplied raw material. It can only be obtained through cooperation with the food company. Ordinary people don’t know how to brew alcohol either, so food supermarkets like ours don’t stock it.”
“So that’s how it is. Thank you very much.”
Ning He walked out of the supermarket, feeling a bit worried.
Without distiller’s yeast, where would she get sweet fermented rice?
This was going to be tough.
Just then, Ning He suddenly slapped her forehead, remembering something.
She was someone with a system!
Sure enough, opening the system store and carefully digging through it, she found Rhizopus and yeast in the microorganism category.
Having previously gained a small amount of experience through planting various vegetables in the black soil, it was just enough to buy a bit.
Ning He felt somewhat relieved.
This useless system actually had some use after all.
Ning He went back to the food supermarket and bought a small bag of a special variety of rice.
This was a new variety developed by a large agricultural technology company. It had a short growth cycle, with a variety somewhere between glutinous rice and regular rice. It was rich in amylopectin, soft and sticky in texture, better at staving off hunger than ordinary rice, and priced considerably higher—eighteen Yuan Dollars a pound.
Gritting her teeth through the pain, Ning He bought five pounds, selected a glass container used for brewing, checked out, and immediately rushed home.
The supermarket employee’s words earlier revealed a piece of information: ordinary people did not know how to brew alcohol. In other words, this stuff was extremely rare.
No wonder Ning He had not seen anyone selling alcohol on the street after being here for so long. The supermarket only carried carbonated drinks mixed with synthetic flavors.
It made sense thinking about it.
Soy sauce and vinegar brewed from grain were very expensive, so alcohol brewed from grain would not be cheap either.
Look at how her tiny batch of raw materials was already close to a hundred Yuan Dollars, right?
Furthermore, sweet rice wine was different from other alcoholic beverages—it had low alcohol content, was sweet, and was acceptable even to children. As long as she could make it, there would be no fear of it not selling.
As Ning He thought about it, her heart gradually grew enthusiastic, and as soon as she arrived home, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work.
Meanwhile, in front of the sealed Jin’s Meat Sauce Noodle Shop, a few low-profile old men appeared.
“Is this the right place? Why is the shop sealed?” The old man leaning on a cane looked left and right, frowning.
A chubby middle-aged man walked out from a nearby shop, shaking his head at the group: “I asked around. They said it was operating without a license and was just sealed at noon. Looks like we made a trip for nothing.”
Lytton was a bit anxious: “Do you know where they went? Even if the shop is gone, finding the person works too!”
“That, I wouldn’t know. There are three hundred thousand people in the Fourth Ring—finding someone is truly not easy.”
“Forget it, let’s go back. We can just come back whenever they reopen. They won’t just stop altogether.” The grey-haired old man comforted everyone.
Although Lytton was unwilling, he had no choice and could only leave along with the rest.
On the other end, Connie and Ah Huai’s younger brothers and sisters returned home from school.
As soon as they entered the room, the eyes of several children were firmly attracted by the table of foods they had never seen before, unable to move away even half an inch.
“Big sister, did you make all of this? It looks so delicious!” Little Susan held her chin, exclaiming in wonder.
“A friend of mine made it. Hurry and go wash your hands to prepare for dinner!” Connie touched Susan’s head, saying with a smile.
The children cheered, rushing in unison to the sink to scramble to wash their hands.
The children were right at the age of growing bodies. Although the school provided a simple free nutritional meal at noon, Connie would still make them something delicious for dinner. Ning He had left quite a few items today, so she cooked a cabbage and egg soup, scooping a bowl for each person to eat along with the food.
“Mmh—big sister, this rice cake is so fragrant, sweet, and soft!”
“Mm, the one with red bean paste tastes even better, like the cake we eat on birthdays!”
“This crispy cake is pretty good too, so fragrant!”
Little Susan raised the Youtiao in her hand in wonder: “Big sister, this thing absorbs soup like a sponge! After absorbing the soup, it becomes soft and sweet, super delicious!”
“Is that so? Then I’ll try it too.”
Connie suddenly remembered Ning He’s words about how Youtiao could be paired with porridge or soy milk. Tearing off a small section, she soaked it into the soup. The fluffy fried dough stick quickly absorbed its fill of broth, its originally crispy texture becoming pliable and chewy.
With one bite, the broth burst out from the countess pores of the fried dough stick, carrying both its original flavor and the taste of the soup—it was actually an entirely different kind of delicacy.
“It really is delicious.”
She looked at Ah Huai with a touch of emotion.
Ah Huai understood her meaning and nodded gently.
For this meal, the five siblings ate to their heart’s content, and even Clove, who usually had a small appetite, ate quite a bit.
After seeing off her younger brothers and sisters to sleep, Connie and Ah Huai chatted privately for a few words.
“You’ve decided?” Ah Huai asked.
Connie nodded: “I think it’s worth a try. The noodle shop didn’t make much anyway, and Clove and the others are gradually growing older; there will be more places to spend money in the future. It’s better to take a gamble on her.”
Ah Huai fell silent for a moment.
“Alright, I’ll listen to you.”