“Excuse me, where is this place?” Zhuang Yubai, worried that the other party would continue questioning him, forcibly changed the topic.
“Changning Prefecture, Ji County, Meng Family Village. I am Meng Zhizhang.” Meng Zhizhang introduced himself, gazing intently at Zhuang Yubai.
Zhuang Yubai felt a bit uneasy. He tried hard to recall, but the place names didn’t ring a bell. However, the name Meng Zhizhang… never mind, he needed to solve the most pressing issue at hand first.
“Brother Meng, are you planning to take me in?” Zhuang Yubai asked.
Meng Zhizhang neither confirmed nor denied, seemingly not getting the answer he wanted. His eyes darkened slightly: “Yesterday, you mentioned a hundred wen, to be returned tenfold in a month.”
Zhuang Yubai, who was chewing, nodded vigorously: “A month it is. If I break my word, you can deal with me as you see fit!”
To successfully stay, he had made a solemn promise.
“Why a month?” Meng Zhizhang asked.
Why a month? Wasn’t it to increase the chances of success? If he had said he wanted to freeload for a year, who would agree? Besides, if it turned out to be uncomfortable, he could always leave. Of course, these thoughts couldn’t be spoken aloud.
Zhuang Yubai mumbled to himself, but before he could “explain,” he saw that Meng Zhizhang seemed to see through everything and stood up.
“I’m going out for a bit, three days at the least, five days at most. The money is on the desk, besides the 100 wen you asked for, there’s an additional 50 wen for your daily expenses.”
…
Does this mean I can stay?!
Once Zhuang Yubai realized it, he was so happy he almost wanted to hug the person in front of him. He declared in his heart that Meng Zhizhang was now his best brother in ancient times.
Yes, a good brother!
In his excitement, Zhuang Yubai wanted to chat more with this good brother: “Brother Meng, they say scholars are above worldly concerns and would never bow for five bushels of rice. I was worried that talking about making money might offend you.”
Meng Zhizhang slung a packed document bag over his shoulder, making his broad shoulders and straight posture even more pronounced.
“That’s the attitude of pedantic scholars. People rely on food to survive. Without securing food, how can one settle down? Without settling down, how can one read the classics or understand the world outside the window? How can one cultivate oneself, manage the family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world?”
Meng Zhizhang spoke lightly, but Zhuang Yubai was stunned. The sunlight from behind cast a golden halo around Meng Zhizhang, and the light spots reflected in Zhuang Yubai’s eyes, stirring his heart.
“Brother, you have a broad mind, extraordinary spirit, and remarkable insight… I admire you!” Zhuang Yubai racked his brain for words of praise, secretly delighted to have found the right person to rely on. This person was definitely not ordinary, with such ambition, he would surely achieve great success in the future. Now, all that was left was for him to make money to pave the way for him!
Meng Zhizhang understood that the other’s praise, though exaggerated, was not mere flattery for social courtesy: “A gentleman uses things, while a petty person is used by things. As long as one’s heart is open, and the money is obtained and used properly, why avoid it like a tiger or leopard?”
After speaking, he looked firmly at Zhuang Yubai.
This made Zhuang Yubai feel even more like he was also a gentleman as described by the other.
Making friends, having aligned values is the most important! He had already decided that Meng Zhizhang was his confidant.
Zhuang Yubai escorted him to the firewood gate. As a standard straight man, he reached out to pat the other’s shoulder in a friendly manner. However, due to the height difference, he changed direction halfway and lightly punched Meng Zhizhang’s chest.
“I’ll take care of this house, rest assured!”
The fist quickly bounced back… this chest was firm and solid, making Zhuang Yubai’s hand feel numb. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would have thought he had hit a wall of copper and iron.
“Brother Meng, your physique… impressive! How did you train? Teach me too!” Zhuang Yubai lightly rubbed the back of his hand, offering the highest praise a straight man could in such a situation, “If it weren’t for the scholar’s robe, I would have thought Brother Meng was a martial artist!”
“You’re too kind. I know a bit of martial arts.” Meng Zhizhang’s gaze moved from the amber hair to the slender wrist he had subdued and tied with a rope last night, “Things that can’t be explained with reason are easier solved with fists, aren’t they?”
*
When the tiger is away, the monkey becomes the king.
Watching Meng Zhizhang’s figure disappear at the end of the winding forest path, Zhuang Yubai turned back and closed the firewood gate behind him.
The solitary life of traveling back in time to ancient times officially began!
Zhuang Yubai inspected the courtyard inside and out again to see if there was anything he missed. Perhaps this poor appearance was just a test for him. Otherwise, how could such a poor home produce someone like Meng Zhizhang, who was like a towering pine?
This courtyard seemed to have been pulled out of the ground, with the resilience and simplicity of the earth. Zhuang Yubai even knocked on the wall behind the bookshelf, but besides the 150 wen left by Meng Zhizhang on the desk, there were only 5 eggs and 2 cucumbers in the kitchen.
It seemed he was overthinking. Well, even barren land can grow orchids and jade trees.
Meng Zhizhang’s chiseled face and deep, almost mysterious eyes occasionally floated before him. Handsome enough to make one… jealous.
Jealousy, in a way, is a form of praise between straight men. That’s how Zhuang Yubai understood it. But he didn’t have much time to dwell on such abstract issues. He had more pressing tasks.
100 wen in a month, tenfold. Zhuang Yubai was a man of his word and had to deliver.
What could he do to earn this “first pot of gold” upon his arrival?
Zhuang Yubai walked around the courtyard with his hands behind his back, mentally arranging and combining the “resources” at home. Wheat, rice, oil… Suddenly, a light bulb went off. Yes, that’s it!
The “timely enjoyment” artifact—shrimp chips!
Although he wasn’t sure about the ancient people’s taste, he believed in the common weakness of humanity.
Puffed snacks are practically a “pleasure” gene trap for all of humanity, precisely capturing the desire for taste. Modern companies spend a lot of time and money researching ingredient ratios, thickness, and flavor, especially the optimal breaking point of each chip, to hit our sweet spot.
Even though modern people know it’s a high-calorie food, they still choose to “moth to a flame.” Once you eat the first chip, you’ll finish the whole bag. Once you hear the “crunch,” you can’t stop.
It’s not that people have weak willpower, but that manufacturers target those weak points.
1. Shrimp chips didn’t exist in ancient times, making them a scarce commodity.
2. The main ingredients, starch and shrimp, are relatively simple to obtain.
3. The production process can be done entirely by hand.
1+2+3=Shrimp Chips, the perfect pioneering product for starting a business in ancient times!
Making shrimp chips isn’t difficult. Mix starch with shrimp paste to form a dough, cook it, slice it, dry it, and fry it in oil to get crispy shrimp chips.
Armed with the “core technology” of shrimp chip making, Zhuang Yubai, after conducting preliminary “market analysis” and “production environment” analysis, confidently embarked on his culinary journey.
Step one, washing the starch.
Fine white flour was slowly drizzled with water in a ceramic basin, stirred into a flocculent state with chopsticks, kneaded into a dough, and left to rest for a while. Water was added to the basin, covering the dough, and the starch was kneaded.
The dough, placed in the basin, was soft and smooth, like a heavy white jellyfish. As his hands alternated between light and heavy pressure, the milky liquid flowed through Zhuang Yubai’s fingers, then dispersed, gradually merging into the increasingly white water.
His long fingers moved rhythmically in the milky water, and the elastic gluten slowly formed in his palm. When the water no longer thickened, he took another basin of clean water and kneaded and washed the sticky elastic gluten again.
Zhuang Yubai straightened up, using the back of his hand to wipe a bit of flour off his nose. The water and starch mixture was already set aside in a cool place to settle.
The byproduct of shrimp chip making, gluten, also had its value. Gluten wasn’t easy to preserve, but that didn’t trouble Zhuang Yubai.
Step two, frying gluten balls.
The beige gluten was pinched into date-sized pieces, shaped into balls, and placed on a plate.
Zhuang Yubai opened the oil jar, revealing bright and fragrant sesame oil. He poured an appropriate amount into the pot and lit the fire to heat it.
To avoid oil splatters, he rolled up the sleeves of his dark blue hemp garment higher, revealing two firm and fair forearms. When bubbles appeared on the chopsticks, he added the gluten balls, quickly stirring them as they floated and expanded. The oil-coated, round gluten balls rolled in the oil, releasing a rich aroma.
Though the gluten dough was only a handful, once fried into balls, it filled a wooden basin like a small mountain.
Step three, drying the starch.
After a busy half-day, the sun was already setting. The starch had settled, and Zhuang Yubai poured off the water, leaving a paste-like wet starch at the bottom of the basin. He scooped it out and spread it thinly on a hemp cloth to dry.
Today’s sunlight wasn’t enough, so it would need to dry under the sun for a whole day tomorrow.
This was quite a setup, using all the tools available at home. He put the tools back in place, and there was one more important task. To control the output ratio and facilitate future pricing, the amount of each ingredient needed to be carefully recorded.
Zhuang Yubai tidied his clothes and went to the room. He found a piece of paper on the bookshelf and, imitating Meng Zhizhang, ground ink and dipped his brush.
He had just started writing the character “淀” when he suddenly heard the “clatter, clatter” of the firewood gate outside.
Could it be that big black dog from yesterday?
Zhuang Yubai put down the brush and cautiously looked out the window. What he saw made his heart sink.
A burly man stood outside the gate. Though it was hard to see clearly through the firewood gate, it was evident that this person was even more robust than Meng Zhizhang. If Meng Zhizhang was a small giant, then this person was a mammoth beside the small giant.
This time, it seemed he had encountered a real bandit!
He had no chance against Meng Zhizhang, and if he confronted this mammoth head-on, it would be seeking death.
The best strategy was to run. He needed to hide outside for a while.
The front door was not an option, and the two ventilation windows on the north wall were tightly closed. Zhuang Yubai quickly walked over, stood on tiptoe to barely reach the window, and tried to pull it… it wouldn’t budge!
The “clatter, clatter” of the firewood gate outside grew louder.
Zhuang Yubai was getting anxious, his cheeks starting to flush. He grabbed the windowsill for leverage and, with the same determination he used to hit Meng Zhizhang last night, pulled hard twice more.
With a “clang,” the window shook open, sending up a cloud of dust that made Zhuang Yubai cough twice.
At least it was open. The window wasn’t large, but he could squeeze through.
Zhuang Yubai climbed onto a chair to crawl out, his knee half-kneeling on the hard windowsill. Just as he was halfway out, he suddenly heard the man outside shout:
“Is Amber at home?”
Author’s Note:
Amber knows how to adapt; if you can’t win, just run.
1. Stir-frying appeared as early as the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties. “Qi Min Yao Shu” records the method of stir-frying eggs:
“Method for frying eggs: Break them, put them in a copper pan, stir until the yolk and white are mixed. Add finely chopped green onions and salt, stir well. Fry in sesame oil. Very fragrant and delicious.”
2. Cucumbers became popular among the people during the Song Dynasty.
“The clothes and scarves fall with the jujube flowers, the sound of spinning wheels echoes in the village, selling cucumbers under the ancient willow.” — Song, Su Shi “Huan Xi Sha”
“The gardener picks cucumbers by the frame, the village girl picks green flowers along the fence.” — Song, Lu You “Autumn Thoughts”
3. Sesame oil was the mainstream vegetable oil during the Tang and Song Dynasties. In ancient times, the same oil was used for both cooking and lighting.
The Tang Dynasty dietary book “Shi Liao Ben Cao” states: “White sesame oil is commonly used for eating.”
The Northern Song Dynasty’s Zhuang Chuo’s “Ji Le Bian” records: “Oil is used everywhere, for both eating and lighting, sesame oil is the best, commonly called sesame oil.”
“Dream Pool Essays” states: “Nowadays, people in the north like to fry things in sesame oil, no matter what it is, they fry it in oil.”
Legend has it that during the Southern Song Dynasty, people hated the treacherous minister Qin Hui, so they made dough figures of him and his wife Wang, stuck them back to back, and fried them in hot oil, calling them “fried Hui,” which is the prototype of “youtiao” (fried dough sticks).