“Your granddaughter’s cooking is even better than the chefs at Yipinju in the East District. I thought she only made good snacks, but her dishes are also top-notch. Looks like I really made out today—those three old men will definitely be jealous of me if they find out.”
Old General Zhenbei felt very pleased with himself.
“My previous mention of that braised pork offal really wasn’t lying, it’s absolutely amazing. When will you make it for Grandpa again?”
“In a few days. I’ll cook it for you—just pick whatever you want.”
“Lele, remember to call me too, or else… or else I’ll keep bothering your grandfather every day.”
These two old men… probably the other three are just as greedy for food. As expected, birds of a feather flock together.
..
When they returned to the residence, it was already afternoon. The old general sat there eating spicy fish balls while grumbling:
“Not honest at all, using the limited supply trick again. I can eat dozens in one go! And also, when you make chestnuts and pine nuts next time, remember to notify me!”
“Miss, there are several children outside who refuse to leave no matter how we persuade them. They’re crying and insisting on eating fish balls. But the stock in the mansion is already sold out, and many people still couldn’t buy any. After a while of fussing, they finally left.”
Butler Chen looked helpless. Ever since the mansion started selling snacks, more and more people came every day. Usually they could manage, but today… there was really no solution, so he had to ask the young lady.
Su Lele took a sip of hot tea and thought for a moment.
“Bring them in.”
There were a few baskets of chestnuts, so she planned to make candied chestnuts. Children would probably like the soft, sweet taste.
She instructed the servants to wash the chestnuts and cut a cross on each one. After processing, they were steamed for about fifteen minutes.
Then a wok was heated with a small amount of oil. The chestnuts were stir-fried a few times, then sugar was added. She kept stirring until the chestnuts were coated in syrup and the sugar began to crystallize.
The fragrant candied chestnuts were finished. Su Lele asked the servants to bring a plate to the side hall for the children to try.
After eating this never-before-seen snack, the children stopped asking for fish balls. Each of them took a bag happily and went home.
At the same time, she instructed Butler Chen to send large bags of candied chestnuts to the residences of her grandfather’s old friends for them to try.
Each person in the household also received a portion, and everyone quickly fell in love with the soft texture and sweet aroma of the candied chestnuts.
Su Lele sat in the courtyard, eating while thinking:
Tomorrow, I should also make “ice magic chestnuts” for sale. In her previous world, she loved the “Li Shang Huang” version—Leng, snow-like texture, very popular.
As for fish balls, demand was good, so production needed to increase. She had just heard from Chen Dali that the Xu family brothers delivered over 60 jin of seafood today—far from enough, at least 200 jin was needed.
“Steward Chen, go to the Xu family in the West District and bring Xu Yijiang here. I have something to discuss.”
Chen Bo, still eating candied chestnuts, replied: “Yes, Second Miss.”
“Master, the servants from the Su residence said that from tomorrow, they will stop selling potato chips. However, today they introduced a new snack called fish balls. The quantity is small—I went early, but it was already sold out.”
Leng Wind reported while observing his master’s expression.
Leng Yichen was not usually a glutton, but the potato chips from the Su residence suited his taste perfectly. Thinking that he might not be able to eat them anymore, he felt a slight regret but said nothing.
The new snack… he probably wouldn’t get to try it for the next few days anyway, as he would be leaving for Nanzhou Prefecture the next morning to continue investigating a case.
..
About two quarters of an hour later, Xu Yijiang arrived at the Su residence again with Butler Chen.
“Miss Su, did you call for me because you are dissatisfied with today’s seafood delivery?”
Su Lele got straight to the point.
“Brother Xu, I need 200 jin of sea fish per day. The current supply is not enough.”
“200 jin? With me and my younger brother, that’s very difficult,” Xu Yijiang said, troubled but also a little regretful.
So she gave him an idea:
“You can do wholesale seafood purchasing. In addition to fishing yourself, you can also buy from other fishermen and earn the price difference.”
Xu Yijiang suddenly realized.
The next day, Su Lele woke up late again—it was already around mid-morning. Her legs were still sore from yesterday’s activity.
The Su residence hall was already lively.
Five old men had gathered: Grandfather Su Dong, Old General Zhenbei, Old Chancellor, Old Grand Tutor, and Old Minister of War.
They were eating candied chestnuts and fish balls, chatting happily.
“Lele, you’re awake! Are the salt-baked pine nuts ready yet?” the Grand Tutor asked.
“Can pine nut shells really be eaten?”
The old Chancellor was skeptical.
Before they could continue questioning, Su Lele cut in:
“If you don’t believe me, don’t eat them later.”
“I believe Lele!” the old general quickly said.
She went to the kitchen, where three teams were busy making different snacks: candied hawthorn, fish balls, and candied chestnuts.
She instructed them to prepare ice-chilled chestnuts and then began roasting pine nuts.
One hour later, two flavors were completed: original pine nuts and salt-baked pine nuts.
“Delicious—salted aroma blends perfectly with pine fragrance.”
“Original ones are also great; the aroma lingers.”
“Even the chilled chestnuts taste sweet, soft, and different from candied chestnuts.”
Everyone praised them endlessly.
When the old men left, Su Lele packed some of everything for them to take home—supposedly for their families.
But in reality, each of them planned to keep it for themselves.