“Delicious—fat but not greasy.”
Seeing that the grandfather had started eating, everyone immediately picked up their chopsticks to try the dishes they liked.
“Daughter, this pork intestine is really good. There’s no smell at all, and it has a nice chew—soft but not mushy.”
“Yes! Lele, this braised pork offal goes perfectly with alcohol,” Li Shanzhang said with emotion.
“That makes sense. Butler Chen, go to my courtyard and bring my aged Drunken Fragrance wine.”
Su Dong was rarely this generous.
“Second sister, I like the braised pork ribs and dry-pot potato slices. I can eat a whole bowl of rice tonight!”
“Little sister, well done! This dry-pot potato dish goes perfectly with rice.”
Since everyone had little exposure to chili before, all dishes with chili were kept at a mild Guangdong-level spice, and everyone could accept it.
“The hot-and-sour shredded potatoes and cold cucumber salad are also very refreshing,” said third brother Su Yian. He had never thought vegetarian dishes could be so delicious. Compared to the school dining hall food—especially the vegetarian dishes—it was simply hard to describe.
Dishes like potato chicken, twice-cooked pork, and fish head tofu soup were also very popular. Before they knew it, all eight dishes were completely finished.
After the meal, everyone ate fruit leather to help digestion.
Before leaving, Li Shanzhang’s family was given the remaining braised pork offal packed up by Qiu Yu. Su Lele noticed that he especially liked it, so she catered to his preference. After all, pork offal was cheap—only requiring time to clean. They were also given ten packs of fruit leather.
Li Chuyun saw how considerate her second sister was toward her parents and felt that marrying into the Su family had been the right choice. The family atmosphere was warm and harmonious—better than wealth and luxury. Her second sister even said that in the future, if her parents wanted new snacks, they could simply come to the Su residence to get them.
“Daughter, how many packs of fruit leather do we still have?”
“It’s like this—Lord Shen from the Ministry of Revenue, a third-rank official, tasted the fruit leather I gave to Lord Jiang and thought it would suit his mother’s taste, especially since it helps with appetite and digestion. Tomorrow happens to be his mother’s birthday, so he urgently came looking for me.”
Su Qinghe suddenly remembered that Lord Shen had visited him after work, asking whether the fruit leather was made by their family. When he heard it cost 100 wen per pack, he immediately ordered 100 packs.
“Yes, there are enough. Butler Guan and the others made over 300 packs today.”
“I’ll have someone notify his residence and deliver them tomorrow morning.”
“Second sister, several of my colleagues also bought a few packs each, saying they want them as snacks for their families.”
Su Lele was already worried about demand exceeding supply and began considering rationing.
Mainly, there weren’t enough workers. If everyone was made to work too long, over time they would get exhausted. Besides, there were still 1,500 jin of potatoes waiting to be turned into chips.
“It seems the fruit leather is starting to spread. From next time onward, we’ll limit purchases—no more than 10 packs per household per day.”
“Won’t limiting it reduce profit?” Mother Wang Huilan asked in confusion.
“With limits, people won’t get tired of it so quickly, and more people will get to try it. Also, we don’t have enough manpower right now. I’m planning to launch new products anyway. Snacks aren’t staple food—buying a few packs per household can last several days.”
Su Lele was quite steady in her approach and did not intend to expand production too quickly. Rushing things would lead to failure.
Everyone agreed.
Only Grandfather and Fourth Sister weren’t concerned about limits at all—their focus was on one thing: new products.
Su Dong and Su Tongtong eagerly asked, “Granddaughter, what new snack are you making? Is it also from red fruits?”
Su Lele left them only two words:
“Secret.”
Then she slipped away back to her courtyard.
The old and young pair stared at each other blankly…
The rest of the family couldn’t help but laugh at their helpless expressions.
At the residence of Lord Shen, a third-rank official of the Ministry of Revenue, the household was lively.
Today was Lady Shen’s 60th birthday. She was a noblewoman with an imperial title and highly respected. She had many children and grandchildren around her. She had few hobbies, but loved snacks. She was already tired of most pastries in the capital and could only secretly eat malt candy. Last night, her youngest son told her that there would be a new snack today, so she had been waiting since morning.
The Grand Commandant’s residence also sent people to celebrate. The two ladies had been close friends in their youth, so knowing her friend loved snacks, she specially brought a pack of fruit leather as a gift.
Her husband had already bought 30 packs from the Su residence, and everyone who tried them said they were delicious, so she was sure her friend would like them too.
The Grand Commandant’s wife opened the oil paper bag and said, “For your birthday, I won’t give you anything expensive—you don’t like those anyway. I brought you a new snack. Try it.”
“Mmm… where did you buy this? I didn’t know there was such delicious food in the capital. Sweet and sour.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“Mother, you’re already eating this fruit leather? I just sent someone to buy 100 packs from the Su residence. It’s not expensive. I’ll have servants serve it to guests later so they can all try it.”
The official immediately instructed servants to place trays of it throughout the residence for guests.
“Why isn’t this sold in shops? If it were, it would definitely be extremely popular.”
“My dear friend, you don’t know this—it’s made by Su Lele, the granddaughter of Su Dong from the Su family. I heard she used to be mentally unwell, but after recovering she became very clever. Even something as worthless as red fruit, she turned into such delicious snacks. My husband said her sugar-coated red fruits are also excellent, but they don’t store well, so they weren’t sold.”
“She’s truly a clever and skillful girl,” Lady Shen said with admiration.
Little Fatty, whose real name was Li Yuanyuan, was the daughter of a fifth-rank Ministry of Revenue official. She had been unwilling to come in the morning, insisting on going to her friend Su Tongtong’s house to buy fruit leather. Only after much persuasion from her mother and grandmother did she agree to come to the Shen residence first, with the promise of going to the Su residence afterward.
“Little Fatty, have some mung bean pastry,” the hostess said kindly, fond of her chubby appearance.
“Thank you, Auntie. I’m not hungry.”
“Don’t mind her—she’s still thinking about that… fruit skin thing!”
“It’s fruit leather! Made by Su Tongtong’s second sister. It’s super delicious,” Li Yuanyuan corrected.
At that moment, servants brought out a tray of fruit leather and placed it on her table.
“Wow! Aunt Shen, you have fruit leather too!”
She immediately grabbed a piece and ate it eagerly.
“So this is fruit leather! Everyone, try it quickly!”
Soon, the entire tray was finished. It was especially popular among women and children. After all, there were too few snacks in this era, so anything new easily became a sensation.
What they didn’t know was that this birthday banquet at the Shen residence had unintentionally given Su Lele’s snacks a huge wave of publicity. Many officials’ families now knew that the Su residence sold sweet-and-sour appetite-stimulating snacks.
Meanwhile, the Su family was already busy developing a new product: potato chips.
Su Lele divided the family and servants into two groups—one group making fruit leather, the other making potato chips.
She had already instructed Butler Chen the night before to collect 300 jin of red fruits every two days from the estate. They could continue sourcing from Liu Shitou and Liu Shan’s families. These two families were honest and hardworking, and she was willing to help them whenever possible.