Su Lele planned to use 300 jin of potatoes first to make chips, which would yield about 100 jin after frying.
After instructing everyone to peel the potatoes, she went into the kitchen and began grinding dried chilies into powder using a small stone mill.
By the time she finished making the chili powder, some of the potatoes had already been peeled.
Peeling was easy, but slicing required skill. At the moment, only Su Lele and Madam Guan had good knife skills, so the two of them handled slicing while the others continued peeling.
An hour later, Su Lele finally finished slicing the last potato. Her back ached and her whole body felt sore. She glanced at Madam Guan—the older woman looked completely fine. As expected, experience made a difference.
Seeing her daughter so exhausted, Wang Huilan felt distressed. “My dear, tomorrow I’ll have others do the slicing.”
The maid Xiazhi added, “Yes, Second Miss, my knife skills are decent too—just slightly worse than my mother’s.”
“Alright. Later, when I fry them, watch carefully how I do it.”
Su Lele planned to teach them so she could step back afterward.
The potato slices had been washed. Su Lele poured water into a large pot and told Xiazhi to light the fire. Once the water boiled, she added the potato slices. As soon as they turned translucent, she scooped them out into cold water. After cooling, they were drained and set aside to dry. The remaining slices were processed the same way.
Once dried, she poured oil into a cold wok and heated it over high heat. Testing the oil with chopsticks—when bubbles formed around them, it was ready.
She added the drained potato slices. After frying for a bit, she gently stirred them to prevent sticking. Keeping the heat high, she fried until the slices floated. At that point, she stirred again. When they began to turn yellow, she stirred more frequently until they became golden and crispy, then removed them.
As she fried, Su Lele patiently instructed everyone.
“Make sure you remember all the key points I mentioned.”
Once the chips were ready, everyone gathered around as she sprinkled salt and chili powder. She made two flavors: original and spicy.
She planned to consider adding more flavors later, depending on the situation. After all, they only had 1,500 jin of potatoes, and she wasn’t sure if nearby villages had more.
“You can eat now.”
“Wow—so delicious!” Su Tongtong exclaimed, closing her eyes in delight.
Grandfather Su Dong agreed, “Mmm—crispy and a little spicy. Very good!”
“This one with just salt lets you taste the natural flavor of the potato—it’s fragrant,” her sister-in-law said happily.
Everyone agreed that both flavors were delicious.
“I’m going to rename these ‘potato slices.’ These will be called: Original Potato Chips and Spicy Potato Chips.”
No one objected. After all, everything Su Lele did seemed right, and “potato chips” sounded much better than “tuber slices.”
A large plate of chips was quickly finished. Everyone still wanted more, but Su Lele reminded them not to eat too much—fried food could cause heatiness.
Grandfather and her younger sister looked at her eagerly. Even her usually refined third brother stared expectantly.
“Alright, everyone will get one pack to take back to your residences.”
“Second Sister, I love you the most!”
“My good granddaughter—raising you wasn’t in vain,” Grandfather said happily.
After ushering them out of the kitchen, Su Lele had Madam Guan try frying chips while she guided her. The first batch was slightly overcooked, but by the second try, she got the hang of it. Seeing the golden, crispy chips, Su Lele praised her enthusiastically.
By noon, all the chips were finished—half original, half spicy. They packed them in oil paper, half a jin per pack. Counting them, there were a total of 210 packs.
“Granddaughter, how should we price these chips? I think they should be priced higher than the fruit leather since they’re fried in oil,” Grandfather said.
“I agree,” Wang Huilan added. “Even though potatoes only cost 10 wen per jin, these chips are rich and fragrant.”
Her third brother asked, “Second Sister, what about 120 wen per pack?”
“I think that’s reasonable. Let’s set it at 120 wen.”
Su Lele calculated quickly. With 1,500 jin of potatoes, they could make about 1,000 packs. At 120 wen each, that would bring in 120 liang. After costs, they could net around 90 liang.
Even before selling, she was already calculating profits.
She simply had that kind of confidence.
“Granddaughter, should we limit purchases?” Grandfather asked.
“Yes—each household can buy up to 5 packs per day.”
At a rate of 300 jin per day, they could finish frying everything in five days. She made a mental note to search nearby villages for more potatoes.
“I’ll reserve 5 packs for my old friends,” Grandfather said. If they couldn’t get the new product, they’d surely complain.
“Uncle Chen, keep records daily so there are no mistakes.”
“Yes, Second Miss.”
While eating spicy chips, Su Lele said, “Let me tell you some good news. Grandfather, Little Sister—do you want to hear it?”
“Yes!” Su Tongtong responded eagerly.
“Each of you can take two packs of chips per day.”
She figured if they ran out of potatoes later, they might regret not eating more now.
“Wow, Second Sister, you’re the best! Can I take two original ones?” Su Tongtong asked.
“Of course—you can choose your flavor. Just remember to seal them well if you don’t finish them, or they’ll go soft.”
“Sister-in-law, I’ll give you five packs. Have someone deliver them to Headmaster Li and Madam Li. But since you’re pregnant, don’t eat too many fried foods.”
“Thank you, Second Sister!” Li Chuyun was so touched she almost teared up.
“We’re family—no need to be polite. I also want my future niece or nephew to be healthy. When I have time, I’ll make more delicious food for you.”
Pregnant women’s emotions changed quickly, so Su Lele quickly shifted the topic.
Li Chuyun smiled. “Alright, I’ll look forward to it.”
“Second Sister, I’m returning to the academy tomorrow morning. Can I take 10 packs at once? That’s five days’ worth,” her third brother asked.
Before Su Lele could respond, Grandfather cut in, “Taking that many at once might cause heatiness. You should eat lightly at the academy. I’ll hold onto the rest for you.”
Su Lele glanced at her brother—his expression practically said: I don’t believe you at all, you sly old man.
Grandfather, seeing his reluctance, muttered as he walked off with two packs, “Ungrateful boy… my granddaughter is still the best!”