Drive to the Tang Dynasty, where supplies are refreshed daily!

Chapter 53 Delivering Persimmon Cakes!

On the third day, there were 65 people working, not counting those cooking. Besides those from Xinhe Village, there were also a few from Qujiangchi Village.

It was indeed the right decision to put Wang Shen in charge; he was the village head and could mobilize the labor force of three nearby villages.

With more people, the construction period would be shorter, which Xiao Ran was quite happy to do.

However, more people need to cook, and Zhang Jinhe is doing this voluntarily; we can't expect others to help indefinitely.

The income from selling chestnuts is enough to pay the wages, but the foundation will be completed soon, and stones and other materials need to be prepared.

A considerable amount of timber is still needed, but Xiao Ran needn't worry about that; Wang Shen has the means to purchase it.

Xiao Ran just needs to pay.

Zhang Erya found two more people to help with the cooking. It wasn't busy this season, so finding people was easy.

Since the two little princesses weren't coming, Third Sister could only play with the dog.

They would occasionally stroll over to the pond with Xiao Ran to check on the progress of the house construction.

Many stones that had been brought back were also piled up on the shore.

Although Li Shimin, Qin Qiong, and the others did not come, Zhang Mingde liked to have Zhang Jinhe take him to the pond when the weather was nice, so he could chat with the others and join in the fun.

There are people in the family who can do the work, but they are too young to connect with.

Zhang Mingde doesn't need to worry about family matters; Zhang Jinhe can take care of everything.

The weather has been good lately, with no cloudy days, which has sped up the drying of the persimmons.

Zhang Erya, Jinniang, Sanniang, and even Zhang Dalang would help turn the persimmons over and dry them, and you can still see the persimmon frost on them now.

It was quite successful.

Xiao Ran picked out a smaller one, picked it up, and gently broke it open with his fingertips. The orange-red flesh split open, revealing amber-colored gelatinous flesh with a translucent sheen. The sugar core in the center was crystallized and shiny, like a piece of crystalline honey, looking incredibly sweet and sticky.

"It's done!" Xiao Ran took a bite. "Yes, yes, this is the taste."

Once the astringency of persimmons is removed, they become quite sweet and delicious, but the texture of dried persimmons is completely different.

"Young master, is it ready?" Zhang Erya and San Niang immediately came over.

Xiao Ran showed Zhang Erya the persimmon cake in his hand, "This is good enough. It has a sweet, gelatinous filling inside, and it tastes delicious."

"Third Sister, have a taste!" Xiao Ran handed it to Third Sister.

Third Sister took it and took a bite. "It's very sweet and delicious!"

It doesn't feel like eating fruit; it feels more like eating pastries.

"Second Aunt, you should try some too." Xiao Ran picked out a suitable one.

Zhang Erya took a bite and nodded repeatedly, never expecting that the dried persimmon cake would turn out like this after being squeezed.

After arranging things at home, Zhang Jinhe habitually went to Zhang Erya's house.

Seeing the group eating persimmon cakes, he smiled and asked, "Is this ready?"

Before, people would just pinch it, but no one actually ate it.

"Sister, it's delicious, you should try it." Zhang Erya broke off half of it and handed it over.

Zhang Jinhe looked at the persimmon pulp inside the dried persimmons and thought, "It looks delicious."

He took a bite and said with a smile, "It's like eating a pastry."

“That’s feasible. We can teach others how to make persimmon cakes. The weather is nice now, and we should be able to make another batch before winter,” Xiao Ran said.

Zhang Jinhe nodded. "Young master, how much would be a suitable price if we were to sell this?"

A peck of persimmons used to cost 7 coins; this stuff is much heavier than millet.

It weighs about 15 jin (7.5 catties).

They're not very big; there are about five per pound.

One bushel contains 75!
No other ingredients are needed; the cost is just the persimmons and labor.

"Try two for one penny." It's a monopoly now, and the taste is pretty good, so the price can be a bit higher. If it really doesn't work, we can lower the price again; let Zhang Huaicai decide.

"Let my father try it first. Tomorrow, he'll pick out the ones that are similar and send them over along with the roasted chestnuts." Zhang Jinhe is now even thinking about going home to make persimmon cakes.

We already had quite a few persimmons at home, but we couldn't eat many. In previous years, we would just dry them to make dried persimmons.

Zhang Jinhe hasn't posted any pictures this year, she's been waiting for Xiao Ran's persimmon cakes.

"Well, let's see how sales go tomorrow. If it's about right, I'll teach other people how to make them too." Xiao Ran didn't want to monopolize the persimmon cake making business.

This thing is slow and requires a space.

Zhang Erya's family can only store this much; she can let others do it themselves.

The next day, Xiao Ran and Zhang Dalang were in charge of roasting chestnuts, while Zhang Jinhe and Zhang Erya went to select suitable persimmon cakes.

As instructed by Xiao Ran, an extra copy was prepared and presented to Princess Jinyang in the name of Third Sister, as a gift in return for the previous gift of the Dew-Receiving Pouch.

Although the value is unequal, it is a token of goodwill, and the wealth on both sides is also severely unequal.

The main components of persimmon frost are glucose, fructose and a small amount of mannitol.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that persimmon frost is cool in nature and can clear heat, moisten dryness, soothe the throat and promote the production of body fluids. It has a good relieving effect on sore throat, hoarseness, and oral ulcers caused by lung heat. It is often used to make throat lozenges or to make drinks.

Compared to dried persimmons, persimmon frost has a more prominent effect in clearing heat and moisturizing the lungs, making it suitable for improving symptoms such as cough due to lung heat and thick phlegm.

Its components have certain anti-inflammatory effects, and sucking on persimmon frost can relieve discomfort caused by oral inflammation.

The entire family of Empress Zhangsun, wife of Emperor Taizong of Tang, suffered from qi stagnation, so sending persimmon cakes had a special meaning.

These effects are unknown to others, so Xiao Ran has to mention them.

There are also some precautions to keep in mind.

Li Lizhi's handwriting was so good that Xiao Ran had no intention of writing by hand at all.

Write it down on your phone, take a screenshot and save it, then print it out as a photo.

There is a photo printer in the RV.

I prepared it for taking photos, but I don't use it much because I don't really like taking photos.

It's usable now.

Prepare A4 paper in advance and place it inside the packaged persimmon cakes.

"Liu Lang, give these persimmon cakes to Uncle Zhang too. See how they're selling and let us know when you get back. These need to be sold separately."

Zhang Jinhe held up the letter. "Brother, give this to Father, and he will know."

"Okay!" Zhang Jialin put the envelope away.

"This is for travel expenses, plus the persimmon cakes," Xiao Ran gave an extra five coins. "And money for sesame cakes too; buy more this time."

One hundred is not enough; we need to buy one hundred and fifty.

Zhang Jialin refused to accept money when Xiao Ran helped him buy sesame cakes, but Xiao Ran would always give him a few sesame cakes.

"Young master, Jinniang, don't worry!" Zhang Jialin left with the things.

Zhang's Grain Shop
He used to like to sweep around with a feather duster, but now Zhang Huaicai stands at the door early, waiting for the roasted chestnuts to arrive.

Seeing Zhang Jialin's carriage, Zhang Huaicai walked over with a smile, "Sixth Brother! Why are you a full incense stick's time late today?"

“Uncle Zhang, because there’s something else.” Zhang Jialin took out a letter from his pocket. “This was given to me by Jinniang.”

"Oh, okay, okay." Zhang Huaicai put away the letter and helped unload the things from the oxcart.

I found an extra basket, and when I opened it, I saw something inside that I had never seen before.

Picking up a persimmon cake, Zhang Huaicai frowned. "Is this a persimmon?"

"The young man said this is a persimmon cake, and it does look like a persimmon."

"Is this tasty?" Zhang Huaicai broke it open, saw it looked good, and tasted it. "Hmm, not bad. Liu Lang, you should try some too."

(End of this chapter)