In the years of ancient traders

Originally, Song Shu just wanted to try mooncakes and listen to the advice of professionals.

I didn't expect the trial to be a bit successful, no, it was too successful.At the time of the tasting, Mr. Fu placed an order on behalf of Wanghai Tower, ordering a thousand mooncakes.The materials are still delivered from Wanghailou, and the price is one penny each. The date of delivery is the morning of ten days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is only five days from now.

The schedule is tight and the tasks are heavy, and besides the Song family, no one knows how to make mooncakes.Wanghailou suggested that the masters and small workers in their family should be taught, and they would still be counted as one penny.

Song Shu vetoed it with one vote.

Just kidding, this is for making a fortune, how can I teach Wanghailou casually.

On the way back, Song Shu made some plans.

As soon as he entered the village, he called Shi Sanlang and some workers from the soybean oil workshop to build a grass shed on the side of the steamed bun workshop.

"Use wood as the frame and cover it with a thatched roof, as long as it doesn't leak rain, but the space needs to be large." Song Shu said.

The demand for moon cakes is huge, and making them in the mantou workshop will only hinder the normal work of the workshop, and it is unrealistic to build another workshop in such a short period of time, so we have to build a big grass shed to make do with it.

The few men were strong, and they built houses when they wandered around with Mr. Guo, and they were very handy in building the straw shed, and they finished it in less than a day.

Song Shu invited Uncle Feng to set up an oven.

This oven is improved on the basis of earthen stove.The original stove was placed on a large iron pot with a semicircular bottom, but Song Shu asked a blacksmith to make three circular cauldrons with a flat bottom and a depth of about one arm.The pot is put into the big hole that has been dug long ago on the stove, the bottom is lit, the iron pot cover is covered on the top, and the cover is filled with charcoal fire, and it becomes an oven.

This kind of roasting method was seen in Song Shu's home when he was making farmhouse music, but he didn't expect to use it now.The mooncakes baked by it seem to be more fragrant than the serious oven, and I don't know if it is a psychological effect.

Three special earthen stoves were built, and Song Shu's temporary mooncake workshop was almost ready to start.

Wanghailou delivered the ingredients, and there was actually Li Guanshi who came with them.

Li Guanshi only came twice to discuss business, but he didn't expect that he would escort the materials this time.

"The ingredients for this mooncake are both pork and lard. I'm really afraid they can't make it right. The old man sent me to take a look." Li Guanshi said to Song Shu.

Song Shu expressed his understanding, and wanted to go to work, but was stopped by Li Guanshi.

Two days ago, Wanghai Building found a painter, and according to Song Shu's suggestion, he drew two large posters of moon cake gift boxes, and posted them at the entrance and hall of the building.

Local and foreign merchants and wealthy households in the building came and went. When they saw the poster, they asked the waiter casually. The waiters in Wanghailou were all eloquent. It provoked merchants and wealthy households to inquire about it.

In the end, everyone's attention was focused on one place - it turned out that this was the food made by Song Silang.

Some people were still hesitant. Although the meaning of this moon cake is good, it may not be delicious.But when he heard Song Shu's name, he immediately took out his wallet and started buying, buying, buying, buying.

Li Guanshi explained the situation in this way, and finally said cautiously: "The original one thousand have been booked out, what the old man means is, can we add two thousand?"

Two thousand, this is the number they came up with after careful consideration.

During their contacts with Song Shu, they wanted to increase the order quantity of steamed buns more than once, but Song Shu always shirked that there was not enough space, and refused to mention [-] more.Li Guanshi knew what he said was true, the steamed bun shop and soybean oil shop were in the same place, so it was indeed not spacious.

Nowadays, most of these mooncakes are made in one place. It is very difficult to think of a thousand. If it is added to two thousand... Mr. Fu and Li Guanshi are a little worried. If Song Shu finds it troublesome and quits, their How to appease the customer?

"Okay, but it's two days late, I don't have enough people here." Song Shu said.

Huh?He actually agreed!

The stone in Li Guanshi's heart fell heavily, his brows were beaming with joy, and he said that if you want to help, just ask, Wanghailou must have people.

Song Shu couldn't be more clear about what their calculations were, and he just smiled and said, it must be.

It must be impossible.

After sending off Steward Li, Song Shu picked up an iron pot lid and an iron spoon, and headed towards the most lively fork in the village.

Along the way, it attracted a lot of attention.

Song Shu is thin and thin, and the big iron cover almost covers most of his body, which is extremely uncoordinated.

At the intersection, he hit the cover with a spoon.

bang...

bang...

"Song Silang, do you want to help?" Someone stepped forward and asked.

Song Shu's face was a little hot.

It's all because of not exercising.

The big iron cover was too heavy, and it was very difficult for him to hold it, let alone banging like a gong.

Just in embarrassment, with a light hand, Song Anan was already beside him, picked up the big iron cover and iron spoon, and knocked hard.Only then did the others realize that Song Shu had something to say to attract their attention.

"Ahem." Song Shu cleared his throat, sank into his dantian, and tried to raise his voice, "The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, I made a food called moon cakes, and I got a lot of orders by chance, but now there are not enough people. If you have time, can you Come to my mooncake shed to help. The wages are calculated on a daily basis, both men and women are welcome, no matter where you are from, as long as you can make a handful of pasta."

"Can you make pancakes?"

Song Shu: "Yes."

"Is the meal included?"

Song Shu: "Bao, three meals a day."

"How much wages per day?"

Song Shu: "Twenty Wen a day."

"How many?"

Song Shu: "Twenty Wen."

The audience fell silent.

The wind whistled through the blades of grass.

Some people suspect that they may be old and deaf.

Everyone knows the salary of the steamed bun workshop, which is about seven or eight pennies a day, and the wages of other workshops are similar.The salary is about the same as being a clerk in the county, but the Song family provides meals and the food is good, and there are new clothes every season. Anyone who doesn't like to run a business wants to work in his house.

And now, the price of this moon cake is more than double that of the steamed bun workshop?

Later, Song Shu explained that the order for mooncakes was too large, and I am afraid that it would be difficult to rush to work day and night.

Everyone nodded, no wonder.

But this is twenty Wen a day!

It doesn't happen every day that you don't need to be exposed to the wind and sun, don't have to take the risk of losing money, and don't even need to prepare for half a guy. You can earn twenty yuan a day with just one hand.

"Song Silang, do you think I can do it?"

"I am me."

"I can make soup cakes and noodle cakes. Let me have one!"

The crowds were surging.

If Song Anan was not by his side, Song Shu would have been swallowed by the crowd long ago.

Finally, with the help of Anan and Sanniang, he selected ten people.There are people from this village, some from other villages, and even some from other counties who come to do business.

The mooncake list was tight, and Song Shu didn't have time to teach everyone. He just arranged the order and taught each person one step, so that they could work in an assembly line.

First pick out two people to knead the dough.

The secret of the crisp skin of Soviet-style mooncakes lies in the combination of water dough and oil dough, and the fact that water and oil are immiscible to make a crisp skin.Water dough is ordinary water and noodles, while oil dough uses lard and noodles.

Song Shu asked the two of them to be responsible for the water dough and the other for the oil dough. He demonstrated in detail, explained the ratio and the texture after kneading, and let them start working.

Next, one person should divide the water dough and oil dough into small balls respectively.

This task may seem simple, but it is actually very demanding. In this era, there are no electronic scales, and each ball of dough is divided into appropriate sizes by feeling.Song Shu asked several people to follow him for a try, and picked out the one with the most accurate hand, and then moved on to the next step.

In the third step, the oil dough needs to be wrapped into the water dough like stuffing. Song Shu selected a man who had made steamed cakes to be in charge.

The next step is more difficult and more tedious.

This step is the key to the meringue. Roll out the water dough wrapped in oil dough, fold it up like a quilt, and then roll it out again. After doing this twice, you can make layers of crispy meringue.

"Be careful when rolling, and control the strength well. The layer of water dough will become very thin. If you are not careful, the oily surface inside will come out. If it fails, it will be difficult to remedy." Song Shu said while demonstrating, and then The dough used for the demonstration was given to the rest of the people to practice their hands, and three women with the most skillful hands were selected from them.

After rolling out the meringue, it is stuffing.

The bean paste stuffed steamed bun workshop will prepare it and deliver it, while Cheng Erniang is in charge of the meat stuffing. When they made it at home, she was already very proficient.

People at the Mooncake Shed just need to wrap the filling in the meringue.

This step is also in charge of two people, one with bean paste filling and the other with meat filling.

The outer water dough of the puff pastry has become extremely thin after several folds, so be very careful.

After wrapping, it is brushed with egg wash and put into the oven. Only one person here is in charge, and Song Shu and Sanniang will take turns to take care of the oven.The condition of the inside of this earthen stove is invisible, and the heat is extremely difficult to control. When Song Shu used it for the first time, the charcoal on the lid of the pot was added a little too hard, and the mooncakes were almost burnt. After a few times, he gradually got the essentials.

So he didn't plan to spend any more time teaching, so he and Sanniang, who were already proficient, were in charge.

The assembly line started on the same day. At the beginning, everyone was unskilled and the speed was a little slow, but because each person was only responsible for one step, they quickly became proficient after repeated operations, and it was completed almost without thinking.The entire assembly line gradually became smoother, and batches of mooncakes were baked one after another.

Early the next morning, Song Shu delivered the first batch of mooncakes—[-].

In order to hold the mooncakes, Wanghailou invited someone to make a batch of wooden boxes with patterns of Chang'e and Jade Rabbit carved on them.As soon as the mooncakes arrived, the staff of Wanghailou went out together and packed [-] mooncakes with red bean paste and [-] mooncakes with meat stuffing into wooden boxes respectively.

This wooden box has only one layer, with a total of four compartments, containing two meat fillings and two bean pastes.The wooden box is covered, and then put into a satin box, tied with a ribbon. The price of a box is close to two hundred cash.

This is by no means affordable by ordinary people, but it is still sold out.Wealthy customers and businessmen from all walks of life are going to give gifts during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and this novel and appropriate food is naturally a good choice.Many people ordered ten or twenty boxes of mooncakes. It is no wonder that the thousand mooncakes ordered by Wanghailou disappeared in an instant.

As soon as this batch of [-] pieces came out, some of the buyers who paid the deposit first got the goods on the same day.

Some people couldn't resist their curiosity, so they immediately opened a box and bought some for themselves to try something new.The staff of Wanghai Tower had been reminded earlier, when they saw someone was going to start, they immediately stepped forward and said: "Guest officer, these mooncakes are more delicious when eaten hot, may I bring them to you and roast them on the fire?"

"Okay." The guest handed it to him.

After a while, the fragrant hot mooncakes were served.The whole hall of Wanghailou was full of that smell, which caused the diners present to ask the waiter, what is this new food?

The guy pointed to the poster and said, here, it's moon cakes.The new one made by Song Silang from Xianghe Village is delicious. Its shape and color are like a full moon, implying reunion, and the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching. It is the best gift to give to others.

As a result, some people went to order, and those who got the first batch tasted it and ordered another batch.They are merchants and wealthy households who do business all the year round, travel all over the world, and make a lot of friends.

Gifts are indispensable during the Chinese New Year, so they simply bought moon cakes and asked their staff to send them to friends' homes one by one, so that people would know that they were thinking of him, and it would be less embarrassing to do business in the future.

The people who received the gifts may not be in Datu County, but when they tasted the mooncakes, they were crispy and sweet. They had never eaten such a dessert, so they immediately sent people to Datu County to order ten boxes of one hundred. box.

Song Shu's workshop worked day and night, and finally all the [-] mooncakes from Wanghailou were delivered.

Song Shu breathed a sigh of relief, ordered some money and silk, and planned to pay all the wages for today, so that everyone can go to rest early.Just after stretching his back, he saw Hailou's mule cart transporting ingredients turn into the entrance of the village. Steward Li dismounted from his horse and trotted over.

Song Shu wanted to run away a little bit. Although he was very happy to make money, he had already baked mooncakes until he felt sick!

"Song Silang, your mooncakes are so popular, and someone sent a horse from Hengzhou to buy them. Excuse me, can you add another two thousand? The price is negotiable." Li Guanshi said with a smile.

Song Shu: Sudden.

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Thank you for your support, okay~