Chapter 37: Fruits (Part 2)

  Song Jiuyi said in a low voice, "Pan Dalang, don't talk nonsense. She is a chaste and virtuous woman, still the same Cloud Ying as before. Although she's a woman, it's not easy for her to be in that place!"

  Yu Ping was still a virgin, no one had touched her, not even Song Jiu. Let Pan Weide stop his wild thoughts, Song Jiu finally figured out some things, their fathers were not simple, but it wasn't the same for them. He felt a sense of melancholy, in thirty or forty years, when all these old folks are gone, how many of these noble families will still be able to continue their glory? How many households will remain, it's not that Song Jiu has the ability to control things now, mainly he needs to rely on their influence.

  Especially this morning, I prepared a kind of fruit, but it's not a real fruit, referring to dried candied fruits and pastries.

  Fu Zhao Shou didn't look for him, and he was also planning to invite them over another day to have a taste.

  It's better to seize the day than wait for a good day, since I've come, including Yu Ping, just right, I'll dedicate it.

  Song Jiuren had Zhu San stand outside the door to inform the students who came one after another that they were on holiday, and he took Yu Ping and Cui Er into the back house to fetch some ingredients. There were also four painters who were so poor that Song Jiuren could make delicious food, so they stayed at Song's house and didn't leave, squeezing into the two rooms on the west side of the back house, painting during the day and resting at night.

  Song Jiu looked at the ingredients in his hand, feeling a bit of a headache. He had prepared enough for over ten people, but now there were twenty-eight princes, four painters, and himself, Zhu San, Yu Ping, and Cui Er, making a total of thirty-six people! There was simply not enough food to go around.

  Do it first and then talk.

  He deliberately made Li Tie a strange flat-bottomed pot, which became a simple oven.

  Cui'er and Yu Ping fought, Zhu San boasted about Song Jiu's craftsmanship outside. More than 20 young masters were suspicious until four painters testified, only then did they all believe.

  The fragrance drifted away in an instant.

  This is the Song Dynasty's first real bread and cake!

  To make these two types of pastries, one thing is essential: baking powder. In his previous life, Song Jiu had a friend who opened a cake shop and the business was booming, mainly because the taste was good. Song Jiu was a foodie and went to ask for advice. They were friends with a good relationship, so he took Song Jiu on a tour, not to show off the flour, but one thing: yeast!

  Other pastry shops use industrialized yeast powder, his friend said that eating too much of it is harmful to people, which is somewhat sensational. But the difference lies in the yeast, others use industrialized yeast, while he uses self-fermented yeast.

  You can use apples or other fruits like pears, strawberries, grapes, kiwis, and even carrots, as well as milk. The yeast made from different materials will have a different flavor profile. However, apple-made yeast has the highest success rate and fastest speed. Chop the fruit, add water and sugar (originally no white sugar was available, so they used rock sugar dissolved in hot water), and put it in a container. Place the container in a warm area with a temperature between 28-35 degrees Celsius. After six or seven days, open the lid and check if it smells like alcohol; if it does, it's successful. If it smells rotten or has white mold, it's failed. Filter the liquid and add three to four times the amount of fruit juice to cultivate the yeast. After ten hours of cultivation, you can store it in a cold storage as the original liquid. However, if not used within a week, you must add 100% fruit juice and let it sit at room temperature to activate the yeast. A sediment will form at the bottom, which is inactive yeast that needs to be filtered out before storing it again in the cold storage.

  At this time, the yeast liquid can be used as a high-grade drink, sour and sweet, with a better taste than champagne and higher nutritional value. It cannot be directly made into bread, otherwise the bread will have an acidic taste. Before making bread, yeast starter needs to be prepared, which involves different steps of adding flour, salt, and water, and the fermentation time is also different in summer and winter, taking up to several hours, like now it can be completed within two hours at this temperature. After good fermentation, as long as regular feeding, this yeast starter can survive for a year. In the Song Dynasty, there was no condition to make artificial yeast in winter, but if the yeast starter is made well in summer, the yeast problem in winter can be solved. Still cannot directly make bread, the bread will still be sour. Then it's making the intermediate dough, mixing the yeast starter, flour and water evenly, then undergoing a second fermentation, after the dough has expanded to two or three times its original size, this intermediate dough can be baked.

  The procedure is a bit cumbersome, but the taste is guaranteed. Not only can fruit yeast be used, but also tea yeast and beer yeast can be used to make desserts. At that time, his friend introduced it and said: "Just eat it, don't expect to make it at home."

  It was unexpected that the visit would come in handy during the Song Dynasty. When the painter had just arrived home, Song Jiuyi was fermenting this artificial yeast, most of which failed, only two bottles of yeast survived by luck.

  No one knows the process in between, and the middle dish was also prepared last night.

  There are also a few related things, such as milk, sugar, honey, eggs and some other ingredients.

  Honey has been around for a long time, but sugar is only good with crystallized sugar water as a substitute. Naigou also exists, it's smooth and refreshing like condensed milk, yet light and airy. Crushed corn at the bottom of the bowl, snowflakes melting in the sun, this is ice naigou, or ice cream. But just like rock candy, it's very expensive.

  Of course, to make high-end bread, cakes, pizzas, and sushi, you have to waste countless ingredients before gradually perfecting the recipe. Now Song Jiu only makes a few simple types of bread.

  No food additives or flavorings, but under low heat baking, the bread gradually matures, and the aroma of milk, sugar, and yeast gradually fills the air. A group of young masters resent Song Jiu's strictness, so Song Jiu invites them to have an early tea, and they get up early, calling out to each other as they run to the river to prepare for a small meal. Most people are a bit hungry, and when they smell this strong aroma, they all rush to the kitchen door to sniff with their noses.

  Dr. Yan and Dr. Zhang have also arrived.

  Song Jiupi's thick skin and rough flesh slowly corrupted the two serious and rigid gentlemen. They knew that Song Jiupi would cook breakfast in the morning, so they gradually came earlier, not buying buns on the road, but running to Song's house to grab food. However, there was a section of road to walk, which required getting up very early, for eating a bowl of noodles, actually also very bitter...

  "Zhu San, what's going on? Are you letting students off again today?" Dr. Yan said angrily.

  "Dr. Yan, it was Jiulang who made me do this," Zhu Sanke dared not to argue with Dr. Yan and quickly shifted the blame.

  Dr. Yan burst in angrily and questioned Song Jiu.

  The two men's educational methods were rigid, but their sense of responsibility was stronger than Song Jiu's.

  Song Jiuyi said while toasting bread: "Dr. Yan, many families have asked me to recruit more students in the past few days."

  "This is not easy," said Dr. Yan, getting down to business with a serious face, but his nose also wrinkled slightly, obviously smelling the fragrance of bread.

  "It is not easy, but those who are determined will succeed. What about Taizhen Academy and Bai Lu Dong Xue Guan?"

  "Alright, why mention them?" Dr. Yan's face was filled with longing. The Yuelu Academy in Hunan and the Boyang Academy in Ying Prefecture had not yet appeared, but later two of the four great academies of the Song Dynasty emerged: one was the Bailudong Academy in Lushan, Jiangxi, which was built by the Southern Tang as a national academy on the site where Li Bo's brothers hid out to read books during the Tang Dynasty. It was also called the White Deer Cave Academy because the Southern Tang was more advanced than the Song Dynasty in literature and was known as the number one academy under heaven. The Later Zhou, unwilling to fall behind, renovated the temporary palace built by Emperor Gaozong of Tang on Mount Song and established the Taiyi Academy, which was located not far from Shaolin Temple. These two academies were the precursors to the White Deer Cave Academy and the Sanyang Academy. One in the south and one in the north, they were known as the top two schools under heaven. As for the Imperial College, that was a place where the princes played around, how could it be compared with these two academies? One was a flower, one was cow dung, one was a paradise for scholars, and one was a place filled with worldly copper stench. Don't look at the two doctors being arrogant in front of Song Jiu, but if they went to Taiyi Academy to apply for a job, not even an ordinary teacher would be willing to hire them.

  Song Jiudao laughed loudly: "The bread is out, the academy is out."

  Lift the flat pan, the bread is toasted.

  "Hold on," Dr. Yan said, despite seeing the delicious bread and swallowing a few mouthfuls of saliva, still holding onto Song Jiu: "What kind of academy are you from?"

  "Do you want to establish a college in Beijing as well? Do you want to be the principal or vice-principal?"

  "Think about it, but can't understand: 'Song nine, speak clearly.'"

  "After finishing the bread, the book institute slowly came out."

  "What does it mean?" Dr. Yan was even more anxious, a book academy is not easy to establish, and the two major academies were built on the basis of existing buildings, which cost a lot of money. Not only that, but also need great scholars to teach, have teacher strength. Secondly, there are books, now books are expensive, and some precious books are not easy to find, but the academy must have them. Finally, it is maintenance and other expenses, such as teachers' salaries, classroom desks and chairs renovation, pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, which cost a lot of money every year, not only need government support, but also need some local gentry to recognize and donate money, this academy can be maintained. If it were easy, the imperial court would have established academies in the capital long ago.

  "Wanting to establish an academy, it's a gradual process, isn't it?"

  Yes.

  "It's coming step by step."

  "Nonsense!"

  "I talk a lot, but I never speak nonsense. First things first, let's eat the bread well."

  "What do you want to say?"

  "Heaven's secret cannot be revealed, one day you will understand the meaning of eating bread. Eat, for the sake of the academy." Song Ji stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth, just in time to satisfy his hunger, and the sweet aroma spread through his tongue to his brain, Dr. Yan couldn't help but chew. Realizing it wasn't right, he took the bread out with his hand and asked again: "Song Ji, explain clearly."

  "Heaven's secret cannot be revealed, once spoken it will lose its magic. For the sake of the academy, today is a holiday. Everyone come and eat."

  Start eating bread.

  First, they ate slowly and elegantly, then they started grabbing food to eat. Cui'er said discontentedly: "You are all big men, how can you bear to fight with me, a little woman, for food?"

  Han Qingchao patted her head and said, "Little girl, hurry up and grab some, don't fight, or there won't be any left for you."

  Only Yu Ping took a piece of bread and placed it in front of her, carefully taking the ceramic bowl to pour tea for everyone. Dr. Zhang, due to his guilty conscience, had rarely spoken to Song Jiu during this period, but at this moment, he couldn't help but glance at Yu Ping, thinking to himself, "Song Jiu is indeed a lucky guy, and this trip has started off on a warm and gentle note."

  After pouring tea for everyone, Yeping smiled and watched as they scrambled for the bread. She took a small bite, but Dai Mei's eyebrows jumped involuntarily. No wonder they were fighting over it - it was really delicious! The sweet and soft aroma filled her mouth, like it was going to melt in an instant.

  In just a short while, dozens of bread were snatched away.

  "Can't do that, Xiao Jiu," said Pan Weide, "we haven't eaten our fill yet and still have things to attend to."

  "Pan Dalang is gone. It's not that I don't want to do it, but this dish is very troublesome to make and requires a whole night of preparation. I'll start preparing now, and you can eat it tonight."

  "Don't deceive me."

  "No, I swear to heaven."

  Han Qingchao said on the side: "Wei De, don't make it difficult for him anymore. Such a delicious dish is not easy to make."

  "This is the best fruit I've ever eaten, and I want to eat more."

  Like Zhang Doctor, he was unsatisfied but didn't dare say it out loud, so he asked: "What's the point of eating noodles?"

  "Bread."

  "What's the relationship between eating bread and a book institute?" I really don't understand!