Chapter 21 Red Bean Loaf

Chapter 21 Red Bean Loaf

Shen Miao led her two "little helpers" out to buy a lot of things. Today, coarse flour cost ten wen per dou, while fine flour was priced at thirty wen per dou.

Shen Miao had previously calculated that one dou was roughly over nine Song pounds, which is approximately eleven pounds in modern units. Buying coarse flour and sifting it herself saved money, though it required some effort.

Red beans and mung beans cost eight wen per dou, which was also quite cheap.

Sugar cost less than salt, costing thirty wen per dou, while salt was about sixty wen per dou.

The current Song Dynasty Shen Miao was in now was vastly different from the Northern Song she was familiar with. The technique of adding tiles to sugar syrup to separate and obtain white sugar had already been widely adopted, greatly increasing sugar production, and making it affordable for ordinary people.

It wasn’t just sugar. Yesterday, while setting up her stall in the morning market, she overheard the vendors and customers around her discussing state affairs. She then learned that the current Song Dynasty existed in a three-way balance with the Liao and Jin to the north, while the Western Xia had not yet formed. Due to the Song’s strength and stability, the Tangut tribes were still the Song’s five vassal prefectures, and Li Yuanhao and his descendants, serving as military governors, had not declared themselves emperors to establish the Western Xia.

Although the Jin had risen, they were burdened with heavy tributes and were locked in an irreconcilable feud with the Liao. Just as in history, they sought the Song’s favor, asking the Song to join them in resisting the Liao. However, the reigning emperor was exceptionally wise who understood the principle of "when the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold." He skillfully navigated between the Liao and Jin.

The Liao and Jin were like two clams in conflict, and the Song sought to be the fisherman, not another clam. Thus, when the Liao gained the upper hand, the Song cooperated with the Jin to attack the Liao. When the Jin gained the upper hand, the Song engaged in trade with the Liao while covertly supporting them with provisions and weapons...

Now, the Liao served as a barrier, halting the Jin’s advance southward. The Song seized the opportunity to bolster its military and even mastered the technique of digging "fire wells." They established dedicated workshops within the military arsenal, such as the "Fierce Fire Oil Workshop," the North and South Workshops, and the Bow and Crossbow Institute, dedicated to developing thermal weapons and creating various powerful arms. This ensured the Liao and Jin’s two border incursions ended in failure.

Listening to the men’s animated discussions, Shen Miao roughly understood—the Song had uncovered surface oil and applied it to weaponry, developing oil-fueled projectiles for siege warfare.

She was so engrossed in listening that she almost let her pancakes burn.

Now, the Liao, Jin, and Song were at a stalemate, which was the emperor’s strategy for maintaining equilibrium. Unfortunately, the Song of her original era failed to grasp this principle and ended up making deals with the enemy, resulting in a succession of inept rulers...

Thus, although this Song Dynasty faced strong external enemies, it was temporarily free from war. Coupled with consecutive years of good harvests and smooth water transport, the grain prices in Bianjing gradually stabilized and became affordable, allowing Shen Miao to purchase grain with ease.

Yesterday, Shen Miao visited several grain shops and finally settled on "Yongfeng Grain Shop." Their coarse flour was the cleanest, with minimal stones to weigh it down. Shen Miao bought three dou of coarse flour, three dou of red beans, two jin of sugar, and two dou of bean oil there. The shopkeeper was a good businessman, not only rounding down the price but also offering to have a clerk deliver the goods to her door.

After buying the red beans and flour, she went to the nearby Wang’s Dairy to inquire about the price of milk—learning that it cost two hundred and fifty wen per jin. Shen Miao smiled slightly upon hearing this and immediately turned to leave.

She mentally crossed off the idea of making "milk-scented red bean buns"—the price of milk was simply too high.

Milk in the Song Dynasty was so expensive!

However, the Song’s territory had very little pastureland suitable for raising cattle, sheep, and horses. Most cattle were used for plowing and were highly valued, with few dedicated to milk production. Thinking about it this way, it seemed understandable.

Xiang Jieer first solemnly tucked the receipt from the Yongfeng Grain Shop into her little pouch, then eagerly looked up and asked, "What delicious thing is Sister going to make next?"

Shen Miao knew she was craving something again and smiled, "When we get home, the first batch will be for Xiang Jieer to taste."

Xiang Jieer was delighted and didn’t press further. Whatever Sister made, it would surely be delicious!

Shen Miao had already decided not to sell sausages at her stall tomorrow. Curing sausages required too much salt and spices, making the cost too high.

She quickly decided to make the simple and delicious red bean loaf from her previous life. This way, the hand-pulled pancakes would be savory, and the red bean loaf would be sweet, catering to both taste preferences. Of course, someone like her, who enjoyed all kinds of food, would probably buy both.

The cost of making red bean loaf was much lower than sausages.

Based on her experience from her past life, one jin of red beans, after soaking, grinding, and mixing with water, could yield two jin of filling. Each loaf of bread would require about two liang of filling. Therefore, one jin of flour, one jin of red beans, one egg, and two liang of sugar could make about seven or eight loaves of bread.

Not counting her labor, and adding the cost of yeast, oil, firewood, and charcoal, the production cost of one loaf of bread was estimated to be around two wen.

Although most people living in the inner city of Bianjing were relatively well-off, especially since Jinliang Bridge was close to both the Great Xiangguo Temple and the Imperial Street, surrounded by countless high-ranking officials and nobles, vegetarian items still couldn’t be sold too expensively. After some consideration, Shen Miao decided: each loaf of bread was quite large and could be cut into four bun-sized pieces. She finally set the price at eight wen per loaf, or three wen per piece if sold individually.

Tomorrow, she would make fifty loaves to test the waters. With the materials she had bought, it should be enough for several days.

And making this was very simple.

In modern times, if you had an air fryer, you could even make soft, stretchy red bean buns without kneading the dough, and even a beginner in the kitchen could pull it off. But in the Song Dynasty, Shen Miao's earthen kiln wasn’t dry yet, so she had to make do with a flatbread oven.

The flatbread oven's heat was inconsistent, which tested her skills.

After sorting out the details for tomorrow's stall, Shen Miao took Ji Geer to buy a set of brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone, as well as a large bamboo basket, ten large bamboo steamers, and a carrying pole. On their way back, they passed by a bookstore. She originally wanted to buy him a few books, but the prices were too high. The full set of the Four Books and Five Classics would cost several strings of cash.

Ji Geer said, "Big Sis, no need to buy books. I'm familiar with Proprietor Zhou at the Lanxin Bookstore near the South Gate. You can bring your own supplies there, and for two coins, you can make your own copy. It takes about three to five days to copy the *Analects* by hand, which is better than buying a ready-made one. When I studied with Master Liu, everyone made their own copies."

What a great idea! Shen Miao decided to let Ji Geer start copying tomorrow. Though it was a bit of effort, copying books was a good way to practice handwriting, study, and get a copy—three benefits in one.

After finishing her chores, she sent Xiang Jieer to build a chicken coop with broken tiles to shelter the chicks from wind and rain. Then she soaked the red beans and began frying chicken cutlets, pork cutlets, and cutting cucumber strips, preparing all the ingredients for tomorrow's hand-pulled pancakes. After that, she went to bed early.

The next day, she rose before dawn. She first refried the meat cutlets and then started making the red bean buns. The buns were best when freshly baked, so she had only prepared the red bean filling and sifted the flour the night before. She got up early today to bake the bread.

She mixed sifted flour, eggs, yeast, sugar, and water and kneaded it into shape, with a bit of soybean oil added until the dough could form a membrane. After letting the dough rise and dividing it, she spread the red bean filling and cut the bottom into strips, rolled it up from top to bottom, and placed it into the preheated flatbread oven... While Shen Miao was bustling about, Ji Geer came out rubbing his eyes and silently squatted down to help her tend the fire.

"Did I wake you?" Shen Miao casually picked up a piece of cut chicken cutlet from the table and stuffed it into Ji Geer's mouth.

"No, the smell woke me up," Shen Ji said while chewing, using a palm-leaf fan to fan the oven.

Shen Miao smiled. The bread indeed filled the room with a fragrant aroma when baked. She had always loved the smell of bakeries, finding it warm and comforting.

When Aunt Li's rooster jumped onto the wall and crowed, Shen Miao was done. She massaged her arms and back, looked up, and saw that the dark sky outside had turned bluish-gray, and the eastern horizon was already white. It was time to open the stall.

Xiang Jieer had also been woken up by the smell. She got dressed and came to Shen Miao with a hair tie, asking her to do her hair. Ever since Shen Miao started styling her hair in braids, double ponytails, butterfly knots, and princess braids, she had started to dislike the messy hairstyles Ji Geer did for her.

Shen Miao had her sit on a stool and quickly styled her hair into a double bun, tied with a red string. Xiang Jieer touched the two round buns behind her ears, ran out to look at herself in the reflection of the large water jar outside the kitchen, and immediately smiled with her eyes curved.

"Big Sis always does the best hairstyles!"

After finishing Xiang Jieer's hair, Shen Miao also called Ji Geer over to do his hair. She hadn’t had time to style him in the past few days, and he had been tying his hair into two topknots, which, combined with his serious expression, looked quite amusing.

Children's hairstyles back then were often amusing. Some kids had their heads shaved completely, leaving only three patches of hair on the top, left, and back of the head, which were then braided into three small braids or buns, called "pigeon horns."

Ji Geer hadn’t shaved his head, but after being sick and letting his hair down for a couple of days, he had only learned to tie two topknots.

Shen Miao decided to give him a half-up bun.

Children of his age hadn’t been growing their hair for long, and his hair was only a couple of inches below his shoulders. Shen Miao gathered his hair with her hands, leaving some newly grown strands at the temples and forehead that couldn’t be tied up, letting them hang down.

The rest of the hair was tied high into a round bun on top of his head, secured with a blue cloth strip matching his clothes. Shen Miao intentionally left a long ribbon hanging down the back. After finishing, she lifted him up to look left and right, making Ji Geer blush like a cooked shrimp before she nodded in satisfaction.

The Shen family had good features and fair skin, and this hairstyle made Ji Geer look even more youthful.

With his delicate features, he looked really handsome.

Today, Shen Miao didn’t borrow a cart from the Gu family. The large basket and long carrying pole she bought yesterday came in handy. Now that they had a wall and a gate, there was no need to leave someone to guard the house. She carried the ingredients in the basket, tied the table and oven to the carrying pole, held the pole with one hand, while Xiang Jieer carried the stool and Ji Geer carried a basket of charcoal.

The three of them set out in a grand manner to earn money.

After setting up the stall, Shen Miao handed Ji Geer a small basket containing two cut pieces of red bean buns, instructing him to share some with the proprietor and clerks at the bookstore. She then sent him off to copy books. Xiang Jieer stayed by her side, and Shen Miao planned to have her handle the money so she could focus on making pancakes.

As soon as she arrived, some customers who hadn’t gotten pancakes yesterday were already waiting.

The burly, generous man came again and ordered three pancakes with double sauce. Shen Miao got busy. Xiang Jieer sat obediently on the small stool by the table, munching on the oversized red bean bun Shen Miao had specially made for her, which was even bigger than her head.

The red bean bun had been brushed with a layer of sugar syrup before baking, so it was golden with a crispy crust. When you bit into it, the outside was crispy while the inside was soft and fluffy. When pulled, it could stretch into strings. The red bean paste was smooth but still had a bit of graininess from being hand-crushed, adding layers of texture.

Xiang Jieer was still wearing the goose-yellow dress Shen Miao had made for her. The two small buns behind her ears were round, tied with a red ribbon in a bow, with the ends hanging by her ears, making her chubby face look even rounder and fairer.

She ate with such earnestness and concentration, holding the large bread roll in both hands, taking one bite after another, with red bean paste smeared at the corners of her mouth, like a little hamster that had stumbled into a treasure trove of food.

Xiang Jieer, a chubby child who ate with such gusto, was the ideal grandchild in every grandparent’s eyes. Her joyful eating nearby drew many elderly folks to stop and watch. There were also children of similar age to Xiang Jieer who were drawn in, tugging at their parents' clothes, sucking their fingers and staring wide-eyed.

"What a good kid, eating so heartily! Eating well brings good fortune!" said an old lady leaning on a cane, smiling as she watched Xiang Jieer devour her food. "She’s bound for great things in the future!"

Shen Miao smiled, just as she finished making two "Family Fortune" hand-grabbed pancakes. She handed them to the burly man, saying, "Take your time," and then passed a bamboo tube from the corner of the table to Xiang Jieer. "Have some tea soup, so you don’t choke."

This was the jujube soup the plump lady had brought over for Xiang Jieer earlier.

Xiang Jieer obediently held the bamboo tube and drank the soup, took a sip, and then continued to munch on the huge bread.

"It smells amazing, Mrs. Shen—what is this?" the old lady couldn't help but sniff the lingering aroma of baked bread in the air. "This pancake smells so sweet and fragrant."

"This is the red bean puff pastry baked bread I made," Shen Miao came up with a name that fit the times, and she uncovered the red bean bread rolls covered with fine cotton gauze on the table. "Usually, bread is steamed, but I thought baking it might taste good too, so I tried making some. My little sister is eating an uncut piece, but actually, one roll can be cut into four pieces, enough for a family of three to have breakfast with some tea soup, for just eight coins. You can also buy single pieces, three coins each. Look, it's made with finely sifted flour, with eggs and sugar added, and plenty of red bean paste. I baked it fresh this morning—it’s delicious. If you buy it and can't finish it today, you can still eat it tomorrow. In this weather, it can last for two or three days!"

She also deftly cut a piece with a small knife, quickly diced it, and offered it for tasting.

The free samples were always quickly snatched up, but the first old lady who had asked managed to grab a piece and put it in her mouth. It was indeed sweet and soft, the fragrance spreading on her tongue. She wanted more, but the plate had already been emptied.

Not only that, but customers who had tasted Shen Miao's hand-grabbed pancakes were already decisively buying: "I'll take two rolls, here's sixteen coins!"

"Pack four for us, this flavor is amazing."

The red bean bread rolls sold quickly, and Shen Miao hurriedly called Xiang Jieer to collect the money. Xiang Jieer reluctantly placed her large bread roll carefully in the basket under Shen Miao's table, stood on the stool, and obediently collected the money one by one, putting it into the clay jar.

At this moment, Wei Yao, the manager of the pastry shop across the street, happened to pass by with his donkey cart. He was delivering pre-ordered wedding cakes to regular customers but was stopped by the pervasive, unfamiliar aroma of wheat that filled the air.