Chapter 189 Powder Making

Chapter 189: Making Starch

"What else have you thought of?" Chang Jinhua casually asked Meng Wan at the dinner table.

Having solved that particular problem, Meng Wan was in a good mood and picked up a piece of glutinous rice rib to put in his bowl. "It's just an idea for now—settling those homeless people."

Bi Yun, who managed a large sugar mill, now naturally spoke with authority. "This year, the sugar mill took in nearly twice as much sugarcane as last year. Boiling the sugar might continue until February next year, and we don't have enough workers. I was planning to hire more. So, how about letting these people work at the mill first? It would help them, and we wouldn't need to recruit extra workers."

Meng Wan looked at him approvingly. "Not bad—kills two birds with one stone."

Bi Yun was visibly excited to have his idea approved, but he hesitated. "But what if they leak the sugar-making process?" After all, kindness should not come at the expense of one's own interests; Bi Yun had developed a shrewd business sense.

Meng Wan guided him gently. "In the Jiangnan area, prosperity doesn't come from keeping skills secret. Once Heshan County becomes a major sugarcane producer, our single sugar mill won't be able to handle it all. Others will see the opportunity and set up various sugar mills, big and small, even affecting the entire Xiwu Prefecture. When Xiwu is full of sugar mills, we won't have to worry about attracting sugar merchants from all over the country. That would be a real win-win, rather than clinging to this one mill."

His tone was calm, as if chatting casually, but after he finished, the table fell silent for three seconds, broken only by Fang Jinrong's sharp gasp.

"You're really... really..." Fang Jinrong didn't know how to describe it.

A Yan looked up from his bowl, looking around, wondering why everyone had stopped talking. "Grandma, A Yan wants meat, the meat with rice."

"Daddy will get it for you," Meng Wan said with a laugh, putting a piece of glutinous rice rib in his bowl. "There's a bone inside, so be careful."

A Yan gnawed on the rib, his mouth covered in rice grains and grease, and nodded obediently.

"What are you all thinking? Eat up, there's so much good food here." Meng Wan urged everyone.

After the meal, Meng Wan saw Bi Yun and Tao Jiu off. Since it was cold winter, they had come by carriage. Before boarding, Bi Yun said to Meng Wan, "I understand, husband. Don't worry about the sugar mill."

Meng Wan trusted Bi Yun enough to put him in charge, so he had no reason to doubt him. His final instruction was, "I'm leaving the sugar mill entirely in your hands. By the end of this year or early next year, more sugar merchants will definitely come. If you're unsure about anything, come ask me."

Watching Tao Jiu drive away in the carriage, Meng Wan returned home to find A Yan. With Song Tingzhou away, Meng Wan felt the room was empty when he slept alone, so he asked his son to keep him company.

Chang Jinhua had made a new cloth tiger for A Yan, who climbed onto the bed with it. Meng Wan patted his chubby little bottom. "If you need to pee at night, call Daddy, okay? Don't wet the bed, okay?"

A Yan giggled, apparently agreeing without really understanding.

Meng Wan woke in the middle of the night to a damp feeling. Without opening his eyes, he reached out and touched A Yan's warm little body.

He sighed, got up, and lit the oil lamp to check. Sure enough, the mat underneath A Yan was wet. The little rascal had wet his own spot, then moved over and wet Meng Wan's side as well.

After changing A Yan into dry pants and putting him in the small bed, then changing the sheets and mattress pad, the sky was starting to lighten.

Meng Wan was wide awake. He washed up, got dressed, and sat at his desk to finalize last night's plan.

Winter had already set in, so it was too late to plant lotus root fields. He needed to find out whether spring planting required specific techniques and consult some experienced farmers.

Thinking of lotus root, his first idea was lotus root starch. If Feng Zhong and his team could figure out a way to seal it, they could also make canned lotus root with some brown sugar and red beans, similar to eight-treasure congee.

But even if canning didn't work out, just lotus root starch could support a workshop. Once turned into powder, it would be easier to store. With trade routes from the Heshan Sugar Mill, selling wouldn't be a problem, and if all else failed, Third Uncle could cover it.

Meng Wan was always bold to act. With the plan set, he immediately started.

"Mother, I'm going out today." He informed Chang Jinhua first, promising to bring back some Yunpian cake for A Yan, and then left without trouble.

Fang Jinrong, who couldn't stand staying home, decided to go with Meng Wan since Ge Quan was away—just for fun.

Luxi Town was closer to the county seat, but strictly speaking, Luqiao Town was more suitable for lotus root fields. Meng Wan had never made lotus root starch, but he thought it might be similar to potato starch—worth experimenting, though he didn't know the yield and loss rate. In Heshan, lotus roots were harvested from September to November, likely due to different varieties, some early, some late.

Since lotus roots were still available, he planned to buy several baskets of late-harvest lotus roots from Luqiao Town to experiment at home.

It was market day in Luqiao Town, and the streets were crowded. Xue Sheng led the way, with Meng Wan and Fang Jinrong following behind.

The stalls sold common cloth and food, but mostly local specialties—fish, shrimp, and shellfish dominated.

Meng Wan headed straight for the white, tender lotus roots, while Fang Jinrong looked around in constant wonder.

"Benefactor!" someone called in their direction. At first, Meng Wan didn't think it was them, but the voice called a few more times. He turned to see a very young xiaoge, delicate and cute, walking toward them with others.

"It seems someone is calling you." Meng Wan nudged Fang Jinrong.

Fang Jinrong turned. "Who?" He looked at the xiaoge a few times, recognizing them as they got closer. "It's you! Cao Geer?"

Cao Geer smiled shyly. "I thought you'd forgotten me, benefactor."

Fang Jinrong said bluntly, "Almost did. How are your father and brother?"

Cao Geer jumped up and pointed to the shrimp stall in the east. "My father is almost better, but my brother's arm is broken. Doctor Miao said once it's broken, it won't grow back." He looked a little downcast.

Having been through life and death several times, Fang Jinrong was philosophical. "Ah, what's the big deal? Better than losing your life in times like those."

Cao Geer's eyes curved into crescent moons. "The benefactor is right." He fidgeted with his fingers shyly. "My mother said if we met you again, she'd like to invite you to our home for a simple meal."

Fang Jinrong refused directly, "No need. I'm accompanying a friend to buy lotus roots, and we'll head back after."

Cao Geer finally looked at Meng Wan, who was bent over inspecting lotus roots. Sensing his gaze, Meng Wan turned and smiled. Cao Geer blushed, grabbed his companion, and ran back. "I'll go call my parents."

"Who's that? You know him?" Meng Wan bought a basket of lotus roots and asked Xue Sheng to take it to the carriage. One of the two children seemed to have a limp.

"Those are the people Ge Quan saved earlier this year. Doctor Miao's skills are amazing—she saved them from such serious injuries." Fang Jinrong pointed to the approaching family.

Meng Wan vaguely remembered the Chen family. "So it's them. They were lucky to run into you."

Chen Er brought his whole family, politely inviting Fang Jinrong again. When they had left earlier, Chen Er was still unconscious. Now, seeing his benefactor, he insisted on kneeling, but Xue Sheng stopped him.

"This kid's father passed away, right? He's living with you now?" Fang Jinrong pointed to the limping Huzi and asked casually.

Cao Geer's mother sighed. "Huzi lost his whole family, even his grandparents. Luckily, Doctor Miao treated him then. The neighbors couldn't bear to see a little child fend for himself, so we took him in."

The Chen family was the most well-off in the village, kind-hearted, and couldn't bear to ignore him. Raising a child was just an extra bowl of rice; when he grew up, he'd be another laborer.

They chatted in the market for a while. Given Meng Wan's prestige in the area, the Chen family didn't linger long and soon took their leave.

Since becoming a father, Fang Jinrong had grown fond of children. Before parting, he gave Cao Geer two pieces of rice candy.

Cao Geer didn't eat them all; he asked his mother to save one piece and shared the other with Huzi. But Fang Jinrong, watching their backs, noticed that no matter how much Cao Geer offered, Huzi refused, silently limping after him.

"This family has good character—grateful, not complaining, and generous to their neighbors." Meng Wan had a good impression of the Chens.

Fang Jinrong nodded in agreement. "They are good people, but you don't know what their neighbors were like back then..."

After buying lotus roots from Luqiao Town and giving A Yan the promised Yunpian cake, Meng Wan started working on his lotus roots.

Drawing from his experience making potato starch, he succeeded in making lotus root starch. He peeled and mashed the roots, added water, filtered out the juice, and separated the residue.

Then he let the filtered juice settle. This process was faster and simpler than potato starch. After settling, he took out the sedimented starch and dried it. Since the weather was bad in the afternoon, he slowly dried it in a clean, oil-free iron pan.

Once the starch was dry, he mixed it with brown sugar and stirred in boiling water, resulting in a bowl of red, translucent lotus root starch.

This was suitable as a supplement for the elderly and sick. Meng Wan planned to start a small workshop, produce a modest amount, and promote it far away as a mid-to-high-end health product. Since the yield was low, selling it too cheap wouldn't be profitable.

Chang Jinhua rather liked it. Meng Wan said they could first make it at home and sell it at Chang Jinhua's fried chicken shop, adding other ingredients besides sugar.

Perhaps because everyone's life was starting to improve, the fried chicken shop's business was getting better and better. All the revenue was Chang Jinhua's own, and she handled the accounting herself; Meng Wan did not interfere.

After successfully making the lotus root starch, Meng Wan began to set up a lotus root workshop. He drew detailed blueprints and had all the necessary utensils custom-made. Most importantly, he wanted to buy up all the lotus roots currently on the market to make the first batch of this year's starch.

Given the limited conditions, the first batch of lotus root starch could only be made at home.

Ten days later, when Song Tingzhou returned from the prefectural city with his men, he saw that their front yard had been requisitioned as a temporary workshop. The yard was bustling with workers, all young men and women.

Meng Wan's head was wrapped in a gray cloth, revealing his delicate features clearly, as he labored to stir the lotus root mash in a large vat.

The noise was so loud that even the sound of horse hooves was drowned out.

The hands Meng Wan used to stir the lotus root mash were seized by someone. He snapped his head up and said in surprise, "You're back!"

He dropped the stick and hugged Song Tingzhou, having thought he wouldn't be back for at least half a month.

"Cough, cough..." Qin Jiao behind them coughed at the right moment.

Meng Wan pulled back from Song Tingzhou's embrace. The young men and women in the yard had retreated far away, stealing glances. Prince Qin and his retinue kept their heads down as if they hadn't seen anything.

"Prince Qin is back too? That's not right—you two were going in different directions, how did you end up together?" Perhaps because he was accustomed to acting freely in Lingnan, Meng Wan had hugged Song Tingzhou in public without a second thought. After all, these were all his own people, and he felt no shyness.

Song Tingzhou took his hand easily and led him into the second courtyard. "We ran into each other at the gate. He's also going back to the capital for the annual report at the end of the year; he's likely to be promoted to commander of a thousand households."

Qin Jiao waved a hand. "A mere commander of a thousand households, nothing to brag about."

Meng Wan was speechless and reminded him, "You haven't been made commander of a thousand households yet, Prince. Keep a low profile."

Qin Jiao's birth status and family background made it impossible for him to be low-key. His voice carried a hint of pride. "It's a done deal. Once I get promoted, my rank will be two levels higher than Lord Song's."

Meng Wan actually liked Qin Jiao's personality. He cupped his hands playfully and said, "Then let me congratulate you in advance, Prince."

Qin Jiao laughed openly. "Well said, well said."

Song Tingzhou hadn't been close to Meng Wan for a long time and didn't want him to keep talking to others. He pulled Meng Wan to his side with a twist of his wrist, bringing them very close. "What are you busy with again?"

Meng Wan also had a lot to tell Song Tingzhou. He had Qiuse and Huang Ye arrange the bedding, hot water, and food, while he went into the house with Song Tingzhou.

He got clean clothes from the wardrobe for Song Tingzhou. "Those young men and women in the county jail are innocent, all from noble families, having endured hardship and having no ties. So I thought I could put these people to use."

Xue Sheng brought two buckets of hot water. Song Tingzhou took them, bolted the door, mixed his bathwater, and undressed to bathe in the room.

Meng Wan pulled up a stool and sat beside him, talking while admiring the view. "I saw the notes you left at home. Luxi Town has shallow waters with many tributaries—you wanted to introduce rice seeds from Jiangnan. Luqiao Town has many rivers and waterways, so I thought planting lotus roots would be good."

"Lotus roots?" Song Tingzhou scrubbed himself with soap, feeling completely refreshed.

Meng Wan rested his chin on his hand and looked at him. "It's similar to the potato starch I made before, but lotus root starch is very easy to store. It can be taken directly with hot water and is convenient to carry on long journeys. However, the yield is low, so the price will be higher."

"Sounds good. I'll go back to the yamen tomorrow to process the household registration for those exiles." Song Tingzhou stood up from the water. Meng Wan covered his eyes a beat too late, peeking through his fingers.