Time Travel: A Fisherwoman Goes to the Sea to Raise a Baby

Chapter 493 Tangerine Peel

The old man selling mandarin oranges smiled with satisfaction as he looked at the two little kids' reaction.

Such reactions are nothing new, since few people can get used to eating Indian gooseberry.

Children, in particular, love sweets.

"Baby, don't eat it all at once. Chew it slowly so you can taste the sweetness later!"

However, just as the two little brats were questioning their existence because of the sourness, Xu Yiyi, who hadn't said a word, calmly finished eating the orange in her hand.

"Grandpa, I'll take all of your oranges. Weigh them and see how much they cost..." Xu Yiyi said calmly.

"what?"

Upon hearing this, not only was the old man selling mandarin oranges stunned, but even Sihai and Xu Anyang, who were busy sticking out their tongues and rubbing their cheeks, forgot about the sour taste in their mouths for a moment.

The three of them turned to look at Xu Yiyi, their eyes wide open.

Xu Anyang swallowed hard and quickly advised, "Sister Yi, are you out of your mind from eating this fruit? If you like it, just buy a few pounds for yourself."

Sihai nodded frantically in agreement: "That's right! This is really not tasty, it's a waste to buy so much."

The old man selling the mandarin oranges could hardly believe his ears and remained stunned for a long time before he came to his senses.

"Weigh them! I want them all."

Upon hearing this, Ah Da's face immediately lit up with joy, and he said repeatedly, "Okay, okay, boss is so generous. Please wait a moment! I'll weigh it for you right away."

He deftly weighed the two baskets of oranges separately, and even raised the scale high, afraid that Xu Yiyi would think it wasn't heavy enough.

After calculating the amount, Xu Yiyi readily took out money from the cash box and paid the bill.

The old man was very happy to receive the money, as he had thought that there would definitely be no business on a rainy day.

I was surprised to find that I had good luck today; I got business as soon as I stepped out the door.

The old man happily counted the copper coins strung together with a rope; ten coins per string, a whole ten strings.

He counted it several times to confirm that the number was correct.

Looking up and seeing that Xu Yiyi didn't have any suitable containers to hold so much fruit, he readily said, "Boss, you can take these two baskets. They're not worth much. I made them myself, so I'm giving them to you."

Xu Yi blinked and thanked the old man.

"Do you still have any Indian gooseberries at home? If I want to buy some more, how can I contact you?" she suddenly asked.

The old man gave them the basket, but he had to take back the carrying pole rope.

As he was tidying up the rope on the carrying pole, he suddenly looked up when he heard this, his eyes widening instantly.

He had been going from street to street in Ping'an Town for so many years, and he was lucky if he could sell a whole load on market days.

"My luck is just too good today, isn't it?" the old man murmured to himself.

The restaurant owner not only bought out the entire restaurant, but also asked if there were any more.

Yes! Yes!

The old man realized what was happening and quickly said...

His face lit up with a smile, his wrinkles crinkling together: "Boss, you want more? My home is in Lijia Village at the east end of town, not far. Just follow the main road, turn right when you see an old locust tree, the first house with a blue brick wall is it. There are lots of Indian gooseberry trees on the slope behind the house, plenty to go!"

Even if you offered to pick these for free, hardly anyone would be willing to do it.

Fearing that Xu Yiyi might not remember, he quickly gestured the directions with his hands a few more times, afraid of missing out on this business opportunity.

"Okay, I've got it." Xu Yi nodded, a smile appearing on her face. "If I need anything later, I'll come to the village to find you."

"Yes, sir! Please come on over!" the old man replied repeatedly, picking up his empty carrying pole, his steps becoming much lighter.

He gave Xu Yiyi a simple, honest smile, then turned and disappeared into the growing crowd on the street.

Xu Yiyi stood at the door and watched the old man leave.

"Is Big Sister planning to buy Indian gooseberries as a gift? But they don't taste good, so is it really appropriate to give them as gifts?" Sihai blinked and said weakly.

Seeing that Wu Yuan had crawled out from the side, he quickly went back and picked up the child.

"I'm not giving it away; I have a use for it."

As she spoke, Xu Yiyi instructed Xu Anyang to help carry a basket into the backyard.

Looking at the basket full of green and yellow fruits, Xu Anyang still felt the sourness making his teeth ache. He sighed helplessly, resignedly bent down, picked up the basket of mandarin oranges, and followed Xu Yiyi dejectedly to the backyard.

Sihai followed closely behind, carrying Wuyuan, his little face full of confusion, unable to understand why his older sister had bought so many unpalatable fruits.

When they arrived at the backyard, Lao Lu was carrying the fish that Aunt Zhao had cleaned to wash. He immediately saw the basket of oranges that Xu Yiyi had brought in, and then saw Xu Anyang behind him carrying another basket. His lips twitched involuntarily.

He walked over, casually scooped a few grains from the basket, wiped them on his clothes, and popped them into his mouth to chew.

Instantly, his old face scrunched up like a chrysanthemum, and he squinted at the sour taste: "Ugh! It still tastes the same, as awful as ever."

He spat out the pit and looked at Xu Yiyi with a puzzled expression: "Do you really love eating this stuff that much, or... are you planning to use it to make wine?"

Old Lu pondered for a moment: "This stuff can be used to make liquor, but it doesn't taste very good, and you can't use two big baskets of it."

Xu Yiyi smiled and said, "Of course, I'll make juice!"

"juice?"

Everyone spoke in unison.

Xu Yi nodded, her tone certain: "That's right! It's juice, not infused liquor. I'm going to make Indian gooseberry juice."

Old Lu's eyes darted around: "Will it taste good? Not many people like to eat this fruit, so it probably won't be very good as juice."

"Let's give it a try!" Xu Yiyi said nonchalantly. "As you all know, our hot pot is very flavorful, especially the spicy broth. It can get greasy if you eat too much. Most male customers order a pot of rice wine to go with it, but it's different for female customers, especially those with children or those who are not good at or can't drink alcohol. Besides the various teas the restaurant offers for free, there's only plain water left. The choices are much fewer..."

She pointed to the two baskets of mandarin oranges on the ground: "But the juice is different. The mandarin oranges taste sour and astringent at first, but they have a strong aftertaste. They are very effective in quenching thirst, relieving greasiness, and clearing heat and reducing internal fire."

I'm trying to figure out a way to remove that sour taste, leaving only a refreshing sweetness and fruity aroma, so I can make chilled or warm mandarin orange juice. Wouldn't that be perfect with our hot pot? It would also help cut through the spiciness and greasiness."

She paused, then continued, "Moreover, this fruit is common locally, doesn't sell for much, and has controllable costs. Even if we don't use it all, we can make it into candied fruit. But if we make the juice, we can give our customers another option."

After listening to what Xu Yiyi said, Lao Lu nodded as if he understood but not quite.

"This idea...sounds somewhat interesting."

Xu Anyang immediately perked up: "Sister Yi, what do we do? Should we start trying now?"

Xu Yiyi looked at the two baskets of mandarin oranges, her eyes shining: "Wash the good ones clean. I only have a rough idea of ​​the method; we'll have to try it to see if it works."

……

Xu Anyang is a man of action; he gets to work as soon as Xu Yiyi gives the order.

In no time at all, the mandarin oranges were sorted out. The peels were smooth, and the color was a uniform mix of green and yellow without any black spots or wormholes.

There weren't many bad or wilted ones, only a dozen or so, and they were all removed.

"What's next?" Xu Anyang sat on a small stool, looking at the sorted mandarin oranges, waiting for Xu Yiyi to speak.

She poked her head out of the kitchen.

"Wash it first, rinse it several times."

"okay!"

Without saying a word, Xu Anyang poured the selected tangerines into a large wooden basin and rinsed them repeatedly with cool well water. The round fruits glistened in the water.

Xu Yiyi was reminiscing about the milk tea she had drunk before, pondering how to make this mandarin orange juice properly later.

"Eldest sister, Madam Wen is here again."

Sihai and Wuyuan were having a great time playing behind the counter when they heard a noise and looked up.

Fu Wanying came in again, heavily pregnant.

After Sihai finished relaying the message, he looked at her stomach with a puzzled expression.

How come you've grown so much in just a short time?

Fu Wanying noticed his gaze and smiled at him.

"Should I just go in? No need to trouble Mr. Xu to come over," Fu Wanying suggested.

He stood up immediately after speaking.

Sihai poked his head out from behind the counter and asked curiously, "Do you have something important to discuss with my older sister?"

"Huh?" Fu Wanying asked in confusion, "Well... it's nothing important. I just heard you had a hot pot feast yesterday, so I came here to try it out."

She went back to her parents' home the day after Honggang reopened his business.

I just got back to town this morning, and as soon as I heard the news, I couldn't wait to come over.

"Well... just go up there! No need to look for the older sister, I'll take care of you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Sihai slung Wuyuan onto his back and walked out from behind the counter.

“Ah! But…” Fu Wanying pursed her lips and pointed to the door leading to the backyard.

"Your older sister is busy right now, and the backyard is very busy and crowded. You're pregnant, so it wouldn't be good if you bumped or hurt yourself if you went in rashly."

Sihai said with a smile, carrying Wuyuan on his back as he walked towards the stairs.

"Come on! I'll lead you upstairs."

The child had just climbed two steps when he turned around and found that Fu Wanying hadn't moved.

"Hmm? Do you want to eat in the front hall?" Sihai asked, puzzled.

Wu Yuan, perched on Si Hai's back, poked his round head out and stared at Fu Wanying with his big eyes.

Her fair and chubby little face was full of curiosity, which almost melted one's heart.

Fu Wanying smiled subconsciously.

She wanted to hug him again, she thought to herself.

But she didn't dare to speak, because she knew that Sihai would definitely protect his younger brother and not let her touch him.

"Madam Wen? Are you going to dine in the front hall on the first floor?" Sihai asked again.

Because Fu Wanying didn't respond to him just now, she was just smiling.

Lanxin, the maid who had been waiting next to Fu Wanying, was somewhat dissatisfied.

Her tone was somewhat sharp: "How can you talk like that? Our lady has condescended to dine here, isn't it only right that the boss comes out to receive her?"

"Hurry up and call the boss out to greet us..."

Before she could finish speaking, Fu Wanying tugged at her hand.

Lanxin saw the look in the lady's eyes and took a step back in displeasure.

Si Hai pursed his lips, looked Lan Xin up and down, and was somewhat dissatisfied with Lan Xin's tone just now: "My eldest sister is very busy. If you don't want to eat, you can leave."

"You..." Lan Xin was furious that Si Hai dared to talk back.

Fu Wanying said in a deep voice, "Lanxin!"

Lanxin was fuming, and she looked at Sihai with a very unfriendly gaze.

Fu Wanying forced a smile: "No need to trouble Boss Xu to come out. Please lead the way, Sihai. Let's go upstairs to eat."

Sihai snorted and carried Wuyuan upstairs.

After serving tea and helping them choose the soup base and ingredients, Sihai happily ran back to the backyard.

"Did Mrs. Wen order this?"

Xu Yi picked up the order and glanced at it casually; they had ordered quite a lot.

"Did she come with Boss Wen?"

Sihai shook his head. "She came with a servant, and that servant had no manners at all. He insisted that my elder sister come out to greet them, but I told him to go back."

The child muttered to himself, then suddenly flung Wu Yuan onto the small bed under the eaves.

Old Lu, standing to the side, was shocked by his action.

"Wow! Luckily, Wuyuan is sturdy and wearing thick clothes, otherwise he would definitely cry after you threw him like that."

Si Hai shrugged and ran over to help Xu Anyang carry the washed oranges.

In the kitchen, Fatty Wang, Yunniang, and Huiniang, along with their apprentices, began to get busy, while Xu Yiyi stood in another corner, staring at the oranges in the basin.

"What are you thinking about?" Aunt Fu was slicing chicken on the cutting board when she looked up and saw Xu Yiyi staring blankly.

"I'm thinking about how to remove the bitterness and astringency from these fruits."

Aunt Fu chuckled and plated the sliced ​​chicken, saying, "That's easy."

As she spoke, she washed the oil off her hands, then took the clean, thick cutting board and the wide-backed knife from the cutting board, grabbed a handful of fruit, and placed them on the cutting board.

Instead of cutting, gently crack the washed and drained mandarin oranges with the blade of a knife.

"Just tap it like this, but you have to control the force. Just make the shell crack slightly to reveal the pale yellow flesh inside. You absolutely cannot tap it until it's completely broken, otherwise the pit and inner skin will break, and the bitterness and astringency of the fruit will seep out in large quantities when cooking, which will do more harm than good."

She demonstrated: "Take a close look, just like this, crack it open, and then boil these patted fruits to remove most of the astringency."

Xu Yiyi followed suit and patted all the oranges in the large basin.

Then he and Xu Anyang carried the wooden basin out and carefully put the crushed mandarin oranges into a large pot in batches, added enough water, and brought it to a boil over a high flame.

"Watch the fire first. After the water boils, turn the heat down to low and let the Indian gooseberry slowly release its astringent taste in the boiling water."

Xu Yiyi then excitedly took out the sour fruits she had picked from the island, washed them, and sliced ​​them.

During this time, a thin layer of yellowish-green foam floated on the surface of the water in the pot, which Xu Yi carefully skimmed off with a spoon.

"Sister Yi, the water's boiling."

Xu Anyang looked up and saw the pot bubbling away.