Chapter 423: Executed it
The first batch of mutton was several hundred catties, so the workshop was filled with all kinds of fragrances every day.
It made the people who were working and the people who passed by on the nearby streets extremely hungry.
Xirui and Liang Youxiao had just settled a deal for a batch of wool from another county when they smelled the fragrance.
The two of them suddenly felt extremely hungry.
They looked at each other and quickly walked into the workshop.
The two of them entered the workshop and walked towards the room that was the most fragrant.
The manservant at the door did not let them in.
Instead, he first reported to Shi Qingluo and only let them in after she agreed.
Xirui and Xirui didn't mind.
This room was related to the recipe for the canned food, so of course, those entering and leaving had to be strictly checked.
"Qingluo, you're making canned meat? This is too fragrant."
Xirui walked in and went up to Shi Qingluo, who was making meat stew with his men. "I'm so hungry. Can we have some?"
"No problem." Shi Qingluo replied with a smile.
"I've stewed red braised, yellow braised, and clear mutton soup. You guys try it."
So she served the two of them three jars of mutton that had just been stewed and were about to be sealed.
The two didn't stand on ceremony and picked up their chopsticks to taste it.
He quickly finished the red and braised mutton. "It's delicious. I'll have another serving of these two flavors."
Both of them had strong tastes, so they didn't like the jar with clear mutton soup that much.
Liang Youxiao couldn't help but sigh. "Qingluo, this can of mutton is too delicious."
Shi Qingluo laughed. "Of course. My mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and I have spent a few days adjusting the ingredients to make it taste so good."
"Can this can of mutton really last months without changing its smell or odor after it's done?" Liang Youxiao asked.
Shi Qingluo nodded. "It can. Otherwise, why would old Xiao and I go through so much trouble to open a canned food factory? If we don't put the mutton stew in the jars, it will go bad tomorrow on such a hot day."
The price of mutton had been lower recently, so it was a good time to make canned food in large quantities.
When the vegetation dried up in winter and there was heavy snow, not only would the sheep not be as fertile as they were now, but the number of sheep would also be reduced by a lot, and the price would go up a lot.
Therefore, stocking up more canned mutton and selling them in winter was the most cost-effective method.
Xi Rui ate it happily. "How long can you keep this can of mutton?"
Shi Qingluo replied, "It's not a problem to wait until winter. It can last for about half a year without going bad. And the taste won't change much. It'll still be as delicious as before."
"During winter..." she continued, "We put a can of mutton on the iron stove to stew. Everyone will sit around the stove and drink a few cups of wine. Isn't it a leisurely and enjoyable thing to do?"
It felt great to stew a jar of mutton or cook some vegetables for a hot pot in winter.
As expected, Xi Rui and Liang Youxiao both nodded. "That's true. It's satisfying just thinking about it!"
"Qingluo, when do you plan to start selling these cans?" Xi Rui asked with a smile.
Of course, he had to send these delicious items to the capital for his grandmother and mother to try.
As for his grandfather and father, who had ruthlessly thrown him to Northern Xinjiang, hmph, he would make sure that they saw it but don't get to try it.
Shi Qingluo replied, "The best season to sell these canned mutton is late autumn. So, after they're done, sell a portion of it every month. This will build up our reputation."
By the end of autumn, they will be sold in large quantities, and the price will naturally rise.
They would sell the canned food at a discount in the early stage, so that everyone would know that canned food in Heyang County was delicious.
When the weather was cold, the sales volume would definitely not be low even if the price was raised.
"Then sell a batch to me first, I'll send them to the capital." Xi Rui said with a smile.
He could also let his family eat it in autumn and winter, and save some money.
Liang Youxiao had similar thoughts. "Right, right. I'm also going to ship a batch back to the capital for my grandmother to try."
Liang Youxiao and Xi Rui's wool workshop was already open, so they would be sending some wool products back when the time came.
Shi Qingluo nodded, "No problem. Other than canned mutton, I'm also going to make canned food from other meat and canned fruit."
Xi Rui was taken aback. "Ah, so it is possible to make canned fruit?"
Shi Qingluo nodded. "Of course you can. For example, if this place produces a lot of pears, we can make canned pears and sell them in the capital and other places."
Liang Youxiao asked in confusion, "How do we make canned pears? Do we seal the raw pear in this jar?"
Shi Qingluo chuckled. "How can that be? If you put raw pears in the jar, they'll definitely spoil soon. Of course, it has to be cooked first. Then, add sugar. It will taste different from fresh pears. It will taste different. Frozen canned fruit is also very tasty in summer. I'll let you guys try it when it's done."
"Other than canned pears, what other fruits can be made?" Liang Youxiao asked curiously.
"For canned fruits, you can use peaches, plums, lychees, loquats, oranges, grapes, and so on." Shi Qingluo replied.
These were all the canned fruits she liked to eat in the modern world.
During summer, she would buy some and put them in the refrigerator, then cook sago to make fruit sago soup.
The northern border mainly had pears, grapes, and peaches as fruits.
She prepared to use these three to make canned fruit.
Qi Yiyang had previously written a letter to ask what kind of fruit could be planted to make the commoners rich, and she had suggested planting these kinds of fruits.
If the farmers couldn't sell it, their canned workshop would buy from them.
She also suggested for Heyang County and the county under Zhuojun's jurisdiction to plant these too.
She also suggested planting beets in these three counties.
When the time came, they could open a sugar workshop here and process the beets into cane sugar.
By then, not only would the problem of adding sugar in the canned food be solved, but the excess could also be sold at a high price to the Ge Kingdom and the Western Region.
Nowadays, the seasonal nature of fruits was too strong, and there was basically no fruit to eat in winter.
After making them into canned fruits, they could sell them in the capital and Jiangnan in winter. They would definitely be able to earn a lot.
Liang Youxiao's eyes lit up. "So there's so much fruit that could be used to make canned fruits. Qingluo, why don't we also open a fruit can workshop?"
"We won't do it at the northern border and snatch the business from Heyang County. We'll do it in the South. There are many fruits there, and several of the ones you mentioned have high production in the South."
Shi Qingluo knew that Liang Youxiao had always wanted to be the number one merchant in Daliang, so it was indeed feasible for him to open a canned fruit workshop in the South.
Although she wasn't short of money now, she wouldn't complain about having too much money. "Sure! You can also go to the coastal areas to build a workshop and sell canned fish."
The sales of canned fish in modern times were also very impressive.
Liang Youxiao immediately decided. "Let's do it."
"I'll leave the wool workshop here to you." he said to Xi Rui. "I'll set off for the South in a few days."
Xi Rui rolled his eyes at him. "You sure know how to make trouble."
"But can I also become a shareholder?" He didn't mind having more money.
Liang Youxiao chuckled. "Isn't one of your maternal relatives going to be an official in Minnan? When the time comes, ask him to protect us. I'll give you 20% of the shares."
"Of course, in addition to using this connection, you also have to offer some silver so that we can open a few more workshops. I'll be in charge of sending people to supervise the work and also selling the products."
Xi Rui nodded his head. "No problem."
Liang Youxiao looked at Shi Qingluo. "Qingluo, you're in charge of giving me the recipe. You just need to teach me how to make canned food."
Shi Qingluo nodded. "I'm fine with it too."
Making money was one thing, but knowing that she could also eat canned lychees, oranges, and other canned food in the northern border next time made her feel comfortable, so she executed this plan!
Chapter 424: It's actually true
After the discussion, Liang Youxiao immediately went to find someone to arrange for them to head South.
Shi Qingluo was busy for the rest of the day.
She taught everyone how to make canned food, candles, and soap.
Xiao Hanzheng was also busy, so he had someone re-tabulate the county's population and the number of families who were eligible for tax-waiver.
After building a few workshops in Heyang County and recruiting a lot of people, the county had also gained a lot of popularity.
However, this would only attract some merchants to purchase the goods.
Therefore, Xiao Hanzheng followed Shi Qingluo's suggestion and rebuilt the guest houses, restaurants, and eateries in the county.
Shi Qingluo gave him more than twenty low cost food and snack recipes, and Xiao Hanzheng asked the guests, restaurants, and eateries to send their people to learn from them.
All the big inns that had the conditions had been renovated.
There was an eatery inside the courtyard.
He could also change it into a place for accommodation.
For the ordinary families in the county with extra rooms, they could also convert them into a homestay.
Many of the Western regions and Arab merchants came and go.
When they arrived at a place and felt that it was comfortable in all aspects, they would definitely stay overnight.
A small merchant without money would not be willing to spend money to stay in an expensive Inn, so this kind of homestay was very suitable.
The rich merchants could stay in the renovated Inn. The toilets and bathing rooms had all been changed with toilet bowls and shower facilities.
The beds had also been changed into softer beds for comfort.
In the past, many merchants from the Western regions or Arab regions would head directly to the North to stay.
They basically didn't pass by Heyang County, so they had to build some special industries to attract and retain these guests.
There were also merchants from other parts of Daliang who had to be retained.
Only when there was a crowd could a dead place be revived.
Xiao Hanzheng and Shi Qingluo were extremely busy.
The canned food workshop had also collected a lot of grapes, apricots, and peaches, all of which were made into canned fruits.
Liang Youxiao had brought his trusted aides over to learn how to make fruit cans.
After learning it, he didn't immediately take his men to the South, but waited for the mutton to be opened.
Ten days later.
In addition to the people working in the canned food workshop, there were also many people who came to join in the fun.
Because they heard that the county magistrate's wife was going to open the can of mutton for everyone to try, all the people in the county who were interested or wanted to take advantage of it came.
Xiao Hanzheng ordered his men to maintain order of the situation.
Shi Qingluo and her people carried out dozens of canned mutton.
There was a piece of red paper on each can that wrote its flavor.
"This is the can of mutton that our workshop stewed ten days ago. On such a hot day, it would have gone bad if it was directly put outside. So today, I'll let everyone witness this can of meat that can be kept for more than half a year without spoiling or smelling."
The reason she dared to let so many people taste it today was because she had opened a few bottles two days ago and they didn't go bad.
Everyone was shocked when they heard this. So this was canned food?
"Madam, can the stewed mutton really last that long?" Someone couldn't help but ask.
Almost no one present believed it.
How could it not spoil after such a long time?
However, they did hear that the canned food had been prepared ten days ago and placed in the warehouse.
All of them were staring at it curiously.
"You'll know if it's real once you try it." Shi Qingluo said with a smile.
The reason why he let them try it for free was to make the people in the county happy and increase the county's popularity.
Secondly, it was mainly for publicity.
After she finished speaking, she took out a can of braised mutton and used a dagger to open the wooden cover.
Everyone heard a "psss" sound.
Then, Shi Qingluo unscrewed the bottle cap.
Qingqing immediately brought over a clean white pot.
Shi Qingluo poured the mutton into a white clay pot, then Qingqing held it in the middle and heated it up in front of everyone.
Very quickly, a thick aroma of mutton filled the air.
Many people could not help but swallow their saliva.
"It smells so good. It's the same smell as the one from the workshop."
"Yes, yes, this is the fragrance."
"I didn't expect it to still have such a fragrance after being left out for so many days. If we leave it at home for two days, it'll all stink."
"I wonder how it will taste? I've always wanted to try it when I smelled it, but it wasn't for sale back then."
"It smells so good. It shouldn't taste too bad, right?"
The current price of mutton was not high, more than ten wen per catty, only the rich in Heyang County could eat meat every day.
Many commoners would only buy it once every ten days or half a month.
The poorer families could only have it for one meal every one or two months.
The northern border was too poor, and the people in Heyang County did not have any main source of income.
The farmers' lives were even worse.
They were poor to begin with, and they had to pay high taxes.
Therefore, everyone was staring at the can that was being heated up.
They could not wait to see it.
Shi Qingluo opened dozens of cans in succession and had the county government staff to heat them up.
The county government didn't have that many bowls, so Shi Qingluo had already ordered people to pick many large green leaves and wash them.
She also had her people peel many thin wooden sticks, beat a spoonful of mutton on each green leaf.
Thereafter, they would poked the meat with a wooden stick to eat it.
Seeing that Shi Qingluo was ready, Xiao Hanzheng nodded at him.
"Everyone, come and try it." he said. "Don't push. Line up to get it."
The onlookers couldn't wait any longer and squeezed forward, wanting to line up first to taste it.
"Don't push, there's enough for everyone." Shi Qingluo said.
Xiao Hanzheng ordered the bailiffs to maintain order and the chaotic scene finally stabilized.
At the very front of the line was a middle-aged man.
He took the mutton wrapped in green leaves, poked a piece with a wooden stick, and put it in his mouth.
Then, his eyes lit up. "It's delicious. It's way too delicious."
Then, he immediately used a wooden stick to finish the rest of the mutton.
Because he was from a middle-class wealthy family in the county, he was embarrassed to lick the mutton soup off the leaves even though he wanted to.
The second one was a poor, burly man.
After taking a bite, he was also very excited.
"It's so delicious. This is the best mutton I've ever eaten in my life."
He didn't care about his face and directly licked all the juice on the leaf clean.
The next few people had similar reactions.
It also made everyone stare at the canned mutton even more, and they couldn't wait to line up and try it.
Nowadays, the residents would use water to add some salt to the meat, or sprinkle salt on it and roast it over the fire.
Therefore, when they suddenly ate the braised meat with brown sauce and red sauce, which had a lot of extra ingredients to remove the fishy smell and enhance the taste, they were naturally shocked.
"It's so delicious. I've never known that mutton could be so delicious."
"Yeah, I don't know what was added. The taste is amazing."
"To be able to taste such delicious mutton in my life, I, an old man, will be satisfied when I die in the future."
"I didn't think that this jar could be used to store cooked mutton and it didn't go bad after such a long time."
"It's too godly, this is actually true. I thought it was impossible before, but after tasting the mutton, I realized that my knowledge was too shallow."
None of the people who had tasted it said that it was not delicious.
They were basically savoring the aftertaste and couldn't wait to order a few more servings.
There were also some who wanted to take advantage of the situation and secretly line up again, but they were caught by the bailiffs under Xiao Hanzheng's orders.