In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 38 The Delicious Scent

One penny?

Chen Dao couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself. A one-cent steamed bun was a thing of the past. With the soaring grain prices in the county town, steamed buns now cost three cents each.

Of course, Chen Dao didn't mention this, but instead asked He Cuilian, "Auntie, do you know how to make this kind of food?"

"How could I possibly know that!"

He Cuilian shook her head like a rattle-drum: "The technique of making these steamed buns is the hotel chef's unique skill. How could it be taught to outsiders?"

"Uh……"

Chen Dao was speechless. In his opinion, steamed buns were not a difficult food to make. It was simply a matter of kneading the dough, fermenting it, and then steaming it.

I never imagined that this would be a unique skill in this world...

"mother."

Chen Dao turned to Li Ping and said, "We can try making steamed buns."

"Will you do it?"

Li Ping asked suspiciously.

“Probably!”

Chen Dao couldn't guarantee that he could make steamed buns, after all, yeast... before artificially extracted yeast was available, it could only be obtained through natural fermentation, which was quite difficult.

Chen Dao, along with Li Ping and He Cuilian, went to the kitchen and first taught the two how to knead dough.

After kneading the dough, Chen Dao instructed the two to place it in a wooden basin, add some water, and then place the basin in the kitchen, waiting for the yeast to multiply in the dough.

"Is this okay?"

Li Ping looked at the dough in the basin and asked.

Let's wait and see tomorrow morning!

Chen Dao vaguely remembered that yeast prefers a warm, humid environment. He had already created a humid environment by adding water to a wooden basin. As for a warm environment...

The kitchen temperature is relatively high, which should be just enough for yeast to multiply.

"All right!"

Li Ping said with some doubt, "Then let's eat first!"

At this time, Chen Da also returned. After the two families had dinner together, they went back to their rooms to rest.

…………

…………

The next day.

Chen Dao, who was awakened by Xiao Hei's rooster crowing, went straight to the kitchen.

Li Ping and He Cuilian were also in the kitchen at this time, observing the dough in the wooden basin.

"Dao'er is here!"

Li Ping quickly waved to Chen Dao: "Come and take a look, the dough seems to have gotten bigger!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Dao's eyes lit up, and he quickly went to the wooden basin. Just as Li Ping had said, the dough, which was only the size of a human head yesterday, had now expanded to almost twice its original size. This meant...

The dough has fermented successfully!

"Mom, Auntie, let's start making steamed buns now!"

Chen Dao directed Li Ping and He Cuilian to knead the dough to remove the air, then divide the dough into small pieces. Next, they could start steaming the buns.

The Chen family certainly didn't have a steamer, but other things could be used instead.

After reserving a small piece of fermented dough for the next batch of steamed buns, Chen Dao found a round wooden board with the center hollowed out. He first added some water to the bottom of the pot, then placed the wooden board over the pot, placed the small pieces of dough on the board, and finally covered the pot with the lid.

"It will be ready in a little while!"

Chen Dao, after putting the lid on the pot, smiled and said to Li Ping and He Cuilian.

"Dao'er, will these steamed buns... really turn out alright?"

Li Ping asked with some doubt.

"It will definitely work!"

Chen Dao said firmly, "The most difficult step in making steamed buns is fermentation. Now that the dough has fermented successfully, how could it possibly fail?"

"Mom, you watch the pot, I'm going to feed the chickens!"

Chen Dao didn't say much, and left the kitchen directly, going to the front yard.

"The number of chicks has increased again!"

After checking the number of chickens in the coop, Chen Dao's face lit up with joy again. When he went to the city yesterday, there were only five chicks, but now there are seven. At this rate of hatching, getting rich is definitely no longer a dream!

"but……"

Looking at the chirping chicks in the chicken coop, Chen Dao began to consider a question: Should he start breeding Bloodfeather Chickens now?

I've already obtained the Bloodclotting Fruit and Aged Rice, the cultivation materials for the Bloodfeathered Chicken, but...

Chen Dao looked at the three adult yellow-feathered chickens. If all three yellow-feathered chickens were raised into blood-feathered chickens, it would inevitably delay the breeding and hatching of the chicks.

However, raising chicks into blood-feathered chickens would be somewhat counterproductive.

After all, yellow-feathered chickens not only have a short incubation time, but also a relatively short growth cycle. The three chicks that hatched earliest have now grown quite a bit, reaching about one-third the size of an adult yellow-feathered chicken.

"Why not wait until these chicks are fully grown before considering breeding blood-feathered chickens!"

As Chen Dao made his decision, Xiao Hei came to Chen Dao's feet and rubbed against Chen Dao's trouser leg, begging for food.

"Okay, okay, you glutton!"

Chen Dao shook his head and quickly went back inside to take out sorghum and rice bran to feed Xiao Hei and Huang Yu chickens.

After feeding the chickens, Chen Dao returned to the kitchen, only to find that Li Ping had already opened the pot lid, and inside the pot were plump, white steamed buns.

"This is a steamed bun?"

Li Ping inhaled the aroma wafting from the pot and swallowed.

Fragrant, so fragrant!

The aroma of these steamed buns is even more enticing than that of white rice!

Not to mention Li Ping, even He Cuilian's eyes lit up as she looked at the steamed buns in the pot, and she almost couldn't resist reaching out and grabbing one to eat.

"Success!"

Chen Dao came to the stove with a happy face. He felt his mouth water. After eating bland white rice for several days, he missed the taste of steamed buns.

"Rice".

Li Ping turned to Chen Dao and said, "Are you planning to give these steamed buns to Cheng Ge'er and the others?"

The observant Li Ping had already noticed that there were many steamed buns in the pot, more than she and Chen Da's family could finish.

"Yes!"

"Isn't this... a bit too wasteful?"

Li Ping looked at the steamed buns in the pot with a reluctant expression. She was not a stingy person, but she still felt that it was too extravagant to give this kind of food to Chen Cheng and his big-bellied fellows.

"Mother, listen to me."

Chen Dao explained, "These steamed buns can also be made with sorghum flour. From now on, we can make steamed buns with sorghum flour for Cheng Ge'er and the others! And don't you think, Mother, eating steamed buns can actually reduce our food consumption?"

"is it?"

Li Ping clearly hadn't quite grasped the situation.

He Cuilian, who was standing next to her, said thoughtfully, "I've eaten steamed buns before. They fill you up quickly, but you get hungry again just as quickly. Is that what you mean, Daoge'er?"

"almost!"

Chen Dao nodded. Anyone who has eaten steamed buns knows that they are fluffy and filling. Using them as food for Chen Cheng's group of laborers would definitely save a lot of grain compared to porridge, and Chen Cheng's group would definitely not have any complaints.

After all, steamed buns taste much better than mushy rice.