Seeing that there was more business, Zhao Quan hugged Xiao Sheng’s shoulder with one hand and said with a smile, “The market price isn’t bad these few days. If you have goods, provide them early on. Otherwise, you’ll miss this wave of popularity.”
When Xiao Sheng heard this, he didn’t hesitate and directly set a time with Zhao Quan. When he delivered the vegetables and loach soup tomorrow, he would bring the pastries over for him to try.
When Xiao Sheng rushed to Yu Bing’s house excitedly, Yu Bing and Jiang Chun were making honey osmanthus wine.
Seeing Xiao Sheng enter the kitchen with a smile, Yu Bing smiled and teased, “Why do you look so happy? Did they raise the price for you this time?”
Xiao Sheng crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. He raised his eyebrows and said softly, “The price didn’t increase, but I got it for 0.7 yuan. I even accepted another deal.”
Yu Bing unscrewed the bottle cap and placed it in the shade. “You gained a lot this time. What business deal?”
Xiao Sheng entered the kitchen and sat on the stool. “Doesn’t everyone want to give gifts during the Mid-Autumn Festival? This year, the supply of snacks isn’t good, so the black market will be doing very well! The prices will be higher than usual.”
Seeing that the two of them were discussing selling goods, Jiang Chun immediately carried a small wooden stool and sat in the courtyard opposite the door. She took the beans she wanted to eat tonight to peel.
When Yu Bing heard this, she was very tempted. This was a short-term business, and the profit would be higher than usual. She would have to work a little harder during this period of time, but it wouldn’t delay supplying other goods. It was indeed a good choice to earn extra money.
Yu Bing also found a stool and sat down. “We have to use flour for pastries. I took food stamps to the supply company to buy 15 pounds.”
Xiao Sheng estimated the amount of flour at home and said, “My family still has 30 pounds left. Let’s see what we can do first. We’ll see the price they give after tasting it tomorrow. If it’s worth it, I’ll think of a way to get some elsewhere.”
Yu Bing felt that Xiao Sheng had thought it through, so she didn’t say anything else. As for the new product, she thought for a while before saying, “Can you get milk? If you can, we’ll make pumpkin cakes. If you can’t, we can only make pumpkin sponge cakes.”
Xiao Sheng had only eaten sponge cake before, so he asked about the difference between the two curiously.
Yu Bing continued to explain patiently, “Pumpkin cakes are more exquisite. They look translucent and have a faint milky fragrance. However, pumpkin sponge cakes are more ordinary. I can only add two eggs to increase the taste and flavor. I’ll also add some honey osmanthus wine that I marinated today to improve the flavor.”
Xiao Sheng hesitated for a moment when he heard this. In the end, he could only say helplessly, “The milk has to go to the farm in the suburbs of the county, but the farm isn’t available to the public. I can’t get it now. Let’s make sponge cake.”
Because Jiang Chun didn’t know how to make pastries, she woke up at 2 a.m. the next day. Jiang Chun learned how to make pumpkin sponge cake from Yu Bing while making loach soup. This way, the two of them could take turns making them.
Yu Bing cut off a piece of the pumpkin that Xiao Sheng had brought and then peeled it and cut it into thin slices before putting it into a plate. She steamed it for 15 minutes with a large fire. Then, she added an egg, a suitable amount of white sugar and salt, and stirred them with the pumpkin paste. After adding flour, she added a little yeast powder and stirred it into batter before covering it with a steamed cloth.
An hour later, she took out a large bowl and brushed oil onto the bottom of the bowl. She poured the batter into it and waited for half an hour. Then, she placed it in a pot of cold water and steamed it for half an hour. After the finished product was brought out, Yu Bing removed the dough and cut it into a square. Then, she gently brushed a layer of marinated honey osmanthus wine on the surface and placed it in a lunch box for Xiao Sheng.
In the county city.
Zhao Quan was trying out the pumpkin sponge cake. He first tasted the sweetness of the honey osmanthus in his mouth, then chewed a few times and realized that there was a faint egg aroma amidst the sweetness of the pumpkin. The texture was rich. He raised his eyebrows and asked, “Are there eggs in here?”
Xiao Sheng had already eaten when he received the goods, and he knew the recipe for the sponge cake, so he nodded affirmatively and said with a smile, “I put eggs in it. Not only are there eggs in my cake, but there’s also osmanthus wine made from wild honey. It’s nutritious. Be it giving gifts during the holidays or eating it yourself, the taste and quality are much better than those sold elsewhere.”
Zhao Quan was a shrewd businessman. He could tell that the sponge cake Xiao Sheng was holding was indeed unique in the county. However, he only smiled faintly and said, “The taste isn’t bad. At the moment, ordinary pumpkin cakes in the market sell for 0.47 yuan per catty. Yours can be sold for 0.6 yuan at most. I don’t earn much. I’ll take 0.15 yuan and give you 0.45 yuan per catty.”
Before Xiao Sheng came, he calculated that the cost was 0.3 yuan per pound. He could only earn 0.15 yuan according to Zhao Quan’s price.
However, this pastry took longer to make than loach soup, so he said to Zhao Quan with a bitter expression, “Brother Quan, this honey is wild. There are even eggs added. The nutritional value is very high! It’s really not worth all the trouble to make unless the price is higher than 0.5 yuan a catty.”