Chapter 101

Shi Qingluo made some modest remarks first.

Then she continued, “This flax oil has also been added with polygonum multiflorum. Applying this on their hair would make it darker and brighter, on both men and women.”

She had found some polygonum multiflorum at the mountain and dug it up, so she just added it in.

She gave Mo Qingling a bottle. She had kept a few bottles for herself and was prepared to share them with her family.

She ate well recently, and her body had absorbed the nutrients too.

Her hair was no longer yellowish, but she still despised it.

She wanted a head of jet-black and beautiful long hair.

In the future, when she slept with her little husband, her jet-black long hair would spread out on the bed together with her fair and delicate skin.

He would definitely be unable to resist and would get a nosebleed. Hehe.

That was why she had mentioned hair oil earlier. She thought of giving herself a hair treatment.

Mo Qingling nodded. “Alright, I’ll get someone to try it out later.”

He asked, “These things aren’t difficult to make, right?”

Shi Qingluo replied, “It’s not difficult to make. It’s just that the flax oil is a little troublesome. I have to extract the oil and add the polygonum multiflorum.

“Of course, it’s fine without the polygonum multiflorum, but the effect won’t be that good.

“Actually, we can plant the polygonum multiflorum here. Sir, you can also get some villages to plant it.

“We can plant it at the edge of the forest on the hillside or at the front or back yard. It just needs deep, fertile and loose soil with good drainage. It doesn’t take up space in fertile land fields.

“Even if you don’t use it to make head oil, you can sell it to medicine shops outside the city. The price isn’t low, you know.”

She was an expert in these agricultural aspects.

Mo Qingling also had some thoughts when he heard that. “We can give it a try since it doesn’t occupy the fertile land. Do we need the seeds or anything?”

Shi Qingluo decided that she should continue to do good, “I can help to nurture the seedlings. I’ll give them to you at its cost price.

“Other than nourishing our liver, kidney, blood, and wind, we can also add polygonum multiflorum to shampoo.

“Adding yellow cypress, mulberry white skin, bitter ginseng, dry ginger, non-diseased seed, soap horn, and mint into shampoo helps to remove dandruff, prevent itching and hair loss.”

She knew how to make this shampoo.

There were many popular handmade workshops in modern times built just to let people experience it.

Everyone will be able to make soap, candles, shampoos, skincare lotion, and hair conditioner after learning.

She had her spring water, and every time she added them into some shampoos and skincare lotion, the effects were very good.

Hence, most of the skincare products at home were made by her.

Mo Qingling realised that Shi Qingluo really knew a lot, and what she said was even more logical.

The key was that whenever she said something, she would be able to suddenly think of many different kinds of things.

“Okay, I’ll have to trouble you to raise the polygonum multiflorum’s seedlings. The county yamen will buy it from you.”

He knew that this medicinal herb, the polygonum multiflorum, was indeed not cheap.

He only heard about those harvested from the wild, and didn’t know that they could be artificially planted.

Shi Qingluo seemed to get it very well instantly, so he decided to trust her this time.

If Nanxi county could really plant polygonum multiflorum in large quantities, it would definitely boost the residents’ income.

Their county yamen would enjoy economic boost and increase their revenue from tax.

He asked, “Can we start planting it when the seedlings are ready?”

Shi Qingluo replied, “Although it’s a little late now, we can still try to catch up.”

It was already August, and polygonum multiflorum was usually planted from May to July.

However, she could use the spirit spring to nurture them. It was still possible to plant them a month later.

However, any later than that would not be possible.

Mo Qingling immediately made the decision. “Alright, I’ll have to trouble you on this matter, Lady Xiao. If you need the cooperation from the county yamen, feel free to ask.

“Once the seedlings are ready, I’ll get someone to pick a few villages to try it out.”

Shi Qingluo nodded. “No problem. I’ll start nurturing them in the next few days.”

This wasn’t just her specialisation, it was also her career that she loved.

It was almost dark when Mo Qingling bade her farewell.

Bai Xu didn’t leave with him. Instead, he stayed at the Xiao residence to talk to Shi Qingluo about the cooking pot.

“What do you think about adding the cooking pot for boiling meat to my restaurant?”

Shi Qingluo smiled. “It’s pretty good.”

It could enrich everyone’s diet.

“Can you sell me the recipes for those sauces?” Bai Xu was aiming for this.

He should be able to get a chef to do some research on those flax related sauces.

However, Shi Qingluo was the only one who had miso and beancurd sauces.

Shi Qingluo smiled. “I can teach you how to make the sauces, but the brewing methods for the beancurd and miso are not for sale. Later, you can come to our village to buy them and add them to your dishes.”

She wasn’t prepared to hold on to these recipes all the time.

She planned to observe the villagers who worked in the workshop and teach those with good character to protect her and the Xiao family.

After they produced these sauces, she would build a shop in the village to sell them.

She still had a lot of things in her hands, and she could not do everything by herself.

If she wanted to drive the village’s economy and transform it into a distribution and export hub, she had to continuously expand the variety of goods.

She planned to focus on sauces.

In the future, whenever one mentioned sauces in Daliang, one would think of the sauces in Xiaxi village, Nanxi county.

In addition to soybean paste, other pastes are possible too.

For example, tomato paste, bean paste, seafood paste, sweet noodle paste, plum paste, garlic paste, soybean paste, big paste, mayonnaise, salad paste, and all kinds of chilli paste.

It was definitely an eye-opener for the people in Daliang.

They didn’t know that there were so many kinds of sauces, and there were so many ways to eat their dishes.

In the meantime, they could add flavours to the dishes on everyone’s table.

Although Bai Xu was a little disappointed that he couldn’t buy the recipe directly, he quickly perked up. “Okay, give me a batch of your miso and beancurd sauces.”

Shi Qingluo said, “The weather is so hot now, and you’re going to start selling hotpot meals? It’ll be more comfortable to eat this winter.”

Bai Xu smiled. “As long as it’s delicious, there would still be some who would eat it in summer. Didn’t we just eat comfortably just now?

“When the time comes, I’ll specially set up a few private rooms to eat these hotpots. I’ll serve it with an ice basin and ice drinks. It definitely won’t be bad.”

They could start selling hotpot set meals in autumn and winter.

Shi Qingluo thought about it and realised that it made sense.

There were so many foodies in the modern era, and there should also be a wide variety in ancient times.

“The food need not be boiled in the hotpots. You can serve it as a dish.”

“You can use the original chicken soup, tube-shaped bone soup, or ham bone soup as the base to cook egg rolls, ham, crispy meat, vermicelli, pork skin, carrots, tofu skin, tofu, cabbage, green bamboo shoots, or other meat and vegetables. The taste is also very good.”

She had eaten this kind of hotpots in Yunnan before, and it tasted really good.

It was just troublesome to make it at home.

If Bai Xu’s restaurant sold it in the future, she and her family could go to the county town if they wanted to eat it.

Bai Xu’s eyes lit up as she listened. “This is good.”

He asked again, “But what are egg rolls and vermicelli? And how do you make them?”

Shi Qingluo remained silent for a moment.

Alright, she had forgotten that Daliang’s current food culture was relatively simple.

Those two ingredients that Bai Xu asked about hadn’t existed yet.

“Regarding the egg roll, I can write a recipe for you to make it.”

“As for vermicelli, I planned to let the villagers do it. You can come and buy it then.”

Bai Xu was speechless. She wanted him to buy whatever those in the villages were making.

“You’re not thinking of developing your village into some sort of distribution centre, are you?”

Shi Qingluo had a confident look on her face. “Of course. Just wait and see.”

Bai Xu asked, “Who gave you the confidence?”

Shi Qingluo replied without hesitation, “My master!”

Bai Xu was speechless.