Shen Yun took a bite as well.
Indeed, besides the silken texture of the ice jelly, there was the sweet freshness of watermelon and the cool crispness of ice.
The blend of flavors was hard to describe, but the result was simple: delicious.
After they had all tasted it, Su Xiaoqi eagerly began to eat.
Eating ice jelly on a sweltering summer day: refreshing.
The three of them sat around the table, chatting and laughing, and a bowl of ice jelly was finished.
Gu Shicheng was about to have another bowl, but Shen Yun stopped him, "My teacher’s wife said that our teacher has a weak stomach, and no matter how delicious the ice jelly is, he shouldn't eat too much."
Gu Shicheng glared at him helplessly, "You really treat your teacher’s wife’s words as gospel."
Shen Yun smiled warmly and said nothing, but his stance was firm.
"If Teacher likes it, I’ll ask my husband to write down the recipe later, and you can take it back to eat a bowl whenever you want.
It's just that you really can't eat too much in a day."
Su Xiaoqi was extremely thoughtful.
Gu Shicheng, thinking that although he couldn't eat it today, he could eat it every day from now on, felt delighted.
Shen Yun glanced at his own little wife and quietly gave her a thumbs-up.
She understood him best.
"By the way, Teacher, why don’t you try this sweet corn?"
From the simple bowl of ice jelly, Su Xiaoqi had already realized that Gu Shicheng was someone who liked sweets.
Gu Shicheng's attention was drawn to the golden, plump corn. He imitated Su Xiaoqi, peeling a cob and putting it in his mouth.
"Mmm, delicious."
So Gu Shicheng continued to break off corn kernels and eat them one after another.
Soon, a whole cob was gone.
He looked at Shen Yun.
Su Xiaoqi quickly said, "There's some uncooked corn on the cart. Later, Teacher, you can have your servants take it to the kitchen and boil it with water. It will be ready in fifteen minutes."
Gu Shicheng nodded repeatedly, indicating that he understood.
Then he turned his gaze to the potatoes.
Su Xiaoqi had made "Heavenly Silkworm Potatoes."
They were cut into wolf-tooth shapes, deep-fried, boiled, mixed with various seasonings, and sprinkled with cumin.
The taste was simply unparalleled, incredibly satisfying.
Gu Shicheng, with his hidden foodie tendencies, was quickly won over by the Heavenly Silkworm Potatoes.
This time, he didn't look at Shen Yun; he looked directly at Su Xiaoqi.
"Is there some of this on the cart too?" he asked expectantly.
Su Xiaoqi smiled and nodded, "Of course. It's in the box of the threshing machine. I've packed a hundred catties."
"A hundred catties, so much?" Gu Shicheng rubbed his hands together, looking at Su Xiaoqi in surprise.
Su Xiaoqi nudged Shen Yun, indicating that it was his turn to speak.
"Teacher, my wife says that both of these crops are high-yield grain varieties. If there's no rice or flour to eat, they can be used as food.
And they are relatively easy to grow, with high yields per mu..."
Shen Yun's meaning was that last year, Da Liang had suffered a natural disaster, and people in many places were starving.
If such high-yield crops could be promoted, it would be wonderful.
"Good, then I will have your senior brother send someone to the capital." Gu Shicheng made up his mind on the spot.
Although he had resigned from his post, he had a benevolent heart and cared about the common people.
Within his capabilities, he was willing to do his part for them.
"Thank you so much, Teacher." Shen Yun held Su Xiaoqi’s hand, and they both bowed.
Gu Shicheng accepted their thanks and looked approvingly at the young couple before him.
Then he remembered to ask where these things came from.
Su Xiaoqi exchanged a glance with Shen Yun, and she smoothly began to spin a tale:
"It was on Yuanbao Mountain behind our village. My husband and I found it accidentally while digging for herbs in the mountains.
We learned from Shen Nong tasting a hundred herbs, and it turned out to be delicious."
This was a well-intentioned lie!
Su Xiaoqi knew that Gu Shicheng was not like the ordinary folk in the village.
If she told him she found it at the dock, he definitely wouldn't believe her.
It was better to say she found it on the mountain.
After all, he wouldn't follow them to Yuanbao Mountain to check.
Gu Shicheng nodded and said they were commendable.
If these two things could be successfully promoted, it would be a great contribution to saving lives.
"If the Crown Prince were still here..." Gu Shicheng's smile faded, as if recalling something unpleasant.
Su Xiaoqi guessed this was probably related to Gu Shicheng's resignation. She smartly did not ask further.
Instead, she turned to talk about the threshing machine.
Gu Shicheng's interest was piqued, and he went with them to see the threshing machine.
The servants cut some late-harvested rice, and Su Xiaoqi demonstrated how to thresh the grains.
Gu Shicheng, who had never worked in the fields, couldn't help but clap his thighs and exclaim,
"Good, a good thing."
Shen Yun understood and immediately took out the blueprints for the threshing machine from his embrace, saying that his wife not only gave him this threshing machine but also these blueprints.
"Good, it will be sent to the capital along with everything else," Gu Shicheng said with great joy.
His mood, previously dampened by unpleasant memories, immediately improved.
He waved his hand, signaling his servants to unload the cart, and the threshing machine was taken to the paddy fields behind the manor.
They were busy harvesting at the moment, so sending it over now was opportune.
Gu Shicheng saw that besides potatoes and corn, there was also buckwheat tea, which made him even happier.
"Ah, look, you came all this way and brought food and supplies.
I don't have anything particularly good here. The lotus pond in the back garden has finished blooming, I'll have someone dig up some lotus roots for you to take back."
Speaking of lotus roots, Su Xiaoqi's eyes lit up, and she happily accepted.
When they went out, she realized how exaggerated Gu Shicheng's offer of lotus roots was.
A whole cart full of lotus roots.
He truly wished he could dig up all the lotus roots in the lake for them.
Shen Yun paid Zhao Xiaoniu ten coins to pull the entire cart of lotus roots back to the village, and smilingly said, "My teacher’s wife doesn't really like this stuff... Teacher wants us to finish these and then come back to dig for more."
Gu Shicheng was eager to give them away.
Su Xiaoqi also smiled. She now couldn't wait to go back and research making lotus root starch with these roots.
Unfortunately, they still had to go to the dock area to watch the commotion.
Su Xiaoqi had initially worried that they had spent an hour at Furong Manor and the excitement at the dock would have dispersed.
However, when Shen Yun took her into the Drunken Wind Tower by the river and paid two coins to ask the tea vendor for information, he told her, "You've come at just the right time, neither too early nor too late."
Su Xiaoqi blinked her eyes.
She saw Shen Yun give the tea vendor some money and then pull her to look at the corridor.
There stood a maid with darker skin, her hair styled in a bun. She guarded the doorway with her chin held high, a proud expression on her face.
Shen Yun closed the door and pointed to the adjacent private room.
Su Xiaoqi understood and immediately perked up her ears.
A familiar voice reached her:
"Madam Hou, thank you for meeting me. I am Zhao Xiaohua, I come from Zhao Family Village, and I am..."
Su Xiaoqi frowned as she listened.
What was Zhao Xiaohua doing? Was this a blind date? She was rushing to introduce her entire ancestry the moment they met. Su Xiaoqi couldn't stand listening to it.
As expected, a stern voice from the room impatiently interrupted her:
"Stop right there. I heard from your eldest cousin that you have something good here?"
"Yes, yes, yes, I have it here. Madam Hou, look, this is corn. Next year will be a drought year.
We won't be able to grow rice or wheat, so we can only plant this," Zhao Xiaohua said, somewhat agitated and rambling.
The noblewoman seemed uninterested in these things, her voice growing more displeased:
"How absurd. You picked something up from a mountain gully and think you can trick this Madam. How ignorant. Amber, let's go."
"Madam Hou, please don't go. I know I have a way to cure your esteemed son's muteness..." Zhao Xiaohua hadn't expected the noblewoman in front of her to be so difficult to communicate with.
She quickly pulled out her final trump card.
The noblewoman indeed stopped, staring at her with a gloomy expression: "Have you been to the capital?"
"No, no, I haven't been."
The noblewoman questioned her sharply: "Liar. If you haven't been, how do you know me, and how do you know my youngest son is mute?"