Su Xiaoqi was momentarily speechless at the question.
Right, even if they grew in Yuanbao Mountain.
Why was it her, a young woman, who discovered them.
Su Xiaoqi lowered her head, pondering. She needed a suitable and conclusive answer.
"Alas, I heard that Shu was hit by severe floods last year. Many people's rice paddies were submerged by the floodwaters, causing people to become displaced and unable to eat their fill.
Xiaoqi must have gone into the mountains to look for food then and discovered them."
Yurong, seeing Su Xiaoqi's silence, found an explanation for her.
Seeing that she did not object, she became even more certain that her guess was correct.
Su Xiaoqi's eyes lit up, and she nodded in agreement. She even pretended to tear up, saying that she had indeed been starving and thought it best to rely on the mountains for food.
So she went into the mountains to try her luck.
Everything edible on the outskirts of the mountain had been eaten by them.
Not to mention wild fruits, even the grass roots and tree bark had been stripped bare.
However, few dared to venture deep into Yuanbao Mountain.
Because once they went there, not only would they likely not find food, but they might be eaten by wild beasts.
She, however, had been lurking around the mountainside day after day, familiarizing herself with a route, and then she dug up potatoes and saw corn growing in the mountain valley.
At the time, she didn't know if they were edible, so she tried eating them raw.
"Potatoes cannot be eaten raw, but this young corn tastes quite sweet when picked and eaten.
In the end, I thought to try boiling them in water like sweet potatoes, and they were quite delicious."
Su Xiaoqi spun a tale so convincingly that even Du Wenqian, an old hand who had been in politics for over ten years, could not find fault with it. He merely thought this girl was brave.
Yurong, a woman, felt her heart ache at the story.
This young girl, how much hardship must she have endured to survive in the past.
"It's better now. You are a thoughtful person, and your life has already improved."
Su Xiaoqi nodded, saying that indeed, she herself hadn't expected that an unintentional act would lead to the discovery of these two items.
Of course, she didn't dare to take credit, so she said that after discovering these two items, she had taken them to the Mianzhou dock and asked passing merchants.
Some merchants who had been to sea said that these things could also be found in certain places in Nanyang.
Potatoes also had another name: 马铃薯 (mǎ líng shǔ).
As they chatted, Su Xiaoqi breathed a sigh of relief.
She knew that the matter here had been clarified today.
No one would ask about it again.
Even if someone had doubts, Du Wenqian's family of three would become her spokespersons.
"By the way, Yiyi said you were going to open a pastry shop?" Yurong's focus was rather novel.
After all, she was someone who loved sweets.
Su Xiaoqi nodded and said that Yiyi had almost finished decorating the shop, and she had already written to Chen Jinniang, who should be arriving in the next couple of days.
Then they could open for business.
Hearing that she had arranged everything, Yurong clapped her hands and smiled happily, "Now we won't have to envy Eldest Sister and the others who can eat Chen Jinji's pastries anytime."
"Alas, you truly are a skilled girl, making so many delicious pastries. How did I not meet you sooner?
If only I could recognize you as my own daughter."
Yurong was a person of strong emotions, and as she held Su Xiaoqi's hand, she liked her more and more.
"Xiaoqi, where did you get these pastry recipes from?" Du Wenqian, as expected of someone who handled cases, had a different focus from others.
No one had ever asked Su Xiaoqi this question before.
This was because matters concerning recipes were related to family traditions, so everyone was very discreet.
Du Wenqian probably did it out of habit from his official duties.
After he asked, he was glared at by his wife: "This is Xiaoqi's family heirloom, so it's definitely not something to be spoken of casually."
"Thank you for your understanding, Auntie. Actually, there's nothing that can't be said.
When I was begging in the city, a wandering Taoist priest took pity on me and gave them to me," Su Xiaoqi said solemnly.
Although lying made her feel uncomfortable, these secrets were related to her life's major events.
She absolutely dared not be careless.
"Oh, Father and Mother, you've been questioning Sister Xiaoqi for a long time. Quickly, this is lotus root starch. Haven't you been longing for it since you came to Yizhou Prefecture?
Let Sister Xiaoqi show you how to make it and see if the taste is the same as what you ate in the capital."
Du Yiyi was a little displeased that her parents were interrogating Su Xiaoqi as if they were digging up her ancestral graves.
"You vixen, I haven't asked anything. It's all your father. He still thinks he's on trial in court.
If he can't figure something out, he has to get to the bottom of it." Yurong unhesitatingly shifted the blame.
This was his wife, so what could Du Wenqian do? He could only bear it silently.
Fortunately, Su Xiaoqi did not mind this matter.
She knew that the doubts Du Wenqian had just mentioned might not be questioned by anyone now.
But one day, someone would remember to ask.
She would have to explain.
So, it was better to explain it clearly now.
At least they all looked at her through the lens of family affection, and they would have a different kind of trust in what she said.
Explaining to people who trust you is much better than explaining to people who don't.
Because they accept it in their hearts, they will automatically fill in the gaps in your words.
"Lotus root starch, wonderful, wonderful! Eldest Sister wrote in her letter that what Xiaoqi makes is much better than in the capital."
Yurong's large phoenix eyes lit up, and she immediately called for someone to prepare the things for making lotus root starch.
After washing her hands, Su Xiaoqi prepared four bowls according to the standard steps.
Each person had a bowl.
After tasting it, the three people in front of them could not help but nod repeatedly.
At this moment, Du Yiyi couldn't help but say that Sister Xiaoqi had prepared a generous gift.
Yurong admitted this point.
Because she was well-informed, she already knew that the Yong'an Marquis's wife, who had traveled all the way from the capital, had paid a full two thousand taels for ten catties of lotus root starch from Chen Jinji.
And Su Xiaoqi had given them two catties as a gift.
This would be worth four hundred taels of silver from the Yong'an Marquis's wife.
She looked at Su Xiaoqi with even greater appreciation.
Although she opened shops and did business, and opened one after another, her demeanor was elegant, like a pure lotus in a lake, untainted by the worldly scent of copper coins.
She was not a person who was only after profit.
She was always working for the welfare of ordinary people.
Just like this time, when she joined forces with her daughter to bring free grain seeds to the people of Tongchuan County.
This was not only a great benefit to them, but it truly alleviated their suffering and also rescued her husband.
Otherwise, he would still be distressed about how to solve this matter.
Of course, he could distribute free grain seeds in the name of the government.
But the problem was that at this time, neither rice nor wheat could be planted in a short period.
Moreover, after last year's flood, the government granaries did not have much grain stored.
Even if he wanted to help, a clever cook cannot cook without ingredients.
The family of four ate pastries, chatted, and the atmosphere was exceptionally harmonious.
In Yurong's words, Prefect Du rarely stayed in the back courtyard for more than an hour during the day.
But this time he managed it, and it was all because Su Xiaoqi was there.
Of course, Yurong did not mean anything else by this. It showed Du Wenqian's importance to the Tongchuan County matter and his regard for Su Xiaoqi.
As they were talking, Steward He came forward to report that an old acquaintance had come to visit.
"Is there a calling card?" Yurong, being skilled at handling such matters, immediately inquired.
Steward He quickly bowed and presented it.
Yurong took one look, and her brows furrowed.