There is a happy inn in the capital.

Chapter 321 Fried Sweet Potato Fries

Tiger Two grumbled sourly, "Big brother, let my niece Linglong help me get some treatment another day. I'm not even as strong as Miss Li, it's embarrassing."

Zhao Tianchuan said indulgently, "Okay."

Li Shuchen: "Brother Zhao, I need five cartloads of sweet potatoes. If they can be dug up today, I'll transport them to the city."

Zhao Tianchuan: "It's nothing, Miss Li, go back inside and cool off. The brothers will finish digging in no time."

Li Shuchen glanced up at the still early sky, then pulled Grape towards the house. Before they even got close, they saw strings of thin flakes hanging from the eaves, some white, some red, and some purple.

Grape: "It looks like there are dried sweet potatoes drying in front of Miss's house."

"Let's go take a look."

Li Shuchen walked to the front of the house, reached out and tore off a slice, putting it in his mouth. The sweet aroma of the sweet potato filled his mouth, and its chewy, glutinous texture was delightful.

"Delicious! Try one of these grapes!"

Grape obediently did as instructed, and after tasting it, said, "It must have been made by Uncle Yuan."

"Go to the kitchen."

The two went to the kitchen, where Uncle Yuan was cutting sweet potatoes.

Li Shuchen: "Uncle Yuan"

Uncle Yuan: "Little Li is here! Are you hungry? The sweet potatoes are just out of the pot, they're just cooled down now, perfect for eating."

Upon hearing this, Li Shuchen immediately grabbed two sweet potatoes, handed one to Grape, peeled it, and started eating.

"Uncle Yuan, the dried sweet potatoes are delicious, they taste great!"

Uncle Yuan: "It's too hot, the food won't keep well, and there are so many people in Huazhuang. If we don't make some food that keeps well, we'll go hungry."

Li Shuchen: "Uncle Yuan is right. I was just thinking of making some food that keeps well and selling it."

Uncle Yuan: "Dried sweet potatoes are pretty good. They're both filling and satisfying. You can chew on a couple whenever you want, and it won't interfere with your work."

Li Shuchen: "Yes, I imagine the test takers will be able to eat while doing their questions, without having to cook and waste time."

Uncle Yuan looked up upon hearing this: "Oh? So Li girl wants to sell herself to the test takers?"

Li Shuchen: "Yes, the provincial examination is approaching, and many students have come to the city, so I thought I'd sell some special packages to them."

Uncle Yuan: "Three years ago, there were as many as six thousand students who came to take the provincial examination. I wonder how many there will be this year."

Li Shuchen: "Six thousand people, that's so many!"

Uncle Yuan: "Yes, it's not easy to pass the imperial examination. Many people never achieve that in their entire lives."

……

Before we knew it, it was noon.

Zhao Tianchuan: "Miss Li, the sweet potatoes are dug up."

Li Shuchen: "Five carts? That fast?"

Tiger Two, wiping his freshly washed face, said, "They're all rough, experienced men; of course they'll get the job done quickly."

Uncle Yuan: "Li girl, why don't you have lunch before you leave?"

Li Shuchen: Okay

Back at the inn, Li Shuchen had someone unload the sweet potatoes into the cellar, leaving a cartload on top.

"Bring some grapes, in several large bowls."

"it is good"

Li Shuchen unloaded the sweet potatoes from the truck onto the ground, found a low stool, sat down, and began washing them. Since there wasn't much dirt on the sweet potatoes, washing them was relatively quick.

The eighth and ninth brothers also came to help, and the whole cart of sweet potatoes was cleaned in no time.

Cook Wang: "Miss, the steamers are all ready."

Li Shuchen looked at the twenty large steamers and said, "Okay, put the sweet potatoes on them and steam them until cooked."

Cook Wang: "Yes, Miss."

With everyone working together, the steamed sweet potatoes were ready.

Cook Wang: "Miss, should the sweet potato be sliced ​​or cut into strips?"

Li Shuchen thought for a moment and said, "Cut it into strips; strips are easier to hold in your mouth."

"Yes, Miss."

Li Shuchen didn't cut the sweet potatoes, but instead heated oil in a wok.

Then I quickly selected a few pieces of tricolor sweet potatoes, peeled and washed them, cut them into thick strips of the same size, and rinsed them in water many times.

The purpose is to remove the starch so that it can be fried until crispy.

Then remove from the water and mix with an appropriate amount of white sugar and potato starch.

The oil temperature was also about 50% hot at this point.

Li Shuchen added the sweet potato strips and fried them slowly over low heat.

Once the surface turns golden brown and floats slightly, remove it from the oil. Then, reheat the oil over high heat and fry it again for one minute. Remove and drain the excess oil.

"fei, fei, fei"

Li Shuchen couldn't wait to take one out, blow on it twice, and put it in his mouth.

Crispy golden crust, soft and sweet inside—it's so beautiful she could fly! It's a little hot though, but you have to eat it while it's hot.

"You should all try these fried sweet potato fries while they're still hot."

Everyone who tried it gave it extremely high praise.

Li Shuchen served out five small portions of grapes, saying, "Have someone deliver these grapes to the manor, to Lady Gu, Princess Changning, and General Liang."

Grape: "Yes, Miss."

Li Shuchen: "You can eat the rest. Just cut the sweet potato strips and let them dry."

"Yes, Miss."

Li Shuchen picked up the remaining small portion of fried sweet potato fries and hurried towards the flower shop. From afar, he could see rows of people queuing to buy flowers; it had been several days, yet there were still so many.

Protect the fried sweet potato fries in your hand, and enter the store with superb agility.

"Bingli, come and try my fried sweet potato fries!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Bingli said, "I don't have a free hand, how about Shu Chen feeds me one?"

"Sure, what's wrong with that?"

Li Shuchen was happy to feed the beauty. He picked up a fried sweet potato fry, carefully blew on it to cool it down, and then fed it to Ye Bingli.

All the customers in the flower shop were watching Ye Bingli eat fried sweet potato fries.

After Ye Bingli finished chewing, she said, "Shu Chen, can you feed me another one?"

Li Shuchen laughed and said, "I'll feed you as much as I want, even this whole plate."

Ye Bingli didn't comment on how the fried sweet potato fries were, but she ate them with great relish, so Li Shuchen understood that Ye Bingli liked them and was very happy.

The onlookers, unable to hear any food reviews, were getting impatient. The sweet aroma was irresistible, and despite their efforts to resist, they couldn't help but ask.

"Miss Ye, may I ask what the flavor of these fried sweet potato fries is?"

"Yes, what does it taste like?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Bingli said seriously, "You only know what food tastes like when you taste it yourself. If you haven't tasted it, you can't imagine it even if you hear someone else describe it."

"Miss Ye is right. So where can we buy these fried sweet potato fries?"

A young man nearby spoke up: "Hey brother, you're from out of town, aren't you? You don't even recognize Miss Li?"

"My lord, I have come from Qingzhou, having just arrived two days ago to take the imperial examinations. I do not know who Miss Li is. I would be grateful if you could enlighten me."

"We're kindred spirits. Look, the girl in orange standing next to Ye Bingli is Miss Li. Miss Li runs a Happy Inn in the capital, where she often serves some unusual delicacies that taste absolutely delicious."

Where is the Happiness Inn located?

"Just walk two alleys ahead from the Hundred Flowers Shop, and you'll find out by asking around."

Thank you, brother.

After the young man finished speaking, he was about to walk out the door.

Seeing this, Li Shuchen quickly called out, "Young Master, the inn hasn't introduced any new dishes today. Let's go again tomorrow."

"Very well, thank you for the reminder, Miss Li."

Li Shuchen nodded politely: "Young master, there's no need for such formalities."

Ye Bingli continued working, and Li Shuchen continued feeding her, until they finished a whole plate of fried sweet potato fries before she realized something was wrong.

"Bingli, did you skip lunch?"

"Yes, there were too many customers, I was so busy I forgot."

Li Shuchen said with concern, "I'll go find a shop assistant to help you."

Ye Bingji shook her head and declined, "No need. Things will be fine after this busy period. These customers are mostly scholars from all over the country, here for the first draft of the Imperial Examination. Once the autumn examination is over, the flower shop's customer traffic will return to normal."