In the Privy Council Palace, in the lobby of the headquarters.
"Here, it's ready." Xia Fan placed the plate full of snacks on the long table, "Let's try the taste."
"Oh!" Qianzhi was the first to raise his hand and responded, "Qianzhi, good at tasting!"
Then came Li and Shanhui.
Fang Xiandao stared at Xia Fan for a while before raising his eyebrows and said, "You... are really strange."
"how?"
"You are already a fifth-grade official, so there is no reason to cook in person. Shouldn't this kind of thing be left to servants, cooks and maids?"
"Official position has nothing to do with what I want to do, or it is precisely because of sitting in this position that I have the energy to do these things." Xia Fan said unconcernedly, "Besides, few people have done this before, so naturally I have to do it myself. Stop nagging and give it a try first."
Fang Xiandao picked up the bowl - even he had to admire it, this was definitely a bowl of food that looked great. At the bottom are crystal ice flakes, all very similar in size. A layer of emerald green powder is sprinkled on top, and it looks like a small mountain at first glance. Through the "mountainside" part, you can also see the golden sandwich inside.
He took a spoonful and put it into his mouth, and his tongue suddenly felt an unprecedented sweetness!
The taste levels of this thing were far more complex than he imagined.
Fang Xiandao couldn't help but take another bite.
The top thing should be related to tea leaves. He could taste the unique fragrance and slight astringency of green tea. Then there is the coolness brought by the melting ice slices, and the fresh sweetness that fills the entire mouth.
That golden thing, maybe honey
But the sweetness was clearly beyond honey, almost hitting his mind like a wave.
Even though he didn't want Xia Fan to have any chance of success, he still couldn't control the hand he subconsciously stretched out.
This thing is definitely a top-notch cold drink!
The habit of eating ice is also common in Lingzhou, especially during the hot and humid days of summer. Whether you add ice to water or enjoy ice cubes with goat milk or fruit, you can quickly relieve the discomfort of the hot weather. After all, ice is not a rare thing for the Fang family. Sometimes they will give free ice to residents around the town as a gift to enhance their reputation.
But he had never tasted such exquisite ice cream.
If adding ice is a way to beat the heat, the thing in his hand has turned ice itself into a main dish.
Wait... Fang Xiandao suddenly realized that even he was like this, so wouldn't Qian Zhi—
He looked at the living dead and found that Qianzhi was already holding the bowl and licking it.
"Qianzhi still wants it."
The little girl stared straight at the plate on the table.
"Okay, after all, you are the main force in making shaved ice." Xia Fan said with a smile, "As long as you come to my place from now on, you will always have shaved ice to eat."
Is this guy... still plotting against the living dead
Fang Xiandao coughed twice, "Qianzhi, no matter where you go out, you have to get my permission first. You should understand this, right?"
The other party actually showed a rare look of hesitation.
Damn it! Could it be that the young master of the Fang family is not as important as a bowl of dessert in her eyes
Fang Xiandao glared at Xia Fan anxiously, "If you keep doing this, I will have no choice but to leave."
Xia Fan spread his hands helplessly, "Okay, okay, the recipe of this thing is not complicated, so it doesn't hurt to tell you. Even if you leave Jinxia in the future? You can make a bowl yourself."
Although he did have some thoughts, was it mainly to appreciate Li Yiyi's expression? Especially when you see the fox demon’s ears drooping with satisfaction? This shaved ice is not in vain.
"I just want to know why its sweetness is so special?" Fang Xiandao breathed a sigh of relief? "It looks like honey, but honey doesn't achieve this effect at all."
"It's actually very simple. I just added some salt to the ice."
"Salt?" Fang Xiandao was stunned? He just couldn't associate salt with strong sweetness.
Xia Fan took out a small crystal bottle from his arms and placed it in front of the other party? "Yes. But compared to the common coarse salt? This kind of salt is even more rare."
"What a white salt!" Qianzhi shouted, "Qianzhi can't even find it in his memory!"
"Don't bother with your memory of forgetting after seeing it!" Fang Xiandao waved his hand and gave her a snap of his fingers before picking up the crystal bottle and putting it in front of his eyes to look at it carefully. This thing was completely different from the salt in his impression. It was no longer just lumps of variegated particles? But as symmetrical as fine sand? The color is as white as snow. "Can salt be refined to this extent?"
"The method is not the key, the key is the quantity. For such a small bottle of refined salt, the substrate needs a large bucket of salt." Xia Fan explained? “When salt is refined to a certain level, it can work with sugar to produce a strong, fresh and sweet taste.”
For example, sea salt ice cream follows this genre.
Although the sweet party and the salty party are fighting fiercely all day long? But sugar and salt themselves are not incompatible enemies. On the contrary, they can strengthen each other. For example, adding a small amount of sugar to salty stir-fries can enhance the flavor, and adding a small amount of salt to desserts can also make them sweet. The flavor becomes more distinct.
However, the prerequisite for this method is that the salt is fine enough. Otherwise, the bitter taste of low-purity sea salt and mineral salt will be enough to break the delicate balance of sweetness and freshness.
Fang Xiandao smacked his tongue, "Don't you think this small bottle of salt is worth dozens of taels of silver?"
"To be precise, it is priceless. Because salt itself is not an easy thing to obtain, no one will put the cart before the horse and further refine the precious salt into refined salt."
However, the situation is completely different for Jinxia City, which is located in the salt fields. Although recrystallization is still troublesome, it can at least keep the cost to a minimum.
"So you let me try such expensive things, you must have some agenda." Fang Xiandao immediately became more vigilant.
"Don't be nervous, I just want to give the Fang family a few bottles of refined salt so that more people can taste it." Xia Fan said bluntly. "Since you have come to Yancheng, it is obviously reasonable to send some local specialties back."
In essence, this is marketing.
Because refined salt is destined to be impossible to become popular in the short term, he simply defines this accessory product as a "luxury product" and goes directly to the high-end route. Those who can afford luxury goods are either wealthy businessmen or wealthy families. The most effective way to open up such circles is undoubtedly one-to-one precise delivery.
"Oh, let me first say that Lingzhou is not a wealthy place. Even the Fang family's financial resources are far inferior to those of Fei, Luo and other wealthy families." Fang Xiandao curled his lips, "If you want to make money from the Fang family, in the end You'll probably get nothing but disappointment, don't say I didn't warn you in advance."
"Money is not the only way to measure wealth. Specialty products may be commonplace in the local area, but in other places, their value is inestimable." Xia Fan touched his chin, "For example, this living dead—"
"Are you still staring at the living dead?" Fang Xiandao interrupted quickly, "Other specialties can be considered, but Mr. Fang will never agree to the living dead! Do you know how rare a living dead is? Even the chief disciple of the Fang family, The living dead are passed down from generation to generation. Take Qianzhi as an example, before she protected me, she had served as a partner for many members of the Fang family."
"Eh? Why doesn't Qianzhi know?" The little girl looked confused, "Isn't the young master one of the first people Qianzhi knows?"
"Because of you—" Fang Xiandao suddenly showed a look of unbearability in the middle of his sentence, "Forget it if you don't remember."
"Didn't the living dead of the Fang family ever be given away to outsiders?" Xia Fan asked curiously.
"Also... it's not impossible." Fang Xiandao paused, "If you are of great help to the other party, or provide something that the old man or the old lady desperately desires."
"Something you crave? Like?"
"There are classics that can be helpful in divination, or powerful magic techniques, etc. The former covers everything in the world and reveals the knowledge of unknowable mysteries, while the latter is either a lost secret record or Yuyi's experience." Fang Xiandao Waving his hand, "But don't think about it. The Fang family has cooperated with the Youzhou Luo family a long time ago. They couldn't even provide a few valuable books, let alone you."