MMB Chapter 51 Yeast Powder
Chapter 51 Yeast Powder
Su Zhongqing had already finished most of her bowl of vegetable and meatball soup.
Half of the white meatballs were gone, and the emerald green bok choy was also eaten clean.
The clear soup was reduced to a shallow layer at the bottom of the bowl.
Su Zhongqing ate until her nose was slightly sweaty, and her face was full of satisfaction.
At that moment, she instantly lost the instinctive defensiveness that comes with being a stranger in a foreign land.
Su Zhongqing put down the small spoon and gently wiped the corner of her mouth.
She looked at Xu Liang somewhat embarrassed.
"Boss Xu, I've almost finished eating today. Thank you so much! This soup was especially delicious; I give it a super thumbs up!"
Xu Liang smiled and waved casually.
"Don't mention it. As long as you enjoy your meal, that's all that matters. I'm just running a business. If my customers can eat comfortably, and I can also rest assured that my small restaurant is making a profit, then my business has been worthwhile."
As he spoke, he got up and began to clean up the mostly empty soup bowl. Xu Liang's fingertips touched the outer wall of the porcelain bowl, and he could feel that the surface of the bowl still retained a trace of warmth.
Seeing this, Su Zhongqing quickly tried to get up to help, but Xu Liang stopped her.
"You can just sit and rest for a while. I can do this myself. You don't need to lift a finger."
He carried the bowl into the kitchen, rinsed it briefly in the basin of water, and arranged it neatly.
The stove was still clean and tidy, and the spicy aroma of boiled pork slices in the air had faded considerably. Mixed with the fresh fragrance of the meatball soup from earlier, it felt especially cozy.
Xu Liang leaned against the stove, his gaze casually sweeping over every corner of the kitchen.
His small restaurant has been open for so long, and he's always kept it afloat with just a few home-style dishes.
Spicy boiled pork slices and twice-cooked pork, and light vegetable and meatball soup. Most of the customers are local residents who have fixed tastes and eat heartily.
But Xu Liang knew in his heart that relying solely on these old dishes was not a long-term solution.
In his previous life, he had worked his way up in the culinary world for many years and had seen all kinds of dishes, including steamed buns, mantou, flower rolls, pancakes, and other kinds of noodles.
Served with side dishes or porridge, it can be a main course or a snack, and is acceptable to both locals and visitors.
Especially for out-of-towners like Su Zhongqing who aren't used to spicy food, soft and delicious steamed buns and savory meat buns would definitely suit their tastes better than dry rice.
Moreover, the people in the town usually eat rice as their staple food, and they rarely make noodles, and there are very few people who are good at it.
If he could make soft and chewy steamed buns and dumplings, he might be able to attract new customers and take his restaurant business to the next level.
Once the thought pops into your head, you can't suppress it anymore.
Xu Liang's heart stirred, and he subconsciously called out in his mind.
"system."
The next second, the virtual panel slowly unfolded in front of him. The simple interface displayed his current cooking skill level, the recipes he had mastered, a dish encyclopedia, and an entrance to the gold coin shop.
His fingertips slid lightly across the panel, his eyes eagerly searching for new recipes.
Steamed buns, mantou, flower rolls, shumai—the names of all kinds of noodle dishes flashed before my eyes.
Xu Liang was increasingly tempted by what he saw and couldn't wait to try it out immediately.
After searching for a long time, only one message was displayed on the system panel.
[Current cooking skill level is insufficient; advanced noodle recipes are not yet unlocked.]
Xu Liang saw this and was somewhat disappointed.
It seems that if you want to unlock the recipe for making steamed buns directly, you need to improve your cooking skills first, such as knife skills, heat control, and seasoning proficiency.
Undeterred, he continued scrolling down, when suddenly a line of inconspicuous small print caught his attention.
[Basic Dough Fermentation Techniques]
It's not a complete recipe, just a basic technique.
But for Xu Liang at this moment, it was like sending charcoal in snowy weather.
Fermentation is the foundation of all noodle dishes. How well the dough ferments directly determines whether steamed buns and dumplings will be soft and delicious.
If the dough is over-fermented, the resulting noodles will be hard and dry, making them inedible.
He immediately chose to study.
A gentle flow of information instantly flooded his mind, and all the tips and tricks for making dough were clearly imprinted in his memory.
The water temperature should be controlled at around 30 degrees Celsius, ideally not too hot to touch.
The ratio of flour to water must be precise.
Most importantly, yeast is essential for the dough to ferment quickly and become fluffy and soft.
Without yeast, relying solely on sourdough for fermentation is not only slow but also prone to turning sour. It's easy to fail if you can't control the heat and proportions properly.
Yeast powder.
Xu Liang silently repeated the name in his heart, and his eyes instantly lit up.
This ingredient is crucial for making noodles, yet there wasn't a trace of yeast in his small restaurant.
In my past life, this thing was everywhere; you could find it in supermarkets and convenience stores.
But it was the 1990s, and resources were scarce. Most shops in town only sold things like oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, needles, and thread. Such delicate kitchenware was not necessarily available.
But he didn't want to give up.
I finally got the idea to make noodles, and I also learned dough-making techniques from the system.
It would be such a waste to give up halfway just because there is no yeast.
Xu Liang made up his mind and immediately set off to town to find yeast powder.
He walked out of the kitchen and smiled at Su Zhongqing, who was still sitting at the table.
"Comrade Su, I need to go to town to buy some things. I'll lock the door when I come back in a bit."
Su Zhongqing quickly stood up and nodded: "Okay, I'll go back now. You can lock it up and go do your work."
"Then I won't bother you any longer, Mr. Xu. Thank you so much for today. I'll definitely come back again when I have time."
"Okay, you're welcome anytime!"
Xu Liang smiled and saw her to the door, watching Su Zhongqing's figure gradually disappear around the street corner.
He turned around, closed the restaurant door, and strode towards the shops in town.
The town is small, with only one main street lined with shops and general stores of all sizes on both sides.
Xu Liang knew the place well and first went into the shop closest to the restaurant.
The store was dimly lit, with shelves displaying daily necessities such as fabrics, soaps, candies, soy sauce, and vinegar. Several sales clerks sat behind the counter chatting idly.
Xu Liang walked to the condiment section and politely asked an older salesperson.
"Excuse me, do you have yeast powder here?"
The sales clerk paused for a moment upon hearing this, clearly having never heard of the product before, and shook her head with a frown.
"Yeast powder? Never heard of it. We only have alkali and baking soda here, not what you're talking about."
Xu Liang's heart sank slightly, but he was still unwilling to give up and asked another question.
"You mean a leavening powder that makes dough rise quickly? Really, there isn't one?"
"Why not just use sourdough starter to leaven the dough? Why do you need any flour?"
The salesperson waved her hand impatiently.
"No, no, why don't you try somewhere else?"
Xu Liang thanked him and turned to leave the store.
Undeterred, he continued walking along the street, entering two small, privately owned grocery stores in succession.
The general store had a more varied selection of items than a shop, with firewood, rice, oil, salt, pots and pans, snacks, and toys all crammed together.
Xu Liang asked each shop owner, but the answer was always the same: there was no yeast powder.
Many shop owners don't even know what yeast powder is.
Could I have said something wrong?
"Young man, if you want to make dough, use a starter. We never sell yeast powder around here. What's that rare stuff?"
A grocery store owner scratched his head, a look of confusion on his face.
Xu Liang smiled and explained a few words.
The other person still looked blank, and in the end, he had no choice but to leave.
Time passed slowly, the sun gradually set in the west, and the afterglow shone on the street, casting a warm glow on the houses along the roadside.
Xu Liang has already visited most of the shops and grocery stores in the town.
His legs were getting sore from walking, but there was still no sign of the yeast powder.
He leaned against the wall by the roadside, slightly out of breath, feeling inevitably a little disappointed.
Is it really impossible to buy yeast powder in town these days?
Wouldn't his newly ignited idea of making noodles be doomed to fail?
He was not reconciled.
Having finally found a new direction, I don't want to give up so easily.
Xu Liang took a deep breath and looked up at the end of the street.
At the westernmost edge of town, there is a very small grocery store in a remote location that is rarely visited.
The shop owner is an elderly gentleman who is said to have traveled all over the country in his youth and seen a lot of the world. The shop also has a wider variety of items than other shops.
This was his last hope.
If this place doesn't have it either, then he can only temporarily give up the idea of making noodles and try to improve his cooking skills or find another way.
Xu Liang walked quickly toward the west side of the town.
The further west you go, the narrower the streets become, the fewer pedestrians there are, and the surroundings gradually quiet down.
After turning a corner, a low, dilapidated hut came into view.
A faded wooden sign hung at the entrance, bearing the words "Convenience Grocery Store," which was the last grocery store he was looking for.
Xu Liang stepped forward and gently pushed open the door.
The shop was unusually quiet, and the lighting was much dimmer than outside.
The shelves were filled with all sorts of old items, some even covered with a thin layer of dust, yet they were arranged neatly.
An elderly man with gray hair and a wrinkled face sat behind the counter, wearing reading glasses, slowly wiping an old porcelain bowl.
Hearing the noise, the old man looked up at Xu Liang, his voice hoarse and gentle.
"Young man, what would you like to buy?"
Xu Liang stepped forward and asked respectfully.
"Grandpa, do you have any yeast powder here? For making dough."
He didn't have high hopes, after all, so many other companies hadn't offered any.
The possibility of this remote little shop being the source is extremely slim.
Unexpectedly, after listening, the old man's cloudy eyes lit up slightly, and he put down the porcelain bowl in his hand and nodded.
"Yeast powder? Yes, there really is."
Holy crap, I finally found it.
Xu Liang was stunned for a moment, thinking he had misheard, and quickly asked again.
"Grandpa, are you serious? There really is yeast powder?"
Why would I lie to you?
The old man smiled, stood up, and slowly walked to an old wooden cabinet on the inside. He opened the cabinet door, rummaged around inside for a while, and took out a small brown paper package.
The paper package was somewhat worn, its surface carefully bound, and two small characters were written on it with a brush.
yeast.
The old man handed the paper package to Xu Liang.
"I brought this back from when I was doing business in another city years ago. Not many people knew about it, and no one bought it. It's been sitting in the cabinet ever since. I never expected that someone would actually come to buy it today."
Xu Liang excitedly accepted the paper package.
The thin paper package was light in his hand, but to him it was like a treasure.
He carefully opened a corner of the paper package, inside was a pale yellow powder, which was the yeast powder he had been searching for all day.
"That's wonderful, that's really wonderful!"
Xu Liang could not hide his joy and quickly thanked the old man.
"Grandpa, thank you so much! I searched most of the town but couldn't find it. I never expected to find it here."
"It was just a small favor!"
The old man said with a smile.
"This thing is just sitting there anyway, as long as you can use it, that's fine."
Xu Liang quickly inquired about the price.
After the price was agreed upon, he paid the money without hesitation.
On the way, Xu Liang carefully put the yeast powder into his pocket, protecting it with utmost care, afraid of accidentally spilling it.
He thanked the old man again before happily leaving the grocery store.
Xu Liang walked briskly, his heart filled with anticipation.
With yeast powder and the dough-making techniques taught by the system, he was finally able to try making pasta dishes.
At that moment, it was as if dishes of noodles had already appeared before his eyes.
Upon returning to his small restaurant, he immediately began experimenting with dough preparation, striving to serve noodles on the table as soon as possible.
At that time, whether it's locals who love spicy food or out-of-towners like Su Zhongqing who can't get used to spicy food, it will be a great option.
Everyone can find food that suits their taste at his Xiaoliangzi Restaurant.
Xu Liang's eyes were full of anticipation for the future.
It seems his path to becoming a culinary master is about to take another step forward.