As agreed, today was the day for Zhu'er to deliver coffee.
Previously, the island had harvested quite a number of pearls that were either not round or had impurities.
Lian Ji and those water bandits wouldn't take these things, and the villagers didn't care much either. So they were casually discarded in the corners.
According to Li Ying's instructions, Zhu'er had brought all the flawed pearls today and was waiting for her at Granny Sun's place.
Li Ying received the coffee. She sorted through the pearls, keeping some oddly - shaped ones with interesting forms, and grinding the rest into fine pearl powder.
Half of this pearl powder was sold to Deji Hall as medicinal materials, while the other half was sent directly to the hot - pot restaurant.
For every special drink ordered, a commemorative seal could be printed. The patterns were hawthorn, perilla, and osmanthus, all drawn by Yan Lianzhi. Li Ying pestered the old man for several rounds of side dishes for his drinks before he reluctantly picked up the brush.
Once a customer had collected all three seals, they could exchange them for a pearl - powder hand - care treatment when dining at the hot - pot restaurant.
Hands that had been thickly coated with milk, honey, and pearl powder were smoother, fairer, and more delicate than those cared for with ordinary coconut oil. Many girls who had experienced it were immediately smitten and flocked to Deji Hall to buy pearl powder, planning to follow Li Ying's method to apply it on their faces at home.
There was a handicraft workshop opened in the night market, specializing in selling "cleansing cheese".
Most of the women in the town used water and Chinese honey locust to wash their faces. Li Ying adapted to the local customs and tried it a few times. She only felt that although it produced rich foam, it lacked moisture and the skin - feel wasn't very comfortable.
The northern goats raised by A Man and his men had given birth to the first batch of lambs. The ewes were fed with herbs and supported by Deji Hall, so the milk yield was quite abundant.
The surplus goat milk was perfect for making soap.
All kinds of seashells commonly seen in the fishing village were washed and burned, then pounded into powder. Wood ash was boiled, and the lye was filtered out through fine gauze.
The seashell powder was poured into the lye, stirred evenly, and filtered again. After precipitation, the clear liquid on the upper layer was left. After it cooled down, coconut oil and crushed coarse salt were added and stirred in one direction. The saponification reaction turned the lye into a paste, at which point the pre - prepared goat milk cheese could be added.
Each bar of the shaped goat - milk soap was stamped with the label "Fishing Village Li's". Whether used for washing the face or hands, it was extremely gentle and had a faint smell of coconut and milk, which made people feel happy just by smelling it.
Sure enough, once this handmade soap was launched, it became very popular.
Li Ying posted a poster in the cat café, detailing all the uses of coffee grounds: composting for growing vegetables, absorbing odors, making body scrubs, and finally, making coffee household soap.
The coffee grounds were placed in the corner of the cat café, and all customers could take them for free.
After experiencing the benefits of the goat - milk cleansing cheese, almost all the women couldn't resist taking some coffee grounds and excitedly going to Li's Soap Workshop to make coffee household soap by themselves.
The cleaning ability of the household soap was hundreds or thousands of times better than that of Chinese honey locust. A small bar could last for several months and was very easy to store. It was taken by fishing boats to neighboring towns and sold out. Within three days, men, women, and children within a hundred - mile radius all knew that the fishing village had come up with a new thing called "coffee".
When Zhang Lu returned to the village to report the news, Li Ying was calmly preparing new products for the canning factory.
Crisp and hard fresh peaches were rubbed carefully with coarse salt to remove the fuzz on the surface, then pitted and cut into small pieces.
They were mixed evenly with an appropriate amount of sea salt, slightly pickled to remove the excess water, and then washed and drained.
The fresh young ginger still had an endearing pink color. It had a slightly spicy and crispy taste. After being washed and sliced, it was also pickled with salt.
A large handful of perilla leaves were picked and chopped. Then crushed rock - sugar powder and rice vinegar were added. After thoroughly kneading with clean hands until a large amount of dark - purple juice was produced, the prepared peaches and ginger slices were added and mixed evenly. After being pickled overnight, they could be sealed in bamboo tubes.
Since all the ingredients had been sterilized with salt and the weather had turned a bit cooler, they could be stored for ten to fifteen days without any problem.
This perilla peach and ginger dish preserved the last bit of summer freshness. Each piece of peach flesh was dyed a beautiful pink by the perilla. It was sweet and sour and appetizing. The ginger slices were crispy with a slight spiciness, making every bite extremely appetizing.
A basket of hawthorns was washed, pitted, pickled with sugar overnight, and then poured into a pot to simmer over low heat.
A small pinch of salt was added to enhance the flavor. When all the sugar juice coated the hawthorns like amber, the heat was turned off, and they were put into bamboo tubes.
All the sugar had seeped into the hawthorn pulp, blending perfectly. The pectin that had precipitated made the hawthorn cheese sweet, glutinous, and sticky. It was a top - grade appetizer for digestion.
The boatmen from each village rarely had access to fresh fruits and vegetables once they went out to sea. Once these fruit cans were launched, they were very popular. Especially after they heard that eating these fruit cans could supplement vitamins and prevent scurvy, they all flocked to buy them.
Li Ying informed Lu Xunguang that all customers who bought fruit cans could enjoy a buy - one - get - one - free offer on the seasonal special drinks at the coffee shop by presenting the used bamboo tubes.
As soon as this was announced, the boatmen brought their families and swarmed in. After getting off the boat, they would first try the special drinks, then take some coffee grounds to the night market to make household soap. By the time they were done, it was already getting late. It was just the right time to buy some night - market snacks and go to the hot - pot restaurant for a late - night meal.
For a while, the fishing village was flooded with guests. Every household was busy on their feet, and everyone had a beaming smile on their face.
A Man and Granny Sun were helping Li Ying stamp the "brand trademark" of the fishing village on the goat - milk cleansing cheese while chatting casually.
"Lian Ji must be regretting it to the core by now. Even if she's wealthy, she's no match for you, sister!"
Li Ying wrapped the soaps one by one in oil paper. Hearing this, she slightly squinted her eyes and gave a faint smile.
No, it's far from over.
Since she had decided to wage a full - scale war against Lian Ji, she had to be meticulous in every aspect.
She calculated the time. It should be time for them to arrive.
Li Ying stood up and clapped her hands. Sure enough, there was a respectful voice from outside the door.
"Boss Li, we got your message during the day. As soon as the shop closed, we rushed over. What are your instructions?"
The speaker was Bao Guiyou, the shopkeeper of Yufengxiang. Behind him were Song Heng, the shopkeeper of Jueweifang, who was timid and smiling humbly, and Qi Lebang, the shopkeeper of Zuixianju.
Since these three had obtained her recipes, their shops had been bustling with customers every day, and their business had been booming. They no longer dared to have any second thoughts and obeyed Li Ying's every order.
Li Ying put on an apron, smiled, and said softly, "It's nothing too important. I just thought of a few new seasonal dishes and want to teach you all."
Hearing this, the three of them didn't hide their ecstasy at all and nodded repeatedly.
As Li Ying led them to the kitchen to prepare, she said calmly, "I won't charge a single cent for these recipes. However, I do have a small condition."