Li Ying and the little princess from Nanyang walked hand in hand into the inner courtyard. Servants had already removed the cold tea and set out fragrant tea and pastries for them.
After sipping the fragrant tea, the little princess saw that there were only the two of them. Abandoning the elaborate etiquette, regardless of her royal status, she bowed deeply to Li Ying without hesitation!
Li Ying quickly reached out to help her up.
But the little princess refused to rise.
"Boss Li, my father sent me to the capital out of desperation. I thought I'd be trapped in this imperial city for the rest of my life. Thanks to your brilliant plan, I can return to Nanyang. Please accept my bow!"
There was a glimmer of tears in her eyes, and her fair face flushed bright red. Obviously, she was overjoyed at the thought of returning soon.
Unable to decline, Li Ying accepted her bow and then helped her up. She said softly, "Your Highness flatters me. Without your full - fledged assistance in this plan, I might have become a prisoner by now."
"Thanks to the blue peacocks you secretly transported, Lu and I were able to clear our names. I should be thanking you. It's a win - win for both of us. In the future, I'll count on your support and care in Nanyang."
Since Li Ying mentioned the little princess's return, the princess snapped out of her thoughts and remembered the purpose of her visit.
"Miss Li, I'm leaving soon. My father was overjoyed when he heard the news."
"This string of South Sea pearls is a little token from my father. Although they're not tribute pearls, they've been carefully selected and are of high quality. Please don't decline."
She paused for a moment and then opened a box that her servants had just carried in.
"Miss Li, now that Lord Lu is an imperial merchant and a well - favored red - topped merchant, he must not lack for wealth. Although we've known each other for a short time, I know you don't value money.
"I know you're good at cooking and love to search for delicious food. I specially asked my father to keep an eye out. Besides the 'pineapples', there are two other novel things. I wonder if they'll be useful to you."
Li Ying looked in the direction the princess pointed. Besides the big, golden pineapple fruits, there were indeed several strange fruits of red and yellow colors.
"Our people in Nanyang accidentally discovered these fruits. The pulp is not very thick, but it tastes sweet. The fruit pits are sour and bitter, but they have a strange and unique fragrance, somewhat similar to civet coffee."
The little princess looked at Li Ying with a hint of shyness on her face. "Miss Li, I don't know much about cooking. I don't know what kind of fruits and vegetables will be helpful to you. I've just tried my best to collect some rare ones. You can give them a try. If they're not suitable, I'll ask someone to keep searching after I return home."
Those fruits were bumpy all over. From afar, they looked like colorful toads. No wonder the little princess was hesitant and thought they were not presentable.
But Li Ying's eyes lit up immediately.
She eagerly grabbed the little princess's hand, overjoyed.
"They're useful! Your Highness, this fruit is called 'cocoa fruit'. It's extremely mellow and rich when used for baking desserts. The more, the better!"
Li Ying cut open the fruit, revealing the white, sticky pulp inside. She squeezed out the excess juice without hesitation, leaving only the seeds.
Then she wrapped the seeds in large leaves, tied them tightly, and placed them in a warm and sunny place to ferment.
Since it was still hot, the cocoa fruits would develop a richer flavor after several days of fermentation, and the remaining sourness would be mostly removed.
The little princess watched Li Ying's actions curiously. After she finished, Li Ying finally said with a smile, "Your Highness, please be patient. Wait a few more days. I'll personally send the chocolate I make to your mansion for you to taste."
She put down the bag of cocoa beans and then looked at the other thing the princess had brought.
"This is hop flower. People often brew it as a stomach - soothing drink. I thought it might be useful to you, so I brought some."
Seeing Li Ying staring blankly at the tender green hops, the little princess thought she had never seen them before and kindly introduced them in a soft voice.
Li Ying then came back to her senses. Overjoyed, she buried her face in the hops and took a deep breath.
Hops were exactly beer flowers!
Currently, when making wine, glutinous rice and sorghum were mostly used to make yellow rice wine and distilled spirits.
The grape wine she made from the fresh grapes from A Man's hometown was already a rare delicacy.
But although the wine was fragrant and intoxicating, it was not suitable for heavy drinking.
On a hot summer evening, sitting at a "seafood stall" in the night market, sucking the rich juice of spicy crayfish, nothing was more refreshing than beer with its rich foam and strong fizz.
During a war, drinking could cause trouble. But when there was a great victory, a beer with a strong malt flavor to add to the fun would be wonderful.
Li Ying had wanted to brew a kind of wine with a strong and clear flavor that was not easy to get drunk on for the soldiers guarding Nanyang under Uncle Pei, but she had been at a loss without the right ingredients.
The hops the little princess brought were like timely help, exactly what she needed!
Li Ying was overjoyed. She thanked the little princess repeatedly and asked her to send more hops in the future.
The little princess also saw that Li Ying's mind was now completely on the box of fresh hops and guessed that she was eager to start working. She smiled and said, "It's great that the hops can be useful."
"Miss Li, it's getting late. I won't disturb you anymore. Before I leave, if you need anything, just send someone to let me know."
Li Ying readily agreed. After seeing the little princess off, she quickly washed her hands, cleaned the basket of hops, and then sat there, chin in hand, deep in thought.
In later generations, industrially produced lager beers often used rice, corn, starch, and even hop extract to reduce costs. The taste was relatively one - dimensional, mainly for maximizing profits. So, some of the hop flavors were sacrificed, and the taste was lighter. Good - wine lovers often joked that they were like "water beer".
She knew that under the current circumstances, it was impossible to get the precision instruments for industrial fermentation, pasteurization, and strict temperature and humidity control. But she could use only malt, hops, yeast, and water to make craft beer.
Craft beer took a longer time to ferment, but without any artificial additives, it had a higher wort concentration and a richer flavor.
By controlling the amount of hops added or adding different flavorings like coriander seeds, craft beer could be given different personalities and souls, bitter or fragrant, with an endless aftertaste.