Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 440: Different Species, Naturally Different Tastes
Chen Nuo added just a little bit of oil to the pot, then looked up at the man and said, "Watch, with only this small amount of oil, the potato skins won’t stick to the pot and be unable to come off."
The man’s gaze toward Chen Nuo was somewhat evasive because Chen Nuo had indeed refuted him well, and he did not know how to continue the conversation.
Chen Nuo took the sliced potatoes and imitated the man’s method of frying them in oil; the oil sizzled when it touched the potato skins, which emitted a charred aroma after being fried.
This smell was even more fragrant than the stir-fried vegetables from earlier, and just by the aroma, one could guess that the potatoes must be delicious.
Because the potato chunks were large and not easy to cook through, Chen Nuo kept turning them with chopsticks, an action that seemed to roast the onlookers’ stomachs over the fire, as they could only watch but not eat, their mouths watering.
Someone couldn’t help but swallow self-consciously, "Young master, is it ready yet?"
"Almost, the insides are not fully cooked yet," Chen Nuo continued to turn the potatoes leisurely.
"Young master, can’t you turn up the heat a bit more?" the man asked again, "The smell is really too tempting, I’ve waited so long, and it’s still not ready; I’m getting hungry."
Chen Nuo smiled, "You could buy a couple of liangs of oil and stir-fry at home, you can make it yourself too, I can guarantee, as long as it doesn’t burn, the taste should be quite similar to mine."
The man actually had some desire to buy, but he wanted to eat the fried potatoes in Chen Nuo’s hands even more, so he swallowed and said to Chen Nuo, "If the taste of these fried potatoes is indeed good, I will buy a few liangs of oil."
"That would be great."
As they spoke, the potatoes were ready, and Chen Nuo, as usual, placed the potatoes on a plate and passed them to the onlooking crowd for tasting.
As they picked up the potatoes, Chen Nuo said with a smile, "This time the oil used for frying the potatoes is soybean oil, this oil doesn’t smell as fragrant as peanut oil, but the volume is large, and it’s also cheaper."
The onlooking crowd took the potatoes, took a bite, and put them in their mouths.
The potato skins were golden yellow, with some areas a more well-cooked golden brown, the flavor very fragrant, directly appealing to the soul.
The inside retained the original taste of the potato, grainy and mushy, still sprinkled with a bit of salt on top, making the taste not too bland and compelling one to keep eating without wanting to stop.
It was a pity that there was only such a small piece of potato, and once eaten, there was no more.
After finishing the potato, people looked around at others nearby, wanting to express their amazement together; they didn’t dare to make too big a fuss, only emphatically nodding at each other to confirm that the oil-fried potatoes really tasted good.
Seeing the reaction of the crowd, Chen Nuo was already sure that today this oil would not only sell out but even sell several times better than he had anticipated.
"How is it? Does it taste good?" Chen Nuo looked at the man who had been urging at the beginning and asked, "Don’t you think it’s worth buying my oil?"
"It’s more than worth it, it’s exactly like striking gold," the man praised, "Not only is this oil cheap, it can even make a simple potato taste so good, I believe you now, it’s one wen per liang, right? I’ll buy ten liangs to start with, and after I finish it I’ll come back here to buy more."
With one person setting the precedent, others followed suit.
"I’ll buy five liangs!"
"I’ll buy ten liangs, too!"
After the portion of potatoes was finished, already several people had bought oil, though not in great amounts, and most had purchased the cheapest soybean oil.
But at the very least, it was a start, and once that initial step had been taken, the rest would be easier to handle. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
The one who started selling potatoes had also tasted the potatoes fried in oil by Chen Nuo and admitted that the flavor was indeed much better than his own water-fried ones, and as Chen Nuo said, they didn’t stick to the pan at all.
So, he was tempted and calculated in his mind, pulling out a string of coins and approaching Chen Nuo, "Ahem, give me thirty taels’ worth for now. If business is good, I will purchase from you regularly."
The most important thing for such a business transaction was to have some long-term partnerships. Although the man’s stall was small, who could predict the changes of the times?
Chen Nuo was, of course, very happy to do so and took out a glass bottle from behind him, filled it with thirty taels of soybean oil, and handed it to the potato vendor.
Even though they had all bought oil, none of them left. Chen Nuo had only introduced two types of oil so far, and there were two more types he hadn’t introduced yet.
"Young master, you have introduced two types of oil already. What about the other two?"
Chen Nuo laid his hand on the canola oil barrel, "This is canola oil."
"Canola oil? Seeds from what type of vegetable?" someone asked.
"It’s from the seeds of rapeseed." Chen Nuo explained, "This is specifically for oil extraction, but we don’t have these seeds locally. I brought them from other places."
"Rapeseed?" The crowd looked at each other in confusion, as they had never heard of it before.
"Is this rapeseed the same vegetable as lettuce?" someone voiced their confusion.
"No." Chen Nuo clarified, "Rapeseed will bloom into rapeseed flowers when it grows, and then the seeds will appear after the flowers wilt. It’s not the same thing as lettuce."
"I see." The person felt somewhat disappointed, as they had thought they’d discovered something that could bring wealth. It turned out not to be the same thing, which was quite disappointing.
"How much does this canola oil cost?" someone didn’t want to dwell on petty things and inquired.
"The canola oil is not expensive," Chen Nuo asserted, tapping the price list with his finger, "The more you buy, the cheaper it is."
"Less than one wen for a tael, less than two wens for three taels. I sell it starting at five taels, and five taels of oil is only four wens. It’s something common folks can afford."
"Indeed, it’s not expensive."
The onlookers whispered among themselves. Generally, seasoning would cost much more than this. It seemed the young master really wanted to promote the use of oil in the town.
At such prices, almost anyone who wasn’t exceptionally poor could afford it. Factoring it into their daily expenses wouldn’t cause their households to become strapped for cash suddenly.
"Young master, what dishes can be made with this canola oil?" someone hit upon the key question.
No sooner had the person spoken than the rest of the onlookers fell silent and stared at Chen Nuo, eager to see what tasty dishes he could make with this oil.
"This oil is darker in color, a bit deeper than soybean oil and the other oils," Chen Nuo scooped out the oil, lifting it high to pour into the pan, so everyone could see the oil’s color.
"However, I’d like to correct something. Whether you like to use which type of oil for cooking depends on your own taste. Regardless of the oil, the taste will be much the same. The focus isn’t on the oil, it’s on what you cook and your cooking skills."
"So you mean, whether frying greens or pan-frying potatoes, it doesn’t matter much which oil we use, right?" someone grasped Chen Nuo’s point.
Chen Nuo nodded and gave the person a thumbs-up, "This brother has got it right, that’s what I mean."
The man felt a bit embarrassed being praised in front of everyone, especially receiving compliments from someone so handsome. Scratching his head with a laugh, he said, "It’s just that you explained it so clearly, young master."
