Farmer's Wife Has Magic Skills

In the room, Chu Qingzhi sat on a chair, twirling a writing brush in her hand, deep in thought.

Shuang’er flew over, landing on the desk, and gently pecked Chu Qingzhi’s arm, “What are you thinking about…?”

Chu Qingzhi snapped back to reality, looking at Shuang’er, “I’m thinking about what new products to launch for the New Year.”

Shuang’er, developing into a little foodie, chirped, “Tasty things, just tasty things…”

Chu Qingzhi laughed, “You’re not picky, are you?”

Shuang’er rubbed its head against Chu Qingzhi’s arm, “Everything you make is tasty, everything you make is tasty…”

Pleased by Shuang’er, Chu Qingzhi took out three small caterpillars from a tiny jar and fed them to it, “Here, eat up.”

Satisfied, Shuang’er devoured the caterpillars, “Thankyou, thankyou…” Chu Qingzhi watched Shuang’er affectionately, “You’re like a treasure.” Shuang’er, previously punished and deprived of the caterpillars, felt wronged but now was in high spirits after finally getting some, “Off to rest, off to rest…” Chu Qingzhi watched as Shuang’er left, “You go rest. I still need to think about what new products to launch.”

Shuang’er didn’t disturb Chu Qingzhi any further and flew to its nest to sleep, ready for the important task tomorrow, determined not to make any more mistakes.

Chu Qingzhi’s fingers kept twirling the writing brush, finding its length quite comfortable to hold. After pondering for half an hour, she came up with several ideas: pork jerky, sachima (a type of sweet), potato chips, and peanut candy. Many delicious options were available, but the raw materials were somewhat lacking, and some were not available, making them impossible to make for now.

After deciding, Chu Qingzhi wrote down the production processes of these four snacks in detail on paper, timing each step accurately, and then headed to the workshop.

A room had been specifically built in the workshop area for Chu Qingzhi to experiment with new products, named the “New Product Room.” This room was spacious and fully equipped with everything needed, locked up and accessible only to Chu Qingzhi.

Unlocking the door, Chu Qingzhi entered.

Inside, a barrier made of spiritual energy protected everything, keeping all items as clean as new and neatly arranged.

Chu Qingzhi glanced around the room, then turned to fetch the required raw materials from the storeroom to the New Product Room.

The first trial was pork jerky.

Using the back leg part of the pork, chopped into mince, adding various seasonings, stirred in one direction, then set aside to marinate for a while.

During this time, Chu Qingzhi prepared flour in a basin, added eggs, salt, yeast, and water, and mixed it into a dough for sachima. She covered it to let it rise.

With some time left, she took ten large potatoes, washed, peeled, and sliced them thinly, boiling them with a pinch of salt until transparent, then frying them until golden brown. Seasoned with light salt and chili powder, they were tossed to mix evenly, malting a batch of delicious original-flavor potato chips. Tasting a chip, Chu Qingzhi found it to be fragrant and crispy, “Quite a success.”

Now, it was time to move on to the next step for the pork jerky…

Spreading the marinated mince on a baking tray, covered with parchment paper, then using a rolling pin to flatten it, removing the paper, and ensuring the mince filled the tray. Sprinkling white sesame seeds on top, it was then baked in the oven.

After washing her hands, Chu Qingzhi toasted the sesame seeds.

As the pork jerky finished baking, she removed it from the oven, drained the excess water, brushed both sides with honey, and continued baking to bring out the flavor.

Chu Qingzhi then prepared the sachima by boiling sugar and maltose into a syrup, mixing it with the fried noodles, pressing them into a pan, and sprinkling sesame seeds, walnuts, and crushed peanuts on top before pressing again and allowing it to cool.

Cutting the pork jerky into pieces, she found it to be thin, translucent, fragrant, colorful, and glossy.

Tasting a piece, she enjoyed the combination of dry, aromatic, fresh, sweet, and salty flavors, which became more pronounced with each chew, “Not bad!” The pork jerky turned out well, as did the potato chips. Chu Qingzhi then cut the sachima into pieces and tried them. Crunchy and soft, with a sweet sensation on the tongue complemented by the fragrance of sesame, walnuts, and peanuts, it was delicious.

Pleased with herself, Chu Qingzhi thought, “A pastry chef would be proud.” The peanut candy was simpler: toasting sesame seeds and peanuts, crushing the peanuts, boiling sugar with vinegar until dark brown, mixing in the peanut and sesame, pressing into a pan to set, and then cutting into pieces.

Tasting a piece of peanut candy, she found it rich in peanut flavor, enhanced by the sesame, offering a layered taste. Various nuts like walnuts and almonds could be added for different flavors.

All four new products were successfully developed.

Chu Qingzhi placed the products in a basket lined with parchment paper to take home for a taste test.

A cleaning spell tidied up the New Product Room, and she left with the basket, now deep into the night, with everyone else having gone to bed. Chu Qingzhi brought the treats back to her room, planning to share them with everyone the next day.

In the Anhuai Kingdom, Xun City, inside the palace.

Wu Yaqing tossed and turned, longing to see Lu Yichen, whom she hadn’t seen for months.

Now that Lu Yichen was in Xun City, but with the palace barrier and her mother’s firm intervention, seeing him seemed as difficult as reaching the sky. Wu Yaqing sighed repeatedly before lying back on the bed, looking up at the heavens in despair.

Suddenly, a slight noise came through, and the bed curtains swayed as if a breeze had entered through the window.

Wu Yaqing became alert, listening intently and slowly sitting up.

She gently lifted the bed curtain to peek outside, finding darkness and silence, nothing unusual.

Just as she was about to retreat, a voice came from the darkness, “Yaqing.”

The familiar, deep voice instantly tugged at Wu Yaqing’s heartstrings. She hurriedly got out of bed and rushed towards the voice, throwing herself into Lu Yichen’s arms, “Yichen!”