832 Popping Corn
A piece of butter could cost 12 dollars here. Although cakes made with butter were sweet and delicious, the cost also increased greatly, so no one really used this ingredient much.
To Qiao Mei and those shops with good reputations, it was nothing to buy a piece of butter for 12 dollars. They could easily earn back the cost.
“Is this what you want to buy?” Xia He asked as she pointed at the piece of butter.
“That’s right, I’ll go home and make something delicious for you!” Qiao Mei said.
The moment she heard that there was something delicious to eat, Xia He immediately followed closely behind Qiao Mei. As long as there was good food, what was there to be afraid of? Even if she had to walk another three or four more rounds today, she would not have a problem!
“Then tell me, what kind of delicious food is it?” Xia He asked.
“Popcorn!” Qiao Mei said.
Xia He instantly lost her interest. Popcorn was not something rare. It was the kind of thing where one put some corn inside a huge iron jar and popped the corn under high pressure. There was nothing special about the taste, only a faint corn fragrance.
“I thought it is going to be something nice. I’ve eaten this before,” Xia He said.
Qiao Mei shook her head confidently and said, “Whatever I make is different from what you usually see. Mine is called sweet popcorn and it tastes much better than the ones on the market! Just wait and see!”
Soon, the things that they bought from the mall were delivered to the house. When they renovated Li Gui’s house, they specially left a spot in the kitchen for the oven. Now, they just needed to ask the master to install it.
In the end, the corn became the problem that stumped Qiao Mei. She could not just throw the entire piece of corn into the pot. The corn kernels needed to be peeled off first. Given that Xia He was around, she could not use her energy to make the corn kernels fall off the corn by themselves. She could only peel them off manually.
“There’s so much corn. When can we finish…” Xia He looked at the piles of corn in Li Gui’s backyard and fell into deep thought.
Everyone worked together and sat in the backyard to pick corn kernels. Each person even figured out his or her own way to pick corn kernels quickly.
Although this process was cumbersome, they did it happily.
Li Gui still sold out all the seeds today. Not only did she have new customers, but there were also many repeat customers. Some people were even waiting at the place where Li Gui usually set up her stall just to buy seeds from her. They were worried that they would miss out if they were too late.
“Why did you buy so much corn?” Li Gui asked curiously.
“Mom! You’re back! We also don’t know what elder sister wants to do. She’s making something delicious in the kitchen,” Zhang Qin said.
Qiao Mei modified the frying pan that she had bought. She removed the top of the pan lid and replaced it with a stick so that she could easily stir the corn inside. This way, it would be more convenient and the corn would not just fly everywhere.
She heated the pot slightly on the stove and poured a portion of the corn in. Then she covered it and stirred it gently. When the water on the surface of the corn had evaporated, she cut off a small piece of butter and placed it in.
Now, she just had to slowly stir through the lid and wait for the corn in the pot to pop.
Not long after, the fragrance spread out. The entire courtyard was filled with a sweet smell. Many neighbors stopped to look into the courtyard when they passed by the door.
“It’s done! Everyone, come and try it!” Qiao Mei said as she came out with a large basin of popcorn.
The children ran happily from the backyard, their small eyes wide open. They had never seen such delicious popcorn.
“Elder sister! Did you put white sugar in it? Why is it so delicious?” Zhang Miao asked curiously.
“I made it with butter. It’s different from making it with white sugar! Isn’t it delicious?” Qiao Mei said as she patted Zhang Miao’s head.
Li Gui kept singing praises after eating it. Once the seeds were sold out, she could sell this popcorn! The seeds could only be harvested in those few months every year. Corn was available anytime.
However, Qiao Mei felt that this corn was still a little lacking. Perhaps it was because of the variety of the corn. It seemed that she should crossbreed a new variety herself.
Otherwise, the taste and texture would not be as attractive and would not make people as obsessed with it as with the seeds.
