Transmigrating with a Five Million Dollar Retirement Life

Chapter 132 Butter Workshop

With the matter settled, Song Jiaojiao was no longer in a hurry. She divided the cake she had made into several portions, gave one to Liu Xuewen, took one for herself, and put the rest in the cellar so that Mu Qing and the others could eat it when they had time.

Liu Xuewen scooped a piece into his mouth with a spoon. The sweet grape jam paired with the creamy, melt-in-your-mouth cream, along with the soft bread, made for a much better taste than eating the cake base alone. He also paired it with a cup of fragrant milk tea. He devised a simple afternoon tea by taking a bite of dessert and a sip of milk tea.

"The shapes on these can be made in different ways. For example, children's ones can be made into small animals like puppies and kittens, while the elderly can be made into longevity peaches and pine trees. You can also write blessings on them. In short, whatever you want, the key is to be creative."

Liu Xuewen ate and nodded, wondering where Song Jiaojiao got so many strange and wonderful ideas from.

With the business in the shop gradually stabilizing, Song Jiaojiao figured it was time to go to the estate.

A few days after the heavy rain, Song Jiaojiao and Liu Xuewen arrived at the village.

"Sister Song, this is my estate." Liu Xuewen said from inside the carriage, and Song Jiaojiao lifted the curtain to look outside.

Just as Liu Xuewen said, the village is quite spacious, all yellow earth, with no paddy fields. There are several water storage ponds in the village, and it had rained a couple of days ago, so there is quite a bit of water in the ponds.

Knowing that the master was coming today, the steward of the estate had brought the servants to wait at the gate of the estate early in the morning.

Seeing the carriage approaching, the steward jogged a few steps, a smile plastered on his face. Just as Liu Xuewen was about to step forward after getting off the carriage, he saw a woman getting off as well. His master had been particularly patient with her, so he assumed she was his wife.

"Master, Madam, I am Zhou Fu, the steward of this estate. All the rooms in the estate have been cleaned. You have been traveling by carriage for so long, why don't you rest for a while?"

Liu Xuewen has never visited this estate since he bought it; it's mostly his subordinates who take care of it. He really doesn't recognize the steward.

"Sister Song, do you think we should rest for a while first, or go and check out the place?" Liu Xuewen didn't answer Zhou Fu's question, but instead asked Song Jiaojiao for her opinion.

"Let's go take a look first. It's not far from the county town. Butler Zhou, could you please show us around?" Song Jiaojiao said to Butler Zhou with a smile.

"It's my duty, sir and madam, please follow me." Butler Zhou said respectfully as he walked to Liu Xuewen's side and led the way.

"Steward Zhou, I see there are no paddy fields on the estate. What do you mainly grow?" Song Jiaojiao asked with a smile.

"We usually grow drought-resistant crops like sweet potatoes, corn, and wheat. Our village doesn't have much water. We mainly rely on a few wells for water, and the crops in the land depend entirely on the weather."

"How was the harvest this year?" Song Jiaojiao continued to ask.

"This year is a good year, with favorable weather and a better harvest than in previous years, but it's only enough to cover basic expenses. Right now, we're planting sweet potatoes, as well as some mung beans, black beans, and the like." Butler Zhou was happy to think about how good the harvest was this year and that he didn't need to rely on the employer for subsidies, and he kept smiling.

"Well, this year is still pretty good. The housekeeper should know why we're here, right?" Song Jiaojiao asked knowingly.

"Yes, the higher-ups have already given the order, and the estate will cooperate fully." Ten days ago, the higher-ups said that the estate would be used for workshops, cattle raising, and so on. For Steward Zhou, doing anything might be better than relying on God for their livelihood.

"Alright, Steward Zhou, please take us to see the room layout on the estate first. We still need to think about where to renovate."

"Yes, sir and madam, please come this way."

……

The entire estate consists of three courtyards. The front row is the servants' quarters, the middle is the outer courtyard, and the innermost is the inner courtyard. Between the inner and outer courtyards is a small garden, which is now filled with common flowers that are blooming beautifully.

Over the next few days, Song Jiaojiao ordered all the servants to move to the outer courtyard. All the servants' rooms in the front were requisitioned; those that could be used were moved directly to the kang (heated brick bed), while those that could not be used for kangs were demolished and rebuilt.

They worked frantically for half a month to finally finish making the kang (heated brick bed). Once the kang was dry, they could test whether it would be successful.

Today, Song Jiaojiao had a lot of milk bought back. The first few rooms that could be used had already had their kang (heated brick beds) heated. As soon as the door was opened, you could clearly feel the dryness of the air. It was so hot inside that it was unbearable to stay for a while.

Song Jiaojiao had someone seal the fresh milk in oiled paper gauze and put it in the room to ferment naturally for two days.

Liu Xuewen had already returned to Beijing the day after they arrived. After all, he still had to present the recipe for sour plum soup and couldn't wait any longer, or the summer would be over.

Fortunately, the servants in the manor were quite obedient. They did whatever Song Jiaojiao said without any dissatisfaction. The manor wasn't profitable to begin with, and the master had to subsidize it every year. If they encountered a heartless master, buying it would be a minor matter; the real danger was that the master would ignore everything and not care about the lives of the servants. Now that someone had come and given them hope, how could they not seize the opportunity?

Song Jiaojiao was also quite concerned about this experiment. She personally directed the entire process, fearing that if anything went wrong, it would have to be started all over again.

Fortunately, the result was satisfactory. Except for one bucket that failed because it was too close to the window, all the other milk fermented without growing mold, just as she had guessed. As long as the moisture in the air could be reduced to meet the requirements, it could be made even here.

The rest went smoothly. Liu Xuewen left two people for Song Jiaojiao, mainly to manage the butter workshop later. After explaining the process of making butter and milk curds, as well as the precautions, Song Jiaojiao prepared to return to the county. As for buying and raising cattle, Song Jiaojiao no longer concerned herself with it.

Before we knew it, it was early August, and the Lower Yuan Festival was just around the corner.

This time, Song Jiaojiao planned to take Mu Qing and the others back with her, and leave half a day to Liu Xuewen's people. Song Jiaojiao and her team only needed to research new snacks and drinks in the back.

Early in the morning, Song Jiaojiao bid farewell to the three stewards and headed to the county in a carriage. The weather was starting to turn cool, and more people on the street were wearing autumn clothes. It was just a matter of waiting for a rain, and the weather would become completely cold.

Half-day leisure business is not as popular as it is in hot weather. Although milk tea no longer comes with ice and can be ordered warm, the number of people coming to half-day leisure is gradually decreasing. Most of the people Liu Xuewen brought back went to open new stores in other places after they finished learning, leaving only a few people behind.