Chapter 511 - 512: Experiment
Chapter 511: Chapter 512: Experiment
Gu Kaiyuan placed the recipe directly in front of them. Of course, he had copied it out again—he couldn’t let his wife’s precious handwriting fall into the hands of outsiders.
"Would I lie to you?
"I’ve already had someone buy a grinding stone for the backyard kitchen. You guys go try it out first. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just come ask me."
Chen Qingmu had calmed down a bit by now, but he still didn’t dare to accept it. "Mr. Gu, you have already given us so much. We wouldn’t dare take this."
"Yeah, if we took this, our grandfather would beat the crap out of us when we get back," Chen Zihuan chimed in. They knew their old man too well. To put it nicely, he was rigidly upright; to put it harshly, he was downright pedantic.
In the entire imperial court, there wasn’t a single official like him—a man who could barely afford to feed his own family. If he found out they had accepted a secret recipe from Gu Kaiyuan for no reason—a recipe lucrative enough to build a livelihood upon—there was no telling how he would punish them. He might even suspect Gu Kaiyuan of harboring ulterior motives. So, as much as they loved this recipe, it was a hot potato they were afraid to touch.
Gu Kaiyuan said, "Although it’s a secret recipe, it still requires solid, hard work and diligence to build a business out of it. This is strictly between you and me. You’ve helped me solve so many problems lately, so consider this a gift to help you establish yourselves in the future."
Chen Qingmu and the other three looked at him with eyes full of gratitude. Chen Zihuan quickly added, "Mr. Gu, please don’t say that. It was our duty to do those things. You paid us so handsomely, and we even seized the opportunity to purchase some properties for ourselves. We wouldn’t have even dared to dream of that before."
Even though they had to pair up to buy a single manor, it was incredible that they finally had properties of their own at their age. With a little spare cash in hand, they were already doing much better than their brothers and uncles back in the capital. To accept Gu Kaiyuan’s recipe on top of all that would just be greedy.
Gu Kaiyuan glared, shoving the recipe right in front of them. "You don’t need to worry about your old man. If he has a problem with it, tell him to come talk to me himself.
"Besides, this is just a mutual exchange of favors between us. Don’t tell me you’re afraid I’ll come knocking at your door begging for help later on?"
Although that was a possibility, Gu Kaiyuan certainly wouldn’t admit it right now.
"Of course not," Chen Qingmu hastily said. "If you ever need anything in the future, just give the word. Even if my father is unwilling to help, the few of us will do everything in our power, no matter how insignificant our status might be."
Having been by Gu Kaiyuan’s side for so long, they had learned a lot. Furthermore, Gu Kaiyuan was excellent at delegating authority, which allowed them to grow even faster. They weren’t blockheads; how could they fail to see that Gu Kaiyuan was doing this intentionally? Even the indentured servants he had bought didn’t enjoy the same level of trust as they did.
"Since we’ve laid it all out, if you don’t accept this, it means you’re looking down on this little secret recipe of mine.
"Like I said, go try it out. If it works for you, you need to have a livelihood of your own.
"I’m sure you’ve figured out Chen Dafu’s true motive for sending you to me by now. You have some savings, but you can’t just sit around and eat your way through your fortune.
"So, study this carefully. I believe it will be extremely popular in the capital."
Since Gu Kaiyuan had put it that way, the young men of the Chen Family were tempted to give it a try. After all, it was an opportunity delivered right to their doorstep. If they really rejected it, they were afraid they’d regret it later.
Thus, after expressing their sincere thanks, they followed Gu Kaiyuan to the backyard. It seemed everything had been prepared in advance: there were soaked beans, a grinding stone, a large stove, and some tools nearby that they didn’t recognize.
Gu Kaiyuan didn’t do the hands-on work himself. He had experimented with it before, so he called over Song He to teach them while he slipped away to the courtyard to enjoy some peace and quiet.
When Bai Suihe saw him return so quickly, she knew he was playing the hands-off Shopkeeper again. She immediately shoved their newly awakened daughter into his arms. "Your daughter is fussing about wanting to go out and play. Why don’t you take her for a walk?"
Gu Kaiyuan held his daughter up so they were at eye level. "Baby, is what your mother said true? Do you really want to go out and play?"
Gu Xingyang nodded excitedly. "Daddy, are you teaching people how to make tofu? Why don’t you take me to see the fun?"
Gu Kaiyuan glanced at Bai Suihe. It seemed this mother-daughter duo had already plotted this before he even got back. "Let Daddy drink some water, and I’ll take you to see it in a bit.
"However, the process is quite long and boring. Don’t go complaining that you’re tired later."
Gu Xingyang nodded her little head. "Don’t worry, Daddy. I definitely won’t fuss or make a scene."
That was something only an ignorant toddler would do. She, Gu Xingyang, wasn’t that childish.
"What’s so interesting about tofu? You’ve seen it before," Gu Kaiyuan said, feeling that it would definitely be boring to stand around there holding a child. "Daddy will take you for a walk on the streets instead."
Gu Xingyang thought that was fine, too. It didn’t matter where they went; she just didn’t want to be cooped up in the house all day.
Bai Suihe listened to their exchange without interrupting. She needed to figure out a way to send the child away so she could peacefully work in the pharmacy. Otherwise, the clingy little girl would follow her everywhere. The pharmacy wasn’t a suitable place for her; if she accidentally got contaminated with some medicinal powder, she would be the one to suffer.
Once the father and daughter left, Bai Suihe immediately turned and entered the pharmacy. Drawing on the medical knowledge she had recently learned and some memories in her head, she wanted to see if she could produce penicillin.
Although there were many medicines in her spatial domain, they didn’t dare bring them out casually for anyone outside their family of three. In ancient times, a random virus or a slight cold could easily claim a life. If Bai Suihe could synthesize that medicine, it would be considered a blessing to this plane of existence.
In the corner of the room sat several baskets of oranges. A few of them were already completely covered in mold. Bai Suihe carefully took them out. She had purposefully left them here just for this very moment.
She took out all the simple glass vessels she had previously stored in her spatial domain. Whether it succeeded or failed, she had to try.
Once she dove into her experiment, Bai Suihe lost all track of time. Fortunately, Zisu and the others understood her habits well and came to remind her when it was time to eat.
Once she threw herself into research, her momentum couldn’t be stopped. Thus, Gu Kaiyuan had to take over the heavy responsibility of childcare, bringing his chubby daughter along to various social engagements every day. And surprisingly, relying purely on her toothless smiles, she managed to coax a massive pile of greeting gifts out of people.
However, whenever she happily wanted to show off her haul to her mother, her mother was always hiding away working. Feeling wronged, she could only stow all those things away in a chest, planning to give them all to her mother later.
Bai Suihe failed, and failed again. Just when she was on the verge of giving up, it seemed she had finally succeeded.
Staring at the tiny bit of results in the glass vessel, Bai Suihe couldn’t wait to find a test subject. She packed up her things and headed to the breeding area in the backyard, where rabbits and little mice had been specially prepared for them...