Chapter 269: Baking Bread On The First Day Of Summer Vacation
“That’s the whole process of that military officer and my brother getting to know each other.”
Xiang Chuan sat on the sofa in her family’s classroom, biting on a straw while giving a simple wrap-up to the story she heard from Li Wei and Xiang Qi after dinner last night.
“……Wait, how did it suddenly jump from that officer going to the Agricultural University straight to the end? Even AI novels online don’t skip plot that fast.”
Ainuo precisely complained.
“No choice, they only said yesterday that they happened to meet at school, hit it off right away after chatting, and heard that the military officer had met me, so Brother Xiang Qi directly invited him to visit home, and he’s got nowhere to stay on the main ship side right now, which is kinda pitiful.”
Hearing this, even the silent Ouyang Yating and Liang Gong nearby almost choked on their half-finished juice and milk.
Ouyang Yating quickly recovered from her embarrassment and solemnly explained to Xiang Chuan:
“Ahem……cough……Xiang Chuan, our main ship isn’t so poor that we’d mistreat the visiting Exploration Force. From the information I’ve heard, the government has arranged for them to stay long-term at the high-class hotel on the main ship. If they want to stay here temporarily long-term, the government will even provide housing subsidies according to our Exploration Force welfare standards. Pitiful is absolutely out of the question.”
Liang Gong and Ainuo nearby also nodded repeatedly.
“Ah? Is that so?” Xiang Chuan was stunned for a moment. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have let him stay over. From what that military officer said, it seems like he plans to freeload meals at my house long-term……No way, I need my brother to ask him for meal expenses.”
With that, Xiang Chuan immediately opened her terminal and sent a message to Xiang Qi.
She couldn’t afford to wait—soldiers’ appetites have always ranked top three among all professions from ancient times to now. And based on Xiang Chuan’s observations in the Military Escort Ship canteen, plus watching Li Wei devour three plates of beef fried noodles in one go last night, then casually eat four buns and three pieces of cake while watching live TV series with Xiang Xue and Lin Ming, she already had a clear cognition of modern soldiers’ appetites. She clearly realized that if they didn’t start collecting meal expenses soon, the family’s food stocks would be completely cleared out within the next three months.
Not to mention these few who would be staying long-term here during summer vacation.
Xiang Chuan blinked her eyes, looking at her club’s members.
“That’s not the point, is it……”
Ouyang Yating rubbed her forehead, while Ainuo and Liang Gong had expressions like the kid couldn’t be taught.
In other words, during the time they’d be temporarily staying at Xiang Chuan’s house next, they’d have to live under the same roof as that officer?
Would anything happen?
The three were very uneasy.
——
Xiang Chuan truly didn’t take this to heart. Her mind was fully occupied with this Outdoor Study topic and the first episode of A Bite of China she’d be streaming tonight.
She had Little Star One and Little Star Two, who came home with her on this break, help take the pre-fermented dough out from the freezer refrigerator and put it in the dining cart with insulation function, then brought the three of them to the yard of the Xiang Family Mansion.
After summer vacation started, the sun overhead was getting more and more dazzling, and the rising temperature was increasingly uncomfortable, so various cooling devices and heat-relief facilities became modern people’s top choice for summer.
If you went to the commercial district now, you’d see almost everyone on the streets wearing long-sleeved clothing that wrapped the whole body, exposing only above the neck and both palms. Those who didn’t know might think 21st century retro sun-protective clothing or some web serial site’s ban standards were trending.
Actually not—these clothes had heat-resistant metal sewn into the inner fabric, with small cooling and dehumidifying devices at the neck, shoulders, thighs, and such, so the more covered up, the cooler it felt.
As for the exposed heads, no need to worry—hats of all styles came with mini refrigeration equipment, possibly even cooler than the cloth inside the clothes.
So even in modern summers with high temperatures of thirty-five or six degrees, plenty of people were still willing to go out socializing or having fun.
And in the high-end residential area where the Xiang Family was, gardens equipped with transparent refrigeration sheds were practically standard.
——
In the garden, Xiang Chuan guided the three in kneading and shaping the fermented dough.
Since this was just an experimental roasting process, Xiang Chuan didn’t restrict the shapes—as long as they weren’t made into thin strips or pressed into round patties, she basically wouldn’t stop them.
This process wasn’t unfamiliar to the three A Bite of China Club members. During club activities at school, they’d tried making buns under Xiang Chuan’s guidance. Though the buns came out either with overly thick and tough skins or burst from too much filling, at least they weren’t total beginners.
So the bread manufacturing process quickly reached the most critical step—roasting.
The Xiang Family’s roaster was built outside the refrigeration shed. Unwilling to leave the comfy air-conditioned area, Xiang Chuan directly directed Little Star One to take out the baking pan from the roaster, brush oil on the bottom, put the bread on it, then wait for Ainuo to operate the roaster’s temperature control and start waiting for this batch of bread to come out.
This time, Xiang Chuan learned from past mistakes and specially had Ainuo lower the temperature by two more degrees, trying to find the key issue.
The wait was long. By now, the simulated sun overhead was gradually approaching directly above, and Xiang Chuan felt a bit dizzy from the glaring sunlight. Though the refrigeration shed’s glass had built-in UV protection, Xiang Chuan still chose to open the sunshade to block some light.
With the four of them idle, they started chatting about bread.
“Will this bread really be as popular as buns once it’s made?”
Liang Gong’s sudden remark drew everyone’s eyes at the table. He shivered and quickly explained:
“I……what I mean is, bread seems to use similar ingredients to buns, just with some extra oil, salt, sugar, and such. The difference in the heating process is just one steams over water and the other uses a roaster. For consumers used to eating buns now, buns seem more expandable and attractive than bread……right?”
He spoke smoothly in the middle, making Ainuo and Ouyang Yating nod repeatedly, but the questioning tone at the end almost made them lose control.
Whatever, it was progress. At least this introverted kid could now voice some theoretical insights. Ainuo and Ouyang Yating thought simultaneously.
As the only former 21st Century Person who’d truly eaten bread, Xiang Chuan focused on the issue Liang Gong raised. She speared a small piece of fruit cake in front of her with a fork and said:
“By that logic, isn’t cake basically the same as steamed buns, just with eggs added inside?”
“In ancient people’s food logic, an extra spoonful of sugar or less salt could make food textures worlds apart. Not to mention buns and bread with completely different processing methods. Buns’ skins aren’t overly seasoned, so the fillings have extreme plasticity—salty, sweet, even sour or spicy; pure veggie or pure meat. If you get tired of flavors, there’s steamed buns purely for satisfying desire for food.”
“But according to ancient records, bread has a long consumption history like buns. Unlike buns, besides adding stuff to the filling, bread can also work on the appearance, like sprinkling chopped scallions and roasting into scallion-flavored bread, topping with cheese and ham for ham bread, or making crispy baguettes to pair with creamy soup, or dinner rolls with lettuce, meat patty, and sauce in the middle for hamburger sandwiches.”
“Whether buns or bread, in the ancient records I know of, there’s almost no case of one completely crushing the other—it’s just regional eating habits.”
“And even in countries and regions where buns dominate absolutely, there are still enthusiasts who spontaneously make bread, which shows this staple food has considerable appeal in itself.”
“So since our market accepts cake and buns, it absolutely won’t reject bread.”
After rattling off all that, Xiang Chuan hurriedly took a big swig of fruit milk to moisten her throat. Even in the cold shed with 26-degree air conditioning, looking at the blazing sun outside still gave her the illusion of a drier throat than usual.
Liang Gong and the others didn’t respond right away but turned to look at the roaster not far off, gradually emitting white smoke, quietly digesting the information in Xiang Chuan’s words.
——
Twenty minutes later, four half-carbonized breads were brought up by Little Star One.
Xiang Chuan expressionlessly poked apart the round bread she’d kneaded. Good news: this time only the top half was burnt; the bottom half had the bread texture she was familiar with.
Bad news: this texture felt somewhat like a baguette.
Xiang Chuan: I want soft bread, not French backup weaponry!
