Chapter 210: The girls who pursued me lined up

Steamed buns are made by fermenting flour, kneading it with water into a dough, and then steaming it.

After breakfast, Liszt took a piece of thick parchment paper and began to organize his memories of how to make various flour-based dishes.

Most flour dishes were quite simple. Even though he didn’t eat them often, he knew the basic methods: "The most important part of making dough is fermentation. Fortunately, bread also requires fermentation, so the rest is just a matter of creativity."

However, upon closer thought,

it wasn't just a matter of creativity.

Despite the presence of magic and martial energy here, food preservation was a significant constraint. Bread had a long shelf life, especially the black bread eaten by commoners, which could last for half a year or more. But steamed buns and dumplings would likely grow mold if not consumed within two days. Commoners, even if they came up with such delicacies, wouldn't be able to afford to make them due to the waste.

Waste was a serious issue.

"Knights on campaign should still rely primarily on bread for their rations, as it's easy to carry and doesn’t spoil easily... At the very least, they should bring some biscuits or baked pies; they certainly can’t bring dumplings or fried dough sticks to the battlefield," he summarized, feeling a bit presumptuous. "Flatbreads, noodles, and cornbread also have a decent shelf life and only require a little water, making them suitable for consumption anywhere."

In the end,

poverty constrained the locals' imagination.

Continuing to write down recipes, he jotted down the methods for making flour dishes based on his limited memory.

"Steamed buns: ferment flour, wrap it around vegetable filling, and steam it."

"Dumplings: ferment flour, roll the dough into strips, cut into small pieces, flatten with a rolling pin, wrap around vegetable filling, and boil."

"Noodles: ferment flour, continuously pull the dough into long strands." He paused, realizing this method sounded similar to making ramen, "Ramen and noodles should be different... but I can’t think of the distinction right now. Let’s combine them into one entry."

After writing these recipes, Liszt considered that introducing too many new dishes at once might be too ostentatious.

He decided to start with the simplest dish—steamed buns—and guide Abby and the baker Renard to "invent" them. With steamed buns, making steamed buns with fillings would be much easier.

Of course,

flour dishes weren’t Liszt’s favorite foods; he merely wanted to introduce them to diversify the menu. So while he wasn’t overly enthusiastic about them, he still loved authentic Sichuan and Huaiyang cuisine. Unfortunately, these dishes required high-level knife skills, ingredients, and seasonings, which were beyond Liszt’s capabilities.

Guiding Abby to make scrambled eggs and egg soup was already challenging enough.

Immediately, he summoned Renard and Abby to tell them about a new flour dish he learned from elsewhere and described the general appearance of steamed buns.

"Mrs. Abby, Renard, please research and develop steamed buns when you have time."

"Sir, leave it to me. The method for steamed buns sounds simple, and I’ll have them steamed in no time," Abby said confidently, having gained a star chef-like demeanor after "inventing" several new types of bread and scrambled eggs and egg soup.

Renard also nodded eagerly: "I will assist Mrs. Abby to the best of my ability."

He had heard about Abby’s inventions of egg soup and scrambled eggs, and Coral City’s chefs were learning from her, so he was eager to help with her culinary experiments.

Hasty instructions were given.

Read some books and write some words.

The brief morning was about to pass.

Just as Liszt thought it would be another leisurely day, a knight galloped in from Coral City: "My lord, the Tulip Caravan has returned. Sir Frank asks you to send someone to Coral City to take over the business."

He did not directly say that the serfs had arrived.

But Liszt naturally understood: "I will send someone immediately. You go rest first."

"Thank you, my lord."

A moment later, Gort arrived, received Liszt's instructions, and immediately arranged how to handle the serfs. This time was different from the last; it had just turned cold and snowy. If they were not careful, the serfs could freeze to death. Fortunately, they were prepared, requisitioning the carriages of the caravan, loading them with a pile of winter supplies, and preparing to head for Coral City.

Liszt had originally planned to go personally, but he was concerned about the mineral deposits on Black Horse Island. Calculating the time, Marcus would return by ship this afternoon, likely bringing news of the fire attribute condensation core vein.

He handed over three hundred gold coins he had accumulated over the days to Gort: "Advisor Gort, I bought this batch of serfs for two hundred and ten gold coins, with a total of one thousand serfs. A loss of up to one hundred and fifty is acceptable, but if it exceeds that, compensation will be required."

"I will explain this carefully to Frank."

"These three hundred gold coins are for purchasing the next batch of serfs. Try to lower the price of the serfs as much as possible. The war will undoubtedly bring countless serfs, and I believe there is room for further reduction in prices. How you negotiate is up to you."

"Please don't worry, my lord. I am familiar with Frank, and even if I can't reach his bottom line, I won't let him gain much advantage... By the way, might I use... certain aspects?" Gort hesitated, feeling embarrassed to speak out.

Liszt said: "Speak your mind."

"Your charm is unmatched on Coral Island, making you an ideal marriage partner for many noble ladies. I can see that the Frank family very much hopes to win your favor. Perhaps I could leverage this point to push the price down to the bottom line and buy more serfs."

While nobles are certainly graceful, using all available resources for profit is normal.

So Gort came up with this "handsome man strategy."

However, Liszt could not get past his own psychological barrier and outright rejected it: "Frank is a reasonable nobleman. I believe he has his own principles, so do not involve Little Shirley. Strive for a few gold coins or a dozen gold coins' difference, which is fine."

He indeed lacked liquid funds, but he had no shortage of fixed assets, so there was no need to resort to any means.

Especially when it came to feelings, he hoped to preserve a sense of purity.

"Sigh, in my previous life, at thirty, I was still single and troubled. In this life, just sixteen, girls are lining up after me, equally troubling."

...

As Liszt had guessed.

In the afternoon, when the snow stopped, the Flower Ship returned from the sea.

Besides bringing half a shipload of fire dragon bone fragments, Marcus also brought information about the fire attribute condensation core vein: "My lord, while digging for the bone fragments, I found these stones from the cracks in the rock pillars. They are very strange, and I sensed a faint presence of magic on them."

He handed over an irregularly shaped reddish-brown stone.

The surface of the stone was smooth, and the fracture revealed concentric circular patterns, much like the surface of a mussel shell. It had an overall glassy texture, with some areas even appearing translucent, though not nearly as transparent as gemstones or crystals. When held, it felt lighter than ordinary rock, and careful observation revealed numerous bubbles inside.

This shape and these characteristics immediately made Liszt think of volcanic lava glass.