After transmigrating into the body of a widow, I became the richest man in the capital.

Chapter 161 Rebuilding Baihua Village School

The large carp in Su Xiaoxiao's hand was killed while still alive. Then, she took out her secret chili sauce, which was the key to Su Xiaoxiao's success in making this dish.

Then Su Xiaoxiao cut the fish into pieces and put them into the oil to fry.

Su Xiaoxiao knew that to make this dish successful, the spicy, numbing, and fragrant flavor had to be brought out to its fullest extent, and chili peppers played an indispensable role in that.

Su Xiaoxiao saw the chef next to her still busy and thought that the chef was showing off his knife skills, as if he was preparing to carve a flower on the fish.

how to say?

Su Xiaoxiao thought that if someone wanted to demonstrate their knife skills so perfectly, they must be very skilled. Actually, it wasn't so much about showing off their knife skills, but rather about bringing out the full flavor of the food. That was quite crucial and important.

After frying the fish, Su Xiaoxiao added some seasonings such as scallions, ginger, and garlic to the pot. After frying, the pot was filled with the aroma of scallions, ginger, and garlic.

She then sautéed the chili peppers until fragrant, and then added the broth to cook.

After the fried fish was cooked in the delicious broth, Su Xiaoxiao sprinkled fresh soy sauce and thirteen-spice powder on top. Once all of this was done, the aroma of the boiled fish filled the air.

Finally, Su Xiaoxiao poured red chili peppers and hot oil over the boiled fish, and the dish was now complete.

Meanwhile, the head chef of Fu Man Lou was only halfway through cooking West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce when he scoffed and said, "We're not competing to see who cooks the fastest. Can it taste good if it's cooked that fast?"

The chef at Fu Man Lou was adding vinegar to the pot. This West Lake Vinegar Fish dish had a little too much vinegar, but that was to cater to Prince Gong's taste.

Su Xiaoxiao placed the boiled fish in front of Prince Gong. "Your Highness, would you like to try the fish I made with the new soy sauce?"

Upon seeing this, Prince Gong quickly picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, and found the taste of the boiled fish to be simply unparalleled, far surpassing any West Lake Vinegar Fish he had ever eaten before.

So much so that when the chef at Fumanlou later made West Lake Vinegar Fish, Prince Gong was almost full while eating Su Xiaoxiao's boiled fish.

He was completely full and had no room to eat anymore, so he waved his hand and said to the chef of Fu Man Lou, "I'm almost full."

This strong flavor is more intense than West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce, and it seems to be more likely to make Prince Gong find it so delicious that he couldn't stop eating.

In the end, even Prince Gong did not expect that Su Xiaoxiao could make such delicious food with the fewest seasonings, and that all of this food was thanks to this soy sauce.

Now that things have come to this, what else can Prince Gong say?

He gave Su Xiaoxiao a thumbs up, "This soy sauce is really good. It brings out the flavor of this dish perfectly. It's refreshing."

From then on, Prince Gong's favorite fish dish changed from West Lake Vinegar Fish to Boiled Fish, and it became an instant hit in the capital.

Prince Gong's admiration for Su Xiaoxiao was beyond words, mainly because he felt that this new soy sauce was indeed amazing.

This also silenced all those who had questioned Su Xiaoxiao. Prince Gong is now wholeheartedly preparing to cooperate with Su Xiaoxiao in selling soy sauce, and he will never again lay a hand on her.

A few days later, Prince Gong told Su Xiaoxiao and Qian Musheng some good news: "The site for the new soy sauce workshop has been chosen, in the suburbs at the west end of the city."

That area naturally fell under Prince Gong's sphere of influence. After returning home, Su Xiaoxiao continued to live in Qian Musheng's house.

Qian Musheng only smelled the aroma of boiled fish today, but didn't get to eat a single bite.

To thank Qian Musheng for his help these past few days, Su Xiaoxiao specially made him another boiled fish dish.

Having finalized her return schedule, Su Xiaoxiao was about to leave again. After all, there were a lot of things to do at home, and Su Xiaoxiao decided it was best to go back as soon as possible.

Qian Musheng was actually quite reluctant to part with her. Before leaving, he arranged a covered horse-drawn carriage for Su Xiaoxiao, finally replacing the mule cart that Su Xiaoxiao had brought.

When Su Xiaoxiao returned home, it was just the start of the school year at Mr. Huai'an's private school in Baihua Village. Mr. Huai'an noticed that there were quite a few children in the village, so he contacted some of his former classmates, who were all willing to come and help teach.

This can be seen as a way for the elderly to shine and contribute; some people can still shine and contribute even after retirement.

These individuals are all from a scholarly background and have an excellent reputation in the local area.

On the first day of school, all the other children in the village came to school. Of course, the school distributed books to them for free, which Su Xiaoxiao had taken into consideration.

Su Xiaoxiao's actions can be considered a form of charity, which is a good thing in itself, but there are always discordant voices coming out. Everyone says that Su Xiaoxiao is just putting on a show and criticizes her.

The village head could no longer stand it. He stood up and said to everyone, "You people are really going too far. Why do you use such petty minds to speculate about others?"

Su Xiaoxiao did all this for everyone's good. After all, education could change these children's fate and provide them with a way out. Should these children be forced to stay in the fields and be farmers with their parents for the rest of their lives?

Facing the loess soil, back to the sky, spending their whole lives toiling in the fields—is that all there is to it? Some people said resentfully, "I guess this is Su Xiaoxiao's way of indirectly taking money from everyone in the future. She's doing this just for money."

The village head said to those people, "You people really have some serious problems. Why do you have to interpret what others are doing for your own good with such feelings? Have you ever thought that they didn't receive any money or benefits in return?"

"What is she after? If she doesn't want something, why would she be so generous? We don't believe it!"

The village head was speechless in the end.

He believed that no matter how he explained, he couldn't make things clear. It was quite troublesome. Su Xiaoxiao had put in money and effort, but in the end, she was still misunderstood. It was quite regrettable.

The most important thing about the school in Baihua Village is its cheap tuition. The tuition here is much cheaper than outside. No matter how much doubt there is outside, Su Xiaoxiao's intention is to make sure that all the children in the village are eager to learn, which is why she spends money and effort.

(End of this chapter)