She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 123 - 122: The Cow’s Milk... Has Gone Bad, Right?

Chapter 123: Chapter 122: The Cow’s Milk... Has Gone Bad, Right?

How much cow’s milk was this, really? To Ye Xinyan, it naturally didn’t seem like much, nor was she concerned about running out of cow’s milk. In her memory, as far back as the Tang Dynasty during the period of great ethnic integration, dairy products had begun to prevail in the Central Plains region. However, in the era that Ye Xinyan had traveled to, milk fermentation appeared to be an unacceptable practice.

Qi Younian had once been stationed at the Northern border, and he knew that nomadic tribes such as the Northern Barbarians considered dairy an important part of their diet. But as for the Great Xia Dynasty, which primarily focused on agriculture, they looked down upon the Barbarians’ dietary habits and couldn’t stand the pungent smell of the dairy products made by the nomadic tribes.

In this respect, the old Mr. Qi Younian maintained a stance that was highly consistent with the court’s attitude toward the Barbarian regions.

Given all this, when it came to milk fermentation, Ye Xinyan simply gave a brief explanation to the people around her and, amidst their puzzled looks, gave up on trying to convince them of her method.

Many examples have proven that many things, before they are formally introduced, are futile to describe with mere words.

In addition to her busy work at the dairy farm, Ye Xinyan instructed the workers to collect fresh cow’s milk from different times, store it in wooden barrels, and place them in the cool storage of the dairy farm to await natural fermentation.

The simplest way to process cow’s milk was through fermentation. By letting the fresh cow’s milk ferment, the milky liquid rich in cream would separate and rise to the top, above the sour milk.

About two days later, the creamy white surface of the cow’s milk turned a dull white, and the whole barrel of milk was in a distinctly semi-solid state.

That afternoon, Qi Younian, having heard the news, set aside his work at the construction site and made a special trip to see how Ye Zi was dealing with that worrisome cow’s milk.

In front of Qi Younian and Fan Zhengyuan, Ye Xinyan collected the first batch of fermented cream. Essentially, she skimmed off the thinnest layer of cream with a spoon.

Out of respect for Ye Xinyan’s position as Steward, Fan Zhengyuan was dubious about the safety of consuming the half-bowl of ambiguous grey-white viscous substance and the leftover, spoiled cow’s milk in the barrel, but it was awkward for him to voice his skepticism.

Qi Younian had no such qualms and directly asked, "Ye Zi, this stuff... it’s spoiled, isn’t it?"

"..." Ye Xinyan was speechless.

Grandpa, you shouldn’t speak like that, even if you have doubts, couldn’t you phrase them more tactfully?

Qi Younian smiled awkwardly but still pointed at the unsightly substance and persisted, "Can this really be eaten?"

Ye Xinyan involuntarily twitched the corner of her mouth and answered, "Years ago, I heard from people who had visited foreign tribes that this is how the nomadic tribes processed cow’s milk. Whether we can eat it or not, we could give it a try. I think it will be fine."

Qi Younian’s attitude toward his granddaughter’s approach immediately took effect, and the elder nodded decisively, "Alright, let’s give it a try. Your delicacy must be tasted by your grandpa first. We can’t let others have it for free."

Ye Xinyan couldn’t help but feel bittersweet. Your construction site still needs you to oversee its work. We’ve only just prepared the foundation for our new house. If you irresponsibly use yourself as a test subject and something happens to you, what would we do about the big mess you’d leave behind?

Fan Zhengyuan cleared his throat and said, "Ahem, we’ve all seen Lady Qi’s skills, and everything she makes is a deluxe delicacy. If she succeeds in making a delicious dish from cow’s milk this time, we, who have worked hard raising cattle, should be rewarded first, shouldn’t we? I think, it would be better to let us try Lady Qi’s delicious creations first, as a way to win our hearts over... Heh heh."

Ye Xinyan was completely unmoved by Qi Younian’s gesture, simply picked up the basin and left, not bothering about the puzzled pair left behind.

As for myself, the food I make is both delicious and nutritious, and it certainly doesn’t need to be categorized amongst toxic and harmful items.

Watching Ye Xinyan walk into the modest courtyard of the second branch of the Qi family from a distance, Fan Zhengyuan looked distressed and sought Qi Younian’s opinion, "Elder, did Lady Qi go to make food? Perhaps we should go over and take a look? We can’t just let Lady Qi, a young woman, taste something that might have gone sour."

Even if Lady Qi is capable, she’s still a woman barely twenty years old. He was only a hired steward of the cattle farm, so it didn’t seem right for him to go to the Qi family and stop Lady Qi from trying the dubious food.

Qi Younian had been leading a team of workers for more than half a month; the man close to sixty showed no sign of fatigue, but rather an increased vigor.

Upon hearing Fan Zhengyuan’s suggestion and looking at the wooden barrels of cow’s milk on the ground, with their top layer of grey-white cream skimmed off, emitting a faint sour smell, Qi Younian dismissed the thought. The spoiled milk had curdled, with the lumps of white curd floating on the yellow sour water.

Well, it’s not really sour water, Ye Zi called it whey, also a valuable substance.

Qi Younian turned his gaze away from the barrels and waved his hand at Fan Zhengyuan, "It’s okay, it’s okay, Ye Zi is always cautious in what she does, she never does things she’s not confident about. Lock up the storeroom and go about your work, I’ll go back and take a look," he said, before turning and strolling back to his home.

He had heard from Ye Zi earlier that making things with cow’s milk took time, so he assumed she wouldn’t produce anything edible so quickly and wasn’t in a rush.

Because Ye Xinyan was the de facto manager of the cattle farm, and for the sake of convenience, the location was chosen not far from the second branch of the Qi family, just a stone’s throw away.

When Qi Younian strolled back, Ye Xinyan wasn’t fussing over the spoiled grey-white substance but was instead challenging several egg whites, vigorously beating them with a few chopsticks in a porcelain bowl. Meanwhile, another large ceramic bowl contained a paste-like pale yellow substance.

Qi Younian was somewhat dumbfounded; this was definitely Ye Zi’s usual style of making delightful dishes. However, it looked like she was following the steps of making a cake; where did the spoiled cream come into play?

"Ye Zi, are you making food with that thin cream you talked about?" Qi Younian asked.

Ye Xinyan looked up from her vigorous beating of the egg whites and replied, "Hmm, I’m making a cake first, let’s just call it a cream cake for now."

So it was indeed a cake, with the addition of the word ’cream’. Did the ’cream’ refer to the milk fat Ye Zi mentioned?

Qi Younian chuckled and said, "Well, that’s splendid. Grandpa is looking forward to tasting your cream cake. The food you make is always exceptionally delicious. Grandpa being the first to taste these delights must surely be the fortune of a past life."

The elder thought to himself, his granddaughter always dared to think and act, quite stubbornly so. Stopping her was futile. It seemed best to use himself as the guinea pig for testing, thinking the harm should be reduced after reheating and thoroughly cooking any spoiled food.

Ye Xinyan rolled her eyes at her grandfather and said, "You’re not very convincing in your act. What you’re thinking is written all over your face."

Qi Younian couldn’t help but laugh, this time a laugh that came from within. His granddaughter was indeed sharp-witted, with an ability to read people that was truly unmatched.