More and more peanut oil flowed down, collecting in the wooden barrel.

Feihua Zhenren also ran over to watch the excitement.

He squatted beside the barrel, heedless of his image, and took a deep whiff.

’This oil smells amazing!’

It was nearly as fragrant as the sesame oil they used daily.

And by comparison, peanuts yielded far more oil than sesame seeds.

Freshly pressed peanut oil wasn’t ready for consumption; it had to be left to sit for a while.

After successfully pressing the first barrel of peanut oil, Hua Manman’s work was done. Steward Jia would handle the rest.

Looking at the fragrant peanut oil before him, Steward Jia only regretted that they had planted too few peanuts this year.

Currently, the only vegetable-based cooking oil on the market was sesame oil. But it wasn’t suitable for stir-frying, and its high price put it far beyond the means of ordinary people.

This peanut oil was different.

Its cost was much lower than sesame, and it could be used for stir-frying.

’If we could sell this on the market, sales would definitely be fantastic.’

Of course, this was just his personal thought. What to do ultimately depended on the Princess Consort’s decision.

After the peanut oil had settled for a while, it was ready to use.

Hua Manman immediately rolled up her sleeves, ready to make the fried chicken she had been craving.

She marinated the cleaned chicken pieces, coated them in flour, and dropped them into the peanut oil, frying them until they were golden-brown and crispy.

Feihua Zhenren had long heard that Princess Consort Zhao was going to make something delicious with the peanut oil. From the moment she entered the kitchen, he had been squatting inside, watching her work with eager eyes.

There’s a reason fried chicken is popular far and wide—it’s just that fragrant.

It smells delicious, and it tastes delicious.

When Feihua Zhenren took his first bite, he was instantly stunned by the texture—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside.

In all his years, this was the first time he’d known chicken could be eaten this way.

Hua Manman also ate with great relish.

She hadn’t eaten anything deep-fried since she transmigrated.

Today was the first time.

Li Ji also tried the fried chicken and found it to be excellent.

His mind worked quickly. After eating a few pieces, he asked.

"Can this peanut oil be used to fry other things?"

Hua Manman immediately replied, "You can fry youtiao, peanuts, tofu skin, tofu, fish and shrimp—you can fry anything you can imagine!"

Feihua Zhenren hastily swallowed the fried chicken in his mouth.

"There’s still a lot of oil. Let’s fry some other things later."

Hua Manman said that was no problem.

For the rest of the time, Feihua Zhenren squatted in the kitchen, watching Hua Manman fry things.

One had to admit, deep-fried food was truly fragrant!

Paired with Hua Manman’s special chili sauce, it was absolutely divine.

Feihua Zhenren accidentally ate until he was stuffed again.

He got drowsy after eating, went back to his room, and fell asleep as soon as he lay down. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

That evening, the small kitchen used peanut oil to stir-fry vegetables. The resulting dishes were a little different from those made with lard, but they were still very fragrant and delicious.

Meanwhile, Steward Jia was still waiting for further instructions regarding the peanut oil.

He felt that the Princess Consort wouldn’t have gone to so much trouble to build an oil press just to make some fried food for herself.

But he waited and waited, and after a long time, he still hadn’t received any instructions from the Princess Consort.

Finally, he couldn’t wait any longer and took the initiative to find her.

"Your Highness, we still have a lot of peanut oil left. We can’t possibly eat it all, so why not sell some of it? The restaurants in the city would surely be happy to buy this kind of high-quality, low-cost peanut oil."

Hua Manman froze.

The only reason she’d made peanut oil was to eat some fried food.

’I never thought about making money with this stuff.’

Seeing the Princess Consort remain silent, Steward Jia assumed she was considering his proposal and continued.

"This servant has some connections with the Shopkeepers of several large restaurants in the city. As long as Your Highness gives the word, I can contact them immediately. I will ensure you get a fair price."

Hua Manman thought about it seriously. Such a large oil press had consumed a lot of raw materials, not to mention the labor involved.

Using it just to satisfy her personal cravings was indeed a huge waste.

So, she said.

"I want to set up a shop in the city to exclusively sell products from the estate, including the peanut oil."

Doing business with restaurants would be more convenient and require less effort. ’But if I do that,’ she thought, ’the peanut oil will be monopolized by the restaurants, and ordinary people won’t be able to buy it at all. If things go wrong, we might even be accused of collusion between officials and merchants. Besides, it’s not like I need the money from selling peanut oil. It’s better to open a shop and let anyone who wants to buy it do so.’

Steward Jia said cautiously, "Shops in good locations in the city are in high demand. I’m afraid it will be difficult to find a suitable one in a short amount of time."

Hua Manman replied nonchalantly.

"That’s fine. We can take our time looking. We’ll find a suitable one eventually."

Steward Jia nodded. "This servant understands. I’ll send people into the city right away to see if there are any suitable shops for sale."

Prince Zhao, who had been sitting quietly to the side reading a storybook, suddenly spoke up.

"I have a few shops in the city. If you want them, you can have them."

Hua Manman turned her head to look at him. "You have shops? How come I’ve never heard you mention them?"

Li Ji replied dismissively, "They’re just a few small shops. It’s not a big deal, so why mention them?"

Hua Manman asked enthusiastically.

"Where are these shops? How big are they?"

Li Ji knew nothing about it.

"Aren’t those shops yours?" Hua Manman asked. "How can you not know anything about them?"

"I don’t like to manage such trivial matters," Li Ji replied. "Gao Shan usually handles them. If you want to know, you can have someone summon Gao Shan and ask him."

Gao Shan was currently at the Prince Mansion.

As the head steward, he was in charge of all affairs in the mansion and could not easily leave.

Hua Manman quickly waved her hands. "No need to go to such trouble. We don’t have anything else to do anyway, so why don’t we go see the shops ourselves?"

Li Ji agreed.

When he learned that Prince Zhao and his wife were going out, Feihua Zhenren was quite reluctant to see them go.

’I haven’t had enough fried food yet!’

Fortunately, before leaving, Hua Manman instructed the kitchen to make some more fried food for Feihua Zhenren.

The process for making fried food was simple. The cook had assisted Hua Manman yesterday and had already learned how, so she was perfectly capable of handling the task on her own.

When Feihua Zhenren found out he would get to eat more fragrant fried food today, he was instantly delighted. He was even beaming with joy when he saw Prince Zhao and his wife off.

"Have a safe trip! Come back soon!"

Hua Manman and Li Ji settled into the carriage.

Looking through the carriage window at Feihua Zhenren standing at the gate, Li Ji asked thoughtfully.

"Do you think Feihua has gotten a little fatter?"

Hua Manman was taken aback. "Has he?"

She saw Feihua Zhenren every day and hadn’t noticed him gaining any weight.

’Then again,’ she thought, ’fried food is a calorie bomb. It really is a surefire way to get fat.’

If Feihua Zhenren continued to eat without restraint, he would definitely get chubby.

Hua Manman muttered, "I’ll have to get him to eat less from now on."

Li Ji let out a soft chuckle, cutting straight to the truth.

"It’s impossible for him to eat less when he’s with you."