Yaelle took some palm fruit to test the machine. After confirming it worked fine, she paid the workers and left. Actually, the traditional method of oil pressing isn't difficult.
Yaelle showed the selected craftsmen from the estate how to do it once, and they picked it up quickly. The first step to extract palm oil is roughly sorting the harvested palm fruit, making sure only healthy ones go forward. Bad fruits are removed to ensure the raw materials are high quality.
Usually, a sorting machine is used to remove impurities more precisely. This helps improve the efficiency and quality of the next steps. The fruits are then sent to a crushing machine, where they're broken down into small particles.
This makes it easier to stir-fry and press the fruit. Crushing helps increase the oil yield from the palm fruit. Next comes the stir-frying process, which is an important step in oil pressing.
A special frying pot is used for this part. Through steam frying, the moisture content in the fruit is adjusted to a proper level. This step is also key for getting more oil out.
The stir-fried palm fruit is then pressed using a special oil pressing machine to extract crude palm oil. The crude oil usually needs to be filtered to remove leftover solids and impurities. This is done using either a centrifuge filter or a plate-and-frame filter.
This ensures the palm oil meets the standard for edible use. Finally, the palm oil is stored in sealed custom barrels. This palm oil production process makes sure the materials are good, the oil yield is high, and the final product is up to standard.
After pressing the first batch of oil, they checked the oil yield. It turned out pretty good at around 20 percent. Then they tried another batch using oil tea fruit, and that had an even higher yield, about 24 percent.
There were tens of thousands of jin of these two dried fruits stored. Once this batch is done, they'd probably have ten to twenty thousand jin of oil. At the rate of using 100 jin a day, they wouldn't need to buy lard for making soap this year.
It would last until next June. The results were satisfying, so Yaelle stopped supervising it personally. Uncle Huang was there to manage it, and she trusted him.
It was time to move the home soap workshop to the estate. She stayed at the estate for the night. Once everything was settled, Yaelle got ready to return home.
While she was packing, someone unexpected came to see her. Hearing the knock, she thought it was Uncle Huang, so she didn't even look up and said, "The door's not locked, come in." But the person didn't speak after coming in.
When she turned to look, she saw it was Yuhan, whom she hadn't seen for days. Oh, he was the one she brought to the estate last time, and he'd stayed here to work. She had almost forgotten about him.
If Yuhan knew what she was thinking, he'd probably complain. She hadn't just forgotten he was still at the estate. She had even forgotten to remove his stitches.
It was Rouzi who came daily to change his medicine, check the wound, and eventually removed the stitches once it healed enough.
When he was awake, he was too embarrassed to let her undress him. A man's body shouldn't be casually seen by a woman.
"Yuhan, are you getting used to living on the estate? What brings you here?" Yaelle looked at the handsome man in front of her, a trace of doubt in her eyes. "Miss Yaelle, thank you for taking me in during this time. I've recovered and came to say goodbye," Yuhan said gratefully.
When he first woke up, he had thought she wasn't engaged yet. Seeing how openly she had tended to his wounds, he had even considered offering himself to her. But over the past few days, he found out that she already had a fiancé.
So he decided to wait until her wedding was over before leaving, to completely let go of that thought. Still, he couldn't deny that Yaelle had saved his life. She not only healed his injuries but also took him in and never asked him for anything in return.
From that alone, she was clearly a kindhearted woman. However, he knew he still carried unresolved grudges. If he stayed, he might bring trouble to her, so he chose to leave for now and hoped to repay her kindness someday.
Thinking of this, Yuhan took a deep breath, looked at Yaelle again, and said, "Miss Yaelle, farewell." "If you ever need help, don't hesitate to ask." After saying that, he was about to turn and leave.
When she heard he was leaving, Yaelle was a little stunned. But people like them lived in a world of complex ties, and since he said he still had things to settle, she couldn't force him to stay. She remembered how he said he had no money and now was leaving empty-handed.
She was a bit worried. No matter what, she had to give him some travel funds. She stopped him and said, "Wait, you're just leaving like this without packing anything?"
Then she went inside and came out with two five-tael silver ingots and some loose silver, wrapped in a cloth. She also packed a jar of homemade seasoning, a bottle of mineral water with the label removed, and put everything in a new bundle. She explained, "I know you're good at martial arts, so I didn't pack much food."
"Just grab some dry rations from the kitchen later. This seasoning is great for grilling wild meat, smells amazing. The bottle's tightly sealed and won't leak, easy to carry."
Listening to Yaelle's concerned words, Yuhan felt deeply moved. She was the gentlest woman he had ever met, unlike anyone else. He couldn't help but envy the man marrying her.
That man must be the luckiest in the world. He also admired something about her. Other women looked at his face with greed, but not her.
Her eyes were clean and pure. "Being saved by you is already a debt I can't repay. How can I accept even more things now?" Yuhan declined.
Though he didn't have anything on him now, he had hidden his belongings. He just needed to retrieve them later. A few hard days wouldn't matter.
"Why act polite with me? These things are nothing." "You can pay me back later if you want," Yaelle waved her hand casually. She shoved the bundle into his arms and pushed him out the door.
Now that she had done that, he had no choice but to accept it. He made a silent promise in his heart that once his matters were settled, he would return to repay her kindness. Yuhan went to the kitchen and took some flatbreads and buns.
He only carried the thermal underwear she had prepared earlier and the bundle she just gave him, then set off on his path of revenge. Yaelle had arranged the oil-pressing task and her soap-making venture, and also packed up to go home.
This had been her busiest year. Once she finished writing the planting manual and submitted it along with the high-yield seeds, she would finally have time to relax.
These past few days, Yaelle had nothing to do. She spent her time in the space listening to music, embroidering, copying storybooks, and writing down lyrics. She accidentally discovered a new feature of the space.
One night, after letting down her hair at the dressing table, she entered the space. After spending a few hours inside and getting tired, she wanted to lie on the bed to sleep. She instantly found herself lying on the bed.
She immediately became alert. This meant she could move with the space. She tried it again, wanting to appear at the manor, but it didn't work.
She didn't get discouraged and kept testing little by little. She could reach the back garden, but not the teahouse. After many tries, she found a pattern.
She could move within a range of about 100 meters, but no farther. Now that she had this function, Yaelle was thrilled. At a critical moment, she could escape to save her life.
If someone tried to imprison her, she could escape within seconds. It gave her a great sense of security.
Days passed quickly. Before she realized it, the end of the month had come again. Yaelle, as usual, had to go to several shops to check the accounts.
Besides the jewelry shop, she also needed to visit the teahouse and hotpot restaurant. In terms of distance, the hotpot restaurant was the closest. So she went there first.
As soon as Yaelle entered, the staff greeted her warmly. Especially Jason, who had been helping there for a while, immediately led her to the room where the account books were kept.
Not long after, the bookkeeper and the manager rushed in to report the recent business situation in detail to her. Yaelle carefully read through the account books and found the business doing well. Although there were slight fluctuations, overall it was stable.
The monthly profit stayed between one thousand and two thousand taels. She was very pleased with this performance.
She thought of the Sichuan peppers she had sent earlier and asked about the progress of the new shop. She learned that the location had been chosen in the neighboring city, the stoves were being custom-made, and the interior renovation had already started. If everything went smoothly, they could open soon.
Yaelle stayed at the shop for less than half an hour. After checking the accounts, she had a clear understanding of the situation. She also tried a few skewers and tested the flavor of the soup base.
She gave a few small suggestions, then said goodbye to everyone and prepared to leave the shop.
Who would've thought that when she opened the door, she would bump into a pair of gentle eyes.
It turned out Jason had done something on purpose. The personal attendants all knew about the situation between them. When the future lady of the house arrived, how could they not inform their young master?
Xavier was delighted to see her and took her by the hand to a private room he had reserved.
"Yaelle, it's been so long, I missed you so much! You haven't gone out lately, and I'm an unmarried man. It's not good for me to keep showing up at your house," Xavier half-joked.
"I know unmarried men have to protect their reputation, so you can't keep coming to see me. I'm a woman, as long as I don't go too far, no one will say anything." Yaelle replied seriously. Since they couldn't get married yet and couldn't be open about their relationship, teasing someone too much wasn't right either.
"What should I do if I want to see you?" Xavier asked.
"Did you forget? Last time, you even climbed through the window," Yaelle deliberately brought up that night.
Xavier felt a little embarrassed. "I drank some wine that day, so my mind was not very clear." If he hadn't drunk, he would never dare to climb through the window.
It was just the wine giving him courage. "I have a village nearby where they grow water chestnuts. It's harvest time these days."
"Do you want to come and enjoy picking water chestnuts with me?" Xavier changed the subject and made the suggestion. "Picking water chestnuts!" Yaelle was a bit excited.
She hadn't done much these days and felt bored. In the modern world, parks charge for picking. She had wanted to go for a long time.
"It's okay, but not today. I have to leave first and check other shops." She thought about it and decided to finish her tasks after coming out today.
"No problem, we can do it another day." Since they already met today, he didn't want to let Yaelle leave so easily. "I'll come to your teahouse after your patrol, okay?"
This way, they could make a round from Yaelle's hotpot shop, the jewelry store, to the teahouse, and then home from the other side. "Sure, I was planning to go in that order anyway. If you have work, go first."
"I will take a little longer." Yaelle agreed. "Okay, be careful on your way."
Seeing she brought two guards, Xavier didn't offer to escort her. He quickly finished his work and went straight to the teahouse. Yaelle also finished handling the shop's matters quickly.
Now she had soap and some new styles. Business was better than before. Monthly earnings were about sixty to seventy taels, which was good.
Yaelle was quite satisfied. At the teahouse, she first took a walk inside. The hall was full, and the storyteller was speaking passionately.
The story was vivid and exciting. The overall feeling was very good. The private rooms were also full.
The faint sound of mahjong and laughter came from inside. It seemed the customers were satisfied. Checking the accounts was also encouraging.
The monthly income was about twenty taels, which was quite considerable. There was also extra income from her scripts. Some reading rooms bought the rights and printed them.
They shared a small cut. That brought in several tens of taels monthly. Yaelle was very happy.
Earning ten thousand a month easily was much better than running a modern shop. After finishing her shop's business, she went to the private room Xavier had prepared for her. When he came earlier, he brought a token from her.
As soon as she entered, she smelled roasted chicken. Yaelle glanced at the table and found not only roasted chicken but several local snacks from different shops. He really went to some trouble.
He had also thought carefully. She was a bit hungry now. She calculated that after patrolling the shops and rushing home, it would be mealtime.
So she didn't bring food. "Yaelle, come eat something. It's already noon."
"Eat first, then we can talk." Seeing her come in, Xavier hurried to invite her to sit and eat, worried she might be hungry. Seeing his thoughtful preparation, Yaelle didn't refuse.
She declined Xavier's offer to serve her and asked him to sit and eat together. Seeing him so happy, Yaelle felt awkward. He bought the food himself.
She only asked him to eat with her, but he seemed so pleased. Xavier didn't think so. Even a formal husband would serve his wife before eating himself.
Though he was just a verbal side husband, being allowed to eat with her was a great honor.