Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 196 The meat skewers are really delicious. Bring them to the ladies to try.

Shen Yu was busy for a while and felt relieved. He thought that if there was no lunch delivery, there was enough manpower.

After checking out the situation in the store, Shen Yu returned to the large kitchen in the backyard. Calculating that it was about time, he brought the steamer to the chopping board.

When the heat dissipates, the sweet and soft Chongyang cake is revealed.

Lift the four corners of the towel with your hands and take the still steaming, snow-white and soft Chongyang cake out of the steamer.

After removing the cloth, place it on a porcelain plate, pour some osmanthus honey in the middle of the Chongyang cake, sprinkle some dried osmanthus, steam it with hot steam, and the unique sweet fragrance of osmanthus will slowly permeate, making it taste sweeter.

After doing all this, Shen Yu went to the bookstore on the street to buy some colored paper and cut some red, green and yellow triangular flags.

Use a thin bamboo stick as a flagpole to stick small colorful flags on, and insert them on the cooled Chongyang cake.

A circle of crystal clear pomegranate seeds is carefully sprinkled around, making the whole Chongyang cake colorful and lively, just like the mountains dyed in the autumn jungle. It is both delicious and beautiful.

After the Chongyang cake was ready, it was almost noon when the customer flow decreased.

Shen Yu and the others took turns to eat lunch. After frying the meat, Li specially placed a large plate of various meat skewers aside, sprinkled some condiments on them, and then gave it to Shen Yu, urging Shen Yu to go and deliver the Chongyang cake to He.

Shen Yu tidied his clothes, put the meat skewers and the cooled Chongyang cakes into two-layer food boxes, hailed a mule cart on the street, and went to He's place.

When I entered the room, I saw He and Qiqi dressed neatly, looking like they were going out.

While letting Shen Yu sit in the house, He smiled and said, "If my sister had come a little later, she wouldn't have met us."

Shen Yu handed the lunch box to Xu Ma, and did not sit in the house. Instead, he stood in the yard and said, "Are Third Sister and Qiqi going out now? I don't have anything important to do, so I won't sit in the house."

"Tomorrow is the Double Ninth Festival. In the food box are two Double Ninth Festival cakes and a plate of various skewers of meat. The taste is different from those sold on the street. I brought it here specially for my sister to try."

After hearing this, He asked Aunt Xu to bring out the Chongyang cake from the food box and said with a smile, "Sister, you are a good cook. The Chongyang cake you make must be both beautiful and delicious. You can't find it anywhere else."

"Today is the day for the wife of Master Qian's family. She has invited the wives of several of our Master's families to get together in the evening."

"Since you sent me this Chongyang cake, it's just right for the festival."

"I'll bring some of this Chongyang Cake with me, it will definitely make their eyes light up."

After Xu Ma went to the kitchen and took out the Chongyang cake and meat skewers from the food box, she brought out a portion of the Chongyang cake for He Shi to see.

Aunt Xu praised, "The fourth young lady's cooking skills are really amazing. It smells sweet and looks good. There are pomegranate seeds sprinkled on the cake. It looks even better under the candlelight."

Shen Yu said modestly: "It's not as good as my sister said. It's just a sweet cake made for the festival. Every family can make it."

"Pomegranate seeds are as crystal clear as rubies, perfect for decoration, and also suitable for the Double Ninth Festival."

Shen Yu thought for a moment and added, “I specifically chose pomegranates with soft seeds, so you don’t have to worry about spitting out the seeds when you eat them.

"It tastes crispy, sweet and juicy. Chongyang cake is soft, sweet and a bit dry. Adding these pomegranate seeds makes it taste even better."

He took the plate, looked at it, and handed it back to Xu Ma: "Let's keep one for ourselves, and replace the other with the agate red glass plate at home and put it in the food box. I'll take it away later."

Aunt Xu nodded in agreement and continued, "Young Madam, would you like to try the meat skewers that the Fourth Miss brought? As soon as I opened the food box, I could smell the strong aroma. Although it is not mutton skewers, it is completely different from the meat skewers sold on the street. Would you like to bring some to the banquet so that the ladies can have a taste?"

He became interested and asked Shen Yu, "Did your sister bring many skewers?"

Shen Yu smiled and said, "There are about thirty or forty skewers of various kinds of meat. My mother packed them for me."

"My sister and Qiqi went to the store yesterday, but they had sold out the meat skewers. We didn't let you try them in the store, so we brought some here."

He said: "That's enough, sister, wait for me, I'll go and try it."

As she spoke, she winked at Shen Yu playfully like a little girl, and led Qiqi to the kitchen.

After a while, Qiqi came out first, and after coming out, she took Shen Yu's hand and acted coquettishly: "Aunt, the meat skewers are so delicious, I want to eat more, but mother won't let me."

Shen Yu couldn't help laughing, squatted down and asked, "Qiqi, do you like the meat skewers that Auntie brought?"

Qiqi nodded honestly, pouted, and glanced at the kitchen.

Shen Yu coaxed softly, "How about this? After the Double Ninth Festival, Qiqi can come to my shop anytime. I'll save some for you. The freshly fried meat skewers are hot, crispy and tender. They are delicious when you take a bite. They taste better than the cold ones."

Qiqi's chubby face was full of worry: "Mom asked me to practice calligraphy and study at home every day. What should I do if she doesn't let me go?"

As the two were talking, He came out from the kitchen and said with a smile, "If you finish writing five large characters every day, I will let you go wherever you want."

Shen Yu stood up and patted Qiqi's head comfortingly: "Sister, don't be too strict. Qiqi is still young. When he enters school, he won't have time to play."

He sighed and said, "Sister, you don't know. If you leave him alone, he will become wild and will not want to go to school anymore."

Speaking of school, He asked with concern: "Yucheng has been in school for several days. How is the White Crane Academy? Is the teacher okay?"

Shen Yu smiled and said, "The store has just opened these few days, and we have no experience. The whole family is in a panic. We didn't take care of them, but they walk to school every day and come back happily. They practice calligraphy and read in their rooms without our supervision."

He was a little surprised: "It's not a short distance from your shop to the academy, why don't you take a mule cart?"

Shen Yu had no choice but to repeat Mr. Yang's words about not allowing students to take the bus and asking students to walk every day to keep fit.

He looked at Qiqi, who looked like a glutinous rice ball, frowned and looked a little worried, but said nothing.

Shen Yu saw that He was silent, then looked at Aunt Xu who was standing by with two lunch boxes, and hurriedly took her own lunch box: "I won't delay my sister from going out, I'll go back first."

"After the Double Ninth Festival, my sister will bring Qiqi to the store to play. Come early and you can have as many skewers as you want. They are fried and eaten right away, so they taste even better."

He was worried whether Qiqi would suffer if she sent her to Baihe College to study.

Shen Yu was amused by what he said: "The meat skewers taste really good. Lamb skewers are delicious, but the meat skewers you made are rich in flavor. They are crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. I will bring them to the banquet later so that the ladies can have a taste of them."