Chapter 14 Dawn broke, and He Zhao needed to pack up and leave. In the past, He Zhao was incredibly quick at packing up...

Daylight broke, and He Zhao should pack up and leave. In the past, He Zhao would pack up his stall incredibly quickly. Today, however, he hesitated because Qiao Yanyu was still asleep. If he packed up now, wouldn't that disturb her sleep?

This time, He Zhao wavered.

Beauty really does lead to ruin; He Zhao didn't even know what to say about himself.

But Qiao Yanyu really was just like the characters in the novel. He Zhao had seen too much of her, and she seemed to sense it. Her eyelashes trembled, and then she suddenly opened her eyes. The moment her eyes lit up, He Zhao admitted that she was a fickle person.

He had previously declared that he liked her sleeping face, but now that Qiao Yanyu had opened her eyes, He Zhao still felt that Qiao Yanyu was more beautiful when she was alive, moving, and had bright eyes!

Sigh, I'm such a fickle person.

"You're awake?"

He Zhao asked the question aloud. She had originally planned to wait until Qiao Yanyu had calmed down before asking, but she hadn't expected Qiao Yanyu to wake up so quickly, so she just asked directly. Unlike her, Qiao Yanyu didn't yawn or drowsy for a while after waking up; instead, she woke up very quickly, as if there was no intermediate process between waking up and being fully awake.

"Yes, thank you."

Qiao Yanyu answered readily, and even thanked He Zhao, who hadn't done anything: "It's nothing, it's nothing, I didn't do anything."

They exchanged a few words, and Qiao Yanyu realized what was going on: "Are you packing up and going home?"

"right."

"Then I'll be going now. See you tonight."

He Zhao couldn't help but smile upon hearing this: "Okay."

Qiao Yanyu said that, but she didn't leave immediately. Instead, she stayed by He Zhao's side. When He Zhao was packing his things, she wanted to come and help, but He Zhao refused, saying, "It's okay, I can manage by myself."

She packed up her stall incredibly quickly. At this point, the system could retract its previous statement. Its current host had at least one remarkable quality—her stall-packing speed was second to none.

If someone isn't proactive about leaving get off work, there's something wrong with their mindset.

He Zhao quickly packed up his stall, then said goodbye to Qiao Yanyu, reminding her to get some rest when she got home. Qiao Yanyu agreed, and only drove off on her motorcycle after watching He Zhao leave.

He Zhao returned to her small rented room, feeling deeply that it was far too cramped and, moreover, unsafe in a shared apartment. As a young lady from a wealthy family, she had already been very generous by staying there for a few days. The only problem was—she had no money, and many things she needed it for.

As usual, she washed up and went to bed. After waking up, she ate something and went out to the mall to change her clothes. She couldn't wear the ugly clothes the system gave her every day.

But He Zhao hadn't expected the clothes he'd chosen to be so expensive. Especially the winter clothes—they were much more expensive than he'd anticipated.

It's not He Zhao's fault; she hadn't bought many winter clothes before. This was the first time she realized that even a simple winter outfit could be so expensive. It was also the first time He Zhao truly understood what it felt like to be short of money, and the first time she began to carefully budget and think about what clothes she should buy.

In the end, she only bought one coat, two sets of innerwear, and three sets of underwear. She felt she hadn't bought much, but she was about to spend all her savings. He Zhao sighed; if she needed to buy anything else, she would just buy it online.

Putting everything else aside, online shopping is really cheap.

However, He Zhao also believed that these poor days would eventually pass! She was a woman who could earn more than 1,000 a day, which was 30,000 a month, and she didn't have to pay taxes... She shouldn't have to pay taxes, right? Her income was only ghost money, and she couldn't possibly hand over ghost money.

While thinking this, He Zhao asked the system, and almost died of anger: [The system will help the host file taxes, so don't worry. You are essentially an employee of the company registered under the system, and taxes will be filed for you according to the personal income tax standards.]

"...Thank you so much."

He Zhao was stunned. This system was truly unusually law-abiding. She had just spent a fortune on clothes and then suffered another major blow. After hearing a lot of news, to comfort herself, He Zhao decided to go out for a nice meal.

Inevitably, the osmanthus rice cake that Gossian mentioned last night came to mind.

He Zhao thought for a moment, then took out her phone to search. She was always lucky; there was a Jiangzhe cuisine restaurant inside this place, and its signboard even included Osmanthus Rice Cake. He Zhao went straight to that restaurant, ordered one meat dish and one vegetable dish, and also ordered the Osmanthus Rice Cake.

When the dishes were served, she didn't rush to eat, saving her appetite for the osmanthus rice cake.

When the dessert was served, He Zhao examined it carefully for a while, somewhat unsure whether it was really as delicious as Ge Sinian had said. Six long pastries were stacked in two layers, the main body of which was white, with a dark brown red bean paste filling visible through the side. A few osmanthus petals floated on top, along with some syrup poured on it, some of which had fallen onto the plate.

He Zhao was aware of the frequent online discussions about the Jiangzhe cuisine, often described as a culinary wasteland, but he didn't think much of it. This was probably because he himself quite enjoyed sweets.

As a homebody foodie, He Zhao knows how attractive sweets are to him. Sweets are the most basic human pursuit of happiness engraved in our genes. No one can really hate sweets! And the pastries from Jiangsu and Zhejiang are even more unique in their pursuit of sweetness without being cloying.

In short, He Zhao liked it very much.

This plate of osmanthus rice cake was just as wonderful as Ge Sinian had described. However, He Zhao also knew that no matter how delicious the osmanthus rice cake was elsewhere, it could never compare to the plate Ge Sinian remembered.

After examining it for a while, He Zhao picked up his chopsticks and launched an attack on the osmanthus-flavored rice cake. He placed the chopsticks on the very top edge of the cake, and with a bit of force, he managed to dent the cake slightly. However, it was still chewy and didn't break easily.

He Zhao picked up a piece and caught it in the white bowl. The osmanthus-flavored rice cake, covered in a light brown sugar syrup, fell into the bowl. He Zhao held one end of the cake and put it in her mouth. She bit off a piece with her teeth and then began to chew.

This osmanthus rice cake is made of glutinous rice. When you first put it in your mouth, you can feel its softness and chewiness. It's not the kind of cake that's hard to chew. After chewing it a few more times, it will become a little sticky, but it won't stick to your teeth and it's easy to swallow.

At the same time, He Zhao also experienced the feeling that Ge Sinian had described. At first, there was the soft and glutinous texture of the glutinous rice, followed by the red bean paste filling. The red bean paste filling felt completely different from the glutinous rice; it was somewhat smooth and slightly grainy. It was a little sweet, but not overly sweet, and combined with the aroma of the glutinous rice, it made you feel sweet all over.

Its sweetness is not constant, but gradually increases. When you taste the osmanthus syrup, you will feel your mouth enveloped in a sweetness that is more intense than the previous sweetness. However, it quickly blends with the glutinous rice and red bean paste filling, and you can no longer distinguish them.

I swallowed it in one gulp and felt incredibly satisfied.

No one can resist sweets, especially sweets that are just the right amount of sweet.

He Zhao sighed, but still felt that the osmanthus rice cake wasn't as delicious as Ge Sinian had described. After eating a few more, she still found it a bit too sweet, and she had to use tea to reduce the sweetness.

That makes sense, though. This plate of Osmanthus Rice Cake is probably meant for several people. If each person eats one or two pieces, that would be just right. If someone like He Zhao finishes a whole plate by himself, even if it's sweet but not cloying, six pieces stacked together would still be sickeningly sweet.

Glutinous rice is really filling. After eating it, He Zhao didn't feel like eating rice anymore. She ate a few bites, then called the waiter to pack up the leftovers and took them home.

On the way, she was thinking: If I have the chance next time, I'll invite Qiao Yanyu to come and eat osmanthus rice cake together. It's a bit too much for one person, but just right for two.

Back home, He Zhao had to start chores again. She'd bought so many clothes, but they weren't meant to be worn right away; she had to wash them all before she could change into them. While doing the laundry, she started complaining again: "You damn system, you couldn't even rent a decent place! Is the washing machine in this crappy shared apartment even usable? Who knows how many people have rented here before, and there are definitely men among them! I can't just wash clothes anywhere; I have to clean the washing machine first!"

As a wealthy young woman, He Zhao had never cleaned her washing machine herself before; she always called the property management service and paid them. But now, after checking the online prices for in-home cleaning services, she silently put down her phone and searched for how to clean her washing machine.

She went downstairs to the supermarket and spent several tens of yuan more on special cleaning agents. Only after cleaning the entire washing machine did she start washing clothes.

After finishing the laundry, she still had to curse: "Damn system, when have I ever washed my own clothes? This crappy washing machine is no good either, it doesn't even have a drying function. Let me see, this damn landlord even gave me a level 3 energy efficiency washing machine, what kind of washing machine is level 3 energy efficiency?!"

[Didn't the host used to collect rent?]

"But my family is very honest; we use only the highest energy efficiency standards. Who would make it difficult for others to make money in such a small place? Wouldn't that be against their conscience?"

He Zhao cursed incessantly, but thankfully there was at least a washing machine, and she had some common sense, so she didn't just throw her newly bought down jacket in to wash. After washing it, she could only take it out and hang it on the balcony to dry.

"Tsk, even the balcony doesn't face south."