The two chatted for about half an hour.

Before hanging up, Jiang Jingxing said, "I'm leaving at seven o'clock tomorrow, so I won't call you."

Su Yan's hands trembled slightly as she kneaded the dough, and her good mood dissipated somewhat.

No wonder I kept talking to her for so long tonight.

After a few seconds of silence, she said, "I understand. Be careful."

"Wait for me to come back," Jiang Jingxing said. "I will definitely come back to spend the New Year with you."

If he says that, then the chances of him coming back in December are slim.

Su Yan wanted to ask if the mission was very difficult, otherwise he wouldn't have said such a thing.

But the words stuck in her throat, and she couldn't bring herself to ask them.

"Okay, I'll wait for you to come back."

"Alright, it's late. Don't work too long. Sleep in a little later tomorrow."

Goodnight, Ayan.

"You can hang up now."

Su Yan paused for a moment, then replied, "Okay."

After hanging up the phone, the air was quiet.

She let out a heavy breath, constantly reassuring herself that Jiang Jingxing was the army's invincible war god. He was so capable that no matter how difficult the mission, he could always return safely.

She made four hundred tart shells before taking a shower and going to bed.

Su Yan felt as if she had just fallen asleep when a nightmare swept over her.

She dreamt of a battlefield where Jiang Jingxing was injured by a bomb while saving a woman and fell into a coma. The woman stayed by his side day and night. When he woke up, it was a long time later. His tendons in both legs were severed, and he was seriously injured and unable to walk. The doctor said that the chances of recovery were very small.

The scene shifts, and Jiang Jingxing returns from the battlefield. He comes to the courtyard to find her, sitting in a wheelchair. His first words to her are a cold declaration of breaking up, because he has fallen in love with someone else. The person he has fallen in love with is the woman he saved on the battlefield, and the person pushing his wheelchair is also that woman.

The woman was elegant and poised, dressed in a black coat. She spoke gently to Su Yan, who was still reeling from the breakup, saying, "I will take good care of Jingxing. I hope you can get over this soon."

Seeing Su Yan's pale face, Su Yu could no longer hold back and punched Jiang Jingxing in the face. He pinned Jiang Jingxing to the ground and beat him, cursing him as a heartless man. Su Yan finally reacted, grabbed her brother, and fainted before she could say anything.

Let's break up.

"Because I fell in love with someone else."

These two sentences kept echoing in Su Yan's ears.

"ah--!"

Su Yan screamed and suddenly sat up in bed.

She was gasping for breath, her eyes filled with terror.

A drop of sweat suddenly fell on the back of her hand, bringing her back to her senses.

She raised her hand to wipe away the sweat, only to find that she was soaked through, and even her pillow and sheets were wet.

Su Yan swallowed hard and turned her head to look out the window.

It was just beginning to get light outside; it was still very early.

She looked up at the time.

5:45.

"Bang bang bang—!"

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

Su Yan immediately threw off the covers, got out of bed, and went to open the door.

The door opened, revealing Bai Meng and two others.

When Deng Ziyi saw her, his eyes widened in surprise and he exclaimed, "Ayan, did you just take a shower?"

Su Yan was still a little dazed. She stepped aside to let them in. "No, I had a nightmare and woke up in a fright, and then you guys came."

Deng Ziyi rubbed his sore arm and said, "My whole body aches."

"You haven't exercised in a long time, you'll get used to it," Su Yan said with a smile.

Bai Meng said to her, "Ayan, why don't you go take a shower to clear your head? Let's bake some egg tarts first."

Su Yan did not refuse.

After all, she was indeed in a rather disheveled state.

When I came out of the shower, Bai Meng had already started baking egg tarts.

Deng Ziyi and Chen Ting were calculating yesterday's income.

It was too late last night, so we didn't count. They had to rush back to the dorm before curfew, and after showering, they studied for an hour.

"Why are you all here so early today?" Su Yan asked, drying her hair.

Bai Meng said, "Yesterday, some customers asked them to set up their stall earlier, otherwise the queue would be too long and they wouldn't be able to get to work in time."

Su Yan: "I forgot about you guys, which flavor do the guests prefer the most?"

Chen Ting immediately replied, "I prefer the raisin flavor."

Deng Ziyi said, "I prefer the original flavor more here, but people who buy it usually order two original flavors and one raisin flavor."

Su Yan nodded. "Today I need to research new flavors. We have enough egg tart shells for today, plus the ones you made last night, for a total of five hundred."

Now that the weather is cool, I'll find something to seal the egg tart shells so they won't spoil without refrigerating them. Otherwise, she wouldn't dare make so many.

"What new flavors are you going to research?" Bai Meng asked. "Also, we're running out of ingredients."

The last half pound of milk, which was used to make the egg tart filling, is gone. There's still a little flour and sugar left.

"I know, let's use milk powder instead of milk for now, it tastes richer. I'll go buy it when it gets light."

Milk powder is more expensive, but the milk it makes has a stronger milk flavor than cow's milk, and the egg tarts it makes are more fragrant.

Su Yan went through the process of making the milk powder egg tart filling once, and the milk aroma was indeed stronger.

This can of milk powder was bought for her by Xie Jin; he bought several cans.

She drank from this can once, but didn't like it much, so she put it aside.

"When you're selling them, remember to explain to the customers that today's egg tart filling is made with milk powder, so it has a stronger milk flavor. We'll be using real milk this afternoon."

"Why?" Deng Ziyi asked, puzzled.

Su Yan explained, "Egg tarts baked with milk powder filling are more fragrant. If you don't explain this, what if the customers who come back to buy in the afternoon ask you if the taste has become bland? If they want to eat those made with milk powder, that's fine too, 1.5 yuan for two, 1 yuan for two for the school, we'll make them for an extra fee."

Since a small can of milk powder costs only a few dollars, and its cost is higher than that of milk, it's not unreasonable to raise the price a bit, right?

The three of them suddenly realized.

At 6:30, Chen Ting and Deng Ziyi took freshly baked egg tarts out the door.

Su Yan went out to shop around 7 o'clock.

The bicycle hadn't returned yet, so she took the bus.

Since it's a public expense, we naturally try to save money wherever possible.

When she arrived at the milk factory, she originally planned to order six jin (3 catties) like last time, but the factory manager said that ten jin (5 kg) or more could be delivered to her doorstep, so she ordered ten jin and left the factory's phone number so that she wouldn't have to come all the way here again if she ordered ten jin in the future.

After buying the milk, Su Yan went to the dessert ingredients store and discussed home delivery with He Guifen.

"I don't need much now, but I'll definitely need more and more every time I come to buy materials in the future," Su Yan said.

He Guifen was a relative of the milk factory manager. When she learned that Su Yan had ordered ten catties of milk, she immediately agreed.

She'll have the dairy factory's delivery person deliver the materials Su Yan ordered, and she'll just give them a small tip.

This time, Su Yan asked for fifty catties of flour, fifty catties of white sugar, ten catties of brown sugar, five catties of red beans, ten catties of cassava flour, and one catty of honey.

She left only after I paid and we agreed on a delivery time.