Chapter 163 Mooncake Dishes Next time, I'll ask if we need a chef.

Just as the newly-born Yu-chan Claude was chatting with Alice, preparing to start piano lessons once they settled down, Yao Xiaoyu finally finished all her travel plans and arrived home exhausted.

"Want to eat mooncakes?"

When Zhou Chunhua saw Yao Xiaoyu return, she asked her quite proactively. Yao Xiaoyu, who had just entered the room, subconsciously took a few steps back, and only shook her head cautiously after making sure that there wouldn't be a mooncake in her arms out of nowhere.

It's no wonder she's so cautious; the main reason is that the Yao family has started to resort to any means to consume these mooncakes. Although Yao Xiaoyu, who was eating out, wasn't harmed much, just the reprocessed products she saw included mooncake porridge, mooncake soup, mooncake fried rice, and mooncake stir-fry. The Yao family members were left looking numb and dazed after eating them.

But not eating them wasn't an option either. Buying extra mooncakes was a decision everyone had discussed, and we all had to share the consequences.

Mooncakes hold a special place in the hearts of people during the Mid-Autumn Festival, as evidenced by the fact that even the poor would borrow money to buy them on the fifteenth of August, and the rather prosperous Mooncake Council.

The Mooncake Council has nothing to do with politics. It is said to be an organization that originated in Beijing. To put it simply, it is a mooncake installment payment system. People who want mooncakes regularly deposit money into the mooncake shop and can take the mooncakes home directly during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Because it is an advance payment, the price of the mooncakes is cheaper than buying them outright.

The Yao family had previously reached the lowest point of poverty, and they could only afford to buy meat on special occasions. Therefore, when they were in debt, they did not buy mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival. However, not buying them did not mean they did not want them. It was not until this year, after paying off their debts and having some cash on hand, that their suppressed shopping desires finally erupted.

But mooncakes are like fried pork cracklings in the eyes of modern people: one bite is fragrant, two bites are greasy, three or four bites are unpleasant and they are rejected. Even if the Yao family did crave fat, mooncakes made by directly kneading dough with oil were still too much. However, they bought too many, and in the end, no one ate them, so they had to distribute them.

The whole family has worked hard until now, and there are still about ten mooncakes left to eat. Yao Xiaoyu estimated that at the Yao family's consumption rate, it would take at least five more days. Zhou Chunhua and the others had also bought a giant mooncake called "Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon". Although it was not an extra-large size that would require two strong men to move, it was still quite impressive. Yao Xiaoyu could imagine Zhou Chunhua using it to host a whole table of dishes. While other families gathered for a feast, the Yao family held a mooncake meeting.

...

"I've already eaten out, I'm not hungry."

Yao Xiaoyu wasn't making this up. She had been running around all day and had used up a lot of energy. On the way back, after smelling the delicious aroma wafting from the restaurant, she and Tao Xiaoxiao promptly headed to the restaurant. The two of them ordered eight dishes. If it weren't for Tao Xiaoxiao's strong appetite, they would have had to carry a huge food box back with them.

"By the way, is Xiaoli here?"

Faced with Zhou Chunhua's enthusiastic invitation, Yao Xiaoyu, who was reluctant to refuse, finally remembered that she was still carrying a bamboo tube. Looking around and not seeing her sister, she took the initiative to ask.

Inside the bamboo tube was a large prawn and shark fin soup that she had packed up. The dish was quite large, but it tasted very good. Tao Xiaoxiao saw that Yao Xiaoyu liked it, so she put it last in the order of eating it. As a result, there was one that she couldn't finish. Yao Xiaoyu thought of the endless mooncake dishes at home, and she softened her heart and packed it up to bring back, intending to give Yao Xiaoli a change of taste.

"I am here!"

Yao Xiaoli, who was hiding from the mooncakes, poked her head out from the second floor and arrived in front of Yao Xiaoyu two minutes later. Without saying a word, Yao Xiaoyu handed her the bamboo tube, and Yao Xiaoli, who had been suffering from the lack of food, immediately began to chew it without any intention of sharing it—when the rest of the Yao family went out for a treat, they didn't share any with her either!

During this period of making mooncakes, cooking, soup, and dishes, Yao Xiaoli had the hardest time: Yao Tianrui's middle school was a serious matter, so even though he still had to eat at home in the morning and evening, he could always have some proper food at noon; Wenrou and Zhou Chunhua, needless to say, although they also tried to eat a certain amount of mooncakes, they had money in their hands and could change their tastes a bit; although Yao Ping'an couldn't go out, his wife and mother could bring back some food.

Needless to say, Yao Xiaoyu and Yao Xiaoli didn't participate in this painful eating activity from beginning to end. So, all things considered, Yao Xiaoli was the only one who was neither valued nor had money and could only honestly eat mooncakes for three meals a day. The prawns and shark fin soup that Yao Xiaoyu brought back was the only variable in her diet during this period.

Yao Xiaoyu was unaware of the intricacies involved. She simply moved away from her younger sister, who was engrossed in eating, fearing that the starving Yao Xiaoli might also devour her. Yao Xiaoli noticed her sister's actions, but she had no time to pay attention, as she was completely focused on the baked shrimp and shark fin soup in front of her.

The aroma that drew Yao Xiaoyu to the restaurant was this dish, which is also the restaurant's signature dish. The wings are not ordinary chicken wings, but rehydrated shark fins, seasoned with ham and chicken broth and then baked with prawns. Although it was a bit cold now, the flavor was extremely rich, and the freshness of the prawns was not diminished at all. It almost made Yao Xiaoli, who had been suffering recently, cry.

"Take this money. If you're feeling really bad, go out and get something to eat."

Avoiding Zhou Chunhua's gaze, Yao Xiaoyu grabbed a handful of copper coins and gave them to Yao Xiaoli. She wasn't a very compassionate person, but Yao Xiaoli's behavior was really exaggerated.

"Thank you, sister."

Yao Xiaoli spoke in a breathy voice, her mouth still chewing. With one hand free, she folded her clothes a few times and somehow managed to make a temporary pocket. She put a handful of coins in without making a sound, tilted her head back, swallowed the last of her food, and ran upstairs.

"Hey, time for dinner!"

Zhou Chunhua called out to Yao Xiaoli's retreating figure. Yao Xiaoli seemed to pause for a moment, then ran even faster.

She just ate something good, who wants to eat stir-fried potatoes with mooncakes or egg and mooncake soup? She'd rather go hungry!

"Little Fish, you..."

Zhou Chunhua couldn't stop her little granddaughter, so she turned her gaze to her eldest granddaughter again. Yao Xiaoyu's face stiffened, and she shook her head vigorously as she quickly ran up the stairs.

Are you kidding me? She just finished eating. Even if she woke up hungry in the middle of the night, did she not have money to buy a late-night snack?

Yao Xiaoyu rushed upstairs, locking the door firmly before finally letting out a sigh of relief. Although she had eaten dragon fruit scrambled eggs and durian steamed bananas and tomatoes when she had no other choice, those were cafeteria dishes during the pandemic. Now it wasn't like she would starve to death if she didn't eat, so she decided to leave these special delicacies for the Yao family to enjoy themselves.

To avoid being forced to sit at the table and contribute to solving the mooncake problem, Yao Xiaoyu got up very early the next day and quietly left home before dawn, taking Tao Xiaoxiao straight to the clean women's bathhouse.

Taking a hot shower in the morning and then eating a bowl of wontons is a very comfortable thing. Yao Xiaoyu experienced everything from body scrubbing and massage to facial cleansing and ear cleaning at the women's bathhouse. After being massaged until her muscles and bones were sore, she took a nap. When she came out, the sun had already passed halfway across the sky.

"Eat first or do the work first?"

Yao Xiaoyu asked Tao Xiaoxiao if the bathhouse did provide food, but most of it was just soupy things like wontons to fill the stomach, or at worst some fruit and pastries. She felt that her stomach was okay, but it also felt like something was missing.

"Let's get to work first, then we'll go have a good meal."

Tao Xiaoxiao didn't answer, so Yao Xiaoyu made her own decision. Because of Ye Junshu's unexpected situation, the things Yao Xiaoyu was supposed to do had been delayed for quite some time. Transporting the toolbox from the Ye residence was not something that could be done in a day, so Yao Xiaoyu decided to take advantage of this free time to do some of her own things.

For example, first go to the middleman to verify the authenticity of Aunt Pang's information, and then arrange to meet her again to collect some materials.

"Auntie, you seem... to have lost weight?"

Looking at the robust woman who had come to the appointment, Yao Xiaoyu hesitated and said that compared to the last time they met, Aunt Pang's face was noticeably more dejected.

"It's too hot, I don't have a good appetite."

Yao Xiaoyu thought about the increasingly cold weather in the past few days and didn't comment on the statement. She just focused on collecting materials. Hiring a cook was of course the most important thing, but her writing career was also very important. The wages of the people she hired later would all depend on her pen.

Thinking about the lack of progress in hiring workers on the other side, Yao Xiaoyu couldn't help but sigh. There are people everywhere who can't find work, so why is it so difficult for her to recruit workers?

Yao Xiaoyu's depressed mood did not affect their conversation. Aunt Pang and Yao Xiaoyu talked for a whole afternoon, and only reluctantly said goodbye after arranging a third time to talk. As soon as Yao Xiaoyu's figure disappeared behind the door, the smile on Aunt Pang's face disappeared like dew when the sun came out.

Ever since she hosted the foreigners last time, the host family's attitude has grown colder day by day. And these high-class families are the best at judging people by their status. She has been having a rather unpleasant time. If she hadn't been unable to find another job, Aunt Pang would have left long ago.

After we finish talking next time, I'll ask her if she still needs a cook.

After returning home and hearing everyone's sarcastic remarks, Aunt Pang finally made a decision.

"After we finish talking next time, I plan to ask Aunt Pang if she would be willing to work for another company."

Yao Xiaoyu said to Tao Xiaoxiao that she should have said this today, but they were so engrossed in their conversation that by the time she remembered, Aunt Pang had already left.

However, her house wasn't very tidy yet, so waiting a little longer wouldn't hurt.

In the following days, Yao Xiaoyu continued her life as usual. The smuggling of the toolbox from the Ye family went smoothly. However, for some reason, instead of the child who was supposed to deliver the box, a middle-aged man came. That was fine, but the strange look he gave her made Yao Xiaoyu feel uneasy.

"...So you have to give me more money!"

Yao Xiaoyu delivered a passionate speech to Ye Junshu, but Ye Junshu was stunned when he heard Yao Xiaoyu's description of the middle-aged man's appearance—why was his father playing the role of a servant for no reason?!

"We might be getting a foreign daughter-in-law."

One question bubble after another bubbled up in Ye Junshu's head. At the same time, Ye's father was also lamenting the misfortune of his family to his wife.