The sudden voice startled Su Yun'er.

She almost dropped what she was holding.

It turned out to be Sun Wanqing.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Madam Su, I didn't mean to scare you." Sun Wanqing stood outside the kitchen, her eyes full of apology. "When I came to the door, I saw that the courtyard gate was not closed, so I came in directly. Seeing that you were so engrossed in your work in the kitchen, I thought I would disturb you."

"Nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong. What brings you here? Have you recovered?" Su Yun'er put down the bowl of taro paste in her hand and came out to greet her.

Hearing the commotion, Old Mrs. Chen also came out of the main room.

"I'm all better now. Happy New Year to Madam Su and Granny Chen." Sun Wanqing gave a graceful curtsy and offered New Year's greetings to the Chen family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Su Yun'er quickly stepped aside and helped Sun Wanqing up.

"What are you bowing to me for?" she scolded, then turned to call for Little Tree and Little Grass to come and offer New Year's greetings to the guests, but Little Tree and Little Grass had already run out to play.

"You've come at the perfect time today," Su Yun'er said, leading Sun Wanqing to her original room. This used to be Su Yun'er's bedroom, but now Su Yun'er and the children sleep in the main room.

"I made a new pastry today, I don't know if you'll like it. It'll be ready soon, wait for me here."

After saying that, Su Yun'er left quickly without waiting for Sun Wanqing's reaction. A little while later, she returned with a plate of plump, white dumplings.

The white dumplings looked plump and chubby, with a snow-white skin that had a slight purple tinge.

To make the taro paste look nicer, Su Yun'er specially added some purple sweet potatoes and mixed them in.

Sun Wanqing looked at the plate of six plump dumplings and thought they were incredibly cute.

"What is this food? It looks kind of cute."

"This is called taro glutinous rice ball. Try it, do you like it?"

Sun Wanqing knew that Su Yun'er was a good cook and had already tasted her innovative dishes, which always surprised her. So this time, she wasn't worried at all that the chubby dumpling wouldn't taste good.

Seeing that they all looked the same, Sun Wanqing picked one up at random. It felt soft to the touch, even softer than cotton, and very comfortable to touch.

The soft dumpling would deform at the slightest touch. Sun Wanqing placed the dumpling on a small plate, brought it to her mouth, and took a small bite.

The resilient outer skin was stretched quite a distance before it finally broke as the teeth bit and pulled. "This is... rice cake?"

"Yes, similar, but with a different flavor." Su Yun'er nodded with a smile.

Sun Wanqing chewed on the glutinous rice ball skin. Hmm, it was indeed different from the rice cakes she had eaten before. Rice cakes were only this soft and could be stretched without breaking when they were hot, but this glutinous rice ball skin was already cold, yet it was still so soft. No, it was even softer than hot rice cakes, and it was more resilient when stretched.

This was a taste of food that Sun Wanqing had never experienced before.

Sun Wanqing looked down at the plate in her hand and saw that purple taro paste was slowly flowing out from the broken part of the glutinous rice ball. It wasn't too runny, but rather puffed up at the broken part, looking cute and tempting.

Sun Wanqing lowered her head and took another bite of the taro paste filling.

The taro paste has a strong grainy texture, with the sweetness of milk and sugar, and the smooth taro paste has a complex aroma.

"Delicious! These pastries are so delicious. Madam Su is so skillful; she can actually make such interesting pastries."

“If you like it, I’ll pack some for you to take back later.” Su Yun’er sat down beside her and casually picked up a glutinous rice ball to eat.

Mmm, the taro paste is so delicious, it's just like me!

"Since you cook so well, I can't bear to give you to anyone else. I really want to take you home and cook delicious meals for me every day," Sun Wanqing sighed, resting her chin on her hand.

"Give me to someone else?" Su Yun'er tilted her head, not understanding what Sun Wanqing meant.

Sun Wanqing smiled mysteriously: "Actually, I came here today because I have something to discuss with you. Eat quickly, and I'll take you out after you're done."

Seeing Sun Wanqing's anxious look, as if saying "I really want to tell you, but I can't," Su Yun'er became less curious.

After leisurely finishing her glutinous rice balls, Su Yun'er was pulled and dragged onto the carriage by Sun Wanqing.

With the carriage doors and curtains closed, Su Yun'er couldn't see the changes in the scenery outside the window, but she could roughly guess the distance the carriage traveled by turning left and right and going straight.

"Are we going to the dock?" Su Yun'er analyzed.

“How are you so smart? You just went to the docks.” Sun Wanqing said with a smile. “You really are the smartest person I’ve ever met.”

Upon arriving at the dock, Su Yun'er was stunned by what she saw as soon as she got out of the car.

It's a brick and tile house, and from the outside, it looks quite large, even bigger than the first floor of Lingyue Tower in the city.

Sun Wanqing looked at the brick house with a smug look, then at Su Yun'er: "Do you like it?"

"This is for me?" Su Yun'er was astonished.

He had previously mentioned wanting to convert a building at the dock into a small shop, but the original plan was to find an experienced villager after the New Year to build a thatched hut or a mud-brick house. However, he never expected that Sun Wanqing would directly give him a brick and tile house.

"Come on, let's go inside and take a look." Sun Wanqing pulled Su Yunran into the house.

The house looked brand new, as if it had just been built.

The house has two doors, one in the front and one in the back. The first rectangular room is quite large and can hold many tables, as well as a counter and a serving station. The second door leads to a smaller room, which is divided into two smaller rooms. The inner room is empty, while the outer room has two large stoves, making it clearly the kitchen. The outer room can be used as a storage room to store some items.

“This shop…” Su Yun’er paused.

She knew the Sun family was wealthy, and that it was easier for the rich to get things done than for the poor, but this house was far beyond her expectations.

“It was my grandfather’s idea. You saved me twice, and this shop is my grandfather’s gift to you in gratitude.”

As Sun Wanqing spoke, she took Su Yun'er's hand and said, "You can't refuse."