"These past few days, the kitchen has been experimenting with new varieties of mooncakes. Butler Xu has even assigned me a task: when you have time, go and see if the other kitchens have any new flavors and bring some back for me to try."
Xu Zhaoyue didn't ask him how things were going; instead, she started talking about mooncakes.
"Okay, I'll go back and find out. Does Miss have any preferences?" Yue Lanxing asked.
Xu Zhaoyue listed some, "I like red bean paste, jujube paste, coconut paste, and a few others that I can't remember but I remember they looked pretty, similar to the pastries you bought last time."
"If Miss likes it, I'll bring some more next time." Yue Lanxing noted it down. "Are there any flavors she doesn't like?"
“Yes, there are.” Xu Zhaoyue frowned and said, “I don’t like pineapple mooncakes, and strawberry ones are no good either. But last year when I was abroad, all I had were five-nut mooncakes, but they were quite fragrant, hmph.” She even gave a breathy evaluation at the end.
Yue Lanxing was surprised that the young lady could only eat one kind of mooncake abroad. But then she thought that the young lady only took Wu Ma, Uncle Sun and Xiao Nan with her. Although Uncle Sun knew martial arts, the three of them still had to be careful. Apart from studying, they were no match for the Xu family mansion in every way.
Fortunately, the young lady was smart and managed to complete all the courses in just one year. At both of the parties he attended, he heard people discussing the young lady's academic qualifications and expressing their admiration.
"From now on, Miss won't have to suffer like this anymore." Yue Lanxing felt a pang of heartache for her.
Xu Zhaoyue was about to say that it wasn't bitter at all, but when she saw Yue Lanxing looking at her with a pitying gaze, she shut up. So be it if it's bitter. If you know she's suffering, then treat her better.
Even after they got home, Xu Zhaoyue still hadn't decided on a time for the seminar. Then, seeing the mooncakes Yue Lanxing had brought back from Butler Xu, she thought it would be fine to hold it before the Mid-Autumn Festival, and she could give them a box of mooncakes as a gift.
When Yue Lanxing went to find Butler Xu, the entire villa hall was filled with a fragrant aroma. "Hello, Butler Yue." The person at the door saw him first and bowed to greet him.
"Good evening." Yue Lanxing stopped to ask, "Is Butler Xu here?"
"Yes, I'm enjoying mooncakes right now." The person pointed to Yue Lanxing and then walked out.
When Yue Lanxing went in and greeted Butler Xu, he said, "Butler Xu, I haven't come to inquire about you these past few days. Please don't be angry with me." Butler Xu was eating a small piece of mooncake when he heard Yue Lanxing's voice and quickly called him over, "Come on, come on."
"My teeth and tongue are no good anymore. It's good that you're here. I can't taste all of these, so you should try some too."
Yue Lanxing glanced around the hall and saw that there were indeed quite a few. "If we're making new flavors, isn't this too many? I see there's even a five-nut flavor. Shouldn't that be fine?"
"You don't understand. Come, come and take a look." Butler Xu pointed to a plate of mooncakes next to him and beckoned to Yue Lanxing. Yue Lanxing went over and saw that the mooncake crusts were a little burnt.
Butler Xu picked up a piece and tapped it on the plate. The sound was a bit muffled, indicating that it had been overcooked. "This is red bean paste flavored. We've been making it for many years. It just turns out like this when we don't practice it properly."
"Which kitchen did this come from?" Butler Xu asked the servant next to him. The servant stepped forward and looked at the plate. "It's from the Second Miss's kitchen."
"Alright, let them practice more. And tell the manager to come see me tomorrow." Butler Xu tossed the mooncake in his hand into the plate, then led Yue Lanxing to continue watching.
Yue Lanxing followed Butler Xu, eating and listening to him talk. In fact, he was thinking that the reason why the second young lady's kitchen hadn't made the red bean paste mooncakes was because the second young lady never ate the things that the eldest young lady liked at home, so the kitchen didn't need to make them at all.
After just this trip, Yue Lanxing's mouth was full of food, but before he left, he packed a portion of the delicious food he had just eaten to take with him.
"Wow, these look like they were just made recently. Butler Xu has really made a big fuss about them. The hospital is going to hold an exchange meeting, so we'll pack all the flavors that we like into gift boxes."
Xu Zhaoyue looked at the opened box, and a wonderful aroma wafted out. Seeing her young mistress's interest, Xiao Nan went to get a knife and cut off a piece of each item, placing it on a plate.
"This lotus seed paste looks so good, Xiaonan, look." Xu Zhaoyue picked it up and showed Xiaonan the lotus seed paste filling.
"Really? Who made this? I want to learn how." Xiao Nan was also happy to see it, and then she went to get the remaining large piece. "I'll try this one."
Yue Lanxing served water to the young lady and poured a glass for Xiao Nan as well. "This should have been made in the young master's kitchen. Their stove is newly built."
"These are all pretty good. Have you tried them all?" Xu Zhaoyue ate two small pieces of other flavors and looked at the appearance of each one. They must have been carefully selected.
"Butler Xu made me try every single plate. I didn't even need to eat dinner. These are the few mooncakes I can still remember after eating all of them. I thought that Miss had mentioned them at noon, so I brought them back."
Xu Zhaoyue gave a thumbs up in satisfaction, "Your sense of taste has earned my approval."
As long as Miss Yue Lanxing is satisfied, that's all that matters. Actually, most of these dishes were made in their own kitchen, and some of them can even be found in regular dessert plates. They are made with extra care during holidays.
After eating a few small pieces, Xu Zhaoyue stopped eating. Xiao Nan took the rest and divided them up. While eating, they didn't forget to chat about whether there were any special techniques involved, as if they wanted to learn from other kitchens.
As night deepened, another meeting was held at Maple Leaf Mansion.
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