Chapter 94 (Ice Cream Cake (Part 1)...)
Good fortune may always come together.
On June 5th, Yan Qiushu not only received a group of guests, but also received dividends from the food court!
This time the dividends are not as small as last time.
Before, there was only one braised food shop, which adopted the strategy of small profits but quick turnover, so naturally the dividends were not much. But now, from the beginning of the year to now, the 20% of the profits that Yan Qiushu has received is already a huge sum!
As more and more stores opened in the food street, food streets appeared in other cities, and Yan Qiushu's dividends would only increase.
This made her more motivated.
It’s a pity that hot pot base cannot be mass-produced at present.
But even so, hot pot base has entered most shops in the food street. Shops that like spicy food will always develop a new flavor - hot pot flavor.
At first, no one knew what hot pot tasted like.
But you’ll know once you order it, like the grilled fish with hot pot flavor.
This method requires little hot pot base. It can enhance the flavor a little so that people in Kyoto will like it without causing discomfort due to being too spicy. When the hot pot is officially launched in the future after it has become popular, it will surely make a lot of money.
Yan Qiushu held the money in her hands, fantasizing about the future, and almost wanted to lie down.
The food court has so much dividends, does she still need to work hard?!
But when she thought of the battle that would take place more than a year later, she struggled to get up again. She decided to try her best, at least to resolve the final crisis.
She washed her hands and went to the kitchen, holding a spatula, full of confidence.
The strawberries were soon picked, but fortunately there were still watermelons available, and the food street also bought a lot of them, so people kept coming to the village to experience life.
Yan Qiushu accepted the wealth that was rolling in.
And in June of this year, Zhou Zejing successfully married Yan Qiuyuan.
When they got married, they sent her an invitation, but she didn't go.
After all, this wedding was a grand one. Yan Qiuyuan, as a concubine's daughter, married Zhou Zejing, the prince's son, as his legal wife, which really made many people sigh, especially since Zhou Zejing was also a very outstanding member of the royal family.
Because he didn't have to take the imperial examination, he directly entered the court as an official. However, since he took office, he has made outstanding political achievements and gained the emperor's trust. His future is bright!
In the eyes of the people of the Great Zhou, the marriage between two such people is definitely true love, and their marriage will surely be as sweet as honey.
But unfortunately, on the second day after Zhou Zejing got married, he was forced to come to Prince Xuan's mansion and use threats and bribes to coerce the restless prince into staying in obedience.
The sixth prince, King Xuan, had average looks, average talent, and an average mother's family. He was unremarkable among the other princes of the royal family.
But now, he has become the focus of everyone's discussion.
Because he plotted to murder his brother, colluded with Wuta, and helped the third prince to rebel.
In fact, in the entire Zhou Dynasty, King Xuan's presence was still very low, so when he suddenly became the leader, many people sighed that the position of crown prince was too attractive.
Unfortunately, he has no ability and his allies are unreliable.
Wuta was directly penetrated by the Xiao family army, causing everything to be exposed to the sun.
King Xuan had just been beaten with thirty sticks. As an adult, he was beaten half to death. He recuperated in the palace for a long time. It was said that the injury was so serious that the emperor had not yet sent him to his fiefdom.
But in fact, King Xuan's health had almost recovered. He did not go out because he was afraid that others would remember her and drive her away to her fiefdom.
However, he could only hide in the mansion. Compared with before, he was restricted in what he could do and felt extremely uncomfortable.
As a prince, apart from being powerless in his early years and having suffered from the troubles caused by Concubine Lu, he also wanted to get whatever he wanted when he grew up. Now that he was aggrieved, he naturally refused to accept it and made a fuss about going to the palace to plead with his father. The other guests in the mansion could not control him, so they had to invite Zhou Zejing.
"Your Highness, the situation is special right now. Are you really willing to accept your fate and give up the throne?" Zhou Zejing looked at the man who was almost recovered but was about to suffer again. His gums felt itchy and he felt a little irritated.
Not only did everything go wrong, he also had to deal with King Xuan's harassment. He had lost weight visibly during this period.
There was not much joy left on his face from his wedding.
King Xuan was not one to show sympathy. He frowned gloomily, "What should I do then? We can't even leave. There's no chance of any competition for the crown prince!"
Zhou Zejing took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and said patiently: "Who said Your Highness can't do anything? Your Highness doesn't want revenge?"
King Xuan's eyes lit up: "Are you talking about the Xiao family?!"
"Of course." Zhou Zejing nodded. "All of this was done by the Xiao family. If it weren't for Xiao Huaiting exposing this evidence, how could this happen?"
King Xuan nodded vigorously and said gloomily, "Yes! The Xiao family is so abominable!"
Seeing how angry he was, Zhou Zejing said softly, "I have a way to teach the Xiao family a lesson. Would Your Highness like to try it?"
King Xuan said decisively: "You speak!"
Zhou Zejing said slowly, "In a few days, it will be the fiftieth birthday of the old lady of the Xiao family. There are only two male members left in the Xiao family. Xiao Huaiting is a tough man, but his brother has lost both legs and is frail and sickly. If something happens to him, the Xiao family will be deeply saddened and will never dare to confront Your Highness again."
"Aggression against Xiao Huaiqi? That's not a good idea, right?" King Xuan hesitated.
Zhou Zejing laughed and said, "Is it possible that Your Highness doesn't dare? He has already lost both legs and is now a cripple."
King Xuan was embarrassed and angry: "Why wouldn't I dare?!"
Zhou Zejing curled his lips: "Then what does Your Highness plan to do?"
King Xuan frowned and pondered how to make Xiao Huaiqi fail. After thinking for a long time, he could not come up with any countermeasures. He could only helplessly say, "Can you help me think of it?"
Zhou Zejing pondered and said, "I actually have an idea..."
Xiao Mansion
On the day of Mrs. Xiao’s birthday party, the Xiao family’s debt was really due.
Shen Pingyu also rushed over from Shen's house in advance.
Yan Qiushu arrived early, but did not go to reminisce with Chen Pingyu and the others.
Instead, she came to the yard where she lived before.
The servants in the mansion were all very familiar with her and were very respectful to her, just as always. So when she asked for ingredients, the kitchen immediately sent someone to deliver them. "My dear, it's all ready, just waiting for you to cook. Do you want to transfer Aunt Xu over to help you?"
Aunt Xu is a good cook, and she knows all the dishes that Yan Qiushu taught her. She is now the main chef in the kitchen.
Yan Qiushu quickly shook her head: "No need, just help me find four strong servants."
The man left obediently, and soon four servants came over.
Yan Qiushu handed each of them a basin, one containing eggs and the other a large piece of butter. "Stir constantly with chopsticks. Each person takes a quarter of an hour to replace the other. Be quick! If you finish today and don't slack off, I'll give you a reward of one or two taels of silver."
The strong servants were all from the outer courtyard. They only earned a little silver every month and one or two taels of silver a day. The four servants were excited. The two servants waiting for their turn wanted to take over the work, for fear that their master would misunderstand them as being lazy.
Yan Qiushu found a corner for them to work and ignored them.
She is richer now than before, and is more generous with her money. Of course, the key point is that the amount today is really a lot!
She planned to make a six-layer cake!
This kind of big cake is too troublesome to prepare, so Yan Qiushu needs to come early to prepare it.
And the key point is that this cake is not an ordinary cake, but an ice cream cake.
In early July, it is a hot summer day and the nights are also very hot. Eating a piece of cool cake at this time is definitely an ultimate enjoyment.
Yan Qiushu wiped the sweat off her forehead, rolled up her sleeves, and started working hard.
The first thing is to make the bread dough for the big cake, which needs to be made many times. Fortunately, the oven in the yard is very large. Once I become proficient in it, I can bake the cake dough one by one.
Next comes the splicing.
With a month's preparation, the six-layer cake tower is ready, so now put the cold and soft ice cream directly in the middle of the cake base, spread it with cream, garnish it with fruit, and quickly put it under the first layer of the cake tower, and have someone send it to the ice cellar to keep it warm.
Repeat this process until the smallest cake on the sixth layer is finished.
In the ice cellar, only with the candles lit could they see clearly. Shui Xuan's eyes widened: "This cake is so beautiful!"
There are patterns painted with jam, colors dotted with fruits, white cream, and delicate lace. The most important thing is that it gets bigger from high to low, layer by layer, like a tower half a person's height!
"Isn't it?!" Yan Qiushu was quite pleased with herself for being able to do this. She happily admired it for a long time before she instructed, "Shui Yu, you will wait outside the ice cellar. Make sure to take it out when the time is almost up. Be very careful and take it out layer by layer. Don't rush."
"Yes! Don't worry, young lady." Shui Yu said loudly.
She was entrusted with an important task, and once she left the cellar, she couldn't leave.
But it was already late, and the sunset dyed a large area of the sky red, forming a natural filter. At this time, the steward in charge of entertaining guests in the mansion also hurried over: "Xiang Jun, it's almost time, you can prepare to go to your seat!"
Yan Qiushu agreed, and quickly washed up and tied her hair. This time she put on two more pieces of jewelry and a jade bracelet before going out.
At this time, the outer courtyard was already bustling with activity.
A bunch of distinguished guests were walking around here, many of them chatting in groups of three or four. Occasionally, when they met each other, they would greet each other.
Led by her maid, Yan Qiushu sat in a seat very close to the front. Everyone at this table was a relative of the Xiao family, but because they had been separated, they only came during festivals or major celebrations.
There were two elderly people sitting at her table. They smiled at her kindly and greeted her briefly, but since they were not familiar with each other, they didn't talk much.
But soon, Yan Qiushu felt as if many eyes were focused on her, and there were faint and unclear voices discussing her: "Is this the future young lady of the Xiao family?"
"I heard he's an orphan. What does the Xiao family think?"
"Their family has never cared about family background. Apart from the eldest and third sons, how many other children have high family backgrounds?"
"Then you wouldn't find an orphan, would you? Besides, she's the wife for the Sixth Brother, who will inherit the Xiao family in the future..."
Yan Qiushu became impatient and turned around. Sure enough, many people were looking at her, men and women, old and young, all staring at her with strange expressions.
However, they were all well-known figures, so they could discuss in low voices, but it was not appropriate to say anything in front of others. Therefore, when they saw her looking at them, they all smiled friendlyly.
Yan Qiushu also saw Hong Chufu and Fu Mingwan in the crowd.
She smiled back and sat there without saying anything. Oh no, she was still a little early.
Now that I don’t have a mobile phone, I don’t know how to pass the time.
At this moment, a sarcastic snort came from my ear: "Some people, I don't know what means they use, they can fly up to the branches without any family background. Sister-in-law, don't you think it's funny?"
Yan Qiushu looked in the direction of the voice and saw a girl about sixteen years old sitting at the table next to her, looking at her with disgust.
The woman next to her was older and had her hair combed like a married woman. She shook her head in disapproval, then gave Yan Qiushu a polite smile.
But this made the girl even more unhappy. When she saw her looking at her, she glared at her.
Yan Qiushu looked away expressionlessly.
"Hmph!" The girl became even angrier and snorted coldly.
"Jiang Shengyun, is your nose itchy?" A gentle voice sounded, and then a person sat down next to Yan Qiushu. It was Xiao Huaiya.
The tone was too gentle and didn't feel aggressive at all. Jiang Shengyun didn't take it on guard and subconsciously replied, "It doesn't itch."
Xiao Huaiya smiled and said, "Oh, I thought your nose was like a cow's, and you need to hum when it itches, otherwise why would you be humming here?"
"You!" Jiang Shengyun's face flushed red and she stood up in anger.
Xiao Huaiya blinked innocently: "What's wrong with you? Did I say something wrong?"
Jiang Shengyun: "..."
Her face flushed as she glared at the person in front of her, but she dared not utter the words that were on the tip of her tongue. Finally, she sat down angrily and sneered in a low voice, "Why are you so arrogant? I'll see what gift I'll give you later!"
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