The pitch-black sky gradually turned blue.
Various bird calls came from all directions.
Yan Xia's family had already gotten up and eaten breakfast.
"Mother is planning to rebuild the house. The main house will remain, but two side rooms will be added for your future children to live in. The entire yard will be covered with blue bricks and raised to three meters high. However, it will be inconvenient for men to come and go to work in the house. Guihua, Lamei, and Xiaohe, the three of you will come with Mother to live in the shop. You can come back after the house is built. Jinfu and Jinlu, the two of you will be in charge of looking after the house. Mother will go and say hello to your Aunt Zhao in a little while."
This was a method Yan Xia came up with last night; coincidentally, all the rose jam she was making was locked in her room.
Both sons can also watch over it.
"Okay, Mother, I'll do whatever you say."
Jin Fu didn't care.
He would obediently do whatever his mother asked him to do.
It doesn't matter whether you go to the shop to sell goods or stay at home.
After informing her children, Yan Xia went to Zhao Xinrong's house.
The renovation of the house was once again entrusted to Brother Qian.
After agreeing to start construction two days later, Yan Xia gave them 25 taels of silver and left. This time, all the materials were blue bricks, which would be more expensive. In addition, both the backyard and the front yard needed to be expanded, and Yan Xia also wanted to dig a well in the front yard.
All things considered, it's more expensive than building the house before.
The day to start construction arrived quickly. Early in the morning, Yan Xia finished instructing her sons and then left with her daughter and daughter-in-law.
The storage room in the backyard of the shop has been tidied up.
Two beds were placed there.
The two of them will sleep in one bed.
It's barely big enough to squeeze in.
Brother Qian said it would be completed in 10 days.
"Xiaohe, Lamei, Guihua, the three of you put all the clothes inside and then come out to work. We're leaving late today, so don't keep the guests waiting too long."
After finishing her sentence, Yan Xia took the lead in making peach shortbread.
The flower cakes have been discontinued because there are no more fresh roses, and the preserved roses will not be ready for use for another three days.
If you open the jar beforehand, it won't taste as good.
As for the small jars, she brought them all to the shop yesterday. She's been staying at the shop for a while now, so she's not worried about them being stolen. She didn't bring the big vat, though; she locked it in her room and had her sons watch over it.
The taste of pickled rose petal jam is very different from that of fresh rose petals. When you bite into it, the former is moist and sweet, while the latter has a drier texture and a fresher taste.
Both were delicious, but Yan Xia still thought the rose jam was slightly better.
In the morning, she was in charge of the front of the shop, while Guihua was in charge of the backyard and teaching her sister-in-law and younger sister how to make peach shortbread.
These past two days, we've only been selling peach shortbread, but the shop's business hasn't declined much.
Because peach shortbread is so delicious, it's loved by everyone from the elderly to the young.
There are almost no ones who don't love it.
Unless the person doesn't like sweets.
Moreover, Yan Xia's peach shortbread wasn't too sweet; the sweetness was just right.
Even if you don't like sweets, you can occasionally have a piece of sweets with a pot of bitter tea.
They're a perfect match.
Yan Xia taught the customers at the restaurant how to eat it.
It received unanimous praise.
We saw off the last guest at noon.
Yan Xia went to the backyard and told Guihua and the others to stop grilling for the time being.
"You guys take a break and go drink some cool water. Mom will go buy lunch. Let's have steamed buns for lunch, no need to cook. It's too hot today, if we eat hot wontons or noodles, we'll get heatstroke."
It's almost August now, and the temperature is at its highest point of the year.
Even standing still at midday, you'll be drenched in sweat.
It would be great if they sold cold noodles.
Eating a bowl of chilled cold noodles or liangpi (cold skin noodles) at midday is simply the most refreshing thing ever.
Unfortunately, I didn't see anyone selling them.
Yan Xia sighed.
Leave the shop.
Head to the bridge; there are plenty of food vendors there.
"Wontons, fragrant and delicious wontons, would you like a bowl, sir?"
"A bowl of plain noodles costs only 3 coins!"
"Steamed buns, freshly baked, vegetarian, meat, and sweet-filled—"
"Peaches for sale! Big, homegrown peaches, sweet and crisp, one bite and they're so crunchy and delicious, one penny a pound—"
"....."
The vendors were enthusiastically hawking their wares.
The bell rang once for every person who passed by, and Yan Xia naturally felt this enthusiasm as well.
She stopped beside the old woman selling peaches.
The old woman was sitting on the stone steps with two baskets and a carrying pole in front of her. The baskets were filled with peaches the size of fists.
She gently poked it, and sure enough, it was hard as a rock. It was a crisp peach, perfectly round, white with a hint of red. Compared to the heart-shaped peaches, Yan Xia preferred the texture of the crisp peach.
She bought some peaches a couple of days ago. They weren't very sweet and were a bit sour, but they were cheap and juicy. There were six peaches in a pound, and they were small; they were gone in two bites.
It's just to quench your thirst.
I couldn't really taste anything special about it.
"Madam, would you like to buy some peaches? My peaches are crisp and sweet. Here, have a piece. Don't worry, I've washed all of these peaches at home."
The old lady was very generous; she picked the biggest peach, cut off a quarter of it, and handed it to Yan Xia.
Yan Xia took it and took a bite.
It's definitely sweet, crisp and sweet, with juice bursting in your mouth.
The sweet aroma of peaches filled her mouth instantly.
"Delicious, ma'am! Your peaches are so sweet! How come your basket is still full after all this time?"
Yan Xia bought those awful peaches yesterday for only one cent per pound; the old lady wasn't selling them for expensive.
"Oh, I just arrived. My home is far away, and I didn't want to take the oxcart, so I had my son bring me peaches. He's gone to find odd jobs, so I'm selling peaches here. Want some, ma'am? My four peach trees are laden with fruit this year. This batch just ripened. I fertilize them regularly, just like I would with crops. The villagers call me stupid, saying I'm crazy for fertilizing a lousy peach tree. But I'm not stupid! Look, this year's peaches are especially sweet and big..."
This old lady looks like a chatterbox.
Yan Xia didn't ask a single question, but she kept talking to Yan Xia for seven or eight minutes.
She even told us which village she lived in, how many people lived in her family, what her grandson's name was, how old her daughter-in-law was, and when her sow was due to give birth.
Yan Xia was speechless.
If this old lady lived in modern times, she would have been swindled out of everything.
The peaches in the basket are quite large, about two per pound.
There are four of them, and the peaches will last a long time, so she plans to buy ten pounds to eat slowly.
Just as Yan Xia was about to speak, an idea flashed through her mind.
During this time, she was thinking about how to add flavors to the peach shortbread. The book includes black tea peach shortbread, chocolate peach shortbread, matcha peach shortbread, and so on.
But these materials are precisely the ones she has difficulty obtaining.
She glanced at the peaches at her feet.
How about making peach-flavored peach shortbread?
Without hesitation, Yan Xia bought both baskets of peaches from the old lady, making the old lady so happy that her hands were shaking when she weighed them.
Because the old lady's family was poor and couldn't afford a scale, she borrowed one from the bakery next door.
In response, the old woman gave the man two peaches.
Human relationships are essential in society, and this has been true throughout history and in every world.
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