Dongdong talked about his birthday.
This is exactly what the Jiang family is thinking about.
His birthday is September 15th, which means he is officially five years old.
Zhou Zhaoqin, who was about the same age as him, was also five years old. The Third Prince was thinking about choosing a study partner for his son, hoping to win over some suitable ministers. However, these children could not be chosen from families whose affiliations had already been determined. Wouldn't that be duplication?
Naturally, he used this reason as a companion to select two more people who were loyal to him.
Among the several princes, Jiang's father chose the third prince because the third prince took the initiative to show his goodwill to him, and he was the only one, except the deposed crown prince, who had a grandson. The children of the later princes were either too young or they had no children at all.
Jiang's father attaches great importance to future generations. If something had not happened at home, forcing him to seek help from the Xiao family, how could he agree to let his son marry?
After his son's death, he felt very regretful, so he wanted to put his grandson back in the family tree. The third prince was very supportive of this, making Jiang's father feel that he had found a soulmate.
Moreover, he has a daughter at home. Although she is only thirteen years old and a little young, she is very pretty. If she marries the third prince in the future, and with the benefits that Dongdong will bring when she returns to the Jiang family, his daughter will at least become a concubine.
After that, if he works hard, it is not impossible for him to become a father-in-law of the emperor.
For this reason, he wanted Dongdong to have a good relationship with the second grandson.
There are two enlightenment classes, and the two children were originally not in the same class. Thanks to his connection with the Third Prince, the two children were assigned to the same class. It's a pity that such efforts could not bring the two children together, and their relationship has not yet been balanced.
The main reason was that the Xiao family had always given the Third Prince the cold shoulder. The Third Prince occasionally expressed the Xiao family's temper, which was seen by his son, who kept it in mind. Naturally, his attitude towards Dong Dong could not be good. Dong Dong was not a person who would put up a cold shoulder to others, so the relationship between the two sides remained lukewarm until now, when the relationship was slightly eased with the help of delicious food.
Jiang's mother initially agreed to let Dongdong return to the Jiang family on his next day off, because she had calculated that Dongdong's birthday would be on the next day off.
The birthday was approaching, and the Jiang family began to prepare.
Although the Jiang family is weaker than the Xiao family, many people will come to celebrate Dongdong's birthday even for the sake of the Xiao family.
Therefore, at about the same time, the Jiang family began to post messages to some target families.
Just after posting it, the Jiang family received an unexpected reply, which caught them off guard. Jiang's mother was furious: "How is this possible? Dongdong clearly said that he would come back with me this time!"
Nanny Ji said in embarrassment, "The Third Prince's wife said that it was the Second Prince who said that the Young Master invited the Second Prince to the Xiao Family for his birthday, so she asked me to go back and ask the Master which of the two families would celebrate the Young Master's birthday, so that we don't go to the wrong place."
Jiang's mother's face turned pale, and Jiang's father's face was not good either: "How did you do it? You have lost face!"
Jiang's mother didn't dare to say anything, but she couldn't sit still either, so she went out and said, "Let's go to the Xiao family and find out!"
They had tolerated the child being kept in the Xiao family before. It was clearly agreed that the child would come back after the holiday, so how come he was still staying in the Xiao family?
She didn't think it was Dongdong who took the initiative to invite!
Listening to this word, it must have been said by an adult. Dongdong was just fooled.
I heard that Mrs. Jiang was coming.
Unfortunately, Yan Qiushu was invited to discuss the project plan with Xie Qingyun.
The other party expressed support for her idea. Although the business world is looked down upon by the aristocracy nowadays, which family does not have some private property?
Although the Xiao family is a wealthy family, compared to the early years, after the death of General Xiao, the broken leg of the eldest son Xiao, the death of the second son in battle, etc., the only two people who are still receiving salaries from the court are Xiao Huaiwu and Xiao Huaiting. They still have the titles, but they do not have much money.
Fortunately, the Xiao family owned many shops, so they could still make ends meet. But if someone said they didn't care about money, he was a fool.
Especially the business plan given by Yan Qiushu. Although it was not comprehensive, the way to make money was already in front of him. After reading it, Xie Qingyun estimated the feasible methods in his mind and personally investigated the consumption of ordinary people. He confirmed that the premise for feasibility was to raise a sufficient number of chickens in batches.
Chickens are easy to raise and can basically be out of the cage in a month. If you want to specialize in chicken breeding, the Xiao family also has a farm, so she invited Yan Qiushu to discuss the details of the cooperation.
Yes, cooperation.
Xie Qingyun felt that Yan Qiushu was being treated unfairly by investing only in technology. Without her technology, the plan could not be implemented.
Yan Qiushu naturally declined. She just wanted to repay her gratitude and do business. She had other ideas in her mind. After all, she was from the future.
The two sides were discussing heatedly when someone reported: "Mrs. Jiang from the Jiang family is here to visit."
Xie Qingyun:?
She subconsciously said, "It's not the New Year or a festival, why is she here?"
The nanny shook her head, but still added: "Mrs. Jiang doesn't look well."
Why is that?
Although Xie Qingyun was puzzled, she knew that this was the in-law of the fourth daughter of the Xiao family, so she couldn't treat him casually. She apologized to Yan Qiushu and said, "Let's discuss it tomorrow. I'll go and entertain the guests first."
"Okay, there's no rush." Yan Qiushu followed her out.
The two were discussing in the inner hall of the backyard. At this time, one went to the front hall and the other went back to another yard in the backyard. But unexpectedly, Mrs. Jiang rushed in directly and met Yan Qiushu.
Madam Jiang was stunned for a moment, then looked at Xie Qingyun who seemed to have just left the house. She snorted coldly and said in a sinister tone, "Mrs. Xiao, what a breeze! I have to inform you of my coming?"
Behind her, there followed a little maid who tried to stop her but failed.
Xie Qingyun frowned slightly, looking rather unhappy: "Mrs. Jiang said she was coming to visit, but it's strange that I didn't receive a visiting card. Could it be that a maid accidentally missed it?"
Mrs. Jiang's face turned pale and she was a little embarrassed, but she quickly accused him, "It happened suddenly. I just asked you, Dongdong clearly promised me that he would go back home with me on his birthday. My Jiang family has already started sending invitations, but I heard that your Xiao family is where he will celebrate his birthday, and even his classmates have been invited. This speed is really fast, which makes my Jiang family so embarrassed!"
After they both got the upper hand, she sarcastically said, "Since Sister Shen stopped taking care of things, the Xiao family has really lost its way!"
Xie Qingyun was confused. What birthday?
Although Dongdong's birthday is coming soon, his family has never suggested holding a birthday party, let alone inviting Dongdong's classmates.
But despite this, the Xiao family would not allow her to slander like this. Xie Qingyun immediately said, "Mrs. Jiang, please make it clear that my Xiao family has no plans to hold any birthday party, let alone invite Dongdong's classmates. Moreover, Mrs. Jiang, even if my mother doesn't care, she won't allow you to be so presumptuous!"
She had a bright and dignified smile, but when her face was gloomy, her voice was particularly cold.
Mrs. Jiang was frightened, but she thought she was just quibbling, so she sneered and was about to retort again.
Yan Qiushu, who hadn't had time to leave yet, stood up with a headache and said, "Mrs. Jiang, I think this is a misunderstanding. Dongdong invited his classmates to the Xiao family to celebrate his birthday."
Dongdong asked her about it, but she thought at that time that this was something the Xiao family had tacitly agreed to, so she did not take the initiative to tell the Xiao family. After all, she was just a guest, and who knew that it was the child's own decision.
Maybe it was because every time she cooked something and had some spare time, she would ask Dongdong to invite Wan'er, so he formed a habit of inviting his friends.
Mrs. Jiang, who had never looked at her, finally looked over. Her eyes raised, but she did not respond. Instead, she asked, "Who are you?"
Yan Qiushu: “…”
She finally knew who Nanny Ji learned this from.
Xie Qingyun took a step forward and said, "This is a guest from my Xiao family. Her surname is Yan, and she is also the adopted sister of my sixth son."
Mrs. Jiang's expression eased and she said, "You said Dongdong invited us himself? Impossible! He promised me that Mu Xiu will come back to the Jiang family this time!"
Yan Qiushu said calmly: "May I ask Madam Jiang, how old is Dongdong?"
Mrs. Jiang choked up and thought the woman was very rude, but because she asked so urgently, she answered subconsciously, "Five years old."
"How good do you think a five-year-old child's memory can be?" Yan Qiushu said with a smile, "Didn't you also take Dongdong with you for half a year and forget to send him back to the Xiao family once?"
Madam Jiang: “…”
At this point, she knew what was going on. She was upset that Dongdong did not keep his promise, but he was just a child and whether he remembered it or not was another matter. She couldn't be too harsh on him. But what was important was the Jiang family's invitation.
Her expression changed and then softened, but she still glanced at Yan Qiushu, as if she had something to say but didn't know how to say it.
Yan Qiushu understood, said goodbye and left.
After walking a few steps, I heard someone whispering something.
Then Xie Qingyun said in a low voice with an ugly face: "Dongdong is my Xiao family's child! You personally agreed to your son's marriage, and you took the benefit. Now you want to take the child back. How can it be so easy?"
The two sides exchanged a few more sentences, seemingly without reaching an agreement. Mrs. Jiang lost her composure and shouted angrily, "How many people have been killed by the name Xiao in your Xiao family? Are you going to kill my grandson as well?"
"Show the guest away!" These words completely angered Xie Qingyun. She simply stopped talking to her and waved her hand, asking the nanny to carry the person out.
Mrs. Jiang had never expected to be treated like this. When she was carried out, she was still angrily saying, "Xie Qingyun, you are so bold! You are so bold..."
Yan Qiushu walked a little slowly and saw the tail, but she roughly guessed what was going on and found it a little funny.
She had been bored and chatted with Dongdong before, and she had heard a little that the Jiang family didn't want him to come back. She didn't expect that Mrs. Jiang did this for this reason, which was too much.
Even if the Xiao family had nothing to do with her, Yan Qiushu would find it unbearable.
Not to mention that the Xiao family treated her very well.
Yan Qiushu thought that she had to keep Dongdong in the Xiao family forever!
Both Nanny Huang and Shui Yu had mentioned to her casually that after Dongdong came back, he often came to see Mrs. Xiao, which caused Mrs. Xiao to feel sad for her relatives less often. They all thought that it was Yan Qiushu's cooking skills that attracted Dongdong to stay, and they expressed gratitude to her in their words.
With children, the home won’t be dull.
Furthermore, although the Xiao family seemed to be in danger, but... according to the plot, after Xiao Waiting's death, the Xiao family had not yet been devoured alive, because the new emperor came to the throne and treated the Xiao family with special favor in order to win the hearts of the people and military power. Therefore, Dong Dong was not in danger staying here.
So what she did was what everyone expected, and it wasn't considered presumptuous!
Yan Qiushu thought about it and walked faster and faster. She returned to her place and rushed to the kitchen without taking a rest. "Shuiyu, help me light up the stove."
"Okay." Shuiyun left.
Yan Qiushu said again: "Madam Xu, can you help me hire two strong and patient people? There is a salary, ten cents per person."
Ten cents, for an ordinary servant, this amount of money is quite a lot just for doing a small favor.
Nanny Xu nodded quickly and went out to find someone.
Yan Qiushu started beating eggs.
She wanted to make a cake, and the Xiao family estate happened to send her a lot of excellent peaches, which could be used to make peach jam.
After a while, everyone in the yard was being directed by her, and the two people brought by Nanny Xu were also beating egg whites frantically.
Because they were paid, they worked extra hard.
Yan Qiushu was making low-gluten flour. She put ordinary flour into the oven for a cup of tea, took it out, sieved it with gauze, and then added an appropriate amount of corn starch, and it was done.
The next step is to beat the egg whites, beat the egg yolks, and add sugar in batches, which is the most basic step of baking. After everything is done, add milk and an appropriate amount of low-gluten flour to the egg yolks, stir evenly, mix with the beaten egg whites, pour into the prepared mold, and put it into the oven that has been heated for a long time.
Yan Qiushu used the remaining time to start frying peach jam. This step required adding a lot of sugar. As she was frying, she could smell an extremely pleasant and sweet aroma coming from the oven.
It was the first time Shui Xuan smelled such a fragrance, and she was dizzy: "Girl, what is this smell? It smells so good!"
Yan Qiushu couldn't do it anymore and looked at the oven eagerly: "It's the smell of cake..."