Chapter 94 (Ice Cream Cake (Part 1)...)

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 dividend is not as small as last time.

Before, there was only one brine shop, which adopted the strategy of small profits but quick turnover, so naturally the dividends were not much. But now, after operating from the beginning of the year to now, the 20% profit that Yan Qiushu has received is already a huge sum!

As more and more stores open in the food court, food courts in other cities also appear, and Yan Qiushu's dividends will only increase.

This made her even more excited.

It’s a pity that hot pot base cannot be produced in large quantities at present.

However, even so, hot pot base has entered most shops in the food court. 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 not much hot pot base, and a little bit of flavor will make people in Kyoto like it without causing discomfort due to the spiciness. When the hot pot is officially launched in the future after the influence of the people has been gradually passed on, it will surely make a lot of money.

Yan Qiushu held the money in her hands, thinking about the future, and she almost wanted to lie down.

The dividends from the food court are so high, 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 came to the kitchen, holding a spatula, full of arrogance.

Soon all the strawberries were picked, but fortunately there were still watermelons to be picked, and the food street was also buying up a lot of strawberries, so people kept coming to the village to experience life.

Yan Qiushu accepted the wealth that was rolling in.

And in this June, Zhou Zejing also successfully married Yan Qiuyuan.

When we got married, we sent her an invitation, but she didn't go.

After all, this wedding was still 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 royal child.

Because he did not have to take the imperial examination, he directly entered the court as an official. Since he became an official, he has made outstanding political achievements and won the emperor's trust. He has a bright future!

In the eyes of the people of the Great Zhou, the marriage between two people like this is definitely true love, and they will definitely live a sweet life after marriage.

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 obedience.

The sixth prince, King Xuan, had average looks, average talent, and an average mother's family. He was unremarkable among the other princes in the royal family.

But now, he has become the focus of everyone's discussion.

Because he plotted to murder his brother, colluded with Uta, 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 were amazed. The position of crown prince was too attractive.

Unfortunately, he is incompetent and his allies are unreliable.

Wuta was directly penetrated by Xiao's army, causing everything to be exposed to the sun.

King Xuan had just been beaten with thirty sticks, a grown man, but half of his life was taken away from him. He had been recuperating in the palace for a long time. It was said that his injuries were 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 harassment of Concubine Lu, he also wanted to get whatever he wanted when he grew up. Now that he was feeling aggrieved, he naturally refused to do anything and insisted on going to the palace to plead with his father. The other guests in the mansion could not hold him back, so they had to invite Zhou Zejing to come.

"Your Highness, the current situation is special. Have you really accepted your fate and are planning to hand over the throne?" Zhou Zejing looked at the man who was about to be tortured again after he had almost recovered. His gums were a little itchy and he felt a little irritated.

Not only did things go against his will, he also had to face the torture from King Xuan. He had lost weight visibly during this period.

There was little trace of the joy of his wedding on his face.

King Xuan was not a considerate person. He frowned gloomily and said, "What should I do? We can't go out. There is no competition for the throne!"

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 these evidences, 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 say!"

Zhou Zejing said slowly, "In a few days, it will be the 50th birthday of the old lady of the Xiao family. There are only two males left in the Xiao family. Xiao Huaiting is a tough man, but his brother has lost both legs and is weak and sickly. If something unexpected happens to him, the Xiao family will be extremely sad and will not dare to confront His Highness anymore."

"Agitate Xiao Huaiqi? That's not a good idea, right?" King Xuan was a little hesitant.

Zhou Zejing smiled and said, "Is it possible that His Highness doesn't dare? He has already lost both legs and is a useless man."

King Xuan was embarrassed and said, "Why wouldn't I dare?!"

Zhou Zejing curled his lips: "Then what is your highness going to do?"

King Xuan frowned and thought about how to make Xiao Huaiqi fall. After thinking for a long time, he couldn't come up with any countermeasures. He could only helplessly say: "Can you help me think about it?"

Zhou Zejing groaned and said, "I do have an idea here..."

Xiao Mansion

On the day of Mrs. Xiao's birthday party, the Xiao family's deadline was really over.

Shen Pingyu also rushed over from the Shen family in advance.

Yan Qiushu arrived early, but did not go to reminisce with Shen Pingyu and the others.

Instead, she came to the yard where she lived before.

The servants in the mansion were very familiar with her and were very respectful to her, just as always. So when she asked for ingredients, the kitchen would quickly send someone to deliver them to her: "My lord, they are ready and waiting for you to cook. Do you want to ask Madam Xu to come over and help you?"

Aunt Xu is a good cook, and she knows how to cook all the dishes that Yan Qiushu taught her. She is now the main chef in the kitchen.

Yan Qiushu quickly shook her head: "No, just help me find four strong servants to come over."

The man left obediently, and soon four servants came over.

Yan Qiushu handed each of them a bowl, one containing eggs and the other containing a large block of butter: "Stir constantly with chopsticks, and each person takes a quarter of an hour to take turns, and be quick! If you do it well today and don't slack off, each person will receive a reward of one or two silver coins."

The strong servants were all from the outer courtyard and only earned a little money every month, or one or two taels of silver a day. The four servants were excited, and the two servants waiting for their shifts wanted to take over the work, fearing that their master would misunderstand them for being lazy.

Yan Qiushu found a corner for them to work and ignored them.

She is richer now than before, so she is more generous. Of course, the important thing is that the amount today is really a lot!

She plans to make a six-layer cake!

Such a big cake is too troublesome to prepare, so Yan Qiushu needs to come early to prepare it.

And the 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 and humid. Eating a piece of cool cake at this time is definitely an ultimate enjoyment.

Yan Qiushu wiped the sweat off her face, 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. After becoming proficient in it, I can bake the cake dough one by one.

Next comes the splicing.

With a month's preparation time, 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 fruits, and quickly put it under the first layer of the cake tower and have someone take it to the ice cellar to keep it warm.

Repeat this process until the smallest cake on the sixth layer is done.

In the ice cellar, they could only see clearly with the candles lit. 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 grows from high to low, layer by layer, like a tower half a person's height!

"Isn't it?!" Yan Qiushu was somewhat pleased with herself for being able to do this. She admired it happily for a long time before she instructed, "Shui Yu, you will wait outside the ice cellar for a while. You must take it out when the time is almost up. Be very careful and take it out layer by layer. Don't be in a hurry."

"Yes! Don't worry, girl." Shui Yu said loudly.

She was entrusted with an important task, and once she left the cellar, she had no choice but to stay there.

But it was already getting dark, and the sunset dyed a large area of ​​the sky red, forming a natural filter. At this point in time, the steward in charge of entertaining guests in the mansion also hurried over: "My lord, it's almost time, you can get ready to go to your seat!"

Yan Qiushu agreed, and quickly washed up and combed her hair. This time she wore two more pieces of jewelry and a jade bracelet before going out.

By this time, the outer courtyard was already bustling with activity.

A bunch of well-dressed guests were coming and going here, many of them chatting in groups of three or four. Occasionally, when they bumped into each other, they would greet each other.

Led by her maid, Yan Qiushu sat in a seat very close to the front. All the people at this table were relatives of the Xiao family, but because they were 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 after a while, Yan Qiushu felt as if many eyes were focused on her, and there was also a vague voice discussing her: "Is this the future young lady of the Xiao family?"

"I heard that he is 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 of them have high family backgrounds?"

"That doesn't mean you'd find an orphan, right? And she's a wife for the sixth child, 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.

But they were all well-known figures, so they could discuss in a low voice, but it was not appropriate to say anything in front of others. So 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. Oops, she was still a little early.

I don’t have a mobile phone right now and I don’t know how to pass the time.

At this time, a sinister and cold snort came from my ear: "Some people, I don't know what means they use, can fly to the top without any family background. Sister-in-law, do you think it's funny?"

Yan Qiushu looked in the direction of the voice and saw a girl around sixteen years old sitting at the table next to her, looking at her with disdain.

The woman next to her was older, with 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 someone sat down next to Yan Qiushu. It was Xiao Huaiya.

The tone was too gentle and didn't feel offensive at all. Jiang Shengyun didn't take it seriously and responded subconsciously, "It's not itchy."

Xiao Huaiya smiled and said, "Oh, I thought your nose was like a cow's, and you need to hum when it's itchy, otherwise why are you humming here?"

"You!" Jiang Shengyun's face flushed red and she stood up angrily.

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 say 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? Just wait and see what gift you will give me later!"