Ye Tingting walked into the courtyard. One teacher was watering the flowers, and the other was weeding the vegetable garden. Her senior brother, who was two years younger than her but had started earlier, was munching on a roasted sweet potato.
"Teacher Wen, Teacher Qu."
"Tingting is here. There are roasted sweet potatoes upstairs. Have some first, and we'll start class later."
"Okay." Tingting opened the package. "I also brought two boxes of pastries made by my mother, for the two teachers to try."
"Why is your mother being so polite?" Neither of them took it seriously. After all, given their status and position, they often received gifts from others, and at their level, there were few delicacies they hadn't tasted.
But Tang Qi, the junior student who was two years younger than Tingting, exclaimed "Wow!" in amazement and then asked the two of them, "Teacher, may I have a piece?"
"Eat."
Ye Tingting introduced with a smile: "This orchid-shaped one is mung bean cake, and this lotus-shaped one is water chestnut cake. I've tried them, and neither is very sweet."
"It's so beautiful." Tang Qi picked it up, almost reluctant to eat it, and then held it out to Wen Wanyu to show her. "Teacher, look, isn't it beautiful?"
Wen Wanyu turned her head and was truly amazed by the design: "It is indeed beautiful, and it is so uniquely made."
Hearing such praise, Ye Tingting was very happy: "Teacher, come and try it, it tastes great too!"
"Okay." Wen Wanyu put down the kettle and then carefully washed her hands. To be honest, she didn't really like these pastries, always finding them too sweet and greasy, but looking at their beautiful shapes and colors, she still couldn't resist.
However, as soon as she took a bite, she realized she was wrong. It turned out that there were sweet but not greasy Chinese pastries in this world. Moreover, they didn't stick to her teeth at all. Instead, the taste was particularly refreshing. Although it was mung bean cake, she could taste the fragrance of orchids, but it didn't overpower the mung bean flavor. Instead, the two were combined, subtly tantalizing her taste and smell.
"Old Qu, come and try it! The pastries made by Tingting's mother are really different from those sold outside. I have never eaten anything so delicious."
Hearing his wife's excited tone, Qu Guangbo, who had just finished washing his hands, came over and became curious as well. He had rarely heard his wife give such high praise before. He remembered that the last time in Beijing, there was a private restaurant that was supposedly run by a descendant of an imperial chef, and his wife had only given a slight nod in the end.
When they returned to their hometown, the chefs there were far superior to those they had eaten at before. They preferred to cook a couple of simple dishes themselves rather than eat out. Could Tingting's mother be a hidden master chef?
Looking at the pastries in the two boxes, I have to say that they are superior in terms of shape and color alone, like works of art.
He picked up a lotus-shaped piece, took a bite, and realized it was water chestnut cake. He didn't know what ingredients were used, but it had a faint lotus fragrance. When he ate it, it was soft and chewy, but it wasn't as dry as regular water chestnut cake. Before he knew it, he had picked up a second piece.
"I told you it was delicious, didn't I?" Wen Wanyu looked at him amusedly. "When have you ever eaten two pieces of these pastries in a row?"
Qu Guangbo chuckled: "It really is true, these pastries are really good, better than anything we've had before."
The couple looked at Tingting and asked, "Tingting, is your mother a chef?"
"No." After Tingting shook her head, the couple immediately looked disappointed. They thought that if Tingting's mother was a chef, they could go to her workplace to eat and buy food more often. Otherwise, they didn't want to trouble her.
Unexpectedly, Tingting changed the subject: "But my mom is planning to open a private restaurant recently, and she said she'll invite the two teachers to dinner then."
Wen Wanyu finally smiled and said, "We will definitely come to visit then."
Song Xia and Ye Tingting were thinking of treating everyone, while Wen Wanyu and Qu Guangbo were thinking of supporting their business. Although their intentions differed, they both agreed to have a meal together.
"I want to go too!" Tang Qi raised his hand, his mouth full of pastries. "I want to eat delicious food too."
He is the youngest son of Wen Wanyu and Qu Guangbo's friend. Because his friend doesn't have time to take care of him, he spends most of his holidays here and is not too unfamiliar with the two of them.
"I'll take you along, you little foodie. Did you thank your older sister Tingting?"
"I'm the senior brother," Tang Qi insisted, then said to Ye Tingting, "Thank you for the pastries, junior sister."
Tingting didn't bother with titles, but smiled and replied, "I'm glad you like it, senior. I'll bring you and the teachers something else next time."
Tang Qi cheered, "That's wonderful!"
Wen Wanyu politely declined, saying, "Wouldn't that be too much trouble for your mother?"
"No, Mom said she was very grateful to the two teachers for taking me in. She also said that doing these things was very easy for her, and I helped out as well."
"Then thank you and your mother." The couple decided that once Tingting's mother's private kitchen opened, they would definitely patronize the business often.
At this time, the two did not know that after the business opened, it would not be them who patronized the business, but rather they who would have to make reservations if they wanted to eat there. It was only because of Tingting's connection that they had a better chance than others.
After eating half of the pastries, the class was about to officially begin. Although only one class was scheduled for the day, this class was very long, lasting a full three hours, with only a short break allowed in between.
Tang Qi was used to it, so he could sit still, while Ye Tingting was genuinely interested in it, so even the simplest writing practice didn't feel boring to her.
The couple were increasingly satisfied with what they were teaching. They were worried about teaching someone with an unstable temperament, and besides, Tingting was truly talented. When she made a mistake, she only needed to be corrected once before she could learn from it, and she could also use it flexibly when she started learning other strokes.
They are willing to teach students like this even without charging a fee.
When the time came, Tingting felt soreness in her wrists and arms. Qu Guangbo also assigned her some homework: "From Monday to Friday, it's best to practice for an hour every day. I'll check your progress next Saturday."
"Teacher, I won't be lazy."
Song Xia was already waiting outside the courtyard. When the couple saw her, they came out specifically to thank her for the two boxes of pastries.
"It's nothing, as long as the two teachers like it."
"We love it! We all love it! The lotus flowers have faded this season, and orchids are rare too. It's amazing that you managed to create two different floral scents. I've never tasted anything like this anywhere else," Wen Wanyu couldn't help but praise. "Did you design the patterns yourself?"
"Yes." Song Xia nodded. "If you all like it so much, I'm confident that I can open my private restaurant."
Wen Wanyu affirmed, "Believe me, just for this one pastry, we will definitely have loyal customers."
Song Xia felt a little more at ease. With Xia Ru and Xiao Cheng on her side, and now with Teacher Wen on her side, all of them belonged to the upper class in the city. With their introductions, she wasn't worried about her reputation not being established.
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