Tao bowed down and said, "Replying to Madam, this servant does not know how well I am doing. I am still learning. Madam Xia has not said where she is going."
"Okay, I understand. What have you made? Bring it to the hall so I can taste it." Anyway, she hadn't had breakfast yet, and if it wasn't good, she could just eat out.
"Yes, Madam." Tao nodded, returned to the kitchen, and asked her two daughters-in-law to take the breakfast they had made to the hall.
As they served the food, An Shuyi sat to the side waiting. The dishes—sticky rice chicken, rice noodle rolls, char siu buns, walnut buns, chicken feet, radish cake, and fried spring rolls—looked quite good. She picked up a char siu bun, which was barely acceptable.
I tried all the other dim sum dishes, and the taste wasn't particularly good. I can say for sure that they weren't as delicious as those modern dim sum restaurants.
After Tao had her two daughters-in-law bring up the breakfast, she didn't leave but stayed by her side to serve her. Judging from the lady's expression, she knew that the food wasn't good and she would have to keep making it.
Although there are two masters in this mansion, she has noticed these past few days that the dishes are all made for Madam An, while Madam Xia doesn't really like them. As long as they are edible, the taste doesn't matter. In order for them to continue to stay in the mansion, she has to learn how to cook properly.
An Shuyi put down her chopsticks. "It's already good that you can make this morning tea, but it's still not very tasty. You need to make more and see what went wrong. Take these away."
"When I go out to play, Hua Hua will come back and ask me what's going on. I'll just say I went to a teahouse and ask for something simple for dinner, something light." After saying that, I got up and left.
After leaving the main house, she was about to go to the neighboring house to see if Hua Hua was there, but found the door locked. It seemed that Hua Hua had taken them out for training, and she didn't know where they were. However, Hua Hua hadn't called her, so she could manage on her own.
She ate little for breakfast, and it wasn't very tasty. She went straight to eat a bowl of wontons, then went to buy sunflower seeds, peanuts, and candied fruit. After that, she went to a pastry shop and got a few pieces of tiramisu in various flavors. She didn't want to eat the small cakes she ate yesterday today.
She grabbed a few donuts, some flower cakes, and some wife cakes, then headed to the teahouse. It was early morning, around 9 AM, so there weren't many people, but there were some too. Of course, she was the only woman going to see a play so early.
Fortunately, she went to the theater so many times during this period that although people didn't understand why a woman like her would go to the theater alone, they didn't say anything.
The waiter came over to greet her warmly, led her to a seat, put her things away, served her a pot of tea, and then left to attend to other matters.
The waiter was very happy to have received a silver tael as a tip. Although this lady was not the most generous, she would always tip him a silver tael whenever he went to greet her.
Other guests wouldn't. Some generous guests might tip two taels, but such a good thing only happens once every few days, and other guests would only tip a few coins.
After the waiter left, An Shuyi grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and ate them while watching the show, occasionally clapping and cheering.
"Madam An, you've come to see the play so early?"
Hearing the voice from the side, An Shuyi turned her head, "Young Master Xiao, it's you again. Are you so free?"
Once the words were out, she realized how rude they were, but she didn't explain. It was just that this young master Xiao was too idle; she had already seen him three times at the teahouse.
This was only when she saw him. If she hadn't seen him, wouldn't he have come even more often? It seems that Xiao Yubai is just a poor scholar who relies on his parents. He only thinks about passing the imperial examination and getting ahead. He doesn't care about his family's affairs, even if they don't have enough to eat every day.
Xiao Yubai didn't know how to respond when he heard her say that, but then he remembered that he had met Madam An several times in teahouses, so it was no wonder she thought that way.
"Madam Xiao, you misunderstand. I am not very free either. I came here simply because I enjoy watching plays and I spend a lot of time reading. Since I have nowhere else to go, I can only come to the teahouse."
"Is Madam An alone? Why is there no sign of the other lady who was with you?"
"I'm all alone. Hua Hua has things to do, so find a place to sit by yourself. I want to watch the show, so don't bother me." After saying that, An Shuyi turned her head and ignored him.
She came to watch the play, not to chat, and it wasn't a suitable place to chat anyway. Time flew by, and before she knew it, it was lunchtime. The performers also needed to rest and eat, so the play wouldn't start for another half an hour.
Looking at the snacks on the table, An Shuyi decided to eat these. They would fill her up anyway, and it would be rather boring to eat without Huahua.
"Mrs. An, aren't you going to eat?" Xiao Yubai asked when he saw that she wasn't moving.
Seeing him sitting next to her, An Shuyi swallowed back the words that were about to come out: "Why are you still here?" She was so engrossed in watching the show that she didn't even notice the person sitting next to her.
Xiao Yubai also shook his head, "I have some food, would Madam An like to try some?" As he spoke, he picked up the food box from the chair, placed it on the table, opened the box, and took out the contents.
An Shuyi shook her head without hesitation. Every child knows that you shouldn't eat food from strangers. Even though they had met a few times, she wouldn't just take someone else's food.
"Thank you for your kindness, Young Master Xiao. Please eat it yourself. I have some snacks."
Seeing her like this, Xiao Yubai didn't force her. He put the things on the table, and when he took them out, An Shuyi stared at them with wide eyes.
There are only three lotus-shaped pastries, and each one is a different color. The outside is green and the inside is white. The other two colors are pink and purple. They look just like the real thing.
There's also the Imperial Concubine Cake, which has four small red dots on top, and the green glutinous rice balls, but unfortunately, it's hard to tell what the filling is. The last one is the Eight Treasures Cake.
"Young Master Xiao, which pastry shop did you buy these from?" Especially that lotus flower pastry, it's really beautiful.
Xiao Yubai smiled and said, "This wasn't bought; it was made by the cook at home."
After hearing what he said, An Shuyi's expression turned somewhat strange. Wasn't he from a poor family? Why did he have a cook? Thinking this to herself, she asked directly.
Xiao Yubai looked completely bewildered when he heard what she said. Then, looking at his clothes, he immediately understood. "Miss, you misunderstand. Although my family is not very well-off, we are not poor either. We have two servants."
An Shuyi nodded, "Then who else is in Young Master Xiao's family? You have so much free time every day, don't you have anything to do? Are you preparing for the imperial examinations?"
Since there are no opera performances yet, this is a good way to pass the time.
“I will not take the imperial examination,” Xiao Yubai shook his head. “My family has been in business for generations. After my parents passed away, only my brothers and I remained. My brothers have their own things to do, and I am used to being lazy and do not want to travel around.”
"The money left by my parents is enough for me. I just want to live a carefree and peaceful life every day."
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