As dusk fell, a thin, middle-aged man with a goatee arrived at the dock, followed by two burly men. They looked travel-worn and asked where to buy the cake.
The cake had only been around for three to five days, but it had already caused a sensation in the county town and was known to everyone. A man working at the dock gave him directions and watched the man with the goatee hurry away, and sighed, "Is that stuff really that delicious? I think this guy came all the way from out of town just to buy it. Is it worth the trip?"
The captain stepped out onto the deck and patted the guy on the head. "This guy came up from the Jing'an Temple ferry. I guess the people from the villa over there want to eat it. You just do your job. That palm-sized piece of cake costs sixty-six coins."
The area around Jing'an Temple Ferry is fertile land. It not only has Jing'an Temple, but also many villas and estates. These are all properties owned by wealthy families in the prefecture and state, and it is also a necessary route for people from Wanzhou Prefecture to Fenggu County.
Following the directions of passersby, Xie Zhong led his men to Shuxing Lane. They hadn't gone far into the lane when they smelled a special sweetness in the air, which seemed to be mixed with the aroma of milk. Their hungry stomachs immediately began to rumble.
"It smells nice."
No wonder the lady who came to the estate to check the accounts yesterday afternoon couldn't stop thinking about it after she ate it. He had to travel a hundred miles to come here, and the boat trip took eight hours. After getting off the boat, he rushed over without stopping.
It was a quarter of an hour before dusk. The girls on the second floor, who all knew the rules here, invited each other to leave and made plans to come back together the next day. Qin Xiaozhou was a talkative girl and had become familiar with many of the girls in the past two days. After seeing them off, he went to the kitchen to check on the leftovers for the day.
Two days ago, we had nothing left; everything we made was sold out.
In the kitchen, Zhao Fang was cleaning the table, Lu Yu was gathering flour and eggs, Jing Yue was washing dishes and spoons by the wall in the backyard, and Lu Yunfeng was washing the wooden bucket and the large pot.
There's still a layer of milk tea at the bottom of the bucket, about seven or eight cups, and four lotus flower pastries left.
As for cake rolls, milk pudding, and other treats, there's nothing left. The three buckets of milk that are delivered are used up every day, and sometimes not even enough. But Qin Xiaozhou doesn't plan to increase the quantity; selling this much every day is enough.
Lu Yan rushed in, and seeing the milk tea, she couldn't help but swallow hard. "Sister-in-law, can I have just one sip?"
"Really just one sip?" Qin Xiaozhou teased her, then touched her stomach. "This little belly can only hold one sip; any more and it'll be too full."
Lu Yan became anxious, "Actually, you can drink two or three sips, or even many sips."
"How many mouths is that?"
"Sister-in-law is so annoying!" Lu Yan complained to the courtyard, "Big brother, sister-in-law is bullying me."
Lu Yunfeng smiled upon hearing this, "Then you can bully them back."
Zhao Fang took a clean cup and ladled some water for Lu Yan, then gently poked her forehead. "You, if you want to drink, why don't you do it yourself? You expect your sister-in-law to serve it to you personally? Go play somewhere else."
Jinghe, who was clearing the dishes, came in and saw this lively scene. She couldn't help but think of her two children at home. She hadn't seen them since she sold herself half a month ago. She couldn't sleep every night because she thought about them. She was afraid that not sleeping well would affect her work for the master, so she had to force herself to sleep. If, if she did a good job, could she ask the madam and master for permission to go back and see them for a year or two?
Jinghe thought about it more and more and felt it was feasible. Her heart warmed and she felt strong all over. She put down the bowls and plates, went to the well in the yard to fetch water, and carried the basin to wipe the table upstairs.
After the joke, Qin Xiaozhou went to close the shop. Someone at the door called out, "Boss, bring me ten of each kind of dessert, and be quick!"
When Xie Zhong entered the shop, he saw that it was empty and deserted. The business looked slow, so the cake was obviously not anything special. Perhaps his wife was just looking for something new. He calculated the time in his mind, hoping that he could board the ship back before sunset so that his wife could eat the cake before noon tomorrow.
Qin Xiaozhou came out of the kitchen. The cash register in the store was inaccessible without going inside, which is why she dared to go to the back kitchen or upstairs. "Sir, we only have lotus flower pastries left today."
Xie Zhong repeated, "We need ten of each, shopkeeper, we want to take them all."
Qin Xiaozhou explained the shop's rules: "The shop closes at 5 PM, sir. It's not that I'm unwilling to make cakes, but today is already closing time, and the shop can't make any more cakes right now. Please come again tomorrow."
The two burly men behind Xie Zhong immediately stepped forward. "We need it now. You, do it now."
The two men were incredibly intimidating, but Qin Xiaozhou forced herself to remain calm. "The ingredients needed to make the cake won't arrive until tomorrow morning. If we can't make it now, even if you tear the shop down, that's still my word."
Upon hearing this, the burly man was about to smash things when Xie Zhong stopped him. He said that he was just there to sell something and there was no need to cause trouble. "In that case, I will come again tomorrow morning."
Qin Xiaozhou kindly reminded him, "Even if you come tomorrow, it's probably unlikely to be a cake."
Xie Zhong led his men away from the alley. One of the burly men was very dissatisfied. "Manager Xie, that woman might be playing a trick on us. Why don't we give her a beating?"
It would be a waste of a night in this county town.
Xie Zhong found a restaurant owned by his master and checked in. The restaurant manager, Li Liang, quickly treated him as an honored guest, subtly suggesting, "Manager Xie, why did you come in person? You could have just sent someone to deliver a message."
The cake that the lady received was delivered by Li Liang, so Xie Zhong asked about the dessert shop.
Li Liang was a shrewd man, and immediately knew Xie Zhong's purpose in coming to the county town. He was even more excited. It seemed that he had made the right bet by using cake to flatter the lady of the house. "You mean Yifanfengshunlou? The female manager is fierce and decisive. She has many rules in the brothel, but she has won the hearts of many young ladies and wives. In just three or five days, Yifanfengshunlou has become known to everyone in the county town."
Li Liang then explained the rules of Yifanfengshunlou, which were exactly the same as those Qin Xiaozhou had mentioned.
Xie Zhong stroked his goatee, his expression unreadable. The two burly men were somewhat surprised. "So, you really only make thirty of each flavor of cake every day? Why not make more? Wouldn't that be more profitable?"
Qin Xiaozhou closed the door, cleaned the shop, and then opened the drawer, took it all out, placed it on the counter, and began to calculate the accounts. One drawer was half full of copper coins. When he picked them up and let go, they made a clattering sound. These were real gold and silver coins, a crisp and pleasant sound.
So she deliberately grabbed it and then let go, just to hear that sound; it was one of life's greatest pleasures.
Zhao Fang and Lu Yan were resting with Xiao Si in the yard, while Jing and Jing Yue were cooking dinner in the private kitchen. Lu Yunfeng came out from the backyard and saw Qin Xiaozhou deliberately grabbing copper coins. He couldn't help but feel relaxed and happy. "I'm going to find the red rope."
They found seven or eight red ropes, and the two of them stood by the counter and began counting the copper coins one by one. They strung together a thousand copper coins, and after strung them together six times, they still had one hundred and eighty-eight left. Qin Xiaozhou swept all the remaining coins into the drawer and locked it with the key, so that they could keep them for change tomorrow. He then took out another drawer, which contained seven or eight taels of loose silver.
Qin Xiaozhou put away the strung copper coins and loose silver, and took out the ledger to start recording the accounts.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com