The comic book published by Haicheng Publishing House features exquisite illustrations. This book is called "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and has a style that little girls would like.
Xu Ruantang regretted it somewhat; it seemed that one really shouldn't speak carelessly.
After thinking about it, she could only make simple changes to the Alice on the cover and then try to hand-draw it on.
As she worked, she wondered who had said that food from the 80s and 90s was healthy, since modern cakes are made with neither animal-based cream nor food coloring.
The colors are bright and vibrant, but they're actually not healthy at all.
But this level is already top-notch in China; only Shenzhen or Hong Kong can surpass it.
To hand-draw Alice, Xu Ruantang took out her newly bought set of brushes, disinfected them with boiling water, and then used the prepared buttercream frosting to draw directly on them.
It was a small thing, but it took her more than two hours to make. Qiu Liang even helped her bake and whip the cake base and cream.
The woman waited patiently, and when she came over after the cake was finished, a look of joy appeared on her face.
"This is it!" The woman excitedly leaned closer. "How much is it? You can calculate it. I'll pay you in advance, including the cost of the big cake."
Xu Ruantang wrapped her up, but unfortunately there was no camera, otherwise she would have liked to take some photos to remember the occasion.
Commemorating my first time independently completing a hand-painted cake!
"Small cakes are three yuan each, and this custom-designed cake is a free gift. How big of a birthday cake do you want? Two pounds is enough for a maximum of four people, and three pounds is enough for seven people."
Xu Ruantang said with a smile.
The woman thought for a moment, "There are ten of us, could it be a little bigger?"
Xu Ruantang and Qiu Liang exchanged a glance. This was a big client!
In the 1980s, if you wanted to buy a cream cake with a custom design, the price wouldn't be low.
Qiu Liang previously said that in his store in downtown Beijing, a two-pound catty costs forty yuan!
In most factories in Beijing, workers earn only about sixty yuan a month.
"Yes, but it's very expensive, twenty dollars a pound, plus a ten-dollar customization fee."
When Xu Ruantang announced the price, even the usually composed Qiu Liang was somewhat unsettled.
He felt that Xu Ruantang seemed unwilling to do this business and was trying to drive customers away.
According to the price she quoted, ordering a four-pound cake would cost ninety dollars! Who would be crazy enough to spend that much money on a cake?
The woman thought for a moment and said, "Um... I can give you a hundred yuan, and you can come to my house that day and make it right away?"
Xu Ruantang hesitated.
She glanced at Qiu Liang again. Could this be a scam? Or a human trafficker trying to kidnap her?
Xu Ruantang's vigilance came entirely from later generations, from watching videos about various scams and warning girls to be careful not to be deceived.
She even considered the possibility of pregnant women abducting college students...
Seeing that her gaze was becoming increasingly strange and that she was staring at her warily, the woman quickly explained, "I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that the cream cakes here taste best when they're freshly made. They get hard if they sit for too long, which is why I wanted to invite you to my house to make them on the spot."
"If you prepare it in advance, and I come over to take it back and let it sit for a while, it won't taste the same."
"Here?" Xu Ruantang grasped the key point in the woman's words.
She admitted that it was hard, but the phrase "here" revealed a lot.
Xu Ruantang guessed that either she had come secretly from Hong Kong or she was from abroad.
The woman smiled and said, "Yes, to be honest, I just came back from abroad not long ago."
Xu Ruantang nodded, "It's possible, but there are too many things to bring, so it's a bit inconvenient."
"Don't bring anything you need, like eggs or milk. Use what we have."
Such a good thing exists; if women don't mind, Xu Ruantang certainly doesn't mind either.
The little girl's birthday was three days later, and the two agreed that the woman would pay her all the money at once.
Xu Ruantang wrote her a ticket by hand and said with a grin, "You trust me that much? Aren't you afraid I'll run off with the money?"
The woman laughed and said, "This little bit of money is nothing compared to your shop."
She came here to ask because this store's business model is quite advanced and rarely seen in China.
Moreover, even when this girl wasn't earning money, she didn't mind the trouble of making small cakes for her, so she's definitely not someone who's greedy for small gains.
On the appointed day, the woman arrived in a white car.
Sister Juan was worried about Xu Ruantang, so she insisted that Qiu Liang go with her. So the two of them got into the car with their things.
After driving for more than half an hour, Xu Ruantang was still half asleep and felt like she had crossed most of Beijing.
Finally, the car stopped in front of a small European-style villa. These people really are rich!
As soon as Xu Ruantang and Qiu Liang entered, they went straight into the kitchen. The cake base had been baked in advance at the store.
As agreed, the hostess prepared eggs, milk, and even imported butter and various fruits.
Before they arrived, even though they knew the host would prepare, they still brought a lot of things just in case.
The four-pound cake was about twelve inches in size. It took Xu Ruantang and Qiu Liang more than three hours to make it.
Having learned from her previous experience of hand-painting on mini cakes, this time it went much more smoothly, and Xu Ruantang made one with a fruit filling.
After the two finished their work, Xu Ruantang went to find the female homeowner, intending to have her inspect the property before leaving.
Unfortunately, the first floor was so big that she couldn't find a single person after searching around, but she could vaguely hear noises coming from the second floor.
"elder sister."
Xu Ruantang peeked out, when suddenly a hand appeared on her leg, scaring her so much she almost lost her mind.
She turned her head and saw a little boy.
Those blue eyes...are they mixed race?
It was the mixed-race little boy that Chen Ji met when she was hospitalized!
Xu Ruantang had a deep impression of him. After all, it was in that situation that she was unconditionally trusted by a stranger who couldn't even speak her language. It was hard not to remember.
"Are you a child from this family? I'm looking for your mother, can you help me find her?"
Xu Ruantang didn't bring it up intentionally, but just asked with a smile.
The little boy looked up at Xu Ruantang, and after a long while, he lowered his head and whispered, "I don't have a mother."
He looked aggrieved, his fair face drooping.
Xu Ruantang didn't know what to say, and suddenly felt like she deserved to die!
"Um... I'm sorry, do you know where the lady of the house is?" After asking, she felt it was inappropriate and decided to find her herself.
As soon as I reached the stairwell, I saw a man and a woman coming down from upstairs.
The man was also holding a little girl in a lace dress, with pretty braids and big, watery eyes.
The woman is the mistress of the house.
Xu Ruantang finally saw the person and hurriedly said, "Comrade, the cake is ready. Go and check it. If there are no problems, we'll be leaving now."
After she finished speaking, Xu Ruantang finally saw the face of the man who came down.
This is not—
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