Chapter 13 Visitors to Rongyueyuan
Sure enough, the strawberry cake was very appealing, and Daiyu immediately forgot her unpleasantness.
“That’s wonderful. Granny Yuan, I would like to invite Sister Yingchun, Sister Tanchun, and Sister Xichun to come and play and eat cake together.”
Yuan Hongqu was Daiyu's governess. When Daiyu was at home, her father, Lin Ruhai, told her that she should respect Yuan Hongqu as a teacher and listen to her teachings when she was outside.
Daiyu now relies heavily on Yuan Hongqu, truly regarding her as an elder.
"Daiyu wants to invite her friends to play together, that's wonderful. What kind of snacks and tea would you like to serve your friends? What do you want to do together? You can tell me in advance and I will have someone prepare them."
While in Yangzhou, Daiyu had few friends because of her poor health in previous years.
It wasn't until Yuan Hongqu arrived at the Lin family and gradually helped Daiyu recover that Daiyu began to have her own social life and made several friends.
Yuan Hongqu really hoped that Daiyu would have a few close friends. The children chattered and made noise together, and they would quarrel today and make up tomorrow. That would make the place more lively and have more human touch!
Daiyu spoke earnestly, listing the snacks she wanted to serve her friends and what games they could play together once they arrived... After she finished talking to Yuan Hongqu, her little head began to nod, clearly indicating that she was getting sleepy and wanted to take a nap.
While Daiyu took a nap, the few people in the kitchen began to think about the snacks that the young lady would serve to her friends in the afternoon.
These snacks were usually prepared by Granny Yuan herself.
Granny Yuan said these dishes were simple and told them to learn how to make them. Among them, only Xiangtao had learned a few things from Granny Yuan, and she usually just watched her show off. Today, they could also learn, so none of them cared about taking a lunch break. Regardless of whether they were on duty or not, they all came to the kitchen to help out.
They had all witnessed Granny Yuan's skills. In the past, they would prepare the ingredients and then Granny Yuan would cook them herself. Since these were family secret recipes, they would not try to learn them from her.
This actually provided convenience for Yuan Hongqu, because many of her things were directly produced by the space, which was perfect since no one could see them.
It's not as convenient as it was at the Lin family's now, so Yuan Hongqu thought it would be better to let these people learn a few more skills so that she wouldn't have to keep hiding herself all the time.
There is a kitchen in Rongyue Courtyard, which was specially set up for Jia Min when she was learning cooking. Jia Min rarely used it, but it was fully equipped with all kinds of cooking utensils, and there was even a grill for roasting in one corner of the kitchen.
Yuan Hongqu found the oven incredible. After trying it, she discovered that it was surprisingly easy to use. Using different types of charcoal, the food she grilled even tasted better.
The ingredients in Rongyue Courtyard were all delivered from the main kitchen. Although Wang Xifeng said that in the future, they could just go to the main kitchen to get whatever they needed.
But this is not a long-term solution. Yuan Hongqu planned to get a pass to enter and exit the Rongguo Mansion with Wang Xifeng that evening, and Rongyue Courtyard would go out and buy whatever they needed from then on.
There were quite a few people from the Lin family. If they ate and drank in the Rongguo Mansion's main kitchen for a long time, wouldn't the Rongguo Mansion's servants gossip?
Lin Daiyu was a sensitive and perceptive child; how could she not be heartbroken if she heard gossip?
As for whether it's troublesome or not, and whether it's appropriate to be a stranger, those are other things to consider!
Lin Ruhai only has one son. It's better for his family's assets to be used by his daughter than to be taken away by others!
Even though it's inconvenient to get around the Rongguo Mansion, the Lin family still has a group of servants in their old residence in the capital, who can buy whatever they need.
Yuan Hongqu made up her mind that she would have to involve them in these matters from now on.
Otherwise, if they don't receive a summons from their master for a long time, their hearts might drift away.
Lin Daiyu ordered strawberry cake and milk tea as her main tea snacks. For the rest, she wanted a combination of sweet and savory, soft and crispy items. In addition to desserts, she also wanted small snacks to keep her occupied while chatting.
Back in Yangzhou, when Daiyu was feeling better and able to play with her peers, Yuan Hongqu consciously started teaching her to draft various lists, such as lists of snacks to serve guests, how to match jewelry, and tips for matching clothes and shoes... She didn't have to know these things, but she had to understand them.
Although Yuan Hongqu wanted to take care of Daiyu for the rest of her life, this was clearly impossible.
Daiyu would have a different life, firstly because she had the courage and ability to live on no matter who was gone from her life.
Yuan Hongqu did not intend to cultivate Daiyu into a leading lady; she only instilled a little bit of modern female thinking in her.
As intelligent as Daiyu is, how much she can comprehend depends on fate.
Inside the kitchen, a menu of snacks for Daiyu to serve her young ladies that afternoon had already been prepared.
The desserts are strawberry cake, plum blossom pastry, fairy bean cake, and steamed white jade milk cake. The savory snacks are scallion bamboo strip cake, jade shrimp dumplings, and two tea-flavored items: matcha soft cheese and jasmine tea jelly.
Snacks are much simpler. Daiyu's daily favorite is the small chess piece bean cake, which comes in several flavors, including original, sesame, cream, and spicy.
This snack originates from the Loess Plateau region and is a type of snack called "chess piece steamed bun".
The original red lotus has been improved and made more refined, making it more suitable for children's digestive systems.
She explained the steps to everyone in the kitchen, and they all got to work in an orderly manner, with Yuan Hongqu providing guidance from the side.
These are all basic introductory pastries, and since they are experienced cooks, they are naturally much more efficient than those who are new to the industry.
Just as the pastries were nearing completion, a young maidservant came in to report.
"Granny Yuan, the second, third, and fourth young ladies have arrived and are about to cross the bridge. Granny, should we wake them up?"
"No need, it's rare for the young lady to get a good night's sleep, let her sleep well and don't disturb her. I'll go over first." Yuan Hongqu washed her hands and changed out of the coat she was wearing in the kitchen. Just as she reached the entrance of the hall, Sanchun also came over.
Yuan Hongqu greeted the three of them, and the three returned a slight bow to Yuan Hongqu in return.
Yuan Hongqu was puzzled: Why would a girl from the Duke's mansion return a gift to me?
What she didn't know was that Grandmother Jia had already told the three of them to come and listen to Yuan Hongqu's lessons with Lin Daiyu whenever they had time. Even talented people like Lin Ruhai, who had passed the imperial examinations and become the third-ranked scholar, said that Yuan Hongqu was very talented and suggested that Lin Daiyu become her student. Yuan Hongqu's talent must be exceptional.
I heard that even the clever and shrewd Phoenix is learning to read from Yuan Hongqu. This is even more amazing than the sun appearing in the sky! So Grandmother Jia decided to let the three sisters come and "sit in" on their lessons.
Yuan Hongqu had no idea what Grandmother Jia was thinking.
However, she still welcomes children who love learning.
Especially girls like Sanchun, each with their own unique beauty and distinct personalities.
Although the three of them met with bad ends, and Yuan Hongqu was unable to save them, it was still good that she could offer some guidance. She did her best and left the rest to fate.
When Daiyu woke up from her afternoon nap, she learned that the three sisters had arrived and that Granny Yuan was entertaining them. She hurriedly got up and washed up.
She slept for almost half an hour longer than usual.
She has always been a light sleeper, and it's only recently that she's gradually gotten better.
When she was asleep, Granny Yuan would not allow anyone to disturb her and would always let her sleep until she woke up naturally.
Granny Yuan said that sleeping is the most nourishing thing for a person.
Daiyu felt the same way. In the past, she didn't sleep well, always waking up at night, which made her listless during the day and prone to illness.
Now that she's sleeping better, she feels much stronger than before.
The Rongyue Courtyard was built according to the preferences of Daiyu's mother, Jia Min, and it has many similarities with the Lin family in Yangzhou. She felt very at home here and was very comfortable, so she slept very soundly.
Sanchun arrived shortly after noon, and Yuan Hongqu and Zijuan took her for a stroll around Rongyue Courtyard.
Although Rongyue Courtyard is part of the Rongguo Mansion, they haven't been there in recent years.
After walking around, the three girls felt a little awkward: they began to understand why some people in their family were fighting tooth and nail for Rongyue Courtyard!
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