Chapter 23 There's a Love Between Sweet and Salty
Yuan Hongqu considered many possibilities, such as which of the four of them preferred savory tofu pudding and which preferred sweet tofu pudding, but the result was truly unexpected.
“Granny Yuan, what is this? It looks a bit like jelly. Jelly is transparent, but this is like solidified fat, like cheese, but it’s not quite the same as the cheese I’ve eaten before.”
Xi Chun spoke eloquently, but in essence, it boiled down to one sentence: she had never seen the contents of this bowl before.
The other three also looked at Yuan Hongqu with curiosity, ready to listen to her explanation.
As for the fried chicken, it was obviously fried. Although it looked very tempting and smelled incredibly delicious, they didn't react much. Instead, they were full of curiosity about the tofu pudding.
Yuan Hongqu was slightly taken aback. She was prepared to watch the debate between sweet and savory tofu pudding, but it turned out that these young ladies didn't even know what tofu pudding was!
"Sister Yuan, you made delicious food again without calling me!"
Just as Yuan Hongqu was about to explain, she heard Wang Xifeng's voice coming in, and she walked in as well.
Judging from his tired face, he must have just finished serving dinner to the old lady and his wife before coming here.
"Fried chicken, tofu pudding!" Wang Xifeng glanced at the table and immediately stopped moving.
"Sister Feng, isn't this cheese? Why is it called tofu pudding?" Xichun asked, puzzled.
Wang Xifeng didn't bother to answer her. She washed her hands, took a spoon, scooped up a spoonful of the broth from daylily and wood ear mushrooms, and poured it over the tofu pudding.
The perfect combination is a smooth, white tofu pudding topped with a rich and fragrant gravy!
"Sister, why did you add vegetable soup to this pure white cheese? It's both salty and sweet now, how are we supposed to eat it?"
Xichun was surprised. She usually ate cheese directly, which tasted sweet and melted in her mouth. In her mind, this should also be eaten directly.
"Fourth Miss, this isn't cheese. This is called tofu pudding, also known as soft tofu. It's more commonly eaten outside," Yuan Hongqu explained.
"Tofu pudding itself doesn't have a special flavor, just the simple aroma of tofu. You can add various flavored gravy or sugar to adjust the taste and make it even better. Which flavor of tofu pudding would you ladies like to try? Try adding your own gravy."
On the other side, Wang Xifeng ate several mouthfuls of tofu pudding before putting down her spoon.
"If you ask me, savory tofu pudding is the most authentic. Tofu pudding is already quite bland, so it needs some strong-flavored gravy to complement it perfectly!"
Yuan Hongqu gave her a disgruntled look. Sure enough, Tan Chun, who was originally going to choose sugar, also reached out and scooped up the daylily and wood ear mushroom gravy. Ying Chun did the same.
Wang Xifeng was smug, thinking to herself that the salted tofu pudding team had grown by two more members!
She was about to encourage Daiyu and Xichun to try the savory tofu pudding, but the two of them resolutely chose the sweet tofu pudding.
Daiyu added sugar to her tofu pudding, while Xichun added both sugar and red beans.
The tofu pudding trembled slightly, topped with a layer of fine, sandy sugar, like a little hat. Daiyu carefully scooped up a spoonful; underneath was tofu pudding, and on top was sugar.
The sweet tofu pudding slid into her mouth and melted on her tongue before she could even savor it. Its delicate, smooth, and sweet taste instantly captivated Daiyu's taste buds.
Yuan Hongqu never expected that ordinary street food could so easily win over the four girls' stomachs. On the contrary, the fried chicken, which looked very appetizing, was also quite amazing to them, but compared to tofu pudding, their reaction was rather ordinary.
After the meal, the four of them went to Daiyu's study to admire the clay figurines and other items they had acquired that day.
Wang Xifeng and Yuan Hongqu bought up the rest of the fried chicken and then took it to Xiaoxuanting.
There are no shelters here, making it difficult to hide anyone. If someone comes by, they can be seen at a glance.
As long as the two of them don't speak too loudly, others will just think they are chatting and won't suspect anything.
"Sister Yuan, you've been targeted by Old Madam Shi," Wang Xifeng said in a deep voice.
Although Grandmother Jia meant for Wang Xifeng to pretend she hadn't heard what she said today, she didn't know that Wang Xifeng was a die-hard fan of Yuan Hongqu.
Wang Xifeng currently relies on Yuan Hongqu as her support and talisman. If anyone touches Yuan Hongqu, then Wang Xifeng's own life will basically be the same as in the book, and she will be gone in a few years.
Wang Xifeng had no desire to die.
"Targeting me? I doubt it. She's not targeting me; she's targeting the Lin family."
Yuan Hongqu snorted coldly. She had expected that someone in the Rongguo Mansion would make trouble for her, but she did not expect that the first person would be Grandmother Jia.
Because she took over the care of Daiyu, would the Rongguo Mansion find it difficult to gain an advantage from Daiyu and then profit from the Lin family?
Therefore, if we deal with her, Daiyu, being a young and naive girl, will be easily deceived, and it would be easy for her to die without even realizing it.
Hearing the ill intent in Yuan Hongqu's tone, Wang Xifeng knew that Yuan Hongqu was very knowledgeable about the world of Dream of the Red Chamber, and seeing that Yuan Hongqu and Daiyu had a very good relationship, she was afraid that Yuan Hongqu had recalled some unpleasant plot.
Yuan Hongqu did indeed think of some things.
The Rongguo Mansion has high expenses and low income, and it is likely that it is about to run into a deficit.
The most farsighted person in the mansion was none other than Old Madam Shi. Her genuine affection and doting love for Daiyu moved Yuan Hongqu when she watched the TV series.
But what if behind this affection lies Old Madam Shi's guilt over having consumed the Lin family's bloodline?
Yuan Hongqu recalled some book reviews she had read, which seemed to say that the Rongguo Mansion had taken advantage of the Lin family's extinction and used the Lin family's millions of taels of silver to build the Grand View Garden.
She agreed with this viewpoint, so she was already on guard when she entered the Rongguo Mansion.
It's only been two days, and Old Madam Shi has already noticed something and is keeping an eye on me?
"Feng'er, tell me, what did the Old Madam say or do?" Yuan Hongqu felt uneasy.
Wang Xifeng finished the last piece of fried chicken before speaking:
"When the old lady first asked me to ask you if you would be willing to become a concubine for the second master, Jia Zheng, I immediately refused. She didn't mention it again, and later even told me not to bring it up with you, to pretend that she never said it."
Yuan Hongqu pondered for a moment. Since Shi Taijun said such a thing, she probably didn't want to gain any benefits from the Lin family.
However, she promised Jia Zheng the position of his second wife. In the eyes of a normal modern woman, being asked to be the second wife of a married man would be an insult to her. But this is the ancient world of Dream of the Red Chamber, and being Jia Zheng's second wife is something that Yuan Hongqu could not possibly do.
What is it about myself, or rather, about Teacher Yuan, that would make Old Madam Shi value me and allow the Rongguo Mansion to make use of me?
Yuan Hongqu hadn't expected this either; it seemed she could only continue to observe carefully from now on.
"I understand, thank you for reminding me."
"Sister, there's no need for thanks. I just kept thinking about it and something felt off, but I couldn't figure out what it was that made her bring this up suddenly."
"Anyway, you should be more careful in the future. Don't be fooled by how beautiful and luxurious this mansion looks; it's filthy inside."
“The circle I used to be in wasn’t exactly clean, but compared to this place, I really think it was still a place where I could get by.”
Wang Xifeng was deeply moved.
"Sister Yuan, if I had a primordial spirit, do you think I would be a mudfish? How come I've been living in such filthy places in both my past lives!"
"You're quite the metaphorist... But maybe it's a cockroach?" Yuan Hongqu teased with a smile after hearing Wang Xifeng's words.
"Well, cockroaches are fine too, at least they're invincible," Wang Xifeng said in a low voice after laughing.
Thinking about Wang Xifeng's final fate, Yuan Hongqu also felt a tightness in her chest.
"You didn't lend money at exorbitant interest rates, did you?" Yuan Hongqu asked hastily, remembering the biggest reason that led to Wang Xifeng's disgrace and death in prison.
"How could I dare? That's illegal!" Wang Xifeng stood firm, practically raising her finger to show her innocence.
"I don't have enough money. Even if I pawned my dowry, I still wouldn't dare to do this."
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