Old Master Cheng stared suspiciously at the poor little steamed bun he held between his chopsticks. “Is… is this chive filling?”
There was indeed a scent of chives; he couldn’t have mistaken it.
But why didn’t he feel like vomiting?
“One of the three delicacies in the three-delicacy bun is chives, though there is not much of it. Do you dislike chives? Would you like me to help you swap it for something else?”
Old Master Cheng was incredibly surprised. He stopped Jiang Mo’s reaching hand. “Wait, wait—tell me first, what are the other two delicacies?”
“They are pork and river shrimp.”
Seeing his strange expression, Madam Cheng asked, “What is it?”
“Madam, I actually find the taste of these chives quite good!” Old Master Cheng’s eyes gleamed brightly.
Madam Cheng: “…Can you speak normally?”
At his age, was he trying to act cute like their little granddaughter?
Old Master Cheng gave a light cough and tried another bite. His eyebrows arched with excitement.
It could be summed up in one word: Fresh!
It was incredibly fresh!
He had never eaten such fresh steamed buns before!
If it were just delicious, that would be one thing, but the key was that he could eat these chives without feeling nauseous!
Could it be that the combination of chives, pork, and river shrimp had produced some magical effect?
“Madam, I can eat these chives! You must try one, they are so delicious!”
Madam Cheng knitted her brows.
“Do you really think these chives are that good?”
Zhang’s Steamed Bun Shop was opened by her own maternal relatives. Its taste had always been famous in Jiangzhou, with diners lining up every day.
In her opinion, she had never eaten a better bun than Zhang’s.
Old Master Cheng nodded vigorously. “I can’t eat any other chives, but these I can!”
Madam Cheng hesitated, picked up a three-delicacy bun, and took a bite. The soup burst out, and she had to twitch her eyebrows as she took a deep breath to slurp up the savory liquid.
It was rich and fresh, not greasy, and the aftertaste was endless.
She savored it carefully, becoming more and more shocked as she did.
This taste was indeed even better than Zhang’s!
The bun skin was as soft and fluffy as cotton, especially suitable for their old teeth; there was almost no need to chew hard.
The meat filling was extremely elastic, and every bite was filled with happiness.
Just as she was about to say a few words to the old man, she saw him chatting away happily with the young girl at the next table.
“These three-delicacy buns are truly delicious.”
“Right? Right? I fell in love with them after just one bite.”
“I could never eat chives before; they always gave me heartburn.”
“Oh? Then you must try the cabbage and pork buns; those are also super, super delicious!”
“Oh, wonderful!”
Madam Cheng: “…”
After finishing their breakfast with great satisfaction, she looked up and realized that more than half of Taoyuan Residence was already filled with customers.
Old Master Cheng called Iris over. “Young lady, where is your boss? Could you call her over? I have something I would like to ask.”
Iris was put in a difficult position. “Our boss is in the kitchen making buns; I’m afraid she can’t spare the time.”
Although there weren’t many people in the main hall, Taoyuan Residence only had the two of them, the mistress and the servant. They could barely manage the front, but the kitchen could absolutely not be left unattended.
Old Master Cheng discussed it with his wife for a moment. “Then we shall wait a while.”
Jiang Mo was very fast. The fillings were already prepared. She picked up a dough wrapper with her slender fingers, stuffed the filling inside, twisted one end while rotating, and sealed all the meat inside. She then placed them into the steamer to cook.
Not only were they delicious, but the presentation was also excellent; at first glance, every bun in the steamer looked identical.
Iris didn’t come to report any more orders. Jiang Mo breathed a light sigh of relief, took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her forehead, and put out the fire. When she went out, she saw that the main hall was nearly empty, with only two or three diners left sipping porridge.
“Miss, those two customers over there have something to ask you,” Iris said, hurrying over with small steps.
“Looking for me?” Jiang Mo turned and saw the two elderly people she had seen when delivering meals earlier. “I see. You go ahead and clean up.”
She walked over to the Cheng couple and smiled. “I am Jiang Mo, the owner of Taoyuan Residence. I heard you have something to ask me?”
Feeling a bit stifled, she simply untied her veil, draped it lightly over her hand, and looked at them with a smile in her peach-blossom-shaped eyes.
The two elderly people were stunned.
Old Master Cheng’s tone changed entirely. “You are the owner of Taoyuan Residence?”
In this day and age, very few women could read or write unless they were from prominent families who hired tutors. And if she were from such a family, why would she be allowed to run a restaurant?
Thinking about it, the “Taoyuan” in Taoyuan Residence must be a coincidence after all.
He sighed inwardly with regret.
Madam Cheng understood her husband better than anyone and, guessing what he was thinking, asked kindly for him.
“Owner Jiang, does the name ‘Taoyuan Residence’ have a particular story behind it? The words ‘Taoyuan’ are quite rare.”
“The words ‘Taoyuan’ are taken from Master Wuliu’s Peach Blossom Spring. I have always liked the idea of a reclusive paradise like the one described in the article, and I hope Taoyuan Residence can become a sanctuary that everyone yearns for, just like the Peach Blossom Spring.”
Old Master Cheng instantly became spirited. “You are actually educated?”
“I have read a few books,” Jiang Mo said modestly.
Old Master Cheng laughed heartily and nodded repeatedly. “Not bad, not bad at all.”
Jiang Mo asked curiously, “Did you see me just to ask about the origin of the name?”
“Of course not,” Madam Cheng said gently. “My husband is a teacher and loves elegant literature. Please don’t mind him. Actually, we wanted to ask if you would sell the recipe for those three-delicacy buns?”
Jiang Mo: “?”
From elegant literature to three-delicacy buns—the jump was quite large.
“It is like this: my husband usually cannot eat chives, as they give him heartburn and nausea. Today, we don’t know how your three-delicacy buns are made, but he ate them and felt perfectly fine, and they were very fragrant. So we wanted to ask for the recipe, and we are willing to pay.”
“So that’s it,” Jiang Mo realized.
“We only want to make them for our own family to eat; we won’t sell them,” Madam Cheng promised.
The Cheng family was not short on money.
Jiang Mo pondered for a moment. “That’s fine. Send someone to learn; one tael of silver will do. It’s not a particularly difficult recipe.”
It was mainly about how to season the filling.
However… she had never heard of her buns making someone who disliked chives fall in love with them.
The chives were also bought at the street market that morning. Could it be that since she traveled through time, she had gained a “golden touch” that could change people’s food preferences?
Madam Cheng immediately said, “I will come myself!”
Old Master Cheng’s face turned pale.
“Madam, let the cook from our mansion come. You’ve never cooked, have you?”
Madam Cheng gave a light huff. “I’ll just have the cook come along with me.”
Don’t think she didn’t know what he was doing—he was just afraid she wouldn’t make them taste good.
How bad could they taste if she learned them properly? Surely she wouldn’t poison him?
It was truly an unnecessary worry.
Once she displayed her skills, the old man would see how amazing she was!
Without further delay, Madam Cheng returned to the mansion to summon the cook. Together, they went to the kitchen of Taoyuan Residence to learn how to season the filling. Under Jiang Mo’s guidance, they made the steamed buns step by step.
Three steamers of identical three-delicacy buns were brought out, made by Madam Cheng, the head cook, and Jiang Mo, respectively.
Old Master Cheng glanced at the expectant Madam Cheng, picked up one of the buns she had made, and took a cautious, careful bite.