“Not eating?” Jiang Mo arched an eyebrow, her peach-blossom eyes giving a playful flicker as she made a move to pull the skewer back.
Iris grabbed her hand, her face full of tragic resolve. “Don’t, Miss! I’ll eat it!”
Her expression was that of someone preparing to face their own demise. She couldn’t crush her own mistress’s confidence. Even if these mountain fruits were unbearably sour, she would swallow them!
Jiang Mo watched her with interest and urged her on, “Go ahead, have a taste.”
With a heart full of despair, Iris closed her eyes and took a big bite.
A slight crunch sounded. The sugar coating on the top hawthorn shattered like ice crystals on a frozen winter lake, spreading cracks across the surface with a peculiar, aesthetic beauty. Iris took a couple of chews, and her expression began to shift.
The acidity of the hawthorn and the sweetness of the sugar coating fused perfectly, creating a flavor that was appetizing, sour-sweet, and delicious. It was crispy, sugary, and tangy without being astringent.
Ahhh—!!! This couldn’t possibly be the same kind of mountain fruit she had secretly eaten before! It was so good!
The candied hawthorn completely captured the heart of the young maid. Just as she was about to shove the whole thing into her mouth, Jiang Mo reached out and took it from her.
Iris: “!!!” Her candied hawthorn!
“Miss…” she wheedled, tugging at Jiang Mo’s sleeve, acting coquettish.
“Is it good?” Jiang Mo asked with a smile.
Iris nodded like a bobbing-head doll, her eyes glued to the treat, unable to look away. “I’ve never eaten such good mountain fruit in my life!”
Back at the Jiang household, her monthly wages were meager and she had to save them; she rarely had a chance to leave the mansion, let alone buy snacks. Whatever she ate was usually leftover scraps rewarded to her by her masters. Besides, she had never even heard of a snack as beautiful and delicious as these candied hawthorns.
“Say something nice, and I’ll give it back to you,” Jiang Mo teased.
Without a second thought, Iris praised Jiang Mo from head to toe, saying she was peerless in heaven and earth, and didn’t forget to disparage Shen Zhengze along the way.
“I heard Master Shen is already twenty-eight this year, an old man approaching his thirties in two years. He’s entirely devoted to his official duties, indifferent to women, and so serious and dull. He’s not worthy of you, Miss. With your beauty and culinary skill, you deserve a handsome young gentleman of similar age to shower you with sweet nothings.”
Jiang Mo couldn’t help but laugh, biting into a hawthorn herself before shoving the rest back to Iris. “Master Shen comes from a noble family and achieved fame at a young age. He must have seen countless beauties; it’s only natural he’d look down on our meager charms.”
Regardless of gender, who doesn’t like looking at beautiful people? She liked it too. Once she earned enough silver, she wanted to keep eight of them for herself!
Only Iris muttered, “Then his standards must be really high.” Her mistress’s looks were top-tier, even among all the beauties in the villa.
One pound of hawthorns could make eight skewers, and one pound of sugar could barely coat twenty. With two pounds of store-bought sugar plus the one pound they already had, they only made fifty skewers of candied hawthorns and ten skewers of candied strawberries.
In the evening, Jiang Mo shredded the chicken she had boiled for soup earlier, made two quick bowls of chicken-shred noodles, and ate them with some stir-fried greens from the main kitchen. She then had Iris hoist the straw pole filled with candied hawthorns, and the two were just about to head out.
At the villa gate, they ran into Manager Fang. Manager Fang was the wife of Steward Shen. With the couple managing the Shen residence’s front courtyard and the villa respectively, it was clear how much Steward Shen was trusted by the Magistrate. Fortunately, Manager Fang was not a mean-spirited woman.
“Miss Jiang Mo, going out again?” Manager Fang asked, puzzled.
In the last month, the number of times Jiang Mo had ventured out had indeed increased. If she were an ordinary girl, it wouldn’t matter, but as a beauty gifted to Master Shen—effectively a concubine—frequent outings were clearly improper.
“I’m planning to visit the night market at Salsin Bridge. I apologize for the trouble, Manager Fang,” Jiang Mo said with a smile. She plucked two skewers from the straw pole, wrapped them in kraft paper, and pressed them into Manager Fang’s hand. “These are candied hawthorns I made. The taste is quite good, and children should enjoy them. Please take them as a small snack for your own.”
Manager Fang usually refused bribes of gold or silver, but she didn’t mind a small snack. She looked at the bright red hawthorns on the pole, which seemed quite festive. “Do return early, Miss Jiang Mo. Salsin Bridge is crowded and noisy—be careful of pickpockets.” Manager Fang offered a warm, smiling warning and let them pass.
Salsin Bridge Night Market was the largest in Jiangzhou. At night, lanterns were layered in clusters, forming a river of light against the darkness. The black water reflected the red lanterns and warm yellow glow, making the night feel less cold and filled with the vibrant energy of human life.
Vendors shouted loudly to attract customers, and the scene was lively and bustling.
Iris imitated the merchants, calling out, “Candied hawthorns! Delicious, crispy, and sweet candied hawthorns!”
Candied hawthorns were a novelty; throughout Salsin Bridge, there wasn’t a second vendor selling them. Arranged neatly around the straw pole and carried high, the red, glistening treats shone under the orange-red lanterns, making them incredibly appealing. They immediately caught the attention of many.
“Mom! I want that!” A little girl held in her mother’s arms pointed at the tempting skewers, revealing a set of snowy white little teeth.
The mother was also curious. Seeing a woman with a veiled face selling them, she stepped forward and asked, “How much for one skewer?”
“Forty coins for one, seventy coins for two, and one hundred for three,” Jiang Mo replied.
The mother was shocked. “So expensive? Isn’t this just mountain fruit?” Mountain fruit only cost four coins a pound and was too sour to eat; she had assumed they were two or three coins each, a treat to buy for her daughter to play with. Forty coins was simply too high.
“It’s made of mountain fruit and sugar. That outer layer is all sugar,” Jiang Mo explained. She didn’t want to set the price so high, but the price of sugar was high—five hundred coins a pound. Without access to sugarcane, she couldn’t refine it herself.
Hearing that it was made of sugar, the mother hesitated for a moment and then walked away with her daughter. It wasn’t a holiday or a celebration; why spend money on sugar?
Jiang Mo wasn’t in a hurry. She strolled along slowly with Iris, occasionally trading off who carried the pole and stopping to clap for fun street performances.
Nuomi was the personal maid of the Third Miss of the Lu family. The Miss was enjoying the scenery and drinking tea with her friends at the Salsin Terrace, and had sent her out to buy some pastries from the Furi Building. She had noticed the straw pole filled with candied hawthorns earlier. The hawthorns seemed expertly crafted, looking crystal-clear like they were covered in ice, and under the lanterns, they gave off a sheen that made them look mouth-wateringly tempting.
They seemed to be saying: Come eat me! Come eat me!
Nuomi: “…” She shook her head fiercely, slowed her pace, and waited until the mistress and maid vanished into the crowd before hurrying toward the Furi Building.
Who would have thought that just as she stepped out of the Furi Building, she would see that pole held exceptionally high again? And the woman in the lotus-root-pink dress with a mole on her brow had untied her veil and was eating a skewer herself. Her cheeks were bulging as she chewed the hawthorn, resembling a little squirrel.
Nuomi tightened her grip on the pastries, her eyes flickering. They seemed… incredibly delicious. She silently looked down at the little belly she had gained from being a glutton.
A moment of patience leads to peace.
Endure!