Unlike put chai ko, finished coconut milk layer cake is thick and large, so it cannot be sold by the piece in the same way as put chai ko. In ordinary teahouses, layer cake is usually cut into small square pieces, with about three or four pieces sold as one serving.
If she followed the same standard and sold it outside the school, however, there would be a problem.
The portions of put chai ko were already quite large. If the layer cake were also cut into large pieces, the students would have no appetite left for anything else after finishing their put chai ko.
Besides, the students did not have much money to begin with. Put chai ko was already priced on the expensive side, and if the layer cake were expensive as well, the students would have to choose between the two. That way, even with a new product, her sales would not increase by much.
So instead, she cut the layer cake into bite-sized pieces, each roughly one bite, and put them into small plastic cups. Each cup contained fifteen pieces and came with a cute little umbrella decoration.
After eating put chai ko for two days, naturally, some students wanted to try a different flavor. On top of that, the coconut milk layer cake looked incredibly appealing, so quite a few portions were sold in no time.
The students holding their cups of coconut milk layer cake moved a few steps to the side and began eating. They completely blocked the school entrance, leaving practically no way through, which also piqued the curiosity of students waiting in line at the other stalls.
“Wait, what are they selling? Why are there so many people lining up?”
“I don’t know either, but it must be really good, right? Otherwise, why would so many people be buying it?”
“Why don’t we go try it? It’s only 1.50 yuan anyway. You can’t even buy half a hand-pulled pancake for 1.50 yuan.”
……
All of the students’ discussions reached Xia Yongen’s ears, while the students around her stall happily eating their coconut milk layer cake had all become living advertisements for her.
In less than half an hour, the put chai ko was already sold out, and there was only one last serving of coconut milk layer cake left.
The students at the back of the line could only watch helplessly as Xia Yongen handed the final serving to the ponytailed girl at the front.
Someone in the crowd let out a mournful cry.
“No way!”
Several students immediately crowded around the girl.
“Jiajia, I’ll give you half of my grilled sausage. Can you give me half of yours?”
“Jiajia, I’ll give you the pen my aunt brought back for me from Japan. Just give it to me!”
“Me, me, me! Jiajia, we’re such good friends. Just let me have one bite!”
……
Watching the students laugh and playfully bicker over the cake, Xia Yongen felt a little more satisfied.
It was the coconut milk layer cake’s first appearance today, and it had already been warmly welcomed by many students. The put chai ko was still selling just as well, too.
She had only been setting up her stall outside the school for three days. Although business had been good every day, there were still plenty of students who had never tried put chai ko. The launch of the coconut milk layer cake would also attract students who were not interested in put chai ko.
As long as she introduced new products from time to time, there was no way her little stall’s business would be bad.
She had two days left, and she needed to sell 270 servings of coconut milk layer cake to complete the mission.
But for her now, that shouldn’t be too difficult.
Seeing that fewer and fewer students were coming out of the school gate, quite a few of the stall owners began preparing to leave.
Xia Yongen was packing up her things when she suddenly felt as though something had scratched at her foot.
She looked down and saw a chubby little yellow cat tilting its head and staring at her.
Wow! It’s so round and plump. Little Mimi is adorable!
She crouched down and had just reached out her hand when the kitten came over to sniff it. Then it licked its lips.
Xia Yongen gently scratched the kitten’s head.
“Little Mimi, are you hungry?”
Several nearby stall owners spotted the kitten and immediately started going, “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!”
The big sis selling beef offal even took out a skewer of beef intestine, cut it into small pieces, and fed it to the kitten.
After asking around, Xia Yongen finally learned that the kitten belonged to the stationery shop next to the school. It was famous for being a glutton and would occasionally wander over looking for food. The other stall owners were already used to feeding it.
The chubby little cat finished the beef intestine, then ate some chicken fillet and some grilled sausage, but it still seemed unsatisfied. It kept wandering around Xia Yongen’s feet.
Xia Yongen had no choice but to promise that she would bring Little Mimi something tasty tomorrow.
Only then did the chubby cat swagger away from the school entrance and dart into the stationery shop.
The next day, Yao Xiaotong finally learned about the existence of the coconut milk layer cake from Jiajia.
She swallowed hard, and suddenly the chocolate bread in her hands seemed utterly tasteless.
Jiajia took the little umbrella stuck into her pencil case and pulled it out.
A layer of adorable cartoon patterns was printed across the umbrella’s surface, along with a layer of glitter. When the light hit it, the cartoon patterns sparkled brilliantly. It was incredibly pretty!
Yao Xiaotong made up her mind.
No matter what, I have to eat the coconut milk layer cake today!
After school, when Zhao Yiping arrived at the classroom door with a stack of test papers, he saw Yao Xiaotong standing in the hallway with Jiajia.
“Teacher, can I go buy something to eat first? I’m too slow at solving the problems, and I’m starving.”
After asking a few questions, he learned that she wanted to buy something from the stalls outside the school. Seeing how anxious she looked, he was afraid she was genuinely too hungry to be comfortable, so he nodded.
“Be careful, okay? Come back quickly.”
Ten minutes later, Yao Xiaotong hurried back to the classroom carrying a bag of food.
If Jiajia hadn’t helped her, she probably wouldn’t have been able to get any coconut milk layer cake at all.
Back at her seat, she looked at the physics test paper in front of her. How could she possibly still have the mind to solve the problems?
She quickly took the two cups of coconut milk layer cake out of the bag.
I’m not going to be able to solve these problems right now anyway. So… why don’t I eat one first?
The students around her were all bent over their papers, working on the problems.
She quietly opened the plastic lid, picked up the bamboo skewer, and prepared to poke a piece of layer cake and put it into her mouth.
The coconut layer cake was simply too slippery. The bamboo skewer slid across the surface several times, making the tightly packed layers tremble slightly. Through the smooth cut surface, every layer could be seen to be perfectly even. She finally managed to spear a relatively large piece and quickly stuffed it into her mouth.
The next moment, she couldn’t help letting out a soft gasp.
She hadn’t even started chewing when a rich coconut fragrance flooded her mouth. After chewing a few more times, the light sweetness of water chestnut spread across her tongue. The two distinct flavors blended together, tempering the coconut’s sweetness and richness. And the firm, springy cake kept bouncing between her teeth, soft and silky with every bite.
She was thoroughly enjoying herself. The faint sounds of chewing and swallowing caught the attention of the students around her, who couldn’t help glancing around the classroom.
Seriously, who was eating?
Eating in class was one thing, but why did they have to make it sound so delicious?!
Yao Xiaotong was completely oblivious. She quickly finished one piece with her head lowered, then used the bamboo skewer to spear a second piece, then a third…
It wasn’t nearly enough!
Originally, she had only planned to eat a few pieces to satisfy her craving, but in less than five minutes, the original-flavored coconut milk layer cake was completely gone.
Since that was the case, she might as well finish everything in one go!
She reached out and picked up the cup of pandan-flavored layer cake. The sound of the plastic lid being peeled open was magnified endlessly in the quiet classroom.
A student in the row ahead turned around and looked directly at Yao Xiaotong.
“Finished your test?”
She speared a small piece of layer cake with the bamboo skewer. “Oh, come on, it won’t hurt to finish it later!”
Three seconds later, another soft gasp rang out in the classroom.
She had thought the original flavor was already delicious enough, but the pandan flavor was on another level!
The uniquely fresh, crisp fragrance of pandan leaves made the entire piece of layer cake feel even cooler and more refreshing. Once she started eating, she simply couldn’t stop—one piece after another!
Hearing that familiar chewing sound, the students in both the front and back rows couldn’t help turning their eyes toward Yao Xiaotong again.
The layer cake looked so ordinary. Could it really be that delicious?
“Xiaotong, where did you buy it? Is it expensive?”
While chewing, Yao Xiaotong enthusiastically recommended it to her classmates, and the discussion in the classroom grew louder and louder.
Zhao Yiping glanced at his students and couldn’t help clearing his throat.
“If you could all put as much thought into solving your problems as you do into eating, I wouldn’t have had to keep you here today.”
Half an hour later, Yao Xiaotong finally managed to solve the three physics problems.
As Zhao Yiping marked her work, he said, “You should eat less of the stuff sold at those little street stalls in the future. How about I bring you some biscuits and bread next time?”
Yao Xiaotong pouted and couldn’t help trying to sell him on it.
“Teacher, trust me. It’s really, really delicious!”
And so, she stood there and described the flavors of both the put chai ko and the coconut milk layer cake in detail, describing them so vividly that she nearly drooled just talking about them.
When Zhao Yiping heard her mention put chai ko, he was reminded of Li Minyao and couldn’t help grumbling inwardly.
Was put chai ko suddenly fashionable these days? Why did everyone keep saying it was delicious?
As a native of Huacheng, how could he not know what put chai ko tasted like?
Besides, anyone who made really delicious ones would have already opened a shop. Who would still have the time to set up a stall outside a school?
Zhao Yiping had been a student himself once. The little stalls outside school had only two advantages: generous portions that filled you up and cheap prices. As for the taste, well… it was merely passable.
And that coconut milk layer cake? His family loved ordering it whenever they went for morning tea. He’d eaten it for so many years that he knew exactly what it tasted like. How much better could it possibly be?
He couldn’t help shaking his head.
Sure enough, a tongue that hadn’t yet been contaminated by food additives was a wonderful thing.
When he returned home, he happened to run into Li Minyao, who had just come back from the food plaza.
“What happened? Still haven’t found your hidden treasure stall?”
Li Minyao shook her head and entered the house dejectedly.
“Don’t even mention it. I’ve gone there three days in a row and haven’t seen them once.”
Aside from the man she’d encountered yesterday, today she had also run into several other people who had come looking for the put chai ko stall.
As the saying went, sharing a love of food was a kind of fate. So everyone exchanged contact information and even created a group chat.
The group was named: “Where Can the Delicious Put Chai Ko Hide?”
Li Minyao also sent invitations to the netizens who had been waiting under the post. There were already thirteen people in the group.
Although it wasn’t a large number, it was still better than searching alone. At least their chances of finding the stall were greater.
The moment put chai ko was mentioned, Zhao Yiping remembered the way Yao Xiaotong had looked when she was indulging her sweet tooth.
“Oh, by the way, one of my students told me there’s also a little stall selling put chai ko outside our school. Apparently, they’ve been selling some kind of coconut milk cake these past couple of days too, and supposedly it’s really delicious. How about I bring one home for you to try tomorrow?”
Li Minyao shook her head without even thinking about it.
“Something sold outside the school can’t possibly be the same as the one I bought from that stall.”
Seeing how firm Li Minyao was, Zhao Yiping could only drop the matter.
After the two of them finished dinner, a torrential downpour suddenly began outside.
Zhao Yiping prayed fervently that the rain would stop before tomorrow morning. Otherwise, he’d have to brave the heavy rain to get to work.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as he wished. Early the next morning, Zhao Yiping and Li Minyao left the house in a foul mood.
Meanwhile, Xia Yongen was staring at the rain outside the window, extremely anxious.
This was bad. If it kept raining this heavily all day, how was she supposed to set up her stall?!
Author’s Note:
None.