“Did you understand? Did you learn it?” After putting the egg cakes into the mold and sending them into the oven, Su Man looked at the two of them and asked.
Li Qingqing had kept her eyes wide open the entire time, but her mind was still a little foggy. “Su Man, I’m not as smart as you. I can’t learn it in one try.”
Yang Su, on the other hand, had remembered every precaution Su Man had mentioned, but her pastry skills were not as practiced as someone who stayed in the kitchen every day, so she also did not dare to say she had learned it.
Su Man genuinely felt that making egg cakes was extremely simple, especially since they had an electric egg beater. She had been very pleasantly surprised when she found it while organizing things earlier.
“It’s fine. When this batch comes out of the oven, you two can try it first, then you’ll make it while I guide you from the side.”
Li Qingqing and Yang Su exchanged a glance, both a little nervous. “Su Man, how about you make it once more so we can watch again?”
In truth, Li Qingqing had been helping Aunt Xu in the kitchen making steamed buns for years and had very good skills, but she was overly cautious and lacked confidence. Su Man knew this, so she made the decision. “Then Qingqing will try first later!”
Li Qingqing had no choice but to agree reluctantly.
The first batch of egg cakes had not even come out of the oven yet, but the fragrance had already filled the entire room. Li Qingqing and Yang Su stared at the oven excitedly.
Su Man, however, remained very calm. “We might need to adjust the sugar ratio later.”
She had followed the taste she was used to from the 21st century, but in the 21st century people preferred desserts that were less sweet—sometimes even using “not sweet” as the highest praise for desserts.
But now the Bakery was serving the entire Military Unit, people from the 1970s, who generally preferred sweeter flavors than later generations.
She just needed to adjust slightly based on Li Qingqing and Yang Su’s taste later.
“Ding~” The steaming egg cakes were ready.
Su Man took one piece first and tasted it. Mm, it was alright.
Li Qingqing and Yang Su saw Su Man’s calm expression and thought it had failed. But when they each took a bite, their eyes lit up instantly.
The rich aroma of eggs and wheat mixed with a faint sweetness—it was soft, fluffy, and delicate. It was unbelievably delicious!
Before, the two of them had confidence in Su Man. Now, they had full confidence in the egg cakes themselves. From then on, they both became extremely focused.
Ye Aihua rushed over immediately after hearing the news.
By then, the Bakery entrance was already crowded with people holding bowls or pots, all scrambling to buy egg cakes.
“Line up, line up~”
Ye Aihua hadn’t brought anything to hold the food, and she was afraid that if she went back, she would miss out. She planned to just buy a little to try first.
When it was finally her turn, the egg cakes were already sold out.
Su Man smiled brightly at those who hadn’t managed to buy any and told them they could come back later.
As the crowd dispersed, Su Man noticed Ye Aihua. She remembered this young girl who worked at the guesthouse and greeted her with a smile, then quietly said: “I saved two pieces for myself. Come inside and I’ll let you try them.”
Ye Aihua was overjoyed. After tasting the egg cakes, she slapped her thigh in regret for not coming earlier.
After returning, Ye Aihua quickly spread the news among her usual gossip partners about how delicious and fragrant the Bakery’s egg cakes were.
Very soon, the news that the Bakery had opened and its egg cakes were extremely delicious would sweep through the family compound.
Ye Aihua grabbed a large bowl and was about to go queue at the Bakery when she was suddenly called over and went together with someone else.
Seeing that there weren’t many people ahead, Ye Aihua felt lucky she had come early—but she didn’t notice that the person beside her, Chen Xianglan, wasn’t listening to her at all, nor was she paying attention to the egg cakes. Instead, she kept staring directly at Su Man.
Inside the Bakery, the three of them were busy moving around. Su Man suddenly felt as if someone was watching her. She turned around and met the gaze of a young woman she did not recognize.
Noticing that Ye Aihua was standing next to this girl and that they seemed familiar, Su Man smiled politely. The other party, however, turned away expressionlessly.
Su Man dismissed the slight strangeness in her heart and continued working.
When it was Ye Aihua’s turn, Su Man smiled as she placed egg cakes into her bowl, then looked at Chen Xianglan and asked: “Comrade, how many do you want? Did you bring a bowl?”
Chen Xianglan said lightly: “I’ll just take one piece.”
Su Man calmly weighed and collected the money, then moved on to the next customer. Ye Aihua, on the other hand, felt a bit awkward.
When they turned to leave, Ye Aihua looked at Chen Xianglan and felt something was off. “Xianglan, what’s wrong with you? Didn’t you say you came to buy egg cakes?”
“I’m giving it to you.“ Chen Xianglan said, placing the piece of egg cake into Ye Aihua’s bowl and brushing off the crumbs from her hands. “Su Man is Regiment Commander Qi’s arranged fiancée, right?”
“Yes. They actually look quite well-matched.“ Ye Aihua sighed. “You’re not still thinking about Regiment Commander Qi, are you? Your conditions are pretty good—why are you so fixated on him?”
“Regiment Commander Qi isn’t married yet, so why not? A man like him couldn’t possibly accept an arranged marriage.”
“Besides, if he really liked that fiancée, how come there hasn’t been any news of an engagement all these years? And why were there all those rumors before?”
“I think maybe they broke off the engagement long ago.”
Ye Aihua felt Chen Xianglan was wrong. Although she had no proof, she felt Regiment Commander Qi was different toward Su Man.
She stopped trying to persuade her and started eating the egg cake. “You really aren’t going to eat? It’s very good.”
Chen Xianglan glanced at it with disdain. “Even if her skills are decent, it’s still not presentable. It’s not even a formal job. Our food factory is stable and respectable. When our new product is released nationwide, Regiment Commander Qi will definitely see how outstanding I am.”
“Our new product also includes egg cakes. They last a long time and are decent for gifting. When that happens, no one will buy Bakery egg cakes anymore. Maybe they’ll have to shut down again.”
Ye Aihua stopped after eating two pieces and planned to bring the rest home for her family. If she had known Chen Xianglan had such hostility toward Su Man, she would not have come with her.
She really liked Su Man and even wanted to be friends with her. She didn’t want to be distanced because of Chen Xianglan.
Chen Xianglan always carried herself with a sense of superiority, relying on the fact that her uncle was the deputy director of the Food Factory. Yet she herself came from the countryside and only came to the city after her family had passed away to rely on her uncle.
After arriving at the Military Unit, her uncle introduced her to potential matches, but Chen Xianglan had taken a liking to Regiment Commander Qi. Even after being rejected, she refused to give up.
Privately, she had even said that no one except Regiment Commander Qi was worthy of her.
This recruitment into the food factory had also been aimed at getting closer to Regiment Commander Qi.
Ye Aihua loved gossip, but everything Chen Xianglan told her was secret and couldn’t be shared. She had nearly suffocated from holding it in.
For example, during this recruitment, Chen Xianglan had carelessly failed to submit her application properly and was not initially selected. On the day of registration, she used her uncle’s connections to replace a low-educated military wife, otherwise she would not even have a job now.
Sigh, she should probably stay away from Chen Xianglan in the future.