The steamed red beans were mashed into a paste, soft and glutinous with a faint fragrance. A small handful of white sugar was sprinkled in, followed by a small amount of vegetable oil. After mixing evenly, the paste was kneaded into uniformly sized balls, wrapped in a thin layer of pastry, and shaped into neat squares. These were then slowly pan-fried in an iron skillet until golden brown on all sides, filling the entire kitchen with a delicate, crispy aroma.
Unlike snacks like Xiao Long Bao, pastries such as these would lose their crispness and flavor if left overnight. Since the goal today was to use Hongdou Bing and LvDouBing to break into the market, Shen Zhihe paused her frying. She recalled the food stalls she had seen as a child in her previous life, where vendors cooked and sold on the spot—the aroma of freshly made pastries served as a living advertisement to attract customers.
A slight smile touched Shen Zhihe’s lips as she wrapped the remaining red bean filling in pastry. She wondered to herself if there was anywhere in this small town to buy cow’s milk. Adding a bit of cow’s milk to the red bean filling would make it rich and delicious. She wasn’t sure if the young master of the Zhou Family would know.
Perhaps because the New Year was approaching, neither Lu Jin Yu nor Zhou Yao had returned since the day they left. However, that Lu Li Xiao Lang Jun came every day. If he showed up again today, she decided she would ask him if he knew where to find cow’s milk.
Shen Zhihe placed the unwrapped and unfried Hongdou Bing and LvDouBing into a food container. She then took a few pieces and arranged them on a white porcelain plate. Lifting the lid of the clay pot on the stove, she saw the Dongpo Pork inside, stewed until tender and glistening, its rich meaty aroma instantly dominating the room.
Seeing that the meat was nearly done, Shen Zhihe cut it into small pieces and packed them carefully. This portion had been pre-ordered by Wu Yong. She estimated that other customers might want to buy some today, but Dongpo Pork was costly to make. Without a proper shop yet, selling it was inconvenient. Inspired by the “hunger marketing” strategy from her past life, she decided to limit daily sales.
She lifted the lid of another clay pot, where JiSiZhou was bubbling away. After stirring it with a ladle, she scooped two bowls and set them on the table to cool. Then, she turned and walked back to the bedroom.
Shen Zhihe looked at Shen Zhian, who was sleeping soundly, his cheeks flushed pink. A playful impulse seized her. Tiptoeing to the bedside, she slipped her chilly hand under the covers. The sudden cold jolted Shen Zhian awake, his eyes flying open.
Bleary-eyed, he saw Shen Zhihe’s mischievous grin and her face close to his. “Elder Sister, your hands are so cold. Let Zhi An warm them for you.”
Hearing this, Shen Zhihe felt a rare pang of guilt. She had expected Shen Zhian to be cross with her, but instead, the first thing he did upon waking was to warm her hands. It made all her recent efforts to care for him feel worthwhile.
She withdrew her hand from under the covers and gently tapped his nose. “Hurry up and get out of bed, or your favorite JiSiZhou will get cold.”
Before she had even finished speaking, Shen Zhian scrambled upright, still drowsy, and clumsily pulled on his Jia’ao. His sleepy, disheveled appearance was both pitiable and endearing.
Shen Zhihe let out a soft laugh before retreating from the bedroom. She still had other preparations to make. Since there was no cow’s milk available for now, the red bean cakes and mung bean cakes she made today followed an extremely simple recipe—the same two pastries she had spotted at the bakery the other day.
Back then, she hadn’t bought any to taste, thinking they looked too plain. Now, regret was all she felt. Yet she remembered how Zhou Niangzi had shown a hint of disapproval yesterday when she mentioned selling red and mung bean pastries at her shop.
From this, she deduced that the red bean and mung bean cakes in this Northern Border town likely tasted mediocre. If so, she felt quite confident about her own pastries—after all, she held recipes refined over centuries by countless people.
Fully dressed, Shen Zhian clutched a red bean cake in one hand and a spoon in the other, happily munching on the pastry while savoring steaming, fragrant chicken porridge. He gazed bewildered at Shen Zhihe’s ever-shifting expressions.
The post-snow sky stretched clear and blue, a round sun slowly rising from the horizon. Wispy cooking smoke curled from street stalls, accompanied by occasional distant barks.
Pushing the door open, Shen Zhihe was met by biting cold air rushing into the room. Her exhaled breath instantly misted into white clouds. The courtyard lay blanketed in pure white, with crystal icicles hanging like jade pillars from the eaves. Bare tree branches along the path sagged under the weight of accumulated snow.
This was truly the heart of winter. If she closed shop early today, she could find a craftsman to repair the kang bed-stove at home. Though it hadn’t snowed recently, the sunlight had been intermittent amid the freezing weather—she hadn’t even found a proper spot to air their quilts, relying solely on hot-water bottles to get by.
Still, Zhi An had been remarkably resilient lately. Apart from that one fever upon arriving at this old residence, he’d remained healthy—a far cry from his former self at the Shen Family, where he’d fall mildly ill every three days and seriously every ten. This certainly eased her worries.
Come spring when the weather warmed and they could shed these cumbersome layers, she’d teach Zhi An Ba Duan Jin exercises to strengthen his body. Perhaps he’d even shoot up in height.
“You’re rather late today, Shen Xiaoniangzi.” Wu Yong, who had been dreaming about that bite of Cherry Meat all night, rushed over first thing in the morning—only to find Shen Zhihe hadn’t arrived yet.
Hearing this, Shen Zhihe smiled wryly and scanned her surroundings. The neighboring vendors seemed to have been here awhile, each already surrounded by small clusters of customers. The elderly man who usually sold oil cakes next to her appeared absent again today.
“Will you be having anything besides the Cherry Meat today, sir?” Shen Zhihe opened a drawer and retrieved a ceramic bowl containing a glistening square of crimson-glazed meat, generously coated in sauce.
“Nothing else today.” Wu Yong accepted the Cherry Meat as if receiving a treasure. Though his family was well-off, he’d already spent two taels of silver here yesterday—drawing disapproval from his parents who threatened to restrict his allowance if he continued such extravagance. Perhaps bringing the meat home to share might even earn him extra coins.
The old man had probably never tasted such delicious pork in his life. As he was thinking this, Wu Yong protectively cradled the porcelain bowl and hurried home. The rich aroma of the meat wafted through the air along the way, drawing stares from passersby fixated on what he held.
Meanwhile, Shen Zhihe noticed that the customer who had pre-ordered Xiao Long Bao yesterday hadn’t arrived yet. She set the iron pan on the stove and arranged the Hongdou Bing she had wrapped early that morning. In moments, the pastry skins turned golden brown, releasing a buttery fragrance that permeated the surroundings.
Pedestrians who hadn’t eaten breakfast yet turned to look. Upon closer inspection, they recognized the items in the pan as the cloyingly sweet Hongdou Bing commonly sold in pastry shops. The imagined greasy sweetness seemed to coat their throats, making them hesitate. Yet the enticing aroma from the young woman’s stall was irresistible, and several people felt tempted.
Just then, a gentleman who had been lured by the meat aroma from Wu Yong’s bowl strode through the crowd directly toward Shen Zhihe’s stall. “Miss, was the Cherry Meat in Brother Wu’s possession purchased from your stall?”
“Cherry Meat? You mean what that gentleman was hiding in his arms earlier?”
“Heavens! When I passed by him earlier, the fragrance nearly intoxicated me!”
…
The man’s booming voice instantly drew surrounding pedestrians to gather. Shen Zhihe glanced at the man before her and nodded. Seeing the growing queue at her stall, she sighed inwardly before explaining earnestly, “Please don’t queue up. The production cost for Cherry Meat is very high. We only have ten portions today, and once they’re sold out, there won’t be any more.”
“But everyone can place pre-orders for tomorrow. Twenty coins per small portion, fifteen portions total tomorrow. First come, first served until sold out.” Noting the crowd’s dissatisfaction, Shen Zhihe seized the moment to announce the purchase limit.
Upon hearing this, customers beyond the tenth position grew anxious, fearing they might miss out. They had all smelled that extraordinary aroma – even the town’s finest restaurant couldn’t compare. Though twenty coins wasn’t cheap, ordinary households could occasionally afford such treats.
Soon, both today’s and tomorrow’s Cherry Meat were completely sold out. Little did Shen Zhihe know that after tomorrow, Cherry Meat would become an instant sensation in the town. For now, she dismissed the customers waiting for Cherry Meat and handed the Xiao Long Bao to yesterday’s pre-order customers according to her list.
Thanks to yesterday’s foundation, both Xiao Long Bao and wontons sold quickly. Only the pastries remained neglected. Watching the freshly steamed Hongdou Bing gradually cool, Shen Zhihe sensed trouble. If she couldn’t attract customers soon, she’d have to take all the pastries home.
She took a porcelain plate, selected several pastries, and cut them into small samples – what would later become common practice in pastry shops as “free samples.” She remembered using this method on her first market day, never expecting to employ it again today.
“Come take a look! Shen Ji Xiao Shi Tan launches new products today! Free tasting for all! Try before you buy! Mung bean for cooling, red bean for beauty and vitality! Come taste them!” The young woman’s clear voice rang through the street.
These ancient people had never encountered such marketing tactics. The word “free” alone stirred their interest – after all, only fools would pass up free offerings. Immediately, small groups of customers gathered around Shen Zhihe’s stall.
“Is it truly free to sample?” A young woman of fair attire, with a hint of shyness on her face, stood before the stall. Her delicate, jade-like fingertip pointed at the pastries on the porcelain plate as she inquired.
“Of course it is.” Shen Zhihe observed the woman’s demeanor, deducing she likely came from a respectable family and was someone with refined tastes. He casually picked up a bamboo skewer prepared earlier that morning, speared a piece of Hongdou Bing, and handed it to her with a smile in his eyes.
Taking the bamboo skewer from Shen Zhihe, the woman raised her hand to cover her lips as she placed the pastry into her mouth. The crisp outer layer gave way to a velvety, sweet red bean paste filling, entirely unlike any Hongdou Bing she had tasted before. Her eyes instantly brightened, and her gaze then fell upon the LvDouBing.