Jiang Wanyer didn’t notice Lin Shanyue. Or perhaps she simply didn’t care.
Lin Shanyue stood there for a moment before Chunlan noticed something was wrong.
“What’s the matter, Madam?”
“That carriage over there… it belongs to the marquis’s household,” Lin Shanyue said softly.
Chunlan glanced over, and a trace of disgust flashed across her eyes.
“So extravagant. Are they here to study or for something else?”
“It has nothing to do with me.” Lin Shanyue smiled faintly at her before packing up her stall. For her first day of business, she was already very satisfied with the results.
On the way home, she bought some vegetables. After hearing about greenhouse-grown winter vegetables (“dongzi goods”) before, she bought some today as well. That way, she could explain where the fresh vegetables in her house came from.
She also restocked flour and sugar. The money Liu Niang had lent her had gone in and out with business, and she still had a little over thirty coins left. She wanted to repay the debt as soon as possible. Owing someone money never felt good.
Now then… what dessert should she make today?
After thinking for quite a while, Lin Shanyue decided to make something that didn’t seem too troublesome—pancakes.
She mixed flour and water into a smooth batter, then added butter, eggs, sugar, and a little more sweetener. These cakes didn’t need steaming or baking; they were simply cooked in a flat pan.
She slowly poured a spoonful of batter onto the lightly oiled pan and cooked it over low heat. Once one side turned golden brown, she flipped it over.
The finished pancakes were golden on both sides, soft and fluffy. According to the recipe, they could be drizzled with a little honey…
As luck would have it, she had bought some honey at the market that very day.
She tasted one plain first. It carried the fragrance of eggs with a natural sweetness. With a drizzle of honey, however, the sweetness became richer and the flavor even more memorable.
Lin Shanyue cooked seven or eight pancakes in one go, using up the entire bowl of batter.
Having a little dessert before dinner had already become Chunlan’s habit.
Lin Shanyue personally preferred them without honey, but both little Bao and Chunlan had fallen in love with the sweet honey topping.
As for the Mirror Demon Lord… which version would he like?
Rather than pouring honey over them, Lin Shanyue placed some honey in a small bowl so he could decide for himself later.
“Madam! This is delicious too! What’s this called?” Chunlan exclaimed, impressed once again.
“Pancakes.”
Chunlan repeated the name several times before smiling.
“They’re really fluffy and tasty!”
“So good!” little Bao echoed after her.
The child had learned more and more words over the past few days. Lin Shanyue paused before smiling warmly.
“Little Bao, say it again.”
Little Bao looked toward Chunlan and pointed his chubby little finger at her.
“Lan!”
Chunlan was overjoyed.
“Little Bao is calling me? He can call me now!”
“Lan!” little Bao giggled and shouted again.
Chunlan excitedly picked him up and spun him around.
“Our little Bao is so smart!”
Lin Shanyue watched the warm scene with a gentle smile.
After a while, Huo Yi appeared.
These days, Lin Shanyue always spoke with him alone. Mainly because… she was afraid Chunlan would be frightened.
“Sir, I’ve made pancakes. Please try them first.”
Huo Yi clicked his tongue.
“You’re really amazing. You come up with something new every single day.”
Lin Shanyue smiled.
“You’re the one who provides the books and ingredients. If I still couldn’t learn with all that, I’d be far too foolish.”
Huo Yi suddenly froze in the middle of taking a bite.
He suddenly remembered what his father had once scolded him for:
“Everything at home is already prepared for you! Yet you still can’t even close a single business deal! You’re hopeless!”
He coughed awkwardly.
…Why did it suddenly feel like he’d been scolded again?
Hearing him cough, Lin Shanyue asked with concern,
“Sir, are you feeling unwell?”
Huo Yi hurriedly shook his head.
“No! It’s just… the pancakes are really delicious…”
He had been busy all day and even entertained several important clients over dinner.
Unfortunately, all the expensive food had tasted bland and uninspiring.
Yet somehow, what he was eating now tasted incredible—perhaps the best flavor in the world.
“What are we having for dinner?” Huo Yi couldn’t help asking.
Lin Shanyue smiled.
“I’d like to make braised noodles with green beans and shredded pork. It’s the taste of my hometown. Have you ever had it?”
“No.”
The family cook at home didn’t know how to make dishes like that. In his memories, only his grandmother used to cook them.
To Huo Yi, these ordinary home-style meals had become the greatest delicacies in the world. Compared to them, Michelin restaurants and French cuisine suddenly seemed completely uninteresting.
Lin Shanyue went back to preparing dinner.
She had successfully created another new pastry today, so she was in an excellent mood.
By the time she finished preparing everything for tomorrow in the middle of the night, it was already approaching the third quarter of the Hour of Hai (around 10:45 p.m.).
Chunlan rubbed her sleepy eyes and returned to her room, while Lin Shanyue went to wash up.
She had been ready for bed, but when she returned to her room, she suddenly discovered that many new items had appeared.
She froze.
Her drowsiness instantly vanished.
At some point, the Mirror Demon Lord had quietly sent her another large stack of books.
All of them were cookbooks.
This time they contained not only dessert recipes but also home-style dishes—
“Sichuan cuisine… Cantonese cuisine…”
Lin Shanyue’s eyes were dazzled.
There were also various new tools and ingredients.
Her heart filled with gratitude.
She wanted to thank the person in the mirror again, but he wasn’t there at the moment.
Carefully putting everything away, Lin Shanyue silently resolved that she would definitely build her pastry business into a famous brand.
The next morning, she went to Flower Moon Pavilion as usual.
Liu Niang greeted her with a smile.
“You’re really lucky. A big order has come in!”
Lin Shanyue blinked.
“A big order?”
“That’s right. Your pastries have become well-known at my Flower Moon Pavilion. Yesterday, Boss Du from Spring Tea House said he wants to place an order. Tea and pastries have always been the perfect pairing. What do you think?”
Lin Shanyue was overjoyed.
“Of course that’s wonderful! How much does he want?”
Liu Niang smiled.
“It’ll probably be quite a large quantity. I’m worried you won’t be able to keep up.”
“No problem—I can definitely do it!”
Lin Shanyue answered confidently.
Making money!
How could she possibly think it was too much work? Even if she had to stay up all night without sleeping, she’d get it done.
Liu Niang couldn’t help laughing at her enthusiasm.
“Alright then. He didn’t tell me the exact amount last time. I’ll go ask him today and give you an answer this afternoon.”
“Thank you, Sister Liu.”
“What are you thanking me for? Oh, right—how did your stall at the Imperial Academy go?”
Lin Shanyue was just about to tell her.
“It went well. I made sales on the very first day, and the egg tarts were especially popular.”
Liu Niang nodded knowingly.
“I thought they would be. The name ‘egg tart’ is so unusual. If everything goes smoothly, I think that name will soon reach Instructor Pei’s ears. When that happens, you’ll finally have the chance to meet him.”
Lin Shanyue smiled.
“I hope so. Then I’ll head off first. Chunlan and I have already planned our timing.”
“Alright, alright. Hurry along.”