In the afternoon, they finally finished building the oven. Looking at their own work, they all felt a strong sense of accomplishment.
Mu Jianxi came out of the kitchen and handed out the pre-packed peanut candy and drunken peanuts to them. She also took out some silver coins and placed them in the old craftsman’s hands.
“This is your payment. If I need anything in the future, I’ll look for you again. Thank you all.”
“You’re too polite.”
After they left, Mu Jianxi carried some firewood into the kitchen, lit it, and placed it inside the oven to dry it using the heat.
Then she began making rose flower pastries.
She poured flour into a basin, added a spoon of lard, and kneaded it into dough. In another basin, she mixed flour, lard, hot water, and maltose, kneading it into a separate dough for the pastry layers.
After both doughs rested, she wrapped the oil dough inside, rolled it flat with a wooden rolling pin, then rolled it up again, cut it into evenly sized pieces, shaped them into balls, flattened them, and wrapped in the rose filling. With practiced hands, she sealed each one into a round cake shape.
After an hour, more than fifty rose pastries were finished.
She used a toothpick to poke small holes on each one, reduced the fire in the oven so only glowing charcoal remained, placed the pastries on metal trays provided by Bao Bao, and slid them into the oven to bake.
Looking at the remaining uncooked pastries, she realized one batch would not be enough—they would need several rounds.
While waiting, she decided to deal with the pig offal.
She poured flour over it and kneaded it thoroughly with her hands, washing it with water repeatedly and discarding the dirty water. She flipped the intestines inside out, added more flour, and continued scrubbing again and again until completely clean.
Then she added salt and vinegar and kneaded it once more to remove the odor, even peeling off the oily residue on the surface. Cleaning intestines was truly exhausting work—her waist felt like it was about to break, and she felt like she herself had been “pickled” by the smell.
She rinsed it several more times, then placed it into a pot, covered it with water, and added scallions, ginger, white liquor, and star anise. After boiling until foam floated up, she removed and rinsed it again.
She then started a fresh pot, added enough water to cover the intestines, along with scallions, ginger, white liquor, dried chili, cinnamon, bay leaves, a spice pouch she had prepared herself, salt, and soy sauce. She covered the pot and began braising it over fire.
Smelling her own body odor, Mu Jianxi showed a look of disgust and decided to boil water and take a bath first.
Half an hour later, she finished bathing and immediately checked the rose pastries. Using a cloth, she took out the baking tray—golden and crisp on the outside. They were done.
She quickly replaced them with the next batch and left the finished ones to cool.
Inside the Xuanyou Prince’s Residence, Gu Ruizhe looked extremely unhappy, his whole aura dark and gloomy—so much so that even dogs would avoid him.
Since eating her cooking yesterday, even the dishes in his own residence no longer interested him. At noon, faint aromas kept drifting over from next door, making him constantly swallow and sip tea to suppress his cravings.
Not only him—the guards Night Rain and Night Wind were also drooling from the smell. If they weren’t on duty, they would have already gone to investigate what delicious food Mu Jianxi was making.
Night Rain, especially, who had eaten her cooking yesterday, now found the prince’s palace food completely tasteless.
He even fantasized: if their master could marry Miss Mu, wouldn’t they be able to eat this kind of food every day? But that was only imagination—after all, their master was known as the “God of Death,” so terrifying that even dogs avoided him.
On the other side, Mu Jianxi asked Bao Bao to clean the kitchen, then checked the braised intestines. Seeing they were almost done, she turned off the fire and let them finish soaking in residual heat, planning to stir-fry them into dry-fried intestines for dinner.
She looked at the time—still early—just enough to finish baking the rose pastries and then cook dinner.
She picked up a piece of peanut candy and ate it. The peanuts were crisp, the sugar perfectly balanced with no bitterness. Then she tried a drunken peanut—the familiar taste brought back memories of her grandfather drinking while eating them as a snack.
At that moment, Bao Bao interrupted her thoughts.
“Congratulations, Master. Rose pastries and peanut candy quest completed. System level upgraded to Level 2. New ingredients unlocked: onion, cumin, chicken essence, cream, butter, jasmine tea… Please keep up the good work!”
As the sun set, golden light spread across the sky, painting the world in a dreamlike glow.
The final batch of rose pastries came out of the oven.
Mu Jianxi picked one up after it had cooled, broke it in half, and took a bite. The fragrance of rose burst in her mouth with a gentle sweetness. The crust was so flaky it crumbled instantly. She nodded in satisfaction.
Returning to the kitchen, she steamed rice and began cooking dinner.
She prepared ingredients, cut vegetables, and sliced half of the braised intestines into pieces. In a hot pan, she stir-fried scallions, ginger, and dried chili, added doubanjiang, and a piece of hotpot base. After releasing red oil, she added the intestines and stir-fried them thoroughly.
Then she added onion and green chili, mixed everything evenly, and seasoned with oyster sauce, chicken essence, sugar, and a splash of vinegar.
A plate of dry-fried intestines was completed.
She also planned to make stir-fried green pepper shredded pork and a bowl of soup, which would be enough for dinner.
As night fell, after all that preparation, she was finally ready to eat.
She served herself a bowl of rice, picked up a piece of intestines, and showed a satisfied expression. There was no odor at all—only the fragrance of spices. The meat was chewy and addictive.
Knock, knock, knock…
Just as she was about to take another bite, someone knocked at the door.
She reluctantly put down her chopsticks and opened it—only to see those two familiar figures again.
Her face immediately darkened.
Now that she already knew their identities, she spoke without politeness.
“Your Highness the Prince, what brings you to my humble home this time?”
Gu Ruizhe said directly, “I’m hungry.”
“You’re hungry, Your Highness should return to your own residence. What could my small place possibly offer you?”
“The food you cook suits my taste. I won’t eat for free. I’ll give you a tael of gold as meal payment.”