Madam Yu had the day off today, but since they were now penniless and had spent quite a bit making spring clothes for her daughter, she discussed with a few embroiderers and decided to make some small items to peddle in the countryside during her break.

Though hawking goods was exhausting, she managed to sell everything she had made.

The earnings weren’t much, but they could help offset some expenses.

By the time Madam Yu returned home, the sky had already darkened.

Qin Yi had been waiting at the courtyard gate for a while.

As soon as she heard her mother’s footsteps, she looked up and cheerfully called out, “Mom, you’re back!”

Madam Yu smiled and hugged her tightly. “Didn’t I tell you not to wait at the gate? What if a kidnapper came by?”

“Don’t worry, Mom! I’m tough!” Qin Yi patted her chest confidently.

Madam Yu was amused by her daughter’s adorable expression.

She patted her head and led her inside hand-in-hand.

That night’s dinner was especially hearty since Yu Dashan was visiting.

Qin Rong had cooked several dishes: steamed eight-treasure sticky rice, vinegar cabbage, Chinese toon mixed with tofu, scrambled eggs with Chinese toon, a bowl of braised pork, and a plate of green peppers with crispy pork bits.

The Yu family had lived in Pear Blossom Town for decades.

But after buying a house, they had used up nearly all their savings, so normally Madam Yu’s sister-in-law was very frugal.

Typically, there was never more than one meat dish at a meal.

Yu Xiaoshan often talked about how good his auntie’s food was.

Now it was finally his turn to try it.

The aromas drifting from the kitchen earlier had already stirred Yu Dashan’s appetite.

Once everyone was seated, Madam Yu smiled and invited them to dig in.

Yu Dashan immediately picked up his chopsticks.

The crispy pork bits were crunchy and flavorful, not greasy at all—delicious!

A bite of the crispy bits followed by a bite of the Chinese toon with tofu was a perfect combination!

To his surprise, the scrambled eggs with Chinese toon were even tastier than the cold tofu mix.

The vinegar cabbage whetted the appetite, and the braised pork—his favorite—was different from any he had ever had.

Qin Rong’s braised pork was rich in color, aroma, and flavor.

He ate mouthfuls of sweet potato rice, thinking to himself that he definitely needed to help his cousin more—he wanted to be invited back to eat again.

…

Before they knew it, Qingming Festival was approaching, and it began raining lightly every day in Pear Blossom Town.

Due to the rain, setting up a street stall became inconvenient, and there were fewer customers.

Recently in the West Market, in addition to Qin Rong, a few new vendors had started selling fish ball soup and pickled perilla snails.

Although their food wasn’t as tasty as Qin Rong’s, they sold it cheaper, which cut into her daily sales. Considering this, Qin Rong decided to stop selling the fish ball soup and snails for now.

She had preserved over 300 salted duck eggs a while back and figured she could use them to make Qingtuan (sweet green rice balls) to sell instead.

These were easy to pack and didn’t require a stove.

Because of the rain, Qin Rong wasn’t out every day, and neither was Yu Xiaoshan.

Once she decided on the Qingtuan, she told Yu Xiaoshan that she needed some mugwort.

In Pear Blossom Town, it was a common tradition to eat Qingtuan during Qingming, so Yu Xiaoshan assumed she was just making some for herself.

To his surprise, she requested a large quantity and was quite particular about the mugwort.

That’s when Yu Xiaoshan realized she planned to sell them.

He agreed seriously and dragged Yu Dashan along to gather the leaves.

Once they had gathered the mugwort, Qin Rong picked out the bright green shoots, washed them, then boiled and ground them into a paste, filtering it through gauze.

That finished the first step.

Next, she began mixing the dough. To make delicious Qingtuan, the filling was important, but the dough-making was also key.

To become a skilled food blogger, she had trained under a famous Chinese pastry chef and practiced her dough-making skills thoroughly.

She kneaded the dough until smooth, then gradually added the mugwort juice while continuing to knead. Under her firm and practiced hands, the dough turned a vibrant green.

Then came stuffing the dumplings.

Qin Rong prepared four types of fillings: salted egg yolk, sweet red bean paste, preserved vegetable with bamboo shoots, and sesame peanut paste.

The sesame peanut filling was slightly more complex, but the other three were ready-made.

Her movements were quick and elegant—her fingers flew nimbly, and one round, plump, deep green Qingtuan after another took shape, filling the kitchen with the fresh fragrance of mugwort.

Making food was a healing process that Qin Rong deeply enjoyed.

She made 150 Qingtuan of each filling, totaling 600.

In Pear Blossom Town, people mostly preferred sweet ones, so red bean and sesame peanut were the more common choices.

Qin Rong packed three of each flavor in oiled paper and gave a set to Yu Xiaoshan to deliver—one for his own family, another for the wonton lady, and one for the fish vendor’s household.

When she next set up her stall, she was only selling Qingtuan.

A regular customer came with money in hand, intending to buy pickled perilla snails, but saw only a few bamboo steamers on the table.

“No perilla snails today, Miss Qin?”

Qin Rong smiled. “The snails and fish ball soup are on hold due to the weather. For now, I’m selling Qingtuan, and I’ll have some new treats soon.”

“What kind of new treats? Everything you make is tasty!” The customer was a bit disappointed but perked up at the mention of something new.

“Green onion wraps and marinated delicacies!”

The customer thought to himself—he’d never heard of green onion wraps, though he’d had marinated dishes in the county. He was now curious about how good Qin Rong’s versions might be.

“Would you like to try some Qingtuan? Red bean and bamboo shoot with preserved veg are three wen each, while the salted egg yolk and sesame peanut are four wen,” she said with a pleasant smile.

Her friendly demeanor, good looks, and tasty food had earned her quite a few loyal customers in the West Market.

The customer said, “I’ve never tried salted egg yolk filling before. I’ll take two.”

“Sure!” Qin Rong quickly packed them up.

The moment he saw the glossy, round dumplings, he was impressed. One bite—soft, chewy, fragrant—and the salted egg yolk’s rich oils hit his tongue. Delicious! He eagerly took another bite.

“This is amazing, Miss Qin! I’ve never had Qingtuan this good. I’ll take three of each kind!”

“Coming right up!”

At first, many townsfolk were disappointed when they heard Qin Rong was only selling Qingtuan that day.

But after seeing that customer’s ecstatic reaction, their curiosity was piqued.

Could they really be that good? One after another, customers pulled out their coins to give them a try.

Yu Xiaoshan was overjoyed—he had been worried they wouldn’t sell well.

Soon, a long line had formed at Qin Rong’s stall.

The salted egg yolk Qingtuan was the most popular and sold out first.