Chapter 122: Scolding Qiqi

Chen Feng and Chen Ming chatted for a while before heading home. Before they left, Chen Ye asked Chen Gui to take the big dog to the backyard and gave a two-month-old puppy to Chen Ming.

Once they returned home, Qiqi and Gray had also arrived. Upon seeing the two of them, they excitedly called out “Grandpa, Mom” while sweetly puckering their little mouths.

Chen Feng’s family gave them a piece of their mind, saying, “You two just waltz in now, do you know how worried we were?”

These two little ones, like two young gents raised at home, with their slick tongues, managed to win the affection of the entire family and even attracted envy from others. Unlike Zhui Feng, who was usually aloof but proved extremely useful in critical moments.

That’s the difference between a pet and a guard dog, isn’t it?

Zhui Feng, Qiqi, and Gray got excited at the sight of the new member and ran off to play with it. The little dog was also not shy and quickly became friends with them.

Chen Lu gave it a simple name, calling it Wangcai, meaning “prosperous wealth,” as they believed the family’s fortune was on the rise and hoped for even more prosperity in the future.

This brought about laughter from everyone.

The next day, at the hour of the tiger (around 3-5 am), Chen Feng got up. She needed to prepare a small snack to stimulate little Chu girl’s appetite so that she would follow instructions.

Yesterday evening, she had brought the ingredients for the snack over. This time, she decided to make “saqima,” a type of snack that was easy to make, delicious, and easily digestible.

Opening the door, a rush of cool air greeted her, darkness still shrouded outside, with the morning star twinkling in the sky. She took a deep breath and splashed her face with cold water to fully awaken.

She lit the fire in the stove and began making saqima.

First, she beat the eggs and mixed them with flour, stirring until it formed a cottony texture. Then she kneaded it into dough and covered it with a steaming cloth to rest for over twenty minutes. Next, she rolled the dough into thin sheets, folded them into layers, and cut them into fine strips. After shaking off the excess flour, she continued.

She brushed a layer of oil in a prepared shallow wooden basin and sprinkled roasted sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, and finely chopped candied fruits.

At this time, Mrs. Wang also came over to help her with the fire. Chen Feng poured an appropriate amount of oil into the pot, heating it to about 60% heat. She then fried the fine noodles in the oil until they were crispy, then removed them to drain the oil.

She added a little water to the pot, along with rock sugar and honey, and slowly simmered it over low heat, stirring occasionally with a spatula. Once the liquid turned into a thick syrup, she quickly poured the fried noodles into the syrup, stirred it rapidly, and then poured it into the prepared wooden basin. Using a spatula, she pressed it down flat, then sprinkled more candied fruit strips, sesame seeds, and crushed peanuts on top.

After it cooled, she cut it into pieces.

The name “saqima” sounded too peculiar for that era, so Chen Feng used its alias, calling it “golden silk cake.”

For breakfast, they ate golden silk cake with rice porridge and small side dishes. It tastes so good that Dabao and Lu hummed with satisfaction, while Qiqi and Gray also joined in, but Zhui Feng and Wangcai showed no interest.

Qiqi and Gray quickly finished their share and simultaneously exclaimed, “We want more.”

“There’s none left,” Chen Feng replied.

Even though she made quite a lot today, she wanted to send a small portion to the Luo family’s steward and keep a small portion for her student to enjoy.

Qiqi glanced at Chen Feng with her little eyes and then dashed to the kitchen.

Chen Feng hurried to the kitchen and saw Qiqi standing on the stove, sneaking a bite of the golden silk cake from the small basin.

She walked over and lightly tapped its head, moving the basin away, saying, “These are for Tangyuan, you can’t eat them.”

“You meanie.” Qiqi cursed.

Chen Feng was a bit stunned and asked, “What did you say?”

“Stinking woman, I’ll beat you.” It was Chen Ye’s voice.

Gray, who had followed along, laughed mischievously, sounding just like the old lady.

Understanding this, Chen Feng became so angry that she slapped Qiqi off the stove and scolded, “You’re becoming more and more capable, even learning how to curse.”

“Stinking woman, stinking woman… I’ll beat you…” Qiqi continued to curse, stretching its neck.

Chen Feng squatted down, pointing at Qiqi and said, “If you keep cursing, you can forget about eating the good things I make, and Lu and Dabao won’t play with you anymore.”

Hearing this, Qiqi got scared and quickly said, “Dabao is good, he doesn’t bed-wet anymore.”

This little rascal had become cunning, even knowing how to change the subject.

Chen Feng continued, “I don’t want to hear about Dabao, I’m asking you if you’ll stop cursing.”

Qiqi hastily replied, “Mom, I won’t curse anymore.”

Everyone in the room burst into laughter.

Only Dabao, with a displeased expression, muttered, “It’s been so long since I stopped bed-wetting, but it still remembers.”

After the meal, Chen Feng finished her tasks and took two baskets filled with golden silk cake, leading Dabao, Zhui Feng, Qiqi, and Gray to Tangyuan.

Dabao brought a book, explaining that he would start school next year and couldn’t always play with his little sister Yan. He needed to make time to study.

Chen Feng advised him, “Son, you’re still so young, it’s okay to play. Why push yourself so hard?”

Dabao pursed his lips and said, “Grandpa said he pinned his hopes of passing the imperial examination on me and my little uncle, so he wants us to work hard. The pressure is immense.”

After finishing his statement, he furrowed his brow like an old man.

His words amused Chen Feng. Nowadays, he had also picked up some of Chen Feng’s modern language. “Immense pressure” was one such phrase.

Walking along the small path in the fields, under the clear sky and bright sunshine, with the open breeze blowing from all directions and two parrots circling above, Chen Feng felt refreshed.

She realized she was on her way to work! Although it was to be a kindergarten teacher with only one student, and if Dabao was included, there would be just four students, including the siblings from the Luo family. This still made her a working professional woman.

She already had some plans for little Yan’s preschool education. If she continued teaching Chu according to her own methods, with the help of Golden Treasure, and her family’s relatively hands-off approach, little Yan would eventually emerge from her own world.

This way, her performance bonus would certainly be higher. It was a win-win situation.

Arriving at the entrance of Tangyuan, the steward’s wife, Mrs. Luo, was already waiting there.

She greeted them with a wide smile, saying, “Oh, Ms. Chen, and Dabao, you’re here. Young Miss is already awake. I’ll take you to the Serene Courtyard.”

Chen Feng thanked Mrs. Luo for her help the day before and handed her a basket, saying, “I made this golden silk cake, please let Mr. and Mrs. Luo have a taste.”

Mrs. Luo took the basket and smiled, “Ms. Chen’s snacks are surely delicious. Now that you are part of Tangyuan, there’s no reason for anyone to mistreat you, a Tangyuan folks.”

Chen Feng smiled and said, “Please don’t call me ‘Ms. Chen,’ it’s too formal. Just call me Feng or Ms. Feng.”

Mrs. Luo nodded with a smile, feeling that the relationship between the two families had grown closer.

She sighed and said, “Young Miss cried for a long time when she didn’t see you the day before yesterday. Fortunately, my husband was here and managed to soothe her. Yesterday, when he left, she was unhappy all day, just sitting there quietly.”