Su Qingnyu exchanged greetings with her, then turned around and looked around the shop.

The varieties of cakes were still the ones she saw the other day, and they tasted sweet and fragrant. She didn’t refuse the tasting food handed to her by the plump shopkeeper. While she was eating, she stared at the cakes and talked to the amiable shopkeeper.

Two days ago, when Lu Bocheng took her around the town, he had already mentioned this shop to her. He said that the fat shopkeeper was only the manager of the shop in Fengting Town, not the owner. This shop had branches in Pingchuan County and Guanning Prefecture.

Having branches is great; it’s even better for negotiations.

After looking around, Su Qingyu had an idea.

In this period, pastries were influenced by some technological limitations, and the variety was not very rich. Most were steamed, boiled, or fried, with baking and roasting being less common. Fermentation techniques were also rarely used in pastry making.

The pastries in the shop followed the northern style, emphasizing the original texture of the food and only adding sugar for flavor, without extra fats. For example, the shop offered pea cake, kidney bean roll, mung bean cake, red bean cake, glutinous rice balls, rolling donkey cake, and hawthorn cake.

In modern times, Chinese pastries are divided into thirteen styles, including Beijing, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Yunnan, Fujian, and others. They also incorporate Western pastry-making techniques, which are different from the types of pastries Su Qingying saw at this time.

Su Qingyu turned around and decided to get straight to the point.

“Shopkeeper Miao, you know Lu Bocheng, the eldest son of Lu Ji across from you, and you also know that he will be drafted soon, right?” 

“Exactly, this is infuriating. They just conscripted soldiers the year before last, and now they are doing it again this year? It’s still better to be a servant in our household; we don’t have these worries. You’ve just married into the family, and now that the Lv family’s boy is gone, how will you manage on your own? And your mother-in-law isn’t even your real mother-in-law.”

Su Qingyu nodded at a few words and said: ” The shopkeeper also knows that once he leaves, his life or death will be uncertain. I want to prepare some money for him and put it in his wardrobe.”

The plump shopkeeper looked at her, somewhat confused about her intention.

“I need money. And Lu Bocheng probably won’t be able to get much money from home. Apart from giving him some money, I also want to keep some for myself.”

The plump shopkeeper nodded repeatedly, holding her hand, and said, “Yes, yes, you, young wife, understand well. Once Bocheng is gone, won’t you have to put up with Wu Shi’s moods? Having money in hand will keep you from worrying and allow you to live more comfortably.”

Su Qingyu nodded: “I will. I have two ideas that I want to sell to your boss. I want one hundred taels of silver.”

When the plump shopkeeper heard this, her mouth remained open.

“Don’t worry, Shopkeeper Miao, it’s definitely worth the money. I can’t say too much about these two techniques, but they can at least make your pastry shop’s brand more prominent in the industry. I can’t say it can double your income, but at least you will be the only one making them.”

“This, I can’t make the decision.” Shopkeeper Miao hesitated.

“You can contact your boss. You also know that Lu Bocheng’s gathering time is approaching. He will leave home soon. If you don’t want this, I will go to Pingchuan County and ask.”

“No, no, I want to think about it, I want to think about it.” The plump shopkeeper stopped her, her mind spinning rapidly.

Her son and daughter-in-law worked for their employer in Pingchuan County, while she and her family guarded the shop in Fengting. She could still run to Pingchuan County, but she was squatting still. If she made meritorious service, could she be transferred to Pingchuan County so that her family could be reunited? Soon, her grandson would be born, and she would have to watch over him.

After thinking about it, she asked: “Those two techniques of yours…” 

“Don’t worry, Shopkeeper Miao. I know the basics and won’t say anything that I am not sure about. And I won’t sell anyone else. I’ll teach you two pastry techniques and the corresponding pastry. The varieties will naturally be taught to you. If you know everything, your master will develop more new varieties using the two techniques in the future, and your shop will naturally prosper, and you, as the shopkeeper, will naturally take a lot of credit. The status can be obtained easily.”

The plump shopkeeper was so excited by Su Qingyu’s words that she immediately agreed and asked Su Qingyu to come over again at noon tomorrow.

Su Qingyu agreed, said goodbye, and left.

She turned around and went to the vegetable market again. This time, she stayed for a long time, going back and forth to check the varieties sold in the vegetable market, the flow of people, the experience of buyers and sellers, etc. 

It wasn’t until sunset that she turned around and went back.

When she returned to the room, she saw Lu Bocheng leaning on the bamboo couch, with his long hands and feet spread out and his eyes closed to meditate.

Seeing Su Qingyu coming back, he quickly stood up and asked, “Where have you been? I haven’t seen you all day.”

“You haven’t seen anyone either.”

“I had legitimate business to attend to. But look at you, just newly married, and already neglecting your duties as a new wife…”

“What does a newlywed look like? Staying at home every day and being always available?”

Lu Bocheng shrank a bit under her cold gaze and said hesitantly, “No, it’s not like that. It’s just that I’m about to leave, and you still don’t want to spend more time with me. What if, in the future… in the future, you end up regretting not spending more time with me?”

Su Qingyu scoffed and cast a sidelong glance at him, saying, “If there really is a ‘what if’ in the future, what difference does it make whether we spend a little more time or less time together? Will it give you an extra day to live? Or will it prolong the days of the living?”

“You, you have absolutely no sense of responsibility as a newlywed.”

Su Qingyu ignored him and turned around to change her clothes. She stayed in the vegetable market for a long time, her clothes and shoes were dirty, and her body had a bad smell.

Lu Bocheng followed her gaze looked at the hem of her clothes, and asked in a loud voice, “Did you go to the vegetable market?”

“Yes.” Su Qingyu responded while changing in the inner room.

“Why did you go there? Buying ingredients? Did Wu Shi ask you to cook again? Did she give you any money?”

Not hearing a response from Su Qingying, Lv Bocheng straightened his neck and asked again, “Did she give you any money for ingredients? If not, I’ll go ask her for it myself!”

She had spent a lot in the past two days, and the gold ingots he wanted to leave for her had almost been spent by him.

He originally wanted to keep it for her, but he almost used it up. Lu Bocheng was a little annoyed and touched the purse in his arms, thinking about where to dig out more money.

He wondered if he get some more money after crying in front of Lu Shengcai.

Lu Bocheng held the little money in his wallet and said in a loud voice: “If you run out of money in the future, you can sell one or two acres of my grandfather’s land for emergency use. A house in the country can be rented for a year. It doesn’t cost much, and I should be able to get some money by selling it when the time comes. I just renovated it last year, and my grandfather built it with big stones, so the house is solid…”

Without waiting for him to continue nagging, Su Qingyu came out after changing her clothes and quietly glanced at him. “Have you spent all the money?”

Lu Bocheng scratched his head and chuckled, “Not all of it, there’s still a bit left. But I can’t give it to you right now; I might need it the day after tomorrow.”

“Keep it then. If things go smoothly, I’ll receive a payment tomorrow. I’ll bring it all to you then. No need to ask others for help.”

“Ah, where is this payment coming from?”

Su Qingyu didn’t respond, and looked out at the sky: “Let’s go to the main room, it’s time for dinner.”

“You better explain clearly, where is this payment coming from? Where did you get the money from? Tell me…” Lu Bocheng followed her out, incessantly chattering by her side.

(End of chapter)