Qin Rong was thinking of the big market day coming up, so she spent some of her earnings to buy snails and perilla leaves.

She planned to prepare a few more dishes tomorrow.

But there weren’t enough buckets at home, so she stopped by the general store and spent thirty wen on a new bucket and another eighty wen on several sets of bowls and chopsticks.

Just in that short while, she had already spent a good portion of the money she made today.

But these were necessary expenses—if you’re not willing to sacrifice, you won’t catch the wolf.

Tomorrow’s white peach milk tea was aimed at wealthier customers, and it wouldn’t do to package it in bamboo tubes like the fish balls.

That wouldn’t fetch a good price.

Once everything was ready, Qin Rong felt a bit hungry.

Luckily, the wonton stall at the west market was still open, so she sat down and ordered a bowl of wontons from the elderly lady running the stall.

That wonton stall had been open at the west market for a long time. The flavor was average, but the portion size was generous.

Still, the flavor was just too bland.

Qin Rong took out a small jar from her basket and sprinkled in a bit of her homemade shrimp powder to enhance the taste.

The elderly lady saw this and walked over cheerfully. “Young lady, is my wonton not to your liking?”

The old lady had been running the stall for many years.

Back when her husband was still alive, the wontons were much tastier.

But since he passed, business had gradually declined.

Her son and daughter were both accomplished and filial.

Though the stall didn’t bring in much money, they still supported her because they knew this stall was her cherished memory.

Qin Rong smiled. “Auntie, the wontons are just a bit too bland for my taste.”

The old lady recognized Qin Rong—she sold fish balls at the market every day.

Her whole family loved Qin Rong’s cooking; her fish balls were especially delicious.

Somewhat embarrassed, the old lady said, “Young lady, I know your cooking is excellent. I’m not as skilled. This was my husband’s stall. After he passed, I took over, but I’ve never matched his skill. Would you be willing… to give me a few pointers?”

There were fragments of memory from the original host related to this wonton stall.

Back then, the host was still very young.

Mother Qin had brought her to town but was displeased that she had only given birth to daughters, so she took Qin Tieshan’s youngest son to sit and eat wontons while making her daughter stand aside and watch.

The old man who had run the stall back then had pitied the little girl standing there with her head down. He had pulled her aside with a smile and given her a bowl of wontons to eat behind the stall.

That taste had stayed with the original host for a very, very long time.

Thinking of that, a gentle warmth came over Qin Rong’s face. “Auntie, the umami is lacking. You could reduce the portion size and enhance the flavor.”

The old lady looked puzzled. “How do I enhance the flavor?”

Qin Rong smiled. “Auntie, could you bring me a bowl of your wontons?”

Following her request, the old lady brought over a bowl. Qin Rong added some of her homemade shrimp powder, then pushed the bowl toward her. “Auntie, please try it again.”

The old lady took a bite, and her eyes instantly lit up—it was indeed much more flavorful.

“Young lady, could you sell me some of that powder?”

Qin Rong replied, “Of course, but I don’t have any ready at the moment. If I make it now, it’ll take about ten days. Are you willing to wait?”

The old lady was about to happily nod, then suddenly remembered she hadn’t asked the price yet.

She asked cautiously, “Young lady, how much would it cost?”

Qin Rong calculated the amount of shrimp needed and said, “One jar should last you about thirty days. How about ninety wen per jar?”

The old lady hadn’t expected it to be so affordable and quickly nodded. “That works, that works.”

Qin Rong agreed on a time with the old lady and left carrying her bamboo basket.

On the way, she also bought a large back basket—she was selling more and more each day, and the back basket could hold a lot more.

The method for making white peach milk tea was actually quite simple.

Since fresh milk was expensive, Qin Rong planned to make the peach flavor stronger and the milk flavor lighter.

She bought ten peaches in total, saved a few for the household, and used the rest to make the milk tea. The first batch was just for testing, so she only cut up one peach.

Fresh milk had to be boiled to kill bacteria, so she first boiled the milk.

Then she added tea leaves and sugar to a pot and stir-fried them until the sugar melted, then added the chopped peach.

The sweet peach aroma mixed with the fresh scent of tea—it was incredibly fragrant.

Once the mixture was well blended, she added several bowls of water.

When the pot began to bubble, she poured in the boiled milk.

As the milk was poured in, the aroma of milk mixed with peach filled the kitchen. Qin Rong took a deep breath—it really was tempting.

After adding the milk, she stirred continuously with a large ladle. This step was often overlooked but actually crucial.

Once the milk tea was ready, she scooped out four bowls. Since this was a test batch, she hadn’t made too much.

Qin Yue and Yu Xiaoshan were busy making fish balls and couldn’t stop, but Qin Yi had already followed the scent to the kitchen.

“Big sister, it smells amazing!”

Qin Rong placed the milk tea on the table and said to Qin Yi, “Ah Yi, the white peach milk tea is on the table—help yourself.”

Qin Yi beamed and bowed cheerfully. “Thank you, sister!”

Just the smell alone made Qin Yi feel happy.

She squinted her eyes and took a small sip.

The sweet, fragrant flavor instantly hit her taste buds—sweet and rich, absolutely delicious.

Ignoring the heat, she took another sip.

Then she turned to Qin Rong and said, “Big sister, this is the best drink I’ve ever had! It’s number one in the world!”

Qin Rong laughed at her dramatic praise. “Mm, big sister knows!”

After the test run of the white peach milk tea was a success, Qin Rong tied on her apron and started cooking fish balls and pumpkin flower cakes.

The peach milk tea and perilla snails would be made fresh right before heading to the market.

Just as Qin Rong had finished her work and sat down for a break, she heard someone knocking at the courtyard gate.

She opened the door and saw a man in his forties.

He was dressed in a fine indigo robe and had a refined demeanor.

The man smiled and said, “Apologies for the intrusion, young lady. I’m Tao Fu. My family just moved here—we live at the end of the alley. I caught the scent of milk from your house and wanted to ask if there’s a place nearby that sells such a drink. My master would love to try it.”

Tao Fu hadn’t expected such a young woman to open the door.

But the aroma had made his master crave it so badly that he couldn’t ignore it.

Before resigning from his post, his master had few hobbies, but food was his greatest love.

Qin Rong was slightly surprised. “It’s something I made myself. I plan to sell it at the market tomorrow. Today I just made a small test batch.”

Tao Fu looked a little disappointed—it seemed his master wouldn’t get to try it today.