Granny Lian thought for a moment and said, “Since they are all children, why not prepare some snacks? Little cakes and cookies would be appropriate.”

Yang Haiyan nodded. “Snacks are indeed suitable, but I’m afraid the little cakes and cookies might have become tiresome for them. I plan to make a few new dishes.”

Granny Lian, intrigued, asked, “What new ideas do you have, Madam?”

Yang Haiyan replied, “It’s just a thought; I haven’t tried it yet, so I’m not sure if it will taste good. Please have Aunt Fan prepare sweet potatoes and potatoes; they need to be cut into pieces.”

Mamma Lian said, “I will go do that right away.”

An hour later, Yang Haiyan’s sweet potato fries and potato fries were ready.

The sweet potato fries were sweet; after cutting the sweet potatoes into strips, they were coated in flour.

The potato fries were savory, similar to the fries in the modern world.

In fact, Yang Haiyan had tasted sweet potato fries at a fast-food chain called “Hamburger Kids” in her previous life.

It must be said that making sweet potato fries and potato fries was much easier than making little cakes and cookies; the only expense was the oil.

Yang Haiyan told Granny Lian and Aunt Fan, “Give it a try.”

The two elderly servants were not polite and eagerly tried the snacks.

Yang Haiyan asked, “How does it taste?”

Mamma Lian said, “These snacks are good. Although they aren’t as rich and fragrant as other snacks, they have a unique flavor, and it’s quite novel.” There was no way to compare the milky aroma with other flavors.

Aunt Fan asked, “Are we going to sell this in the shop?”

Yang Haiyan replied, “No, this is something that once people see it and taste it a few times, they can figure out how to make it themselves; it won’t sell for much.”

This was true; even if they hadn’t seen how to make it, Aunt Fan and Granny Lian could easily figure it out.

Before long, it was Qin Shoucheng’s birthday.

After breakfast, he said to Yang Haiyan, “Sister-in-law, I won’t be back for lunch after school today. I’m going to Wei Yanglin’s house to eat, and I might play there for a while after eating. I may need to postpone my afternoon martial arts class.”

Yang Haiyan replied, “That’s fine; I’ll give you half a day off in the afternoon.”

Qin Shoucheng said, “Thank you, sister-in-law.”

At noon, Qin Shoucheng left school with his classmates.

Kun Daying(Kun Shi’s Son) asked, “Brother Cheng, are you sure about the birthday gift I prepared?”

He and Qin Shoucheng had discussed it; one was bringing a brush, and the other ink.

They were not expensive gifts, but they were moderate and represented their heartfelt intentions, both purchased with their pocket money.

Qin Shoucheng received a monthly allowance of fifty wen, and Kun Daying also received fifty wen each month.

For the Kun family, providing fifty wen monthly for the children was manageable, so under the circumstances, the parents did not want their children to lose face among their classmates.

Qin Shoucheng said, “No problem. It’s important to choose gifts according to our means. If it exceeds what we can afford, buying better gifts with our parents’ money might make us look good, but it’s money that our parents worked hard for. If one day we have the ability to earn money ourselves, then it doesn’t matter how expensive the gifts are that we buy with our own earnings.”

Kun Daying nodded.

Wei Yanglin called out, “Brother Cheng, Brother Ying, hurry up!”

Qin Shoucheng replied, “We’re coming.”

As they walked out of the school gate, Qin Shoucheng saw Aunt Fan waiting at the entrance with a basket.

At the same time, Aunt Fan saw him. “Young Master Cheng!”

Qin Shoucheng said, “Aunt Fan, what brings you here?”

Aunt Fan replied, “Madam asked me to bring some snacks for you. They are for your classmates. Madam said to wish you a happy day today and to wish your classmates a happy birthday.”

Qin Shoucheng hadn’t expected his sister-in-law to prepare this, and he took the basket. “Please thank my sister-in-law on my behalf.”

Having completed her task, Aunt Fan went back.

Qin Shoucheng carried a basket and, along with Kun Daying and Wei Yanglin, went to Wei Yanglin’s house.

The Wei family had a large and beautiful courtyard in the town.

Wei’s grandmother knew her grandson would bring his classmates home to celebrate his birthday, so she had been busy with her daughter-in-law and the servants since early morning.

By noon, she was already waiting at the door.

Wsrzzzhen she saw her grandson return with his friends, she happily said, “My dear grandson, you’re finally back! The food is ready; please take your classmates to eat.”

Wei Yanglin said, “Grandma, you don’t have to wait for us.”

He then introduced Qin Shoucheng and the others, saying, “Brother Cheng, this is my grandma.”

Qin Shoucheng and the others greeted Wei’s grandmother, and he handed the basket to her, saying, “Hello, Grandma Wei. This is some snack prepared by my family for everyone to share.”

Wei’s grandmother accepted it, saying, “Thank you so much, young man. May I ask where you’re from?”

Wei Yanglin replied, “Brother Cheng lives in the family quarters; his older brother is a Captain in military, and the little cake shop in our town belongs to them.”

Wei’s grandmother said, “I see. Please go ahead and entertain your friends. Grandma will prepare the snacks and bring them out to you soon.”

Wei Yanglin responded, “Thank you, Grandma.”

Wei’s grandmother went to the kitchen, followed by Wei’s mother, who said, “I didn’t expect the brother of a Captain of Military to become Yanglin’s classmate.”

Wei’s grandmother replied, “That’s right. Let’s not meddle; let the children maintain their own friendships. We can offer a few pointers occasionally.”

Wei’s mother agreed, “Yes.”

Qin Family

In the afternoon, Qin Shoucheng returned home and first went to the main courtyard.

Yang Haiyan and Qin Siya were doing some embroidery.

When they saw him, Yang Haiyan said, “You’re back early. Did your classmate’s birthday party end?”

Qin Shoucheng performed a salute, saying, “Yes, it’s over. The Wei family prepared snacks for everyone; I heard they were bought from the county. I have one for you, sister-in-law, and Fourth Sister to try.” As he spoke, he took out the oiled paper, revealing six pieces of snacks.

Yang Haiyan didn’t refuse Qin Shoucheng’s kindness, but said, “How lucky! I haven’t had the county’s snacks yet; today I get to enjoy them thanks to you.”

She picked up a piece and took a bite.

Qin Siya said, “I haven’t tried the county’s snacks either. Are they good?” She reached out to grab one as she asked.

Qin Shoucheng honestly replied, “They’re not as good as what sister-in-law makes.”

The snacks from the county were known for their reputation, and the Wei family didn’t prepare any from Yang Haiyan’s shop because the kids in the town had mostly eaten small cakes and cookies before. Buying snacks from the county was merely for show.

Yang Haiyan said, “But you saved the snacks to share with sister-in-law, which really touches me. Thank you, Shoucheng; you’re such a good boy.”

Qin Shoucheng blushed at the compliment and said, “Then I’ll go review my studies now.”

Yang Haiyan smiled and shook her head.

By the end of June, the half mu of potatoes in the manor was ready for harvest.

In modern times, carefully managed potatoes could yield about 3,000 jin from half a mu, but in ancient times, the yield of crops was significantly lower, sometimes even half of what it is today.

After the harvest, there were only about 1,500 jin of potatoes.

These 1,500 jin were kept directly in the manor because the pigs, chickens, and ducks couldn’t just eat grass; they occasionally needed to be fed with rice bran, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.

Even with this mixture, they would need about ten jin of potatoes (or sweet potatoes) daily, meaning the 1,500 jin would only last for half a year.

If the potatoes were sold directly, they would fetch one wen for two jin.

Yang Haiyan calculated that it was not worth using half a mu of land to grow potatoes; it would be more economical to buy potatoes for feed and use the land for something else.

After the harvest, Niu Da tidied up the land, and a few days later, he transplanted some fruit tree seedlings there.

By the time the half mu of fruit tree seedlings was planted, it was already mid-July.

That day, Yang Haiyan was calculating the gross profit of the snack shop for June.

It was worth noting that ever since signing the contract with the manager, the gross profit of the snack shop had been twenty taels every month.

Yang Haiyan felt like her hands were getting soft from counting the money.

“Madam…” Kun Zhang came running from the snack shop, “Niu Da’s wife brought a basket of eggs to the shop. Our manor’s chickens have started laying eggs. She also brought a basket of vegetables back, and the broccoli you mentioned looks like green flowers; it’s also suitable to call it green cauliflower.”

Yang Haiyan put down the ledger, saying, “Let’s go take a look.” Indeed, calling broccoli green cauliflower was quite fitting.

Niu Da’s wife came carrying two baskets, one with about fifty eggs and the other with several heads of broccoli.

They looked very nice and fresh.

When Yang Haiyan arrived, she saw Niu Da’s wife sitting and drinking tea.

As soon as she saw Yang Haiyan, she quickly stood up, saying, “I greet you, Madam. The eggs have been delivered. My husband said the broccoli looks ready for harvest, so I picked two heads for you to take a look.”

They had planted around 1,300 broccoli plants in half a mu, but only about 800 survived.

However, each plant could produce two or three heads, so that was still quite a lot.

Yang Haiyan said, “Let me take a look.”

The green broccoli looked very good. “Are there many that size?”

Niu Da’s wife replied, “Most of them are that size; a few are smaller.”

Yang Haiyan said, “Bring about a hundred tomorrow.”

Niu Da’s wife responded, “Yes.”

Yang Haiyan then told Kun Zhang, “From your side, go cut some pork, then take the meat and broccoli to the county magistrate’s house. Tell Aunt Fan to slice the meat and stir-fry it with this broccoli… After it’s cooked, bring it to the shop’s entrance and share it with anyone passing by. Let them know that our newly cultivated vegetables are ready.”

The regular customers at the snack shop already knew that the tables and benches had been removed, preparing to sell fruits and vegetables, so there was no need for much promotion.

Kun Zhang replied, “Yes.”

Yang Haiyan thought for a moment and added, “Also, take the stir-fried meat and broccoli to the county town and see if the restaurants want this dish. Take a carriage and bring one of the raw broccolis to show the restaurants. If you’re afraid to go to the restaurants, just find Manager Ping.”

Kun Zhang responded, “Yes.”

Half an hour later, Aunt Fan arrived with two plates of stir-fried broccoli and pork, while Kun Zhang took the carriage to the county town.

Aunt Fan set the stir-fried broccoli and pork at the shop’s entrance and began to shout, “Fresh vegetables from the Delicious Snack Shop have been harvested! Everyone passing by, come and taste the flavor…”