“Otherwise, the mugwort glutinous rice cakes will taste bitter, which will greatly affect the texture. Also, you must add all the necessary ingredients. If the final product isn’t a vibrant green, it won’t look appealing either. Do you understand?”

“Understood, understood!” the kitchen staff quickly responded.

By now, they had already considered Jian Xiu as one of their own bosses.

Seeing this, Jian Xiu turned to Rong Zhihe, who was still eating nonstop, and said, “Let’s go!”

“Go? Go where?”

“Don’t we have to sign the contract?” Jian Xiu said helplessly.

Who would have thought that someone who made pastries would turn out to be such a foodie?

“Oh! If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have completely forgotten!” Rong Zhihe said as he swallowed the pastry in his mouth.

Jian Xiu: “…” This must be the highest level of being a foodie.

Suddenly remembering something, Jian Xiu turned to the kitchen staff and asked, “What about the cake? Do you still have any left?”

“We do, but they’re about to be taken out.”

“Wait, save a few for me. It’s getting late. After signing the contract, I need to head home.”

Hearing this, the kitchen staff naturally didn’t refuse.

Forget just a few pieces—if she wanted to take the whole batch, they wouldn’t object.

However, Jian Xiu wasn’t greedy and only took eight pieces—four for each of the two old men.

Nobody was getting extra.

“Only eight? Aren’t you going to eat some yourself?” Rong Zhihe asked from the side.

He knew these pastries were meant for that old man at Yuexiang Tower.

And probably also for the scholar from Xuewen Academy.

Eight pieces—wasn’t that just four per person?

What about her two children? Would they not get any?

Before today, Rong Zhihe hadn’t known that Jian Xiu had such a hard life in Zhang Family Village.

He had always assumed that since she had such great pastry-making skills and could read and write, even if she was born in the countryside, she must have lived quite well.

But after hearing her words in court today, he finally understood—her life had been far from what he had imagined.

Thinking of this, Rong Zhihe ordered more cakes to be packed for her to take home.

“Aren’t you running a business? Won’t this affect your sales?” Jian Xiu asked.

“Losing a few cakes won’t ruin my business. Now hurry up and sign the contract so you can go home early!” Rong Zhihe urged.

“Alright, thanks then!” Jian Xiu waved the cakes in her hand.

Rong Zhihe didn’t say anything—he simply walked ahead.

In truth, if anyone should be saying “thank you,” it was him.

Without her pastry-making techniques, he wasn’t even sure if Caifang Zhai could continue running smoothly.

After signing the contract, Jian Xiu took out a piece of xuan paper from her sleeve, handed it to Rong Zhihe, and said:

“Try making this. If you can create it, you’ll never have to worry about running out of new pastries again.”

“Oh? What’s this?”

“Call it a baking oven! I came up with the name myself. Look here—I’ve already marked its length, width, and height, as well as the materials needed. And here’s the size specification…”

Jian Xiu pointed at the details on the xuan paper and explained one by one.

With this, all those pastries from the apocalypse—like puff pastries and egg tarts—would no longer be a problem.

“What do you plan to make with this?”

“This can be used for so many things! But let me make one thing clear—only you can use it. If you want to give it to someone else, you need my approval first. Understand?”

Jian Xiu warned Rong Zhihe.

If she had the time, she would have built it herself and made a nice profit.

After all, an oven could bake more than just bread—

It could also roast duck, grill meat, and so much more.

But after interacting with Rong Zhihe a couple of times, Jian Xiu had a decent grasp of his character.

She felt reassured.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. I’m not someone who doesn’t understand boundaries. This thing is valuable enough to be a family heirloom!”

As he spoke, Rong Zhihe’s eyes never left the xuan paper.

He wasn’t just impressed by the oven design—

He was in awe of the drawing itself.

“Did you really draw this yourself?” Rong Zhihe asked in disbelief.

Jian Xiu knew that this reaction was inevitable.

But she had gotten used to it and didn’t take offense.

Instead, she nodded calmly.

After thinking for a moment, she added, “Oh, right. If you can, make a few more of these. Haha, give me one too! Don’t worry, I’ll pay for it fairly.”

At this, Jian Xiu couldn’t help feeling a little embarrassed.

She was outright asking for something now.

Even with her thick skin, she felt a little guilty.

“Of course! Forget just one—I’ll make you two or three if you want.” Rong Zhihe promised confidently.

Forget the oven itself—he had already learned a lot just by studying this xuan paper.

That alone was worth far more than two ovens.

When Jian Xiu left the shop again, her cakes weren’t wrapped in oil paper but carried in a large basket.

Looking at the overflowing basket, even she felt speechless.

Rong Zhihe said he would give her more, but he didn’t say this much!

At the entrance, a long queue of people stared enviously at her basket.

Jian Xiu wished she could dig a hole and disappear.

If it weren’t for her, the queue wouldn’t have been this long.

Earlier, Rong Zhihe had explained to her that since they couldn’t keep up with the demand, he had limited sales—

Each person could only buy two pieces per day.

If they wanted more, they had to come back and line up again the next day.

This way, not only did he keep customers wanting more, but it also made the cakes feel even more exclusive.

After hearing this, Jian Xiu had to admit—

Rong Zhihe was a business genius.

If an average businessman faced high demand, their first instinct would be to have the kitchen work overtime to produce more.

But he did the opposite.

---

Yuexiang Tower

When Jian Xiu arrived, Wu Mingtang was still at his desk, tirelessly working on an abacus.

It wasn’t mealtime yet, but seeing him so busy, Jian Xiu could guess what he was doing.

Of course—those account books weren’t easy to balance.