“You know, even though it’s hot, eating it this way actually makes it taste better!” Rong Zhihe said with a smile.

“Of course. If it were roasted, the flavor would be even more incredible,” Jian Xiu said softly.

Her voice was so quiet that it seemed like she was talking to herself.

At this moment, Jian Xiu was already thinking about ovens in the post-apocalyptic world.

If she had an oven, wouldn’t she finally achieve the dream of having unlimited bread in the apocalypse?

But this oven…

Thinking of this, Jian Xiu recalled a video she had seen about people in impoverished areas making their own ovens.

Come to think of it, that might actually work.

All they did was build a small stove, place a ceramic jar inside, and that was enough for baking.

The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to go back and try it out immediately.

Rong Zhihe had no idea what Jian Xiu was thinking. He was already considering how he should price this cake.

The process wasn’t difficult, just a little special.

The key was the egg whites. As long as no one here revealed the secret, no matter how hard others tried, they wouldn’t figure out that the egg whites had to be beaten to this specific texture.

Only by whipping the egg whites like this and mixing them with the batter could the cake become so light and fluffy.

With that in mind, he turned to Jian Xiu with a curious look and asked, “Jian Xiu, how did you come up with this cake recipe?”

After all, getting egg whites to this consistency required skill.

If she hadn’t insisted that they could be whipped to this state, he might not have succeeded, even with the recipe.

“I read about it in a travel journal. Unlike you all, I’m poor, so I had to try making it myself. And surprisingly, I actually succeeded. Maybe even the heavens are looking out for me!” Jian Xiu replied smoothly, without the slightest hesitation.

With the travel journal from Xuewen Academy as her scapegoat, she could explain many things.

And as expected, Rong Zhihe didn’t doubt her words.

He was too focused on the cake.

He had to admit, The cake was truly delicious.

They had almost finished the first batch they had steamed.

As the second batch was about to be done, Jian Xiu quickly said, “Save a few pieces for me from the second batch!”

“Right, right, Jian Xiu, you haven’t even had any yet.”

“It’s not for me—I need to take some with me!” she said directly.

Even though she didn’t specify where she was taking them, Rong Zhihe could already guess.

Sure enough, upon hearing her words, his expression turned into one of mock resentment.

“My three kids are still at Yuexiang Tower. They only had lunch there. What, I can’t take a few pieces of cake for them? Besides, my kids love sweets.”

Hearing this, Rong Zhihe was once again speechless.

Besides, he never actually intended to stop her from taking some.

In the end, Jian Xiu wrapped most of the second batch in oil paper, feeling completely satisfied as she left Caifang Zhai.

This time, Wu Mingtang should finally be able to enjoy it to his heart’s content, right?

But since she had already shared the recipe with Caifang Zhai, unless something unexpected happened, the cake would be on the market by tomorrow.

Thinking about the 20% profit share she’d receive, Jian Xiu couldn’t help but feel overjoyed.

This income would be a stable source of revenue for her.

How could she not be happy?

…

The three children were already waiting by the private room on the second floor.

Shopkeeper Wu was too busy to entertain them, as even though the lunch rush had passed, he was still downstairs tallying the accounts.

Only now did they realize just how bustling Yuexiang Tower’s business really was.

When Jian Xiu walked in, Wu Mingtang was still engrossed in his calculations, too focused to even notice her arrival.

It wasn’t until a shadow blocked his view that he finally looked up and asked:

“Sir, would you like to order—oh! You’re back already? The children are upstairs. I told them to wait there!”

“Thanks for taking care of them. But are you doing the accounts right now?” Jian Xiu asked curiously.

Right after asking, she smacked her forehead.

Obviously, she had just asked a ridiculously obvious question.

But she couldn’t be blamed for asking. In fact, just looking at the account book in Wu Mingtang’s hands already gave her a headache.

“Of course! What else would I be doing?”

“Don’t you think your accounts are a mess?”

“A mess?” Wu Mingtang asked incredulously.

He had been the shopkeeper of Yuexiang Tower for decades. People always praised his bookkeeping skills. This was the first time anyone had called his records messy.

“Yes! Look at this—words scattered here and there. How is this not a mess?”

“Hmph, this column is for inventory, and this one is for today’s earnings—ah! Now you’ve confused me even more! Stop distracting me!” Wu Mingtang huffed.

Hearing this, Jian Xiu didn’t take offense.

Having spent so much time with Wu Mingtang, she had grown more easygoing.

With a grin, she placed the cakes in front of him and said, “See? I’m loyal, aren’t I? These cakes are all for you!”

“Oh? So you really made them at Caifang Zhai?”

“Of course!”

“But I still have to finish my accounts. If I start eating now, I’ll have to start over again. I’d better put them aside for now—I’m not even hungry.”

“You go eat. Trust me, I can finish your accounts in less than fifteen minutes,” Jian Xiu said confidently.

After all, it was just a single day’s worth of records—inventory and earnings.

She had already glanced at it and noticed that Wu Mingtang had recorded every single transaction.

And he even summarized each page.

In her previous life, Jian Xiu had a natural talent for numbers.

Let alone these small figures.

Besides, since it was written with a brush, each page contained only a few numbers—she could calculate them in no time.

“Jian Xiu, you said it yourself. If you can’t do it, you’ll embarrass yourself!” Wu Mingtang chuckled.

In his mind, it was impossible.

He figured she was just trying to get him to enjoy his cake in peace.

Understanding her good intentions, he handed the account book to Jian Xiu.

He originally thought she would just set it aside.

To his surprise, she actually started flipping through it seriously.