Pressed and flattened, made sure the bottom of the mooncake was flat, then turned the mooncake upside down and banged it on the table…

The mooncake looked good and the smooth and flat mooncake came out of the mold.

Brush the surface with egg wash and put it in the oven. The next thing you needed to do was wait for the delicious food to come out.

Su Yujin gave two demonstrations, and Mama Liu and Ai Cao also learned almost the same thing.

“Miss, take a rest. The remaining maids and Mother Liu can do it.”

After Ai Cao finished speaking, there was a sudden noise at the door, “Is anyone there?”

“Who is it?” Ai Cao trotted over, seeing it was Liao Shi, she smiled and said, “It’s Aunt Liao, come here at this time, what’s the matter?”

“The rolling pin at home was broken, and the noodles were half rolled out on the chopping board, so I thought I’d pick up a rolling pin and use it.” Liao Shi said. At that moment, she poked her head inside and asked, “Do you need it now?”

“The small one is in use, but the big one is idle. I’ll get it for you right now. You wait a moment.”

Ai Cao said and entered the kitchen. Liao Shi took two steps in from the door.

From this position, one could basically see the situation in the courtyard.

She could see Su Yujin making mooncakes with Mother Liu there.

She was as young as a blooming flower, with a beautiful appearance, and every move she made showed the softness and vitality of a young woman.

Even if Su Yujin was dressed simply at this time, with no makeup on her face, no jewelry on her hair, just an ebony hairpin, and even some flour on her cheeks, it would not affect her beauty at all but only made her look more pretty.

It was great to be young.

The light in Liao Shi’s eyes dimmed slightly, and she couldn’t help biting her lower lip.

Sensing the scrutiny, Su Yujin subconsciously looked. When she saw Liao Shi staring at her, Su Yujin tilted her head in confusion.

Liao Shi, on the other hand, lowered her head, took two steps back, and retreated to the door again, where neither of them could see each other.

Seeing this, Su Yujin gave up the idea of ​​saying hello to Liao Shi.

Ai Cao quickly found a rolling pin and brought it out to her.

Liao Shi took it, raised the corners of her mouth, and put on a smile as usual, “I’ll return it when I’m done with it.”

“Don’t rush, we have several at home, just bring it back when you have time.”

Ai Cao gave Liao Shi a brief goodbye. Seeing that she had gone far away, she turned back, washed her hands, and continued making moon cakes.

“This Aunt Liao…” Su Yujin frowned.

“What’s wrong, Miss?” Ai Cao stopped.

“It’s nothing, I just felt that the way she looked at me just now…”

Wasn’t quite right.

It was unspeakably wrong.

“I heard that Liao Shi was mistreated in her in-laws’ house some years ago. Fortunately, her husband sympathized with her and spoke up for her. Unfortunately, her husband passed away a few years ago. Upon receiving the tragic news, Liao was deeply saddened, so much so that she gave birth prematurely at eight months.”

Mother Liu continued, “The child was born prematurely, and Liao Shi did not take good care of herself during pregnancy. The child was underdeveloped and died within a few days. Liao Shi couldn’t bear the sorrow, and on top of that, her in-laws criticized her, saying her bad luck caused the death of her husband and child. Thankfully, a kind scholar named Ren Xiu took pity on her and filially took her to live in the county.”

“Since Liao moved to Shuanggui Lane, her gentle nature and avoidance of idle gossip left a good impression on the neighbors. I’ve interacted with her twice; she seems like a decent person, just a bit reserved and not fond of going out.”

“I’ve also heard that Liao Shi’s first child, who passed away prematurely, was a daughter. Some people think that when she looks at Miss, perhaps it reminds her of her deceased daughter, and that’s why she seems sorrowful?”

“Probably.” Su Yujin answered casually but did not take seriously what Mother Liu’s mother said.

There was indeed sadness in Liao Shi’s eyes just now, but more of it was anger and resentment, and even a little jealousy, but there was no love or other such emotion.

This was not the look a woman who had experienced the pain of losing her daughter should have when seeing a young girl.

On the contrary, it seemed like…

Su Yujin pursed her lips.

The first batch of mooncakes was baked quickly.

The skin of the mooncakes brushed with egg wash has a brownish-yellow color, which makes people move their index fingers. When you took a bite, you could see the crispy and fragrant skin, but the texture was not dry to the point of choking. The soft and glutinous bean paste filling had a good amount of white sugar. The addition was just right, not sweet and not greasy. After eating one piece of mooncake, you will not feel tired of eating sweets but will want to eat another piece.

This was the case with Mother Liu, especially since she was older and liked sweets, so she ate two pieces in a row.

Ai Cao showed off eating three of them in one breath.

“Eat a little less, or you might not have an appetite for lunch later,” Su Yujin smiled as a reminder. “The real highlight is in the afternoon; we can’t afford to miss it just because we ate too much and got tired of it in the morning.”

“The real highlight?”

“Are there mooncakes even more delicious than the red bean paste and green bean paste ones now?”

Ai Cao was a bit puzzled.

But in the afternoon, Ai Cao understood why Su Yujin said this.

The egg yolks that have been marinated in salt for a day and night have now taken shape. After being steamed in a pot, they were mixed with soybean paste and stuffed into mooncake skins. They were then brushed with egg wash and placed in the oven as before.

After the salted egg yolk mooncake came out of the pan, she almost didn’t care about how hot it was and stuffed one into her mouth.

As soon as she took a bite, her eyes filled with tears and her nose started to twitch again and again.

“Is this…” Su Yujin raised her eyebrows, “Did you get burnt?”

“No.” Ai Cao shook her head, “It’s because the mooncakes made by Miss are so delicious. I have never tasted such delicious food in my entire life. The mooncakes are really, really delicious.”

After saying “too delicious” several times in a row, Ai Cao wiped away her tears and then picked up another mooncake.

“It’s delicious, but don’t be too greedy.” Mother Liu stopped her.

She had not even tasted the mooncakes that Miss worked so hard to make. It was really unreasonable that Ai Cao had already eaten quite a few on this day.

Ai Cao also noticed this and smiled awkwardly. The moon cake in her hand didn’t know whether to put it back or put it in her mouth.

“It’s okay, just let her eat.” Su Yujin said with a smile.

“Thank you, Miss!” Ai Cao was immediately happy.

Su Yujin then said, “When you are full, you will have the strength to buy some more beans, make some more mooncakes, and sell them at Su Ji’s door.”

The trial mooncakes were very successful, and they can only be made once a year. Naturally, she didn’t want to miss the opportunity to make more money.

Ai Cao’s eyes were suddenly brighter than when Su Yujin asked her to eat mooncakes.

Make more mooncakes and earn more money. She could also take the opportunity to bask in the light and eat more mooncakes.

This was a good deal!

“Don’t worry, Miss. I will definitely help you make more mooncakes!” Ai Cao’s words were sonorous and powerful.

Doing things that made money made her motivated!

Su Yujin, “…”

There was someone more experienced in business than me!

Just do what you say. After lunch, Ai Cao and Mother Liu started to buy beans, and eggs, soak beans, make bean paste, salt the egg yolks, bake moon cakes…

Soon a moon cake stall was set up in front of Su Ji.

---