The next day, Jiang Mianmian and the others went to the cake shop again. She noticed that the two apprentices, after some practice, had mastered the taste and the frosting techniques very well.
She began teaching them the new styles she had thought of the previous day, as well as what fruits to pair with to enhance the flavor of the cakes.
Meanwhile, Tang Lin determined the prices based on the cake styles they produced—a ten-inch cream cake for thirty yuan, which was a bit expensive.
Jiang Mianmian saw the price Tang Lin had set and fell into deep thought.
After thinking it over, she suggested, "Brother Tang Lin, I looked at the pricing of the cakes and feel that ordinary families might not accept this price. I’m thinking, why don’t we make some smaller portions? Like single-serving or two-person serving cakes. This way, the price of the cakes would come down, and most people could afford to try them. They’re affordable and satisfy cravings, delicious and they bring repeat customers, and could also help us spread the word to others. What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Lin thought Jiang Mianmian’s idea was very good, as it also solved the problem of the cake’s high price making the market difficult to penetrate.
"Mianmian, your idea is great, let’s do it your way."
Tang Lin fully affirmed Jiang Mianmian’s idea, and even thought of more, "Let’s write the raw materials used for making cakes on a small blackboard and hang it outside so that people can see that we are not selling at a high price."
After all, the prices of the raw materials were there for everyone to see, and they were all high-quality.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Mianmian immediately gave him a thumbs up: What a genius in business!
After being busy all morning and having lunch, Cheng An and He Ping began making arrangements, taking Jiang Mianmian out to play.
He Ping had gone to his maternal grandparents’ home a while back and had only returned yesterday, missing many things. No sooner had he returned than he sought out his brothers for some fun.
These days, they would visit the cake shop every morning to check on the progress and occasionally teach the apprentices new patterns.
In the afternoons, Cheng An and the others would take her to very representative places in Capital City like the Imperial Palace, the Museum, and the Imperial Mausoleum, where they had a blast touring.
Although Yu Cheng was not fond of outings, he wanted Jiang Mianmian to enjoy herself. Since it was her rare visit to Capital City, he wanted it to be thoroughly enjoyable. He even brought a camera and took many photos of Jiang Mianmian at various tourist spots.
They played for five consecutive days, and everyone was somewhat tired, so they agreed to take a mid-session break and rest at home for a few days.
Jiang Mianmian also thought it was a good opportunity to sketch the designs for the orders she had received in the previous days.
When Elder Yu returned home in the evening, he saw Jiang Mianmian and waved her over, "Mianmian, come here, Grandpa Yu has something to tell you."
"What is it, Grandpa Yu?" Jiang Mianmian walked over curiously.
Elder Yu took out a thick stack of money from his military uniform pocket, handed it to Jiang Mianmian, and said with a smile, "This is the reward from the government for your research on lithium batteries, Two Thousand Yuan, along with a First-Class Individual Merit, which will be recorded in your file. Like last time, to protect your personal safety, we can only record this honor without public commendation."
"Wow, thank you, Grandpa Yu," Jiang Mianmian exclaimed in excitement upon hearing about her Second-Class Merit and the substantial amount of money.
"You don’t have to thank me; you earned this with your efforts."
Elder Yu looked at Jiang Mianmian with eyes brimming with approval, and his tone was even kinder, "Grandpa Yu has even more good news for you here."