Qi Younian and his older brother chatted as they savored a small piece of cake for quite a while. They hadn’t even finished when Qi Sanshun and Qi Jia had already cleaned off the piece of cake in front of them.
Qi Sanshun smacked his lips twice, seemingly not yet satisfied, and whispered to Qi Jia, "This cake tastes so much better than what we usually have. You’re really lucky to have such a talented sister who makes endless delicious things every day."
Qi Jia was quite proud and also very content, "Mhm, my sister is really amazing. She can make many, many other delicious things." Qi Jia licked the cake crumbs at the corner of his mouth, his expression immensely pleased and satisfied.
The two little guys talked as their eyes uncontrollably drifted toward the larger portion of the cake that Ye Xinyan had set aside.
Qi Jia held back for a long time but finally couldn’t resist, pleading with Ye Xinyan, "Sis, this cake is really delicious. Can Brother Sanshun and I have another piece, please? Just a small piece will do."
Before Ye Xinyan could speak, Nanny Jin took over, "Oh my dear little ancestor, it’s not good to eat so much sweet and rich food late in the evening. You two should finish your dinner first. That big piece of cake is saved for you, we can eat it tomorrow, okay?"
Qi Jia was brought back by Nanny Jin from the third house by force, and since that day, Qi Jia had never returned to that living hell. The person Qi Jia loved to pester the most was also Nanny Jin.
After hearing Nanny Jin’s words, Qi Jia’s eyes darted between Ye Xinyan and Nanny Jin several times, hesitating to pester Nanny Jin again. He seemed quite conflicted about whether or not to carry out that idea.
Ye Xinyan watched the little guy’s rich expressions and laughed, saying, "Nanny Jin is right. This is time for dinner. You two should eat your meal properly and have some more vegetables. Great Aunt hasn’t tasted the cake yet, so we’ll let Brother Sanshun take the rest back for her to try. If Qi Jia wants more, I can make it again."
Once Ye Xinyan had made up her mind, there was no room for negotiation. Qi Jia pouted at Sanshun and obediently picked up her chopsticks.
With a table full of delicious dishes, Qi Younian and his older brother also had a couple of cups of liquor to boost the mood, making the meal lively and cheerful.
The remaining cake, at Qi Yougui’s insistence, was still cut in half for Qi Jia, before the other half was allowed to be taken away by Qi Sanshun.
In rural households, dinner is eaten early. After sending off the grandfather and grandson from the Qi family’s main branch, it was only Xu Hour (7-9 pm).
Only then did Nanny Jin have the opportunity to ask what day it was today that warranted such a lavish dinner and inviting the old master from the main branch over.
"And, what’s the story with that cake? How did you make that rich scent?" Now in charge of a small snack shop, Nanny Jin was most concerned about the cake’s extraordinary flavor during dinner.
Qi Younian smiled and shook his head without saying a word, knowing that Ye Zi was probably happy today because of that greyish-white thing called whipped cream. Truly, that substance had a rich flavor. The cake made with it had a milk fragrance completely different from the ones previously made with cow’s milk.
Ye Xinyan said with a smile, "The cake that Nanny Jin tasted today, I made with the cream from cow’s milk. I only knew about it in general and was not sure if I could make it. I just thought I would try it. Even if I couldn’t succeed on the first attempt, at most, I would try ten or eight more times, until I could eventually succeed. Surprisingly, I managed to skim the whipped cream right off the milk bucket on the first try."
"Not only can this cream be used for cakes, but it can also be used in the various pastries of our snack shop, making products as fragrant as the cake. In the future, our snack shop will have treats that are even more delicious than others. Maybe our store could even expand to Yuyuan Prefecture. Don’t you think this is something to be happy about, something worth celebrating?"
Nanny Jin had also tried a bit of the cream cake at dinner, and while she was mindful not to eat too much sweet food at night, even that small piece was enough to amaze her with the cake’s rich, fluffy texture and flavor.
"There’s really oil in cow’s milk?" Nanny Jin asked.
Ye Xinyan threw a confident glance and said, "Of course, I skimmed the whipped cream in front of Grandpa. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Grandpa."
Nanny Jin looked at Qi Younian.
Qi Younian laughed helplessly, "Ye Zi really skimmed it from that spoilt..." and hastily corrected himself after receiving Ye Xinyan’s look of dissatisfaction, "Right, right, right, not spoilt, but rather skimmed the whipped cream from the fermented cow’s milk."