Lin Yuan didn’t leave, instead, she proactively stretched out her hand to help her.
With Princess Anle no longer present, Su Qiuyu’s pretense immediately fell apart, she glared at her and said softly, "Your false benevolence is needless!"
As she spoke, she steadied herself with Yaner’s hand and carefully climbed down from the carriage shaft, then hurriedly followed after Princess Anle.
Lin Yuan touched her nose and shrugged indifferently.
At this time, Rice Flower Fragrance was at its busiest with customers, because every day their bakery’s pastries were made early in the morning, and then they opened for business. Thus, the morning pastries were the freshest and most delicious. Many wealthy families had figured out this timing and sent their servants early to line up and buy pastries.
As soon as Princess Anle entered the shop, she was dazzled by the dazzling array of various pastries. There were also pastry shops in the capital city, but they mostly displayed their wares behind a counter, with a piece of paper attached above listing the names of the pastries. Customers would simply say what they wanted by its name; they were not allowed to see what the pastry actually looked like inside.
But at Lin Yuan’s place, it was so transparent. Moreover, because there were many people, they feared the pastries getting dirty, so each shelf was covered with a nearly transparent white brocade. The various colors of pastries, when paired with this kind of brocade, created a misty and dreamy beauty.
"Madam, how do you find it?" Xia Zheng asked with pride as he walked around the hall with Princess Anle, observing the pastries and the incoming and outgoing customers.
Princess Anle nodded in approval, "It’s good, clean and thoughtful, indeed very good."
Su Qiuyu, following close by, was also nearly dazzled upon entering, but she quickly recovered, thinking it was just a nice decor. The most important thing about selling food was the taste after all.
Although she had already tasted Lin Yuan’s cooking the previous night, and knew it was good, she still wasn’t convinced about the quality of her pastries.
Since there were too many people in the hall, after looking around, Princess Anle was invited by Lin Yuan to rest in the back hall, where Lao Fan had just finished his breakfast brought over by Xiao Linshuang, sitting contentedly in a chair digesting his meal.
Recalling that she had not yet given Jeng Ruyue her acupuncture treatment that day, Lin Yuan had already sent Xiao Linshuang to Fuman Building with Lin Yi.
Seeing them come in, Lao Fan lazily lifted his eyelids, but said nothing.
Once everyone was seated, Lin Yuan had already brought over a plate filled with various pastries, accompanied by a stack of small, slender wooden sticks.
Su Qiuyu was puzzled, but before she could ask what they were for, she saw Lao Fan had already picked one up, pinching one end and flossing his teeth with it.
At the sight of his unseemly behavior, Su Qiuyu choked and hurriedly turned her head to avert her gaze.
Everyone was already used to Lao Fan’s unconventional conduct. Lin Yuan placed the plate on the table and said with a smile, "Madam, these are our shop’s specialty pastries, not found anywhere else. Please, have a taste."
Princess Anle had already noticed these unfamiliar pastries in the hall and took quite a liking to them. Xia He and Qiu Ju, in particular, had been drooling over them since they had first laid eyes on the pastries.
Xia He pointed at the small wooden stick and asked, "What is this thing?"
Lin Yuan smiled, "This is called a ’toothpick.’ It’s carved from bamboo and is specifically provided for customers to use when tasting pastries."
Initially, she used chopsticks, which were washed after each use. However, upon reflection, she realized this could still easily spread germs, so she decided to switch to toothpicks. Fortunately, making toothpicks didn’t require high-quality bamboo, and one bamboo plant could produce many toothpicks, enough to last them a long time.