Lin Shanyue suppressed the excitement in her heart and hid all these items inside the cabinet. To put it simply... wealth should not be flaunted. Now that she was all alone in the vast Imperial Capital, she was just like the man from the other day—there was no telling when someone might target her, so everything had to be safely hidden away.
"Young Master, this meat doesn't keep well. I will cook it for you today. It looks like it has been frozen—do you happen to have an ice cellar over there?"
Huo Yi fell into thought. Indeed, she didn't even have a refrigerator on her end, making it difficult to store such items. It seemed his feeding plan would have to proceed step by step.
He gave a vague response about the ice cellar, and Lin Shanyue did not dwell on it further. After packing away all the ingredients, she turned back to have her own meal. Watching her scurry around hiding things, Huo Yi thought she looked more and more like a squirrel. He chuckled and temporarily went offline.
Lin Shanyue enjoyed a hearty meal herself. Having meat was wonderful; she had finally managed to consume some grease and oil. Xiaobao was still too young to eat anything too greasy, so Lin Shanyue mixed his rice with a radish and large pork bone soup. It was cooked down to a soft, mushy consistency, and Xiaobao ate a little less than half a bowl of rice.
"Xiaobao is such a good boy." Lin Shanyue smiled as she wiped his mouth. This child... truth be told, when she first took him in, she hadn't yet figured out what status to give him in the future. However, both the neighborhood residents and the Jiang Family clearly regarded him as her own son.
So Lin Shanyue simply let things be and accepted him as her son! Afterward, as she walked the world under the identity of Lin Shanyue, she decided to add two years to her age. That way, she would completely sever ties with "Jiang Shanyue," and the people of the Jiang Family could rest easy knowing she would no longer cause trouble for them.
After finishing his meal, Xiaobao took an afternoon nap, while Lin Shanyue returned to the kitchen to busy herself. Liu Niang accepting her Storax Incense was undoubtedly a good start, and she needed to put her heart into making a batch for her.
Next, she had to prepare dinner. The meat and spareribs from the Mirror Demon Young Master were very fresh. The spareribs could continue to be stewed, and as for the meat... the Mirror Demon Young Master had said he wanted to eat braised pork, so Lin Shanyue began making preparations.
"Braised meat spices..." Lin Shanyue examined the seasonings given to her by the Mirror Demon Young Master. Every single one was a top-tier item in the shops; just adding these things together would cost several coins.
And the milk powder... was it cow's milk? But how could cow's milk be in powder form? She tentatively used hot water to brew a bowl, then took a tiny sip—
How extraordinarily sweet and fragrant!
Lin Shanyue's eyes widened...
She had unexpectedly come into possession of so many good things all at once. A bold and risky idea sprouted in her mind. Feeling a bit guilty, she glanced inside the house, let out a long sigh, and decided she had better focus on making the braised pork taste delicious first...
All afternoon, Lin Shanyue was busy outside; of course, Huo Yi was busy as well.
An antique shop had suddenly received a foreign visitor who demanded a pair of satisfactory jade pendants on the spot, stating they were meant as a wedding gift for his son and daughter-in-law, preferably fine pieces from the Tang or Song dynasties, and price was no object.
Elder Huo personally called Huo Yi, hoping this transaction could be successfully completed. Huo Yi still held a certain degree of respect for the old man, so he took the matter to heart.
However, after checking his existing stock, the client was not satisfied with any of them. "Mr. Huo, it doesn't matter, we still have time. Take your time looking; these jade pendants are of great significance to me, and I hope to find ones I am truly satisfied with."
After hanging up the phone, Huo Yi began mobilizing his connections to search for them. But in today's antique market, the genuine and the fake were hopelessly mixed together; finding real goods was already difficult, let alone premium pieces...
Just as Huo Yi was getting a headache, the Silver Mirror reacted once more.
"Young Master Huo, are you there?"
Huo Yi poked the Silver Mirror: "Hmm."
"It's time to eat!" A soft and excited voice came from across the mirror.
She smilingly passed over a plate of braised pork, a bowl of plain white rice, and a small dish of stir-fried greens, as devoutly as if she were making offerings to a deity. For some reason, Huo Yi's irritable mood instantly eased a great deal. He glanced at the time; the afternoon had somehow slipped away again.
Braised pork... The braised pork before him was half-fat and half-lean with a ruddy sheen, looking exceptionally appetizing. However...
"How come it's stir-fried cabbage again? Is there nothing else?"
Lin Shanyue was momentarily stunned, then said, "Cabbage? Are you referring to *songcai*?"
In ancient times, cabbage was called *songcai*, and Huo Yi gave a hum of affirmation.
"It's winter now, so this is all there is..."
Huo Yi clicked his tongue. Indeed, back then they didn't have greenhouses yet, and the variety of vegetables in winter was pitifully small. He hesitated over whether to feed her a few more vegetables, but thinking of her pathetic little room where nothing could be kept fresh, he decided against it.
We'll talk about it later.
"Young Master, what did you think of this afternoon's meal?" Lin Shanyue asked tentatively.
"Not bad."
"Then... might I discuss something with you?"
Huo Yi was startled, assuming she wanted to ask for items, and readily agreed: "What do you want?"
Lin Shanyue was also taken aback: "No, I don't need anything... It's just that I found the things Young Master sent are exceptionally good, and I want to use them to make some food to sell. For instance, this milk powder... once brewed, it turns out to be sweet, fragrant cow's milk! It can be used to make pastries. I wonder if Young Master would mind..."
Huo Yi was stunned for a moment. It turned out to be because of this.
"Suit yourself. Anything given to you is yours."
Lin Shanyue said with pleasant surprise: "Thank you, Young Master!"
Huo Yi shot her several probing looks. Clearly able to eat his fill and keep warm relying entirely on his handouts, she was still plotting to go out and make money. This young woman was truly quite interesting.
Lin Shanyue gave the vast majority of the evening's braised pork to Huo Yi, keeping only a small plate for herself and Xiaobao. After finishing, she brewed another bowl of milk powder for Xiaobao. They said cow's milk was nourishing, and this child was also pitifully thin.
Xiaobao clearly loved it very much, holding the bowl and gulping it all down. Soon after, he began to grow sleepy. Lin Shanyue smiled and laid out the quilt thing from earlier. In no time at all, Xiaobao fell asleep chewing on his little fist.
This quilt is just like a cloud... Lin Shanyue wanted to dive right in as well, but she couldn't do that yet. She shook her head to stay awake, turned around, and went back to making incense.
Having obtained the Mirror Demon Young Master's permission, Lin Shanyue let loose. Her plan during the day was to make some special pastries. There was a kind of pastry she had eaten at the Marquis's Estate called milk cake, which was steamed daily with fresh cow's milk and glutinous rice. It was exceptionally sweet and fragrant, and Jiang Wanyue's absolute favorite; she had heard that many women in the Imperial Capital loved eating it too.
However, cow's milk did not keep well, and having it delivered and made fresh every day was quite rare. But since Lin Shanyue now had milk powder, she wondered if it was feasible to use it to make milk cakes, and she wanted to give it a try.
After bustling about all evening, the Storax Incense for the next day was done. She walked over to the water's edge to wash her hands meticulously before heading to the kitchen. Making incense and making food at the same time—if she wasn't scrupulously clean, that simply wouldn't do. If this really worked out later, she would have to schedule them at separate times.
To make pastries with glutinous rice, one first had to grind it into glutinous rice flour, then mix it evenly with the brewed cow's milk. Oh right, the Young Master said he had also provided some sugar today... Lin Shanyue opened it up and saw that these were actually white sugar granules as pure as snow... She had never seen such a thing before; even the brown sugar blocks at the market were very expensive, so how could anyone ever lay eyes on something so white and delicate? She tasted a tiny bit, and her heart began to beat even faster...
She pushed aside the sugar she had bought herself and directly used this white sugar. After mixing the ingredients evenly, she sifted them, poured the mixture into small bowls, and set them in the steamer. Lin Shanyue bustled about until nearly three quarters past the Hour of the Boar before finally steaming a batch of milk cakes.
She couldn't wait to taste a small piece. It was actually sweeter and more fragrant than the ones made at the Marquis's Estate!
Come to think of it, it must be because the Mirror Demon Young Master's milk powder and sugar were of superior quality, surpassing even what was used in the Marquis's Estate.
Lin Shanyue was overjoyed. With such wonderful goods, she would definitely be able to sell them...