“A ger?”

Yan Xiaoyu looked completely taken aback.

Yan Shaoxuan nodded slightly. “Jiang Xiaowu said the ger’s name is Xiao Jiu. Fearing he’d attract trouble, he’s kept his identity hidden all these years. His birthmark isn’t in a visible spot, and his face and voice resemble those of a Han man, so no one has suspected a thing.”

Yan Xiaoyu froze at the words “Xiao Jiu”; he didn’t catch a word of what Yan Shaoxuan said after that.

What a coincidence—this young man was also named “Xiao Jiu.” If it weren’t for the fact that his appearance bore no resemblance to Xiao Jiu’s, Yan Xiaoyu would have thought he was Xiao Jiu reincarnated.

“This Xiao Jiu is quite stubborn. The other day, when he was injured, I lent him some money for medical treatment, but when I asked him to come work for me, he refused.”

Yan Shaoxuan nodded. “He’s been through a lot; it’s only natural that he’s a bit wary.”

The two discussed matters regarding Jiang Xiaowu and Xiao Jiu, and settled on a plan.

Jiang Xiaowu would need to stay at the clinic for another five days. After that, a clerk from the shop would go to pick him up and temporarily house him at Yuye Pavilion, where he would stay with A-Chai and the others.

This way, they could take care of him and keep an eye on him.

Although Yan Xiaoyu and Yan Shaoxuan sympathized with Jiang Xiaowu’s plight, they hadn’t completely let down their guard. After all, the Yuye Pavilion was in the food business, so it was best to remain cautious.

Over the next two days, Yan Shaoxuan stayed indoors studying, occasionally helping Yan Xiaoyu in the kitchen, where he even learned to cook two dishes: stir-fried pork and spicy boiled fish—both of which Yan Xiaoyu loved.

Yan Xiaoyu also found a spare moment to cook a local specialty for him. Yan Shaoxuan was delighted; for two nights in a row, he casually brought it up and subtly boasted about it.

“Yu made braised duck today and told me to take some for the road. Has Sister Yue ever cooked anything for you?”

Yan Shaocheng, who shared a room with him, was thoroughly fed up. “If I’m going on a long trip, Sister Yue will naturally make it for me!”

“Oh?” Yan Shaoxuan said indifferently. “What did Aunt Qiuhua say? Last time you went to deliver goods, Sister Yue wasn’t paying attention and ate all the food she’d set aside for you?”

“It’s my wife’s food—I’m happy to let her eat it!” Yan Shaocheng gritted his teeth. “And is ‘Yue’ even a name you’re allowed to call her? You should be calling her ‘Sister-in-law’!” 

“Oh.” Yan Shaoxuan answered without addressing the question. “Yu never forgets. Every time he comes, he makes sure to cook my favorite dishes.”

“……” Yan Shaocheng’s fists clenched. “If you’re not tired, go write a couple of articles!”

The afternoon before his departure, Yan Shaoxuan returned from Luo Fu’s house and was pulled into a private room by Yan Xiaoyu.

On the table in the private room sat a cylindrical pastry. It was more exquisite and beautiful than any dessert Yan Shaoxuan had ever seen before; even from a distance, he could smell its sweet fragrance.

It was snow-white all over; Yan Shaoxuan couldn’t tell what ingredients it was made of, but it looked delicate and fluffy, just like a cloud in the sky. Fresh fruits were arranged on top of the cake—orange-yellow honeydew melon, dark green berries, bright red cherries… These fruits were cut into small pieces and arranged in the center, surrounded by a ring of cloud-like icing, creating a stunningly beautiful design.

Yan Shaoxuan looked up from the pastries and turned to Yan Xiaoyu. “What’s this? Did you make these just for me?”

Yan Shaoxuan was asking a rhetorical question; he knew full well that Yan Xiaoyu had made these pastries just for him.

Sure enough, Yan Xiaoyu nodded. “It’s a dessert I learned from a book—it’s called a buttercream cake. It’s traditionally made to celebrate birthdays.”

“Didn’t you already give me a birthday gift?” Yan Shaoxuan tried to be polite, but he couldn’t hide the amusement playing at the corners of his mouth. “Why go to the trouble of making this as well?”

“Oh my!” Yan Xiaoyu thought to herself, then drawled in a playful, exaggerated tone, “I told you before that I’m going to pursue Master Yan. Sending just one birthday gift—how would that show my sincerity?”

Yan Shaoxuan realized he was teasing him, but he couldn’t suppress his delight. A faint blush spread across his cheeks, and his eyes softened with tenderness. “I really like it.”

It was unclear whether he was referring to the cake or the young man sitting across from him.

Yan Xiaoyu’s face flushed suddenly. “Then go ahead and try some,” he said, his voice dropping a notch. Both of them, their faces bright red, bowed their heads and ate the cake.

Yan Shaoxuan isn’t much of a dessert lover, but the cream cake Yan Xiaoyu made tasted worlds apart from traditional pastries. Even setting aside his personal feelings, the flavor alone earned his praise.

The cream was smooth and velvety, melting on the tongue; the cake was light and fluffy, with just the right amount of sweetness; the fresh fruit, with its perfect balance of tartness and sweetness, paired beautifully with the sweet cake, creating a vibrant display of colors and a rich sensory experience that instantly lifted one’s spirits.

Yan Shaoxuan offered a heartfelt compliment, and Yan Xiaoyu quietly reflected to himself that today’s cake had turned out perfectly—all the effort he’d put into it had been well worth it.

Making a buttercream cake isn’t difficult, but in a world without ovens or electric mixers, controlling the temperature and shaping the cake was a challenge. Yan Xiaoyu could only experiment time and again using a traditional clay oven, relying on manual labor to replace the repetitive, tedious work of machinery…

He had started experimenting a few days ago, burning one cake base and going through two tubs of cream. To surprise Yan Shaoxuan, he had to bake it in secret that day, but fortunately, he managed to pull it off just before he arrived.

The two each ate a slice, stopping only when they were still craving more; the rest was to be saved for He Qiuhua and Yan Shaocheng. Since there were still guests at Yuye Pavilion, Yan Xiaoyu and Yan Shaoxuan waited a while before He Qiuhua and the others could slip away.

As it turned out, Yan Shaocheng took the cake to the counter to eat it, where a regular customer spotted him. The customer looked at him longingly and asked for a bite, his desire to eat it quite obvious. Yan Shaocheng thought for a moment, then went back to cut a small piece for the regular customer.

The man took a bite, his eyes widening in surprise. He praised it repeatedly, showering it with compliments, and finally insisted that Yan Xiaoyu make him a cake to serve his guests at his mother’s birthday party.

Yan Shaocheng couldn’t make up his mind, so he asked Yan Xiaoyu for his opinion.

Making a buttercream cake was quite a hassle, and Yan Xiaoyu hadn’t originally planned to sell it, but the man insisted on buying it, saying he’d pay whatever it cost. For the sake of the money, Yan Xiaoyu gritted his teeth and agreed.

The next day, Yan Shaoxuan set off for the provincial capital with two classmates, escorted by a team of bodyguards.

At first, Yan Xiaoyu and Yan Shaocheng were worried, so they planned to ask Nian-ger to help manage the shop for two months while Yan Shaocheng took Yan Shaoxuan to the provincial capital.

Yan Shaoxuan refused, saying the round trip would take too long. Nian-ger could only help with settling accounts for customers; all other matters would still require Yan Xiaoyu’s decision. Since Yan Xiaoyu was already exhausted from being the head chef, having to manage the front-of-house operations as well would be too much of a burden.

In the end, they went along with his suggestion and didn’t have Yan Shaocheng take him.

The day after Yan Shaoxuan left, Yan Xiaoyu sent A-Chai to fetch Jiang Xiaowu back.

Jiang Xiaowu hadn’t known before that Yuye Pavilion was a joint venture between the Yan and Yan families, so when he arrived and saw Yan Xiaoyu, he felt a bit awkward.

Jiang Xiaowu felt guilty toward Yan Xiaoyu. Though his injuries hadn’t fully healed, he couldn’t sit still and was eager to help Yan Xiaoyu with the work. Since Jiang Xiaowu couldn’t handle heavy labor, Yan Xiaoyu discussed it with Yan Shaocheng and had him take on tasks like wiping tables and pouring tea. Having previously worked as an inn attendant, he handled these chores with ease and did an excellent job.

However, with a large group of students from the county school having left for the prefectural city to take the imperial examinations, the number of guests at Yuye Pavilion had dropped slightly, and the front hall actually didn’t need any additional staff. So, after observing him for about ten days and confirming he had no ulterior motives, Yan Xiaoyu and Yan Shaocheng assigned him the task of making butter.

Not long ago, a regular customer had paid a hefty sum to order a butter cake from Yuye Pavilion, which stole the show at his mother’s birthday banquet. The guests who attended the feast that day were utterly amazed by this rare delicacy.

Many asked him where he’d bought the cake, and Yuye Pavilion gained a new line of business—making cakes for wealthy families celebrating birthdays. Yuye Pavilion’s cream cakes sold for exorbitant prices, but making them was such a laborious process that Yan Xiaoyu certainly couldn’t handle it alone. He broke down the process of making cream cakes into individual steps and delegated the easier tasks to others.

The staff had another task to handle, but since they received a bonus whenever the cakes sold, they didn’t mind the extra work.

Jiang Xiaowu, unable to do heavy labor for the time being, was put in charge of whipping the cream.

He worked diligently, and by the end of the month, he received his bonus from Yan Xiaoyu and Yan Shaocheng.

Jiang Xiaowu was overjoyed. After work that day, he bought some snacks at the shop and went to find Xiao Jiu.

“Lord Yan is a good man. If he ever mentions hiring you again, don’t turn him down.”

Xiao Jiu was so delighted he could barely speak: “Alright, if he’s willing to hire me, I won’t turn him down again. With his skills, as long as he feeds me and lets me, I’ll be happy to do it!”

Since making butter cakes required fresh fruit, the villagers in Xiling Village who had fruit on hand also made a little money.

That day, Nian’er and Liu Pingshan came by to deliver vegetables and chatted about village affairs.

Nian-ger beamed with delight: “Aunt Zhang’s grandson fell ill a few days ago, and she was struggling to scrape together enough silver to cover the expenses. Just then, your Yuye Pavilion started buying melons again, which came as a godsend to help her out of her immediate crisis. Her grandson got his medicine, and he’s doing much better now. Whenever she sees anyone, she praises you and Brother Yan for being kind-hearted and generous—earning your own money without forgetting to give the villagers a helping hand.”

“It’s not just Aunt Zhang,” Liu Pingshan chimed in. “These days, apart from the Yan Xingsheng family, isn’t every household in our village hoping for your success? To put it simply, after the autumn harvest next month when it’s time to pay the land tax, quite a few families in our village will be able to save a sack of grain…”

Liu Pingshan wasn’t exaggerating in the slightest; every word was true.

In this provincial examination, Yan Shaoxuan and Yan Yonghe took the test together, but the people of Xiling Village were all hoping Yan Shaoxuan would pass. As for Yan Yonghe, they turned a blind eye, acting as if they didn’t even know he was taking the exam too.

A few days ago, the villagers had asked Liu Pingshan to bring over quite a bit of food—all as a gesture of goodwill toward Yan Shaoxuan.

Yan Yonghe didn’t receive such treatment. Everyone had seen through the situation: even if Yan Yonghe passed the provincial examination, no one in the village would gain the slightest benefit from him. So, as for him taking the exam, no one paid it any mind.

Even though no one asked, Old Man Yan and Yan Xingsheng couldn’t help but blurt it out.

The day before yesterday, Old Man Yan was bragging around the village, saying his eldest grandson had caught the eye of a nobleman and would soon be marrying a young lady of high birth. He said he planned to invite the villagers to a banquet at his house, but between the lines, he was clearly showing off his grandson’s success.

Liu Pingshan continued, sounding quite scornful: “Old Man Yan said that Yan Yonghe is sure to pass the exams this time, and after he does, he’ll get married—so the Yan family will have double cause for celebration and will throw a grand banquet. He also said that since the boy can’t cook properly, they’ll hire the best chef to prepare the feast for them. Just look at how he’s deliberately trying to make you look bad!”

Yan Xiaoyu didn’t take Old Man Yan’s snide remark to heart. Still, would Yan Yonghe’s marriage really come to fruition? Yan Xiaoyu stole a glance at Nian-ger.