I became the Counterpart of the Winner in a Period Novel

Chapter 88: Chapter 85: Midnight Family Biscuit Bake

Dinner was buns and vegetarian dumplings made by the third sister. They sent two portions to the carpenter and found out that Yan Jinzhi hadn’t returned.

Could it be that he went straight to Wuyun Mountain?

Jiang Mingyue shook her head, lately she had been thinking of someone more and more frequently.

After dinner, Mrs. Jiang pulled her aside and quietly handed her the day’s earnings.

Twenty-six yuan, two food tickets, and one clothing coupon, along with a dress.

What’s going on today? Everyone is buying her a dress one by one.

Mrs. Jiang bought the most fashionable style of that era, but in the eyes of people from later generations—it was really outdated!

She would rather wear old-school green trousers paired with a white shirt.

But a mother’s love should be cherished.

"Thank you, mom, I’ll go try it on."

Mrs. Jiang smiled so widely that she couldn’t close her mouth.

With the help of her third sister, Jiang Mingyue quickly came out, even pairing it with her little white shoes.

The third sister smiled brightly: "Yueyue, your figure is really nice, you will be my model for clothes in the future."

The second brother said, "Yueyue looks beautiful in a dress. When I have money, I’ll buy you one too."

Mrs. Jiang gave the second son a stern look: You have money? Maybe in your next life!

The big brother said, "Yueyue should wear dresses. When I earn money, I’ll buy you beautiful floral fabric, and let Zhenmei make an even prettier one for you."

Mrs. Jiang couldn’t even be bothered to roll her eyes.

Xiao Ran tugged at Jiang Mingyue’s dress, finding it very refreshing: "Sister, you look like a fairy in a dress."

Jiang Mingyue said, "... such sweet talk! I’ll reward you with a cookie."

Jiang Mingyue took out the candies she bought from the department store and distributed them to everyone.

Mrs. Jiang looked at her daughter buying so many things, thinking to herself that she needed to work even harder to earn money.

Jiang Mingyue comforted her, "Mom, don’t feel burdened. It’s what big brother and I managed to get from Jiang Beihua."

Mrs. Jiang laughed upon hearing that.

"Good job!"

The whole family exchanged smiles.

Perhaps after a long day of running around, Jiang Mingyue went to bathe and sleep early.

As soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep.

But she woke up early.

When Jiang Mingyue woke up, the place beside her was already empty, and the bedding was cool to the touch.

Feeling a bit muddled, she dressed and went out to find her third sister but immediately noticed the lively atmosphere in the courtyard, waking up almost instantly.

Mrs. Jiang smiled and shooed her away, "Yueyue, it’s still early! Go back to sleep for a while."

The third sister came over to push her back to continue sleeping.

"What’s going on? So mysterious?"

The second brother said, "Well, since you’re awake, might as well stay up. Going back, you probably can’t sleep anyway. Little sister, come over by the fire. We’re helping mom bake mahua. Today, mom wants to sell mahua."

Jiang Mingyue understood, seeing that Mrs. Jiang’s side gig had potential for profit.

Making over twenty yuan a day is quite a lot. But she thought more could be made.

"Mom, where’s the cake recipe uncle gave you?"

Mrs. Jiang understood immediately, jumping to her feet, "Wait here, I’ve hidden it."

After a while, she returned with a square box, about the size of a children’s shoebox.

At first glance, it seemed ordinary, but upon closer inspection, you could see the exquisite craftsmanship. Mrs. Jiang opened it with a key she carried, revealing an old book with yellowed pages resting on golden velvet. The book’s name was "Human World Cake Fragrance."

Mrs. Jiang reverently held it up, then solemnly handed it to her daughter, "Yueyue, it’s yours now."

Jiang Mingyue was taken aback, then smiled, "Mom, I can’t do it well. I’ll read it to you, and you can learn to make it. There are recipes and detailed steps inside. It won’t be too hard. If one try doesn’t work, we’ll make ten, if ten fails, we’ll make a hundred. We’ll surely recreate the deliciousness of our ancestors."

Mrs. Jiang listened, getting more excited. If she could make that taste, they wouldn’t worry about sales, and the price would be higher. Life at home would be better, and Yueyue wouldn’t have to suffer. Perhaps she could take the pastries back to her parents, and her father wouldn’t drive her out.

Mrs. Jiang was very happy, deciding quickly to get started, with the whole family working together.

Jiang Mingyue went back to the room again and brought out a bag of flour, a bag of sugar, a ham, and some eggs.

By torchlight, she read word-by-word as Mrs. Jiang took notes, Jiang Zhenmei chopped the ham into small pieces and mixed it with sugar for the filling, and the big brothers kneaded the dough, no one was idle.

The kneaded dough was covered and left to ferment by the bread kiln for thirty minutes. When time was up, it was just right upon opening.

Jiang Mingyue was thankful the wristwatch arrived just in time, as there was no sun to look at in the middle of the night.

The whole family then noticed the watch on her wrist. Jiang Mingyue generously took it off and showed it to everyone.

"It’s a gift from our cousin, thanking us for taking care of Xiao Ran."

Mrs. Jiang didn’t say anything. Like everyone else, her attention was fixed on the watch.

Mrs. Jiang said, "It’s really beautiful! When mom earns some money, I’ll also buy Yueyue one."

Jiang Mingyue smiled wryly, "Mom, aren’t you afraid that saying that will make the third sister and the others jealous?"

The third sister immediately pretended to be angry, "Mom, I’m upset. You’re only buying it for Yueyue and not for me."

Mrs. Jiang had her own logic: "Your cousin gifted Yueyue one. As a mother, how can I fall behind?"

The others thought about it: "That’s right! Our mom buying one for Yueyue is like us buying one for her. See, we can also make sure Yueyue lives a good life, and when cousin comes back, he won’t be so smug."

Jiang Mingyue felt speechless: What a bunch of childish people!

After all, it was nighttime, the rooster hadn’t crowed yet. Although everyone was excited, they kept their voices low. Jiang Mingyue was grateful that Mrs. Jiang had somehow put up some protection, with sunflower stalks encircling the front yard. Even if someone came close, they’d only hear sounds and not see what they were doing.

However, as long as she was around, her spiritual power spread out, ready to detect any ill-intentioned person approaching immediately.

The first batch of cakes went into the bread kiln, and the whole family eagerly watched, waiting for the results of their labor.

Gradually, a fragrance wafted from the kiln door crack, instantly filling the air with the aroma of cakes. Just from smelling the tempting scent, one could tell it wasn’t ordinary. Once out of the oven, it tasted even better than what she used to have, but still fell short of the book’s descriptions.

Mrs. Jiang wasn’t discouraged, believing progress meant success. She baked the second batch, then the third, and finally succeeded with the fourth batch by dawn. The pinnacle of fragrance, and the taste was crisp, sweet yet not greasy, with the savory scent of ham, making it irresistibly delicious.

"We did it!" Mrs. Jiang exclaimed with excitement.

Finally, Mrs. Jiang decided to sell only the best batch and kept the other three at home.

For breakfast, the big brother kneaded the dough while the third sister tended the fire, and Jiang Mingyue made fragrant mixed sauce noodles.

After a hardworking night, being able to eat such delicious food made everyone feel more hopeful about life.

After eating, the others went off to work, while Mrs. Jiang went out with the cakes to sell.

Xiao Ran was still sleeping. Jiang Mingyue wandered to the backyard and unexpectedly heard Wang Tiezhu calling her.

"Uncle Tiezhu, so early?" she greeted him first after opening the backyard fence, only to receive a glare from Wang Tiezhu, "I operate at night." If not for the old lady asking him to come later to let the moon sleep longer, he would have been off to the next village by now.