Chapter 61: Cream Roll Pastry

Listening further under the eaves would likely be seen as eavesdropping.

Just then, Miaotong came running over and pulled them toward the garden.

“Miss Ning sent me to find Xiao Yue, and here you still are. Sister Jade Ink, Sister Hong Rong is looking for you too!”

The backyard of Crane Longevity Hall was a small, exquisite garden. In the center stood a three-room flower hall with upturned eaves, surrounded by exotic flowers and rare plants, with potted landscapes, rockeries, small bridges, and flowing water—everything one could wish for.

The four young ladies of the Ning family had picked many fresh flowers and fragrant herbs and were sitting in the flower hall playing the grass game.

Four maidservants held money baskets, and whichever young lady won would scatter coins as rewards.

The younger maidservants crowded around chaotically, scrambling for the coins, creating a lively and bustling scene.

Only Shen Shi sat alone under the eaves, using a flower tea spoon to pick broken rice and feed the emerald bird in the cage hanging there.

Shortly after the grass game ended, Miss Ning specifically called Pear Moon, Jade Ink, Hong Rong, and Zhi Qing over.

Miaotong brought out a mother-of-pearl jewelry box, revealing over ten pairs of hairpins, rings, and floral ornaments, dazzlingly colorful and quite beautiful.

“The other day, Miss Tan sent me some festival gifts, including some gemstone floral jewelry. Miaotong and the others already have theirs, so I saved a pair for each of you—it’s Miss Tan’s kind thought.”

The gemstones were colorful semi-precious stones: turquoise, lapis lazuli, burnt red stone, crimson-veined stone, and glass stone, among others. Though not worth much, they were prized for their bright and pretty appearance.

Everyone thanked her in unison, each taking two pieces and putting them on right away.

Pear Moon took two peach blossom-patterned rings. The silver-gilt bands were inlaid with pink and green small stone fragments forming double-layered peach blossoms, exceptionally charming and delicate.

As someone who did rough work, her hands weren’t particularly delicate, so wearing them looked ordinary. But if worn by someone with delicate, embroidery-skilled hands like Autumn Abundance’s, they would be truly beautiful.

Just as she was happily raising her hand to admire them, she suddenly saw Zhi Qing’s cold expression as she shoved a pair of turquoise bracelets over and picked up the tea and food box to go to Shen Shi’s side.

Shen Shi looked down on the Tan family, and as a personal maidservant, Zhi Qing dared not accept Miss Tan’s gifts.

Pear Moon understood and quickly tucked the bracelets into her bosom, planning to give one each to Autumn Abundance and Huan Huan.

They were from Ningguo Mansion and not personal attendants, so they didn’t need to worry about Shen Shi’s preferences.

Several senior maidservants also asked Miss Ning, “This jewelry is in the latest southern style. Miss Tan is from the north—how did she get these to give us?”

Miss Ning sipped her tea and said, “Uncle Tan is an official merchant—where doesn’t he go between the south and the north? He said his southern partners brought a large chest of them, and she picked the prettiest ones and gave me two boxes.”

“Is he the uncle who collects pepper?”

“How many uncles could the Tan family have!”

After drinking her tea, Miss Ning took her younger sisters to catch butterflies by the rockery.

The young ladies of the Ning family were all playful and lively by nature, and their rewards were given out generously.

Maidservants from every courtyard swarmed around them, following wherever they went.

The garden was filled with chattering and fluttering figures, yet Shen Shi sat alone with a sorrowful expression, her surroundings cold and deserted.

Her gloomy, troubled appearance made even Pear Moon reluctant to approach.

Just then, Hong Rong came to call Jade Ink, saying Madam Ning wanted to speak with her.

Before leaving, Jade Ink smiled and said, “The Main Chamber will be serving snacks soon. Go over there and wait to eat.”

Pear Moon, who was hungry, quickly agreed. But Autumn Abundance had arrived at some point and was playing at catching butterflies.

“You little sneak, you slipped out without anyone noticing, leaving Huan Huan alone to watch the tea room?”

“Isn’t one person enough to watch it? Can the tea stove grow legs and run? Watch out or you’ll drop your money!”

Pear Moon pinched her ear, but Autumn Abundance, clutching a handful of reward coins, only tilted her head and kept counting.

“Stop fooling around—I’ll tell you a funny story!”

The two of them sat down on the bluestone steps beneath the flower hall, and Autumn Abundance leaned in close, whispering into her ear.

“Granny Fan ran out to buy pepper. I saw her tucking silver into her sleeve and heading to the sundries shop. Three taels and five mace per catty, and she bought at least ten catties.”

“Granny Fan bought pepper?”

The small kitchen’s supplies are delivered by the management office; unless it’s for buying fresh vegetables on short notice, Granny Fan shouldn’t need to run errands herself.

Pepper is something used in everyday cooking, and one wouldn’t buy three catties all at once, especially now when the price is high.

Could it be that she also heard about the pepper price increase and wanted to take the opportunity to earn some private money?

“Not just Granny Fan—there was a line at the sundries shop on the back street, with everyone scrambling to buy. I peeked through the side gate, and they were all people from our mansion. Just from Phoenix Ripple Courtyard alone, many grannies were squeezing in to buy. Some bought three or five catties, others ten or twenty catties. Their silver pouches were heavy, keeping the shopkeeper so busy he was running around like a headless chicken.”

Autumn Abundance gestured excitedly: “Do you know what that fool Huan Huan said? She foolishly said: ‘We still have thirty catties left, why not just sell it to them directly, so you two don’t have to carry it around to sell.’ I spat right in her face—she doesn’t even understand the principle of not flaunting wealth, truly destined to stay poor. If people knew we had money, wouldn’t they get jealous and cause trouble for us? I scolded her right to her face, and she got angry and refused to cook. I grabbed a few coins and went to buy sesame cakes and braised meat for lunch.”

Autumn Abundance had learned to be clever now, even understanding the principle of not flaunting wealth.

In the past, she used to show off shamelessly, sticking even half a silk flower on her face.

Pear Moon praised her a few words, then frowned and nudged her: “Huan Huan is young and honest; you should talk to her properly. Who told you to scold her? Wait for me to go to the main chamber and find some pastries for you to take back to her.”

The main chamber was filled with many pastries and tea snacks, which Old Madam Ning and the madams and young ladies hadn’t touched.

Once Ning Yuanjun and the masters from the second and third households returned, the old ones would be cleared away and new ones set out.

These pastries were top-tier delicacies that the young maids didn’t usually get to eat.

That’s why Jade Ink had taken care to remind her to come and eat.

Since taking charge of the small tea room, Pear Moon wasn’t as greedy for food as before.

Still, the pastries from Crane Longevity Hall were the best in Ningguo Mansion, and she wanted to taste more so she could learn to make them in the future.

By the time Pear Moon arrived, many young maids were already peeking through the doorway, all waiting for the leftover pastries.

When she was a coarse maid, she wasn’t even qualified to receive the cleared-away pastries to eat.

Now, wearing the silk-flowered attire of a third-rank maid, she finally had the confidence to squeeze in here.

Linlang, a first-rank maid from Crane Longevity Hall, led two grannies carrying food boxes, distributing a few pieces to each person.

Jade Ink followed behind, specifically giving Pear Moon a cream roll and water chestnut flour cake.

Pear Moon knew how to make water chestnut flour cake, but cream rolls were uncommon.

Since Shen Shi didn’t drink cow’s milk, the tea room wasn’t allowed to make butter puff pastries, let alone whip cream for crispy rolls.

Pear Moon hurriedly pinched a piece to taste. This pastry used milk skin pastry, wrapped around a sour cream filling.

Not too sweet or greasy, with a rich milky aroma, it was dense, soft, and crispy when chewed—simply exquisite.

The milk skin pastry was one thing, but the sour cream filling was genuinely rare and extremely troublesome to make.

Fresh milk had to be boiled, fermented, and beaten thousands of times with a mallet just to coagulate a small piece of sour cream.

Pear Moon happily wrapped it in a handkerchief and told Autumn Abundance to take it back for Huan Huan to share.

Autumn Abundance, eager to eat, reached out to pinch it, but Pear Moon, worried her hands were dirty from handling money, scolded her to wash her hands first before eating.

As the two of them scrambled for the pastries, they heard the maid Linlang complaining behind them.

“Pepper prices are rising right now, increasing by three or four mace of silver a day. I have dozens of taels of silver on hand, but I’m just too busy today and can’t go out to buy any.”

Jade Ink laughed, “Are you short on silver? In such hot weather, why are you running around like this?”

“Linlang and the others have all bought some. If you buy ten or eight catties haphazardly, you can earn several taels of silver by reselling—it’s like picking up money from the ground. You’re not exactly idle either, why don’t you buy some too?”

Unable to pick up the money scattered all over the ground, Linlang was quite frustrated.

Jade Ink scoffed, “I have no money, and I won’t buy any.”

The pepper trade had actually become like this—everyone was planning to buy some to make money?

Pear Moon felt a bit flustered, but upon careful thought, it wasn’t all that surprising.

If she could use pepper to make money, naturally others could too.

But…

Pear Moon couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, yet she couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was.