The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 39 The Laws of Space

The evening breeze was gentle, and the western sky was dyed red by the sunset.

Tomorrow will be another beautiful day!

Tong Huaqiong sat in the courtyard, enjoying the breeze and watching the sunset gradually disappear behind the mountains.

Perhaps it was because it was getting late, and people are more prone to being moved by the scenery in the twilight, that Tong Huaqiong was thinking about her home and parents from her previous life.

She must live well in this world, and maybe one day she will be able to find her way home.

Thinking like this, my eyes felt sore.

"Mom, the cookies are done baking!"

Just as Tong Huaqiong was entering a state of homesickness and sorrow, she was interrupted by Chen Sufeng's excited shouts.

Immediately, a rich, lingering fragrance filled the air.

The aroma attracted the village's children and dogs. A group of children, with their dogs, peeked out from behind the door frame, but were too afraid of Widow Tong's power to go inside and see what was going on.

Tong Huaqiong quickly got up and went into the kitchen.

Chen Su-fen was using chopsticks to pick up the biscuits one by one and place them onto the bamboo sieve.

The cookies were perfectly intact, not a single one was cracked.

The coloring is also perfect, with patches of golden yellow that are so tempting to look at.

"It's grilled very well," Tong Huaqiong praised.

"Mom's cooking is so good, these cookies look delicious. They're made with the same oil, sugar, and flour, but Mom's recipes smell and look so much better." Honest Chen Sufeng would never flatter her mother-in-law like that; her praise came from the bottom of her heart.

"That's right, Mother's brain is very sharp. Even my father praised her, saying that Jingzhe's intelligence in studying came from Mother. Mother used to be too lazy." Liu Yue'e couldn't stop bragging and almost exposed her mother-in-law's secret. She looked at her mother-in-law with a guilty look.

"My skills are excellent." Tong Huaqiong was not modest at all.

Then he praised Chen Su-fen, saying, "Of course, I couldn't have done it without Su-fen's help. For example, I don't have the patience to sift the flour so finely."

Tong Huaqiong would never admit that she used butter and milk powder. With those two things added, how could it not taste good?
It is said that a certain Hong Kong brand of mooncakes was able to make a name for itself in the mooncake industry by using butter to improve traditional mooncakes and thus establishing its market position.

Chen Sufen was so flattered by Tong Huaqiong's praise that she didn't know what to do with her hands and feet.

She really didn't understand what she had done right by sifting flour. It was such a simple task!

"These cookies are colored really well," Liu Yue'e said.

Tong Huaqiong knew that Liu Yue'e was indirectly praising her for burning the fire well.

Of course, the temperature is very important in baking, just as important as the ingredients.

In this era without electricity, ovens, or thermometers, controlling the heat is especially important.

It must be said that Liu Yue'e was indeed much better at starting a fire than Gu Taohua.

That's definitely something to praise.

"The cookies are browned so well because you're good at baking and controlling the temperature," Tong Huaqiong said to Liu Yue'e. "You're better at this than your sister-in-law."

Emma, ​​that wasn't easy!
These past few days, my mother-in-law has been either giving me the cold shoulder or scolding me. I finally managed to do one thing to win her favor.

Her mother-in-law's praise gave Liu Yue'e a renewed sense of motivation!
Just like the feeling I had when I sold steamed buns in Pingchuan County that day.

"Mother, could you teach me how to make cakes sometime?" Liu Yue'e asked, seizing the opportunity.

Tong Huaqiong felt that Liu Yue'e was not as honest and down-to-earth as Chen Sufen. She was too quick-witted and not suitable to be a baker. She couldn't settle down.

What if she gets blinded by money and cuts corners, wouldn't that ruin her reputation? It's not that Tong Huaqiong doesn't trust Liu Yue'e, but rather that Liu Yue'e is just that kind of person.

However, being quick-witted has its advantages; once the shop is opened, she can attract customers and manage the staff.

"No rush, you'll need it sometime in the future," Tong Huaqiong said.

Liu Yue'e's eyes darkened. Her mother-in-law would rather teach her stepson's wife than her own daughter-in-law.

“Do you think making pastries is so simple? It requires meticulousness, and every step has to be perfect. Do you think you can settle down and focus?” Tong Huaqiong said. “But you have your uses. Last time you were selling steamed buns in Pingchuan County, I saw how well you were hawking them. I’m planning to have you come with me to town to sell pastries, but not now. These past few days, your sister-in-law has been busy preparing pastry ingredients since you’ve just gotten the hang of it. She also has to tend to the wheat during the Great Heat. You can stay home for now to cook and do housework. Once things are a bit easier, I’ll take you to the market.”

Sure enough, Liu Yue'e couldn't hide her smile upon hearing this and nodded hurriedly.

Going to the market is great; she doesn't like staying at home and prefers to go shopping.

I never had the chance to visit before.

After that, I could go shopping openly with my mother-in-law when we went to sell pastries.

Tong Huaqiong reviewed the day's achievements.

Date cake, butter cookies, walnut shortbread, honey pastry, and date paste pastry—each kind of pastry is mouthwatering. Tong Huaqiong thought that if these pastries were placed in front of Master Huang, they would surely tantalize him with their aroma.

Tomorrow I plan to bake chestnut pastries, horn pastries, coconut pastries, mung bean cakes and other pastries, enough to give as samples to Master Huang, and also to set aside some for a competition at the entrance of the pastry shop.

In the evening, after dinner and washing up, Tong Huaqiong took the initiative to ask Man'er to sleep with her.

She hasn't yet figured out the pattern to entering the space.

So I decided to bring Man'er with me.

If she were to enter the space again, she planned to take out a few molds.

For example, without a mold, butter cookies can only be made into a single flat shape. However, if you have a mold, you have a lot more room to create different shapes.

For example, cookies shaped like various animals.

Besides the taste, she believed that wealthy people like Master Huang, who loved to show off, would certainly want the pastries they bought to be creative in appearance, in addition to satisfying the taste.

Thinking this, Tong Huaqiong embraced Man'er and drifted off to sleep.

When people are tired, they feel that their sleep is very short. Tong Huaqiong felt that she had just fallen asleep when it was already dawn.

I opened my eyes and saw that Man'er was sleeping soundly, so I quietly got dressed so as not to wake her.

After getting out of bed, Tong Huaqiong tucked the blanket around Man'er, and as she did so, she touched something hard.

Tong Huaqiong looked down and laughed.

It turned out to be several molds shaped like flowers and animals, and a large bag of shredded coconut.

Tong Huaqiong thought about it, and before going to sleep she sighed that if she wanted cookie molds or coconut flakes, she would enter the space in her dreams.

Could it be that the pattern of entering this space is that what you think about during the day, you dream about at night?
However, she was still unsure whether she and Man'er could retrieve the items from the space together, or whether Man'er could retrieve them alone.

The door was pounded on so loudly that it interrupted Tong Huaqiong's thoughts.

She hadn't forgotten that the five-day deadline had arrived, and today was the day Butler He was to collect the debt.

Without asking, it must be Butler He outside the door.

Chen Sufeng, who got up early, opened the gate. Tong Huaqiong saw through the window that Steward He was being escorted into the courtyard by several servants.

Tong Huaqiong straightened her clothes, intending to formally go out and meet Steward He.

(End of this chapter)