Chapter 36: You Can Hide It for a While, But Not Forever
A pot of steamed cake was ready in no time. The moment the lid was lifted and the steam wafted out, both grandfather and grandson couldn’t sit still—they got up at the same time and walked toward the kitchen in sync, even their steps matched perfectly.
When Wen Yao turned around, she saw the two of them standing at the door, both sniffing at the same time. That posture, that expression—it was exactly the same.
Everyone always said the three siblings looked like Liu-shi, but right at this moment, Wen Yao thought they resembled the Wen family a whole lot more.
“Cake’s done!” Wen Yao grabbed two cloths, getting ready to lift the tray out.
Old Man Wen stepped up quickly. “Let Grandpa do it, don’t want you to get burned.”
Seeing the wide grin on his face, Wen Yao happily stepped aside to let him take over.
This cake could be eaten hot or cold, but when it was steaming hot, the sweetness came through more strongly.
Old Man Wen cut the cake into small pieces, gave some to the two kids first, then finally cut a piece for himself.
Wen Yao didn’t eat; she just sat watching the two of them burn their mouths and still not stop eating. Resting her chin in her hand, she said, “Slow down, it’s hot. The whole batch is for you two anyway.”
Old Man Wen took a bite, and the sweet taste practically melted into his heart.
“Our Yao Yao’s cooking—nobody can beat it. This is better than any of the cakes in town,” he praised his granddaughter without hesitation.
Wen Yao grinned proudly. This was nothing—just basic-level stuff. She could make far tastier pastries, but the current setup was too limited and inconvenient.
“Grandpa, take some home for Grandma later,” Wen Yao said.
Old Man Wen’s chewing paused. He waved his hand. “Forget it, just leave it here.” If he took it home, he wouldn’t even get a single crumb.
Wen Yao raised an eyebrow. “Wait, don’t tell me Grandma doesn’t let you eat sweets?”
Old Man Wen’s expression changed, quickly denying it. “Of course not! What can she stop me from eating?”
But the lack of confidence in his tone said it all.
He comfortably finished a piece and reached for another. But just as he stretched for a third, Wen Yao stopped him.
“Grandpa, you’ve already had two. That’s enough. Too many sweets at once isn’t good.”
Old Man Wen looked at her with puppy eyes. “Then… just one more?”
Wen Yao took the plate away. “Nope. If you eat more, I’m telling Grandma.”
Old Man Wen withdrew his hand and glared at her. “You little rascal. Fine, I won’t eat more.”
Wen Yao couldn’t help but chuckle. “Dad and Big Brother will be back tonight and want some too. I’ll save you two pieces. Come by tomorrow.”
Old Man Wen’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
Wen Yao nodded. “Really. Truer than gold.”
Even though he didn’t get to eat more today, knowing he’d have more tomorrow made Old Man Wen genuinely happy—and even fonder of his granddaughter.
Still, he was curious. “Yao Yao, who taught you to make these cakes? I’ve never seen you do it before.”
Whoa. This old man was even more curious than Dazhu.
“My mother. Back then, where would I have the chance? We could barely afford to eat,” Wen Yao said, dragging out the trusty scapegoat—Liu-shi.
Hearing it was Liu-shi who taught her, Old Man Wen no longer found it strange.
In their minds, a daughter-in-law from a scholarly family should know a little bit of everything anyway.
But Dazhu suddenly turned to look at Wen Yao when he heard that, his eyes full of suspicion.
Wen Yao noticed, but chose to ignore it.
Old Wen was right—you can hide something for a while, but not forever. Dazhu was going to live with them, and sooner or later, he’d have to get used to it.
Besides, no matter how smart he was, there was no way he’d figure out that all three of them were “new souls in old shells,” right?
And even if he did figure it out—so what? Wen Yao didn’t think Dazhu would dislike them.
His confusion faded quickly, and he returned to being a good little boy, quietly nibbling the rest of his cake.
After having his sweet craving satisfied, Old Man Wen left contentedly. Before he left, he secretly stuffed a few copper coins into Dazhu’s hand. Dazhu only handed them over to Wen Yao after Old Man Wen had gone.
Six coins—each one polished clean by touch. You could tell how much the original owner cherished them.
Could this be Grandpa’s secret stash?
Just for those six coins, Wen Yao decided she’d make the old kid some other desserts next time. Even if he couldn’t eat much, she could at least give him variety.
Wen Xiuyi and Wen Jun didn’t return until dusk. If Wen Xiuyi hadn’t set aside rations for the four of them, they would’ve sold out completely.
Wen Yao had bought half a jin of green peppers and secretly stir-fried a dish of green pepper intestines for Wen Xiuyi, plus a plate of vinegar-sautéed cabbage, and a pot of egg soup. Paired with the rice Wen Xiuyi brought back, the four of them ate like kings.
That bite of green pepper nearly brought Wen Xiuyi to tears. If it weren’t for the space, given the current state of agriculture, who knew when they’d ever get to eat chili?
“Too bad we can’t save the seeds,” Wen Xiuyi said, ever the agri-scientist. First concern—seeds.
With seeds, they could plant their own and eat as much as they liked.
To save chili seeds, you had to pick mature ones from selected plants and let them ripen naturally. These green peppers had been harvested early for market sale. The seeds inside weren’t necessarily dead, but the chance of them sprouting was much lower. Even if they did grow, the plants would likely be twisted and inconsistent.
Wen Yao didn’t even look up. “You can buy them. What’s there to worry about?” She hadn’t forgotten—in the original novel, the female lead made a name for herself using things like this.
Right now, the female lead didn’t even exist yet. She had plenty of time to extract all the good stuff first.
Wen Xiuyi’s eyes lit up, but after some thought, he said, “It’s not the right time. We’ll wait. For now, we can just keep buying fresh ones to eat. When the time comes, we’ll pick the right moment to collect seeds.”
The three all agreed.
They didn’t hide anything from Dazhu. After all, she never said where she bought it from, and Dazhu was too busy scarfing down food to care what they were talking about anyway.
When the moon had risen high, someone from the old house arrived—Wen Nong came over to deliver the eggs.
“Yao Yao, one hundred eggs in total. Grandma said she’ll collect more when you run out,” Wen Nong said.
Three coins for two eggs, so one hundred eggs cost 150 coins. Wen Yao counted it out without hesitation and handed it all over.
“Aren’t you going to count them?” Wen Nong asked as he accepted the money.
“What’s the point? Grandma already did,” Wen Yao replied.
She tried lifting the basket, but a hundred eggs was still too much for her small frame.
Not wanting to end up with nothing but a broken basket, Wen Yao decided to give up and let Wen Nong carry it directly to the kitchen.
