She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 214 - 213: Timely Commentary

Chapter 214: Chapter 213: Timely Commentary

Zhou Shuyu, following Hu Jing’s recommendation, picked up a piece of dessert ball and popped it into his mouth. It was still warm, with a crispy exterior. After biting into it, he encountered a soft filling exuding a rich milky fragrance. He chewed thoughtfully a couple of times, but still couldn’t identify what it was—an utterly unique taste and texture.

Zhou Shuyu savored the dessert slowly, swallowing it. Seeing Hu Jing enjoy another, his face expressing pure pleasure, he couldn’t help asking, "Mr. Hu, have you never eaten this dessert before?"

Hu Jing nodded and then shook his head, saying, "I’ve had something similar in shape, taste somewhat alike. But not this texture, the pastries I had before didn’t have a soft core."

Hu Jing turned to Jinrong and said, "Sixth Master, you should try this dessert too, it’s quite novel. The milky fragrance is exceptionally strong and rich, and it’s filled with a stuffing that might be cream cheese."

Qi Younian also said with a smile, "This dessert is best eaten warm, with its thick, rich cheese inside, it tastes extremely delightful."

Jinrong, hearing this, first picked up one, examined it carefully, and said to Qi Younain, "Following Father-in-law Qi’s delicious description, the dairy workshop really seems like a profitable business."

"Indeed, making money is a given," Qi Younian said cheerfully. "However, the scale of the dairy farm is still too small; the milk we produce is simply not enough. Both the snack shop and Great Crane House are clamoring for cheese and cream. Ye Zi wants to try making other items but lacks the material to do so."

"That won’t do; we must still proceed with making them first. Otherwise, when the dairy farm expands and we have an abundance of cow’s milk but no new production techniques, then we’ll really be delaying business," Jinrong said, biting into a cheese ball, slowly chewing and tasting it.

Enjoying the flavor in his mouth, he looked at the half-eaten ball, with its aromatic crispy and soft crust enveloping a custard-yellow cheese filling, which appeared incredibly appetizing.

Jinrong, holding the half-eaten dessert ball, showed it to Jiang Yifan and said, somewhat indistinctly, "Yuanfan, look at this, doesn’t it whet your appetite? Give it a taste. It’s just like what Father-in-law Qi said, the cheese inside is rich and delicious."

After eating the cheese ball, Jinrong picked up another type of pastry to try and offered some to Qi Younian and Cheung Wusi, "You both should eat, too, while it’s fresh from the oven, crispy and sweet. Once it cools it won’t taste the same, and it would be a shame not to enjoy it now."

Only after he saw both Qi Younian start eating did he ask, "And Wong Qiao from your place, why hasn’t he come over?"

Upon hearing this name, Jiang Yifan seemed to envision Ye Xinyan and Wong Qiao standing before their group of people. He glanced at Jinrong and continued to put the other half of the ball into his mouth.

Qi Younian replied, "Ah Qiao has had a lot of things to take care of lately, probably still busy working. Our family courtyard ended up being more than double the planned size, and we need to build the dairy workshop before the ground freezes. At least part of it to deal with the entire winter’s milk processing. All the tools and materials needed for construction are prepared through Ah Qiao, he has a lot on his plate."

Jinrong commented, "It’s nearly lunchtime; surely he’s not so busy that he can’t even eat. Father-in-law, you should call him back, don’t let our visit cause your own people to miss their meal spot."

Cheung Wusi laughed and waved his hand, "Sixth Master is too polite. We craftsmen often eat and rest right at the work site to meet construction deadlines. After having lunch and a short break, we start work on the spot, so we don’t waste time. Today is because Lord Jiang and Sixth Master Rong have visited, so my elder brother and I came to join you. Otherwise, like Ah Qiao, we too would be having lunch and rushing the deadline with everyone else at the work site."

"Wong Qiao’s business is also at the construction site, and isn’t Lady Qi helping out too? She wouldn’t actually be doing work and eating at the construction site, would she?" Jinrong asked in surprise.

Qi Younian hurried to explain, "That’s not the case. Ye Zi usually works at home, and if she needs to go out, she is always accompanied by at least two people, a maid and an old woman servant. Because of this matter, Nanny Jin almost wore her lips out talking, how could we allow her to work and eat at the construction site."

As Qi Younian was speaking, he glanced at Jinrong and Jiang Yifan before continuing, "Ah Qiao and Ye Zi are engaged in their own tasks throughout the day, only checking in with each other before dinner to communicate about the day’s work. That’s all there is to it."

"That’s good," Jinrong nodded, "Although Lady Qi is in charge, there is still a distinction between men and women, so certain proprieties must be observed to avoid gossip. Moreover, we need to keep up with the construction schedule. If cheese and similar items can be considered scarce ingredients, I’ll arrange for more dairy cows to be collected before winter comes. The workshop must then be sufficiently equipped to handle the demand; we can’t afford to miss out on a profitable opportunity."

At that moment, Hu Jing timely explained to Zhou Shuyu, "Sixth Master Rong arranged for Lady Qi to manage the dairy farm. Initially unsure if it would be profitable, they didn’t operate on a large scale. Young Master Zhou has just tried it. Cheese really is a good thing, a scarce ingredient, and not to mention butter. I’m sure you’ve tasted butter pastries, the flavor is exceptionally rich. If these ingredients could be sold in large quantities, the profits would certainly be substantial."

Zhou Shuyu was flattered to listen to Hu Jing’s explanation, nodding eagerly, showing that he understood and was taking it very seriously.

Here, Jinrong was talking about how the dairy farm and the Dairy Products Store could be profitable ventures, and others who knew of this subject included people from Duke An’s Mansion like Lian Gui.

Although Lian Gui planned to make this mission quick and efficient, he also knew the importance of proper preparation. Without Jiang Yifan’s overnight visit, and Shi Shu arriving early the next morning to lead the way, he would have needed to gather some information about the young miss’s current situation.

The result of inquiring would have inevitably led him and Anshun’s Household to the snack shop to find Nanny Jin, who would surely receive them with trepidation. Sampling the snack shop’s exquisite pastries early was also an inevitable outcome.

However, none of these processes happened. Instead, amidst the complex bustle of several groups of masters and servants, at a crowded table in the second branch of the Qi family’s courtyard, Lian Gui tasted the first cheese pastry of his life and experienced a taste so remarkably delicious it surprised him.

To enhance the effect, Hong Wu, who had previously met him in the capital and was Jinrong’s personal servant, explained the origins of the pastry ingredients while accompanying him eating snacks and drinking tea, giving him a strong primer on dairy products.

The content of Hong Wu’s explanation nearly made Lian Gui forget the taste of the exquisite pastries.

Lian Gui listened in shock as Hong Wu spoke of this Qi Ye, who not only ran a profitable snack shop but had also single-handedly managed the dairy farm, producing such rare and exquisite ingredients...

This Qi Ye, was she truly the runaway young miss of Duke’s Mansion? Was the young miss not actually useless, but simply lacking the right place and opportunity to display her intelligence? Or was it Lian Gui’s own mind that was playing tricks, causing him to hallucinate?

Inside the wooden house, as the discussion about cheese concluded, Jinrong asked Qi Younian in an almost imperceptible tone, "Your household has taken in a few more servants, I hear they are from Duke An’s Mansion?"