Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 115: The stubborn Zhang San and the unsophisticated Master Song

Shen Yu smiled and said, "Since you have opened such a big shop, I trust you. I'll pay you two hundred coins as a deposit."

Zhang San wanted to say something, but Madam Ge glared at him and said, "Zhang San, if it weren't for the fact that you and my husband have known each other since childhood, I wouldn't speak for you. Don't waste time, send this girl home quickly, and don't delay her business."

Zhang San said with a chuckle, "Okay, girl, you must keep your word. I'll give you the fresh milk, but you must not refuse to accept it because it's too expensive."

Shen Yu smiled helplessly: "Uncle, you'd better take me back quickly. I will definitely take the fresh milk, don't worry."

Shen Yu made assurances again and again, and Zhang San finally felt relieved. He let Shen Yu get in the car and sat down, then he whipped the car and it started moving.

On the way, Zhang San talked about the cows raised by his neighbors, saying how precious the cows were and how they were fed with careful grass every day. When the neighbors went there, they wouldn't even let them touch them. The dairy cows were very pretty and looked nothing like the cows we use for farming.

Shen Yu couldn't help laughing when he heard this in the car, so he asked, "Uncle, how much fresh milk does your neighbor's cow produce every day, and who does it sell to?"

The driver said, "I heard that they can get more than half a barrel a day. It's ordered by the drugstore. It's said that it's all for the young masters and young ladies of rich families. Well, my neighbor won't say more. He's probably afraid that I'll steal his business. I don't have that ability. I've never raised a cow before. It looks delicate. I don't dare to raise one."

The journey was not far, and they arrived at the entrance of Liushu Lane while chatting. Shen Yu paid a deposit and agreed with the driver that he would deliver the fresh milk the next morning and he would pay the remaining money later.

The driver watched Shen Yu enter the house, carefully counted which house it was, and then walked away, looking back every few steps.

They arrived home just in time. Shen Yu put down the basket of salted duck eggs and took a short break, while the steamed buns were ready.

After delivering the buns, Shen Yu finally had time to visit her family’s newly built girls’ and boys’ dormitories.

The two beds, one large and one small, in the room disappeared, replaced by four identical beds. The innermost bed was covered with Shen Yu's usual bedding.

The room was not big, with four beds facing each other in pairs and only an aisle in the middle. Shen Yu seemed to be back in his university dormitory. The only difference was that these were single-decker wooden beds.

Li followed behind proudly and said, "How about it, isn't it good to make the beds this way, mother? No one disturbs each other, and we can share the aisle in the middle. I changed the beds several times before I came up with this idea."

Shen Yu smiled and said, "Mom is really amazing. If it were me, I would just put four beds together."

The other room had not changed much. Two small beds were placed side by side, and although the bedding was old, it was clean and tidy.

When setting up the stall on the next morning, Shen Yu completely handed over the sales matters to Li and Jiang. When the stall was closed, she did not push the cart home with them, but told Li and the others not to wait for her for breakfast, and then went directly to Qiaozuoju in the east of the city.

When they arrived at the shop, the middle-aged man saw that it was Shen Yu, and hurriedly said, "Young lady, please wait a moment," and went to the back of the shop to invite Master Song.

Shen Yu waited for a long time. She carefully looked at the birds in different poses on the painting of a hundred birds in the shop. Then Master Song came out slowly, complaining, "Why are you in such a hurry? Can you take out the unfinished products? What's wrong with the customer waiting for a while?"

The middle-aged man followed behind awkwardly and coughed lightly. Master Song turned his head and scolded him, "Why are you coughing? Even in front of customers, I would say the same thing. In the craft of carving, impatience is a taboo."

The middle-aged man said hesitantly: "Girl, don't mind, my master, my master..."

In such a hurry, I didn't know how to defend my master.

Shen Yu was not offended at all. She said approvingly, "Master Song has a pure heart and is only focused on his skills. He is so absorbed in his craft that I admire him. Why would I mind? It is my honor to have Master Song make cake molds for me."

Master Song said with a smile: "Listen, this girl is not very old, but she is more knowledgeable than you, I like her. Girl, what is your name? If you have a new look in the future, come to me for carving, I won't charge you any money."

Shen Yu was so amused by Master Song that she wanted to laugh. However, she felt that this was disrespectful to the master, so she squatted down and bowed, saying respectfully, "Thank you Master Song for your kindness. My last name is Shen, and my given name is Yuzhi. You can just call me Yuzhi. I will definitely come back to you when I have a new idea. But let me make it clear first that you must accept the money, otherwise how can I ask you to work for me for free?"

Master Song waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "Come here, girl Yuzhi, come over and take a look. Are you satisfied with the workmanship of these cake molds?"

Shen Yu hurried over to the counter to look at the sets of cake molds on the tray.

The mold is made of pear wood. The new mold has not been oiled yet. It has a light natural wood color and is polished to be fine and smooth.

Picking up one and taking a closer look, Shen Yu was pleasantly surprised to find that this mold was even better than his own design.

She had never received professional training in painting, and she drew the patterns entirely based on her memory. However, the finished mold changed the slightly stiff lines in her drawings into smooth and soft ones, and the patterns inside were clearly carved, layered, and exquisite.

Master Song looked at Shen Yu expectantly, like a child who had drawn a beautiful picture and was waiting for everyone's praise.

After Shen Yu carefully examined one mold, he stopped looking at the others and said to Master Song happily, "Master Song, you made this too well. It's like a fine work of art. I can't bear to use it."

Upon hearing this, Master Song laughed out loud with joy, his beard twitching with pride. He said with a smile, "You are the one who draws the patterns well, otherwise I wouldn't be able to make such beautiful cake molds."

The middle-aged man next to them saw the old and the young praising each other, and couldn't help but laugh along.

Shen Yu finally bought three sets of twenty-seven molds at a price of twenty cents each.

When sending Shen Yu out, Master Song looked expectant: "Girl, if you have a new idea, come to me again. No matter how big or small, I will still charge the same price."

Shen Yu smiled and nodded, but the middle-aged man behind Master Song had a painful expression on his face.

When they got home, the family had already had breakfast and Li was teaching Jiang how to knead dough and how to pinch the folds of the buns.

Dun Dun, Yu Tao and Yu Cheng were practicing writing on the small table together.

When Jiang saw Shen Yu coming back, she immediately put down the dough in her hand and went to greet him.

She took the small wooden box from Shen Yu and said with a concerned smile, "Miss Yuzhi is back. You must be starving. If I had known you would be gone for so long, I should have let you eat before coming. Wash your hands first. The breakfast I left for you has been kept warm in the steamer. I'll bring it to you right away."