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nJust after midnight, the Bai family’s carriage arrived.

nThe person who came to pick them up was a steward from the Bai Manor. His surname was Ding and he was about the same age as her uncle.

nThe original plan was for Uncle Yu, Yu Wan, and Yu Feng to go. However, Little Bruiser suddenly woke up and hugged Yu Wan, crying as he wanted to go with her.

n“I am going to work, not play.” Besides, it wasn’t like she was selling things at the market and that she would be back in two to four hours.

nLittle Bruiser refused to let go of Yu Wan.

nYu Song walked out and cleared his throat. “Bruiser has never been to the Capital before. Let him go. At most, I’ll keep an eye on him.”

nYu Wan and Yu Feng shot daggers at him.?You just wanted to go yourself, didn’t you?!

nLittle Bruiser did not get Yu Wan to soften from his cotequish, but instead, he softened his uncle’s heart.

nIt was not a big deal to take care of a child. Almost all the chefs in the countryside would bring their children along, but it was different in the city.

nUncle looked at Steward Ding.

nSteward Ding said generously, “It’s fine, as long as there’s someone watching.”

nThus, Yu Song and Little Bruiser successfully boarded the carriage.

nOther than Uncle Yu, this was the first time they entered the Capital. At first, they were a little excited and wanted to see the scenery along the way. However, they didn’t even pass through Lotus Flower Town before they all fell asleep in the carriage.

nBy the time they were woken up by Steward Ding, they had already entered the Bai Manor.

nThe sky was still dark.

n“Hurry, hurry! Uncle Ding!”

nAs soon as Yu Wan alighted from the carriage, a young man with a dignified appearance led three vegetable vendors carrying poles and hurriedly walked past her.

nThe young man and Steward Ding greeted each other. Steward Ding gave an indifferent grunt of acknowledgement and gestured for him to go. The young man and the vegetable vendor entered the temporary bamboo shed on the right. It was mainly used to store ingredients and tools. Ten steps further east was the kitchen.

nThe kitchen was huge. There were two courtyards in the front and back. There was a well in the backyard. There were nine stoves in the kitchen. Five around the wall, and four in the middle, and eight of them were already occupied.

nSteward Ding led Yu Wan and the others to the innermost stove and said slowly, “There’s only one pot on each stove. If it’s not enough, there’s a small stove in the bamboo shed. I’ll get someone to bring breakfast over later. Thank you for your hard work today.”

nThis supervisor did not pay much attention to the young man who greeted him earlier. He was only so polite to Yu Wan and the rest after Bai Tang said something to him.

nUncle Yu thanked him.

nSteward Ding gave Uncle Yu a token to use to collect his things. “The Young Miss is in the reception pavilion. There are many guests today, so she probably doesn’t have the time to come to the kitchen. If you guys have any problems, just tell the servants in the bamboo shed to find me.”

nYu Song mumbled, “The Bai Manor is so big. Why does she need to take care of it herself?”

nSteward Ding smiled and said, “Young Miss is filial.”

nYu Song: “Oh.”

nThere were some things that Yu Song did not know, but Yu Feng had heard of them.

nMiss Bai was the first daughter of Old Master Bai and his late wife. The late wife only gave birth to such a daughter after marrying Old Master Bai for ten years. After that, she did not have any more children. When Miss Bai was five years old, she passed away.

nA year later, Old Master Bai remarried and she gave birth to a fat boy.

nIt was rumored that Miss Bai and her stepmother did not get along well.

nMiss Bai didn’t want the Bai family’s assets to fall into the hands of her half-brother. If it were anyone else, they naturally wouldn’t be able to do so. It was only right and proper for a son to inherit his father’s business. However, they couldn’t stand the fact that their stepmother was of low birth and was always suppressed by the late wife.

n“Miss Bai’s grandfather was an official in court.” As for what official position, Yu Feng didn’t know.

nNot long after Steward Ding left, a servant brought breakfast over. It was steaming white steamed buns and millet porridge, accompanied by pickled vegetables, salted eggs, and a plate of stir-fried cabbage with cured meat.

nLittle Bruiser drooled.

nUncle Yu peeled a salted egg for him. Yu Wan gave him half a bowl of millet porridge and half a steamed bun.

nLittle Bruiser ate heartily.

nAfter eating, he obediently moved a stool to sit in the courtyard. He was very obedient and did not make any noise.

nAt first, Yu Song kept a close eye on him. After a while, he noticed that Little Bruiser was able to sit still better than him. He coughed lightly and turned around to help his family.

nThere were chefs from the Bai Manor as well as people from the White Jade Restaurant who came to cook today. Both parties were from the Bai Family, except for Yu Wan’s family.

n“I heard that Miss personally went to the countryside to invite him.”

n“Miss is being ridiculous. How can she use a chef from the countryside for the Master’s birthday banquet?”

nEveryone shook their heads, clearly not believing that a few country bumpkins could make any delicious dishes.

nYu Feng and Yu Wan went to the bamboo shed to collect the ingredients. There were dozens of fresh ducks among them.

nA duck must be slaughtered on the spot. This kind of work used to be Yu Feng’s, but ever since Yu Wan came, Yu Feng’s knife skills had been severely despised.

nYu Wan carried the duck to the backyard.

nThe sky gradually brightened.

nUnder the warm morning light, the girl was sweating profusely with the knife in her hand. The duck fur was blown by the cold wind.

nIn the Yan Mansion on the other side, Yan Ruyu slept until dawn.

nThe room was warm and cozy. Twelve maids entered in a line, carrying exquisite toiletries and eight sets of clothing for her to choose from.

nToday was her big day. She had meticulously dressed herself up for a long time. She chose a long, lake-blue corset dress, a plain white rabbit fur halter jacket, and a pair of fine silver suet jade earrings.

nThe young girl was elegant and beautiful.

nThe moment Mrs. Yan entered the house, she saw her daughter, who looked like a fairy who had walked down from a mural, and she was completely stunned. She grabbed her daughter’s hand excitedly. “My daughter, Young Master Yan will never see another woman in his life after seeing you!”

nToday was also Yu Wan’s big day.

nThis was a rare opportunity. She wanted to help her uncle prepare the dishes and make a name for themselves. In the future, when she received many orders, she would no longer have to worry about not having enough money to eat and treat illnesses.

nAll the ducks had been cleaned up, and her body was stained with blood. She was in a sorry state, but she couldn’t care less about that. She hurriedly went to cut the carrots and sweet potatoes.

nApart from the texture, it was also very important for the plating.

nShe cut it extremely well. White petals, purple edges, yellow stamens. There were water droplets on the petals, layered and delicate. It didn’t look like it was made of ingredients, but rather like it had just been plucked from a tree.

n“Sis.” Little Bruiser walked over pitifully.

nYu Wan stopped what she was doing. “What’s wrong? Are you hungry?”

nLittle Bruiser nodded. Lately, his appetite had increased and he was always hungry after a while.

nIt was not time to eat yet, and the meat in the pot was not cooked yet. Fortunately, Yu Wan was prepared. “I brought some scallion pancakes. I’ll find a stove to heat it up for you.”

nYu Wan went to the bamboo shed to get a small stove. She found a quiet corner in the backyard and carefully made a fire. She set up a small cauldron, poured a spoonful of oil, and placed three large and round scallion pancakes inside. The fragrance of the fried scallions wafted out.

nLittle Bruiser moved the stool over.

nAfter the scallion pancake was heated up, Yu Wan put out the open fire, leaving only a trace of charcoal to continue baking the bottom of the cauldron.

n“Sis, go do your work. I’ll eat by myself!” Little Bruiser said sensibly.

n“Okay.” Yu Wan went to work.

nLittle Bruiser stayed to eat the pancakes. This was a mutton, carrot, and scallion pancake made by Yu Wan herself. It smelled good, but the taste is…

n“I’m not a picky little brother!” Little Bruiser said, patting his chest.

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