053. Moved to Tears, Steamed Pastries (Weekend Bonus Chapter)

Jing Qingxin and Gao Shen worked together—one handled the dough while the other pressed it into molds. Soon, the entire square wooden table was covered with neatly arranged cakes.

“I’ll go steam these finished ‘peach blossom cakes’ first, and you keep making more,” Jing Qingxin said, casting a glance over the table.

It was only then that Gao Shen realized just how many they’d made—the table was full, about forty or fifty cakes in total. He hurriedly asked, “Isn’t this enough? Do we really need to make more?”

“It’s not enough. I want to give some away. I planned for about a hundred and fifty. I’ve already measured out the dough for that amount,” Jing Qingxin replied, placing the cakes onto a clean wooden board.

“To give away? To Uncle Li and his family?” Gao Shen’s first thought was naturally the Li family next door, who had been looking after him.

“Yes, we’ll definitely give some to them. But I also want to give a few to other families. After what you told me at lunch, we should send some to Captain Wang and Captain Li’s families as well. And we should give some to your family too. Hear me out before you say anything. First of all, arranging a place for us to stay took a lot of effort on the captains’ part—we should thank them. Besides, I’m now officially living in the production team, and Captain Li has been good to us, never making things difficult. Also, while your brother and sister-in-law are quite unpleasant, they are right about one thing—filial piety. You can’t shirk your responsibility toward your parents. By now, they probably all know about our situation, all the bags and packages, and your sister-in-law is likely telling everyone she meets. So, no matter what, we need to make a gesture to your parents’ side as well.”

Jing Qingxin spoke gently and patiently, her words the result of careful thought after hearing his story. Though Gao Shen’s brother and sister-in-law were truly disagreeable, his parents couldn’t be ignored. She didn’t yet know exactly what kind of people they were, but from Gao Shen’s account, her impression wasn’t favorable.

However, Jing Qingxin understood one thing clearly: throughout history, those who were unfilial were always despised, especially in this era, where the concept of filial piety could crush a person. Even if Gao Shen’s parents were somewhat in the wrong, he couldn’t simply cast them aside. At the very least, outwardly, he needed to do what was expected.

Gao Shen was visibly moved by her words—a rush of unfamiliar emotion welled up in his chest, lodging in his throat so tightly he couldn’t speak.

He didn’t know how to describe his feelings at that moment. Being cared for and looked after like this—it felt so distant, as if he’d forgotten what it was like entirely.

Suddenly, his eyes reddened. He reached out and pulled Jing Qingxin into an embrace, lowering his head and remaining silent.

Jing Qingxin could only see his jaw as she looked up and softly asked, “What’s wrong? Did I say something that wasn’t right?”

“No, you’re absolutely right. Thank you,” Gao Shen replied in a low voice.

Then why are you suddenly hugging me? Jing Qingxin wondered silently. Though she was forthright by nature, she was far from naïve; she understood social niceties well, especially coming from a time when people’s thoughts were even more intricate than they were here.

“Are you alright?” Jing Qingxin asked softly, unsure what had touched him so deeply, but letting him hold her quietly.

Gao Shen quickly gathered himself; he didn’t want her to see this vulnerable side of him.

“I’m fine. Go steam the cakes,” he said, turning to focus on making more, not mentioning the earlier conversation again.

Seeing this, Jing Qingxin didn’t press further. She carried the wooden board to the kitchen, set her two newly bought small bamboo steamers on the stove filled with water, lined them with a layer of white gauze, and carefully arranged the ‘peach blossom cakes’ on top.

The bamboo steamers weren’t large—each could hold about twenty cakes, which were themselves not much bigger than modern soup dumplings.

At first, Jing Qingxin hadn’t planned to give cakes to others, so she’d only bought two steamers. Now, she would just have to steam several batches.

After setting up the cakes, she added more firewood to the stove. Luckily, there were still some embers left from cooking lunch; she always found starting a fire the hardest part, especially with all the smoke.

The afternoon passed in quiet cooperation. Together, they turned all the dough into ‘peach blossom cakes’ and steamed them in seven batches. When they were done, the cakes looked like delicate pink blossoms in full bloom—so beautiful that Gao Shen hesitated to eat them, feeling it would be a shame to destroy something so artistic.

By six in the evening, they placed the freshly steamed cakes on the polished wooden table, deciding to eat dinner before dividing them up.

While the cakes were steaming, Jing Qingxin had also lit the fire in the other kitchen, set a clay pot on the stove, and began simmering pork ribs she’d bought with some radish and medicinal herbs—making a radish and pork rib soup. With two kitchens running at once, she saved herself both time and effort.

She’d already decided that tonight’s main dish would be the peach blossom cakes. She’d used plenty of flour, making them more filling than vegetable buns. Since she hadn’t managed to buy any fine grains and Aunt Li hadn’t given her much rice, she couldn’t eat white rice every meal. She wasn’t used to the coarse grains here—they scratched her throat and were hard to digest, nothing like the nutritious whole grains promoted in later generations.

The peach blossom cakes, made entirely of white flour, could easily serve as the staple tonight, paired with radish pork rib soup and some freshly stir-fried salted vegetables. There simply weren’t supermarkets or markets where she could get a wide variety of ingredients.

The main table in the living room was covered in cakes, filling the house with the sweet fragrance of pastry. With nowhere else to eat, Jing Qingxin carried the bowls and dishes to the smaller table in Gao Shen’s room, which was just big enough for two people.

“Is it good?” Jing Qingxin asked, watching Gao Shen try a cake.

He nodded. “Yes, it’s delicious—soft, tasty, and just a little sweet.”

“Then eat more,” Jing Qingxin said happily. She was confident in her skills, but still wanted his approval.

After a busy afternoon—work that was physical as well as delicate—they were both hungry. With only a few words exchanged, they settled into a quiet meal together. The setting was simple, the food plain, yet both of them felt content.

The house was filled not only with the fragrance of cakes but also with a gentle warmth.

When they finished dinner, they began to pack up the cakes, but Jing Qingxin was suddenly at a loss—there were no bags or wrappers. How were they supposed to package the cakes?

—End of Chapter—

A little extra for everyone—thank you all for your love!

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