Chapter 83 Birthday Cake
"Ma'am, this is a birthday cake." Tong Huaqiong said.
"Birthday cake? This is the first time I've heard of this novelty."
Who says it isn’t? Not only was it the first time for all the guests to hear about it, it was also the first time they had seen pastries of this shape.
The colorful ones are even cooler than longevity peaches.
Tong Huaqiong smiled and explained, "My youngest son likes to read. He often reads storybooks and folklore. He said that in some places, birthdays are celebrated with birthday cakes, and he copied a recipe from the book for me. I mentioned it to Mr. Huang last time, and Mr. Huang asked me to make a birthday cake for you according to the recipe in the book. I said I was afraid I couldn't do it well, and Mr. Huang told me to do it boldly. It can be seen that God was also moved by Mr. Huang's filial piety, and now I really did it."
Tong Huaqiong witnessed the undercurrents between Old Lady Huang and the county magistrate's two best friends, and could not help but add a chip to Old Lady Huang's turf, praising Mr. Huang's filial piety crazily.
Sure enough, Old Mrs. Huang was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling.
Oh my god, this birthday cake is the only one of its kind in Yanguan Town.
The old sister was right, her son was more thoughtful than the county magistrate.
"Hahahaha, mother, are you satisfied with your son's filial piety?"
Mr. Huang came to my mother, fanning himself. He had not expected that Tong Huaqiong could prepare such a dessert table. The longevity peaches, koi carps and lotus cakes had already made my mother smile.
Tong Huaqiong also unexpectedly prepared a birthday cake.
Of course, Tong Huaqiong had never communicated with him about this cake before, and this was the first time he knew about it and saw it.
This widow Tong is interesting. She puts all the credit on him.
Now everyone in Yanguan Town knows how much effort Mr. Huang put into his mother's birthday party, and his filial piety shines even more brightly.
"Satisfied, satisfied." Old Mrs. Huang was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling.
"As long as you're happy, mother. After dinner, I'll dress up and sing a play for you," said Mr. Huang.
Tong Huaqiong sighed and thought that Mr. Huang was doing this for his mother's entertainment.
She wanted to go home and tell Gu Dashu and Gu Jingzhe about what happened today. If these two brothers could be as filial to her as Huang Yuanwai in the future, then all her efforts in correcting them would not be in vain.
"Old lady, this cake needs to be cut by you personally and distributed to everyone."
Tong Huaqiong walked forward and helped Mrs. Huang to the cake, handed her a knife, and Mrs. Huang cut it.
Then Mr. Huang personally took a knife and cut the cake into pieces for the guests.
This new trick was very novel to everyone, and the aroma of the cake whetted everyone’s taste buds.
"Oh, I'm right, after all, your son is more filial than my son and is willing to take care of you." The county magistrate's mother said after Mrs. Huang sat down.
She was really envious.
No matter how difficult the pastry is, the exquisite craftsmanship is unmatched.
Besides, the cake was really delicious. It melted in her mouth and was better than any other cake she had ever eaten.
When she got back, she would tell the county magistrate's son that she also wanted the cake.
"Mr. Huang really put a lot of thought into it. Look, the longevity peach koi is already very thoughtful, and there's also that cake."
"With a son like this, it would be worth it even if the man died early and became a widow."
"Who says it's not true? The old lady is indeed blessed."
"You know what, this cake is really delicious."
Tong Huaqiong became famous overnight. Many people have decided to wait until their family’s birthdays to ask Tong Huaqiong to do the same thing. Isn’t it so cool?
......
"Reward! Reward!"
Old Mrs. Huang was so happy listening to the guests' discussions that she couldn't stop smiling. She turned around and called Yuqin to let them enjoy the reward.
Maner cupped her hands and said a blessing at the right time: "I wish the old birthday star good luck, wealth and health, endless blessings in the future, and may the sun and the moon shine together and he will never grow old..."
These words were taught to her by Gu Jingzhe in advance.
The sinister Gu Jingzhe had already thought of it, that the birthday wishes spoken by children would be more effective than those spoken by his own mother and sister.
Maner was wearing a dress with floral patterns, two small buns on her head, big eyes and a round face. She looked like a lucky doll paying respects to an old man of great birthday, and she kept saying the auspicious words taught by Gu Jingzhe.
It was so appropriate for the occasion that it made Old Mrs. Huang so happy that she almost took off.
"Good child, come over here." Old Mrs. Huang learned from Yuqin that the festive child was Tong Huaqiong's granddaughter, and she kept asking Man'er to come over to her side.
Yuqin took Maner's hand and walked her to Old Lady Huang.
The more Mrs. Huang looked at it, the more she liked it. She grabbed a handful of copper coins and stuffed them into Maner's pocket.
Maner thanked her in a sweet voice.
Old Mrs. Huang felt that Tong Huaqiong had put a lot of thought into her birthday party, so she was happy and arranged for Tong Huaqiong to bring Gu Taohua and Maner to the table.
Gu Taohua and Man'er please the old lady, a fair, plump and blessed young girl, and a naive and lovely little girl. Thinking of how it was not easy for a widow like Tong Huaqiong to come to work with her daughter and granddaughter, and as a widow herself, she recalled the difficulties of living with her own son when she was young, and could not help praising Tong Huaqiong to everyone.
Yuqin arranged Tong Huaqiong and her two grandchildren to live with several ladies in Yanguan Town.
"Aunt." Maner shouted to a woman next to her.
"Man'er is here." Gu Baishuang smiled at her niece, but she felt mixed emotions.
Tong Huaqiong's scalp tingled when she met her stepdaughter Gu Baishuang here.
As the wife of the Nie family, Gu Baishuang is also a member of the Yanguan Town noble ladies group, so she must be invited to Old Lady Huang's birthday party.
From the moment Tong Huaqiong came in to celebrate her birthday, she noticed that her stepmother was different from before.
She naturally knew that peach blossom desserts were all the rage in Yanguan Town these days. She really didn't expect that her stepmother had such a good skill in making pastries and was favored by Mr. Huang to be a special guest to celebrate the birthday of Old Mrs. Huang. She never expected that she could sit at the same table with her stepmother for the feast.
When she saw Man'er's chubby cheeks and new clothes, she believed what Chen Sufen said last time, that her stepmother treated the first wife very well.
"Mom." For the sake of face, Gu Baishuang called Tong Huaqiong.
Tong Huaqiong's mouth twitched. Gu Baishuang looked only a few years younger than her.
"Yeah." Tong Huaqiong nodded modestly, hoping that the meal could start quickly and this embarrassing situation would be over.
But Mr. Huang kept talking about birthday wishes, and she couldn't pick up her chopsticks until the host started eating.
"Oh, Mrs. Nie, is this your black-hearted stepmother?" Mrs. Yang, who was sitting opposite Tong Huaqiong, couldn't help but exclaimed when she heard Gu Baishuang calling Tong Huaqiong "mother".
The other ladies looked at Tong Huaqiong.
The local ladies of Yanguan Town present were as familiar with the details of each inner chamber as if they were eavesdropping under someone's bed. They all naturally knew that the reason why Gu Baishuang married an old widower who was nearly 20 years older than her as a concubine was inseparable from the encouragement of her evil stepmother.
The black-hearted stepmother and stepdaughter sat together at the table. How the plot would develop next? The ladies present had different expressions, but the same thing was that everyone's eyes were burning with anticipation for gossip.
"Yes, I am the legendary black-hearted stepmother." Tong Huaqiong said.
She thought that instead of letting the atmosphere become awkward and frozen, it would be better to take the initiative to resolve it. It would be better to admit it herself than to be ridiculed in person by others.
"Ladies, I know you are all curious about the black-hearted stepmother, but I can't open my heart to show you if I am black-hearted." Tong Huaqiong said self-deprecatingly.
Her words made the lady who wanted to cause trouble feel a little embarrassed!
Isn't it said that this stepmother is lazy, greedy and loves to torture people? But when I saw this stepmother today, she was a little different from what was rumored.
Every family has its own problems, and it is hard to say that the stepmother has a really evil heart.
"Mrs. Yang, you are too kind. Those rumors are all false. Everyone has their share of setbacks in life, let alone our family."
Gu Baishuang didn't want her family affairs to become the topic of conversation after dinner, so she took the initiative to help Tong Huaqiong dispel the rumors.
Ever since Tong Huaqiong asked Gu Dashu to tell her that he would promise to bury her mother and father together, she decided that if her stepmother didn't continue to make trouble, she would let bygones be bygones.
Tong Huaqiong gave Gu Baishuang a grateful look, which frightened Gu Baishuang so much that she almost couldn't hold the chopsticks.
This was the first time she met her stepmother since her father's death, and in such an occasion.
Did she read that correctly?
She discovered that her stepmother had undergone a complete transformation.