Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 103: Mid-Autumn Festival in August, it is popular to give reunion cakes here

Li was not bragging this time. After delivering lunch the next day, the family sat together to eat.

Li ate her rice in two or three mouthfuls, pushed the bowl away, and said, "I'm going to Zheng Sanniang's house. Madam Lin said she would come over today as well. They must be waiting anxiously." Before she finished her words, the courtyard door clanged and Li was nowhere to be seen.

When the sun was about to set over the city wall, Li came back with a satisfied look on her face.

Shen Yu knew from her expression that Li must have found out everything about the reunion cakes, so he was no longer in a hurry. The family started to eat dinner, cleared the dishes after dinner, and continued to prepare the fillings and dough.

In the evening, they finally finished the work at hand, and the children sat around the table, ready to listen to Li talk about the reunion cake.

Li cleared her throat, picked up the teacup in front of her and took a sip, then began to narrate everything she had learned in the afternoon.

It turns out that this reunion cake starts to be sold in the county town on the first day of August, and the cake shops start to accept orders in late July.

The appearance of the cakes in different places is similar. They are all made of puff pastry with various fillings, pressed with carved molds, and then baked in the oven or on an iron griddle.

But the reunion cakes in the county town have rich fillings, many of which Li has never heard of. In the countryside, most of them are filled with date paste, red bean paste, and various fruit fillings.

In the county town, not only these common fillings are available, but also pine nut fillings, milk crispy fillings, and salty sesame and pepper salt fillings.

What astonished Li the most was that the reunion cakes here were all bigger than each other. It was said that last Mid-Autumn Festival, the largest and heaviest reunion cake was custom-made by the Qian family in the north of the city, weighing 8.82 pounds.

Li said, comparing with her hands, "It's more than eight pounds. How big must it be? How big a pot must be used to bake it?"

Shen Yu also found it quite novel. In modern times, she had seen large mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival, each weighing at most three or four pounds. The ones that were usually eaten were between 50 and 80 grams, a little over one or two taels in weight.

She asked with interest: "Mom, have you ever asked why the reunion cakes here are so big?"

Li said, "Of course I asked. In our place, a big reunion cake weighs at most one pound. If it weighs more than two pounds, it's the best. I've never seen one this big. When Madam Lin heard me ask this question, she covered her mouth and laughed. Humph, she must think I'm a country woman who has never seen the world."

Li felt a little indignant when she thought of Madam Lin's smile with her hands covering her mouth. Shen Yu saw that Li was about to go off topic while talking. If he let her complain, Li would probably not get to the point until three o'clock in the morning.

So he quickly brought the topic back and asked with a smile, "Mom, let's not worry about Madam Lin for now, what did they say?"

Li realized she had strayed off topic after being reminded, and quickly got down to business: "Mrs. Lin may laugh, but she loves to gossip. She knows everything that happens in the county."

Li described it vividly, "According to her, at first, the reunion cakes were the same as ours, weighing at most one or two kilograms. Later, I don't know which rich family started the custom of eating one reunion cake per family, so that the family can be reunited."

"When a family is large and each family member shares a reunion cake, naturally the reunion cake has to be made larger so that there is enough space for everyone to share. Later, even if there are not many people in the family, a large size must be ordered to show that the family is large and prosperous."

Shen Yu understood in his heart, so that's it, this is the result of comparison.

Li continued with great interest, "I heard that the Qian family in the north of the city spent thirty-two taels of silver to order this large reunion cake last year. They made a mold specifically for him and built a baking oven specifically for him."

Shen Yu did not show any surprise. Although her guess on the price was not accurate, she estimated that it would cost a lot to make such a big mooncake.

The ingredients for mooncakes may not cost so much money, but one this big must require special molds and ovens to bake, which is the big expense.

Shen Yu then asked, "Do you order such a large one just for your family, or do you order such a large one for gifts?"

She was worried that the bigger the gift, the better, so it would be difficult to make the reunion cakes at home. Even if she had the money to order a custom oven, the small courtyard she rented now didn't have enough space to set it up.

Li shook her head and said, "No, the reunion cakes given to each other during the Mid-Autumn Festival are still one or two taels each. There are big reunion cakes and small reunion cakes. Small reunion cakes are used for mutual gifts and are sold in boxes. There are nine in a box, which means long-term love."

After thinking about it, he said, "But these small reunion cakes are not cheap either. The ones with butter, pine nuts and fruit fillings cost 600 Wen for a box."

Then she pouted and said, "Mrs. Lin talked a lot, but I think she hasn't eaten it either, so I specifically asked her what this reunion cake with butter, pine nuts and fruit filling tastes like. She hesitated for a long time, and finally said that it tastes good anyway, and then she said she had something else to do at home and left."

As he said this, he laughed with some satisfaction.

Shen Yu shook her head helplessly and said softly, "Mom, don't do this again in the future. It's not good for us to embarrass Madam Lin in front of you like this."

Seeing that Li was not angry, she continued, "Our family is unfamiliar with this place, and we have no relatives to help us. We are actually very weak. As the saying goes, a distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor. If you get along well with your neighbors, if our family encounters difficulties, even if you don't ask them for help, at least they won't add insult to injury. Think about it, mother, is this the truth?"

Yu Tao had been quietly listening to Shen Yu and Li's conversation. Now she agreed and said, "Sister, what you said makes sense. Mother, think about it. In the past, I loved to make fun of people in the village. That's why those aunts and ladies bully us whenever they get the chance."

Li's face turned red and then pale at what the two sisters said. She opened her mouth and wanted to scold the sisters, but she couldn't open her mouth because she felt guilty.

Ever since she came to the county, she had seen Shen Yu capable of everything. Unconsciously, whenever Shen Yu said something to her, even though she would not admit it verbally, she actually agreed with it in her heart. She would also pay attention secretly and do what Shen Yu said, not causing any trouble so as not to make Shen Yu worry.

Shen Yu looked at Li's speechless expression, and his heart softened. He smiled and said, "I spoke too hastily. If you think what I said makes sense, just be careful in the future. If you see Madam Lin tomorrow, talk to her more and praise her a little, and this matter will be over."

After hearing what Shen Yu said, Li felt that she shouldn't have done that today and felt a little regretful.

She nodded quickly and said, "You two sisters are both right. Mom just can't control her mouth. She only wants to have a good time. I will definitely change in the future. If you sisters see Mom talking too fast again, you must stop me. Our family has finally opened a food stall in the county town. We have a good life. We can't let Mom's fast mouth ruin it."