The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 39: The Laws of the Space

The evening breeze was gentle, and the western sky was stained red by the sunset.

Tomorrow will be another fine day!

Jingzhe sat in the courtyard, enjoying the breeze while watching the sunset gradually disappear behind the mountains.

Perhaps because it was getting late, the twilight easily invoked nostalgia, and at the moment, Jingzhe was a bit nostalgic for her past life, her family, and her parents.

She vowed to live well in this world, hoping that one day she might find a way home.

Thinking this way, her eyes felt dry.

"Mom, the biscuits are baked!"

Just as Jingzhe slipped into a state of homesick melancholy, she was interrupted by the excited shout of Sufen.

Soon, a rich and enticing aroma filled the air.

This aroma drew in the village children and dogs, a group of kids with dogs in tow peeked around the doorframe, but they were hesitant to approach due to Widow Tong’s reputation.

Jingzhe quickly got up and walked into the kitchen.

Sufen was using chopsticks to place the biscuits onto a bamboo platter one by one.

The biscuits were perfectly intact, not a single one was cracked.

The coloring was perfect, with each piece a golden yellow, just looking at them made one’s mouth water.

"Not bad for baking," Jingzhe praised.

"Mom’s skills are really good, these biscuits look delicious. Even though the ingredients are just oil, sugar, and flour, how come Mom’s recipe smells and looks so great?" Honest Sufen wouldn’t flatter her mother-in-law without reason; her admiration came from the heart.

"Indeed, my mind works well. Even my dad praised, saying Jingzhe’s brains come from your mom. But mom was too lazy before..." Yue Er, mid-praise, almost spilled her mother-in-law’s secrets, and now looked at her with a guilty expression.

"My skills are really good," Jingzhe did not show false humility at all.

She then praised Sufen, "Of course, I couldn’t do without Sufen’s help. For instance, sifting that flour finely, I just don’t have the patience for it."

Jingzhe would not admit that she used butter and milk powder; with these added, how could it not taste good?

It’s said that a certain Hong Kong brand of mooncakes made a name for itself in the mooncake world by improving traditional mooncakes with butter, establishing its market position.

Sufen was so overwhelmed with Jingzhe’s praise that she didn’t know where to put her hands and feet.

She really couldn’t understand what credit there was in sifting flour, wasn’t it the simplest task?

"The biscuits are really well-colored," Yue Er said.

Jingzhe knew Yue Er was indirectly complimenting her on her good control of the baking heat.

Indeed, in baking, controlling the heat is as important as the ingredients.

In this era without electricity, ovens, or thermometers, controlling the heat is especially crucial.

It must be said, Yue Er’s fire handling was much better than Taohua’s.

She indeed deserved praise.

"The biscuits are colored well thanks to your good fire handling and temperature control," Jingzhe told Yue Er, "That’s better than your younger sister-in-law’s abilities."

Emma, that’s not easy!

These past few days, her mother-in-law had either ignored her or scolded her, and finally accomplishing something earned her mother-in-law’s favor.

The praise from her mother-in-law made Yue Er feel motivated!

Just like how she felt when she sold buns in Pingchuan County that day.

"Mom, would you teach me to make pastries someday?" Yue Er seized the opportunity to make a request.

Jingzhe felt that Yue Er was not as honest as Sufen; she was too lively and not suited to be a baker as she couldn’t calm down.

If she were blinded by money and cut corners, it would ruin her reputation.

It’s not that Jingzhe didn’t trust Yue Er, but that’s just how Yue Er was.

However, being lively has its advantages; when the shop opens, she can be in charge of attracting customers and managing the shop.

"There’s no rush, you will have your time to shine," Jingzhe said.

Yue Er’s eyes dimmed, realizing her mother-in-law would rather teach her stepson’s wife than her own daughter-in-law.

"You think making pastries is easy? It requires care and attention to every step. Do you think you can focus?" Jingzhe said, "But you do have your strengths. Last time in Pingchuan County, I saw you do well at selling the buns. I plan to have you come with me to the town to sell pastries, but not now. These days your eldest sister-in-law is busy preparing pastry ingredients, and Dashi has to work with the wheat, so for now, stay at home, cook meals, and do housework. After this busy period, I will take you to the market."

Indeed, upon hearing these words, Yue Er couldn’t hide her smile and nodded quickly.

Going to the market is great; she dislikes staying home and loves going out shopping.

She never had the chance to go before.

Now, going with mother-in-law to sell pastries would give her the legitimate reason to stroll around.

Jingzhe took stock of the day’s achievements.

Date cakes, butter biscuits, walnut crisps, honey knives, date paste cookies... each type of pastry was tempting, and Jingzhe felt that when presented to Huang Yuanwai, they would surely win him over.

Tomorrow, she planned to bake chestnut crisps, honey horns, coconut crisps, mung bean cakes, and other pastries, ensuring there were enough samples for Huang Yuanwai and to set out some for a competition at Crispy Food Garden as well.

...

In the evening, after dinner and washing up, Jingzhe took the initiative to call Man Er to sleep with her.

She hadn’t found the pattern for entering the space yet.

So she simply kept Man Er by her side.

If she entered the space again, she planned to take out some molds.

For example, without molds, the butter biscuits could only have a single flat shape, but with molds, there would be much more room for creativity in shaping.

Like various animal-shaped cookies.

Apart from taste, she believed that someone like Huang Yuanwai, who loved to show off, would, on the basis of flavor, certainly want the pastries he bought to have innovative shapes as well.

Thinking this, Jingzhe hugged Man Er and drifted into dreamland.

When one is tired, sleep feels fleeting, and Jingzhe felt as though she just fell asleep when morning broke.

Opening her eyes, she saw Man Er sleeping soundly, so she quietly dressed, careful not to wake her.

After getting out of bed, Jingzhe tucked Man Er in, and in doing so, she felt something hard.

Looking down, she chuckled.

It turned out to be several molds in the shape of flowers and animals and a large bag of coconut flakes.

Jingzhe thought for a moment, realizing that before sleep, she had longed for cookie molds and coconut flakes, and in her dream, she walked into the space.

Could it be that the pattern for entering the space is "what you think about in the day appears in your dreams at night"?

But does it mean that things from the space can only be taken out if both she and Man Er enter together, or can Man Er do it alone? That’s something she hadn’t yet figured out.

The door was being pounded loudly, interrupting Jingzhe’s thoughts.

She hadn’t forgotten that the five-day deadline had arrived, and today was the day Housekeeper He came to collect the debt.

No need to ask, it was definitely Housekeeper He outside.

Early rising Sufen opened the door, and Jingzhe saw through the window Housekeeper He being escorted by several aides into the courtyard.

Straightening her clothes, Jingzhe prepared to officially meet Housekeeper He.