"Mom, I’ll earn you a title and reward in the future. Don’t worry, your life will definitely be brighter than Auntie’s."

Gu Ruinian bit into the chicken while painting a grand picture for Mrs. Jia.

Mrs. Jia was moved to tears.

After all, the second son is the most thoughtful one.

Gu Ruinian smiled in the face of Mrs. Jia’s tearful eyes.

This life’s mom is just like the one in my previous life, hardworking and devoted, centering everything around her son.

No need to actually show filial piety, just paint big dreams to keep her content.

...

The next day, Gu Ruinian set off for town without breakfast.

Why bother with breakfast, just plain soup and water. He wanted to go to town and eat big meat buns.

It was only before departure that he learned Gu Honglian would be going to town with him.

He was quite displeased, but when Mrs. Jia told him that Mr. Gu gave Gu Honglian a piece of silver for them to enjoy a feast in town, he changed his attitude, calling Gu Honglian "little aunt" sweetly.

Even when Gu Honglian took a long time dressing up, he waited patiently.

Both Gu Ruinian and Gu Honglian are delicate, and they certainly wouldn’t walk to town. They went to the village entrance and boarded Mr. Xu’s ox cart to town.

As the ox cart was departing, it bumped into Tong Huaqiong’s carriage.

The young pony at Tong Huaqiong’s household could now pull a carriage. Every day, Su Chengmin would drive Taohua and Liu Yueer to town and pick them up in the evening.

Tong Huaqiong was also on the carriage today, as she was off to her weekly session of guiding Taohua Dessert.

The people on Mr. Xu’s cart shouted greetings to Tong Huaqiong when they saw her carriage.

Tong Huaqiong pulled aside the carriage curtain and responded with smiles to each greeting.

"Sister-in-law."

Gu Honglian looked pitifully towards Tong Huaqiong, wanting to ride the carriage.

She didn’t want to squeeze in with the village folks; she disliked their smell.

"Honglian, heading to town?" Tong Huaqiong greeted warmly.

Gu Honglian was delighted at her sister-in-law’s friendly attitude.

"Sister-in-law, this ox cart is too crowded. I want to ride the carriage," Gu Honglian whimpered.

Gu Ruinian, like Gu Honglian, hoped Tong Huaqiong would agree; he didn’t want to sit in the ox cart either.

How could a top student like him squeeze in with these rough villagers?

Tong Huaqiong continued smiling and said, "You should have mentioned it earlier. The carriage is packed with stuff today, no room for people. Next time let me know in advance, I’ll reserve a seat for you, just take the ox cart today. Don’t worry, Lao Xu is a great driver, you won’t get dizzy."

With that, she pulled the carriage curtain down.

With a shout from Su Chengmin, the carriage sped off, leaving a trail of dust.

Being refused publicly, Gu Honglian’s eyes turned red with embarrassment.

The villagers on the ox cart glanced at each other, puzzled.

Who in Qinghe Bay didn’t know that Tong Dajiao was always wholeheartedly dedicated to her little sister-in-law? Why was her attitude different now?

Gu Ruinian clenched his fists in silent anger.

Don’t underestimate a poor youngster; when he achieves great things, he’ll make the entire family of the big aunt beg at his feet.

Tong Huaqiong and the others reached Taohua Dessert.

"Your aunt and Gu Ruinian will come to the shop later, do as you see fit," Tong Huaqiong instructed Liu Yueer.

Liu Yueer said, "Don’t worry, mom. I’ll treat them just like any other customer."

Finally reaching the town, Gu Ruinian said to his aunt, "Aunt, I haven’t had breakfast, let’s eat something first."

Gu Honglian agreed.

The two hit it off and went to a bun shop, ordering two baskets of big meat buns, four fried dough sticks, and two big bowls of egg soup.

With the steaming buns served, they devoured them ravenously.

When Gu Ruinian first arrived in this world, he wouldn’t eat pork; now he found the meat buns supremely delicious.

So fragrant!

Two baskets weren’t enough; they ordered another.

After eating and drinking their fill, Gu Ruinian waited for Gu Honglian to pay the bill, but she prompted him to cover it.

"Aunt, my silver is for buying books," Gu Ruinian argued.

He already planned to find an excuse at noon to ditch his aunt and have a grand meal at the best restaurant, Fengle Building.

As for buying books?

Anyway, his family never checked what books he bought.

Gu Honglian said, "Would buying books cost a piece of silver? You cover this, and I’ll treat you to an even better meal at a restaurant at noon."

With no choice, Gu Ruinian paid the silver.

Then he inquired about the location of Taohua Dessert from the shop owner, and they headed towards it together.

Approaching Taohua Dessert, they could smell the freshly baked pastries and saw a long queue.

Liu Yueer and Gu Xiaocao from the village were enthusiastically drawing in customers with free samples.

"Oh wow, why does sister-in-law’s shop have so many people? Even when second brother’s shop wasn’t losing money, it never had such a crowd. How much silver do they earn in a day?" Gu Honglian clicked her tongue, then discontentedly said, "Sister-in-law is so stingy, making all this money and never spending some on me."

Complaining as she approached the Taohua Dessert Shop.

Gu Ruinian was a bit excited; he wanted to see what secrets lay within his big aunt’s Taohua Dessert Shop.

Spotting them from a distance, Liu Yueer rushed over to greet them warmly, "Aunt and Ruinian brother are here. Welcome, please come in."

Gu Honglian gave Liu Yueer a sideways glance and said, "Dashi’s wife, hurry and get me some pastries to eat."

Unperturbed, Liu Yueer handed a piece from the tray to Gu Honglian and said, "This is a free sample, help yourself, Aunt, see if you like it."

"Cheapskate," Gu Honglian huffed.

She stormed straight into the Taohua Dessert Shop, with Gu Ruinian following her.

As they walked into the shop, they both froze in surprise.

Gu Honglian was overwhelmed by the array of exquisite pastries and the spacious, bright interior.

The sister-in-law is really capable, opening such a large shop.

Gu Ruinian was utterly shocked, seeing many pastries he had only seen in his future life, and a counter displaying birthday cake models exactly like the ones he remembered.

Whose idea was this?

Gu Jingzhe, pointing to the birthday cake models, asked Liu Yueer, "Sister-in-law Yueer, what are those?"

Liu Yueer replied, "Birthday cakes, what’s up? Want to order one for your birthday? But remember, you have to reserve two days in advance."

Gu Ruinian didn’t answer directly; instead, he pointed to the various pastries and questioned Liu Yueer.

The names were renamed by Tong Huaqiong, but the pastry ingredients, like cream, were something Gu Ruinian wasn’t sure existed in this era; it was the first time he saw them since transmigrating here.

So here’s the dilemma, if Gu Jingzhe or someone from the big aunt’s family is a transmigrator, how did they invent cream?

Gu Ruinian felt a bit panicked, much like how he was clueless about the pesticides that boosted corn yields.

"Sister-in-law Yueer, who came up with these pastry recipes?" Gu Ruinian asked.

"Why do you ask? Don’t you know our recipes are confidential?" Liu Yueer answered evasively.

Unyielding, Gu Ruinian continued, "Then... what’s on top of the birthday cakes?"

Liu Yueer said, "Cream."

Gu Ruinian asked, "Where do you get this cream?"

Liu Yueer replied with dissatisfaction, "Ruinian, as Dashi’s cousin, we’re effectively family. But even with family, you can’t just ask about the shop’s secrets. What, planning to open a dessert shop too?"

Gu Ruinian’s mind buzzed.

Cream is Taohua Dessert’s secret. So who exactly brought this secret?

Was it Gu Jingzhe?