The worldly aristocratic families lacked nobility, uniqueness, and being one of a kind.
Among all the pastries in the market, none of them achieved being one of a kind. At best, they were expensive existences specially supplied to the rich.
For example, You Ran House, and several old pastry shops opened by prominent families in Fengjing.
Jiuzhen Store wanted to take this path without any connections. It was clearly unrealistic and could only blaze a new trail.
For example, by truly becoming one of a kind.
Jiang Sheng thought more and more excitedly. She hurried back to Jiuzhen Store at the fastest speed and threw herself in front of Zhang Xianglian like a dove turned spiritual, “Auntie, Auntie, Auntie.”
“Want to stealthily eat sugar gourd again?” Zhang Xianglian glanced over. “Your brothers have all exhorted me not to let you eat too many sugar gourds.”
Jiang Sheng quickly justified herself, “Auntie, don’t worry. I have grown up now and am no longer a 10-year-old child. I won't crave sugar gourds.”
As if she wasn't the one caught stealing and eating them last time.
Zhang Xianglian smiled to herself, twisted a sugar gourd in her hand, and circled it around Jiang Sheng’s round little face.
The little girl who had just sworn solemnly, her eyes instantly locked on it.
It took Jiang Sheng quite a while to drag her eyeballs stuck on the sugar gourd back. She grieved, “Auntie, you taught me bad things.”
“I came to find you for proper business. Among the dozens of pastries in our store, which one is one of a kind that other shops don't have?”
Zhang Xianglian frowned in thought for a moment. “None.”
The production of pastries itself was not complicated. Experienced masters could grasp the basic ingredients after tasting a few bites and make it after trying a few times.
When Jiuzhen Store first opened, the sticky rice and red dates cake was the most novel. But in just half a month, the pastry shop across the way came out with sticky rice and red date paste cake.
Auntie Zhang happened to make rock sugar and haw candy. Soon, rock sugar and haw candy could be found everywhere in Fengjing.
Things like Eight Treasure Cake, thousand layer cake, horse hoof cake, osmanthus cake, were even more ubiquitous.
“There are no secrets in Fengjing.” Zhang Xianglian concluded at last.
Jiang Sheng was stumped.
The uniqueness she envisioned had suddenly become ubiquitous. Those captured inspirations and ideas now seemed like jokes.
She persisted and remembered the special lotus puff pastries supplied to You Ran House. “I haven’t seen lotus puff pastries sold anywhere else in Fengjing.”
“Because this pastry is complicated to make. They can’t sell it at a price, and it’s not worth offending the prominent family behind You Ran House.” Zhang Xianglian shook her head. “If a shop really wanted to make it, they could buy two to take back and figure it out after some research.”
It came back to status and connections.
Behind You Ran House was the Jiang Family, a first-class prominent family. So ordinary pastry shops didn’t dare offend them.
Jiuzhen Store had nothing. Their bestselling candied chestnuts were rumored to have attracted the attention of pastry shops itching to transport two carts back from Hebei Commandery.
Although they had an advantage from being “first”, if others came to take a share, their customer base would eventually drain away.
Being one of a kind naturally didn’t exist either.
Jiang Sheng was extremely troubled. She held Little Chirpy in both hands, not even noticing hair falling out.
Zhang Xianglian was very surprised. “Little Jiang Sheng, wasn’t your dream to eat your fill, drink your fill, and sleep? How did you get caught up in researching pastries for Jiuzhen Store? Our business is pretty good now. Eating our fill is not a problem.”
“It’s not about eating our fill.” Jiang Sheng shook her head. Her tone paused. “Recently Auntie sent out leftovers again right?”
The meals in the small two-entrance courtyard were always pretty good and would sometimes have leftovers.
Zhang Xianglian usually poured them into the iron basin at the door to feed the stray cats and dogs in the vicinity.
Lately the basin at the door was very empty. Auntie Zhang had also begun appearing and disappearing unpredictably. Having learned from what happened with Ma Zhaoying and her mother, the children in the yard naturally understood.
Auntie Zhang must have met other pitiable people again.
“The pastries Jiuzhen Store sells daily are limited. Supplying You Ran House also isn’t much. Add in the candied chestnuts, and you and Auntie Ma can handle it.” Jiang Sheng’s tone was steady. “Hiring more people wouldn’t be cost-effective. Only when Jiuzhen Store sells more and gets busier can we hire people, right?”
She was only 11 but had long seen through the cold and warmth of human relationships, and understood that kindness needed to be built on the foundation of one’s own strength.
Were the villagers of Ten Li Market kind?
Yes.
But if someone got ruthless, Jiang Sheng would have died long ago during her years begging.
Or if someone got crooked thoughts and sold her to the slavers, that would be another scene altogether.
But they were not kind enough to bring Jiang Sheng back home, sheltering her from wind and rain, and raising her as their own daughter.
Because Ten Li Market village was poor and every household found it difficult, simply unable to bear the burden of extra mouths.
A person’s bowl could only hold as much gruel as its size allowed.
Don’t take on fine porcelain if you don’t have a diamond drill bit.
Jiang Sheng’s first 7 years of struggling to survive, not reading, writing, eating her fill or dressing warmly, fortunately life had taught her countless principles that she engraved firmly in her heart.
Back then in the capital city, only after obtaining the land deed did she dare drum up the courage to reopen the workshop.
And today in Fengjing, only by expanding the business could she continue looking after pitiable Auntie Zhang.
“Also, Jiuzhen Store was painstakingly opened by Second Brother. He handed it to me so I must strive to make Jiuzhen Store even better.” The little girl held up her head. “Auntie, I didn’t do anything wrong right?”
No, of course not.
Auntie Zhang's eyes brimmed with tears. Several times she raised her hand, wanting to stroke Jiang Sheng's head but held back because her hands were sticky with syrup.
She really didn’t understand how the parents of such a good child could be so heartless as to abandon her.
“It’s just that my idea was shattered.” Jiang Sheng sighed again. Like a little adult she said, “We can’t make unique pastries and will never become the first choice for prominent family madams to entertain guests.”
It seemed they still had to take another path.
She supported her cheek with one hand, gazing distantly at the sky as her little head began running through ideas again.
Zhang Xianglian knitted her brows, murmuring after quite a while, “I do have an idea though.”
“Fengjing has a wide variety of pastries. Even with innovation, others will quickly copy it. Why not draw some new ideas from elsewhere.”
“Do you still remember the mold Master Kong asked me to make?” Zhang Xianglian turned and went into the kitchen, taking out the small wooden box split in half. It was carved with deep and shallow patterns. “Although the shop across sells sticky rice and red dates cake too, they don’t have our carved flowers or molds.”
Using carved flowers to differentiate shape and create unique pastries was a good idea.
It was just a pity carved flowers were not difficult and molds could also be found. Eventually it would still be imitated.
It was as if Jiang Sheng had gotten stuck in blind alley thinking.
Chang Yan, who had come out from the medical hall next door, finally spoke up after listening at the door for who knows how long. “Think of the lotus puff pastries. As long as your pastries make it onto prominent families’ tables, who would dare recklessly imitate them?”
Even if imitated, without recognition from prominent families, they could only sell for ordinary pastry prices.
Furthermore, which shop was willing to spend the time and effort for ordinary pastries?
