Before Sister Gong got her salary, Da Zhuang hurriedly packed a small bundle and moved to the construction site.
As the weather grew hotter very quickly, there were already people on the road who couldn't stand the heat and had put on short sleeves.
Xiao Jun couldn't stand the heat either. He loved to sweat. He would casually pull up the hem of his clothes to wipe away some sweat. When his firm eight pack abs were revealed, it would always leave Ding Sha staring with eyes wide.
As the hot weather started to affect business a little, Du Rourou and Wang Wenhao sat in the lobby bickering. Ding Sha held Little Ping An while arguing with Xiao Jun on whether they should buy domestic or imported milk powder.
After barely arguing to a result, they started fighting again on when would be the best time for Little Ping An to be weaned off breast milk.
Nanny Zhao Auntie laughed gently as she scrubbed Little Ping An’s clothes in the backyard, raising her eyes to look this way from time to time.
This was really the most comfortable and gentle hosts’ home she had encountered.
Not only did they provide food and lodging and the childcare was easy, the meals were particularly delicious too.
This was still the first time she had gone out to take care of a little one who had even grown fatter.
The air conditioners Xiao Jun ordered arrived. The workers were drenched in sweat as they installed air conditioners in every room.
Ding Sha passed Little Ping An to Zhao Auntie and went to the kitchen.
The green beans bought this year were taken out and rinsed clean before being put in a pot to cook.
After the water started boiling, the lid was opened for continued cooking over low heat until the green beans bloomed and turned soft.
The beans and water were poured together into a blender. A handful of white sugar was added and blended into thick green bean paste before continuing to cook it down. Some honey was added.
After boiling, it was portioned out to cool, with ice cubes helping speed up the cooling process.
By the time the workers’ faces were flushed red and their bodies drenched in sweat from finishing the installation, they were handed the chilled green bean soup by the lady boss.
Cool and refreshing, it went down easily, combatting the summer heat.
Everyone exchanged looks with each other. This job was done in comfort.
The foreman also thanked Ding Sha with a smile. “This is my number. You can call me if there are any problems with the air conditioners in your home. I’ll come over to fix them for you.”
Ding Sha kept his business card and saw Xiao Jun putting it into his own pocket as well when she turned around.
Ding Sha shook her head in amusement as she went over to tease him, “Are you really jealous over this too? Where did you get this vintage aged vinegar?”
“Authentic Shanxi mature vinegar,” Xiao Jun glanced at her with a vague smile that was half laughing as he swiftly left a kiss on her lips. “Try it, is it sour?”
Ding Sha shyly covered her mouth as she playfully hit him a couple times before slipping back into the kitchen again.
Wang Wenhao and Du Rourou went to the nearby wholesale market to help Xiao Jun move the ice cream he ordered. No one knew when the two of them started to enjoy huddling together, whispering quietly to each other.
Whenever Ding Sha saw Wang Wenhao’s radiant expression, she would find it a bit funny.
Ding Sha looked at the time. It was still early.
She opened the book "Ru Fu Forbidden Formulas", wanting to make a type of traditional Chinese pastries.
The pastry display cabinet Uncle Wei ordered had been idle for a long time. Now was a good time to clean it up and take it out.
Ding Sha looked through the book and finally decided to make a type of pastry called "Sunny White Snow".
It sounded quite cooling.
Grinding the fungus, yam, job’s tears and lotus seeds into powder and mixing evenly with glutinous rice flour, rice flour and white sugar.
Then adding water and kneading into an appropriately firm dough.
The traditional Sunny White Snow pastry only needed to be shaped and steamed this way.
But Ding Sha thought about it and took out the leftover red bean paste from yesterday’s bean paste buns. She wrapped appropriately sized dough balls with the red bean paste inside before molding them into flower shapes using small wooden stamps.
Finally they were steamed for 20 minutes before they could be eaten.
Not only could the Sunny White Snow pastries strengthen the spleen and supplement deficiencies, they could also reduce swelling and dampness, as well as boost energy and stabilize mood.
Ding Sha put out a plate for everyone to try.
Du Rourou immediately popped up to the table first, shamelessly grabbing a piece. She bit into it happily while complaining at the same time.
“Oh my god this is too delicious! Ever since I started this part-time job, I’ve really gained a lot of weight! But I still can’t help it!!!”
“Why doesn’t the lady boss gain any weight!”
While Du Rourou’s mouth kept going, her hand didn’t stop either as she took another piece to eat.
Everyone praised the pastries endlessly.
Ding Sha took out all the Sunny White Snow pastries and arranged them neatly on the counter. She even wrote out introductions with pink flower stationery and calligraphy pen placed in the front.
Du Rourou was extremely envious.
“Sister Sha, what kind of treasure are you? How do you know how to do so many things? Multi-talented, beautiful, and also perfect...”
“The key point is not only are you perfect, your husband is just as perfect too! So handsome, talented, wholeheartedly has eyes only for you...”
“I’m really eating lemons now...”
Wang Wenhao ruthlessly mocked her. Du Rourou got up and chased him all around the room to hit him.
After chasing him breathlessly and finishing her beatdown, Du Rourou came back in front of Ding Sha again. “Sister Sha, are you planning to specifically sell pastries here in the future?”
“Mm,” Ding Sha nodded. “If it’s not too busy or I make some new snacks, I plan to take them out to sell.”
Du Rourou stroked her chin. “Sister Sha, you know how to make so many things. Have you ever thought about sharing them online?”
“Online?” Ding Sha shook her head. “I don’t like too many people paying attention to me. It would make me very uncomfortable.”
“Then you can just post pictures of the pastries!” Du Rourou really couldn’t stand wanting to show off how beautiful they were to everyone when seeing these pretty snacks. “They’re so beautiful! And they’re our traditional delicacies and traditional pastries. We can share them with everyone!”
Ding Sha was somewhat moved. She had occasionally made some traditional pastries herself before, but the number of buyers hadn’t been what she imagined. Their attitude towards traditional snacks was very indifferent. Some even felt those pastries weren’t as delicious as a mille-feuille cake.
Ding Sha really wanted to tell them that there were many different kinds of traditional snacks. But it seemed like no one cared.
They cared about traditional culture, cared about music, cared about inheritance and craftsmanship. So why couldn’t they care about these pastries?
Du Rourou knew Ding Sha was moved.
“I guarantee I won’t take pictures of you, only the pastries!”
Ding Sha hesitated for a moment before agreeing.
Xiao Jun had been listening from the side for a long time already. Hearing Ding Sha agree, he thought and said, “If you’re taking pictures, how about I clean up that room behind the first floor for you as a pastry room?”
The room Xiao Jun referred to was originally a shed. The previous tenants had changed it into something unrecognizable. After they moved here, it was torn down.
After tearing it down, they hadn’t thought of how to use it for the time being, so they just left it as it was.
Now after cleaning it up and paired with the flowers planted all around, it would look beautiful.
Du Rourou excitedly said, “Great great! It will definitely look nice! Beautiful Sister Sha in a beautiful environment making beautiful pastries!”
“Ah! A feast for the eyes!”
Wang Wenhao couldn’t help making another sarcastic remark. Du Rourou screamed while running to chase him down again.
Ding Sha looked at Xiao Jun somewhat apprehensively, “Do you think...me doing this, is it okay?”
“It’s fine,” Xiao Jun firmly said.
“Really?” Ding Sha didn’t quite believe it.
“Really.” Xiao Jun still nodded resolutely.
“What if I mess up?”
“You won’t mess up.”
“How do you know?” Ding Sha glared at him unhappily.
“Because it’s you.” Xiao Jun smiled.
Because it was her.
Because he believed in her.
