How can someone travel through time and space and become a beggar?

After staying for about five days, Guan Xu said he wanted to go home. Taking too long a leave wouldn't be a good idea; he was planning to leave next year.

Wang Qiuyu was reluctant to leave, but he didn't say much. He had been very happy these past few days. He sorted out the things he had acquired. Straw animals, kites, lanterns, all of which he wanted to take back. He looked up at Guan Xu and said, "Third brother, can we come and play again next time?"

Guan Xu shook his head. "This farm doesn't belong to us either. Who knows what will happen next time."

"Oh." Wang Qiuyu responded dejectedly, but when he thought about how many things he could take back, he became happy again.

After returning from Qingjing Villa, the dog days of summer were only a few days away. Xia Chu rode her donkey to work early in the morning. Qiu Niang and Hong Niang discussed the recent business situation.

The weather was too hot, and even after spending a fortune on ice, customers were still dwindling. Business was bleak, but there was nothing that could be done. After all, the moment you stepped out, you'd be scorched to the bone. Even in a carriage, you'd still be drenched in sweat. The ladies, reserved and self-conscious about their image, naturally didn't want to be seen in such a state of disgrace.

Not only the guests were hot, but the maids in the garden were also tired. They couldn't stay in the house and had to wait outside, being baked by the sun. Their appetites had decreased and they all became darker and thinner.

Business was so bad that Xia Chu discussed it with Mo Qingmei and decided to close the garden and hire a craftsman to dig an ice cellar. Storing some ice this winter would save money next year.

After the ice cellar was dug, the weather gradually became cooler, more people were willing to go out, and the business of Yin Ge Garden recovered a little.

The Mid-Autumn Festival was not far away, so Xia Chu started preparing mooncakes again. This time, she brought along the cooks from Yin Ge Garden to make them, and she was going to sell a batch to her guests.

Most of the guests at Yin Ge Garden were women, so the mooncakes had to be exquisitely crafted and beautiful. She ordered a large number of molds with various flower patterns, as well as several cute little animals, striving to make the ladies unable to walk once they saw them.

When it comes to mooncake beauty, snow skin mooncakes undoubtedly top the list. Their transparent crust allows for a glimpse of the vibrantly colored fillings. Their only drawback is that they're difficult to store, even in a frozen container.

As a complimentary dessert, the snow-skin mooncakes made their debut in front of the guests of Yin Ge Garden. Freshly taken out of the icy container, they still retained a hint of chill.

The white and transparent flowers are filled with dark red bean paste, yellow mung bean paste, and rose-red rose jam... One bite of it is cool and refreshing, sweet but not greasy, and it instantly captures the hearts of the guests.

At that time, roses weren't called roses. They were called "lingering roses," a name inspired by their lingering nature. In some places, they were also called "thorn roses" or "li Niangcao." They didn't represent love, but rather were used for making scented tea and medicinal purposes, aside from ornamental purposes.

Within a few days, Yin Ge Garden's snowy mooncakes became a city-wide sensation. The first thing ladies and ladies would ask each other was, "Have you tried Yin Ge Garden's snowy mooncakes? Which flavor is your favorite?"

The store had been quite slow to attract customers recently, so the girls had nothing better to do. Not only did they sweep every corner, they also thought about tidying up the tiles on the roof.

The popularity is booming, and everyone is busy all the time. The place they run to the most is the kitchen, and the thing they talk about the most is the mooncakes.

Snow skin mooncakes have become famous, so Xiachu has started making all sorts of baked mooncakes with a variety of fillings, both sweet and savory. They mostly eat salty mooncakes here, like those with fresh meat, ham, and salted egg yolk. But the appeal of sweet mooncakes shouldn't be underestimated either, as snow skin mooncakes are almost always sweet.

At the beginning of the summer, I also tried to wrap some barbecued and braised meat flavors. In short, I could wrap anything and made a fortune during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

This time, she had specially prepared a gift for Zhao Huazhang. Since it wasn't easy for her to deliver it, she asked Zhao Huazhang to take it home and let his family taste it. If anyone liked it, he could let her know and send some more.

She knew that Zhao Huazhang was not close to his stepmother, and that Mrs. Zhao was too old to eat too many icy mooncakes, which were mostly filled with more popular and easily digestible fillings.

It was the first time that Old Lady Zhao had eaten the mooncakes brought back by her grandson, and she even asked Aunt Zhan to cut a few pieces and send them over.

Aunt Zhan took a look and asked in surprise: "Is this also a mooncake? It's so exquisite." After that, she had someone cut it and handed it to the old lady. "Look, old lady, this mooncake is actually cold. I have never seen it before."

"What mooncake haven't you seen?" Old Madam Zhao said with a smile. Seeing the transparent crust, she exclaimed, "This is also a mooncake? What's the filling?"

"Try it," Nanny Zhan handed over a silver stick. "It smells like flowers."

"Yes, it's a flower, a flower-filled one. It's quite novel." Madam Zhao nodded. "Sweet but not greasy, leaving a lingering fragrance in the mouth. It takes some ingenuity to make this one. Was it sent by Hua Zhang?"

"Yes." Nanny Zhan lowered her voice, "It seems to have been brought back from Yin Ge Garden."

Mrs. Zhao paused and tasted a small piece of yellow lotus seed paste. It tasted good, with a delicate texture but not too sweet.

Nanny Zhan smiled and said, "These icy ones have different flavors. There are more ordinary baked mooncakes. I see that each one is different. I wonder if the fillings are different. The three-layer food box has one layer of icy food, the second layer is sweet, and the third layer is salty. They also specifically asked not to eat the third layer of salty food after finishing the icy layer. They said it has meat filling and they are afraid that it will make you feel uncomfortable."

"Hua Zhang is never so attentive. The girl must have specifically instructed him to do so." Apart from her poor family background, there was nothing to complain about the girl in other aspects.

"I'm afraid so." Nanny Zhan observed the old lady's expression. "She even specifically told you to try it. Eating too much cold food might upset your stomach."

Mrs. Zhao stopped, took a sip of hot tea, and didn't continue the topic. Instead, she asked, "Have you sent it over there?"

Nanny Zhan went to ask and sighed, "No, the young master brought them all back and sent them all here."

Madam Zhao put down her teacup and said, "If you don't want to send it, then don't send it. It won't give that Luo guy a bargain."

Nanny Zhan smiled helplessly. The older the old lady got, the more willful and casual she became. "Wouldn't you like to send some to the master to try?"

Madam Zhao replied casually, "Let him come over for dinner tonight. Let's eat here."

This was simply a lack of respect for Luo Shanshan, but so what? The eldest and second young masters were both successful now, so there was nothing to worry about.

Bai Wuxia, Li Yun and others also received mooncakes sent by Xia Chu. When the first batch had just come out and its reputation had not yet spread, Xia Chu sent them to everyone he knew.

As it became famous, those who had tried every flavor beforehand were somewhat envious. After all, Yin Ge Yuan had limited staff and was busy all day, so there were always some people who couldn't get in. Some people hadn't tried it yet, and some who had tried it, but not every filling.

Everyone started chatting and heard some fillings they had never heard of before, which made them curious and envious.