Opening a Tavern in the Tang Dynasty

Xiaoyu stopped wrapping the mooncakes, looked up at Cheng Chumo, smiled and waved, saying, "Mr. Cheng, if you have time now, go see if our custom-made mooncake boxes are ready."

"It should be ready. Go there and bring it back if it's ready. When the mooncakes are done, it will be just enough to fit in."

Cheng Chumo heard this and immediately responded. He put away the mooncake mold he was playing with and said with a smile, "Okay, I'll go see if the mooncake box is ready. I think it should be done by now."

As he said this, he strode out of the yard.

Along the way, Cheng Chumo was still thinking about the various kinds of mooncakes.

He couldn't help but smile: "I've been busy for so long, making so many flavors of mooncakes. I need to find some exquisite boxes to pack them in."

Cheng Chumo walked hurriedly all the way and soon arrived at the carpenter's shop.

The carpenter's shop was filled with a faint aroma of sawdust. Various tools were neatly arranged, and some sawdust and scraps were scattered on the ground.

As soon as Cheng Chumo entered the shop, he called out, "Are you there? The mooncake boxes I ordered earlier should be ready by now, right?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a carpenter with a stocky build and an honest face walked out from the back of the shop.

Chen Mu, still holding a wood rasp in his hand, smiled and replied, "Oh, it's you. I was just thinking someone would come pick it up in the next couple of days. The mooncake boxes you ordered have been completed a long time ago and are just waiting for you to pick them up."

When Cheng Chumo heard this, a look of joy suddenly appeared on his face, and he quickly said, "That's great, let me take a look."

Chen Mu nodded, turned around and walked to a corner of the shop, rummaged through a pile of finished wooden products, and soon brought out a stack of exquisite mooncake boxes.

The mooncake boxes are all made of fine wood with clear and beautiful wood grain. The surface is polished very smoothly and has a soft luster under the sunlight.

Cheng Chumo looked at the mooncake boxes with his eyes full of praise, and kept praising them: "Old Chen, your craftsmanship is really amazing. These mooncake boxes are so exquisitely made, even better than I imagined."

The carpenter smiled brightly after hearing this, scratched his head and said, "Haha, as long as you are satisfied, we have to work very hard. This Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake box must be made with great care."

Cheng Chumo carefully picked up the pile of mooncake boxes, exchanged a few words with the carpenter, paid him the wages, and then walked back happily.

Cheng Chumo, holding the mooncake box, walked briskly into the yard, a smug smile on his face as he shouted, "Here it comes, here comes the mooncake box!"

When everyone heard the voice, they stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Cheng Chumo.

Xiaoyu hurried over and was immediately attracted by the exquisite mooncake box. Her eyes were full of surprise, but she still warned him, "Mr. Cheng, be careful. Don't bump into it. This box looks very exquisite."

Yuyu opened her eyes wide, looking at Cheng Chumo with joy, and said crisply, "Brother Cheng, this mooncake box you made is really well made. It looks sturdy and delicate. It's perfect for holding the mooncakes we worked so hard to make."

As he spoke, he reached out and gently touched the smooth surface of the mooncake box, looking like he couldn't let it go.

Cheng Chumo's smile deepened after hearing Yuyu's praise. He smiled and responded, "Haha, Yuyu, this is all thanks to Old Chen's superb craftsmanship. I just roughly described the style and feeling I wanted, but I didn't expect him to do such a brilliant job."

Xiaoyu clapped her hands and raised her voice, saying, "Alright, alright, now let's bake the mooncakes. Everyone, be careful and make sure the wrapped mooncakes are properly placed in the mooncake molds. This way, the baked mooncakes will have a nice shape."

Xiaoyu placed the baking tray filled with mooncakes steadily into the oven, gently closed the oven door, breathed a sigh of relief, and said with a smile, "Okay, everything is ready. Now we just have to wait for it to bake."

Everyone gathered around the oven, staring at the tightly closed door without blinking, as if they could see the mooncakes slowly changing inside through it.

Yuyu held her cheeks with both hands and said expectantly, "Oh, I really hope these mooncakes can be baked soon. I can't wait to taste the hot and fragrant ones."

Li Hao echoed from the side: "Yeah, the process of baking mooncakes is so torturous. Just smelling the smell of the unbaked ones makes me so greedy." As he said this, he swallowed his saliva.

Xiaoyu laughed and joked, "Haha, you can't eat hot mooncakes in a hurry. It takes a while to bake them. The filling inside needs to be cooked thoroughly and the skin needs to be baked golden and crispy."

Qin Huaidao also nodded and said, "That's right, good things are worth waiting for, so let's wait patiently."

As time passed, a faint aroma gradually emanated from the oven. The aroma was vague at first, but gradually became stronger and stronger and began to spread in the yard.

Xiaoyu slapped her head suddenly, a look of annoyance on her face, and said quickly: "Yes, yes, I almost forgot, there is still a five-jin big mooncake that I haven't made yet, I have to hurry up."

As she spoke, Xiaoyu began to prepare swiftly. She first took out a large ball of kneaded dough from the basin.

"Hao'er, Yuyu, come and help us. Go get some of those fillings like the five-nut, egg yolk, and red bean paste. We need to fill this big mooncake up to the brim this time. It tastes better when it's full of fillings."

Li Hao immediately ran to get the filling and scooped the five-nut filling into the bowl.

Yuyu said, "Yes, and we can put a lot of our favorite fillings in it. We can taste a different flavor in every bite. It's so delicious just thinking about it."

After a while, all kinds of fillings were brought to the table, piled up as high as a mountain.

Xiaoyu spread the dough on the chopping board, and then together with Lihao and Yuyu, poured all kinds of fillings into the middle of the dough.

But this big mooncake is really hard to wrap. As soon as the dough on one side is pinched together, the filling on the other side pops out again. Xiaoyu was so anxious that beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

"This is going to take some effort. Everyone, be careful and don't let the filling show through."

While Xiaoyu was giving instructions, she continued to work hard to knead the dough together bit by bit. After a lot of trouble, she finally finished wrapping it.

"Haha, it's finally wrapped. Let's put it in the oven and bake it." Xiaoyu wiped the sweat off his face and said with a smile. Everyone then hurriedly put the big mooncake into the oven.