Scientific Travel

They didn't get to eat the cake, but Deng opened two cans of food.

Since arriving here, Deng Yin has rarely eaten canned food. Even the most delicious food will become tiresome if eaten for ten years in a row.

But tonight, this flavor, which she thought she had grown tired of long ago, has won over her stomach again.

At least half of this is thanks to Gou Dan.

Although I haven't tasted it at all, just by looking at it, it's not hard to guess what it tastes like...

Watermelon shouldn't be left out for too long after it's cut, otherwise the edges will soften and taste strange. Also, watermelon has a lot of water content, which will drip onto the cream, and regardless of the taste, it won't look good.

The next morning, Gou Dan got to eat cake for breakfast as he wished. Although it had been sitting for too long and the taste had diminished considerably, it was still delicious.

It's at least better than his cooking...

Since we've decided to go for the high-end market, every cake must be made fresh daily.

Not knowing how the market would be, Deng Yin only made two cakes today, just in case they didn't sell.

The fruit on these two cakes is grapes and strawberries. These two fruits not only look nice, but they also don't spoil as easily as watermelons.

The shop's name remained unchanged; it was still called Watermelon Cake. Although Deng Yin no longer put watermelon on her cakes, she sold watermelons separately.

A cake costs 500 silver coins, while a watermelon costs 50 silver coins.

Deng Yin's prices are exceptionally high. Even with the current skyrocketing prices, the cost of one cake is enough to feed a family of three for three years, and that's only in Shimu City where land is incredibly valuable.

Freshness alone is not enough; rich people aren't stupid. Why would they spend so much money on something they don't even know how it will taste?

This amount of money isn't much for them, but if they buy it, they're likely to be seen as suckers.

Deng Yin left Gou Dan at the shop to watch over it while she went out to look for advertising opportunities.

At this temperature, those who can go out are basically people who need to work; very few young masters and ladies would go out shopping.

Deng Yin found a teahouse to drink tea and listen to what the storyteller was saying.

She wasn't slacking off; she was gathering intelligence.

If you want to know what's trending right now, just come and listen to what the storyteller is talking about.

"Speaking of this Deng Yin, dressed in white, he rode the clouds and mist in the street, appearing as if he were an immortal."

Oh my, so she's the most famous person lately.

The storytellers were very serious; they always had the ability to make hearsay stories sound like they had seen them with their own eyes.

"I'm sure everyone has heard of the Imperial Advisor. Eight years ago, our country and the Shi Ni Kingdom were in a very tense relationship. Someone in the court suggested easing the tension through a marriage alliance. Before deciding to adopt this suggestion, the emperor asked the Imperial Advisor. Unexpectedly, the Imperial Advisor said that we should not have a marriage alliance but should go to war directly."

"At that time, there were no particularly outstanding military generals, and once the battle started, the chances of winning were slim. But the emperor still did as the imperial advisor said. In the end, we won a great victory! Wei Wujiang surrounded an enemy force of at least one hundred men with a small team of thirty men. Despite such a large numerical disadvantage, he managed to achieve zero casualties and became famous overnight."

Deng Yin listened attentively and ordered another plate of peanuts.

This was the first time she had heard anyone talk about Wei Wujiang. All she knew was that he was a general, but she didn't know how he got to where he was today.

"Six years ago, the heavens were kind and the harvest was bountiful. This should have been a cause for celebration throughout the country, but the Imperial Advisor predicted a locust plague the following year and advised the Emperor to stockpile more grain. Sure enough, the following year, the locust plague struck 26 cities, and those 26 cities suffered almost no harvest that year. If the Imperial Advisor had not foreseen this, the corpses of those who starved to death that year could have filled at least one city."

“A year ago, natural disasters occurred frequently, and one disaster after another took away countless lives. The Imperial Preceptor said that this was because evil spirits had descended upon the world. As long as a pair of boys and girls born in the year, month, and hour of Yin were killed every day to satisfy the evil spirits' needs, the world would return to normal.”

"The young emperor naturally trusted the imperial advisor's words completely and immediately ordered the execution of a pair of boys and girls born in the year, month, and hour of the Yin (a concept in Chinese astrology). But now that the natural disaster is still ongoing, the young emperor has withdrawn this order. Does anyone know why?"

No one answered the storyteller's question, and he didn't feel embarrassed. He continued, "It's because of Deng Yin. It's said that the young emperor has long been dissatisfied with the Grand Preceptor. Back when his father was still on the throne, the Grand Preceptor always supported Crown Princess Pei Ke. This time, he was unwilling to do as the Grand Preceptor said, but the Grand Preceptor's prestige is very high. He can't bear the responsibility of destroying the foundation built by his ancestors over thousands of years. So he can only do as the Grand Preceptor said for now."

"But now Deng Yin has appeared. She can conjure things out of thin air, ride the clouds, and even control lightning. In addition, there are quite a few people who believe that Deng Yin is a god. The young emperor can take this opportunity to suppress the Grand Preceptor."

Deng Yin couldn't bear to listen to what was going on. He didn't know whether to say Cui Wuji was magnanimous or that he was unworthy of his reputation. A storyteller had been rambling about him on his turf for almost the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and no one had come to arrest him.

On their planet Heze, if anyone dares to speak ill of the planet's leader, that person will be doing hard labor in jail five minutes later.

While Deng Yin was slacking off... oh no, working, the first customer came to the shop.

Zhao Shanglan heard that the shop's employees were very good-looking, so she made a special trip despite the high temperature to try the cake.

As soon as Zhao Shanglan entered the shop, she knew it was worth it; the contrast between the inside and outside was like night and day. Not many shops could afford to use ice, and she never expected that this unassuming little shop could.

The shop is small, with five shelves, but only one shelf has goods.

"Want to buy a cake?" Dog Egg asked. "Or would you like to buy a watermelon?"

Zhao Shanglan stared at Gou Dan's face for a few seconds before asking, "What do you want me to buy?"

Dog Egg could tell that this person really wanted to buy, so his tone became warmer: "Buy them all."

Zhao Shanglan was not displeased by his words; on the contrary, she smiled and said, "Okay."

After Zhao Shanglan paid, Gou Dan happily offered to pack her food.

"It's too heavy for me to carry," Zhao Shanglan said. "Take it to my house instead."

“No way,” Gou Dan refused. “I’m the only one in the shop right now, I can’t leave.”

"When will the others be back?" Zhao Shanglan said, "I'm not in a hurry to eat, you can deliver it later."

"We don't offer delivery service." Gou Dan could tell that this person wasn't very bright, and that a tactful approach wouldn't work, so he simply said it directly.

"No?" Not only in Shimu City, Zhao Shanglan had been to many places, but she had never heard of any store that did not offer home delivery.

But Zhao Shanglan's real intention was not the wine, so she didn't say much, only saying, "Then let's just eat at the restaurant, is that alright?"

"Row."