Divorced woman with child travels through time

Chen Wenfang didn't miss a beat and still went to the market as usual. Making money was one thing, but more importantly, now that her business had grown, she treated each market visit as an opportunity to advertise. Chen Wenfang even used eggs and leavened dough to try frying a batch of Sachima (a type of Chinese pastry), which was incredibly sweet with syrup. However, it received unanimous praise from Wang Erniu and everyone else. It seems that no matter what era it is, fragrant, sweet, and soft food will always have its fans; it's an instinct in human DNA.

Seeing that everyone loved it so much, Chen Wenfang shared the first batch with everyone. Her confidence soared. As long as the sachima was packaged well, it seemed there was no need to worry about it not selling well. She fried two more large batches, about twenty kilograms, and prepared them for going to the market the next day.

Chunlan and Zhuantou were lucky enough to get a piece. After taking a bite, they were amazed and silently wrapped it in oil paper and put it in their clothes. Chunlan had always thought that rice candy was the best snack she had ever eaten. Later, she ate donkey roll, which was sweet and sticky and full of the aroma of soybeans. She ranked donkey roll first and thought it was the best snack she had ever eaten. Then she came across what was called "horse" that Chen Niangzi had just made. My God, there is such a delicious snack in the world. It is fragrant and soft. After taking a bite, she wanted to swallow the whole thing. Chunlan had to use a lot of effort to resist swallowing it.

Chen Wenfang saw everything but said nothing, and instead gave them each an extra piece. The two looked at Chen Wenfang gratefully.

The next day, Chen Wenfang, along with Wang Erniu and Dazhuang, went to the market to set up a stall. They continued to make fried rice rolls, and of course, the rice candy had to be made fresh. The main reason was that the aroma was so good that it could be smelled from afar, so that people who came to buy things would know from a distance that Chen's pastries were fragrant throughout the street. As soon as Chen Wenfang arrived there, she asked Dazhuang to take two bags of packaged Sachima, weighing about two pounds, and send them to the Ouyang residence.

Sachima is made in small portions and priced high. Chen Wenfang set the price at 200 wen per catty. Not many people can afford it, but it sells very well. This makes Mr. Li, the owner of the pastry shop diagonally across the street, very angry, but there is nothing he can do about it.

Ouyang Jin also liked it very much. After eating a piece of Sachima, he immediately gave the pastry to his mother. Although Ouyang Jin himself had never eaten such fragrant and soft food before, he was amazed by it, even though he had eaten all kinds of sweet and fragrant foods before. Jiang Mingyue also liked it very much and actually ate a whole piece. She said with surprise, "Chen Niangzi is such a clever person. She can make so many delicious things. I'll save two pieces for your father later. It's a pity that my father lives far away, otherwise I would send some to him to try. Have the servant go and buy two more catties. This pastry is really delicious." The servant agreed and went to buy two more catties.

Business at her stall was booming as always, with even people from neighboring towns coming to place orders. Chen Wenfang accepted them all, but she was a little worried. There were so many orders, and she hadn't expected that Sachima (a type of Chinese pastry) would be so popular. Chen Wenfang only dared to accept large orders for fried rice, as she wasn't currently accepting wholesale orders for Sachima, mainly because there wasn't enough syrup. What could she do? She vaguely remembered that sugarcane had existed around the Song Dynasty, and that some people in her hometown of Hubei used to grow it. She wondered if she could get some to grow sugarcane and make sugar from it.

Without further ado, Chen Wenfang left Dazhuang and Erniu to watch the stall while she went to the seed shop that Aunt Liu and the others often frequented.

Unexpectedly, the shop owner actually knew, saying, "Madam Chen, I'm afraid there aren't any seeds for that sugarcane you mentioned, but I've seen people growing it in the south, and the sugar there is indeed very sweet. If you need some, I can ask a merchant to bring some from the south for you; you can plant them directly." Chen Wenfang smiled and asked the shop owner to find someone to bring some, adding, "It would be even better if you could bring more sugarcane to plant. Sugar is too expensive. If you can get cheaper sugar, I'll buy it too. If this matter is resolved, I will definitely thank you handsomely." The shop owner agreed.

With the sugar issue resolved, Chen Wenfang breathed a sigh of relief. The current orders were sufficient, but mass production of Sachima (a type of Chinese pastry) seemed impossible. Sachima was heavy, with only a small amount per pound. Eggs were manageable, but the main issue was the high sugar content, making it difficult to accept large orders. Currently, bulk orders were mainly for fried rice, placed by merchants from distant locations in large quantities of 100-pound orders. Chen Wenfang worried that she wouldn't have enough manpower; her family was working non-stop, without rest. Furthermore, glutinous rice was expensive and might be difficult to obtain in the future. She considered making it with regular rice, but decided to give it a try.

Chen Wenfang had just returned to her stall and hadn't even had a chance to sit down and catch her breath when an old steward who had bought the carriage from her last time came up to her and said, "Are you Madam Chen?"

Chen Wenfang recognized him and asked, "What business does Steward Li have with me?"

Steward Li looked displeased and said, "My master wants to see you. You'll have to come with me."

Chen Wenfang looked at the endless stream of people around her with difficulty and said, "I'm afraid I don't have time. As you can see, my business is very busy."

Butler Li bluntly exposed her, "They were busy even though you weren't at your seat." Seeing Wang Erniu's unfriendly expression, he explained, "Don't worry, our master is known for his kindness for miles around. Madam, you don't need to worry."

Chen Wenfang looked at Wang Erniu, who gave her a resolute look. Chen Wenfang nodded and said, "Then I'll go with you."

The Li residence wasn't far away either, located on the same street as the Ouyang residence. The Li residence was decorated more elegantly than the Ouyang residence. Chen Wenfang had visited the Ouyang residence many times, so she didn't feel anything about these exquisite and beautiful mansions anymore. After all, no matter how beautiful they were, they had nothing to do with her.

The head of the Li family was a lean middle-aged man in his thirties with a well-groomed beard. He was slowly copying a painting on the table. The room was filled with antiques and cultural relics. Chen Wenfang immediately noticed his beard. He was not bad-looking, and had a scholarly air about him.

Li Shanqing turned his head and saw that Madam Chen was quite calm when she entered the room, so he became a little interested and said, "Madam Chen, do you know why I called you here?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I wonder what your opinion is, Master Li?" Chen Wenfang said respectfully. There was nothing he could do; he couldn't afford to offend these powerful and influential people.

“I have a friend who has taken a liking to your dessert recipes. Give them to him!” Li Shanqing lowered his head and continued drawing.

"This isn't a good idea!" Chen Wenfang said.

"Hmm? You should know that there are some people you can't afford to mess with. To put it bluntly, I can't even afford to mess with them. I called you here because I didn't want things to look too awkward. You'd better understand." Li Shanqing didn't even look up, speaking casually.

"That's not what I meant," Chen Wenfang said with a smile. "Master Li, it might not sound very polite to ask so directly. I'm not one to keep secrets. I only have three kinds of pastries at the moment, and each recipe costs twenty taels. You can just buy them directly. That way, it'll be more legitimate and sounds better. What do you think?"

When Li Shanqing looked up, Chen Wenfang was surprised to find that although he wasn't good-looking, he had a very handsome smile.