The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

The weather is getting warmer.

Early in the morning, as Shen Cao was washing up, she heard more and more birds chirping outside her window.

The branches in the yard are covered with more and more leaves, and their color has changed from light green to dark green.

The peach tree that Shen's father had mentioned before was now covered with flower buds.

Some of the flower buds have already split open, revealing a rich pink color.

"Bang bang bang!!"

Shen Cao frowned; she wouldn't normally get up this early.

I was woken up by noises from the kitchen.

She took a breath of fresh air and looked up at the sky.

It feels so good, the sky is so blue.

The temperature isn't as cold as it was in winter.

She walked into the kitchen and saw someone she never expected.

"Wei Siyu, why are you here so early in the morning?"

"Are you chopping minced meat?"

Wei Siyu stopped what she was doing when she saw Shen Cao. "Did I wake you up?"

"I should have woken up too, but what's wrong with you? What are you doing chopping minced meat so early in the morning?"

“I saw Wanyue love your shumai yesterday. She didn’t get enough, so I went to Baicaoyuan early this morning and they delivered a batch of freshly slaughtered mutton.”

"I had someone help me cut some mutton and bring it over."

"Perfect timing, I can make some shumai for breakfast."

Shen Cao raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I see!"

“Perfect timing, I was planning to make mutton shumai this morning anyway.”

As they were talking, Li Xiaoyu and Grandma Zhang arrived.

Li Xiaoyu walked into the kitchen and was surprised to find that Shen Cao had already started cooking.

"Good morning, Sister Cao'er and Brother Wei!"

"Sister Cao'er, are you cooking so early today?"

Shen Cao glanced at Wei Siyu.

Wei Siyu happened to see Shen Cao's gaze, her eyes looked a little unnatural, and her ears turned slightly red.

Shen Cao calmly replied, "Yes, we also have to thank Brother Wei. We can have mutton shumai this morning. He chopped all the minced meat."

Li Xiaoyu also saw Wei Siyu chopping meat, and she happily said to Wei Siyu, "Brother Wei, thank you so much."

"I'm in for a treat this morning."

"Xiaoyu, you'll make the mutton shumai this morning."

Li Xiaoyu nodded, "Okay!"

She helped Shen Cao with the process yesterday, so she knows the steps, but she might not be familiar with the seasonings.

Shen Cao taught Li Xiaoyu the steps in detail, watching her prepare the filling, knead the dough, and roll out the wrappers step by step.

She was already very familiar with making the filling, so it wasn't difficult for her.

The main thing is rolling out the dough, which is a bit different from dumpling wrappers.

At first, she wasn't very skilled, but after rolling it out two or three times, it started to look quite good.

When Wanyue arrived at Shen's restaurant, the shumai were already being steamed.

With her sharp eyes, she spotted the remaining minced meat in the bowl and happily jumped in front of Shen Cao, "Sister Cao'er, did we have mutton shumai this morning?"

“Yes!” She gently pinched Wanyue’s nose and pointed to Wei Siyu standing to the side, “You should thank Brother Wei properly for getting to eat shumai.”

"He went to the kitchen early in the morning to chop minced meat."

"He woke me up!"

"Thank you, Brother Wei!!!" With the delicious mutton shumai, Wanyue felt that Wei Siyu looked even more handsome today.

Grandma Zhou looked at Zhou Qingzhu sitting at the table with some disdain. "Why are you here? It's rare for you to come and pay your respects to me so early in the morning."

Zhou Qingzhu kept his eyes on the food that Shen Cao had brought. He had heard yesterday that Baicaoyuan had introduced a new dish, mutton shumai.

Those who smelled it described it in glowing terms.

He was waiting in his room early in the morning, and as soon as Shen Cao arrived, he sent someone to tell him.

Whenever Shen Cao's younger sister has something delicious, she will always be the first to bring it to her grandmother.

Sure enough, he got what he was waiting for.

"Grandmother, what are you saying? Little Sister Cao'er also came to bring you delicious food first thing this morning."

"No, I've come to pay my respects to you."

Grandma Zhou rolled her eyes at him, pretending she didn't know that he would be so kind if Shen Cao hadn't brought food.

Then she put on a smiling face and looked at Shen Cao with great affection, "Cao'er, look at you, thinking about your old woman so early in the morning."

"What delicious food is ready today?"

This granddaughter was right; she always thought of her when there was something delicious to eat.

"Lamb shumai, Grandma!"

"Woohoo!!" Zhou Qingzhu let out a satisfied sound.

As expected, he guessed correctly; it was mutton shumai.

I'm in for a treat.

Shen Cao picked up her chopsticks and placed a mutton shumai in Grandma Zhou's bowl. "Grandma, try it. It shouldn't be too hot now."

Following Shen Cao's instructions, Grandma Zhou took a sip of the soup and exclaimed, "Wow! What a delicious flavor!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingzhu nodded frantically, her mouth bulging, clearly very satisfied with the taste of the mutton shumai.

After having breakfast with Old Mrs. Zhou, Shen Cao just stepped out of the Zhou family's gate.

Then I saw Ji Lingfeng. "Brother Ji, are you here to visit Old Madam Zhou?"

Ji Lingfeng shook his head. "I came here specifically to wait for you because Wei Siyu told me you were here."

Shen Cao was surprised that he would come to wait for her in person. No wonder she felt like he had been waiting for a long time.

"Brother Ji, is something the matter?"

"Can't I come and wait for you if there's nothing wrong?"

"No, then let's go back to the Hundred Herbs Garden!"

"Ah."

The two walked side by side on the street. "We'll officially open for business tomorrow, so there shouldn't be as many people as we have these past two days."

“Starting tomorrow, I will still go to Shen’s Restaurant to wait for you every morning, just like before, and continue to teach you kung fu.”

Shen Cao nodded. "Okay."

It must be said that Shen Cao's physical fitness has indeed improved a lot.

Even if danger is encountered, the chances of escape will be greatly increased.

"that……"

"that……"

They both spoke at the same time.

"Brother Ji, you go first."

"Cao'er, you go first."

"Brother Ji, thank you for everything during this time."

"If it weren't for you, the Hundred Herbs Garden wouldn't have gone so smoothly."

Ji Lingfeng looked at her, a hint of emotion in his eyes, "Aren't we friends? Don't be so polite about saying such things."

"Friends are friends, and gratitude is gratitude."

His lips suddenly curved into a smile. "Do you remember when we first met? You made me feel terrible for a long time."

Shen Cao also recalled how she teased Ji Lingfeng when they first met.

At that time, I thought he was just a random passerby.

Unexpectedly, the two became good friends.

"Back then, I thought you weren't a good person."

“You’re not a good person. Aren’t you afraid I might kill you?” Ji Lingfeng’s tone was clearly anxious. “You must never do this again.”

Shen Cao nodded. "I know you won't kill me."

"From the first moment I met you, I knew you weren't the kind of person who would kill innocent people indiscriminately."

Ji Lingfeng raised an eyebrow. This was the first time he had heard someone say that he wasn't someone who killed innocent people indiscriminately. It was a very novel feeling.

What people say about him is that he's cold-blooded, ruthless, and kills without blinking an eye.

Why are you so certain?

"because……"