"Delicious!" Xiaodai said with a beaming smile, his mouth smeared with pastry crumbs.
"So yummy! So yummy! Sister Wan... I mean, our master and mistress will surely love them." Xu Bozhou indulged in sweet fantasies.
Li Yuzhu also popped a pastry into her mouth. "Not bad. It would be even better with a cup of tea."
Hearing everyone's praises, Li Yutao hesitated for a moment before gobbling up the beautiful pastry. "Sister! Let's start selling these pastries after the New Year. They're good-looking and delicious. Surely, lots of people will buy them!"
Li Yuzhu nodded. "Sure! We'll have one more kind of dim sum."
Li Yutao tilted her head and thought for a while. "How about calling them Five - Color Cakes?"
Li Yuzhu couldn't help twitching the corner of her mouth. "Well... the name is a bit too literal."
Li Wensong frowned. He, too, was reluctant to accept Li Yutao's proposed name for the pastry. "What about Blooming Flowers in Splendor?"
"Blooming Flowers in Splendor?" Li Yutao repeated the words softly. Although she didn't fully understand the meaning, she clapped her hands in approval. "Sounds nice! Let's go with this one!"
"Then how about," Li Yuzhu tilted her head in thought. Suddenly, she stopped tapping her index finger on her right cheek. "All the colors of spring! What do you think?"
Xu Bozhou immediately agreed. "This one's great! It sounds nice and has a good meaning."
Li Yutao immediately changed her mind. She raised her hands high and said, "I vote for this name! I like spring."
Xiaodai also chimed in. "I like spring too."
Li Wensong nodded slightly. "Let's go with this one then."
The group then chattered away as they immersed themselves in making pastries again.
Looking at the table full of pastries, everyone felt a great sense of accomplishment.
Xu Bozhou immediately fetched a bamboo - woven food container. He carefully placed the pastries he thought were the prettiest into it, then hugged the container tightly and refused to let go.
Carrying the prepared gifts, the five of them headed to the street together.
Xiaodai dropped off Li Wensong and Xu Bozhou at the gate of the Jiang Mansion. After setting the time to pick them up, he drove the donkey cart straight to the busiest part of the street.
The three girls first went to the cloth shop to pick up the clothes they had ordered earlier.
"So beautiful! Sister, I want to wear it now." Li Yutao tugged at Li Yuzhu's sleeve, her eyes fixed on the new clothes.
Li Yuzhu couldn't help laughing. "Go and change then."
Li Yutao excitedly hugged the clothes and ran off.
Seeing Li Yutao's eagerness, Li Yuzhu shouted, "Wait! I'll go too!"
Xiaodai picked up his new clothes and scurried after them, shouting, "Xiaodai wants to go too."
The two sisters turned around. In perfect harmony, they each pointed their index fingers at Xiaodai's forehead. "Wait a while. We'll go first. You can go after we're done."
"Okay." Xiaodai stood there holding his clothes, as if he had been frozen in place.
After changing their clothes, the three of them went on a shopping spree.
Li Yutao and Xiaodai now received monthly allowances. When they saw delicious food or interesting items, they checked their purses and bought whatever they could afford.
The three of them enjoyed the fun of shopping.
Sugar - coated haws? Eat! Exquisite lanterns? Buy! Paper cuttings and festive decorations? Get them! Firecrackers? Take them!
They walked, ate, and bought all the way.
It wasn't until it started getting dark that Xiaodai suddenly remembered the time. "Sister Yuzhu, Brother Wensong and Brother Bozhou are still waiting for us at the gate of the Jiang Mansion!"
Li Yutao and Li Yuzhu looked at each other, feeling both guilty and amused.
"Oh no!" Li Yuzhu grabbed the two of them and was about to leave.
Li Yutao broke free from Li Yuzhu's grasp. "Sister, wait. I'll just eat one last bunch of sugar - coated haws."
When she came back, Li Yutao was holding a bunch of sugar - coated haws in her hand. She clumsily climbed onto the donkey cart.
"One last bunch?" Li Yuzhu stared at the red sugar - coated haws in disbelief.
"Hehe..." Li Yutao looked a bit embarrassed. "They're so delicious. I couldn't resist."
When the three of them reached the gate of the Jiang Mansion, they didn't see Li Wensong and Xu Bozhou.
Li Yuzhu politely asked a servant. The servant happily went in to announce their arrival.
Before long, the two of them came out. To be more precise, Li Wensong dragged Xu Bozhou out, who was reluctant to leave.
Li Yutao handed each of them a bunch of sugar - coated haws and scolded playfully, "Brother, why did it take you so long? We've been waiting until it's dark."
Xu Bozhou smiled guiltily. "Hehe... Our mistress insisted that we stay a bit longer."
Li Wensong rolled his eyes at him. "You really have the nerve to say that."
Xu Bozhou let out two awkward laughs and smiled sheepishly at everyone.
"Alright! Alright! Let's go back quickly." After shopping for an afternoon, Li Yutao's feet were tired. She was looking forward to going back and having a good rest. Her sister had said that she would cook some new dishes the next day.
Early the next morning, Li Yuzhu was woken up by the sound of firecrackers in the yard.
Li Yuzhu staggered into the yard, rubbing her eyes and yawning. She found that everyone was already up.
Li Yutao and Xiaodai were squatting on the ground playing with firecrackers. Li Wensong and Xu Bozhou were writing Spring Festival couplets.
"Sister, come and play with firecrackers. It's so much fun!" Li Yutao stood up and waved to Li Yuzhu with a big smile.
Li Yuzhu waved her hand. "You guys play."
On such a rare and wonderful day, she wanted to sleep in a bit more. So she turned around and went back to bed, pulling the covers over her head.
The next time Li Yuzhu woke up, it was Li Yutao who shook her awake. "Sister, get up quickly. It's time to eat hot pot."
Before her mind could fully wake up, the spicy smell of hot pot wafted into her nostrils.
Li Yuzhu sat up. This time, she was truly awake. It felt great to be full of energy.
"Who made the hot pot? The cooking skills are really good!" Li Yuzhu picked up a fish ball, blew on it, and popped it into her mouth.
Li Yutao said proudly, "Of course it was made by me and Brother Xiaodai."
Li Yuzhu immediately gave her a thumbs - up. "Good job. You're truly my well - trained apprentices."
Li Yutao became even more proud. "Of course!"
"Yuzhu, after we finish eating, let's put up the Spring Festival couplets together. We've been waiting for you." Xu Bozhou looked at Li Yuzhu with an expression that seemed to say "Look how nice I am."
"Okay then." With the thought that since she had traveled to this time, she might as well experience it, Li Yuzhu agreed willingly.
Li Yuzhu and Li Yutao were in charge of making the paste, while Li Wensong and Xu Bozhou were responsible for putting up the Spring Festival couplets.
To get involved, Li Yuzhu, Li Yutao, and Xiaodai put up the character "Fu" on the door so that they didn't have to climb the ladder.
The group also took out the lanterns they had bought and the window decorations they had cut the day before to decorate the small courtyard. The courtyard was brand - new, and the New Year atmosphere was immediately palpable.
"Time really flies!" Li Yuzhu stared blankly at the red lanterns hanging up.
Suddenly, Li Yutao jumped over and clung to Li Yuzhu. "Sister, when are we going to make the New Year's Eve dinner?"
Li Yuzhu came back to her senses. She blew on her hands, rubbed them, and replied, "Come on. Let's go now!"