The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 82 Ancient Version of My Brilliant Friend

"Aunt Tong, how are the birthday cakes coming along? The birthday banquet in the front hall is about to begin, and the master wants you to present the cakes you've made."

Yuqin arrived in a hurry with several old women and maids.

As she spoke, she glanced into the small kitchen, wanting to see what impressive pastries Tong Huaqiong had made.

Tong Huaqiong went up to her and said, "Miss Yuqin, everything is ready and waiting to be served."

While speaking, he invited Yuqin into the small kitchen. Yuqin wanted to see a pile of things on the table, all covered with food covers, which were then covered with layers of cloth to keep them completely covered.

"Aunt Tong, why are you covered up so thoroughly? Can I take a look first?" Yuqin said.

Yuqin was accompanied by maids and servants who served in the front hall. As soon as they arrived at the small kitchen, they were captivated by the aroma of pastries and stretched their necks to sniff them incessantly.

Like Yuqin, they were all curious about the pastries under the cover.

“Miss Yuqin, I covered it up on purpose, just to surprise the old lady at the birthday banquet,” Tong Huaqiong said.

Although Yuqin was itching to see it, after hearing what Tong Huaqiong said, she decided against watching it ahead of time.

"Alright, I'll bring some people to help you take it over now."

Yuqin waved to the maids and servants, saying, "Listen to Aunt Tong's instructions."

"Is the trolley I asked ready?" Tong Huaqiong asked the maids and servants who had nothing in their hands.

"We dare not disobey Sister Yuqin's orders. We've already made preparations and are outside," one of the maids said crisply.

A maid pushed a wooden cart to the doorway, and Tong Huaqiong was very satisfied.

She specifically asked for that trolley to hold the longevity peaches and cake.

Firstly, it's inconvenient for a person to carry the longevity peach cake. If it gets knocked over by accident, it will ruin the atmosphere of the birthday banquet, not to mention how she will stand out. Secondly, using a small cart is more effective. The longevity peach and cake will be revealed when the lid is lifted, which is very impressive.

Her regret was that she couldn't use music; otherwise, she would have imitated the idea of ​​a hot pot restaurant, with beautiful maids and young servants holding up big signs and singing songs while presenting the cake.

What a dazzling sight it was! It was almost the same as the birthday gifts that the imperial court presented to the emperor and empress dowager.

This was at the Huang residence, and she wasn't sure how to proceed, so she didn't dare to be too ostentatious. But once she opened her own shop, she would definitely have to copy this marketing tactic.

With a smile on her lips, Tong Huaqiong instructed the maids and servants to carefully move the longevity peaches, cake, and large koi fish onto the trolley.

She sighed with relief that while she was eating the meat, she had guessed that the time was almost up and had Man'er take the cake out of her spatial storage.

After the cake, longevity peaches, and koi fish were placed, Tong Huaqiong ordered several maids to serve peach blossom pastries, plum blossom pastries, and lotus blossom pastries.

While the maids and servants listened to Tong Huaqiong's instructions, Gu Taohua, following Tong Huaqiong's previous instructions, quietly pulled Yuqin to a corner and pointed to several plates of pastries, saying, "Sister Yuqin, these were baked for you by my mother."

Yuqin grinned; this widow Tong was worth befriending.

So she secretly accepted it and ordered her third-class maid to secretly take it inside later.

Tong Huaqiong, along with Gu Taohua and Man'er, followed Yuqin to the banquet hall in the front hall.

From afar, one could hear the lively sounds coming from the front hall, and along the way, maids and servants kept bringing dishes to the front hall.

Tong Huaqiong knew that the banquet was about to begin.

Tong Huaqiong had the maid carrying the pastries stand outside and wait for her to clap her hands as a signal to pass the pastries. She then had Gu Taohua push a small cart displaying longevity peaches, koi fish, and cakes. After that, she led Man'er and followed Yuqin into the banquet hall.

Upon entering the banquet hall, Tong Huaqiong looked around and saw various ladies and young women, dressed in elegant attire, chatting together. She even caught one of the ladies secretly pursing her lips and rolling her eyes at another.

This is not much different from modern banquets.

Chatting, gossiping, comparing.
Unfortunately, I'm just an employee and can't sit back and observe from the front lines.

"We're practically half-buried in the ground already, and I don't want to make such a fuss. If you ask me, I'd just quietly have a bowl of noodles and be done with it. But my son just won't agree and insists on making such a big commotion."

Tong Huaqiong followed Yuqin to the front of the banquet hall and looked up to see Old Madam Huang sitting at the head of the table, holding the hand of the old lady next to her and talking.

Although he said he didn't want to make such a big fuss about his birthday, his face was full of undisguised pride and joy.

The old lady next to her said, "It's because you have such a good son that you should accept his concern. Your son is truly filial, unlike my son who becomes arrogant as a county magistrate. He sits in court every day, and I don't see him for days. When I complain, he says that as a public official, he naturally has to keep the people in his heart." Tong Huaqiong thought to herself, "Good heavens, this is the magistrate's mother!"
She was also a widow.

The way the two old ladies sat and talked clearly showed they were best friends!

However, the conversation between the two carries a subtle sense of rivalry, making it an ancient version of "My Brilliant Friend".

Just as Grandma Huang was about to say something, Yuqin walked up to her.

"Grandma, Aunt Tong has come to present you with a birthday gift," Yuqin said with a sweet smile.

When the old lady heard that Tong Huaqiong had arrived, she beamed with joy. Her eyes swept over Tong Huaqiong. This widow from Qinghewan had said a few days ago that she would give her a surprise at her birthday banquet, and that she would keep it a secret. She was acting quite mysterious.

She was also curious about what kind of pastries Tong Huaqiong had presented.

Ideally, she should be able to win back some points in front of her best friend.

So what if your son is a county magistrate? Even a county magistrate isn't as considerate of his mother as her son is.

"Greetings, madam. Wishing you a long and happy life," Tong Huaqiong said in a measured tone.

The main approach is an unoriginal but foolproof route.

"What's that over there? Bring it here for me to see." The old lady didn't waste any words and asked Tong Huaqiong directly.

Hurry up, the female guests are all watching, everyone is waiting for the grand finale pastry to be served before the banquet begins.

Tong Huaqiong wasn't in a hurry; she clapped her hands towards the outside with a beaming smile.

The guests were all captivated; they had never seen anything like this at any birthday banquet they had ever attended.

Soon, Gu Taohua pushed in a small cart. The cart was piled high with longevity peaches, and what was even more wonderful was that the longevity hall was surrounded by wisps of ethereal energy, making it look like a fairyland.

This ethereal effect was created by Tong Huaqiong using dry ice.

As expected, the ethereal longevity peaches immediately captivated everyone upon their arrival.

Next to the peaches shrouded in smoke is a koi fish, and on the lower level is a birthday cake.

A pink dress wrapped around Gu Taohua's plump figure made her stand out like a juicy peach.

The maids from the Huang family, who were responsible for carrying the pastries, followed Gu Taohua in single file.

The guests were instantly captivated.

Gu Taohua came to Old Madam Huang's side, and Tong Huaqiong personally took the longevity peaches off the wooden cart and placed them one by one on the prepared table.

That's right, she's going to set up a birthday dessert table.

A circle of small longevity peaches surrounded the large, ethereal longevity peach, and Grandma Huang's eyes showed satisfaction.

After arranging the longevity peaches, Tong Huaqiong placed the koi carp on the table. Then, she took lotus leaves that had been prepared beforehand from a maid and placed them around the koi. She then uncovered the lotus-shaped pastries in the maid's hand and placed them one by one into the lotus leaves. Instantly, the entire table came alive, as if the koi carp were swimming among the lotus leaves and flowers.

Gu Taohua helped Tong Huaqiong arrange various flower-shaped pastries, such as peach blossom pastries and plum blossom pastries, on the dessert table.

As a result, the entire dessert table became adorned with flowers.

Many guests stared in disbelief.

I never imagined that pastries could be made in such a novel way.

Amidst the guests' continuous praise, the main event arrived: Tong Huaqiong unveiled a three-tiered cake and placed it on top of the table.

The cake was carefully prepared by Tong Huaqiong, decorated with flower petals all around and with a large "longevity" character written in the center.

"what is this?"

Not to mention the guests, even the county magistrate's mother had never seen this novelty before.

Grandma Huang glanced at her best friend and couldn't help but ask Tong Huaqiong, her voice filled with indescribable satisfaction.

(End of this chapter)