Golden Branch

Chapter 25 Two Letters (Seeking First Subscription)
Wang Mian held a food box containing two soufflés that she had painstakingly replicated.

God knows how much effort she put into making it.
The first step is to boil the sugar!

After several days of fussing, a jar of mulberry juice could only yield a small amount of sugar.

Next, you need to make fine flour.

The wheat flour sent by the Wang family was already a very fine grain, but it still didn't meet the standards of later generations.

Wang Mian had to grind and sift the material repeatedly before it was barely usable.

The third step is to whip the egg whites. Since there is no whisk, you can only use chopsticks to stir them vigorously.

Wang Mian's body was severely malnourished; her arms and legs were thin, and she had no strength at all.

It was still the men in the family, including Grandpa and Grandfather, who took turns to do it.

The family's support stemmed from two reasons: first, they saw that Wang Mian had brought back a string of copper coins; and second, they saw the noble servants of the Wang family who had accompanied Wang Mian home.

Only then did they realize that Wang Mian hadn't been messing around for the past few months, but had actually been busy with important matters.

When she said she dreamed of immortals, she wasn't just fooling her family; she really had a miraculous encounter!
Since that's the case, then the whole family should pitch in and do everything in their power to help Wang Mian accomplish this task—we can't afford not to, since we've already offended a powerful figure, and if we fail, the whole family will suffer!

Wang Mian mobilized her entire family and worked for several days, but in the end, she could only make two palm-sized soufflés.

The taste is actually a bit lacking.

However, this is already the best product that Wang Mian could make.

In this fictional feudal dynasty, it is also a novel pastry unlike anything ever seen before.

Wang Mian didn't look at anything else; just by seeing the shock and joy in the eyes of the maid sent by the Wang family, she knew: It's done! The important person will definitely be satisfied!
As soon as it came out of the pot, Wang Mian couldn't wait to take it to the village.

only--

Who is this bratty kid following behind the little girl?
How could it be so bearish?
Knowing the little girl loves to eat, he deliberately used delicious food as bait to trick her into calling him "Dad"?!
The Wang family's little girl is only five or six years old, just between being sensible and not being sensible.

A child that young could very well do something, and—

Just as Wang Mian was worried that Wang Heng might be fooled into doing something stupid that would become a black mark on her life, she saw Wang Heng blink her big eyes and say in a soft voice, "Brother, let's eat the soufflé first!"

Wang Mian secretly breathed a sigh of relief: Thank goodness! Thank goodness! The little girl is just young, she's not really stupid!

Lou Dalang was stunned for a moment, staring fixedly at Wang Heng's innocent and radiant smiling face.

Suddenly, he pursed his lips: "Fatty, do you think I can't handle beef?"

He had known all along that this chubby girl, though seemingly innocent, was actually quite clever.

With just a few words and without bringing the item, you can't fool her at all!

"...Brother, this soufflé smells so sweet, it must be delicious!"

Wang Heng simply wouldn't pick up on the topic of "beef," as if she wasn't the one who had just said she "wanted to eat" beef.

Lou Dalang: ...

Lou Dalang bit his cheek hard and shouted, "Help!"

Almost instantly, a figure appeared like a ghost.

Wang Mian was startled, but then her eyes filled with excitement: My God, is this the legendary Dark Guard?
Wang Heng remained obedient; to her, the suddenly appearing guard was far less noteworthy than the soufflé in Wang Mian's hand.

"I want to eat beef!" Lou Dalang issued the order with great familiarity and arrogance.

"Yes!" The guard did not hesitate for a moment, nor did he try to persuade him with anything such as "oxen cannot be slaughtered, and even if you want to eat beef, you can only wait until the ox is sick or there is an accident."

"After you've prepared the beef, bring it straight here!" Lou Dalang was still hoping to hear the chubby girl call him "Yay!"

"Yes!" the guard replied respectfully again. Seeing that Lou Dalang had no further instructions, he vanished from everyone's sight in a flash.

Wang Mian: ...Cool!

She once again experienced the unbridled, noble, and willful nature of the powerful and wealthy in ancient dynasties!
……

He invited Lou Dalang and Wang Mian to sit at the stone table in the backyard, and then had a maid bring water to wash their hands.

Once everything was ready, Wang Heng began to enjoy the food.

"Brother, you eat first!"

Wang Heng, suppressing the drool that was gushing from her mouth, greeted Lou Dalang in a soft, sweet voice.

"Hmph! At least you know the rules!"

Even when there's something good to eat, and you really want to eat it, you still know to defer to the "boss".

This pleased Lou Dalang, who had just taken Wang Heng as his follower.

Without any hesitation, he reached out and grabbed a piece of soufflé.

Ok?
Lou Dalang's eyes lit up. This pastry was so soft; when you pinched it, it felt like a ball of cotton.

It tastes just as delicate and soft as it feels to the touch.

It's not dry or choking; although it doesn't quite melt in your mouth, it's really moist and soft.

"...Is this what it feels like to eat clouds?"

Just as Lou Dalang was wondering what the pastry looked like, he heard Wang Heng's cheers.

Lou Dalang turned his head and saw Wang Heng also holding a piece of pastry and eating it.

She was like a chubby squirrel, holding something in her two little chubby hands, eating in small bites with her bright red mouth, her cheeks puffed out roundly, and her big eyes filled with the joy and satisfaction of eating something delicious.

"Fatty! It's just a snack! Is that all you're getting?"

Lou Dalang feigned disdain and curled his lip, but in his heart he had already agreed with Wang Heng's analogy: Indeed, this pastry is like a cloud.

While thinking to himself and complaining, Lou Dalang didn't stop eating. He finished the palm-sized soufflé in just a few bites.

"……not bad!"

Lou Dalang offered a reluctant compliment.

Wang Mian: ...Heh, you said it was not bad, but you finished it in just two or three bites?

A naughty child who says one thing but does another!

Lou Dalang actually wanted to ask one more question: Is there anything else?
It's so small, barely enough to fill a tooth gap.

However, although he was domineering, he was also clever; he knew he couldn't easily reveal his weaknesses to others.

If your preferences are known to others, you can easily be manipulated.

Lou Dalang often uses other people's "pulse points" to play pranks, and he certainly doesn't want to be the one who gets tricked or threatened!
Wang Heng, on the other hand, didn't have that many thoughts.

Furthermore, she doesn't mind spreading her reputation as a foodie.

She swallowed the last bite, savoring it slowly. After a while, she looked at Wang Mian with lingering interest and asked, "Is there any more?"

"Reporting to you, young lady, my family and I have been busy these past few days, and we have only managed to obtain these two pieces!"

"Besides the complexity of the process, the key issue is the scarcity of the materials!"

Wang Mian stood with her hands at her sides, respectful but with a hint of embarrassment.

It's hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice.

In ancient times, when resources were scarce, there was truly nothing available.

Watching her family struggle to whip egg whites, Wang Mian couldn't help but wonder: We're both time-travelers, so why can our predecessors easily recreate birthday cakes in ancient times, while she struggles so much to even make the most basic "cake base"?
"...Are the materials rare?"

Wang Heng pursed her lips, thinking hard.

"Jujube juice? Do you need jujube juice?"

Wang Heng remembered that Wang Mian's eyes lit up when he heard about the mulberry juice on the official road that day. From this, Wang Heng could guess that among all the ingredients Wang Mian needed, the mulberry juice must have played a crucial role.

"The little girl is clever; she definitely needs mulberry juice! Uh, sugarcane will do too!"

Wang Mian quickly replied, adding, "However, sugarcane is a specialty of the south; we don't have it in Yizhou!"

Although Yizhou had river transport connecting several prefectures and counties, it was able to transport some goods from the south.

However, the world is in turmoil, and the waterways are not smooth, making transportation extremely difficult.

Strategic resources such as food are one thing, but the manpower and financial resources expended are worthwhile.

But... for the sake of sugarcane, so... so—

Wang Mian cautiously expressed her concerns and the various difficulties she faced in reality.

"Oh!"

Wang Heng responded blankly.

Oh, it's so complicated! No wonder people consider a jar of mulberry juice a delicacy.

"What's this!"

Lou Dalang listened patiently to Wang Mian's words, then snorted dismissively: "It's just sugarcane. I'll have my father put in a word with someone, and a caravan will find a way to bring it over!"

At this point, Lou Dalang moved closer to Wang Heng again, tempting her once more: "Fatty, want some sugarcane? Call me 'Yeye,' and I'll make it for you! As much as you want, I'll give you!"

Wang Mian: ...What kind of brat is this? Why is he so obsessed with getting people to call him "Dad"?
Wang Heng blinked her big, round eyes and asked, "Brother, do you need to ask your parents for help?"

In this era, "father" is an honorific title for an adult.

"...That's not important!"

For some reason, when he heard Wang Heng naively point out the fact that "Lou Dalang can only do this or that because of his biological father," Lou Dalang felt inexplicably ashamed and indignant.

He was indeed a little tyrant, feared and fawned upon by everyone, but not because of his own prowess, but because of his powerful father!

Despite his young age, Lou Dalang possesses an extremely strong sense of self-respect and pride.

In the past, it wasn't that no one had ever scolded him like this, saying that he could act so recklessly only because he had a good father.

Back then, when Lou Dalang heard such words, he would only raise his head and say even more arrogantly, "So what! I have a good father! And you don't! So you can only let your father bully you!"

But when similar words came from the chubby girl's mouth, Lou Dalang... but...

"I see!"

Wang Heng was unaware that her casual question had caused Lou Dalang to misunderstand.

She suddenly spoke, her eyes filled with excitement: "Brother, I also have a father! I can ask him for help!"

So, there's no need to bother Lou Dalang, that little tyrant who's always trying to trick her into shouting "Yay!"

Lou Dalang: ...Damn it! How could I forget, the chubby girl really does have her own yay!
So, she won't call him "Yeye" anymore?

Lou Dalang sat on the stone bench, still angry.

He probably doesn't even understand what he's angry about or what he's so fixated on.

What angered Lou Dalang even more was that while he was already angry, the chubby girl hadn't noticed at all and was still talking to that skinny, short, and dark-skinned commoner—

"...You're right, the soufflé is really delicious! And what about the braised pork?"

"Reporting to the young lady, we are also short of ingredients for braised pork!"

"What's missing? Or is it mulberry juice?"

"Yes! Also, we're short on meat! Braised pork requires pork, but unprocessed pork has a foul odor and can't be given to such an important person!"

Wang Mian mentioned this section with a sense of helplessness.

Originally, she was thinking of giving it a try, since the Wang family provided a fairly complete set of braising spices, which might be able to mask the stench.

But after trying it, Wang Mian was filled with despair.

Even the most versatile braising spice packet can't save pork that hasn't been castrated.

"...Huh? It smells bad? I can't eat it?" Wang Heng's disappointed face fell.

Seeing this, Wang Mian felt a little sorry for him and quickly tried to salvage the situation: "It's not that there's no way, it just takes some time."

"How long? A few days?"

"...a few months, or even a year!"

Wang Heng's face fell again. "Waaah, if soufflé is so delicious, braised pork, which is even more difficult to make, will be even more delicious."

And such delicious food takes so long to prepare?

Wang Heng's cravings had been whetted by Wang Mian, and now they were screaming wildly in her stomach: I want to eat! I want to eat! I want to eat!

Just then, a dark shadow suddenly appeared.

He knelt on one knee, cupped his hands, and reported to Lou Dalang, "Dalang, an ox accidentally fell to its death on the estate. Butcher Ding has already finished processing it, and the beef is outside the courtyard!"

Upon hearing this, Lou Dalang immediately perked up.

He turned to Wang Heng: "Fatty, pork stinks, what's so good about it? Let's eat beef instead! Look, you heard it too, the beef is right outside your estate—"

He stared intently at Wang Heng, his eyes filled with determination: "Just say 'Yay!' and I'll have beef brought in. I'll even have the chef, who's skilled at cooking beef, prepare a special beef feast just for you!"

Wang Mian: ...It's unbearable to look at!

However, while these mischievous kids may be naughty, they certainly have the right to be.

In ancient times, when killing oxen was illegal, it was surprising that you could get beef if you wanted to eat it!

This is what the powerful and wealthy are like; they are completely unrestrained by the law.

Wang Heng also looked at Lou Dalang.

His big eyes blinked, as if he was thinking about something.

A moment later, Wang Heng stood up and moved closer to Lou Dalang.

She leaned close to Lou Dalang's ear and whispered, "Yay! Can you do me a favor?"

"I don't want to eat beef! I...I want you to deliver a letter for me!"

When Wang Heng approached, Lou Dalang smelled a pleasant aroma.

It smells like flowers, and also like milk.

Lou Dalang wasn't sure what it tasted like, but he thought it smelled fragrant and sweet.

Wang Heng's sweet and endearing "Yay!" made Lou Dalang feel incredibly comfortable.

This wasn't the first time someone had been forced to call him "Yay!" by him, but the chubby girl's cry touched Lou Dalang's heart.

"...No beef? You just want me to deliver the message?"

"Yes! Send the letter to the military camp in Yizhou and give it to my mother, Jiang!"

Lou Dalang was instantly jolted awake from the saccharine atmosphere when he heard the words Yizhou and the Jiang family.

He stared intently at Wang Heng. "Fatty, you didn't just prepare one letter, did you?"

He seemed to have guessed Wang Heng's thoughts. This chubby girl is indeed a smart person!
"Hmm! I'm going to write two letters!"

Wang Heng raised two fingers, her voice childish, but a dark glint flashed in her eyes...

PS: It's officially released! Early update, hehe, please subscribe and vote! ┗|｀O′|┛Aww~~
(End of this chapter)