【New Red Mansion】Perfect World

Lin Pin'er thought: There are many complicated relationships in this family, and many people must be involved. It's better for me to stay away from the trouble.

Shui Rong saw that she didn't continue asking, and knew that she didn't want to get involved, so he changed the subject:

"How about I come over for breakfast tomorrow morning?"

Pin'er smiled: "That's strange, your grandmother doesn't make breakfast for you? You don't sleep in on the weekend?"

"I don't know who said, 'Let me come to your place for breakfast in the future.'"

"That was during school. Now that it's the weekend, I thought you should take a break."

“I don’t have the habit of sleeping in.”

Pin'er was happy and asked him what he wanted to eat so that she could arrange for Zijuan to prepare it.

"It doesn't matter what you eat, it's more important who you eat with."

The two were chatting when Xiangyun came back.

"Yun'er came back early today. She gets up early and goes to bed late every day. She works harder than me."

Shi Xiangyun changed her shoes while running over here in a hurry.

"How are your preparations going? We are going to Jingu on the 23rd, and we have to rehearse a day in advance. Do you want to go with me or a day later?"

Pin'er knew that she was asking about the music festival. She had been so busy resting these days that she had forgotten about going to Jingu.

"I have to tell my grandmother first." Pin'er said uncertainly. She also had to check what day of the week it was. It was not easy to ask for leave from school too often.

"The 23rd is Thursday." Xiangyun had already seen it.

"Then let's leave on Friday, right after school in the afternoon."

"Drive?" Xiangyun asked again.

"Well, let Shifan drive. We'll be there in just over an hour."

Pin'er felt that it was enough for the two of them to discuss it, as she couldn't drive or make arrangements.

"By the way, have you just read the message in the group? There is a meeting tomorrow morning, and Xue Baochai is also going to move to a new house. Do you want to go?" Pin'er asked Xiangyun.

"I can go to the meeting, but I won't go to her housewarming party." Xiangyun said and went upstairs to change clothes.

Shui Rong saw that it was almost ten o'clock, so he didn't sit for long and got up to put on his coat.

"Wait for me to have dinner together tomorrow morning."

"Good."

Shui Rong didn't let her see him out, and just said goodbye at the entrance.

*

Although it was late at night, Li Wan's courtyard was quite lively. Her aunt came as a guest and brought her two younger sisters: Li Wen and Li Qi.

Li Wan had her own selfish motives. When Jia Zhu was alive, the Li family married their daughter Li Wan to the Jia family. They were a perfect match, not to mention their good looks. Their family backgrounds were also well matched. After she gave birth to Jia Lan, she wanted to work in the Jia family's company, so she discussed with her family about bringing in an investment, which was intended to be invested in this garden. But because the land had not been acquired, the money had been left hanging. It had been delayed for many years, and it was not easy to tear her face if she wanted to withdraw her shares. Besides, Jia She looked like he had no money and could only wait for dividends. That was why Li Wan had stayed in the Jia family. Now that the garden was built, Li Wan found Jia She and said that he should be given a position even if it was interest after so many years. That was how today's plan came about.

Li Wan sat at the tea table, poured a cup of tea for her aunt, and then said, "Let the sisters come and stay over on the weekend. I have an event going on here. They can come and help me. I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. I suffered because I didn't have anyone close to me. They don't have to work hard, just speak for me. If anyone is dissatisfied, please give me some face."

Aunt Li held the teacup with both hands and said with a smile on her face: "What kind of help is this? It's their duty. If they don't help their own sister, how can they be considered a human being? It's just that they are young and afraid of being inconsiderate. You teach them. Do they dare not listen? You tell me, and I will tell them."

Li Wan smiled and said, "There is nothing to do, so I just came here to play. The only thing is that the children of the Jia family like to vote, and they vote on all matters, big or small. I just took on this task, and now I need to establish some prestige. Just stand on my side and it will be fine no matter what you do."

Aunt Li said to her two daughters in a serious tone, "Do you understand? From now on, listen to your elder sister when you come here. Your elder sister should take precedence in everything."

The two men just nodded. They were both kids who had just entered college and were at the age where they loved to play.

After drinking tea for a while, Li Wan asked Suyun to arrange for her two sisters to go upstairs to wash up and go to bed.

Aunt Li saw her daughters going upstairs and stood up to leave. Before leaving, she lowered her voice and asked, "Don't you want to start a family again? I see that your actions today indicate that you are planning to make a big move. Have you made up your mind?"

Li Wan chuckled and said, "It has been delayed for so many years, and my life has come to this. But I have to consider Lan'er's future. Also, I have to get back the money my family invested. I can't let them get away with it. I have my own justice to seek."

Aunt Li was also unsure after hearing this, so she just nodded, comforted her a few more words, and then went back.

*

The next morning, Pin'er woke up before seven. After Shui Rong left yesterday, Pin'er dragged Zi Juan to study making small cookies. The other ingredients were fine, but there was no low-gluten flour. She asked Wang Xifeng for flour in the middle of the night.

Lin Pin'er also asked for Xing Xiuyan's recipe, mixed it according to the proportions, and by the time she squeezed it into the mold and put it in the freezer, it was almost eleven o'clock.

So she woke up early in the morning excitedly just to see her cookies being put into the oven.

"Xing Xiuyan said to preheat it first." Pin'er looked at the chat history in her mobile phone while adjusting the oven.

Zijuan rarely does these things, so this oven is brand new and has never been used.

"Just let the oven run idle for a while? Won't it burn?" Zijuan said this and suddenly remembered that she had seen an oven thermometer in the drawer.

"Put this in. We'll put the cookies in when the temperature is right from outside." Pin'er gave the orders. She watched a lot of videos on baking cookies last night.

Pin'er prepared two kinds of batter, one with pistachio crumbs and the other with fig crumbs. The patterns were bunnies, pigs, and dolphins. There were only these three molds at home, which Zijuan had bought for fruit shaping.

As soon as I put the two-layer baking tray into the oven, the water-soluble stuff came. Pin'er moved a chair to stare at the oven. She wanted to watch the temperature. It was said on the Internet that everyone's oven has different personalities. When making it for the first time, you have to keep an eye on the temperature and can't just bake it according to the recipe.

Slowly, the aroma wafted out of the oven.

"It smells nice." Shui Rong suddenly said behind him.

As expected, Pin'er was startled.

"You always speak suddenly and scare people like this."

"You are so timid! Let me touch your fur..." Shui Rong touched her head, thinking that it had been a long time since he had scared her.

Zijuan just heated up the milk, used it to make cereal, and then cut some fruits to arrange on the plate. Today's breakfast was relatively simple, with biscuits as the main dish.

"You'll be eating soon. Go wash your hands."

The result was not immediate, and Pin'er did it several times. She opened the oven and took out the cookies to check, and put them back in if she felt the temperature was not high enough. She took a notebook and added the time on it while baking, so that she would know how many minutes it would take next time.

“It turns out that baking cookies is a science.” Shui Rong concluded.

When it is finally done, use heat-insulating gloves to remove the baking tray. Let it cool down and use dental floss to clean the irregular places around it before placing it on the plate.

Place three cookies on each plate and some fruit and serve.

"Try it." Pin'er looked at Shui Rong with expectant eyes.

Shui Rong picked up a piglet mixed with pistachio crumbs and gnawed on the pig's head.

"Well, it's delicious."

"Success." Pin'er was happy and went upstairs to wake up Xiangyun.

After breakfast, Pin'er was sitting in front of the computer, writing something down in her notebook. When Shuirong looked over, he saw that it was some baking materials, including food and tools.

"My grandmother also likes to make these. You've eaten the egg tarts she baked. You can ask her for some of her recipes." Shui Rong suggested.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I meant." Pin'er said with the pen in her hand against her face.

"Don't leave marks on your face."

Shui Rong said it lightly, then took out his phone and called his grandma.

After a while, Shui Rong handed his phone to Pin'er: "This is the recipe my grandmother gave you. Do you want me to print it out for you?"

Pin'er took the phone and looked through it carefully. The prescriptions given by Old Madam Li were also written down in the notebook, and they were all taken and sent to her.

"I also want to write it by hand, so I can't find it easily. And once I write it by hand, I can remember it in my mind."