Mixed Doubles
The cream cake was placed to the side, but the children still kept staring at it.
An’an stuffed a piece of sweet and sour rib into her mouth while frowning at the cake. She wanted to eat less rice so she could save room for cake, but the meal was delicious too! There were so many dishes she loved, and some she had never eaten before. She simply couldn’t not eat.
After finishing the meat and spitting out the bone, An’an sighed faintly. “Aiya~”
Lu Zetian looked up at her. “What’s wrong?”
An’an explained her troubles and regretfully patted her belly. “Why can’t I eat more? Then I wouldn’t have to choose between meat and cake.”
Qin Shi burst out laughing and pointed at the sweet and sour ribs, candied sweet potatoes, and another dish. “These dishes won’t keep well. They won’t taste good reheated tomorrow. Finish these first. The rest can be eaten tomorrow.”
An’an instantly became happy and waved her spoon. “Yay!”
Lu Zetian looked at Qin Shi, silently thinking: *You really spoil them.*
Qin Shi saw his look, shrugged, and smiled as she continued eating.
In truth, she hadn’t made that many dishes today, and the portions weren’t large. Who would have thought they still couldn’t finish them?
After quickly finishing dinner, the three children helped Qin Shi and Lu Zetian clear the table. They eagerly wiped it clean with a cloth, then waited expectantly for the adults to divide the cake.
Seeing how greedy they looked, Qin Shi told them to wait. She and Lu Zetian quickly washed the dishes together before bringing the cake back to the table.
The children were still too young, and there was no proper cake knife at home, only a fruit knife, so Qin Shi didn’t dare let them cut it with her. She did it herself.
When Qin Shi touched the cake with the knife, the children’s eyes widened, their gazes following the blade completely.
As the knife came down, the children unconsciously held their breath, full of anticipation.
Qin Shi smiled at them and cut the roughly six-inch cake into six pieces. She placed one piece into each of the five bowls, then put the remaining piece onto a small plate, planning to send it to Auntie Zhao next door.
“You eat first. I’ll go next door.” Qin Shi divided the cake and picked up the plate.
Lu Zetian reached out. “I’ll go. You eat first.”
Qin Shi was never polite with Lu Zetian. Seeing him say this, she handed him the cake and reminded him, “If Auntie Zhao gives you anything, absolutely don’t accept it. She already gave the children birthday gifts during the day.”
Aunt Zhao had given the twins two red scarves. The wool was very good, soft to the touch, with neat stitches and excellent craftsmanship.
Once the weather grew colder, the twins could wear them.
Lu Zetian nodded and strode out of the room.
“Can we eat now? Or should we wait for Dad?” An’an asked, blinking.
Qin Shi patted her head and smiled. “Eat. No need to wait for your dad.”
The twins cheered and hurriedly scooped up the cake. As soon as they stuffed it into their mouths, the rich, mellow taste of cream made them narrow their eyes.
First came the smooth, delicate cream. Once it melted, their mouths filled with a milky fragrance. Then, when they chewed, the soft, sweet cake mixed with the cream, doubling the deliciousness.
“Mm—” Pingping covered his mouth with both hands. He wanted to praise how tasty it was, but couldn’t bear to open his mouth and speak, so he could only stomp his feet.
An’an’s eyes shone. After swallowing, she quickly scooped up another spoonful.
This spoonful had not only cream and cake, but also fruit filling. The yellow peach was sweet, while the orange carried a hint of sourness, perfectly balancing the cake so it wasn’t greasy at all.
Sweet and sour, rich in texture, and just right in flavour.
Qin Shi took a bite and nodded in satisfaction. Without low-gluten flour, she had mixed starch and ordinary flour to make the cake base, but unexpectedly, it turned out quite well.
The cream whipped from butter and milk was also good. Whether it was because of the optimisation brought by her golden finger or not, in short, it was delicious!
Although the ingredients were expensive and the process troublesome, since it tasted this good, the effort hadn’t been wasted.
Qin Shi glanced at the children. Seeing even Gu Qinghai eating with his head down, she smiled in satisfaction.
Next door at Auntie Zhao’s house, Political Commissar Zheng opened the door for Lu Zetian. Looking at the cake in his hand, he was a little surprised.
“This is that… what was it called again?”
“Cream cake,” Lu Zetian explained.
“Right, right, that’s it. Where did you buy it?” Political Commissar Zheng asked curiously. There didn’t seem to be any shops nearby selling this kind of thing.
Lu Zetian smiled. “It’s Pingping and An’an’s birthday. Qin Shi made it specially.”
Political Commissar Zheng glanced at him and immediately chuckled. “You married a good wife, so now you’ve come to show off to me?”
Lu Zetian didn’t say anything, only handed him the plate. “Try it.”
Political Commissar Zheng didn’t stand on ceremony and accepted it with a smile. “Then I’ll benefit from the children and try something Western.”
Lu Zetian turned and went home, while Political Commissar Zheng carried the plate back inside. When Auntie Zhao saw what he was holding, she knew Qin Shi had come up with something new again.
“What kind of dessert is this?”
“Cream cake. A Western dessert.” Political Commissar Zheng brought the plate in front of his little grandson and teased him with a smile. “Come, come, smell it. Is it fragrant? Do you want some?”
The baby looked at the orange on top of the cake and was instantly attracted. He reached out with an “ah, ah.”
Auntie Zhao often gave him a segment of orange to suck on, so he knew that could be eaten.
Seeing this, Auntie Zhao burst out laughing. She carried the child to get a spoon, scooped a little cream to taste, and immediately exclaimed, “Mm~ This tastes good, soft and sweet.”
Then she scooped a little more cream and fed it to her grandson.
When the baby tasted the sweetness, his dark, watery eyes brightened even more. Unable to speak, he kept going “ah~ ah~” at the cake.
“Just let the child taste it. Don’t feed him too much. He only ate not long ago,” Political Commissar Zheng said, holding the plate.
Auntie Zhao rolled her eyes at him. “I know. Why are you rushing?”
Political Commissar Zheng also liked sweets and usually enjoyed pastries and fruit. Now that he saw this cream cake, of course he wanted to try it too.
After feeding the child two small bites, Auntie Zhao didn’t dare give him more. The child cried loudly, so Auntie Zhao carried him into the inner room to coax him and told Political Commissar Zheng to quickly finish it.
After a while, once the child was comforted and no longer crying, Political Commissar Zheng came inside and got onto the heated bed, gently patting his grandson and quietly telling Auntie Zhao to wash up.
Auntie Zhao agreed and went out, carrying a basin to the kitchen to pour hot water. As soon as she entered, she saw half a piece of cake beside the thermos flask. There was still orange on top and filling inside.
Auntie Zhao froze for a moment, then picked up the plate and muttered, “This old man. I told him to finish it, yet he still saved some for me. It’s not like I didn’t taste it…”
She scooped a spoonful of cake and ate it, her face full of smiles. It was unclear whether it was because the cake tasted good.
The sweet cake and wonderful birthday left the children in an excellent mood. Even when they woke the next day, they were still smiling, as if still savouring yesterday’s happiness.
Qin Shi had class in the morning, so the twins went out with her and ran off to play with their little friends.
Since they hadn’t come out to play at all on their birthday yesterday, some children asked where they had gone.
An’an was extremely excited and carefully explained how she and Pingping had spent their birthday. The other children exclaimed again and again, filled with envy.
When Duoduo heard An’an say they had eaten cream cake, her eyes widened. “Is it the kind from TV? Cream cake?”
An’an nodded hard. “Exactly that! It was so, so, so, so delicious! Soft, sweet, and fragrant—ten thousand times better than egg cake!”
In their eyes, egg cake was already a rare delicacy. Cream cake was actually ten thousand times better than egg cake?! How delicious must that be?
The children surrounded An’an and Pingping, asking question after question. After hearing their detailed description, they were so greedy they nearly drooled.
More than an hour later, Qin Shi finished class and returned, calling the twins away. The other children stopped playing too and ran home excitedly to find their mothers, shouting that they wanted cream cake, sweet and sour ribs, candied sweet potatoes, stir-fried pork, and steamed fish.
As soon as the mothers heard this, they were both angry and amused. “Was it Pingping and An’an again?”
The children nodded repeatedly. “Yesterday was Pingping and An’an’s birthday. Their stepmother took them to the county to play, bought them gifts, and made cream cake and loads of delicious food!”
“Mom, I want some too!”
The gentler mothers said, “Mom doesn’t know how, and we don’t have the money. Wait until your dad comes back tonight and ask him.”
The sensible children nodded, planning to cling to their fathers that evening. The less sensible children began pestering relentlessly, even throwing tantrums and crying.
Then some mothers lost their temper completely, poking a finger against the child’s forehead and snapping, “Eat, eat, eat! All you know is eating! Do you think I don’t want to make it?”
“Not a single cent, yet you want meat, fish, and cream cake?”
“How about I sell myself—or sell you—to buy one?”
The children who knew how to read the room immediately became timid and no longer dared act up. But the stubborn ones, or those too greedy to bear it, continued throwing tantrums.
“I don’t care, I don’t care! I want to eat it! Pingping and An’an always eat meat and have new clothes. I want that too, waaah!”
The mothers could no longer hold back. Their iron palms smacked the children’s little bottoms. “I think you’re dreaming!”
“Waaah—”
Pig-slaughter-like cries rang out from house after house in the compound.
That evening, when the fathers returned home, the children who had been beaten persisted in asking them for meat, while pitifully complaining about their mothers.
The mothers sneered. The fathers felt headaches coming on. “Alright, alright. We’ll buy meat.”
No matter how hard life was, the children couldn’t suffer, right? Since the children were this greedy, they would buy some meat to satisfy them.
Seeing their fathers agree, some children pushed their luck. “I also want cream cake. I’ve never eaten it in my whole life!”
The fathers froze. “Why do you suddenly want that?”
The mothers rolled their eyes nearby. “The Lu family twins had their birthday, and their stepmother made cream cake. I don’t have that skill. I can’t make it.”
The child began crying again. “I want it, I want it!”
The mother, whose patience had long run out, snapped, “Having meat is already good enough, and you still want cream cake? Keep fussing and I’ll throw you out!”
The child huffed angrily. “Throw me out then! If you throw me out, I’ll go find Pingping and An’an. I’ll become their family’s child!”
Then he could eat and drink delicious things every day!
His mother was half-dead with anger and smacked his little bottom again. The child cried once more. Furious from being hit twice in one day, he spoke without thinking.
“Bad mom! You always hit me and won’t give me food, waaah!”
“Dad! Find me a stepmother! One like Pingping and An’an’s, who can make tasty food, sew new clothes, and is pretty!”
This time, not only his mother but even his father became angry. His little bottom suffered a mixed double beating from both parents.
“Ah—”
“Wuwuwu—”
“Help!”
His cries and screams echoed through the entire street.
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