Chapter 4 — Forced Kiss

The more I sit still and do not move, the more aggressive and intimidating I seem. Mrs. Tham looked at her with satisfaction. "Van Duong, go get the breakfast I made, let you ladies taste it." Lam Van Duong replied and left. Not long after, she returned carrying a plate of apricot cake. "This is what I made myself. Miss Tong likes sweet food, I specially added less sugar, I'm afraid she will get sick of eating too much." I looked at the plate of sponge cake. Tan Tran leaned closer to smell it and said in a low voice: "A Ninh, why is this smell a bit familiar?" Of course I feel familiar. This recipe was given to Mrs. Tham by my mother in the past. Mrs. Tham's teeth were not good and she could not eat hard snacks. My mother knew about it, so she let the chef in the palace fix it three times to make this apricot cake. The Tham family relied on this formula and was praised at several banquets. Now it turns out that Lam Van Duong did it herself. Mrs. Tham smiled and said: "Van Duong is meticulous, this apricot cake was even praised by the old mother from the palace." I asked: "Miss Lam did it herself?" Lam Van Duong nodded: "Yes." "The formula is also yours?" She paused: "It's something I've been tinkering with for the past few years, it's not worth mentioning." Just as Tan Tran was about to open her mouth, I stopped her. I picked up a piece of apricot cake and broke it open to see the filling inside. "Miss Lam is really skillful." Lam Van Duong breathed a sigh of relief. Tham Nghien looked at me and calmed down a bit: "If you spoke so early, why would today be so chaotic?" I put the cake back on the plate. "It's just that this cake is still a little lacking." The smile on Lam Van Duong's face faded: "Miss Tong also understands how to make breakfast?" "Understood." Mrs. Tham sardonically said: "Minh Ninh, you are Miss Marquis, ten fingers are not sticky with spring water, why do you need to be here trying to show off? Van Duong has been making breakfast for seven years, a sentence of your basic understanding, you say it as if you can point it out." I stood up: "Let me borrow the kitchen for a while." Tham Nghien frowned: "What do you want to do?" "Make a dish you've never eaten before." Someone immediately became interested in the flower hall. The round-faced lady smiled and said: "This is really new. Miss Hau goes down to the kitchen, I've really never seen it before." Mrs. Tham originally didn't want to agree, but many people looked at her like that, and if she stopped them, they would seem guilty. She beckoned to Mother Hua. "Lead Miss Tong to the kitchen. Don't let her hurt her hand, turn around and blame the Tham residence." I followed Mother Hua to the back kitchen. Xuan Dao and Tan Tran wanted to follow, I shook my head: "You guys wait here." Mother Hua walked in front, speaking in a strange yin and yang voice: "Miss Song is dressed in gold and jade, I'm afraid you don't even know what the kitchen looks like. Later if you can't do it, no one will laugh if you admit your mistake." I looked at her back. "Hua ma ma." "Miss Tong, what did you say?" "You're walking too slowly." She stopped, her face dark. Coming to the kitchen, it was full of maids and maids standing inside. I glanced at the kitchen table. Wheat flour, honey, apricots, and lard are all there, just missing a pine nut flavor. I asked: "Where are the pine nuts?" The female chef said: "Miss Lam just finished using it all." Mother Hua immediately continued: "Without rice, it's difficult for a skilled person to cook rice. If Miss Tong can't do it, why don't you go home." I rolled up my sleeves: "No need for pine nuts." The female chef watched me chop the apricot meat, mix the filling, knead the dough, roll the layers, her movements were fluid, her eyes gradually changed. Mother Hua stood next to the door, coughing from time to time. I didn't raise my head: "Mom, if your throat is bad, go out and drink water. Don't cough phlegm into the powder." The little maids in the kitchen held back laughter until their shoulders shook. Mother Hua was so angry that her face twitched: "Miss Song is careful." Half an hour later, the apricot cake came out of the oven. I carried the plate back to the flower hall. Lam Van Duong has changed her clothes,

standing next to Mrs. Tham. Seeing me turn around, she gently said: "Miss Tong has worked hard." We put the plate of cake on the table. When the fragrance emanated, the round-faced lady moved her chopsticks first. She tasted a piece and her expression changed. "This taste." Mrs. Shen frowned: "How is it?" The round-faced lady took another bite: "It's more spongy than Miss Lam's plate just now. The filling no longer has a greasy taste, and the apricot flavor is also clearer." Another tall, thin lady also tasted it: "Yes. This layer of cake is more delicate than before." Lam Van Duong's face turned a little white. Tham Nghien didn't believe it, so he picked up a piece to taste. He was silent. I looked at him: "Young master Shen also tasted it?" Tham Nghien put down the cake: "It's just breakfast, what's worth fighting about?" I laughed: "When you praised Miss Lam for her spiritual skills, you didn't say that." Tan Tran immediately continued: "Just now it was said that people have been making breakfast for seven years, but now An Ninh makes it better, making it just breakfast. This mouth of Mr. Tham should really be put out at the city gate as a flag to the wind." In the flower hall, someone bowed their head and drank tea, their shoulders shaking non-stop. Mrs. Tham held back her anger: "Minh Ninh, did you feel so proud when you won a plate of breakfast?" "I'm not proud." I picked up Lam Van Duong's plate of cake and broke off a piece.