Spring comes to the desperate place

Chapter 287 Investing in Shares

Song Song could only watch today's class from the side. His arms were only just starting to work and he couldn't lift heavy objects yet. But he attended the class very seriously. Although he couldn't do anything, he memorized every step firmly in his mind.

The children’s strength is very limited, so in the end they have to rely on the adults to help them complete the task. The batter is made by mixing the beaten egg whites with the egg yolks, stirring it evenly, pouring it into a mold that has been oiled in advance, and then gently shaking the mold. Several adults help carry the prepared egg cake into the oven.

It was the first time for the children to make egg cakes, and Amao Song knew that there would definitely be failures, so he made a few extra copies and shared them with the children later. Only after they had tasted the real egg cakes would they know why their own cakes had failed.

As expected, in the end, only two plates of egg cakes were successful. The rest either did not rise or were burnt on the bottom. However, apart from the burnt part, the top part was still edible.

Song A-mo tasted every dish and pointed out the failure of that dish, except for the one that was burnt. He reminded the lady who was lighting the fire that the fire was too strong and that she could remove the firewood next time when the oven reached the expected temperature.

After finishing the comments, Amao Song let everyone taste a bite of what she made. After eating the egg cake she made, they shared the egg cake made by Amao Song.

"Come on, everyone line up, one for each person, no snatching, no cutting in line, otherwise your egg cakes will be confiscated."

When they heard that the egg cakes would be confiscated, all the children lined up obediently and were given a freshly baked egg cake in order from youngest to oldest.

Holding their own egg cakes, the children excitedly showed them to each other, as if they wanted to prove that their egg cakes were the most perfect.

Looking at the lively and cute children, the uncle in charge and all the uncles and aunts smiled knowingly.

After distributing the food to the children, there were still two plates of egg cakes left. Amao Song waved to the steward Shumo and others, pointed to the plate with more leftovers, and asked them to share some.

"These are for you."

The steward was very surprised: "For us? That's not possible. These are all precious ingredients. Just give them to the children. We are adults. How can we compete with children for food?"

Song A-mo smiled and said, "Who says adults can't eat it? Besides, you guys have also contributed, so give it to me to eat. If you can't finish it, you can take it back for your family to try. It can also be considered as an early advertisement for the egg cake. Oh, yes, advertise it widely. This is also Chunlin's idea. He said that good wine needs to be known in a remote alley. Let everyone know about this thing in advance, and people will come to buy it when the store opens."

"I see. What Young Master Song said makes sense. Come, everyone, come and share some. If you can't finish it, take it back and let your family have a taste of this fresh food."

When they heard that they would also get a share of egg cake, the adults seemed even more excited than the children. They had watched the entire process of making it. The cake was made with precious ingredients like eggs, flour and sugar, especially granulated sugar. It was the first time for them to see such sugar. Amao Song had put a big bag of sugar in it. The food made with so much sugar could be compared to delicacies from land and sea.

So everyone happily divided the egg cake equally. No one was in a hurry to eat it, but just broke off a small piece and put it in their mouth to taste it.

"It's so delicious, no wonder it has so many eggs and sugar in it."

"And flour. Wow, that flour is really white. Such good flour is only used to make cakes."

"I'm going to take it back for my little grandson to try. It's all thanks to Young Master Song, otherwise we wouldn't be able to eat such good food."

"Yes, thanks to Young Master Song."

Song Amuo took the remaining ones and put them in the bamboo basket she had brought with her. She said goodbye to the steward Shumo and others, and returned to the village in her own carriage.

The next day, Yan Qing arrived with his little father as promised. The Song family welcomed them warmly. Song Chunlin specially placed egg cake on the table to entertain the guests.

Mrs. An Huaibo saw such pastries for the first time and found them very strange. She asked her son if he had ever eaten them in the military camp.

Yan Qing looked at the pastries in front of him and shook his head. He picked up a piece and smelled it. It was sweet. He took a bite. It was soft and delicious, with just the right sweetness. It was not too greasy. Yan Qing finished a piece in no time.

Seeing her son eating so happily, Mrs. An Huaibo was also attracted to pick up a piece. He ate in a gentle manner and did not seem to be wolfing down the food, but he finished one quickly.

After finishing the meal, Mrs. An Huaibo realized that the Song family was still looking at her, so she smiled a little embarrassedly: "Grandpa Song, I happen to be of the same generation as Gu Fengyue, so I will shamelessly call you grandpa. I wonder where you bought this cake from, I want to buy some too."

Grandpa Song chuckled and didn't say where he bought the pastries. Instead, he asked the other party whether they tasted good.

It was not Madam An Huaibo who answered him, but Yan Qing. He had already eaten the second piece and was trying to eat the third piece when his little father glared at him. He trembled and withdrew his hand that was about to take the cake.

Hearing Grandpa Song asking if it was delicious, Yan Qing nodded hurriedly: "It's delicious, delicious, I have never eaten such pastries, soft and delicious, and not dry like other pastries. Not to mention my little dad, I also want to buy some back so that I can eat a piece when I'm hungry."

Grandpa Song still smiled and told the father and son that this thing was called egg cake.

"Egg cake? Is it made of eggs?"

"That's right. These egg cakes are made with eggs, flour, and sugar. The batter is poured into a mold and baked. After cooling, it is removed from the mold and poured out. This is the egg cake you see before you."

"Only eggs, flour and sugar? What is sugar? Is it a kind of sugar?"

"This is not important. If you want to buy it, it may be difficult now."

Seeing the embarrassment on Grandpa Song's face, Mrs. An Huaibo raised her eyebrows. It turned out that he was waiting for him here, so the smile on her face faded a little and she spoke only lightly.

"I wonder what difficulties Grandpa Song is talking about? Is it money, power, or something else?"

When Grandpa Song heard the sarcasm in his words, he knew that the other party was thinking wrongly, but he didn't mind. Instead, he told him everything Song Chunlin had said.

"I wonder if Madam has heard of the Children's Affairs Bureau in the capital."

"Charity Bureau?" Mrs. An Huaibo didn't understand why the topic turned to the Charity Bureau, but she still patiently let Grandpa Song continue.

"My wife and grandson are currently sponsoring the children of the Salesian Bureau. My wife is responsible for teaching, and my grandson is responsible for all the materials. The egg cake you are eating today was made by the children of the Salesian Bureau."

Hearing that such delicious pastries were made by a child, Yan Qing and his son immediately opened their eyes wide.

Yan Qing was incredulous and asked, "Can a group of children do this?"

Of course not, this was all done by Grandma Song alone, but Grandpa Song naturally couldn't tell them that. He just stroked his beard and smiled without saying anything.

Mrs. An Huaibo vaguely knew what the Song family's purpose was, and her voice was not as cold as before. She just spoke lightly and asked Grandpa Song if he wanted to help the children in the Charity Bureau.

Grandpa Song nodded and said, "Of course. Although those children have nothing to do with us, my grandson is kind-hearted and wants to help them. So I asked my wife to teach them how to make this kind of egg cake. This way, they will have another way to make a living in the future."

Mrs. An Huaibo: "It seems that the way to make a living that Grandpa Song mentioned requires a lot of capital."

"Of course. Just the simplest egg cake requires fresh eggs, flour, and even rarer white sugar. These three are indispensable. If you want the egg cake to taste better, you also need to add milk, which is the milk produced by cows."

Yan Qing frowned: "The milk produced by cows is very fishy. Can we drink it?"

"You can drink it. Why can't you drink it?" Song Chunlin came out with a tray with several large bamboo tubes on it, covered with oil paper and reed straws next to them. He placed the bamboo tubes on the tray on the table next to the two people and considerately poked the straws into them.

"Please try our milk tea."

Mrs. An Huaibo touched the bamboo tube and found it was cold, so she curiously held the straw and slowly took a sip.

This sip was like opening the door to a new world. He could taste that the liquid inside seemed to be milk, because it had a strong milk flavor. In addition to the milk flavor, there was also a fragrance that belonged to tea. The combination of the two was unexpectedly delicious.

Song Chunlin looked at the father and son with bright eyes: "How is it? It tastes good, right? This is a drink made from milk. Can you taste the fishy smell?"

The father and son shook their heads in unison: "No, on the contrary, I think this is the best milk I have ever drunk, and it's still ice cold. How did you do that? Did you soak it in water?"

"Of course not. I added two ice cubes in it, so it tastes icy cold. It's not very hot now. When the weather gets warmer, you can add a few more ice cubes in it, and it will be more comfortable to drink."

"Young Master Song, do you still have ice cubes at this time?" Mrs. An Huaibo asked. Rich families have the habit of storing ice in the winter. The ice is stored in special ice cellars and will not be taken out until summer to cool down.

Although the Song family's house is big enough, it is definitely impossible to build an ice cellar. They are farmers and if they have to dig, they will only dig a cellar to store food.

It is not surprising that Mrs. An Huaibo would have such doubts, because there is no saltpeter for making ice in Dajing yet, so ice is also a rare commodity in Dajing.

Song Chunlin did not directly answer Mrs. An Huaibo's question. Instead, he turned the topic to the children in the Charity Bureau.

"Those kids can learn a skill, but if the finished products can't be sold, they will suffer losses. So Chunlin dared to invite my cousin to invest. Of course, my cousin doesn't need to give me an answer now. It's just that my cousin has tasted the taste of egg cake just now. This is just the simplest of all cakes. My grandfather knows how to make more cakes. I guarantee that they are different from the cakes in the cake shops in Beijing. My cousin can wait for a while until they learn other cakes and then make a decision."