The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and the Imperial City of Kaifeng is bustling with activity.

Every Mid-Autumn Festival, major restaurants, teahouses, and dessert shops in Kaifeng city will launch their own new mooncakes. The best-selling one will be used as the royal mooncake when the emperor entertains guests, so the competition between various shops is very fierce.

fierce.

Early that morning, Zhan Zhao came back early from dinner and met Xiao Sizi.

The fourth son and Zhan Zhao met on the porch. The older one and the younger one stood face to face and looked at each other for a while. They both tilted their heads - why are you alone?

Zhan Zhao saw the fourth son carrying a small purse and wearing a robe, and asked him curiously, "Little fourth son, are you going out?"

The fourth son nodded and asked Zhan Zhao equally curiously, "Maomao, why are you alone? Where is Bai Bai?"

"Yutang went home to count his silver." Zhan Zhao blinked, "It seems that Zhao Pu took Xiao Liangzi out early this morning, and Gongsun Taixue had classes..."

The fourth son did the math and felt that it was right. It had been almost two months since the last time he went home to count money in vain. He probably reported the accounts once a quarter.

"Then I'm going out. Goodbye, Maomao." Xiao Sizi waved to Zhan Zhao and continued to trot out.

Zhan Zhao turned around to look at him, then ducked...

As soon as the fourth son ran out of the porch, Zhan Zhao appeared in front of him again.

Zhan Zhao walked up to the fourth son with a smile, stretched out his hand and poked his belly, "Where are you going? Why are you so mysterious?"

The fourth child shook his head with his hands behind his back, "Where is it!"

Seeing that he refused to say anything, Zhan Zhao reached out and tickled him.

The fourth child kept laughing and finally told Zhan Zhao, "I'm going to Manji!"

"Are you alone?" Zhan Zhao felt that although Kaifeng Mansion is not far from Manji, the child would go alone...

The fourth son signaled that there was a car outside to pick him up!

"Where will Man Muhua pick you up? Does Gongsun know?"

Xiao Sizi had no choice but to whisper to Zhan Zhao, "The new mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival have been made this time. Xiao Manzi said they don't feel too good."

"Are you going to try out new products?!" Zhan Zhao swung his hands on the fourth son's shoulders, "Then it's just a public appearance, isn't it? Why didn't you call me?!"

The fourth son glanced at Zhan Zhao, "But Maomao can only eat but not cook, and it's only a semi-finished product now."

Zhan Zhao didn't care about this, he picked up the fourth child and ran out, "Idle time is idle, I will give you some advice!"

I ran out of the Yamen with the dumplings in my hands, and sure enough, a car full of people stopped at the door of the Yamen.

When Manji's housekeeper saw the people coming, he helped lift the car curtain.

Zhan Zhao jumped into the car with his little fourth son in his arms.

As soon as they sat down, there was a "whoosh" behind them, and another figure flashed in - it was Lin Yehuo.

Huo Feng followed with curiosity on his face, "Where are you two going?"

Zhan Zhao and Xiao Sizi asked him in unison, "Where is Zou Liang? Why are you alone?"

Lin Yehuo curled his lips and said, "The mute went to Hongmao's house with his father. All the people in the military camp went to have a reunion dinner."

The little fourth son also remembered, "Yeah! Jiujiu also went to Zhengzheng's house today. They said they were going to have dinner together, so little Liangzi also went with him."

…

As the carriage went down Nantian Street, two idlers, Zhan Zhao and Lin Yehuo, chatted about moon cakes.

To say that these mooncakes come out with new styles every year, it’s hard to complain about them.

Huofeng said that there were too many tricks, "Yesterday the mute ordered a batch of mooncakes for the hunting dogs in the military camp. They are so big!"

As he spoke, he stretched out his hands and made a gesture. The sesame seed pancake was as big as a pancake.

Zhan Zhao thought the mooncake might be very hard.

The fourth child muttered, "The taste of mooncakes is actually the same, and the appearance is also very important!"

"It's so attractive..." Lin Yehuo asked Zhan Zhao, "Are there any red ones?"

"I've seen the kind that uses flower petals to make meringue. It's red." Zhan Zhao is quite experienced in eating mooncakes and told them about all kinds of weird mooncakes he has eaten.

The car didn't go long and stopped at the door of a house.

This house doesn't look like a shop, just an ordinary house.

Zhan Zhao and Lin Yehuo exchanged glances - What the hell is Man Muhua doing?

The two got out of the car, and the housekeeper took them into a small alley and entered the house through the back door.

As soon as they entered the door, everyone was stunned by the scene in front of them.

I saw many shelves in the house with wooden utensils of various sizes hung on them.

Lin Yehuo wondered, "Didn't you talk about making mooncakes? Why did you come to the carpenter's house?"

Taking a closer look at the utensils, Zhan Zhao discovered, "Are these all mooncake molds?"

It was also the first time for the two of them to see this formation. There must be thousands of models here, with a wide variety of styles.

The housekeeper waved to several people and motioned to go back.

After passing through the two-story courtyard, the two came to a small attic.

Man Muhua was waiting. When he saw the fourth son coming with Zhan Zhao and Lin Yehuo, he didn't have any objections. He just waved and entered the small building himself.

When Zhan Zhao and the others also walked in, the housekeeper closed the door behind them.

Both Zhan Zhao and Lin Yehuo were a little puzzled - what are you doing? Should I make mooncakes as a craftsman?

On the table in the small building, there are several molds and some mooncake samples, all of which look exquisite.

Man Muhua moved a chair, picked up the fourth son, put him on the chair, and let him look at the mooncakes on the table.

"Hmm..." The fourth child touched his chin and looked around, and finally frowned, obviously not very satisfied.

"Very common, right?" Man Muhua asked.

Lin Yehuo thinks their demands are too high? Isn't this pretty?

Several mooncakes launched by Manji this year seem to have improved skins, they are all white, and the color of the fillings inside is also very beautiful.

Zhan Zhao thought the white color looked pretty good, but it was invisible and the carvings on the mooncakes couldn't be seen clearly.

Lin Yehuo crossed his arms and shook his head, "Otherwise, we should make them into round shapes."

Both Xiao Sizi and Man Muhua glanced at him - those were not moon cakes but dumplings!

"How does it taste?" Zhan Zhao paid more attention to the taste, picked it up, took a bite, blinked, and took another bite.

Everyone held their breaths and waited for his reaction... But Zhan Zhao ate half of it and didn't give any comments. He just tilted his head, as if he thought the taste was not right but not unpleasant.

In the end, Lin Yehuo couldn't bear it any longer, so he reached out and took one and tasted it himself... As a result, Huo Feng's reaction was similar to Zhan Zhao's. It was hard to say that it was neither unpleasant nor amazing.

"Alas..." Man Muhua shook his head.

At this time, someone on the side said, "Master, this recipe requires a gold and jade cake mold to make perfect gold and jade mooncakes. Ordinary molds cannot make such a magical thing!"

"Golden Jade Mooncake?!" Zhan Zhao and Lin Yehuo both looked at the speaker.

The person who spoke was an old man with white hair. This was Man Jintao, the pastry chef in Manchuria. Master Man. Zhan Zhao has always ranked him among the top two chefs in the world who are best at making desserts. He is also a god.

"Could it be that the palace is full of gold and jade as in the legend?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Master Man showed an approving smile and nodded in praise, "Master Zhan has indeed eaten it before!"

"What is a house full of gold and jade?" Lin Yehuo asked Zhan Zhao curiously.

Zhan Zhao said, "The legendary mooncake, the best in the world, was developed by Chef Huailan, a fairy-level pastry chef in the previous dynasty. It is said that the surface of the mooncake is as shiny as white jade, and the filling inside is golden, which makes it look delicious.

It looks like a jade-covered stone, but it tastes soft and glutinous, unparalleled in the world... It's a pity that Chef Huailan disappeared later, and the mooncake mold and recipe were missing. So Jinyumantang has become a legend

, no one in future generations has ever eaten it.”

"So, have you found the formula?" Lin Yehuo asked after hearing this.

Man Muhua nodded silently, and together with the fourth child, said to Zhan Zhao and Lin Yehuo, "Shh!"

Zhan Zhao and Lin Yehuo knew why they acted like thieves when making moon cakes. If it was the real recipe for Jin Yu Man Tang, that would be amazing.

"Where did you get this formula?" Zhan Zhao immediately understood the situation, "You mean, it's just the formula without the mold, right?"

Man Muhua nodded depressedly, "The fourth son got the formula."

Both Zhan Zhao and Lin Yehuo look at the fourth son - Tuan Shen! You are really powerful!

Xiaosizi told Zhan Zhao and Lin Yehuo how they obtained the formula.

Previously, the old shopkeeper of Chenji Pawn Shop in Kaifeng passed away. His son no longer wanted to be in the pawn shop business and wanted to take his family back home, so he wanted to sell out the pawn shop.

Chen Ji Pawn Shop is an old pawn shop that has been around for hundreds of years. It is said that there are many treasures. However, the prices sold by Chen Ji Pawn Shop are very high. It is a "one-shot deal", that is, the buyer has to buy the items in the land belt together.

, you are not allowed to inspect the goods in advance... This is similar to gambling on luck, there may be treasures inside, or it may be just an empty shell.

Because the price was ridiculously high, no one ever bought it... The news reached Bai Yutang's ears, and Master Wu decided to buy it without even thinking about it.

Lin Ye looked up at the sky and asked Zhan Zhao - "Is your sweetheart thinking that you can save a carful of money?"
To be continued...