Chapter 35 : Chapter 35

Chapter 35 : Senior Tang’s Dark Desserts

After sending off those customers, I let out a sigh of relief.

A few more came afterward, but at least they didn’t ask for morning greetings.

To avoid this awkward situation in the future, should I look up some nice blessing phrases in my free time?

I couldn’t be sure those customers wouldn’t come back in the next few days.

If this became a habit, it’d be bad.

After a busy spell, I caught a whiff of a freshly baked aroma in the fragrant shop.

Then I saw Senior Tang come out from the kitchen, wearing thick oven mitts and carrying a large baking tray.

“Xiao Han, Come try my new creation and tell me how it tastes,” Tang Yihan called out to me, as I wasn’t doing much.

“What’s this?”

I looked at the tray, unsure what to call it.

“No name yet, but it’s made with a puff pastry technique. The filling should be pretty good.”

“What kind of filling?”

I asked curiously, reaching for one to try.

It was steaming hot, so I wrapped it in paper first.

“You’ll know once you taste it,” Tang Yihan said with a smile, not elaborating, her expression full of anticipation as she watched me.

I took a small bite.

The crispy crust gave a novel texture, and the heat carried a strong aroma that hit me right away.

I had to admit, the smell was intense—probably too much to sell.

But then I reached the filling.

A strange flavor spread in my mouth, like the aftertaste of devouring three acres of grass…

I couldn’t even describe it…

Tang Yihan saw my expression twist but didn’t seem too surprised.

She tried one herself.

Soon, she had the same expression as me.

“Pfft… still tastes awful. Looks like the method I found online couldn’t balance out this flavor. It smells so good, though…”

“What even is this?” I asked, grimacing, trying to wash out the taste with saliva.

“A plant root. Very nutritious, but the taste is a bit weird. Needs more tweaking.”

“Uh… can this really be used for desserts?”

I asked, incredulous.

This wasn’t just “a bit weird.”

Even if you’re tired of regular desserts, did you have to pick something this bizarre?

“Of course,” Tang Yihan said confidently.

“You’re not worried about poisoning?”

“I know a bit of detoxification magic, and there’s a hospital nearby,” she said with full confidence, clearly experienced.

She even had a detox spell.

And she was probably very familiar with the hospital route, right?

“Okay… alright…”

I decided I needed to be cautious.

I’d have to be wary of anything Senior Tang gave me to taste, or I might end up dead without warning.

I wasn’t counting on some revival spell to bring me back.

Who wants to die if they can avoid it?

Then I saw Tang Yihan, looking a bit dejected, take her new creation back.

I even caught her talking to the trash can after dumping them, though I couldn’t hear what she said.

But soon, she called me into the kitchen.

After the morning rush, the shop was quiet, so she started teaching me how to make desserts, starting from the basics.

The first thing we tried was simple cookies perfect for a newbie like me to practice.

Once I got started, I realized the key was precise measurements.

If you got the quantities right, you could just follow the steps to make cookies.

I made some mistakes, but under Senior Tang’s expert guidance, the results were pretty good.

At least, I thought they tasted nice, though the texture was a bit soft.

The oven temperature clearly needed some tweaking.

“Decent flavor, okay texture… reminds me of the taste I got sick of eating,” Tang Yihan gave a fair evaluation.

She must’ve eaten a ton of these.

“You seem to have some talent. In that case, I’ll entrust this baking recipe book to you for now,” she said, pulling out a slightly thick book from somewhere.

It was bound like a cookbook.

She patted off nonexistent dust and handed it to me.

“Thank you, Senior Tang.”

I took the recipe book.

It had plenty of worn pages, but it felt like it hadn’t been used in a long time, as if it had been pressed under something.

“No need to thank me. I bought this for reference back then. If you want to try, start with the basics. You can use the shop’s ingredients, but don’t waste too much.”

As she spoke, Tang Yihan took off her gear hat, apron, and all.

“Senior, where are you going?”

“To buy ingredients. Ying Shiqian said she’d handle it this time, but then she ran off with that thing. I only realized this morning we’re running low.”

“I see…”

I nodded, half-understanding.

I didn’t know how much they ordered at once, but given the shop’s sales, it probably wasn’t much.

Most of it probably ended up in the trash.

I silently prayed Senior Tang wouldn’t buy more weird ingredients, like that thing I just tasted.

That wasn’t fit for human consumption!

A salted egg yolk would’ve been better than that.

“Xiao Han Watch the shop. If you get overwhelmed with customers… oh, right, you don’t have my contact yet, do you? Add me, and call me if you need anything.”

“Got it.”

I quickly grabbed my phone, and soon I had a new contact.

“I’m off. Bye.”

I watched Senior Tang leave, lingering at the shop’s entrance until she was out of sight.

I hadn’t realized she was a broom-riding expert too.

Since she was flying, she’d probably be back soon, right?

It was a straight shot through the air.

After learning about the bakery’s extra income sources, I knew this shop wasn’t as simple as it seemed.

I just hoped I wouldn’t get one of those orders while I was here.

Bored, I returned to my spot and started flipping through the dessert recipe book.

I had to admit, a lot of the ingredients were different from my past life.

I hadn’t worked with this stuff back then, but I could still tell the difference.

At the very least, the ingredients in my past life didn’t contain supernatural energy.