Ye Xinyan uttered her apology, even bending her knee to the Young Lady of the Liang Family who sat behind the table. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

This crafty woman, her apology was worse than none at all. When her daughter had entered the shop, there indeed were several young men, saying it was crowded with customers was not wrong.

Mother Yang was extremely annoyed, and if she continued to have difficulties with this coarse woman, who knows what unpleasant words she might spout? She, a mere villager, might not fear losing face, but Young Miss of the Liang Family was a fine lady, one who needed to be mindful of such things.

Miss Liang also felt some regret for coming here, but since she had already arrived and hadn’t yet achieved her goal of encountering Young Master Jiang, she was not willing to leave just like that. If she was to continue waiting, then she only had to order some snacks to be served, eaten or not, to at least make a better impression than sitting idle.

Liang Wanqiu spoke gracefully, "Hearing so much from Lady Qi, it seems like everything in your store is exceptional, which makes it difficult for me to choose. Lady Qi, please bring whatever you recommend for us to taste."

"Certainly! I will have the kitchen prepare it for you right away," Ye Xinyan agreed heartily and was about to head to the back of the shop.

However, she was stopped by Liang Wanqiu, who pointed to Nanny Jin not far away and said, "There’s no need for you, Lady Qi, to go personally. Isn’t that one of your family members? Just instruct her to do it."

When Liang Wanqiu entered, she noticed that this woman’s attitude towards Sixth Master Rong and Young Master Jiang was rather casual, which seemed very improper. Although this villager was coarse, she possessed some beauty, which was why Liang Wanqiu was reluctant to let her out of her sight.

Even though this bit of beauty still rendered her lowly paired with her village status, Wanqiu recalled her mother’s frequent admonitions that some men do not care about such things and might even favor them.

Having hustled in the marketplace for many years, a single glance from Ye Xinyan at the little brat, Liang Wanqiu, revealed to her what the latter had in mind. "Miss has commanded, I will just go and tell them to serve the food sooner, to spare you the long wait, Miss."

Since Young Miss of the Liang Family wasn’t genuinely interested in the food at her establishment, she naturally wouldn’t be keen on eating much, and so Ye Xinyan was not guilty of a perfunctory response.

Ye Xinyan didn’t hide from the Liang family’s several servants as she instructed Nanny Jin to bring a few expensive and quick snacks and sweet soups, which were both profitable and convenient. Judging by the current situation, with the distinguished status of Young Miss of the Liang Family, she was unlikely to partake of the small eatery’s fare. It was, after all, just for display, regardless of what was brought to the table.

Nanny Jin caught Ye Xinyan’s meaningful glance and understood her intentions, happily heading towards the kitchen.

Offering high-priced, readily available snacks was both convenient and profitable—a good trade that she welcomed more of. The only downside was that the young lady was tangled up by that family’s involvement, which was somewhat distressing. However, their young lady had become quite astute now, different from before, and dealing with a young lady from a small county was likely still within her capabilities.

While the others were seated, Ye Xinyan stood, keeping them company with sporadic, purposeful small talk.

In just a short while, Nanny Jin served a selection of snacks in a swift manner, among which was a small bowl of Ice Cream. However, the bowl contained far fewer balls than usual. Ye Xinyan immediately noticed that the balls weren’t complete; half was hidden underneath, unnoticeable to a customer not used to their offerings.

Pretending not to see it—if it had been something else, it might have been fine since Miss Liang won’t eat it. Someone else could have used it once it was taken away. But Ice Cream was different. Once melted, it essentially lost its value, thus wasting precious resources like ice.

One couldn’t blame Ye Xinyan for being stingy. Making Ice Cream during the summer in this era incurred significant costs, and she was still struggling on the poverty line.

Serving a little less, well, that could be considered excusable.

As expected, Liang Wanqiu scrutinized each snack and sweet soup on the table with a critical eye but showed no intention of eating. She pointed to the small bowl of Ice Cream and asked, "This is your Ice Cream?"

"In response to your question, it is indeed Ice Cream."

Liang Wanqiu did not draw near but held herself upright and observed carefully for a moment before saying, "It does seem to have a hint of coolness. Is it really frozen?"

"Indeed, it is." Ye Xinyan answered with a patient, smiling expression. Even if it didn’t freeze later and just melted, it would be Young Miss of the Liang Family who footed the bill.

Qi Jia, who had been playing in the corner, pouted unhappily upon hearing Liang Wanqiu’s skepticism. How could this young lady doubt their delicious food? This Ice Cream tastes so good and all the customers who have tried it liked it very much.

He put down the Nine-Linked Rings he was holding and looked towards Nanny Jin standing by his side.

Nanny Jin patted his head and whispered to him, "Jiajia, go to the back kitchen and have a look. Nanny has saved two pieces of steamed cake for you. Why don’t you go and see if they taste good? Everything is fine here with Nanny and sister to look after you."

The old woman servant standing beside Liang Wanqiu glanced over at them, and seeing that the irritating child hadn’t come over, naturally didn’t say much.

Ye Xinyan was fully prepared mentally. As long as she could collect the Silver, she didn’t care about whatever the Young Lady of the Liang Family thought of her snacks. The young lady wasn’t really there to dine, so what else was there to say?

As expected, the graceful Young Miss of the Liang Family, speaking gently and softly, finished asking about each snack in front of her. Quite a while had passed and she said to Mother Yang beside her, "I think the morning meal hasn’t melted yet. Mother, take some of these snacks for you and Ya Cui and the others to share and eat."

Upon witnessing Liang Wanqiu’s behavior, Ye Xinyan couldn’t help but curl her lips, thinking how gracious the mistress was, not deeming the food worthy of her taste and letting her personal attendants eat it instead.

Probably because the snack shop’s Ice Cream was renowned, Liang Wanqiu pointed to the small cup of Ice Cream and said, "Mother Yang, why don’t you try this? People say this Ice Cream is quite a rare treat, don’t they? Try it for its taste."

By this time, most of the Ice Cream had already melted, and eating it couldn’t compare to the taste when it was frozen. Ye Xinyan averted her eyes, not wanting to see Mother Yang’s awkwardness while eating the Ice Cream.

Mother Yang naturally couldn’t decline the treat from her mistress; she took a few of each type of dessert, placed them on a neighboring table for the others to eat, and then picked up a small spoon to taste the Ice Cream herself.

Sweet, sticky, with a rich cream fragrance—she found it quite passable, a novel flavor, but not as amazing as the young master had extolled.

Seeing Mother Yang take a few bites before putting down her spoon, Liang Wanqiu couldn’t help but ask, "Why did you stop eating? Doesn’t it suit your taste?"

Mother Yang glanced at Ye Xinyan and replied, "The taste is decent enough, tolerable." That was all it was, merely tolerable; she didn’t understand how the snack shop did its business, just selling something slightly cool at such a high price.

Thinking this, Mother Yang lost interest in the other offerings of the snack shop and didn’t move to eat anything else.

Though the other maidservants and servant girls gratefully received the snacks awarded by their young mistress, they were outside and had the duty of attending to her; they naturally couldn’t indulge themselves, and simply tasted a little, just as a token.

The maidservant, after hearing Mother Yang’s assessment, looked at her in surprise. The fare of this place was quite good, certainly qualifying as excellent in taste. Why did Mother Yang give such a tepid review?