Lin He watched Xiaobao and the others eat with such relish, and thought these would make excellent snacks for her family, but sending them as gifts felt too plain, lacking any special appeal; they weren't even as visually pleasing as ordinary sesame cakes.

Thinking she should visit the town the next day, perhaps to improve the packaging, Lin He set out early the following morning with the maids Ziqing and Ziyu, traveling by Chang Geng's carriage. They spent the entire morning wandering the streets until Lin He finally purchased everything she needed.

Noticing that oranges were available, Lin He decided that crushing them for juice could flavor the cakes. She also bought some wrapping oil paper, intending to cut and paste it back home, mimicking the paper cups from her past life to create individual cupcake liners. This way, they would be easy to handle separately and look much nicer boxed, especially since such items were unheard of at this time, promising a rather elegant presentation.

Back home, after the family finished eating, Lin He, Ziqing, and Ziyu retreated to the kitchen to refine yesterday’s cake recipe, incorporating the orange juice to undoubtedly enhance the flavor; the basic method remained largely the same.

The three of them fussed and fiddled for the rest of the afternoon, eventually producing a cake rich with the scent of orange. Tasting it, they agreed the flavor was significantly better than the day before. Lin He felt the modification was a clear improvement, though she noted perhaps a bit too much orange juice had been added—a minor point to watch next time.

After setting the cake aside, Lin He then led Ziqing and Ziyu to make shredded pork floss buns. These were somewhat trickier than the cakes, mainly because preparing the meat floss was demanding. The floss required meat specifically from the hind hip of a pig. First, the pork was cut into pieces roughly five centimeters long and three wide. Cold water was added to a pot, along with seasonings and the meat chunks, and brought to a medium heat. Once the water boiled, the scum rising to the top was skimmed off, followed by a splash of cooking wine. It was then simmered slowly until the meat was completely tender.

The cooked meat was then dried, placed into a paper bag, and crushed with a rolling pin. The resulting shredded meat was transferred to a bowl, and chopsticks were used to gently tease the fibers apart until fluffy, distinct strands were achieved. Next, these strands were slowly stir-fried in a pan. Once fragrant, seasonings were mixed in, and the stirring continued until the floss became crisp and achieved a golden hue.

This completed the meat floss. The outer pastry was simple: an oil-paste dough made from flour and oil. This large dough was cut into small portions, filled with the meat floss, and then baked. The resulting meat floss buns, each golden and emitting an enticing aroma, were a success; Lin He sampled one and found the seasoning perfectly balanced.

Lin He let others in the household try them, and they declared the pork floss buns even tastier than the cake, urging her to make more for their own consumption during the New Year and for gifts. Lin He reflected that she was truly a quintessential gourmand; since arriving here, she hadn't produced many other things, but her culinary explorations had certainly yielded results.

A few days before the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Lin He brought the young maids into the kitchen to prepare a good batch of cupcakes and meat floss buns. Since the meat floss buns were somewhat costly due to the ingredients, the cakes were more economical, so she made significantly more of those. They planned to gift some to the family, but Lin He only managed a few dozen meat floss buns—a large portion was reserved for Uncle Wen, some for Grandmother and Maternal Grandmother to sample, and what remained would be kept by their own household.

The day before the eighth of the twelfth month, Da Bao returned from town. Lin He and Da Bao loaded the prepared cupcakes and meat floss buns onto the carriage and took them to Cai Die Xuan. Not only was Uncle Wen present at Cai Die Xuan, but also a woman of distinguished and graceful bearing, accompanied by Wen Ning Mo. As Lin He descended, Uncle Wen spotted them and hurried over. Lin He smiled and said, “Uncle Wen, tomorrow is Laba. I don’t have much else to give from home, so I brought over some confections I made myself.”

Chang Geng and Da Bao began unloading the boxes from the carriage—there were several large ones. Seeing the quantity, Uncle Wen laughed, “The things He'er makes are certainly rare; I won't be polite and will accept them all.”

As Uncle Wen spoke, the elegant woman approached, a faint smile gracing her lips, and inquired, “Master, is this the Miss He'er you spoke of?”

Lin He assumed this must be Uncle Wen’s wife but wasn't sure how to address her, so she performed a slight curtsy. Uncle Wen smiled and said, “He'er, this is my wife.”

Lin He curtsied again and called out, “Madam Wen.”

Madam Wen gently supported her arm and then said with a smile, “Master often mentions Miss He’er. I finally get to meet her today; she is indeed a clever and bright little beauty.”

“Mother, she’s a beauty too? She’s just a little girl,” Wen Ning Mo said dismissively from the side.

“Mo’er, do not be rude,” Uncle Wen called out.

Wen Ning Mo fell silent but noticed Da Bao standing behind, approaching him as if they were old acquaintances. “Da Bao, you’re here too! What’s in these boxes?”

Da Bao smiled and replied, “Third Young Master, the pastries inside were made by our He’er herself. They are delicious, the kind you can’t buy outside; you’ll know once you try them.”

“This He’er is extremely clever; she can do anything. I heard you even created the Ning He cosmetics yourself?” Madam Wen asked with a smile.

“Madam Wen flatters me too much. These are just some simple snacks I prepared occasionally, brought for Uncle Wen and Madam Wen to sample. I only hope you won’t disdain them,” Lin He replied humbly.

Madam Wen was highly taken with Lin He, observing her politeness and propriety despite her young age. She beckoned Lin He closer and removed a white jade bracelet from her wrist, intending to gift it to her. Lin He looked at it, feeling somewhat overwhelmed, “Madam Wen, such a precious bracelet, how could He'er possibly accept it?”

Madam Wen smiled and said, “This is a token for our first meeting; you must accept it. Didn’t I accept everything you gave? This is my sincerity.”

Uncle Wen also smiled from the side, “Yes, He’er, take it.”

Lin He felt too embarrassed to refuse further, thanked Madam Wen, and accepted the bracelet. Madam Wen looked at Lin He with a beaming smile and remarked, “Master, look how lovely He’er is! So capable at such a tender age. He’er is nine this year, the same age as our Mo’er.”

Hearing Wen Ning Mo’s name, Lin He glanced to the side. She saw Wen Ning Mo and Da Bao chatting animatedly, seemingly enjoying themselves. Lin He wondered when Da Bao and Wen Ning Mo had become so friendly; Da Bao had never mentioned it to her before.