Da Bao looked at Yun Qi for a moment, then continued, "Well, Mother-in-law, what kind of pastries do you need? Is it for gifts on the Mid-Autumn Festival? How many boxes do you need? I can send them over for you later."

"I don't know. Which of your pastry shop's treats are best for gifts? Send me a few boxes. Yun Qi mentioned those mooncakes packed in wooden boxes, right? Get me a few boxes of those. I'll take one box each for Yun Qi's maternal grandmother's house and for each of her uncles' families. For the other relatives, just give them some assorted pastries," said Yun Qi's mother while mentally tallying which relatives needed gifts.

What Yun Qi's mother said startled Da Bao. His mother-in-law was certainly making an extravagant request; a few boxes, each costing dozens of taels of silver, and they were practically impossible to buy even for those willing to pay.

Da Bao managed a wry smile and said, "Mother-in-law, those mooncake gift boxes are reserved for wealthy patrons who pre-order. We don't have any ready-made ones, and they are all sold out. I'm afraid I can't get the gift boxes for you. How about using other pastries for gifts? In fact, all the pastries at our shop are excellent; any selection would make a fine gift. Pastries like the mung bean cake and red date cake are quite good; many rich people use them for presents."

Hearing Da Bao's explanation, Yun Qi's mother paused to think before replying, "Oh, is that so? So those mooncake gift boxes need to be made in advance, right? Well, make them over the next few days, and have someone send them to me when you go back for the festival. It will still be timely for me to take them to her grandmother's house then. As for those mung bean cakes and red date cakes, just bring those back with you today."

Actually, Da Bao's intention was to gently refuse Yun Qi's mother, explaining that the mooncake gift boxes were exclusively for the wealthy to gift, and that these simple mung bean or red bean cakes were suitable for people like them. A clever person would have accepted this polite concession. However, Yun Qi's mother was not clever and had poor social awareness; she insisted on having those gift boxes.

Da Bao had never had a very good impression of Yun Qi's mother, but out of respect for Yun Qi, he maintained strict etiquette, just as he had when Yun Qi first mentioned the pastries.

Although the goods from the pastry shop were their own family's production, Lin He and Da Bao managed it quite strictly. They had established a rule from the beginning: aside from what the immediate family took, any relative asking for items had to pay for them. Lin He herself followed this rule; for example, the items sent to Uncle Wen's family over the last two years, Lin He always accounted for the cost under her own ledger during bookkeeping.

Uncle Wen often sent things to their family, and even without the relationship tie through Wen Ning Xuan and Lin He, they would have sent gifts to Uncle Wen out of courtesy. But Lin He did not want to mess up the established rules or complicate the accounting, so since the family began differentiating accounts, Lin He automatically claimed the cost of items sent to Uncle Wen. This year, Wen Ning Xuan ordered the gift boxes from Uncle Wen's family, and Lin He still sent gifts, telling Da Bao to charge the cost to her account.

When Yun Qi brought up the request, Da Bao thought Yun Qi was unaware of these details. Moreover, since he owned the pastry shop, sending some pastries to his mother-in-law's family wasn't a major issue; he could just charge the cost to himself. After all, the current income from the pastry shop still needed to be distributed among the younger children in the family, so keeping the accounts clear was important.

When Da Bao heard his mother-in-law still insisting on the gift boxes, he replied, "Mother-in-law, those gift boxes are genuinely unavailable. We strictly limit sales of those items; we can't just make more on demand. They have all been sold. However, I had already prepared one gift box for you; I truly have no extras."

"Da Bao, what do you mean by that? If you don't want to give them, just say so. I can pay you to buy them. Why use that as an excuse? This pastry shop is your family's business; you can make as many pastries as you want. Are you saying you can only make those specific types and no others? For a son-in-law, you are being quite unfilial," said Yun Qi's mother, putting down her bowl with displeasure.

Seeing that Yun Qi's mother was speaking so rudely, Da Bao grew angry. Without looking at his mother-in-law, he set down his bowl, pushed away his stool, stood up, and said, "Yun Qi, you talk to your mother properly. There are definitely no mooncake gift boxes available. I'll go to the shop now to get the holiday gifts for your mother to take back."

"No need, no need! How would I dare ask for anything from your family again? I'm sure there will be trouble later. I'm leaving now; I can't even afford to eat your family's meal," Yun Qi's mother also put down her bowl and stood up.

Lin He watched from the side, feeling somewhat awkward. Her elder brother was correct; there were truly no more gift boxes. It wasn't impossible to make more, but they had stated they were limited edition. The high price was part of the gimmick; if they could be easily reproduced, they would lose their exclusivity. If Yun Qi's mother took them and started gifting them widely, it would further damage the shop's reputation. She would have to answer to the staff and the customers.

Furthermore, Yun Qi's mother's demands were too large. If this time she got her way, she might make even bigger requests next time. However, Da Bao's tone had been too harsh, making Yun Qi look bad. Lin He glanced at Da Bao; she hadn't intended to speak, as their parents were away and Da Bao was the head of the household. Since he had already spoken, she shouldn't interfere. But Yun Qi on the side looked extremely troubled, constantly casting pleading glances at Lin He.

Lin He thought for a moment, stood up, and said, "Auntie, I am truly sorry; my elder brother just has that kind of temper; please don't take offense. But there really are no more gift boxes. The packaging was finalized long ago, and it is indeed difficult to add more at the last minute; the pastry shop cannot rush production. But actually, the gift box only contains mooncakes."

"If you need to give gifts, we have other mooncakes at the shop. They taste quite good, and they are also quite expensive. Many people who couldn't get the gift boxes use those for presents. We sell the individually wrapped ones for several hundred qian each. How about giving a few of those to your mother and grandmother so the elders can try them, and for your brother-in-law and the uncles, you take some of the other pastries? If you want the gift boxes next year, come and pre-order earlier, and we can certainly set some aside for you. What do you think?"

Lin He had carefully considered her words before speaking. She thought this arrangement should suffice; if Yun Qi's mother still disagreed, she would drop the matter.

Yun Qi's mother remained silent after hearing Lin He's suggestion. Yun Qi quickly interjected, "Mother, what He'er arranged is good. Why do you need a box? The mooncakes taste similar, and look how expensive they are. You can give those to Grandmother and the others. I'll ask Da Bao to send some over."

Yun Qi's mother thought it over. She hadn't known about the special gift boxes initially; it was only after chatting with Yun Qi that she realized those were better and wanted them. Initially, she thought the regular pastries would be more than sufficient for gifts. Seeing Yun Qi's distress, she finally nodded, seemingly agreeing.

Yun Qi nudged Da Bao, and Da Bao turned and left. After Da Bao was gone, Yun Qi's mother sat there sulking. Lin He wasn't sure how to console her, so she found an excuse and took Chen'er, Xiao Bao, and the two younger children away.

When Yun Qi's mother saw everyone leave, she took Yun Qi's hand and said, "Daughter, wasn't I right? You need to be in charge of this household. If you were managing things today, would your mother have to endure such humiliation just because she couldn't get a few boxes of mooncakes? And I even had to get He'er's approval! Think it over carefully. I'll be heading back shortly."