The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

It was only then that Aunt Wang understood. So, the bride’s family didn’t want the jujube cakes to eat them, but to use as an offering. They were a symbol of good fortune, representing the wish for a healthy son to be born soon.

That sounded pretty good. If her daughter-in-law could get pregnant soon and give her a chubby grandson, she would be delighted.

However, they were made with white flour and red dates. It pained Aunt Wang to think that after using so much flour, the cakes could only be used as offerings.

But then she thought, her son would only get married once, so it was worth it. Even though she felt a bit of a sting, she could accept it. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The other party was satisfied with the jujube cakes, which meant Gu’er’s task for the day was essentially complete.

She glanced at the sky. It was almost three in the afternoon. She bid Aunt Wang farewell and started her walk back.

This was the first time since she started coming to town that Gu’er was walking back without pushing her cart.

As she walked, she rolled her shoulders and wrists. She hadn’t made pastries like this in a long time, and it was truly exhausting.

Gu’er went to bed early that night. The next day, she arrived in town and went directly to Aunt Wang’s house.

Gu’er was busy all morning, and for lunch, she made pulled noodles.

Pulled noodles weren’t difficult to make. You just blanched the noodles, then ladled a prepared savory topping over them to be mixed and eaten, a bit like the *saozi* noodles from other regions.

There weren’t many special ingredients available for the topping this season, so Gu’er simply used Chinese chives.

Though chives were a simple ingredient, the flavor was excellent, and it was a big hit with the family of Aunt Wang’s daughter-in-law.

After the meal, Aunt Cheng came to find Gu’er.

"Ni Ni, could you stop for a moment? I need to talk to you about something," Aunt Cheng said, lowering her voice to a whisper.

"Go ahead, Auntie," Gu’er replied, continuing her work on the jujube cakes.

"Ni Ni, could you make a few fewer of these little jujube cakes? And Ni Ni... could you make a few of them different from the rest?"

Aunt Cheng explained her reason for asking.

"Fewer? And different?"

Gu’er frowned slightly. ’I don’t quite understand what she means. She wants me to make a few of them differently... Is it so they can complain about my cakes? Is the bride’s family trying to cause trouble for the groom’s family? But if I listen to them and they use it to give Aunt Wang a hard time, who’s going to pay me?’

’Besides, I was just hired to make jujube cakes, not to get involved in some family feud. I should just focus on doing my own job properly.’

"Ni Ni, I’ll be honest with you. I want you to shape a few of the jujube cakes into chubby little boys. Originally, when I asked my Hua’er’s mother-in-law to steam jujube cakes, I was trying to give her a hard time. I hoped it would make her treat my Hua’er better down the road. But I never expected her to hire you. Over the past couple of days, I’ve seen how capable you are, Ni Ni, and that’s why I’ve come to you. At first, I thought it might be improper to discuss this with a young, unmarried woman like you, but I was afraid you’d misunderstand if I didn’t explain. You see, my Hua’er’s own mother had a difficult time conceiving. I’m hoping to create a good omen for my Hua’er. If you could shape a few of the cakes into chubby baby boys for her, perhaps my Hua’er will have an easier time getting pregnant."

Aunt Cheng kept her voice extremely low, terrified that someone might overhear.

Gu’er understood now. Aunt Cheng was saying that the bride’s mother had struggled to conceive, and she feared the bride—Aunt Wang’s new daughter-in-law—would face the same difficulty. That was why she was asking Gu’er to shape a few of the jujube cakes into chubby little baby boys as a good omen.

Gu’er could understand Aunt Cheng’s reasoning. It might be superstitious, but her intentions were good.

And doing this would cause no harm to either the bride’s family or the groom’s.

"Of course. Don’t worry, Auntie. I’ll make a few chubby baby dolls for you."

Gu’er agreed with a nod.

"You really think it’s okay, Ni Ni? Oh, thank you so much! Please don’t hold it against me for telling you these things. I’m just so worried about my dear Hua’er."

Seeing Gu’er agree, Aunt Cheng let out a long sigh of relief, and a smile spread across her face.

"There’s no need to be so formal, Auntie. You’re only doing this for Sister Hua’er. You mean well."

Gu’er’s cheeks flushed slightly. A girl her age was supposed to feel bashful hearing such topics, but she couldn’t bring herself to be shy. In fact, the very mention of children felt like a needle piercing her heart. She didn’t dare dwell on the thought, afraid of the pain it would draw.

"You’re a sharp one, Ni Ni. Well, I’ll get out of your way then. You keep up the good work."

Aunt Cheng praised Gu’er one last time and then left the room.

A short while later, Aunt Wang came in. She made small talk with Gu’er as she watched her prepare the jujube cakes.

At first, Gu’er didn’t pay it much mind and just answered casually. But after a little while, she realized what was happening. Aunt Wang was trying to fish for information. She wanted to know what Aunt Cheng had said but was too embarrassed to ask directly, so she was just beating around the bush.

"Auntie, look. What do you think of this one?"

Gu’er showed Aunt Wang the figure she had just finished shaping.

"This... Is this a chubby baby doll? This isn’t a jujube cake, is it?"

Aunt Wang stared in amazement. It looked just like one of the chubby babies from a New Year’s painting. She’d never heard of jujube cakes made like this before.

"Actually, Aunt Cheng came by earlier and asked me to make a couple of the cakes like this. She said she wanted to create a good omen, hoping you’ll be holding a grandson soon, Auntie."

Gu’er didn’t hide the truth, explaining Aunt Cheng’s real intentions. It wasn’t a secret that needed to be kept, and telling her would prevent any misunderstanding from forming in Aunt Wang’s mind. Otherwise, if she kept dwelling on it, it could negatively affect how she treated her daughter-in-law.

Gu’er deftly avoided answering Aunt Wang’s question about whether it was still a jujube cake. ’Technically, the chubby baby doll is more like a dough figurine,’ she thought. ’But some people are particular about categories, and others aren’t. As long as both the bride’s family and the groom’s family are happy, what does it matter what it’s called?’

"Oh, so that’s what it was!" The words went straight to Aunt Wang’s heart, and her eyes crinkled with a smile. "Honestly, that Aunt Cheng... Why be so secretive? This is a wonderful thing!"

So that was the bride’s family’s true intention! Wonderful! It seemed her daughter-in-law’s family were good people after all. She resolved to treat her new daughter-in-law even better from now on.

Gu’er made a few of the chubby baby dolls, which meant she now had more than the nine small jujube cakes she had originally planned.

"Auntie, there are a few extra now," Gu’er pointed out, as she hadn’t originally planned to make the dolls.

"It’s fine, it’s fine. So there are a few extra. You’ve shaped these dolls so beautifully. If my new daughter-in-law really does give me a big, healthy grandson, I’ll have you to thank for it!"

Aunt Wang truly didn’t mind. She’d already spent the majority of the money, so what was a little more? Besides, the chubby dolls were so well-made and lifelike; she was overjoyed. She felt they would surely bring her great face during the ceremony, and who knows, maybe her daughter-in-law really would get pregnant soon because of it. For those reasons, she didn’t consider it a waste in the slightest.

"Alright then, I’ll go steam them."

Seeing that Aunt Wang genuinely wasn’t concerned, Gu’er felt relieved.

Once the small jujube cakes and the chubby baby dolls were steamed, Gu’er removed them from the pot and arranged them on a board to cool.

Aunt Cheng brought a woman in her thirties over to have a look. The two of them chattered away excitedly for a while and were clearly very satisfied. Looking at the chubby baby dolls, Aunt Wang couldn’t stop smiling either. Gu’er knew that everyone was happy, which meant there should be no problem with her pay.