The So-Called Osmanthus Cake

He Xun frowned, pulled Chen Wei’er behind him, and asked again, “Hello! How do we get to the village chief’s house?”

“Are you her man?” The little boy’s expression changed, and he looked at He Xun in disgust.

He Xun’s suspicions grew. His eyes turned cold, and he nodded at the little boy.

The little boy could see the warning in He Xun’s eyes. In addition, He Xun had been in the army, and he held a high position for a long time. As a result, he had always maintained a dignified temperament.

The little boy was frightened. His neck shrank, and he pointed to an alley inside.

“It’s in this alley. The biggest one!”

“Many thanks.” He Xun held Chen Wei’er tightly in his arms and walked in the direction pointed out by the little boy. Although he didn’t turn around, he could still feel the little boy’s eyes staring at Chen Wei’er.

From the moment they officially entered the village, everyone had their eyes on Chen Wei’er!

He walked to the house that the boy had mentioned. Compared to the other houses, it was indeed the largest and most magnificent. It was completely different from the dilapidated house of Anning’s village chief. The area did not look poor at all.

It was just a door, but He Xun already had a plan in his heart. There should be something wrong with this village chief.

“Is anyone there?” Chen Wei’er stepped forward and knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” A woman’s voice came from the courtyard.

“We’re here to look for the village chief. The village chief of the Anning Mountain Area wrote us a letter of recommendation,” Chen Wei’er explained.

“They’re here!” Thereafter, the door was opened, and a mean-looking middle-aged woman came out. She looked at the couple up and down a few times. When she saw Chen Wei’er, her eyes flashed with surprise and greed, but she quickly hid it and said, “What are you guys doing here?”

“Do you know about the school building in the Anning Mountain Area?” He Xun spoke before Chen Wei’er could. He didn’t answer the question but asked his own.

The news of a school being built in the Anning Mountain Area had already spread even though the mountain roads were not easy to walk on. Of course, the middle-aged woman knew. She frowned and nodded. “What does this have to do with you? Could it be that you’re the one building a school?”

Seeing that she knew, He Xun said, “We’re the investors for the construction of the school. We want to visit the nearby villages. The village chief of Anning has written us a letter of recommendation. It will confirm our identity.”

The middle-aged woman’s expression changed immediately when she heard that it was really a school-building project.

“So it’s the generous people in the flesh. Please come in, the village chief is at home!” As the middle-aged woman spoke, she opened the door and let the couple in.

He Xun walked into the courtyard while still holding Chen Wei’er in his arms.

At this moment, the village chief also came out of the house. It was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties or fifties. He had a few strands of long hair, an unkempt beard, and a fat belly. With a toothpick in his mouth, he said impatiently, “Why are you guys looking for me?”

He Xun repeated what he had just said, took out the letter of introduction, and finally said, “Is there any place in your village that can make osmanthus cakes?”

The Osmanthus’ village chief looked at the two people suspiciously and confirmed that their letter bore the seal of Anning’s village chief. He spat the toothpick to the side and immediately laughed.

“You can just call me Old Li. This is my wife. When it comes to making osmanthus cakes, there’s no one better than my wife in the entire village. If you want to eat, just let my wife make it!”

Chen Wei’er was just about to speak when He Xun said, “Thank you very much. Is it convenient for you to tell us the recipe? We’ll bake it ourselves when we return.”

“You city people have soft skin and tender flesh. How can you know how to do this?! Just let my wife do it!” Old Li’s attitude seemed excessively warm.

Chen Wei’er also wanted to agree, but He Xun said again, “We’re both quite free every day, and we don’t have much to do. We just wanted to find something to do.”

At this point, Old Li did not insist. He looked at his wife.

“Why aren’t you telling the two benefactors the steps in making osmanthus cake?”

“Come, I’ll tell you!” Chen Wei’er was pulled aside by Old Li’s wife. She wanted to hear what Old Li’s wife wanted to say, but He Xun rushed to her side and firmly held her while pretending to listen with her.

Old Li, who was about to say something to He Xun, gave his wife a look.

Old Li’s wife secretly nodded, then exaggeratedly said, “You have to be meticulous in preparing the osmanthus cake. First of all, you have to use the first drop of dew every morning, and at least a large basin of it! If you don’t use dew, the taste won’t be good…”