Hehua Gaoyuan1鹤华高苑; 鹤 = crane; 华 = abbr. for China, but can mean magnificent/splendid, or the archaic character for flower; 高 = tall/high; 苑 = a quite literary way to say garden/park. The name is very… flowery. If I have to make an English name for it, maybe like, Magnificent Crane Heights? Crane Heights Residence/Garden? is considered one of the top residential areas in Hongcheng, with its prime location, excellent facilities, and first-class property management. It’s so nice that even elderly passersby often stop to admire it on their way to the market.
However, even the most upscale neighborhoods have grandmothers who turn the gardens into vegetable patches — a testament to frugality and hard work.
Seven or eight buildings away from Jiang Wang’s home lived an elderly woman, Grandma Feng, who was likely alone after her children moved to another province for business. Her large house and garden were empty except for her presence.
The garden in front of her house was large enough to install a small pond for koi fish, set up a swing, or plant a variety of flowers.
But Grandma Feng chose to till the soil, setting up a frame for growing pumpkins, loofahs, and cucumbers, while dedicating two other plots to cabbage and round-headed radishes.
She watered, fertilized, and diligently tended her plants day and night.
She probably guessed that keeping chickens or ducks wasn’t allowed, as they could be too noisy and might escape, causing a mess around the community.
So, after much consideration, she brought a little lamb from the countryside and named it Tuantuan2团团. Each character means round/ball/dumpling….
The lamb had only recently been weaned. On sunny days, it would wander around the small courtyard, occasionally nibbling on weeds in the vegetable patch. When it rained or the wind blew, it would trot into its little bamboo pen to take shelter, curling up in a pile of straw for a peaceful nap.
The property management had been subtly worried that the elderly lady might keep chickens, ducks, or geese, but when they saw her leading a little lamb, they had no choice but to approach her for a discussion.
“This lamb will have to go when it gets bigger. Otherwise, if it accidentally gets out and something happens, you’d be heartbroken, wouldn’t you?”
Grandma Feng agreed repeatedly, but after returning home, she cuddled the lamb like a grandson for a long time.
Peng Xingwang was particularly fond of the little lamb. He noticed it on his first day after moving in, and from then on, he would greet it every morning and afternoon on his way to and from school, even pulling up dog-tail grass and alfalfa from his own garden to feed it.
On weekends, he would often visit, first peeking over the fence, but soon the grandmother became familiar with him and even gave him a key to help take care of the lamb.
Worried that the child might be bothering the elderly woman, Jiang Wang brought a basket of fruit to apologize, but Grandma Feng just laughed and told them not to be so reserved.
“I’m lonely by myself, so I’m happy to see you all. Come often, come often.”
Jiang Wang, who had become less expressive with age, would sometimes accompany Peng Xingwang to help the old lady water the plants and clean the yard. They would sit in the sunset, feeding the lamb for a long time.
When Peng Xingwang heard the news from the property management, he became a little anxious whenever he went to see Tuantuan, always lingering by the fence to talk to it before leaving.
“You should eat slower and grow slower.”
“Don’t grow up too fast, okay?”
He probably remembered his own experience of almost believing he was going to have his kidney removed, which made these words resonate deeply with him.
Jiang Wang didn’t say anything at the time, but as they were walking home together, he suddenly said, out of the blue, “You should eat slower and grow slower too.”
The child tilted his head in confusion. “Huh?”
Ji Linqiu, who had just come out to take out the trash, overheard and glanced over curiously. “What are you two talking about?”
The child was just as puzzled. “I don’t know.”
Teacher Ji chuckled and invited them into the kitchen.
“The blender, oven, and ingredients have all been delivered by your assistant. There are three sets of ingredients, just in case you mess up. It’s still early, so shall we give it a try?”
Jiang Wang was slightly dissatisfied. “Two sets would’ve been enough. I’m so smart…”
Ji Linqiu handed him two sheets of A4 paper. “It’s a bit complicated. Take a look?”
Jiang Wang silently read through ten lines.
“Teacher Ji… shall we do it together?”
Ji Linqiu, who had anticipated this, tied on an apron with him.
As October approached, a cold wind quietly drifted down from the mountains, chilling to the bone and making it easy to catch a cold.
Wanting to be comfortable, Jiang Wang went back to his room to change into home clothes before coming out to tie on his apron.
When they looked at each other, they both inexplicably felt that the other looked soft and easy to squeeze.
Jiang Wang, tall and broad-shouldered, looked like a college student who hadn’t yet graduated in his deep gray fleece pajamas, his usual businesslike intensity greatly diminished.
Ji Linqiu, in his light brown wool sweater, looked soft and cozy, with his tousled hair falling over his ears, making him look like he would be very comfortable to hug.
Jiang Wang couldn’t help but take another look, his gaze settling on the white jade bracelet on Ji Linqiu’s right wrist.
“It’s easy to get dirty while making desserts. Do you want to take it off?”
Ji Linqiu raised his hand at the sound, shook his head, and said, “No need, I’ll be careful.”
Jiang Wang studied the jade carefully and noticed it was of very high quality.
It was translucent and smooth, without any blemishes or cracks, the kind that felt like a bowl of snow held in the palm of one’s hand.
He had only ever focused on his teacher during his childhood and had never closely examined the pendant before.
“Is this a seed from the downstream area?”
“You’re quite knowledgeable,” Ji Linqiu said, holding out his wrist and reminiscing as he spoke about the jade. “It was a gift from my father when he went to Xinjiang for teaching. I’ve worn it since I was twelve.”
“Was he a teacher too?”
“Yes, a university physics professor. After retiring, he was rehired to teach high school students back in his hometown in the neighboring province. He just couldn’t stay idle,” Ji Linqiu explained, almost defensively, considering Jiang Wang had visited his father a few times.
“My dad… after his illness, he seemed like a frail old man, but he used to be very strong and loved winter swimming. But teaching… it really made him prone to illness.”
Jiang Wang suddenly realized something.
If he hadn’t come back that night and taken Ji Linqiu to find a good bed for his father, might things have turned out differently?
He pulled his thoughts back, as if to guard this secret, and changed the subject.
“The quality is excellent. Can I touch it?”
“Of course.”
Ji Linqiu, mindful of his father’s teaching that “a gentleman should not part with his jade,” moved his hand slightly forward, holding it out to Jiang Wang.
Jiang Wang, recalling a technique taught by an old friend, carefully touched the jade on his wrist.
It was warm and smooth, polished and transparent.
He ran his fingers from the jade’s body to the end, lightly scraping with his fingertips.
Ji Linqiu’s lips unconsciously curved, as if holding back some teasing.
Jiang Wang genuinely admired that Ji Linqiu had received such a gift from his father and didn’t notice Ji Linqiu’s expression as he withdrew his hand to tie on his apron.
“Maybe I should get one for Peng Xingwang someday.”
He felt a bit embarrassed about buying one for himself.
Ji Linqiu realized he had been distracted and quickly responded.
While tying on his apron, he mentally chastised himself.
What was he thinking all day?
Making a chocolate mille crepe seemed simple enough.
The crepes were made by cooking the batter layer by layer, stacking them like a giant pancake.
Then, the corresponding flavor of cream was prepared and layered between each crepe, building up to about twenty layers before topping it off with cocoa powder.
Ji Linqiu had translated the recipe in detail, including how much to whisk the granulated sugar and cream, how many times to sift the flour, and how long to cook the batter on low heat.
Jiang Wang compared the various pages and noticed something.
“Can eight pages of English translate down to two?”
“Well, not quite,” Ji Linqiu pointed to two sections. “From here to the end, it talks about the history of the cake.”
“This shape originally came from Szeged, Hungary, and was later redesigned by the Café de la Paix next to the Paris Opera House. Two years ago, it was repackaged and named ‘q ts Feuille,’ meaning ‘Five Hundred Layers Cake.’”3this is the history of mille-feuille, not mille crepe. They’re totally making mille crepe. I think the author (and me) doesn’t know that they’re different desserts~ Thank you milui for the insight!
Ji Linqiu spoke French fluently, and even just reading a list of words seemed effortless and light.
Jiang Wang, charmed by this, asked, “You speak French?”
Ji Linqiu, stifling a laugh, read a long passage in French from one of the pages, making it sound elegant and natural.
“When you handed me the materials, didn’t you check what language they were in?”
Jiang Wang was taken aback. “I was wondering why there was so much pinyin mixed into the English.”
Peng Xingwang, who was writing his homework nearby, chimed in, “Teacher Ji, you’re so cool! I want to learn too!”
Ji Linqiu’s eyes crinkled into a smile from the compliment as he continued explaining.
“This French café created a unique selling point. The cake comes in six flavors, changing every month to keep customers interested.”
Jiang Wang immediately saw a business opportunity.
“If they have six flavors, we could offer twelve.”
Ji Linqiu thought he was joking. “Where would we find so many flavors?”
“Chocolate, strawberry, matcha, mango, kiwi, and pork floss,” Jiang Wang quickly listed, counting on his fingers. “Durian, sea salt milk cap, oreo, soy milk, dragon fruit, and maybe red velvet or cherry. Is that enough?”
Ji Linqiu was taken aback. “Can you really put durian in a cake?”4T/N: …out of all those flavors, you’re concerned about the durian, and not the pork floss?????????
Jiang Wang instinctively wanted to say that twenty years from now, durian desserts would be everywhere, but stopped himself. He nodded quickly.
He suddenly felt a pang of regret.
He wished he could show Ji Linqiu what things would be like twenty years from now.
The desserts would be delicious, high-speed trains would be everywhere, and schools would be advanced and open.
The world there would surely be good to him too.
They each took a sheet of the menu, with one handling the batter and the other preparing the cocoa cream. They worked through the recipe, eventually recording it again for employees to watch and learn.
Ji Linqiu used his past experience making scallion pancakes but, unsurprisingly, had some mishaps.
The first crepe burned, the second tore apart, and the third was cooked on the edges but raw in the middle.
By the fourth crepe, he had to curse softly under his breath.
Jiang Wang, having added half the sugar, turned to look at him, forgetting how many spoons he had added.
Ji Linqiu, caught in his own thoughts, responded honestly, “What?”
“You’re very charming,” Jiang Wang said with a smirk. “Your swearing sounds good. Keep it up.”
Ji Linqiu thought to himself that they were both oddballs and took a breath before continuing to help Jiang Wang with the crepes.
Fortunately, he finally remembered to follow the instructions, cooking them on low heat and properly stacking them to make a towering cake.
By the time they reached 25 layers, the cake wobbled, looking like a fortress made of cream and soft crepes.
Ji Linqiu carefully smoothed out the edges with a spatula and dusted it with a layer of powdered sugar, giving it a refined appearance.
“Add a little golden velvet shop sign, and people might believe it if we say it’s imported from France,” he said with a smile.
Jiang Wang noticed the thin layer of cocoa cream on Ji Linqiu’s finger.
Ji Linqiu’s skin was so fair that the chocolate color made it look even more luminous.
As the cream moved with his fingers, it was particularly mesmerizing.
Jiang Wang clicked his tongue.
He really wanted to lick it off.
