Wang Hunv was awakened by the tantalizingly sweet aroma in the air. She had taken over Tan You’s usual study spot for the day—a shady area by the small river. Since Tan You was busy making pastries, the deck chair naturally fell into Wang Hunv’s possession.

The bread oven was located right by the garden, so Wang Hunv was the first to catch the sweet scent of pastries wafting from it. Sniffing the air, she slowly sat up.

Back when Tan You and Tan Deming were building the bread oven, she had been completely against it. But now, it seemed pretty good after all. Every now and then, all sorts of delicious things would come out of it.

A smile crept onto Wang Hunv’s face as she thought about the little cakes, breads, and other treats Tan You usually made.

Tan You quickly gathered the red bean buns into a small basket. Spotting Wang Hunv, who had approached at some point, she casually thrust the basket into her hands before heading back to the kitchen to grab a tray.

Seeing the batter on the tray, Wang Hunv knew what was next. She took a huge bite of a red bean bun, her eyes crinkling in satisfaction.

"This... is delicious. Better than the milk pudding you make."

"Of course it is," Tan Deming said, coming over to grab one himself. "These are a lot of work. She’s not usually willing to make them."

Tan You pressed her lips together. "I’ll make more when I have time. But it’s too hot lately. It would be a waste to make too much and not be able to finish it all."

Wang Hunv wasn’t a picky eater. "Whatever. Everything you make is delicious."

Tan You arched an eyebrow. ’Have I won my grandma over through her stomach?’ But she didn’t say anything more to Wang Hunv. After all, her grandma was the type of person who only ever listened to her own reasoning.

After sliding the cake batter into the bread oven, Tan You wiped her hands and sat down beside Wang Hunv. When she saw Tan You immediately open a book, Wang Hunv pushed the small basket toward her. "Aren’t you having any?"

Tan You didn’t even look up. "It’s too sweet. Just the smell is enough to make me lose my appetite. Besides, I’m on a diet."

"If you’re not eating, I will," Wang Hunv said, her eating pace slowing. With Tan You abstaining and Tan Deming unlikely to eat much, all the little buns would end up being hers. There was no need to rush.

"The paddy fields are pretty much weeded, right? You don’t have to go back out there this afternoon, do you?" An idea occurred to Tan You, and she suddenly looked at Wang Hunv.

"There aren’t many weeds left. I’ll just go check on the fields this afternoon and let in a bit more water."

"Alright. After the cake is done, I’ll fire up the oven again and make a roast chicken when you get back." Tan You went back to her book, the conversation with her grandma concluded.

As long as there was something good to eat, Wang Hunv was happy. "I never imagined we’d eat so well every day. Once you go back to school, my cooking will just be so-so again."

Tan You replied, "You guys got by just fine before, didn’t you? Worst case, I’ll just make a big batch of dumplings and leave them in the freezer for you."

Wang Hunv immediately agreed. "That’s a great idea."

They chatted idly, and for a moment, a picturesque serenity settled over the small farmhouse courtyard. Tan You thought to herself that she’d never imagined a word like "serene" could be used to describe her time with her grandparents. After all, her grandma was the complete opposite of serene in every way.

Pretty much everyone in the village knew the Tan family had a bread oven. It was a novelty at first, and some people were curious. But after a while, the novelty wore off, and few people came by just to gawk at it anymore.

The village children, however, loved running over to the Tan family’s home, especially whenever they caught a whiff of something sweet.

Sure enough, just as the cake was coming out of the oven, three children showed up at the house. The moment Wang Hunv saw them, her expression soured. The old woman was possessive of her food and notoriously stingy; there was no way she’d willingly share such treats with others.

Tan Deming cleared his throat. "Tan You, cut a piece for each of them."

Once he spoke, Wang Hunv had to agree, no matter how reluctant she was. As Tan You stood up, her grandmother muttered under her breath, "Cut them small pieces. Or maybe I should do it?"

Tan You replied, "I know, I know. I’m not that generous, am I?"

Wang Hunv was barely placated. She still followed Tan You, wanting to see just how big the slices would be.

And sure enough, Tan You didn’t give Wang Hunv too much reason to fret. After cutting a small slice of cake for each of the three children, she took the tray into the inner kitchen. Tan You didn’t consider herself stingy, but she wasn’t *that* generous either.

The Tan family was one of the poorer households in the village. Plenty of other families were better off than them; it wasn’t their place to act like big shots.

Wang Hunv was begrudgingly satisfied. "That’s good enough. We don’t get anything out of feeding them. Don’t their parents know their kids are always coming over here scrounging for food? They just pretend they don’t. We can pass them on the road, and they won’t even say hello."

Tan You understood. "Right, so there’s no need for us to be overly sincere about it. If they show up, we give them a little something. Whether they say hi to us or not, it is what it is. It’s just a small slice of cake, after all."

"If it becomes a real problem, I’ll just start baking at night. Let’s see who’s bold enough to come knocking on our door that late."

Wang Hunv clapped her hands at once. "Perfect! From now on, we’ll do our baking at night."

A smile crept onto Tan Deming’s face as he listened to Tan You go along with Wang Hunv’s wishes. Truth be told, his wife’s personality was a real piece of work, but everything she did was for the good of their family. He was frail, so he had to rely on his wife for everything.

That’s why Wang Hunv usually called the shots at home. Besides, Tan Deming didn’t think she was wrong. ’If you don’t look out for your own family, who will?’

After getting their cake, the children didn’t linger. They quickly ran off, clutching their small treats. Tan You wasn’t concerned about what they might tell their parents when they got home.

Life at home was peaceful. Tan Deming didn’t go around telling everyone that Tan You had received a manuscript fee, which showed that the old man was quite reliable when he wanted to keep a secret.

As for Tan You, her days consisted of laundry, cooking, and studying. Sometimes, Tan Deming would watch her scowling at a math competition problem and feel exhausted just on her behalf.

"Are these problems really that hard?" the old man asked. Though he was literate, his education was only at an elementary school level.

"They’re pretty hard," Tan You said, setting down her book. "High schools have academic competitions, and some schools have special tracks for them."

She went on to give Tan Deming a detailed explanation of the various academic competitions. Tan Deming smacked his lips thoughtfully. "So, the students who do well end up competing abroad?"

"Yep. Usually, it’s a team of six. Only six people are chosen from the entire country. Just think, that’s maybe one person for every few provinces. You can imagine how difficult it is."

Tan Deming was curious. "So you... want to participate in this academic competition?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Tan You choked on a sip of water. "Grandpa, you really overestimate me. I’m terrible at science and math. I’m just looking at these to stretch my brain a bit; I wouldn’t dare dream of competing."

Tan Deming nodded. "Oh, I see. That’s fine. Like you said, very few students do those competitions, but plenty of other people still get into university, don’t they? All that matters is that you get into a good university later on."