Chapter 66: Birthday Cake

About ten minutes later, Feng Junwei came over, carrying his son, whose eyes were swollen from crying. He apologized to Han Aiguo and Su Yue.

“Aiguo, sister-in-law, I’m really sorry about today. It’s because of this brat of mine, and his mother as well, both of them were ignorant. You’ve been wronged. I’ve already disciplined them, and now I’m bringing this boy here to apologize to you.”

Unlike Fang Xiaoli, who couldn’t tell right from wrong, Feng Junwei was not unreasonable. After learning what had happened, he was shocked to hear that Su Yue had almost slipped and fallen because of his son’s marbles. If a pregnant woman fell down the stairs, it could have meant one body and two lives; something that could never be explained away. Fortunately, disaster had been avoided.

If his child’s mother had sincerely apologized, he believed Su Yue wouldn’t have held the child accountable. But instead, she had been unreasonable, blindly shielding her son, which had led to this mess.

This child had been spoiled by his grandparents, so Feng Junwei had taken him back against their objections. If he hadn’t, the boy would have gone astray for sure. But who would have thought that on his very first day home, he’d cause such a huge problem? It truly infuriated him.

Furious, Feng Junwei slapped his son again and shouted, “Hurry up and apologize!”

Feng Zitao staggered from the blow. He wanted to cry, but out of fear his father would hit him again, he swallowed it down and said grudgingly, “I’m sorry.”

Su Yue could see that Feng Junwei was sincerely apologizing. The child had been beaten hard and forced to apologize as well. What more could she and Han Aiguo do? They couldn’t very well scold or strike someone else’s child.

She waved her hand. “Company Commander Feng, let’s leave it at that today. But in the future, you must remind your child not to play with marbles on the stairs. It’s far too dangerous.”

“Absolutely!” Feng Junwei promised quickly. “I’ve taught him. This brat will never dare to play on the stairs again. If he does, I’ll break his legs myself.”

Su Yue let the matter drop, and after a few more words, Feng Junwei took his son and left.

Han Aiguo, however, hadn’t spoken a single word the whole time. Su Yue could tell he was still angry.

She touched his face and coaxed him gently. “Alright, don’t be angry. I’ll be more careful next time. It won’t happen again. Look, I’m fine now. Smile for me, hmm?”

Han Aiguo tried to smile, but the fear still lingered in his chest. If she hadn’t been fine, he would have never been able to relax again.

Su Yue rose up on her toes and kissed his Adam’s apple. “Oh, that stern face of yours is going to scare the baby. The baby’s mother is also frightened. Why don’t you smile for us?”

The corners of Han Aiguo’s mouth twitched, and he finally managed a stiff smile. But worry still weighed on him, so he tucked her under the quilt and said he would fetch Xu Can to check on her.

Su Yue knew he wouldn’t rest until a doctor confirmed she was fine, so she didn’t stop him.

A while later, Han Aiguo returned with Xu Can.

Xu Can took Su Yue’s pulse, examined her carefully, and finally said, “The child is fine. She’s just been frightened and feels weak. Rest for two days and she’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

Hearing this, Han Aiguo’s tense expression finally eased. Relieved, he went out to cook dinner and left the two women to talk.

“I just heard what happened,” Xu Can said. “It was truly dangerous. You need to be more careful on the stairs. There are many children in this compound, and a lot of them are very naughty. You never know when they’ll roll marbles around again. Pregnant women really can’t take risks with their safety.”

Su Yue nodded with lingering fear. “I know now. I was too careless. I didn’t even pay attention to my steps. Luckily, I’m alright. I’ll definitely be more careful from now on.”

“That’s good.” Xu Can smiled and then pulled something out of her bag. “Look, I brought you something nice. These are sour plums pickled by my mother. They’re very appetizing and perfect for pregnant women who have no appetite. I thought of you, since you’ve been saying it’s hard to eat. Try them.”

The jar was filled with glossy sour plums. Su Yue quickly opened it and popped one into her mouth. The sour-sweet taste made her eyes brighten, it was delicious.

Aside from the sour radish she liked, this was another food she could eat without feeling nauseous.

She immediately took another, then another, until she had eaten about ten in a row before reluctantly closing the jar. “Thank you, Sister Xu Can. These are really delicious. Please thank auntie for me.”

Xu Can waved her off, and then suddenly remembered something. “Speaking of my mother, I’d like to ask you a favor. It’s her fiftieth birthday in a few days. We’re planning a celebration, but I don’t know what gift to bring. She already has money, and snacks are plentiful at her place. But last time, when I brought back some of the cakes and pastries you made, she loved them so much she couldn’t stop praising them. Could you please make some more for me, so I can bring them to her?”

Su Yue thought for a moment. “It’s your mother’s birthday so just bringing pastries doesn’t seem enough. Why don’t I make a birthday cake for her? You can bring it as a gift.”

“Birthday cake?” Xu Can blinked, puzzled. “What’s that?”

At this time, very few in China had ever seen a cream cake, much less a birthday cake, so no wonder Xu Can didn’t know.

Su Yue explained patiently, “A birthday cake is a type of cream cake. It’s round, about the size of a dinner plate, with cream on top. On birthdays, people cut it open and share it together as part of the celebration. That’s why it’s called a birthday cake.”

Xu Can’s eyes lit up, full of curiosity. “That must be delicious, right?”

Su Yue nodded. “Yes. Women and children especially love it.”

“Then that’s settled!” Xu Can clapped her hands together, her face full of anticipation. “Su Yue, please make one for me!”

“Of course.” Su Yue agreed readily. “I’ll make it the day after tomorrow. Cakes don’t keep long, so it’s best eaten fresh.”

Overjoyed, Xu Can dug into her pocket and pulled out all the food stamps and money she had brought with her; three kilograms’ worth of grain stamps, one kilogram of non-staple food stamps, and three yuan in cash.

She shoved them into Su Yue’s hands. “This is all I have right now. I don’t know if it’s enough. If it isn’t, I’ll bring more later. I know a cake needs white flour, sugar, oil, and eggs. You must take these, or else I’ll feel embarrassed.”

“This is enough,” Su Yue said, accepting them without fuss. In modern times, she would have refused and given it for free. But in this era, making a cake required precious ingredients such as flour, sugar, oil, and eggs; none of which were easy to get. Just one cake could easily use up a household’s monthly supply. If she didn’t accept, she and Han Aiguo would be left with nothing but coarse grains and thin porridge.

—

After resting at home for two days, Su Yue felt fine again and busied herself with the cake.

With no ovens or ready-made ingredients, everything had to be done by hand. Beating the egg mixture into butter alone nearly wore out her arms. She kept whipping until she thought her hands might fall off. Bit by bit, she adjusted the cream’s taste, adding ingredients until it matched what she remembered.

In the past, she could have made a cake in no time, but now it took her the better part of a day. Still, the effort was worth it as the finished cake looked and tasted almost like the modern version. After tasting it, Su Yue felt satisfied. It was still delicious.

Su Yue decorated the top of the cake with a cream longevity peach to symbolize birthday blessings, and then used red jam to write: Happy Birthday, Madam Jiang!

Since Xu Can’s mother’s surname was Jiang, it was perfectly fitting.

Once the cake was finished, it couldn’t simply be carried away as it was. Without a proper cake box, Su Yue had no choice but to place it inside a sturdy cardboard carton of about the same size. The packaging wasn’t pretty, but at least it was practical.

The next day, Xu Can came with Nini to pick it up. When Su Yue opened the box, Xu Can let out a childlike gasp. “Wow! It looks so good and it smells amazing. I want to eat it right now.”

Nini tiptoed, craning her neck to peek inside. She sniffed eagerly and said, “Mother, I want to eat cake.”

Xu Can quickly shut the lid before her daughter drooled into it, then coaxed, “We can’t eat it yet. We have to take it to Grandma’s house. I’ll give you a big piece then, alright?”

Nini’s little face fell in disappointment, though her eyes still kept sneaking glances at the box.

Xu Can turned back to Su Yue, her brows furrowing slightly. “Su Yue, are you sure the tickets and money I gave you were enough? I feel like they weren’t. This cake is so big and beautiful, it must have cost quite a bit. You can’t just give it back for free, I’d be too embarrassed.”

Su Yue smiled and reassured her, “It’s enough, more than enough actually. This cake looks large, but the inside is fluffy, so it doesn’t use as much flour as you imagine.”

In truth, Xu Can had given her a little too much. Su Yue had even made a small profit. With Han Aiguo only receiving limited tickets every month, and much of them already used up on pastries before, she’d been living frugally. The extra tickets Xu Can provided eased their household burden considerably.

Relieved, Xu Can left happily with Nini, confident her mother would love the gift.

That evening, Xu Can came back brimming with excitement. The moment she saw Su Yue; she burst out, “Su Yue! Let me tell you, the cake was amazing! Everyone who ate it gave a thumbs-up. The children fought over it, but there wasn’t nearly enough to go around. Such a huge cake, and not a single crumb was left.”

With a touch of regret, she added, “I had wanted to save some for later, but it was gone before I could. Poor Nini almost cried when she saw there was none left. She kept shouting that she wanted a birthday cake for her own birthday.”

Su Yue chuckled. “Then when her birthday comes, I’ll make her one.”

“That will drive her crazy with excitement,” Xu Can laughed. “She’s already counting the days.”

Then, lowering her voice, she leaned closer to Su Yue. “Actually… one of my relatives really loved your cake. He asked me where I bought it. I told him a neighbor made it. He immediately said that an elder in his family has a birthday soon, and asked if you could make one for him too. He’s willing to pay with food stamps and money.”

Su Yue hesitated. “This… won’t it cause gossip? Wouldn’t it be seen as inappropriate?”

Xu Can waved her hand. “Don’t worry. It’ll go through me. Neither I nor he will spread it around. And even if someone finds out, it’s just food stamps and money for helping a friend. No one can make a fuss about that.”

Hearing this, Su Yue relaxed. Since Xu Can was also involved and given her family’s status, if she said it was fine, then it was.

In the end, Su Yue agreed. It wasn’t business exactly, but more like helping acquaintances while earning some extra food stamps and money to supplement the household. With only Han Aiguo’s ration tickets each month, they barely scraped by on coarse grains and porridge. This would make life easier.

Xu Can added quickly, “I already told my relative the price; three kilos of food stamps, one kilo of non-staple stamps, plus five yuan. If that’s not enough, I’ll make him add more.”

“That’s enough,” Su Yue said. “When does he want it? I’ll make it the day before.”

“In five days. I’ll bring it to him myself.”

“Alright. I’ll need to buy flour, eggs, sugar, and other things tomorrow. I’ve run out at home.”

Xu Can frowned. “You’re pregnant. Don’t run around. If you trip, it’ll be terrible. Just write me a list. I go to the commune every day anyway. I’ll bring them back for you.”

Grateful, Su Yue wrote down what she needed and handed it over.

Through this, she realized she had found another way to earn money. Although she couldn’t openly sell food, she could “help” friends and relatives with cakes while get paid in tickets and money. On the surface, it was just a favor, so no one could accuse her of speculation.

And since she worked at home, she didn’t have to exhaust herself running about. It suited her perfectly.

Because of that, Su Yue became even more meticulous with her cakes. She worked carefully to make them both beautiful and delicious, knowing that only then would people be eager to order more. As word spread, demand would naturally grow.

Her calculations showed that with each cake she earned about two kilos of food stamps and four yuan. Even if she only made five a month, that was ten kilos of food stamps and twenty yuan; almost equal to two-thirds of a city worker’s monthly salary. To earn that much from home was more than satisfying.

The fragrance of her cakes soon drifted out through the cracks of the windows and doors, making passersby swallow their saliva. The first to smell it were her neighbors; the Feng family.

Little Feng Zitao immediately stopped playing, sniffed hard, and followed the scent until he reached Su Yue’s door. Standing there, he confirmed that the mouthwatering aroma was coming from inside.

He ran back to his mother, clung to her leg, and pleaded, “Mother, I want something yummy. Go ask for it.”

Fang Xiaoli frowned. “What do you want to eat? I’ll buy you something from the supply and marketing cooperative.”

“I want to eat what Auntie next door made!” he insisted, pointing. “She’s making something delicious. Mother, go get it for me!”

The mention of next door immediately soured Fang Xiaoli’s mood. Thinking of how her son had been beaten by his father because of Su Yue, and how she herself had been scolded, resentment rose in her chest. She shook her head. “That’s not ours to eat. I’ll buy you canned food and candy tomorrow instead.”

But Zitao threw a tantrum, flinging himself to the ground and thrashing his arms and legs. “No! I want the food next door! Canned food isn’t as good. I want it, I want it, I want it!”

Fang Xiaoli tried to pull him up, but his flailing legs kicked her several times. Furious, she finally gave up. She absolutely refused to bow her head and beg Su Yue for food. That would only invite laughter.

The boy continued rolling and wailing, finally shutting himself inside his room and refusing to eat. Heart aching, Fang Xiaoli stood outside the door, coaxing him desperately.

Unfortunately for her, this scene happened just as Feng Junwei returned home. The moment he saw it, rage boiled over. He kicked open the door, dragged his son out, and despite Fang Xiaoli’s protests, gave the boy a sound beating until he bawled.

Fang Xiaoli wept and cursed at her husband in distress, making such a racket that the noise carried next door.

Su Yue and Han Aiguo could not enjoy a moment of peace.