Chapter Sixty-Two: What Happened?

“Sis, I’m thinking about expanding this fruit pudding recipe, making a few variations to sell in our shop. What do you think?” This kind of visually appealing summer dessert was still rare at the time, and Chen Xin thought it ought to have a competitive edge. Yet she was uncertain about people’s tastes—what if customers found it not substantial enough?

“I think it’s a good idea. But your pieces are too large. If you cut them smaller, they lose their shape. Maybe you can try making it with other fruits? Or just freeze the fruit directly.”

Simply freezing fruit didn’t taste so great, but Cheng Jie’s suggestion gave Chen Xin an idea—perhaps a yogurt fruit parfait would work well.

Yogurt was easy to make, and there was someone in their area who delivered fresh milk every afternoon. If Chen Xin wanted, she could order milk directly from them. After all, those small street-side dairy shops hadn’t yet appeared; most beverage shops had to reserve milk in advance from local farmers. Otherwise, if the shop used large quantities, they’d sign an agreement with a dairy company for daily deliveries.

Chen Xin hadn’t decided what to make yet. She certainly couldn’t just place an order immediately; she also needed to inspect the milk source. If there were issues with the milk, it could be catastrophic for their shop. Such incidents had happened many times in later years, and she wouldn’t let herself repeat those mistakes.

Fruit parfaits were popular in the South, but not many people ate them in their area. More people preferred shaved ice—various fruit cubes, colored coconut jelly, several types of beans, a spoonful of fruit jam and syrup—all combined into a vibrant bowl of shaved ice.

Their shop also sold shaved ice, but there weren’t many buyers. The price was high, and they didn’t use colored ingredients, so the appearance wasn’t as dazzling. Still, some customers who valued food safety would only eat their shaved ice, though it wasn’t something people ate every day.

Of course, the shop also offered other desserts, like the classic banana split. Just the other day, Song Yi had made a caramel parfait, which was quite popular among the girls.

Although summer vacation was over, there was still some time before the weather cooled. Chen Xin thought fruit parfaits would be perfect for autumn—refreshing and nourishing for the complexion.

After discussing it with Cheng Jie, Chen Xin decided to try it out in the shop the next day. The shaved ice machine was ready; she just needed to cook some sago pearls, make yogurt, and select the right fruits.

There was still plenty of fruit in season—grapes, peaches, watermelon—all reasonably priced and delicious.

Chen Xin bought grapes and peaches, and spotted some papayas at the supermarket, which were also great for parfaits. There weren’t many mangoes around yet, or else mango ice would have been perfect.

When she got home, Song Yi had already helped himself to a bowl of yogurt. He’d added some raisins, and the smooth texture with the sweet, chewy raisins made for a delightful combination.

But that was fine for snacking at home; it seemed too plain to sell.

Seeing Chen Xin come home with a big bag of fruit, Song Yi hurried to help, peeling and chopping the fruit under her direction. They stored the pieces in glass bowls in the fridge, ready to be scooped out when needed.

Chen Xin first tasted the yogurt plain, gauging its creaminess and sweetness, before mixing the chopped fruit into a glass dessert bowl. She piled the fruit into a small mound, poured the cooked sago pearls over it, then drizzled yogurt down the fruit mountain, sprinkled a few raisins on top, and finished with a spoonful of honey—a perfect summer yogurt fruit parfait.

Unlike some shops that lined the bottom with ice cubes, which diluted the yogurt’s creaminess and the sago’s sweetness—the parfait might be refreshing at first, but later bites felt bland.

She chose high-sugar fruits, so when cooking the sago, she added just a little sugar. All the sweetness in the parfait came from that final spoonful of honey. This kept the calories lower and made it filling, making it a favorite dessert among girls watching their figures in summer.

Besides the fruit parfait, Chen Xin also made a yogurt and muesli sample.

She’d brought instant muesli back from abroad, which didn’t need to be soaked or cooked. Mixed with chopped fruit and yogurt, it was the favorite summer treat for girls who didn’t like overly sweet desserts. Some girls even relied on it for all three meals a day just to lose weight.

Now that city life had improved, every family could afford meat. After too much meat, people grew tired of it. A bowl of dessert at this time was both cooling and satisfying.

The girls in the shop took turns at the staff canteen window to receive their samples—a small bowl of fruit parfait and a small bowl of yogurt with muesli.

The boys weren’t as keen. Like Song Yi, they preferred yogurt with just raisins, finding the addition of fruit and muesli too sweet.

The girls had their preferences, but overall, the fruit parfait was more popular than the muesli yogurt.

Since the new dish wasn’t yet perfectly balanced, it wouldn’t be added to the menu just yet. They planned to run taste tests for three to five days, collect customer feedback, and wait until the recipe was finalized before putting it on sale.

There was a bit of yogurt left over today, so Chen Xin decided to make a steamed yogurt cake for the two children at home.

Steamed cakes weren’t difficult—anyone who could bake cakes could manage a good steamed one. The trick was just to swap out the milk in the recipe for yogurt.

Chen Xin quickly made two ten-inch yogurt cakes, leaving one for everyone to share, and cutting up the other to box for Grandpa Liu and his wife.

When she reached Grandpa Liu’s building, she heard arguing upstairs—it sounded like Liu Chunyan and her sister-in-law quarreling. Chen Xin hesitated at the entrance and asked Mrs. Jiang, who lived on the first floor, what was happening.

“Chunyan came back in a fit of rage today. Later her brother and sister-in-law rushed over and they’ve been fighting ever since,” Mrs. Jiang sighed. “Old Liu’s son used to be fine, but now he indulges his wife in making trouble for the old couple. If this continues, it’ll push Old Liu into illness.”

Chen Xin frowned, hesitating for a moment with the cake box before heading upstairs.

When she knocked, she saw Liu Chunyan being held back by her husband, while opposite them, Liu Jianmin’s wife sat on the floor in tears, hair disheveled, her face swollen as if she’d been slapped.

“Xin, what brings you here?”

Grandpa Liu, who’d been slumped on the sofa in anger, managed to stand with the help of the table when he heard her voice.

Grandma Liu, who opened the door, had red, weary eyes.

“What happened here?”