WangXian Forever 7

Chapter 157 Moon Cakes

Lan Zhan held Rumi and Li XiWang's hands and they walked to the kitchens. Lan Zhan was feeling nervous because he had promised Wei Ying he was going to make Moon cakes for him, but he had not the faintest idea how to. Yet determination prevailed and he moved forward with a purpose.

"What are we going to make, father?" Li XiWang asked, no fear in her eyes.

Lan Zhan wished for some of that confidence to rub off on himself.  But he smiled at both of them.

"Moon cakes. I will need both of you to help."

"WingAnLaZhan!" Rumi agreed, smiling with his purple eyes and pointy teeth.

He really was the sweetest child.

"Have you ever made them before?" Li XiWang asked, grinning with excitement.

"No." Lan Zhan would have faltered, but her next words were motivating.

"It doesn't matter. We can ask someone. And if there's no one there, we'll figure it out."

Just her confidence in what they were about to do was awe-inspiring. Lan Zhan squeezed their hands and crouched down in front of both his children.

"Thank you." He said simply.

And when they both hugged him, he realised how much he needed that, and them. Children had that rare form of bravery that reminded adults of the courage that lay hidden deep within their hearts. Courage that only had to be looked for and it would bloom into a beautiful flower like the rarest lotus.

"We can do it, father." Li XiWang said, fearlessly.

"WingAnLaZhan." Rumi pumped the air with his fist.

"Alright. We need someone to show us." Lan Zhan stood up full of purpose.

A cook saw them and was just about to leave, when Lan Zhan pushed Li XiWang in front of him to talk to her. From behind the child, he glared back at the old woman, daring her to say no to his kid.

"Madam, please would you be so kind as to show us how to make Moon cakes?" Li XiWang asked sweetly, having no idea of what was going on behind her.

"O-of c-course..." she stammered.

"Two batches." Lan Zhan amended, lowering the strength of his glare by five notches to you-better-not-fail-but-thank-you-for-agreeing rather than the I-will-obliterate-your-family-line-if-you-say-no level ten that he had begun with.

He was taking no chances with the seriousness of this task. And he wanted it done before Wei Ying woke up.

"H-have you made t-them b-before?" She asked, directing her question to the least scariest person, because the demon-child was looking up at the adult and then mimicking the glare.

The cook was not going to mess this up.

"No. But you're going to show us." Li XiWang beamed at the poor woman, who didn't know whether to be charmed or scared now.

"Madam will direct us." Lan Zhan said, rolling up his sleeves elegantly.

Li XiWang found aprons for all three of them.

"Begin." Lan Zhan commanded.

The cook was compliant and able to assess their skills so she went for the easiest ones to make.

"These are called Snowy Moon Cakes because they are served cold. First we must make the custard filling." She said, reaching for two large bowls.

She prepared the ingredients and did her each action slowly so Lan Zhan could copy her. She put one whole egg and three egg yolks in a bowl, waiting until he did the same. Then she added the milk and some melted butter began to stir. In a separate bowl, she combined the dry ingredients. After mixing them well, she combined the wet ingredients with the dry and stirred again.