Chapter 7 Chapter two

We made an appointment to go to "Goldfinch" together. "Goldfinch" is located at the end of the gentle slope in front of the station. The appearance of the classical atmosphere exudes the atmosphere of an old store. The interior decoration is modern, and it seems to be refurbished in line with the recent dessert trend. In the huge display cabinet, there are about 30 kinds of cakes on display, and there is also a small handmade chocolate area.The gift boxes are stacked in a pyramid shape on the dessert cabinet, and there is also a special area for single-purchase macarons, French fruit candies and other products.Although it is an authentic French dessert shop, it has a nostalgic atmosphere of Kansai sweets.

We were greeted by a female pastry chef named Morisawa. When we asked her "Can I order a king's pie?", Ms. Morisawa readily agreed, and also took the initiative to explain that if it is a wedding gift, the surface of the pie can be specially designed. "Because it's a happy event, how about designing it with a sea bream pattern? Although it's a bit unconventional, it's a design with a sense of humor. As long as it's decorated beautifully, the effect will be very good!" "The design with a sense of humor seems to be good!" Qingmei said: "Compared with the King's Pie, the 'Congratulations Pie' (because the Japanese pronunciation of "Snapfish" is similar to the Japanese pronunciation of "Congratulations.") feels more appropriate, anyway For other formal congratulatory gifts, I think the congratulatory desserts can be more creative, what do you all think?"

Since it is a special order, of course it is better to be unique, and everyone agrees with one voice. Ms. Morisawa suggested that in order to equip six small porcelain dolls on average, it is better to make the pie crust into a round shape, and then engrave the sea bream pattern on it. She took a note from the cash register and made a quick sketch.Of course, when making it, it will be adjusted according to the situation, so the final product will be somewhat different, but basically it is based on the cute appearance of the big-eyed sea bream twisting and jumping. I think Tao Xiang must be very happy to see it.

"That's your trouble," we said.Ms. Morisawa took us to the coffee shop attached to the store, and asked us to wait for a while, and she went to the warehouse to get the small porcelain dolls. Qingmei whispered: "This store feels good!" Tongzi also suggested: "Since we are here, let's go after eating a piece of cake!" "The cakes in the display cabinet look delicious! It's a pity to go back like this!" "Hurrah!" "That's it, Ding Luo!" After a while, Ms. Morisawa brought a plastic box and put it on the table, opened the box lid, and stuffed various small porcelain dolls in plastic bags, such as puppies, cats, fish, vegetables, tableware, furniture , dolls, small animals, buildings, vehicles, miniature desserts, etc.

Ms. Morisawa asked us to choose the style we like. "Is there an additional charge?" we asked. "Because it is a specially ordered pastry, there is no need to pay for the small porcelain doll." "But we need six..." "According to the store's regulations, you have to pay for the second small porcelain doll, but this time it's a special order, so it's free." It turned out that during the hot sale period, there were many situations that required more than one small porcelain doll. "Especially in a family with more than one child, if there are not enough small porcelain puppets, there will be quarrels! So we will count on the number of children in the family. By the way, many customers like the small porcelain made by this workshop. Oops, some people buy pies to collect small porcelain dolls! Our store also provides the service of buying up to five extra, so we usually order more, and these are leftovers.”

Under the kind greeting of Ms. Morisawa, we took out the small porcelain puppets in the box and happily selected them. Hiiragisuke, who graduated from an art school, admired the color and shape of these small porcelain dolls very much, and asked Ms. Morisawa for the contact information of this workshop. Everyone finally chose their favorite little porcelain puppet. Kiyomi chose "Squatting Dachshund".She likes lop-eared dogs and also raised one. Hitomi chose the "Silver Tea Set".Although it is not a real silver product, its exquisite workmanship satisfies her desire for brand-name ceramics.

Hiiragisuke chose the "Antique Stove".It's a painted thing that looks like a wardrobe, but it's actually a traditional European wood-burning stove.Hiiragisuke is a student of art, and has a lot of research in this area. The beautiful color matching and shape are in line with his taste. Zhao Wu chose the playful "pig in a ballet suit", reminiscent of the hippopotamus that appeared in the "Dance of Time" scene in the Disney animation (FANTASIA).I remember seeing similar looks in TV commercials a few days ago. Zhe also chose the "Red Brick House" to wish Tao Xiang a happy family.Sure enough, it is a choice that married people will make.

I chose the "Strawberry Tart" and thought it would be fun to stuff desserts into desserts.The small porcelain puppets in the shape of a cake are very realistic. If you take a photo and show it to others, someone might mistake it for a real cake. "Okay, there are six in total." Ms. Morisawa put the small porcelain dolls we selected into plastic bags one by one, and then pasted a sticker with Kiyomi's name on it, and tied it together with the order form with a rubber band. After the cake is ready, it will be sent directly to Taoxiang's home. After Qingmei made the payment, everyone ordered the cake set and enjoyed the delicious afternoon tea before the meeting ended.

At the end of April, I received a call from Tao Xiang, she said that she had received the King's Pie, thank you for our kindness. And it was received on a Sunday, which happened to be the day when her fiancé visited her home. Everyone was very happy to see the beaming "bream" design, and shared the food happily.Moreover, each cut piece hides a small porcelain puppet, so everyone is happy. Of course the little porcelain puppets belong to Tao Xiang, and her fiancé also greatly appreciated our hard work. Taoxiang called Qingmei first to thank her, but she couldn't reach her, so she had to call me. "It's really delicious! The little porcelain doll is also so cute, I will keep it as a treasure for the rest of my life, but there is one thing that is really incredible!"

"What's the matter?" "There is an extra small porcelain doll! Isn't it Mingli, Qingmei, Hirasuke, Shogo, Hitoko, and Tetsuya, six people who gave it together? But there are seven small porcelain dolls. Could it be that the store made a mistake?" "We go directly to the store to order, and it's a special order, it should be impossible to make mistakes..." "That's right! After all, no one would order king pies during this period. Maybe it's an extra gift from the store?" It is strange to say that it is an extra gift, because we are picking out our favorite small porcelain dolls, so the store is unlikely to increase the number without authorization, and we explained to Ms. Morisawa that it is a wedding pie.

"I'm just a little curious!" It seems that Tao Xiang is quite concerned: "Can I trouble you to check it out?" "Check what?" "I'm busy with the wedding, can you call me and ask why there is one more?" I also think "you can ask yourself if you don't have it", after all, it's just a gift to congratulate and express my heart.But I don't want to talk to Taoxiang. In fact, I know that she is very busy preparing for the wedding, and there is no malice.It's just that her personality is unbearable, she is easily anxious about little things, and she refuses to face them positively.To put it bluntly, she is timid and afraid of getting into trouble and loves to dig into horns... Maybe she was lying when she said that she couldn't get in touch with Qingmei. In fact, she insisted on me as the best talking friend from the beginning: because if Qingmei, she would definitely say: "I won't call and ask about such trivial matters!" "Okay! Then you can take a picture with your mobile phone and send it to me! I'll see which one is the extra little porcelain doll, and you can send it to me. I'll take it to the store." "Thank you! Then I will trouble you!" After I hung up the phone, I received seven photos from Taoxiang one after another. I clearly remember the little porcelain dolls that everyone picked at that time, namely "squatting dachshund dog", "silver tea set", "antique stove", "wearing Piggy in Ballerina", "Red Brick House", "Strawberry Tower". The last photo is a small porcelain doll in the shape of a bean. The original meaning of the small porcelain doll is "broad bean", so there are also small porcelain dolls in the shape of broad beans.The small porcelain puppet in the photo has a round shape and a bright yellow-green color, which looks very much like a real broad bean. I can't help but admire the keen observation of the maker.Compared with the small porcelain puppets that we choose are all complicated in shape, the taste of the person who chooses this small porcelain puppets is obviously different. So, who put it in?When and for what reason? My curiosity is just around the corner.If it is a good gift from the store, it should be informed in advance.Moreover, when the original order was made, the quantity was confirmed on the spot. The small porcelain puppets stuffed into the king's pie will inevitably be damaged during the baking and transportation process, and must be remedied.For example, before sharing the meal, first secretly stuff the small porcelain doll from the bottom of the cake, and then deliberately avoid it when cutting. But this time it was a specially ordered congratulatory gift, and it was impossible to secretly stuff the small porcelain doll into it when it was cut later.Besides, if you put six at a time, the risk of accidentally being cut by a knife is already very high.It is really unlikely that the store will add one more without authorization. Where did the seventh little porcelain puppet come from?