The first ray of morning sunlight filtered through the curtain gap, falling upon the cat and snake on the bed.
The 7:30 alarm clock rang punctually.
The orange cat stretched out its tail and swatted the alarm clock off with a "thwap."
It stretched lazily on the bed, yawned, and shook its slightly disheveled fur.
Now she was a cat who needed to get up on time to open the shop, no longer able to sleep until the sun was high in the sky.
Turning her head to see the snake still coiled up motionless, Yun Manman felt an inexplicable surge of jealousy.
So she reached out a paw and scooped up the snake.
"Wake up! Stop sleeping!" Come to work with me!
The Little White Snake, suddenly awakened, had glass bead-like eyes that hadn't yet focused, clearly not having reacted yet.
Yun Manman looked at the innocent and bewildered face of the Little White Snake, felt guilty for a second, then justified herself again.
"Let's see if you're feeling unwell after eating beef."
That's right, I'm just concerned about his health!
Of course, the snake couldn't speak.
The little snake crawled onto the cat's back and lowered its head to lick the cat's cheek.
As if to say, "See, I'm perfectly fine."
Seeing the little snake's lively appearance, Yun Manman felt mostly relieved.
"Then I'll make you beef for dinner tonight."
After getting up and getting ready, Yun Manman took the little snake out with her.
The morning sun wasn't too harsh yet, the dew on the roadside grass sparkled in the sunlight, and the cobblestone path was quiet.
Occasionally, early-rising Beastmen passed by Yun Manman, greeting her friendly.
The atmosphere was comfortable and peaceful, making one's mood inevitably cheerful.
This was also why Yun Manman liked it here; compared to the hurried and tense life on Earth, life here was incredibly comfortable.
She felt she could live to be 100 years old.
Oh no, she was already a Beastman, she could live to be 287 like her grandmother.
After arriving at the sweet shop, Yun Manman took out the cream cheese that had been frozen overnight from the refrigerator, cut off a piece to soften, preparing to make blueberry cheesecake.
She first crushed wheat biscuits and mixed them with melted butter, spreading it at the bottom of the mold. These wheat biscuits seemed to be made by the neighboring Herbivore Tribe, similar to digestive biscuits, but with more elasticity and a stronger wheat flavor.
She mixed softened cream cheese with sugar until smooth, then added yogurt, eggs, cream, and starch, mixing evenly before sifting. The batter after sifting would be exceptionally smooth without lumps.
Then she placed washed blueberries at the bottom of the mold, arranged them neatly before pouring in the batter, and put it in the oven to bake.
While waiting, Yun Manman put the freshly bought blueberries in a pot with white sugar and a little lemon juice, simmering over low heat to make blueberry jam.
During the simmering process, constant stirring was needed to prevent sticking to the pot.
The Little White Snake, who had been observing for a long time, volunteered to stand up next to the small pot, using its tail to wrap around the stirrer and stir slowly.
It looked quite professional.
Even though she had seen the little snake being smart before, Yun Manman was still surprised.
She quickly composed herself, seeing that the little snake hadn't hurt itself, she let it be.
At the same time, she was quite pleased. Who wouldn't like a pet that helps earn its keep!
With the little snake's help, Yun Manman was free to make other sweets, like meat floss buns and pudding.
She only needed to come over occasionally to check on the jam's stirring situation.
Before long, the jam was ready. The little snake raised its body, staring at Yun Manman, its small head slightly lifted, looking like it was seeking praise.
Yun Manman smiled, patting its head, words of praise flowing out as if they cost nothing.
"Whose little snake is so sensible, even knowing to help its owner with work?"
"Oh, it's our little snake! Smart, well-behaved, and hardworking..."
The little snake was even a bit shy from all the praise, a faint pink appearing under its white scales.
Some of the cooked jam was set aside to spread on the cake, the rest was put into glass jars and refrigerated for later use.
Yun Manman took out the baked cheesecake, spread the blueberry jam on top, then decorated it with fresh blueberries and mint leaves. The tangy and fragrant blueberry cheesecake was complete!
With cheesecake, of course, a cup of milk cap black tea would be the perfect match!
Yun Manman made a cheese-free version of milk cap. She whipped cream with milk and white sugar, then added a little salt to finish it.
She brewed black tea, added syrup and ice cubes, and finally topped it with the milk cap. The refreshing and palate-cleansing milk cap black tea was ready.
The taste was somewhat similar to the red tea macchiato from her past life.
If someone didn't like the milk cap, they could just remove it, and it would become iced black tea.
One method, two drinks. Yun Manman gave herself a thumbs up for her ingenuity.
The oven was still working, and the sweet aroma unique to cakes gradually spread through the not-so-large space. The intense sunlight outside seemed to gild this layer of fragrance, making the atmosphere increasingly cozy and comfortable.
The Little White Snake hung on the hand of the lucky cat statue, its forked tongue slowly flicking in and out, sensing the sweet smell in the air. In its red eyes was reflected the image of the busy girl.
It was so cozy and comfortable that the snake wanted to sleep.
It felt like it hadn't been this peaceful for a long time. This thought suddenly arose in its mind.
But why say "a long time"?
The little snake became confused.
When all the sweets were baked, Yun Manman put them all in the display case, and wrote on the outdoor advertisement board: "New items! Blueberry cheesecake and milk cap black tea!"
The first customer of the day was Miss Sugar Glider.
Miss Sugar Glider rushed to the counter as soon as she came in to place her order: "I want a blueberry cheesecake and a milk cap black tea!"
After ordering, she asked further: "What is cheese? What is blueberry cheesecake? And what is a milk cap?"
This made Yun Manman both amused and exasperated: "Sister, you ordered without knowing what these are? Aren't you afraid they might not taste good?"
Miss Sugar Glider, who had short hair with neat bangs that swayed as she shook her head, said: "It won't taste bad! Everything in your shop tastes good!"
Then she added: "Just call me Mimi!"
Yun Manman met her bright black eyes and said with a smile: "Alright, Mimi."
Then she patiently answered her previous questions.
Looking at her round face with a seemingly half-understanding expression, and the two triangular ears on her head twitching, Yun Manman couldn't help but exclaim in her heart how adorable she was!
Who doesn't like a sweet girl!
Yun Manman brought the prepared milk cap black tea and blueberry cheesecake to Mimi's table. "Try it and see if it's good."
Mimi picked up a piece of cake with her fork and put it in her mouth. Her eyes lit up.
The rich and lingering milk flavor was smooth on the palate. Amidst the sweetness, there was a hint of mild saltiness. The blueberry jam was cooked to a rich sweet and sour taste, complementing the mellow milk flavor without being cloying.
Mimi savored the complex and rich flavors in her mouth, exclaiming to Yun Manman, "It's so delicious! So this is what cheese tastes like? The milk flavor is so rich, but it's not just pure milk... I can't describe it..."
Yun Manman watched her struggling to describe the taste while still stuffing cake into her mouth, finding it incredibly adorable.
At that moment, the oven dinged, signaling that the cookies were ready.
Today, she had softened too much butter, so Yun Manman decided to use it all to make simple butter cookies.
She got up and walked to the oven, taking out the tray with oven mitts on.
After letting them cool slightly, she took three cookies, placed them on a small plate, and brought them over to sit next to Mimi.
Yun Manman pushed the small plate forward with a smile, saying, "Cookies for you. You're my first customer today."
More importantly, she was just too cute! Even the way she ate was adorable, making Yun Manman want to give her things.
Mimi, who was carefully savoring the cake, looked up puzzled: "Cookies?"
She couldn't help it; the cake was really too delicious, and this milk cap black tea was also very good, perfectly cutting through the richness. The two foods combined seemed like a perpetual motion machine, making her unable to stop.
Mimi picked up a cookie and examined it: "Is this a biscuit?"
"Yes, it's called a butter cookie."
Mimi curiously ate the cookie. The freshly baked cookie was extremely crispy, with a rich buttery flavor that melted in her mouth as soon as she put it in.
"It's so good! Are these really for me?" Mimi could hardly believe it.
Yun Manman nodded.
Mimi was so excited she wanted to transform back into her beast form and glide down from the tree: "Aww, you're so kind! If it weren't so far, I'd come every day!"
Even if she had to spend all her pocket money, it would be worth it!
Yun Manman asked curiously, "Is your home far from here?"
Mimi nodded: "It's in the Rodent Street area."
Yun Manman realized, "Oh, that is far!"
Rodent Street was quite a distance from where the Perfect Sweets Shop was located, one in the south and one in the north, taking half an hour even by car.
Mimi ate the last cookie with tears in her eyes: "When will you start delivery service?"
Then she wouldn't have to take a half-hour car ride to come here.
But if she came to the shop, the owner would give her little gifts.
Darn it! Why was her home so far away!
Yun Manman said, "You can just call me Manman, I'm not really used to being called 'boss' all the time."
"As for delivery, we should be able to get on the Flying Deer app in the next couple of days."
Actually, they had already passed the review process, but Yun Manman had been too lazy to set it up, and hadn't uploaded the page settings or product links yet.
"Great!" Mimi nodded happily.
After that, many customers who came in were attracted by the new products, coming to inquire and purchase.
Mo Yangyang was drawn in by the irresistible aroma coming from the shop's entrance sign.
He was a mukbang streamer with over 200,000 followers across all platforms. He filmed daily mukbang videos of eating challenges and restaurant reviews.
But recently, his video views had remained low, failing to make much of an impact, and his follower count was decreasing rather than increasing, which made Mo Yangyang anxious.
He had rashly made a promise to his elders that if he couldn't make a name for himself and reach 1 million followers by this year, he would go back to work at the family company.
He really didn't want to go back to a routine office job, and coupled with his lack of creative inspiration, he was at a loss for what to do.
Today, he really couldn't get in the mood sitting at home in front of his computer, so he came out to clear his head.
He was walking aimlessly when he was attracted by a scent he had never smelled before, and before he knew it, he had arrived here.
Mo Yangyang looked up at the sign of the "Perfect Sweets Shop" and the new product recommendations at the entrance.
Desserts? Blueberry cheesecake?
He had never heard of it. Was it some new kind of sweet food?
There seemed to be quite a few customers inside.
The sweet aroma unconsciously put him at ease.
Since he was already here, he might as well try it. Maybe it was a nice new shop.
Thinking this, Mo Yangyang walked into the store.