Chapter 362: The great bake off outdoors.
The wonderful smell of bread and cake which Mei Mei had been smelling was not coming from inside the house, it was from outside.
When she went to take a look, she was surprised to see a full on baking session outside in the compound. Machines had been set up on tables, ovens were burning, relatives were sweating.
Madam Feng was in the center of the chaos, chef’s hat on her head, wrapped in a yellow flour dusted apron that was marked, "Baker of the gods." Her voice was loud and commanding with years of experience from handling unskilled employees to angry customers. It rang out like a war horn as she shouted instructions.
"Jun Yi! I said gently whisk, you are creating a delicacy, not giving a dog a bath. And someone get Big Yellow away from the cooling rack. If he eats one more cupcake, I will turn you all into dough."
Chi Mi Mi who had just come over from a failed audition was absentminded. She dropped a jar of marmalade on Mrs. Noodles. The cat hissed and leapt onto Jun Jie’s back. He was startled and knocked over a tray of strawberry drizzle.
"From the beginning Jun Jie. Not a moment to waste." Madam Feng roared. "Noodles, get your butt on the terrace, now."
Mei Mei did not expect the command to work. She was pleasantly surprised to see the cat climbing up a pillar and moving to the terrace on the second floor.
Mei Mei could not remember the last time she had seen many of her relatives in a kitchen, attempting to cook. It seemed like madam Feng had wrangled as many of them as she could.
Su Manchu was elbow-deep in batter. Her great grandparents were making sugar figurines. Her grandparents were measuring spices.
Her father was arguing with Jingzhe about the measurements, insisting that the cinnamon was a quarter pinch off the recommended amount.