Chapter 21

### In the Kitchen

Cecilia was stoking the fire in the kitchen.

Sophia, Lily, and Grace were figuring out how to knead the dough.

The boys had taken the flour to the mill in the afternoon and brought it back.

Following Henry's instructions, they were now trying to steam buns.

They had asked the locals how to do it: add water to the flour, knead it until it's the right consistency, and then form it into buns.

Once the water in the pot boiled, place the buns on the steamer tray and steam them until done.

It sounded simple enough, but doing it was another matter.

Lily poured water into the bowl of flour and started to knead, only to realize she had added too much water, turning the flour into a mushy mess.

"..."

Lily, Grace, and Sophia looked at each other.

Grace suggested, "Add more flour."

So she fetched another bowl of flour and dumped it in.

After kneading a few more times, they realized they had added too much flour, making it too dry to form a dough.

"..."

They continued adding water and flour alternately several more times.

Finally, the dough was the right consistency, though now there was almost a whole bowl of it.

At least they had managed to get it right and started forming the dough into buns for steaming.

Lily, Sophia, and Grace worked together to form the buns, inexperienced but managing to shape them well. They placed them on the steamer tray, filling it up and setting it over the boiling water.

They had enough dough to steam three trays' worth.

While the first batch was steaming, Lily, Grace, and Sophia sat down to rest.

They chatted idly for a while until they heard a voice from the yard: "Summer, let's go."

Recognizing it as Logan's voice, the four girls exchanged surprised looks.

During their time in the countryside, they had never heard Logan calling someone to go out with him.

It was quite an unusual sight, making them feel like the sun had risen from the west.

Curious, Lily got up and looked out the window.

She saw Summer coming out of the west room, following Logan out of the yard.

Cecilia, stoking the fire, asked, "Was that Logan?"

Lily nodded, "Yes, and Summer is going out with him."

Cecilia exclaimed, "Could they be teaming up?"

Lily doubted it, "I don't think so."

Grace chuckled, "With her brain, trying to team up with Logan? Logan could sell her and she'd still pay him. If they do team up, it's because Logan has figured out how to profit from her. She's in for a rough ride."

Cecilia, feeling a bit soft-hearted, said, "Should we ask her and try to talk some sense into her?"

Grace immediately retorted, "What's the point? Sophia tried talking to her the other night, and did it help? We should just sit back and watch her get taken advantage of. Only after she learns her lesson the hard way will she smarten up. Otherwise, no matter how much we say, she won't listen and might even think we're trying to harm her."

Thinking of Summer's recent attitude, Cecilia nodded in agreement, "You're right."

### Outside the Boys' Dormitory

Gabe peeked out and saw Summer following Logan out of the yard. Turning back to Henry, he asked, "Henry, Summer went out with Logan. Aren't you going to do something about it?"

Everyone knew Logan was a sly person. Summer getting close to him was bound to lead to trouble. How could they just watch and do nothing?

Henry was filled with frustration. He wanted to intervene, but Summer no longer listened to him like she used to. She was now prickly and disrespectful, talking back to him with sharp words.

Last night, she even protected Logan, preventing him from hitting Logan.

Now she was following Logan without even telling Henry where she was going.

He was worried about Summer, but also frustrated and angry.

Why had she suddenly changed like this? Was it just to spite him?

After a moment of silence, he suppressed his anger and said, "Why should I? She'll learn her lesson the hard way."

"Oh," Gabe replied, "I'll go check on the buns then."

Gabe headed to the kitchen.

Inside, the first batch of buns was just coming out of the steamer.

Lily carefully lifted the lid, releasing a cloud of steam.

Gabe leaned in and exclaimed, "Wow, they look good!"

Lily and the others felt proud of their work.

Lily smiled at Gabe, "You're just in time. Why don't you be the first to try one and see how they taste?"

Gabe grinned, "Don't mind if I do."

He reached into the steamer to grab a bun, wincing at the heat but managing to pick one up. He blew on it to cool it down before taking a big bite.

At first, he was all smiles.

But as he chewed, his expression changed, and he furrowed his brow.

Seeing his reaction, Grace asked, "What's wrong? Doesn't it taste good?"