"Those pastries Master Xiao brought over earlier were ones he made himself..."
As soon as Xu Zizhen began to explain, the two elders looked enlightened.
So he'd seen Master Xiao's skill and gotten the itch to learn it himself?
"Okay."
The old woman nodded. "Grandma will teach you."
She was more than happy that her grandson wanted to learn from her.
The old woman narrowed her eyes.
"My grandson is so clever. I guarantee you'll learn in no time."
"When do you want to start?"
"Now?"
Xu Zizhen thought about it.
Well.
Even if he learned today, he couldn't give any to Spirit Maple.
Spirit Maple had just eaten the Maple Leaf Crisps Master Xiao made.
How could it possibly eat any Maple Leaf Crisps he made, too?
Never mind.
He'd learn first and worry about that later.
Then, when he had a chance, he could try making some for Spirit Maple.
"Good."
The old woman had no objections. "Then let's go."
"There's still some time before dinner, so Grandma will start teaching you slowly."
"We'll properly begin this afternoon."
"Mm."
Xu Zizhen turned to look at the maple tree.
It was bare.
It really wasn't very pretty.
But knowing how special the tree was, Xu Zizhen felt that it had a distinctive air about it.
Because of that distinctive air, the maple tree looked beautiful to him again.
That was the influence of first impressions, wasn't it?
Xu Zizhen shook his head, slightly amused.
Then he looked away.
Spirit Maple would eat the Maple Leaf Crisps he made, right?
Xu Zizhen belatedly started to worry.
After all, it had eaten Grandma's Maple Leaf Crisps, too...
Mm.
Thinking about it that way, he felt reassured again.
If Spirit Maple had only eaten the Maple Leaf