Ye Yun and Leng Yao's wedding was set for the ninth day of the sixth lunar month.
The sweltering weather did not dampen Ye Yun's enthusiasm.
Fearing that Leng Yao might get overheated, Ye Yun spent a fortune to buy ice and sent it to the Leng family. When it was time to fetch the bride, he also prepared thirst - quenching mint tea, which was packed in bamboo tubes and placed in the sedan chair.
As Leng Yao got into the sedan chair, she caught a glimpse of the bamboo tubes and the cooling fan. Her heart was as sweet as if she had eaten honey.
Since their wedding was held in the county town, the wedding banquet was naturally set up at Jiaoniang Restaurant.
Relatives from Yinwan and neighbors from around came to attend. The private rooms on the second floor were all filled, and even several rooms in the backyard were occupied. The place was bustling with noise and extremely lively.
After the wedding ceremony, Ye Yun drove the wedding carriage and took Leng Yao to their new house in Xiliang Alley.
Needless to say, they were deeply in love that night.
Leng Yao was a person who clearly distinguished between love and hate, with a straightforward and cheerful personality. She quickly got along well with Qi Jiao and the others and integrated into the big family.
She was very dexterous. Under Qi Jiao's guidance, she improved the formula and production techniques of the buns. For a while, the business of the Leng family's bun shop improved even more.
Leng Yao was grateful for Qi Jiao's kindness and admired her for being young and capable. She often made breakfast for them in various styles. After closing the bun shop every day, she didn't go home but came to the restaurant to help Qi Jiao.
Through mutual exchange, Qi Jiao also got a lot of inspiration from it and added more than a dozen new dishes.
Qi Jiao and Leng Yao regarded each other as confidants and had no secrets between them.
As for Ye Yun, he had to get up early every day and run the bun shop with Leng Yao.
Qi Jiao couldn't bear to let him work too hard, so she simply hired a smart waiter.
Coincidentally, the new waiter was the young man who used to sell fruits.
His name was Du Le. He was fair - skinned and shy, with a beauty mole between his eyebrows.
Due to his poor family background, Du Le had to interrupt his studies after two years of schooling and started working early to support his family.
As soon as the bayberry season was over, he brought fresh lychees.
Poor children have to grow up early.
When Du Le came to deliver the lychees, he saw Hua Sanniang directing Ye Pa to post a recruitment notice at the door.
A thought flashed through his mind, and he recommended himself.
Well, Hua Sanniang took a look at Du Le. Seeing that his eyes were clear and he spoke smoothly, she didn't bother to post the notice anymore and told Ye Pa to put away the paste.
Hua Sanniang asked Du Le two or three questions, told him to wait in the front, and then rushed to the large kitchen in the backyard to ask for Qi Jiao's instructions.
Hua Shuangshuang took a look at Du Le, picked up the bamboo basket and followed her mother.
When Qi Jiao saw the basket of red lychees still with branches and leaves, she casually picked one, peeled it and ate it. The white pulp melted in her mouth, and the juice overflowed between her teeth and cheeks. She only felt that the taste was rich and the fragrance penetrated her lungs.
"This lychee is good. Since you said he is usable, Sanniang, he must be okay. Don't post the notice. Just keep him."
Hua Sanniang smiled and said, "I think this child has a clean appearance and is also very careful in doing things. You can tell from these lychees."
Qi Jiao kept half of the lychees for cooking, and asked Shuangshuang to hang the rest in the well to share with everyone later.
Shuangshuang had half a white lychee in her mouth and nodded repeatedly. Her usually expressionless round face showed a smile, still looking childish.
Du Le was so happy that he didn't know what to say when he knew he could work at Jiaoniang Restaurant. He almost jumped up with excitement.
Moreover, it was Miss Shuangshuang who came out to tell him the news.
Shuangshuang's voice was flat without any intonation. She put half a string of copper coins in Du Le's palm.
Unexpectedly, Du Le's hand started to heat up.
He took a deep breath secretly. Looking into Shuangshuang's pure cat - like eyes, he only felt that this was a wonderful moment to meet such a beautiful girl.
*
Outside, the sun was scorching, and the cicadas were singing continuously, making people feel irritable.
Even with an ice container in the room, Fang Yunxin still felt like there was a fire burning in her heart.
Her senior maid, Zhenzhu, carefully fanned her and asked, "Madam, what would you like to have for dinner?"
Fang Yunxin changed her position so that her slightly bulging belly would feel more comfortable.
She frowned and said, "It's always the same few dishes, either fish and meat or chicken soup. I can't eat a single bite. Just looking at them makes me annoyed."
These days, her husband had been busy at the county government office and also had to go to the countryside to encourage farming and education. He was busy all day long, and sometimes he couldn't even be found. The time he could spend with her every day was very limited.
She understood him and knew that being a county magistrate in this poor place was not an easy job.
The place was poor, and there were so many things to do.
When they first came here, she couldn't even understand the local officials and their families.
Fortunately, she had adapted now, and she was pregnant.
This child really came at a bad time. She already suffered from the summer heat, and now with the extra weight of pregnancy, she was really suffering.
Zhenzhu felt sorry for her mistress and suggested, "My lord may not come back anytime soon. Why don't we go out to eat? You can also go out to get some fresh air and relax."
Staying in the three - courtyard house behind the county government office all the time was really suffocating.
Fang Yunxin was persuaded. After thinking for a moment, she said with a smile, "Okay, then let's go out to eat. You go and tell my lord."
Zhenzhu passed the message to the young servant beside Hui Zhenyu and also told the coachman to prepare the carriage.
After the sun set, the mistress and the maid went out to look for food.
On this side, Qi Jiao was told by A Le that Madam Fang had come to the restaurant.
Moreover, her personal senior maid, Zhenzhu, specifically asked for a special meal for pregnant women, which should be light and palatable.
Qi Jiao understood. She nodded and told A Le to serve a pot of red - date and ginger tea first.
She turned around and stared at the pile of lychees in front of her for a moment.
Madam Fang came out at this time, surely because the food at home didn't suit her taste, and she came out to try something new.
Her eyes swept across, and suddenly she saw the small half - bag of ice jelly seeds that Leng Yao had brought yesterday. It was said that they were brought by a distant relative of her family.
Qi Jiao picked up the dried jasmine flowers beside her and smiled knowingly. She had a good idea.
Since Madam Fang suffered from the summer heat and there were many taboos for pregnant women, she would make lychee and jasmine ice jelly.
Qi Jiao washed her hands, took a clean and oil - free wooden basin, and poured in half a basin of cooled boiled water.
Then she put the ice jelly seeds in a gauze bag, tied it tightly and immersed it in the basin. When the ice jelly seeds sank to the bottom, she used the strength of her thumb and index finger to rub and wash them again and again.
Before long, she could see that the water in the basin became thick and many small bubbles appeared.
Qi Jiao changed her movement to make the bubbles more uniform and fine, then gently stirred and poured in lime water.
Soon, the crystal - clear ice jelly base was ready. Gently shaking it, it was more attractive than a smooth pudding.
Yindie and Shuangshuang were helping Qi Jiao on the side.
Shuangshuang exerted a little strength, and the lychee shell cracked. She dug out the core and then mashed the pulp to get the juice.
Yindie added the brewed jasmine flower water to the lychee juice and stirred it evenly to make a lychee - jasmine flavored topping.
After it cooled down, she carefully poured the lychee - jasmine scented juice on the ice jelly and then placed two or three fresh lychee pulp on it.
There was no need to add sugar. It was already extremely sweet.
When Fang Yunxin saw the ice jelly served in a high - footed glass cup, her eyes lit up.
"What a beautiful snack."
Qi Jiao smiled and introduced it to her, "This is one of the popular summer - relieving snacks in Sichuan. It's called ice jelly."
"Although it has the word 'ice' in its name, there is actually no ice in it. It just tastes refreshing and cool when you eat it. It won't do any harm to your body. Madam, you'll know once you try it."
Fang Yunxin picked up a small spoon, scooped up a mouthful and put it into her mouth. She only felt that it was refreshing, sweet and the taste was indescribably wonderful.
"I think it tastes like white jelly."