Lu Qiqi walked over and found Lu Yao carrying a small basket, having picked a lot of hawthorns.

When Lu Yao saw Lu Qiqi coming over, she waved and called out, "Sister, I picked a lot of sweet and sour red berries."

Seeing the large basket full of hawthorns, Lu Qiqi said, "Let's go home, I'll cook something delicious for you."

When Xi Bao heard Lu Qi Qi say that she would cook something delicious for her, she took Lu Qi Qi's hand and started to walk back. Lu Qi Qi picked up the hawthorn that Lu Yao had picked and headed home.

Lu Qiqi took the hawthorns to the stream to clean them and said, "Ayao, take Xibao to the kitchen and bring out two bamboo baskets to put in the backyard. I will wash the hawthorns and drain them."

Lu Yao quickly placed the winnowing basket in the backyard as Lu Qiqi had instructed.

After washing the hawthorns, Lu Qiqi poured them into a winnowing basket to drain.

After drying the water droplets on the hawthorn skin, Lu Qiqi took the hawthorn into the kitchen and secretly took out the granulated sugar from her spatial storage.

Lu Qiqi took out a tinderbox, put pine needles into the stove and lit them, then added small pieces of firewood to ignite the fire, and finally added large pieces of firewood to make the fire bigger.

Lu Yao soon brought Xi Bao into the kitchen and sat down next to Xi Bao in front of the stove to start a fire for Lu Qi Qi.

With Lu Yao's help, Lu Qiqi washed the pot, poured the granulated sugar into it, and then added a little water to dissolve it.

As the sugar water melted, Lu Qiqi kept stirring it. When the sugar water started to bubble, Lu Qiqi said to Lu Yao, "Yao, turn down the heat. I only need it on low."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yao immediately turned back.

Lu Qiqi poured all the hawthorns into the pot and stirred them with a spatula until they were coated with a thin layer of snow. Then she was done.

Lu Qiqi took two large bowls and filled them with candied hawthorn.

Lu Yao asked Lu Qiqi curiously, "Sister, what are you making?"

Lu Qiqi picked up a candied hawthorn and put it in Lu Yao's mouth, saying, "This is called candied hawthorn, is it sweet?"

Lu Yao sucked on the sugar coating on the roasted hawthorn, the sweet taste stimulating her taste buds and making her mouth water.

"sweet!"

Lu Yao smiled and squinted her eyes, taking a small bite. The sweet and sour taste was much better than when she ate hawthorn alone before.

"Xi Bao wants to eat sweets too!" Xi Bao hugged Lu Qi Qi's leg and said in a childish voice.

Lu Qiqi was amused by Xibao and, smiling, fed Xibao a bite of candied hawthorn.

Xi Bao took a few bites and swallowed them. Seeing that Xi Bao didn't even spit out the hawthorn seeds, Lu Qiqi stopped Xi Bao from taking another one.

Lu Qiqi squatted down, looking at Xibao at eye level, and said, "Xibao, you must spit out the seeds when you eat hawthorn, otherwise little trees will grow in your belly."

Xi Bao almost cried when she heard this. She didn't want a little tree to grow in her belly; that would be too scary. "I don't want it! I don't want a little tree to grow!"

Lu Qiqi suppressed a laugh and said, "Since this is your first offense, it won't hold it against you, but you can't stop spitting out seeds next time, or a sapling will grow."

When Xi Bao heard Lu Qiqi say that the saplings wouldn't grow this time, the tears that had been welling up in her eyes slowly receded, and she asked Lu Qiqi, "Sister Qiqi, can I still eat it?"

Lu Qiqi ruffled Xibao's hair and said, "Eat up, just remember to spit out the seeds."

After receiving an affirmative answer from Lu Qiqi, Xibao picked up the candied hawthorn in the bowl and stuffed it into her mouth, making her cheeks bulge out and giving her an adorable look.

There was still a lot of granulated sugar and hawthorn left, but Lu Qiqi didn't plan to make any more sugar-roasted hawthorn. Eating too much of this stuff would upset her stomach, so Lu Qiqi didn't dare to make too much at once.

Lu Qiqi plans to slice the remaining hawthorns and dry them into hawthorn slices. When it's time to eat lots of meat and fish during the Chinese New Year, she can take them out, add rock sugar, and boil them into hawthorn tea to relieve the greasiness and aid digestion.

Lu Qiqi sliced ​​the hawthorns, then packed them into a winnowing basket and placed them in the backyard to dry.

After finishing all this, Lu Qiqi wanted to take advantage of the early hour to deliver a jar of candied hawthorn to Old Madam Hao.

Hawthorn is a great aid to digestion, so that Old Madam Hao will complain less in her ear and that Granny Yu will keep an eye on her while she goes for walks all day.

Lu Qiqi recalled the way Old Madam Hao pouted and complained to her, and thought the little old lady was incredibly cute. She was such a grown-up, yet she still complained like a child.

Lu Qiqi found a small earthenware jar, filled it with a full jar of candied hawthorns, and went out.

Before leaving, Lu Qiqi told Lu Yao that she wouldn't come back to stay if it got too late.

Knowing that Lu Qiqi was going to the Hao residence, Lu Yao didn't ask any questions. She nodded obediently while holding Xibao's hand, and watched Lu Qiqi mount her horse and ride away.

When Lu Qiqi arrived at the Hao residence, the gatekeeper recognized her and respectfully greeted her, "Miss Sun."

Lu Qiqi walked confidently towards Madam Hao's courtyard. As soon as she entered, she heard Madam Hao's hearty laughter.

"You little rascal!" Old Madam Hao said with a laugh.

“If a little monkey doesn’t run wild, can it still be called a little monkey?” a man said.

Lu Qiqi had just walked a short distance into the pavilion in the courtyard when she heard this conversation, and couldn't help but wonder who the other person was.

Passing through the corridor, Lu Qiqi saw Old Madam Hao in the pavilion, with two men, one in black and one in white, sitting opposite her. Granny Yu stood behind Old Madam Hao, covering her mouth with a handkerchief and laughing.

Granny Yu looked up and saw Lu Qiqi carrying something and coming towards them. She whispered to Old Madam Hao from behind, "Old Madam, Miss Sun is here."

Madam Hao's eyes lit up, and she smiled, "Oh, Qiqi's here! Let her come and sit with me."

Lu Qiqi walked into the pavilion carrying the pottery jar and said with a sweet smile, "Grandmother."

"Oh," Old Madam Hao stretched out her hand to Lu Qiqi and said reproachfully, "Come here and let your grandmother see you. I haven't seen you for so long. I thought you had forgotten about this old woman."

Upon hearing the sound, the two men, one in black and one in white, stood up as well.

The moment Lin Bai saw Lu Qiqi's face, he immediately remembered that she was the owner of the noodle shop. It wasn't that he had a good memory; Lu Qiqi's appearance was just too striking. Lin Bai had never seen such a beautiful person in Luzhou Prefecture.

Lu Qiqi placed the earthenware jar on the table and said with a light smile, "I brought you something delicious!"

Lu Qiqi lifted the lid of the ceramic jar, revealing the round snowball inside to everyone.

Old Madam Hao leaned closer to take a look and asked Lu Qiqi, "What is this good thing? It looks like fruit."

Lu Qiqi said, "This is called sugar-roasted hawthorn. You have indigestion, right? Eating this will help you digest. In the future, if you really don't want to go for a walk, you can make this to eat. I will tell Granny Yu how to make it later."

When Madam Hao heard that she could take fewer walks, her eyes crinkled into slits with laughter. She said, "It's all thanks to my granddaughter for being so considerate."

Lin Bai scrutinized Lu Qiqi with a surprised look and laughed, "Where did the old lady find this little fairy to be your granddaughter?"

Grandma Hao always knew Lin Bai had a sweet tongue, and when she heard him praise Lu Qiqi as a little fairy, she was as happy as if she had eaten honey. She said, "This is my newly adopted granddaughter, Lu Qiqi. If she hadn't refused, you would be calling her 'Auntie' now!"