The weather is getting hotter, and Lin Yan is thinking about making some refreshing ice jelly to sell. He went back to his mother's house and got a bag of ice jelly seeds that he had extracted from the dried false Physalis last autumn. Every year, Lin Yan would pick some to make ice jelly in the summer. Even if he didn't sell it, it would be good to eat at home. Unfortunately, he didn't dry much, so it would probably only last for a few days. He had to go to the village to ask if anyone still had any.

I need to dry more of them and store them this autumn.

After dinner that day, Lin Yan took an appropriate amount of ice jelly seeds, wrapped them in clean gauze, and tied the bag tightly.

Put the wrapped ice powder seeds into a basin of clean water, rub and squeeze them repeatedly to make the gelatin in the ice powder seeds seep into the water until the water becomes thick and the ice powder seeds no longer produce gelatin.

Lin Yan went to his father to ask for a bowl of lime water. After letting it stand and clarify, he took the clear liquid and slowly poured it into the ice powder liquid, stirring it gently to ensure that the ice powder liquid and lime water were fully mixed.

After stirring evenly, let it stand for a while to allow it to solidify into shape, which usually takes half an hour to one hour.

Lin Yan stood up and stretched, planning to take a shower first. He had been busy in the shop all day and was sweating all over. It would be uncomfortable if he didn't take a shower every day.

The kitchen stall could also be used for washing, but Zhao Shiyun was afraid that Lin Yan would slip, so he insisted on carrying water to the room to wash in the bathtub. Lin Yan couldn't persuade him, so he could only go back to the room and wait. Watching Zhao Shiyun carrying water again and again, he felt tired for him.

"Alright." Zhao Shiyun tested the water temperature with his hand and asked Lin Yan to come take a bath. Now when Lin Yan takes a bath, Zhao Shiyun will help him rub his back. After his belly got bigger, it was inconvenient to do anything. Lin Yan was very happy to have someone to help him. He leaned comfortably on the edge of the tub, drowsy.

When the water cooled down a bit, Zhao Shiyun woke Lin Yan, who had almost fallen asleep, wiped the water off his body, and helped him get dressed. Yawning, Lin Yan went to the kitchen to check on the ice jelly.

By now the ice jelly had solidified. Lin Yan asked Zhao Shiyun to put it in a basket and hang it in the well so that it could be eaten tomorrow.

Early the next morning, Lin Yan cooked porridge and ate it with an eggplant. He also brought up the ice jelly, cut it into small pieces with a bamboo stick, and served a bowl to each person.

Although it is not appropriate to eat ice jelly early in the morning, the weather in the south is already very hot in the morning, so it is okay to eat some.

Lin Yan forgot to make some sugar water last night. Ice jelly tastes even better with some brown sugar water, fruit, and crushed peanuts. The one I made now isn't icy enough, so I'll just make do with this.

"How is it? Is it okay? Can we sell it in the shop?" Lin Yan took a bite and asked for everyone's opinions.

"Yes, it's delicious, but you could add some fruit."

"The mangoes that Aunt Liu brought me last time were very sweet. I can ask her if she has them for sale. Winter melon and grapes are also acceptable, but they are more expensive." Lin Yan actually thought a lot last night. There are only a few cheap fruits in summer.

"Peaches are fine too. They are delicious." Yu Ge'er suggested.

"Oh, yeah, peaches aren't that expensive. Ah, is there anyone in the village growing peach trees?"

"Yes, I do, but not much. If I were to sell it in a shop, I don't know if it would be enough."

"Let's collect some first. If it's not enough, we can go buy some."

"Okay, then I'll go ask today and make ice jelly at home."

*

When Lin Yan and his colleagues came back from work, there was already a basket of harvested peaches in the yard. Lin Yan picked one up with surprise. It was a hairy peach, quite big in size, and just the right ingredient for making ice jelly.

"Brother Yan, there are some washed and cut dishes on the table. You can eat that."

"Okay." Upon hearing this, Lin Yan picked up a bamboo skewer, inserted a piece and started eating. It was crispy and sweet, and very delicious.

Today he asked Widow Liu, and she didn't have many mangoes at home, probably only a few dozen kilograms. Lin Yan asked her to bring a basket to the shop tomorrow and pay according to the market price.

Li Yuemei had already kneaded a bucket of ice jelly and was now leaving it to solidify. Lin Yan saw this and went to the kitchen to boil a bowl of brown sugar water, planning to put it in the well and hang it there so that they could continue to eat ice jelly tonight.

He didn't know what to do next. After finishing all the chores around the house, Lin Yan began to think about what to make for dinner. He wandered around the utility room, grabbed a strip of bacon, and brought it back to the kitchen to boil. Then he went to the vegetable patch and picked two tomatoes, a handful of cowpeas, and a loofah.

When he returned, the bacon in the pot was already cooked. Lin Yan fished it out, rinsed it with water, cut it into small dices, and set it aside. He also washed the cowpeas and cut them into small dices. He also soaked some shiitake mushrooms and cut them into small dices. He also scored the tops of the tomatoes with a cross and set them aside.

Today, I'm not steaming the rice; I'm just stewing it. First, pour the washed rice into the pot, add a spoonful of soy sauce, a spoonful of lard, and half a spoonful of salt. Then, add the diced bacon, diced mushrooms, and diced cowpeas, arrange them in a row, place two tomatoes in the middle, add water, cover, and start cooking.

Lin Yan took out three eggs and beat them. He then heated oil in a pan. Once the oil was hot, he poured the beaten eggs in and stir-fried them. Once cooked, he set aside. He peeled the loofah and cut it into long strips. He added water to a pot, boiled the water, and added the loofah. Once the loofah was soft, he added the scrambled eggs. He then added soy sauce, salt, and other seasonings and simmered for a while. Before serving, he sprinkled a handful of chopped green onions on top. The delicious loofah and egg soup was ready.

The meal was almost ready, so Lin Yan brought out the loofah and egg soup first. "It's time to eat, go wash your hands," Lin Yan called everyone.

The ice jelly had already solidified. Before Lin Yan started cooking, he had Zhao Shiyun hang the ice jelly and sugar water in the well. It would be perfect to eat it with a sliced ​​peach after dinner.

By this time the rice was cooked, Lin Yan opened the lid, crushed the tomatoes with a spatula, mixed the rice evenly, and sprinkled a handful of chopped green onions on top. Then he poured the rice into a bowl and brought it to the yard.

Yu Ge'er followed behind with bowls and chopsticks. The family sat in the yard, looking at the steaming bacon, mushroom and cowpea rice and loofah and egg soup. Although they were hungry, it was too hot and no one picked up their chopsticks for a while.

Li Yuemei served everyone some rice, and they slowly began to eat. "Mm, this rice is really delicious, with a hint of bacon," Li Yuemei praised as she ate. "Yeah, the bacon oil has soaked into the rice, it's really fragrant," Zhao Qiming agreed.

Yu Ge'er nodded in agreement, and when the rice was no longer so hot, he ate without even looking up. Zhao Shiyun was even more exaggerated, eating three large bowls in a row.

After dinner, Lin Yan fished out ice jelly and sugar syrup from the well, cut the jelly into small pieces with a bamboo stick, placed them in a bowl, doused them with brown sugar syrup, and topped them with sliced ​​peaches. Everyone ate the jelly, feeling the slight coolness that dispelled the day's heat. "This jelly with peaches is absolutely delicious," Lin Yan said contentedly. "We'll take it to the shop tomorrow and it's sure to be a big hit," Zhao Shiyun said confidently. The family sat in the courtyard, enjoying this relaxing moment and hoping the jelly business would flourish.