When Yunling returned to the house, Lu Yinghuai and Pei Lin were already waiting at the gate.
Pei Lin became somewhat anxious when he saw that Yun Ling's forehead was covered in snow because she wasn't holding an umbrella.
"It's true that you're a lazybones, isn't it? You have an umbrella but you don't even use it, and you just get your head covered in snow for no reason. Are you stupid?"
Pei Lin reached for the umbrella, but Yun Ling immediately shook her head, brushing the snow off her hair, and replied:
"This umbrella is broken and can't be opened."
Pei Lin paused as he took the umbrella, then turned to look at Lu Yinghuai and complained:
"He claims to be the young master of a trading company, yet his umbrella is broken."
Yunling quickly handed the umbrella to Lu Yinghuai, but for a moment she didn't know how to face him, so she looked into the distance and avoided his gaze.
Lu Yinghuai took the umbrella, his heart filled with mixed feelings. He knew that Yunling had seen the painting inside the umbrella, but looking at her like this, he didn't know if she didn't want to talk to him anymore or what. But with Pei Lin present, he couldn't ask too much and could only keep his thoughts to himself.
This feeling is very uncomfortable, like sticky phlegm in your throat that you can't cough up, it feels incredibly itchy, but you can't do anything about it, so you can only keep quiet.
As dusk settled, Tang Ling quickly went into the kitchen to prepare for tonight's hot pot. Zi Fu and Gang Zi were also busy, one helping with the washing and the other setting up the pot.
The snow in the sky seemed to be getting heavier, so Pei Lin quickly pulled Yun Ling to build a snow lion. The snow that had fallen a few days ago had been deliberately left to accumulate in the yard, forming a thick layer. Pei Lin took a shovel and shoveled it into one spot, saying:
"Little Lazyling, hurry up and build a snow lion."
Yunling had never seen so much snow before. She was excited and immediately squatted down to grab snowflakes, but asking her to build a snow lion was quite a challenge.
Although Pingcheng does have snow in winter, it is not much or thick, so she rarely has the opportunity to play in the snow. Asking her to build a snow lion now is like giving her a stick and expecting her to lift the earth.
"Oh dear, do you even know how to build a snow lion? You're so clumsy, so clumsy."
Pei Lin put the shovel aside, squatted down next to Yun Ling, first piled the snow into a square, like a vertical rectangular cabinet, and then picked up the shovel again to roughly shovel the snow into three parts.
A square base, upon which the lion's head and body were formed. Yunling was letting her imagination run wild when Pei Lin threw a small snowball at her.
"Little Lazyling, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and make some snowballs!"
Yunling snorted at him, looked up and saw Lu Yinghuai standing there dumbfounded, holding his oil-paper umbrella. She grabbed a handful of snow and threw it at him.
"Idiot, hurry up and put the umbrella away and come over to make snowballs. I don't want to be bossed around by him all the time."
Lu Yinghuai was instantly revived, as if a withered tree had been brought back to life.
He didn't know where to go. The kitchen was bustling with activity, and the courtyard was bustling with activity. This house was clearly his, but at that moment he felt like an outsider.
But when Yunling called him, it wasn't that she was annoyed with him; she perked up again, like a cheerful sparrow. He quickly ran back to his room, put the umbrella in the closet, gave himself a smug smile in the mirror, then ran to the yard, squatted down beside Yunling, and whispered:
"Your hair is covered in snow, so why don't you take a bath and wash up before you cook? That way you won't get dampness and it'll give you a headache."
"But pots and pans easily get smelly, so washing them is like washing them for nothing."
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you muttering about? Hurry up! I've already shoveled out the basic shape, and you haven't even made five little snowballs. What do you think this looks like? Are you starving or thirsty?"
Yunling thought this guy was indeed arrogant and annoying, with a mean-spirited demeanor, so she grabbed the little snowball and threw it straight at his face.
Seeing that Yunling had thrown it away, Lu Yinghuai couldn't miss this opportunity for revenge, so he grabbed two small snowballs and threw them at Pei Lin.
Pei Lin was hit three times in a row, and his anger flared up. It was one thing for Yun Ling to throw things at him, but how could he not be furious that Lu Yinghuai dared to lay a hand on him? He immediately shoveled up a shovelful of snow and threw it at them.
Lu Yinghuai immediately shielded Yunling, and the two of them dodged while grabbing snowflakes from the ground to fight back against Pei Lin's cascading snow. The three of them stopped building their snow lion and started a snowball fight, each trying to outdo the other, until it got completely dark and they could no longer see anything before they stopped playing around.
Yunling was splashed with snow. She went back inside to change her coat. When she returned to the courtyard, tables and chairs had been set up under the eaves. On the table was a large copper pot, which was bubbling and emitting the aroma of Chinese medicinal herbs.
Just as she was trying to figure out what kind of medicinal herb it was, Pei Lin's voice rang out.
"It's five-finger peach! My God, you're using five-finger peach to make chicken soup base? Is this cooking or taking Chinese medicine?"
Tang Ling was somewhat intimidated by Pei Lin. His question, which sounded like an interrogation, immediately made her take two steps back. Yun Ling stepped forward to support her waist and replied:
"What's wrong? Isn't it great to use five-finger peach and chicken soup as a base? The soup is so sweet and delicious. It can not only strengthen the spleen and lungs, but also clear away your internal heat."
"Where do I have any anger?"
Pei Lin's words became increasingly hollow as he spoke, and he slunk away to sit down next to Yun Ling.
Lu Yinghuai quickly sat down on the other side of Yunling.
After everyone had a bowl of the original Five-Finger Peach soup, Tang Ling added hot water. Once the pot boiled again, Gangzi grabbed a handful of raspberries, flicked them into his mouth one by one, and smacked his lips, saying:
"When it comes to raspberries, the ones from the mountains of Pingcheng are the best. They're incredibly sweet, unlike these others, which are terribly sour at first, but have a sweet aftertaste."
Yunling couldn't stand sour food, but seeing these bright red ones, which looked a bit like strawberries from later generations, she got a craving. She picked one up but didn't dare put it in her mouth. She only took a small bite from the edge. The taste was... well, it was a mixed feeling. As the juice burst out, the sourness instantly spread throughout her mouth, making her frown.
Lu Yinghuai quickly handed her a slice of orange.
"Here, let this sourness subside."
Yunling immediately grabbed his wrist and asked with concern:
How much did you eat?
"It was just peeled, we haven't eaten it yet, look."
Yunling glanced at the orange in his hand; it only had a small chip in it, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
"After drinking this Five-Finger Peach Soup, it's best not to eat oranges or persimmons. Wait until the soup is finished before eating them."
Lu Yinghuai smiled, his eyes crinkling, and his response was as gentle as could be.
"Okay, I'll do as you say."
Pei Lin found it extremely offensive, and he quickly pulled Yun Ling's hand away, saying with displeasure:
"It won't kill you to eat it, so why are there so many taboos?"
Gangzi picked up the orange he had just put down again, but after thinking about it, he put it down again.
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