Although the small stove was kept on a low flame, it was still very hot in the summer, and Xia Zhi's cheeks were already flushed from the heat.
Sun Wanqing fanned her with her own fan and said with a smile, "None of us have ever drunk or even heard of this sour plum drink before, so it must be a rare thing. Sister Yun'er trusts us, which is why she gave us the recipe. She also went to such lengths to draw such a lovely picture to teach us, so naturally we can't let her know about it."
"Xia Zhi, fan yourself slowly, be careful not to tip the pot over," Chun Rou said, pulling Xia Zhi back a little.
Later, when it got too hot in the summer, Xia Zhi and Chun Rou took turns cooking the plum juice and finally succeeded.
The hot plum juice was left to cool in a ventilated place, and some ice was brought over.
Chunrou served Sun Wanqing a bowl of soup; the broth, with its purplish-red hue, was served in a white bone china bowl, and it looked quite beautiful.
Sun Wanqing took a small sip. It was sweet and sour with a smoky aftertaste. She guessed it was because of the dried plums. The smoky flavor of the dried plums had been boiled into the plum juice.
Because of the ice, the plum juice was ice-cold, and after drinking a bowl, the summer heat was completely gone.
"Girl, drink slowly. With so much ice, be careful not to chill your stomach. You'll feel uncomfortable again when your period comes," Chunrou advised.
Sun Wanqing felt the aftertaste lingering in her mouth and wanted to drink more, but Chunrou wouldn't give it to her: "You can drink it without ice, but you can't drink it with ice."
Helpless, Sun Wanqing had no choice but to drink the one without ice, but even without ice, the plum juice was still refreshing and sweet and sour.
"Su Niangzi is really amazing, she always has good things to eat." Xia Zhi also drank from her bowl, looking very happy with a blissful expression on her face. "Now it's great, we can make it ourselves, and we can make it whenever we want to drink it."
"Is there any more? Send some to Grandpa and Grandma's room," Sun Wanqing instructed.
Xia Zhidao said, "Don't worry, I've already sent someone to deliver it."
Just as Sun Wanqing and the others were tasting the sour plum drink and praising it, a maidservant outside said, "Miss, the young lady from the Qiu family has sent a visiting card."
Chunrou quickly put down her bowl and asked, "Where is Miss Qiu?"
"We've already entered the back courtyard through the hanging flower gate. Miss Qiu said she'll go pay her respects to our old lady first, and then come over to play with our young lady."
"Understood. Go and prepare some tea, fruit, and snacks."
When Qiu Pingshuang arrived, Sun Wanqing's room was already filled with tea, fruit, and snacks, as well as sour plum soup.
Sun Wanqing and Qiu Pingshuang were not very familiar with each other at first, but they became close after traveling together for half a year after the New Year.
As soon as she entered the room, Qiu Pingshuang complained about the heat, fanning herself with her hand, her little face flushed from the heat.
She has a plump and cute figure, so she is more afraid of the heat than Sun Wanqing.
“You’re out here in this scorching sun, you really love going out.” Sun Wanqing personally served Qiu Pingshuang a bowl of plum juice. “But you’re lucky, I have something good here today that you’ve definitely never tried before.”
"What good thing is it?" Qiu Pingshuang took off her outer garment, took the fan from the maid, fanned herself, and leaned closer to examine the bowl of soup.
"Could this be some kind of medicinal soup?" Qiu Pingshuang asked warily.
"No, we just drank it. It's sweet and sour, and it's delicious. You should try it."
Qiu Pingshuang cautiously took a sip. As soon as the soup entered her mouth, her eyebrows immediately lifted, and then she drank it all in one gulp: "Wow, so refreshing! What is this? It's delicious!"
“This is called sour plum drink,” Sun Wanqing explained.
Qiu Pingshuang found it delicious and drank two bowls in a row. Sun Wanqing quickly stopped her, saying, "There's so much ice in there, aren't you afraid of getting a stomachache? Stop drinking. If you get a stomachache, you'll blame me again."
Sun Wanqing joked and had the servants take away the remaining plum juice: "If you like it, I'll have someone bring you a hot bowl."
"I'm so thirsty, it's so hot outside."
"Then why didn't you stay home and avoid the sun? Why did you come here?"
Sun Wanqing had only asked casually, but to her surprise, Qiu Pingshuang blushed.
Qiu Pingshuang cleared her throat, trying to appear more natural, and said to the maids, "Wanqing and I have something to discuss. You may all leave now."
All the maids, including the servants from the Sun family, withdrew. Only then did Qiu Pingshuang lower her voice and lean closer to Sun Wanqing.
"Wanqing, dear sister, do you still remember the savior we met on our way back?" Qiu Pingshuang asked shyly.
"Of course I remember. He even came to visit us on the third day after we arrived in Yongning City. What happened?"
"The day after he returned, he also went to our house to visit my grandmother." Qiu Pingshuang blushed even more as she recalled seeing that man's figure in the distance in the garden.
“Isn’t this normal? Although we met by chance, we did travel together for a while, so it’s only proper to visit the elders.” Sun Wanqing tilted her head, as if she still didn’t quite understand Qiu Pingshuang’s meaning.
Qiu Pingshuang panicked and blushed: "Oh dear, Wanqing, how can you be so dense?"
Sun Wanqing stopped teasing her and smiled as she tapped her nose: "Is someone having romantic feelings? But, Shuang'er, he's just a man we met on the road. We know very little about him. Although he saved our lives, we don't know anything about his character, conduct, or family situation."
“I don’t even know his name,” Sun Wanqing added.
Qiu Pingshuang bit her lower lip, her eyes filled with disappointment: "I understand everything you're saying, but... but... I just..."
Seeing Qiu Pingshuang like this, Sun Wanqing felt a little sorry for her, but didn't know how she could help: "So what are your plans?"
“Me? I don’t know either,” Qiu Pingshuang said, her eyes reddening slightly. “Everyone says that a daughter’s marriage should be arranged by her parents and a matchmaker. I… I don’t know anything about him, so… that’s why I came to you…”
"Do you want to discuss solutions with me?"
"Hmm." Qiu Pingshuang looked at Sun Wanqing with pitiful eyes, her gaze as misty as water.
This put Sun Wanqing in a difficult position. Although she was a little older than Qiu Pingshuang, she had never had much contact with men. The happiest thing for her in her life was staying in her room reading, playing chess, or sleeping. If it weren't for something she had to do, she would never leave the courtyard.
She dislikes going out and interacting with outsiders, including wives and daughters, let alone men. Because of the difference between men and women, Sun Wanqing has only seen a handful of men outside her family.
But seeing Qiu Pingshuang looking at her so pitifully, Sun Wanqing softened again.
"Okay, okay, don't cry, let me think about it."
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