Chapter 115 Snowball Rice Cake
“It’s not difficult at all, miss. Let alone building a snowman, we can even build the little cats and rabbits that you like!” Zijuan continued to encourage Daiyu, showing off to her how they used to build all sorts of strange things out of snow every year.
Daiyu listened with great longing.
As a child experiencing such heavy snow for the first time, how could I not yearn for it?
Yuan Hongqu couldn't help but laugh.
"You've been mischievous all day. Tomorrow, it'll be quiet and peaceful. Just watch the crowds and you can play around. But you can't touch them again. Look at that fur collar; how did it manage to fold a whole bag of snow?"
Daiyu immediately objected upon hearing this.
"Granny, that won't do! Zijuan said she'll take me to build a big, chubby snowman tomorrow, and then put a cape and hat on it. It'll look so cute!"
Yuan Hongqu shook her head.
"It will be much colder tomorrow than today. You'll be timid and hesitant when you go outside. I won't be so strict with you when you're a little older. Tomorrow, you'd better watch them build this for you to play with."
Yuan Hongqu dared not gamble with Daiyu's health. Snowy days were actually colder than when the snow cleared. Today, she risked letting Daiyu play in the snow for half a day, and she would have to be very vigilant all night.
As soon as she came in, the maids and servants dressed Daiyu in warm clothes and carefully tidied her up from head to toe.
At this moment, apart from her slightly flushed cheeks from playing in the snow, Daiyu showed no signs of having just had a snowball fight.
She didn't throw a tantrum when she heard that Granny Yuan didn't agree to let her go out to build a snowman the next day.
She'd figure it out tomorrow; she'd find a way to get Granny Yuan to let her go out and play. After all, snow was so much fun, something she'd never known before.
She used to dislike winter the most in Yangzhou. She was more prone to illness in winter than usual, and her medicine bowl was always with her. She smelled the bitter medicine soup every day, which made her feel that winter was bitter.
But in Beijing in winter, when it snows, the air is filled with the cool scent of snowflakes. Taking a deep breath, you feel as if your lungs are filled with a refreshing mint candy.
She absolutely loves winter in Beijing.
"Besides snowmen, what else is fun to do on a snowy day? I read in a book that visiting friends in the snow is only possible with light snow like in Yangzhou. If it's snowing heavily like today, it's absolutely impossible. I don't think those wooden clogs are stilts. If the snow were any deeper, they would submerge our legs. How could we walk then, let alone visit friends?"
“Girl, I heard from my mother that in my maternal grandmother’s hometown there is a tool called a sled, which is used specifically for traveling in the snow. The speed of a sled is just as fast as a horse-drawn carriage... especially when the roads are blocked by heavy snow, the only way to get around is by sled.”
Wen Shuang, after hearing Daiyu's words, also came over to join in the fun. Most of these things were told to her by her mother, and she herself had never seen them.
"Are sleds also pulled by horses?" Daiyu's eyes sparkled, clearly showing her great curiosity.
"How could that be? Horses have such long and thin legs. If you put horses to pull sleds, they would definitely sink into the snow and wouldn't be able to move an inch. Dogs are used to pull sleds. My mother said that my maternal grandmother kept a pack of big dogs, which were used specifically to pull sleds when it snowed."
"Are there any sleds in the capital? I'd like to try one..." Daiyu was tempted again; this thing sounded so interesting.
“There are no sleds in the capital. The snow here isn’t that heavy or thick, so we don’t need sleds.” Yuan Hongqu had to abandon her strange idea once again.
In the capital, a brick falling from the sky could hit a relative of some high-ranking official. How could a place like this allow dogs to pull sleds all over the streets?
Let alone pulling sleds, even a single stray dog appearing on the street would have to be dealt with immediately, let alone a whole pack!
Daiyu felt a little regretful, but then quickly cheered up and said...
"Granny, thankfully we moved back before it snowed."
She sat by the heated kang, holding a cup of warm almond milk tea in her hands. She took a small sip, and the sweetness of the milk and the slightly bitter taste of the almond tea glided across her tongue and into her mouth. Daiyu squinted her eyes contentedly, and then took a big gulp. After that sip, she felt her whole body become warm and comfortable.
"If I were at my maternal grandmother's, let alone playing in the snow, I would probably be locked inside the house again, just like before. At most, she could make a snowball for me to see."
“If the old lady heard these words, she would really scold you. You’ve only been home for two days and you’re already saying that people are interfering too much with you,” Yuan Hongqu said.
“Granny, my maternal grandmother loves me, so she keeps me in a warm room, afraid that I will suffer from any wind or frost; but if I don’t suffer from any wind or frost, how will I know how cold the wind is and how cold the frost is; no matter what, my maternal grandmother can’t protect me for life, and I still have to experience some wind and frost myself.” After seeing her father, Daiyu seemed to have grown up a lot overnight.
She didn't know why her father had suddenly appeared, nor why he couldn't come home openly. But she was keenly aware that her father had taken a great risk on this trip. Her nanny had told her not to tell anyone about her father's return, and she remembered it well, showing no sign of it at all.
“You are still young. The adults will bear those hardships for you. You can experience them slowly when you grow up.” Yuan Hongqu handed the pastries she had just brought over to Daiyu. They were rice cakes made from rice flour and milk. The rice cakes were as white as snow, fluffy and soft. They were fresh out of the steamer and still warm.
Daiyu held the rice cake in her hands, as if she were holding a ball of snow, and couldn't help but smile.
"Granny Yuan, is this pastry called Snow Dumpling? It looks just like the snowballs we made earlier!"
"You want to call it Snowball? That sounds good. From now on, we'll call it Snowball Rice Cake."
Daiyu held the rice cake and ate it in small bites. After a while, she looked out the door and suddenly said,
"Granny, the snow outside looks like it's snowing even harder."
Indeed, although Jiaoyun Garden is warm and the snow melts as soon as it falls in the courtyard, it is still no match for the overwhelming snow that falls down in a flurry.
The snow on the ground hadn't even had time to melt before it was covered by falling snow again.
In just a short while, the ground of Jiaoyun Garden was covered with snow, and even the flowers in the flowerbeds were completely covered by snow. It seems that Daiyu's wish to see fresh flowers every day has also been dashed.
The snow in the sky was falling like fluffy cotton wool, showing no sign of stopping.
Yuan Hongqu looked at the snow in the courtyard and felt a vague unease.
Lord Lin left the capital yesterday, encountering such heavy snow; his journey will likely be difficult.
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