Chapter 125 The Winter Solstice Festival has passed.
Yuan Hongqu forced a smile; she'd been caught red-handed.
"This is the first book, take a look at it first."
Daiyu skipped over, "Great! I've heard of this book before, but I've never had the chance to see it."
She reached out her hand, and Yuan Hongqu hesitated for a moment before handing the book to Daiyu.
Daiyu was overjoyed to receive the book. She took the book from Yuan Hongqu's hand and immediately felt that the book was unbelievably new. Seeing that the old woman seemed a little reluctant to part with it, she made up her mind.
"Granny, is this also one of your treasured possessions? It's so well preserved, not a single crease. Don't worry, Granny, I will cherish it as well. I'll return it to you after I've copied it." Daiyu carefully took out a handkerchief to wrap the book, then handed it to Xueyan.
"Put it away carefully, and I will read it after I wash my hands and burn incense."
Yuan Hongqu paused for a moment, then chuckled.
“Daiyu, there’s no need for that. This book isn’t anything special; the original was just damaged, making it difficult to read, so I had someone make a new copy. Time was short, and I only got this one copy today. I’ll make the whole set in a few days and give it to you. This is a gift from me; you don’t need to return it.”
Daiyu exclaimed with delight, "Granny, this is 'The Travels of Xu Xiake'! I've heard Father say that this set of books is very rare."
"If Daiyu likes it, then I'll be lazy this once and give this set of books as a gift for the Winter Solstice Festival," Yuan Hongqu said with a smile.
Although the winter solstice had passed, she was so busy with the snow disaster in Xicheng that she forgot to prepare a special gift for Daiyu. When she had some free time, she thought of the promise she had made with Daiyu and felt a little guilty.
“Granny, I thought you had forgotten.” Daiyu’s voice was loud, with a hint of grievance.
Seeing that her nanny was busy with disaster relief, she couldn't bear to trouble her to spend the winter solstice with her. She didn't expect that her nanny would still remember!
Yuan Hongqu also felt ashamed. She had only thought of this matter unintentionally and used it as an excuse to give the book to Daiyu. She did not expect that Daiyu still remembered that she had said that the Winter Solstice was the first solar term after they moved back to the Lin family, and that her family should celebrate it properly.
Children have such good memories!
Although Daiyu was pleased, she rolled her eyes, lowered her head slightly, and said in a somewhat aggrieved voice,
"Granny, although travelogues are very rare, you did say we would make cakes together for the Winter Solstice, but the Winter Solstice has passed..."
"Of course we'll do that. We'll celebrate the Winter Solstice with you tomorrow, okay?" Yuan Hongqu couldn't stand Daiyu's pitiful and sweet little voice. She immediately got carried away and thought to herself, "Even if it rains knives tomorrow, I don't care. I'll definitely make up for the Winter Solstice with the little girl!"
"That's wonderful!" Daiyu looked up, her face beaming with joy, showing not a trace of grievance. She clapped her hands, grinning as if she had finally gotten her way with Yuan Hongqu.
"Granny, you'd better keep your word!"
Yuan Hongqu smiled and said indulgently,
"That's natural."
No matter how busy she was, no matter how intense the disaster relief efforts in Xicheng were, and no matter how much she missed the winter solstice celebrations the next day, Yuan Hongqu did not delay at all.
The first thing scheduled for this morning was the traditional activity for the Winter Solstice – dumplings.
The dumplings made by Yuan Hongqu were only the size of peanuts, round and plump.
How much could a little child like Daiyu eat? Although she prepared it very meticulously, it didn't take much effort.
I made several kinds of dumpling fillings alone, including two kinds of creatures that fly in the sky, swim in the water, and run on the ground, for a total of six kinds of fillings.
The small, white dumplings, each one resembling a tiny cloud, are incredibly cute. Beside them sits a dish of light pink, transparent sweet vinegar. This transparent sweet vinegar has a refreshing, tangy, and sweet flavor that whets the appetite. Since one of the dumplings today is filled with crab claw meat, the sweetness of the crab pairs perfectly with this sweet vinegar.
Daiyu took a small bite, and it was indeed incredibly delicious, even whetting her appetite.
After dinner, Daiyu read for a while and copied a page. Just as she stood up to stretch her muscles, she suddenly noticed that the thick clouds outside seemed to have dispersed a bit.
As Daiyu stepped out of the room, she saw the clouds quickly part, revealing the sun.
Daiyu slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, stretched slightly by the flower corridor, and then performed the Eight Pieces of Brocade twice. After finishing the exercise, she felt much more relaxed, as if her blood vessels were flowing smoothly, and the slight coldness in her body had disappeared.
The snow outside the courtyard also looked a bit thinner. Taking advantage of the good sunshine, the Lin family's servants were clearing snow in the courtyard. Only the roads were clean to begin with, but now they had to clear away the snow that had been piled up on the roadside as well, otherwise the courtyard would probably be a muddy mess after the snow melted.
At noon, Yuan Hongqu carefully prepared a hot pot suitable for children. After Daiyu ate it, her face flushed slightly, and she even had a little sweat on her forehead.
In the afternoon, Yuan Hongqu and Daiyu made cakes together. The kitchen had prepared all the ingredients early in the morning. After Daiyu came over and took a look, Aunt Li, who was in charge of the kitchen, and the maids quickly started wrapping the cakes. Daiyu tried wrapping a few and found it much easier than wrapping dumplings.
"Granny, I heard this morning that the road to the west city has been cleared, and I want to go and see it." Daiyu wrapped up a few red lotus dumplings and then stopped her from helping, giving her a dough ball instead, which she then used to knead flowers.
"Let's go in a few days. The roads aren't cleared well, so it won't be easy to get in. The most important thing right now is for the disaster relief teams to get in. We shouldn't go and cause trouble." Yuan Hongqu went to the outer city in the morning and saw teams of disaster relief heading west. The roads were said to have been cleared, but it was just that the snow had been compacted and a path had been trodden out on the snow.
Yuan Hongqu observed for a while and heard the disaster victims coming out of the west city say that the relief teams that went in had not given them food in the past two days, but each family had been given two cotton-padded coats.
The disaster relief team set up soup kitchens at every intersection on the streets of Xicheng. Although the soup was not very thick, it contained some ginger, which was enough to keep people warm. Fortunately, no one froze or starved to death.
In the evening, since the snow near the soup kitchen had been cleared, a large fire was lit near the soup kitchen so that people could warm themselves around it.
As for the burial of those who died from being crushed by collapsing houses or from freezing to death, that can only be done after the snow melts a bit more.
Yuan Hongqu listened to people's discussions and felt a little worried.
Now that the snow has stopped, instead of setting up temporary tents for the disaster victims, they are simply making do and waiting for the snow to melt before repairing the houses.
If it snows again, will these disaster victims be able to withstand it?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
