Chapter 49 Ice Cream and Steak
Beneath the brocade vine, roots of varying shades—yellowish-green or purplish-red—droop down like a beaded curtain.
Daiyu, Yingchun, Xichun, and Baoyu were gathered under the "beaded curtain" at this moment. Only the ginseng seedlings on this side were growing very well and could be clearly seen to be in good spirits.
Baoyu took a charcoal pencil and a notebook and began to take notes with great seriousness.
He recorded the date, the time, the weather, the exact location of the ginseng, and its most important growth conditions.
After seeing the ginseng, the three girls chased and played in the corridor covered with brocade vines.
It was very cool inside, and although the group was running and playing around, they didn't feel hot at all.
If it weren't for the blazing sun outside, they would almost think it was springtime!
"Sister Lin, what did you make today? The aroma is so strong!" Xichun suddenly stopped and sniffed again.
"Let's go take a look." Daiyu gathered her slightly disheveled braids and then called to Baoyu.
"Brother Bao, let's go back inside. I see Xiangtao is setting out the meal."
Baoyu responded and handed the booklet to Xiren beside him, then followed the three of them over.
It was only about twenty steps from the Jinping Teng side to the dining hall, and the group didn't ask the maids to hold up parasols.
Even though it was only a short distance, they were already slightly sweating when they crossed it.
Baoyu, in particular, shouted to the maid to quickly fan him as soon as he entered the dining room.
If I were in my own room, I would probably have to take off my outer garment.
There was a lot of food laid out in the dining room, but none of the dishes with the extremely strong aroma that Xichun had described were there.
However, the cooling items displayed on the table next to the dining room first caught the attention of the group.
There were neatly arranged chilled tea, several kinds of refreshing cakes and snacks, and several fragrant drinks placed in ice basins.
Daiyu immediately spotted a large bowl of milk jelly inside, still steaming slightly, with a round silver spoon beside it.
"Granny, Granny, I dreamt about this last night!" Daiyu immediately became excited, her starry eyes filled with laughter.
"Sister, what is this?" Baoyu picked up the silver spoon next to him and tapped the thing in the big bowl. It was a bit hard and not easy to dig out.
They all knew that Daiyu sometimes had strange dreams when she slept. Could this be the dream she had last night?
Daiyu didn't know what this was called, but she dreamed of Granny Yuan last night. Granny Yuan was using a flower-shaped glass with round frozen cakes inside. Granny Yuan was scooping them out with a small spoon, and she knew they must taste delicious. She saw Granny Yuan eating the frozen cakes, her eyes half-closed in contentment, her face full of satisfaction.
She was drooling over it.
"This is milk ice cream. There's strawberry jam on the side, raspberry jam, blueberry jam, and these chopped dried fruits. You can add whatever flavors you like. It'll be more fun to eat this way."
Yuan Hongqu smiled and went to get small bowls and spoons to scoop ice cream for them.
Milk jelly, also known as ice cream.
In the sweltering summer, no child can resist the delicious taste of ice cream.
Yuan Hongqu took a small, thin-walled white porcelain bowl and scooped out three scoops of ice cream.
Then I demonstrated to them how to add chopped nuts and jam.
Daiyu didn't have time to add those things, so she quietly took a small silver spoon, scooped out a small bite of ice cream and put it in her mouth.
The ice cream is smooth and creamy, melting in your mouth. You can hardly feel anything entering your stomach, but you feel the summer heat disappear instantly, and the light, sweet, and cool milky aroma lingers in your mouth.
One bite and the summer heat is gone, it's so refreshing!
The same applies to the other three.
Baoyu, in particular, had already finished a scoop of ice cream in just a few bites.
After Daiyu had eaten two, Yuan Hongqu stopped her from eating any more.
Daiyu wanted to act coquettishly, but she saw that Granny Yuan's expression was serious, unlike usual when she would give in and let her do whatever she wanted if she acted coquettishly.
She obediently put down the small bowl, and only then did Yuan Hongqu smile.
Yuan Hongqu was very uneasy. Although Daiyu's health had almost recovered, she was still somewhat weaker than a perfectly healthy child.
Given Daiyu's current health, giving her a little ice cream won't cause any problems.
Imagine being a little kid who can't even eat ice cream; it's actually quite miserable.
The other three members were only allowed to eat one bowl of ice cream each, and the rest were forcibly taken away by Yuan Hongqu.
Although the group was somewhat disappointed, they were quickly drawn to the sizzling hot plate on the table.
Xichun exclaimed with delight: "This is exactly the taste!"
The four people sat at the dining table, each with a hot plate in front of them. Underneath the hot plate was a piece of wood, and in the center was a fried egg with slightly charred edges. The yolk seemed to be half-cooked, looking wobbly.
Surrounding the fried egg were noodles dotted with red sauce, and around the noodles were some green, flower-like vegetables they had never seen before, as well as a few sliced cherry tomatoes, the colors of which were quite pleasing to the eye; on the other side was a palm-sized piece of meat, sizzling on the hot plate, sprinkled with black seasoning.
That overpowering aroma comes from this piece of meat.
Next to each person was a set of silver cutlery and a pair of silver chopsticks.
Besides the food on the hot plate, there were also several bamboo baskets on the table, like the small bamboo baskets they used when they ate fried chicken before, filled with milky and fragrant pastries.
"Granny, what's this thing that looks like a conch shell called?" Xichun was very interested in it.
"This is a croissant," Yuan Hongqu introduced them one by one.
"Today we're having a dish prepared in a way that's popular overseas. Try it and see how it differs from what we usually eat. If you like it, come back here to eat it again. This is steak, a whole piece of beef pan-fried. You'll need to use a knife and fork to cut it before eating. If that's not convenient, chopsticks are fine too. This small bowl contains baked potatoes with cheese, and this plate contains a cold salad, which is called a vegetable salad overseas..."
The table is set with everything from appetizers to desserts.
In the era depicted in the Dream of the Red Chamber, having a Western meal would have been quite interesting. Perhaps Lin Daiyu will be able to eat a few more bites this time?
Daiyu was indeed intrigued by these novel foods and their unique ways of preparation.
She especially liked the green vegetables that looked like flowers and were appearing on the table for the first time.
Seeing that Daiyu had eaten all the broccoli on the plate, Yuan Hongqu began to have her own plans.
This is one of the vegetables that must be planted in the village!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
