Chapter 773 Winter Skiing After winter, the capital city welcomed its first snow.
The snow was thick, and when we opened the door the next day, the whole courtyard looked like it had been loosely covered with a new quilt.
Shen Mo wrapped the two little ones into round cotton balls, leaving only their two black grape-like eyes showing, before letting them frolic in the yard.
The stone, with a rather imposing air, squatted down and used its shovel-like cotton blanket to collect snow, attempting to make a large ball.
The fish, on the other hand, was more delicate. With her fingertips pinching snow, she was making the glutinous rice balls she envisioned.
Just as they were busy, the courtyard gate creaked open a few times, and several heads peeked in—these were Fang's friends who usually came to the house on time to watch TV.
Looking at the snow covering the yard, and then at the mother and her two children playing in the snow, the children felt as if their feet were rooted to the ground. The all-powerful monkey on TV had clearly lost its charm at that moment.
"Mom, shall we... play together?" The older boy, Er Mao, rubbed his hands together, his eyes sparkling.
Shen Mo smiled and waved, "Come on, it's more lively with more people."
This really caused an uproar.
The children cheered and rushed into the snow, quickly splitting into two groups, and a chaotic battle ensued.
The snowballs started flying erratically in the air, and most of them were quite accurate.
The heavy bomb that the stone hero threw out flew halfway and scattered on its own, landing on his head and face covered in white foam.
He wasn't annoyed; he just chuckled, wiped his face haphazardly, and continued working diligently.
The fish nimbly hid behind Chen Mo, using her as cover, only sticking out half its body, and threw out her glutinous rice balls one by one.
Er Mao wanted to show off his big brother prowess, so he threw a solid snowball with all his might, but he missed the target and instead, with a muffled "plop," Aunt Liu, who was watching from the sidelines, got a bruise on her back.
Aunt Liu exclaimed "Oh dear!" and pretended to put on a stern face: "You bunch of naughty monkeys, you can't even aim your gun properly."
Shun grabbed a handful of snow from the coal pile, crumpled it up, and chuckled as he scattered it on the children, thus joining the fray.
In no time, everyone was running and jumping in the snow, their breaths mingling with the flying snowflakes, creating such a lively scene that the snow on the roof was shaken off.
In the end, the guys' hair and eyebrows were covered in frost, making them look like old men and women. They looked at each other, pointed at one another, and burst into laughter.
Shen Mo invited them into the house, where Aunt Liu had already prepared hot sweet soup.
The children held their enamel mugs, sipping from them, and leaned against the window, watching the snow outside, trampled and messed up by their feet, finding it more interesting than any TV program.
...
Seeing the snow falling, Lu Qingyang decided to come up with some new dishes.
Lu Qingyang pinched the bottom of his mouth and said, "It has to look good, taste good, and not be too expensive. It has to be something appropriate for the occasion."
Together with Chef Chen, we devised a dish of plum blossoms in the snow, a snow house hot pot, and a snowman sugar pile.
Snow-covered plum blossoms are made with a base of snow-white fish paste, shaped into five petals, each petal tipped with bright red ham, and the center with crushed egg yolk as the stamen. After steaming, they are elegant in appearance, as if plum blossoms blooming proudly in the snow on a plate.
This dish is not only visually appealing, but also has a fresh and delicate flavor.
The snowman candy is made by stringing hawthorn, yam pieces, and water chestnuts together, and then adding black sesame seeds to make the snowman's eyes and mouth.
A dessert specially made for children.
The most amazing natural snow house hot pot.
Several large cabbage leaves covered the meat like snow, hiding tender tofu and fresh pork underneath, which were slowly simmered in clear broth.
Simple, delicious, and warming.
...
After school that day, Zhao Rui and Zhou Zhe were working in the shop when they approached Lu Qingyang.
"Qingyang, have you heard? They've fenced off a piece of land near Yeontan and built a ski resort, a proper ski resort!"
Zhou Zhe chimed in, his eyes shining: "Hey, I heard they rent sleds and there's even a cable car that pulls people up the slope! Shall we go check it out?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Qingyang became interested.
Back when I lived in the countryside of Northeast China, the snow in the mountains would not melt for half a year, so it had been a long time since I had skied.
The Nyontan Ice and Snow Resort in Zhou was packed with people.
Lu Qingyang and his group of five met up and rented the wooden snowboards.
Zhao Rui was eager to show off in front of Liu Hua.
He cleared his throat and struck what he thought was a cool pose: "Gohwa, watch me, skiing is all about being bold and careful..."
Before she could finish speaking, she imitated the person next to her, bracing herself with her ski poles and trying to set off in a cool manner.
As a result, the unfamiliar snowboards under my feet didn't obey my commands at all. With a whoosh, I lost my balance, struggled wildly for a bit, and finally, with a "plop," I fell solidly on my butt, splashing up a cloud of snow.
Zhou Zhe, standing to the side, burst into laughter without any restraint.
Looking at Zhao Rui's disheveled appearance, Liu Hua smiled and didn't help him up. Instead, she bent down and skillfully checked the binding straps on her snowboard.
Then, she turned to Chen Mo beside her and said, "Gan Mo, this ski slope is alright, but there are a lot of people."
Shen Mo smiled and nodded, skillfully adjusting her grip on her ski poles: "This slope is much gentler than the one back home."
As soon as the words were spoken, the two girls smiled at each other and glided away almost simultaneously.
With their bodies slightly bent, their weight pressed low and steady, their skis obeyed their every whim, and they nimbly weaved through the crowd, leaving two smooth and graceful tracks. In the blink of an eye, they glided to the bottom of the slope and came to a steady stop.
This sudden movement stunned Zhao Rui, who had just struggled to his feet, Zhou Zhe, who was still grinning foolishly, and several onlookers.
Zhao Rui's mouth dropped open, forgetting to brush the snow off his clothes, his face showing a mixture of embarrassment and surprise: "Golden Flower...you, how do you know how to do this?"
Liu Guohua waved her snow pole at the foot of the slope, her voice carrying a smile as it drifted up on the wind: "In my hometown, you can't walk outside in winter!"
Shen Mo added with a smile, "In Northeast China, back then, who didn't have a homemade snowboard or ice sled?"
Seeing this, Lu Qingyang couldn't help but chuckle. He patted the dumbfounded Zhao Rui on the shoulder and said, "It seems there are some hidden talents here."
Then she looked at Zhou Zhe, who was gazing down the slope with admiration, and said, "Come on, Zhou Zhe, you still have to start learning from scratch."
Now, the roles of coach and student have been instantly reversed.
Zhao Rui no longer cared about showing off and obediently followed Liu Hua, humbly seeking her guidance.
Liu Hua and Shen Mo became temporary coaches, patiently guiding the clumsy man.
"Jong-nee, I said 'Jong-nee' in a low voice!"
"Ankle strength, yes, control the direction!"
"Oops, you fell and landed on your side, don't try to brace yourself!"
Although Zhou Zhe still fell the most, under Shen Mo's guidance, he managed to complete a skating stunt on his own, albeit crookedly, and was so excited that he almost fell again.
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