Sour plum soup

A group of strange people got off the train. There was a middle-aged man in the lead, followed by seven or eight burly men and two strong women with short hair.

The short but plump man had a round belly and his raised hands were covered with green jade rings.

"Go and bring the stuff down. Remember not to scratch it. Be careful with your movements."

The middle-aged man was Yao's father. Some time ago, his daughter asked him to help look at cars. After learning that it was to help Song Qiu Sheng choose a gift for his sister, Yao's father personally asked his friend to pick out a large car from abroad, which was specially suitable for girls to drive.

In order to transport the car, we first crossed the ocean and then traveled through mountains and rivers, and finally it was successfully delivered to the capital.

He dared to guarantee that this car was absolutely unique in the capital.

Song Shixia was helping Ji Yanran match clothes. Ji Yanran's class had a class reunion, and only people from the capital attended. Ji Yanran was also invited.

Ji Yanran stopped her sister-in-law from drawing her eyebrows.

"No need, sister-in-law. It's too grand to put on makeup for a class reunion."

Song Shixia paused while holding the eyebrow pencil.

"Really not painting?"

Ji Yanran confidently puffed out her chest: "No need, I'm a lot whiter now and I'm totally different from before, who knows how surprised they will be!"

Song Shixia laughed. Girls change a lot when they grow up. Yanran is indeed very different from before the college entrance examination. Not only has she become whiter, but she also wears a skirt. Her long legs are buried by her loose pants.

Ji Yanran went downstairs and took the opportunity to grab a piece of meat floss bread. Before Song Shixia could stop her, she had already stuffed the bread into her mouth.

She knew this would happen, and luckily she took her lipstick with her when she went downstairs.

"The lipstick I put on you has all rubbed off. Put it in your bag and touch it up on the way."

Ji Yanran finished the bread in two or three bites and thanked her sister-in-law gratefully.

"Thank you, sister-in-law. Let my brother buy you a new lipstick. I rubbed this one dirty."

Song Shixia chuckled.

"I don't dislike you, go quickly, don't be late."

Just as Ji Yanran left, Song Dongdong came back with a football in his arms, sweating all over.

"Sister, is there any ice water at home?"

Song Shixia grabbed his ears.

"Yes, are you stupid to go out and play football in such hot weather? What if you get heat stroke?"

Song Dongdong snatched the ear back from her sister's hand.

"It's not hot. Only when it's hot can we play football. We are sweating. What is my sister Yanran doing? She is going to play football in the afternoon!"

Song Shixia rolled her eyes at her brother.

"Do you think everyone is as free as you? She's at a class reunion, and you're free. Wait for your nephew to wake up and play with him in the yard. I'm going to run some errands."

Song Dongdong was very excited.

"Am I the only one at home?"

"Your brother-in-law is here too, but he's working in the study, so don't disturb him except when he's eating."

Song Dongdong nodded beside his sister, and Song Shixia took out a soda from the refrigerator for him.

"Eat less cold food, and remember to take a shower later so you don't get sticky. I don't think there's anything else to tell you, I'm leaving now."

Song Shixia put on a sun hat, carried her cloth bag and walked out leisurely. Aunt Feng from next door had been waiting for her at home for a while.

On the way to the cafeteria, Aunt Feng and Song Shixia discussed the latest gossip.

"What do you think we should do about Chen Jiao? She can't concentrate on her studies now. I'm worried about her."

"She will think it through. Life will go on, just in a different way."

Aunt Feng lowered her voice.

"You won't get divorced, will you?" If they did, she would be reluctant to leave Chen Jiao. This girl looked dull and clumsy but she was very hardworking and never lazy. Chen Jiao was probably the most diligent person in the cafeteria.

"No, the mistake that Huo Kai made was at most not a mistake. If she were to ask for a divorce at this level, people would think that Chen Jiao was being unreasonable."

Song Shixia's own idea was definitely to suggest that Chen Jiao be beautiful on her own, but the background of the times dictated that Chen Jiao could only swallow her anger.

Aunt Feng couldn't help but sigh: "It's so hard for us to be women. In the end, we have to be embarrassed by our peers. Huo Kai's ex-wife didn't live a good life after getting married, but insisted on severing ties with her ex-husband. I guess she is not a good person."

Song Shixia deeply felt the same way. When she went to the countryside, she used marriage to avoid working in the fields. After returning to the city, she immediately kicked her husband and left her children behind. Such people are actually very strong mentally.

The canteen's shopping truck had just driven over, and the two of them arrived just in time.

After everyone greeted each other, the topic of conversation in the car kept revolving around Song Shixia. Who in the family area didn't know Song Shixia? She used to be Professor Ji's wife who cooked delicious meals and had a good personality, and now she is Song Shixia, the top student in science.

Aunt Feng sat beside her and was proud of it. Xiao Song was her friend. Look how awesome her friend was.

After arriving in the city, Song Shixia and Aunt Feng went their separate ways. Aunt Feng wanted to visit her nephew, so she went to the courtyard residence.

These two days, she asked her parents to take the relatives out to play, and she reimbursed them for all the expenses. The relatives' fares to the capital were paid for by her parents, and she would reimburse them when the time comes. People came thousands of miles to attend her graduation party, and she couldn't let them stand on the train for several hours.

They went to climb the Great Wall yesterday, and today the whole family was said to be too tired to get out of bed. Song Shixia didn't hear anyone talking until she entered the main room.

She heard the second uncle's voice: "We have stayed here for many days and you have spent a lot of money. We will feel embarrassed if you don't let us go back."

"That's right. You can't spend your bonus like this. You should have spent at least fifty dollars in so many days."

Song Shixia walked into the house with a smile.

"Second uncle, since we are here, we must have fun. Otherwise, it would be a waste of our trip."

Song's father and mother seemed to have seen a savior.

Song's mother followed up, "Yes, it's not easy to come to the capital. Don't wait until you get back to the village and people ask you what you did. You can't just say you watched the flag-raising ceremony and climbed the Great Wall and then came back."

Song Shixia intended to keep his relatives for a few more days. They were all direct relatives of his parents, and they visited each other frequently, helping each other when there was something going on in the village.

"Shi Xia, it's not easy for your husband to earn money to support the family. Listen to Second Master. We have been here for so many days and it's time to go back. We even went to the Capital Hotel for dinner. If people tell others about it, the villagers will be jealous."

Song Chunxia and her husband came back from outside.

"Second uncle, now that you're here to play, don't keep thinking about going back. Neither of us is in a hurry to open a store, so why are you in a hurry to go home and farm?"

Song Chunxia went out to buy mung bean soup and just now heard someone hawking in the alley. She wanted to learn something from the city and bring it back. The business in the store was good, but customers reported that it lacked drinks that could clear away heat and relieve summer heat. She didn't know what to make.

Taking this opportunity, he distributed a bag of mung bean soup to everyone in the room.

When Song's mother heard that it would cost two cents, she said, "It tastes okay, but I just want something cool to cool me down."

Song Shixia felt that the taste was average.

"Sister, do you want to make cold drinks in the store?"

Song Chunxia hesitated and asked,

"Cold drinks need to be made in the refrigerator. I want to make some drinks that are convenient and can relieve greasy feeling. Customers say that spicy hot pot must be served with something in the summer."

Song Shixia immediately came up with an idea.

"Sister, come with me. I want to buy something from your store."

Song Chunxia followed her sister around countless turns in the alley and finally stopped in front of a Chinese medicine store.

"Chinese medicine?"

Song Shixia kept it a secret.

“You’ll find out once you get in.”

"Master, give me a recipe for sour plum soup, and weigh a pound of water lily and two hundred grams of hawthorn."

The old Chinese doctor didn't even raise his head. "Why, are you here to buy goods and open a restaurant again?"

The medicine boy was already familiar with Song Shixia. The old Chinese doctor nodded at him and he buried his head in preparing the medicine.

Song Chunxia's face was full of confusion, but she suppressed her curiosity and watched.

The medicine boy moved quickly. After Song Shixia paid the money, he waved to the old Chinese doctor.

"You guys are busy, I'll come next time."

The old Chinese doctor waved his hand impatiently, "Don't come to buy goods next time."

Song Chunxia followed out dazed.

"How do you get Chinese medicine? Can you give this to customers in the store?"

"Sister, you'll know when you get home."

Song Shixia took her sister to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought fried peanuts and sesame seeds with brown sugar and rock sugar.

Under the watchful eyes of the whole family, Song Shixia asked her brother-in-law to make sour plum soup. When the pot was boiling, she put rock sugar in and adjusted the sweetness herself.

Song Shixia took her sister and mother to the kitchen to make ice jelly by hand.

"You haven't heard of Mu Lian Bing Jelly, just follow me and make it."

The three of them rubbed their hands until they were soft. Song Chunxia was puzzled. This thing did not look aesthetically pleasing. Would any customer really be willing to try it?

But when the ice jelly was ready, I didn’t expect that this small bowl could be sold for only one cent.

Song Shixia told her sister: "Really? You can set the price anyway. You just heard the price of the wood lotus. The sour plum soup relieves summer heat, quenches thirst and stimulates appetite. Both are very popular."

Song Chunxia murmured to herself, "So this is the benefit of studying. A bright mind is a way to make money."

Song Shixia laughed and explained,

"Sister, I read a lot of books. When I have nothing to do, I like to read some old books. Some time ago, someone in our county sold junk books. I bought all those broken books. One of them is about Chinese medicine. In fact, many Chinese medicinal herbs are edible, but when mixed together, they become bitter."

The sour plum soup is also ready. The brown sugar jelly with sour plum soup is much more popular than the mung bean soup just now.

"Mung bean soup is not difficult to make. Although it can relieve heat and quench thirst, it is not appetizing. Just imagine eating spicy hot pot and drinking a cup of sour plum soup, it will whet your appetite. Brown sugar jelly is low-cost and has huge profits. Even if you sell a bowl for five cents, you can make a profit."

Song Chunxia was stunned when she heard this. Sun Guoqiang also benefited a lot and was determined to help Maodan go to high school and college. This is the power of knowledge.

Everyone believed in Song Shixia, and Song Chunxia secretly asked her sister for the prescription. She didn't plan to buy the medicine from the traditional Chinese medicine store in the county, otherwise it would definitely be imitated by others. She simply bought everything from the traditional Chinese medicine store in the capital and used it at home.

Song Qiu Sheng arrived at the right time. He called his sister and Song Dongdong answered the phone. She said his sister was out, so he guessed that she might be going to the winery.

He didn't wait for anyone at the winery, and was anxious to announce the good news to his sister, so he hurried over.

"Great news, your car is here." There was a mixture of joy and weirdness on Song Qiu Sheng's face. He also met his future father-in-law. Uncle Yao came to the capital in person to deliver a car to his sister. What an honor it was for his sister!