“Why are you standing there? Hurry and fetch a doctor!”
Afraid she might change her mind, Su Jingci grabbed the ginseng and ran faster than a rabbit.
Shen Yunzhi sat on the bed, thinking through everything that had happened recently.
Her mother-in-law’s illness was no longer serious. She had even picked up a jade pendant with divine power.
Everything was moving in a better direction.
Except they were still poor. To be precise, her in-laws had been impoverished by her own past recklessness. She needed to find a way to make money.
The “deity” had said false groundcherry seeds could be used to make ice jelly and sold for profit.
But before explaining how, the voice had disappeared.
If she couldn’t turn it into ice jelly, the plant was nothing more than a weed.
She picked one up and tasted it. Bitterness spread across her tongue.
“Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo!”
It was so bitter that even in a famine, when there was no grain left, no one would use this to fill their stomach.
“How is this thing supposed to be used?”
She had no idea — yet she couldn’t bear to throw it away.
“I’ll teach you.”
Just as she was worrying, the woman’s voice sounded from inside the jade pendant.
“You’re here, Divine One?” Shen Yunzhi didn’t know how to address her and felt too embarrassed to ask about her identity, so she simply called her “Divine One.”
The woman inside paused, then laughed. “Don’t call me that. My name is Song Yinuo. You can call me Yinuo.”
“Your name is beautiful — just like you,” Shen Yunzhi praised sincerely.
“You can see me?”
“Yes, though not very clearly.”
“If you can see me, it’ll be much easier to teach you.” Song Yinuo had been considering how to explain the process, since modern and ancient times were so different. Being able to observe her directly made things simpler.
“Remove the seeds from the false groundcherry and place them in a gauze bag. Knead them in cool water for five to ten minutes. One stick of incense is about fifteen minutes — use that as a guide. After kneading, let it sit undisturbed for one to two shichen. Once it solidifies, you’ll have ice jelly.”
“After it sets, dissolve brown sugar in boiling water. Let it cool, then pour it over the jelly and stir.”
“Oh — before pouring the syrup, use a spoon to cut the jelly into small pieces.”
She demonstrated as she spoke.
After watching once, Shen Yunzhi roughly understood the process.
But when she tried it herself, she realized something that looked simple was not easy.
Especially the kneading step — her hands had to stay submerged in water, and the seeds pricked painfully against her skin.
Watching her work step by step, Song Yinuo smiled. “You’re doing great. Now just let it set.”
Wiping sweat from her forehead, Shen Yunzhi said, “I’ll go buy brown sugar. Do I need anything else?”
“You can add melon seeds, raisins, or hawthorn. Adjust it to suit local tastes once it’s done.”
Since she wasn’t sure whether ancient palates matched modern ones, Song Yinuo only offered suggestions.
Shen Yunzhi reached into her pocket — not a single coin.
Her gaze shifted to the small chicken in the yard. It had been brought back from the Shen family to nourish Old Madam Su.
Everyone was inside tending to her mother-in-law. After hesitating, she grabbed one of the chicks and headed out.
Her second sister-in-law, Liu Lihua, had been quietly watching her every move.
Seeing her catch a chicken — and one brought from the Shen family at that — she was about to step in to stop her.
Then she remembered her father-in-law’s words.