Xia Li looked at her mother who always put others before herself. The silver she brought back was given to her maiden family and her daughter, never thinking of keeping any for herself.
Xia Li linked arms with her and said with a smile, “Mother, I’ll earn more money in the future. Not only will I be happy, but you’ll be happy too. You’re still so young…”
Mrs. Xia blushed slightly and chided, “I’m almost thirty, hardly young!”
Thirty is still in the prime of life, you know!
Xia Li didn’t say more and picked up her bow to practice. She preferred the Mediterranean-style archery she learned in her previous life, not only because she was familiar with it, but also because this method allowed her to draw the bow further and shoot arrows farther. The Mongolian-style was more suitable for horseback archery, and she felt she would never have the chance to shoot from horseback in this lifetime.
She drew a pattern for three-finger archery gloves and had Mrs. Xia make them from thick cloth, planning to use leather later.
The next day, Xia Li took a straw mat that had been used as a cushion on a stool and hung it on the backyard wall for archery practice. Not wanting to waste iron-tipped arrows, she used bamboo-tipped ones instead.
She practiced secretly in the backyard every day, never tiring of it. The original body was weak, initially only able to shoot four or five meters. As her health improved and strength increased, she gradually extended the distance. With her foundation from her previous life and this body’s eyesight, her archery was extremely accurate – every arrow hit the bullseye without exception.
At the same time, she would also practice the combat skills from her previous life behind Mrs. Xia’s back.
During this period, Xia Dani and Xia Erni visited once. Xia Dani came to learn embroidery as usual, while Xia Erni brought an outer pants and a skirt. Xia Li found some fabric scraps and taught her how to attach them to the clothing. Mrs. Xia had been embroidering for Chun Niang’s workshop and would ask for their discarded fabric scraps to use as patches.
Xia Erhu visited several times, each time bringing his family’s dog Da Huang as Xia Li had requested. Whenever Da Huang came, she would feed it their leftover food, which was much better than what it got at the Old Xia Family, leading the dog to sneak over by itself several times.
Once, pressured by Old Mrs. Xia, Xia Erhu brought Xia Sanbao along to play. Xia Li didn’t stand on ceremony and chased both boys and the dog away before mealtime.
Old Mrs. Xia also visited once, hinting about either adopting San Bao or taking Daxiong as a son-in-law. Mrs. Xia firmly insisted on waiting longer. When pressed, she said she needed to discuss it with Old Man Xia.
She was simply stalling for time.
Soon it was mid-April. The mountains were greener, flowers more vibrant, wheat ears in the fields hung heavy, and wildflowers along paths became more colorful. Of course, the weather had also grown hotter.
Xia Li had completely recovered from her illness and grown stronger through exercise. When alone, she would secretly use her far-seeing eyes to observe distant mountains. Green trees, wildflowers, grass, brown rocks, yellow soil, as well as people and small animals moving among them were all clearly visible.
Once she even spotted a wild boar darting past a mountain peak. Another time she saw something black with yellow patterns sliding through trees – upon closer look, it turned out to be a python thicker than a bowl, frightening her out of her wits. One evening, she saw the village’s Tan Guafu and Li Darang, who had pushed Xia Li into the river, “consorting” somewhere in the mountains…
She quickly averted her gaze, cursing under her breath, “That shameless pair.” That Li Darang had a life debt on his hands – she would need to find an opportunity to deal with him later.She also noticed a beautiful wildflower that could be seen everywhere along the roadside and mountains. In her previous life, this flower was scientifically known as Nicandra physalodes, but in this world, it was called the Blue Lantern.
A snack made from the seeds of this flower was known as the viral Icy Jelly in her past life—cool, sweet, smooth, refreshing, thirst-quenching, transparent, and appealing. It was delicious, affordable, and highly popular.
Before her sacrifice in her previous life, Xia Li had once visited Jin City for a case. There, numerous Icy Jelly shops exuded a “petit bourgeois” vibe, with attractive young men and women serving the treat. Accompanied by pleasant music, they would drizzle brown sugar syrup, rose syrup, assorted fruit dices, sesame, and other toppings over the crystal-clear Icy Jelly. Those who prepared it were called Icy Jelly Masters, reminiscent of bartenders in a bar.
Xia Li had tried it a few times and loved it so much that she even looked up how to make it online…
In her memories of this world, Icy Jelly didn’t exist. When she asked Mrs. Xia about the uses of Blue Lantern seeds, she was told they were medicinal herbs, used solely for treating illnesses.
Although Blue Lantern seeds only ripen in autumn, their household had some in stock. This herb had properties like clearing heat, detoxifying, and relieving coughs, so many families gathered and stored some for emergencies.
Xia Li then thought of making Icy Jelly to earn money. While it wouldn’t make her rich, it could bring in some extra cash.
In this era, ice was available during summer in two ways: wealthy households had ice cellars, or ice was made using saltpeter. Both methods were expensive, accessible only to the affluent.
Blue Lantern seeds, however, were cheap. Even if Icy Jelly sold for just a few coins per bowl, high volume and low margins could yield considerable profits.
That morning, after practicing archery for two hours and feeling very hot, Xia Li decided to try making Icy Jelly.
She took nearly half an ounce of Blue Lantern seeds, wrapped them tightly in gauze, and set them aside. Then, she scooped a spoonful of edible lime, dissolved it in a bowl with water at a one-to-six ratio. Next, she boiled half a pot of water, let it cool, and poured about three pounds into a small basin.
First, she soaked the gauze pouch in the basin of cooled boiled water. After a quarter of an hour, she began kneading it by hand until the water thickened and turned white, then squeezed the seeds in the gauze forcefully until plenty of bubbles appeared.
After letting it sit for a short while until the small bubbles disappeared, she slowly stirred the mixture in one direction while gradually adding the lime water until she felt some resistance. She removed the gauze pouch with the seeds, and since there were still some seeds left in the mixture, she filtered it again through gauze.
Without a refrigerator, Xia Li fetched a large basin of cold water from the well and placed the small basin with the mixture inside it.
Leaving it aside, she took two small pieces of brown sugar, melted them into syrup, and crushed a few roasted peanuts. There was also a bit of candied winter melon at home, which she diced into small pieces. Many fruits at this time were expensive, making them impractical as toppings. Among candied fruits, candied winter melon was the cheapest, and Mrs. Xia occasionally bought some as a snack for Xia Li.
When she checked back after two hours, the mixture in the basin had solidified into Icy Jelly—trembling, crystal-clear. Overjoyed, Xia Li realized she had successfully made Icy Jelly.
Just then, Mrs. Xia entered the kitchen to prepare lunch. She had been focused on embroidery in her room all morning, occasionally catching a glimpse of her daughter bustling about but not paying much mind. She had also gone to the neighboring village to buy a piece of tofu.
Her face was flushed from the heat, with a fine layer of sweat on her forehead. Noticing the basin on the counter containing something that looked like jelly but was transparent, she asked in surprise, “What is this? It’s as clear as ice.”
Xia Li scooped out two small bowls, drizzled them with brown sugar syrup, crushed peanuts, and diced candied winter melon. With the added colors, the Icy Jelly looked even more appealing.
She handed a bowl to Mrs. Xia and said with a smile, “Mother, this is called Icy Jelly. Give it a try.” She added, “It’s made from lantern plant seeds and is edible.”
She then picked up another bowl for herself and began eating. The dessert was sweet, cool, smooth, and refreshing—she thought it tasted even better than in her previous life. Unable to contain herself, she exclaimed, “It’s absolutely delicious!”