The other basket the vendor had contained cucumbers.
Although they looked just as fresh and green, compared to the mulberries, a rare sight in the city, they held little appeal.
But gazing at them, a flash of inspiration struck Ning Xin. She knew exactly what dessert she would make today:
Cucumber Glutinous Rice Cool Cakes.
She really had to thank her late father.
Whether it was simply habit from years of working as a chef or because he had already intended to open a restaurant, in the past few days Ning Xin had noticed while tidying the cupboards that her family’s stock of various seasonings, dried goods, and fine grains was larger than most households’.
Although the quantities were small, many things were just a little packet, the variety was complete.
Including the glutinous rice flour she urgently needed right now.
She had initially assumed these things were brought back from the countryside by Ning Yi when he returned to the city. But thinking about it now, given his track record of messing up even steamed buns, he probably wouldn’t have had the heart to gather all this.
So it was far more likely that her father had accumulated and collected them over time.
In this sweltering heat, a serving of cool, sweet cucumber cool cakes would surely be well received, wouldn’t it?
While Ning Xin was lost in thought, Old Madam Ning had already squeezed into the crowd with an agility rare for her age.
By the time Ning Xin snapped out of it and went to help, the “battle” was already over. The old lady had successfully snatched a small basin of mulberries for her granddaughter.
Seeing her granddaughter approach, Old Madam Ning thrust the basin into her hands and said smugly, “Eat up. These big ones, they all look sweet!”
Obediently, Ning Xin picked one and popped it into her mouth in front of her grandmother, smacked her lips, then narrowed her eyes and nodded vigorously like a chicken pecking at grain. “Sweet! Grandma, you have one too.”
Without waiting for her grandmother to object, she popped one into her mouth as well.
The other elderly women watching were filled with envy, exclaiming how lucky Old Madam Ning was to have such wonderful grandchildren who treated her so well.
Old Madam Ning smiled so wide she couldn’t close her mouth.
While the grandmothers chatted among themselves, Ning Xin bought the entire basket of cucumbers and had the vendor deliver them to her home.
By the time the old lady realized what had happened, it was too late. She stamped her foot in frustration, complaining that Ning Xin had bought too many and that they wouldn’t stay fresh for long.
Ning Xin wasn’t upset. She simply took her grandmother by the arm and led her back into the courtyard.
Only after they passed the screen wall did she say, “Grandma, I want to add a dessert to sell today.”
“Add a dessert? You know how to make desserts?” Hearing this, the old lady forgot all about the cucumbers and asked in surprise.
“Yes.”
Ning Xin nodded but didn’t explain further. Instead, she turned to her brother. “Brother, when are you going to take time off? Do you have time today to go to the food factory and ask about crushed ice for me?”
Ning Yi worked as a temporary laborer at the coal yard, paid daily. To quit, he just needed to go and let them know, it wouldn’t take long.
So he answered simply, “No problem. Let me light this stove first, then I’ll go ask for you.”
Only then did Ning Xin notice that her brother was crouched by the wall, lighting a small iron honeycomb briquette stove.
The stove was very basic, it looked like a miniature tin bucket, and it was quite old.
“You used to get sick a lot when you were little, so Dad got this to boil your herbal medicine. I remembered it earlier, dug around, and found it still here. It’ll do for now, it should still be fine for boiling water,” Ning Yi said, as if intentionally answering her unspoken question, fanning the flames with a palm-leaf fan.
The family’s main stove already had two burners, one more than most households, which had already made Ning Xin, who in ancient times hadn’t even had honeycomb briquettes, quite pleased.
Now having an extra portable stove made her even happier.
How could she possibly complain?
Old Madam Ning took over lighting the fire and had Ning Yi help his sister brew the herbal teas.
Ning Xin measured out the ingredients, put them into the large thermos buckets, and discreetly added a few drops of spirit spring water. Ning Yi then poured in pot after pot of pre-boiled water.
The three of them working together was countless times more efficient than Ning Xin working alone yesterday morning. In no time, both the Hundred-Flower Tea and the Mint Tea were ready.
They left water boiling on the stove, sent Ning Yi on his way, and Ning Xin and her grandmother began making the Cucumber Cool Cakes together.
The method for these cool cakes was very simple: mix glutinous rice flour, water, and sugar into a batter, steam it into a cake, let it cool, knead it smooth, and cut it into pieces.
But Ning Xin took a more refined approach.
She first chopped up the cucumbers, added washed mint leaves, and minced them together into a paste. Then she strained the paste to extract the juice, using that juice instead of water to mix the dough.
This gave the cool cakes a natural fragrance of cucumber and a refreshing coolness from the mint.
Normally, this kind of cake would darken in color when steamed. But thanks to the spirit spring water, the cake retained its vibrant green hue, it looked absolutely beautiful.
She placed the shallow dish containing the cake in cold water to cool, then cut off a small piece and popped it into her grandmother’s mouth.
The old lady tried to refuse but ended up eating it anyway, praising it endlessly.
She said she had never tasted such a delicious and beautiful cake, and that something so good was wasted on her.
But Ning Xin wasn’t entirely satisfied with the final product.
If only there were agar.
If she did, she could make two versions: one steamed like this, and one directly chilled.
She believed that with a comparison, more people would buy them, and the effect would be even better.
Sigh. When she had time, she really needed to get out and explore more. She was still too unfamiliar with this place.
She also needed to make a few molds later.
Ning Xin quietly made a mental note of these thoughts.
Once the cake had cooled, the grandmother and granddaughter cut it into small pieces and placed them on the small white plates they had bought the day before.
The white porcelain dishes paired with the green cool cakes looked like jade on ice plates, a single glance was enough to make one feel cool from the heart.
With the experience from yesterday that the herbal tea might sell out too quickly, the Ning family’s small courtyard was nearly bursting with people early that morning.
First, before seven o’clock, Wang Jinying came to fill two flasks with herbal tea.
She said her husband had instructed her to bring a flask for himself and one for their son.
He had drunk some yesterday, she explained, and afterward his chest no longer felt tight while working, and his heat rash had gone down considerably.
Hearing this, Ning Xin was delighted. She not only filled both flasks to the brim but also insisted on giving her two pieces of cool cake to take home for Yingying.
When the other neighbors saw Wang Jinying leaving the Ning house with two large flasks of tea and a plate of cake, they immediately grew anxious.
They worried that if they delayed any longer, just like yesterday, they would either miss out or have to wait forever.
So, before Ning Xin and her grandmother could even catch their breath, they were surrounded by neighbors coming to buy tea.
The herbal tea, thanks to ample preparation, was still manageable. But the Cucumber Cool Cakes, originally just a trial batch made in small quantity, sold like lightning.
By eight o’clock, the two large trays she had steamed were completely sold out.
Those who arrived late once again surrounded the grandmother and granddaughter, practically begging Ning Xin to make more on the spot.
Some children, having only realized what was going on after seeing other kids eating and then rushing over only to be told the cakes were gone, burst into disappointed tears right there in the Ning family’s courtyard.
For a time, the little courtyard was as lively as a vegetable market.
Zhuang Wenxia had arrived in the afternoon yesterday, by which time the Ning family’s herbal tea had long sold out. So she hadn’t witnessed the spectacle of a courtyard packed with people.
When she arrived today, it wasn’t even nine in the morning yet. The moment she stepped into the courtyard, she was stunned by the scene.
For a moment, she almost thought she had come to the wrong place.
Zhuang Wenxia was not a local. She was the chief editor of the Beijing Daily.
Her health hadn’t been good lately, and since her husband happened to be traveling to Xinnan City on business, she had come along to relax and take her mind off things.
Finding the Ning family home yesterday had been purely coincidental.
With her husband off at work, she had grown bored at the municipal guesthouse and decided to go for a walk.
Somehow, she had wandered this far and nearly ended up with heatstroke.
But despite nearly getting heatstroke, meeting the Ning family and sharing a meal had made Zhuang Wenxia very happy. She felt it was the best day she’d had since arriving in Xinnan.
Happy as she was, however, Zhuang Wenxia hadn’t planned on coming back.
Stumbling upon a herbal tea stall, stopping for a cup of tea, or even a meal, that was nothing unusual.
But deliberately returning a second time? If someone with ill intentions noticed, or worse, started reading too much into it, that could be problematic.
After all, given her and her husband’s status and position, and the fact that he was here on an inspection tour, Zhuang Wenxia naturally had to think carefully before doing anything.
She had to avoid giving anyone reason for overinterpretation.
But what she never expected was that after leaving the Ning household, she had slept the most restful sleep she’d had in half a year!
For some time now, Zhuang Wenxia had been plagued by insomnia.
The more exhausted she was, the more tired she felt, the harder it was to fall asleep. Often she would lie awake all night, staring at the ceiling until dawn.
The torment of insomnia was unbearable.
Especially the endless, chronic kind, it had left her with frayed nerves and a depressed mood.
Not only was her hair falling out in clumps, but her heart also seemed to be starting to give her trouble.
When she had been about to leave yesterday, the young girl Ning Xin had deliberately stopped her and brewed her a cup of lotus stamen tea, saying it had the effect of calming the mind and promoting sleep, and suggested she give it a try.
To be honest, Zhuang Wenxia hadn’t thought much of it.
Over the past six months, in her desperate search for sleep, she had consulted doctors and tried all kinds of medicine. She was nearly numb to it all.
There was no way she could believe that a simple cup of tea could cure her condition.
She appreciated the girl’s kind intention, that was all, especially since the tea, along with the meal, had been absolutely delicious.
But to her surprise, on the bus ride home yesterday, she had grown drowsy. Sitting in her seat, her eyelids had kept drooping, and she had nearly missed her stop!
Back at the guesthouse, she had gone to bed before eight o’clock.
She didn’t even know when her husband had returned. When she woke up, daylight was already streaming through the windows.
It had been so long since Zhuang Wenxia had experienced a full night’s sleep.
The feeling of being clear-headed and refreshed, as if the sky were bluer and the wind cooler, made her so excited she could have spun around in place!
Her husband was delighted to see her in such good spirits, saying that persuading her to come along had been the best decision he’d ever made.
So, after getting ready, Zhuang Wenxia had immediately come to the Ning household. She just didn’t expect their herbal tea business to be so thriving.
Standing by the screen wall, listening to Ning Xin apologize to the neighbors in her soft, sweet voice, explaining that the tea snacks were sold out, that there wouldn’t be more today, and that everyone should come back early tomorrow, Zhuang Wenxia found herself hesitating.
If nothing was left, would she just be adding to their troubles by going in?
Just as she stood at the entrance, not sure whether to go in or leave, the sound of bicycle bells rang out behind her.
Zhuang Wenxia turned around and saw Ning Yi dismounting from his bike.
Seeing her, Ning Yi greeted her warmly. “Auntie Zhuang, why are you standing at the gate instead of going in? It’s so hot out here!”
His tone was utterly sincere, as if he were addressing a long-respected elder rather than someone he had only met the day before.
Still smiling, he pointed proudly at his handlebars. “Auntie, you’re in luck today. Look what I managed to buy!”
Author’s Note:
A quick note: The medicinal food recipes and dishes mentioned in this story come partly from a book I specifically bought, Chinese Health and Wellness Medicinal Food, and partly from online research. Some have been abridged or modified. Please take them as light entertainment and don’t take them too seriously.