Chapter 24: Milk Tea and Hawthorn Candy Snowballs

Su Ai’s voice was slightly husky as she picked up Lele.

“I’ll take Lele back now and bring him back tomorrow morning. I need to buy some supplies.”

“Okay.”

Watching Ji Yang pull down his blanket slightly, revealing only his eyes a cute sight Su Ai really wanted to go back and kiss him until he was dizzy.

But there were so many people around, and Ji Yang was watching her warily.

What kind of person is he?  He’s guarding against his own wife!

Su Ai sighed and left with Lele.

As she left, she mouthed three words to Ji Yang:

Very clearly, she said:  “You wait.”

Watching mother and son disappear, Ji Yang chuckled under his blanket.

He laughed without reason, but the thought made him happy, his heart filled with sweetness.

He looked forward to going home and to the days after his leg healed.

Su Ai her name echoed silently in his mind.

Two simple words, deeply ingrained in his soul.

Just thinking of them made him happy and joyful.

The next morning, Su Ai brought Lele to Ji Yang’s ward and brought them breakfast: golden-yellow millet porridge.

Making buns in the morning was too much work; she needed to let the dough rise.

Su Ai made dumplings instead easier, no need for rising dough.  She made vegetable dumplings with chives and eggs.

She steamed them and served them as buns.

She also steamed two sweet potatoes for Lele and boiled some eggs.

After breakfast, Su Ai helped Ji Yang with his personal needs.

Once everything was settled, she left Lele behind and went out.

For her business, she needed corn ordinary dried corn.

Su Ai went to a farmer and bought a large bag of corn, about a hundred kilograms.

She also bought a bag of the cheapest milk powder and sugar.

Sugar was expensive, one yuan per kilogram.  Su Ai bought twenty kilograms; the seller gave her a discount, charging nine yuan per kilogram.

On her way back, she saw an old man selling hawthorns.

The hawthorns were large, red, and plump not wild ones, but likely homegrown.

Su Ai bought them all.

By the time she finished shopping, it was noon.  Su Ai hurried home to cook.

The rented apartment was small, with a tiny kitchen and bedroom.

After putting away her groceries, Su Ai started cooking.  She bought fish for Ji Yang’s recovery.

She cooked fish with vegetables, spicy stir-fried cured meat, and steamed rice.

While cooking, Su Ai made milk tea stir-frying sugar and tea leaves until golden brown, then adding water and milk powder, simmering until caramel-colored, and straining it.

Su Ai tasted it; it was smoother than the milk tea made with powder in the future.

She also made candied hawthorns hawthorn candy snowballs.

She wrapped them in newspaper, a large bag full.

When she finished, it was past noon.  Su Ai rushed to the hospital with everything.

She had been busy all morning.  Even in the chilly February, her hair was damp when she arrived at the hospital.

Seeing Su Ai rushing to serve him food, Ji Yang waited until she paused.

He tucked her damp hair behind her ear.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Rest if you’re tired.  We can do this after my leg heals.”

“Buying food is fine too; it’ll save you from being too tired.”

I feel sorry for you.

“Mommy, Lele will give you a back rub.”

“Mommy, you’re sweating; Lele will give you a fan,” the little guy said, noticing his mother’s fatigue. He knelt on the bed, giving her a massage.

But his touch was too light; it felt like a tickle.

“I’m not tired,” Su Ai said, not joking.

This life was far better than her previous aimless existence, even with billions in assets and no purpose.

This life, even if busy and tiring, had meaning.  Even earning money had a purpose.

“Besides, I’m just doing what you used to do.”

Before, Su Ai didn’t do anything; Ji Yang handled the housework and childcare.

She had only been doing it for a few days.

Lele was older now and easier to care for.  When he was younger, needing constant attention, Ji Yang had always been there.

So she wasn’t suffering.

Ji Yang remained silent, looking at the slight redness on Su Ai’s palms.  Her hands used to be so soft.

Now, they were red, and calluses would soon form.

“I’ll get better soon,”

Ji Yang was reassuring Su Ai and urging himself.

“Okay, let’s eat.”

“Try my milk tea and hawthorn balls.”

“Tell me if they need improvement.”

Lele took a sip of milk tea, his eyes widening!

He licked a hawthorn ball, his eyes widening even more!

Snacks were scarce then.  Bland meals made people crave sweets.

Even candy tasted delicious.

“Mommy, it’s delicious!”

“So good to drink, so good to eat.”

Licking the white sugar coating of the hawthorn ball, then biting into the sour hawthorn, the sweet and sour combination was amazing.

Although the ingredients were the same as candied haws, the taste was different.

Ji Yang tried them too. The milk tea was sweeter than milk powder, clearly with added sugar, but the tea balanced it out.

The hawthorn balls were similarly sweet but not cloying.

Sweet and sour, they were appetizing.

Not cloying was the highest praise for desserts in China.

Initially, Ji Yang doubted Su Ai’s ability to make delicious food, but he had to admit he underestimated his wife.

“Delicious.”

“They’ll sell well.”

Ji Yang gave Su Ai a thumbs-up.

“I have more hawthorns. I’ll make hawthorn pear soup.”

“Appetizing, cough suppressant, lung-moisturizing, sweet and sour, and delicious.”

“How much will you sell a cup for?”

Su Ai calculated and held up a finger.

“Ten cents?”  Not expensive, considering the milk powder and sugar.

“One yuan,” Su Ai whispered.

The cheapest milk powder cost 10 yuan per bag (2 jin, 1000g).

One cup of milk tea needed about 15g of milk powder and 10g of sugar, costing about three cents.