Chapter 134

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Protagonist:

Yan Qianqian

Not long after, a clever and quick-witted little maid carefully carried in four bowls of steaming cold-dispelling soup. The broth presented a rich brownish hue, with bits of minced ginger and crushed red dates floating on the surface.

Qianqian curiously leaned in, lightly sniffed the cold-dispelling soup in the bowl, and instantly a pungent ginger smell rushed at her face; she couldn't help but furrow her brows, inwardly crying bitterly: "This flavor is way too strong!"

In contrast, the other few people appeared completely unhesitant, one after another picking up their bowls, tilting their heads back and draining them in one go, their faces showing satisfied expressions.

Yan Shuang'er cast her gaze toward Qianqian, who wore a reluctant look, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly to reveal a gentle smile, and she said softly: "Qianqian, if you don't drink this cold-dispelling soup, and happen to catch a cold, you won't be able to go out and play! Then Elder Sister will take Jie'er outside to build snowmen and have snowball fights, while you'll just have to lie pitifully in bed recovering."

Upon hearing this, Qianqian, who had been full of resistance, instantly widened her eyes, hurriedly shook her head and shouted: "No no! Qianqian wants to go build a snowman too!" Finished speaking, she tightly pinched her own nose, mustered her courage, picked up the bowl, and glug-glug downed the entire bowl of cold-dispelling soup in one breath.

However, the moment she let go, she immediately felt as if a fire had been lit in her mouth, a burning, stinging pain rapidly spreading, her entire oral cavity filled with intense ginger flavor, making her unable to stop sticking out her tongue.

Just then, a maid who had long been prepared hurriedly took out the pre-prepared preserved fruit, walked quickly to Qianqian's side, handed it over, and said concernedly: "Quickly eat some preserved fruit to calm the shock!" At the same time, he didn't forget to give a portion to Yan Jie beside him.

Qianqian received the preserved fruit like a treasure, impatiently put it in her mouth and chewed. That sweet taste instantly spread on her tongue tip, like timely rain, effectively relieving the burning and ginger taste in her mouth. She ate with relish, one after another, until after eating three preserved fruits, that unbearable taste was finally completely suppressed.

Yan Jie, meanwhile, grinning, took the preserved fruit from the maid's hand and happily tasted it. For a moment, the room was filled with the children's cheerful laughter.

Just like that, the few people rested briefly in the warm room, chatting about the snowball fight just now; unknowingly, time flew by, and in the blink of an eye it was already lunchtime.

After Yan Si hastily finished lunch, he became busy again, because in the afternoon he still had other important matters to handle. Simultaneously, Qianqian leisurely enjoyed her lunch; after she ate and drank her fill, she returned to her room and comfortably took a nap. After all, this was the cold dead of winter; sleeping beautifully was simply the utmost comfort.

Unknown how much time passed, Qianqian finally woke from her sweet dreamland. She stretched a big lazy stretch, then scrambled up with a kip-up, deciding to find some interesting activity to pass the time. Thinking back and forth, she thought of a fun idea — call Yan Jie and Yan Shuang'er to go build a snowman in the courtyard together!

Said and done; Qianqian enthusiastically ran to Yan Jie and Yan Shuang'er, telling them her idea. Both, upon hearing, were excited beyond measure, one after another expressing agreement. Thus, they quickly finished preparations, then impatiently rushed toward the courtyard.

Arriving at the courtyard, Qianqian volunteered to take on the task of division of labor. She waved her little hand and crisply said: "Third Elder Sister, you be responsible for rolling a big big snowball as the snowman's body; I and Younger Brother will roll a small small snowball to make the snowman's head."

Yan Shuang'er smiled and nodded, replying: "Okay, leave it to me!" Before her words fell, the three people fired up and sprang into action.

Yan Shuang'er moved first; she first pinched out a small exquisite snowball, then carefully placed it on the ground and packed it firm. Afterward, she used both hands to gently push the snowball, letting it roll slowly along the ground.

As the snowball continuously collided and merged with the accumulated snow, it became rounder and rounder, its volume also gradually increasing. Just like that, Yan Shuang'er persistently pushed the snowball; the snowball rolled larger and larger, until it was actually about as tall as Yan Jie! Seeing this result, Yan Shuang'er nodded satisfiedly, stopping her hand's movement.

On the other side, Qianqian and Yan Jie also refused to be outdone. They closely cooperated, following the size proportion of the big snowball Yan Shuang'er rolled, strenuously rolling their own small snowball. After a bout of effort, they finally successfully rolled out a cute small snowball three or four circles smaller than the body.

The snowballs were finally rolled; only seeing those round snowballs lying quietly on the snowy ground, like a little snow mountain. At this time, Qianqian excitedly shouted: "Third Elder Sister, quickly come help! The two of us simply cannot lift this big snowball!"

Hearing Younger Sister's call, Yan Shuang'er hurriedly replied: "Okay, coming right now!" She strode with hurried steps toward Qianqian.

Arriving beside the snowball, Yan Shuang'er and Qianqian joined forces to lift the slightly smaller snowball, and carefully placed it atop the big snowball.

After placing it steady, Qianqian happily said: "Younger Brother, you quickly go find two brooms; then I'll go find an unused hat and a scarf. Third Elder Sister, trouble you to find a carrot and two black beans, okay?"

Yan Jie nodded without hesitation and replied: "Sure, leave it to me, absolutely no problem!" Just as his words fell, he turned and ran toward the interior. Not long after, Yan Jie first found a broom used for sweeping the floor in the inner room, then immediately rushed to other courtyards without stopping, successfully obtaining another broom of nearly identical height.

Simultaneously, Yan Shuang'er headed straight for the kitchen. Upon entering the kitchen, she saw at a glance a large hemp sack placed in the corner, stuffed full with half a sack of fresh carrots.

Yan Shuang'er selected from within a carrot with bright luster and straight shape, carefully washed it clean. Afterward, she moved to the table side, gently opened an exquisite porcelain jar, reached in and took out two round, jet-black black beans.

Looking at the other side, Qianqian anxiously ran back into the room, starting to rummage through boxes and cabinets searching. After a bout of effort, she finally discovered at the bottom of the cabinet a somewhat worn brown scarf, embroidered with a few small flowers; that scarf looked truly tacky to the extreme — when she bought it originally, it was purely an impulse, and after bringing it back she hadn't worn it even once.

Right now it just happened to come in handy, to put on the snowman and add a bit of character. Thinking of this, she cheerfully fished out this long-forgotten scarf. Qianqian again rummaged and found one of her own hats, which she normally didn't wear much; however, when she actually tried to put it on the snowman's head, she discovered this hat was pitifully small for the snowman.

Not only could it not be put on, even if forced on it would look extremely discordant, completely ruining the overall aesthetics. Helpless, she could only have the maid help go find a suitable straw hat to save the scene.