At night, Ye Ai Xia washed some leaves to use for the wrap for the rice dumpling. She made sure that they were soaked before looking at her daughter and pointing at the pork meat.
"Cut them into 1 to 2 inches chunks, Jiao'er," Ye Ai Xia instructed.
"Yes, Mom," Ye Jiao picked up the knife and started to cut them down while her mother prepared other ingredients. Her small hand, which had become accustomed to using a sword, could move agilely.
"I have finished, Mom."
"Good, you can rest now," Ye Ai Xia smiled. "The rest can be done tomorrow morning."
"Ok, Mom."
Ye Jiao sprinted to her bedroom while Ye Ai Xia prepared other ingredients. She made sure that they were all ready before heading to the backyard to practice.
The next morning, Ye Ai Xia came into the house early. She headed straight to their bedroom and woke Ye Jiao up. The little girl was excited as she jumped off the bed right after she woke up.
"Come on, Mom. We're going to make the best rice dumpling ever!"
"Wait for me, little brat. And wash your body first."
"Ok, Mom."
After cleaning herself up, Ye Jiao dashed to the kitchen. She looked excitedly as her mother put the rice and beans out. She instructed her to wash them before they start to make the rice dumplings.
Making the rice dumpling itself was not that hard. Ye Ai Xia washed off the leaves and cut the coarse edge before bending them to make cone shape. After that, it would be filled with rice, bean, meat, eggs, mushroom, bean again, and lastly rice again. Afterwards, she closed the leaf, pressed it lightly to make sure the shape was right and used bamboo twine to tie it up.
"Here you go, the first rice dumpling," Ye Ai Xia handed it to Ye Jiao after she had tied it up.
Ye Jiao looked at the rice dumpling excitedly. "What are we going to do next, Mom?"
"We're going to make a few more before boiling them for six hours," Ye Ai Xia replied. "You have to make sure that the water submerges them from time to time until the time is up. Can I trust you to keep watch?"
"Yes, you can, Mom," Ye Jiao smiled. "We're going to enjoy them together at night."
"Yes, now let's make another one."
"Okay!"
The two of them spent the rest of the morning making the rice dumplings before Ye Ai Xia put them into the pot. For the first few hours, she stayed at home and helped Ye Jiao to dress up to go out with Mu Xin. The two of them had promised to play together for this festival.
Ye Jiao wore a light red dress. Her skirt was long but loose, making it easy to move around. Ye Ai Xia had purposely picked one where the girl would be able to run because she knew that Ye Jiao didn't like to stay in one place for a long time. The edge of the dress was embroidered with flower patterned embroidery in purple color, giving it an elegant feel.
"You look good, Jiao'er," Ye Ai Xia nodded with satisfaction when she saw Ye Jiao's image in the mirror.
"Mom, will you dress up too?"
"Me? I'll just wear my sports dress," Ye Ai Xia replied. She didn't really want to look good in front of those annoying men. She was pretty sure that each of them would be present when she appeared.
"Can I see it?"
"Why not? Wait here for a bit."
Ye Ai Xia went to the bathroom for a moment before walking out with green dress and long green pants. The bright green color was similar to her eyes. The dress had long sleeves which were quite large at the end, making it easy to move around. The design was as such that it exuded the image of a refined woman.
Ye Ai Xia smiled. "How do I look?"
"You look amazing, Mom! Even a goddess might not be as beautiful as you," Ye Jiao praised with sparkling eyes.
"You brat," Ye Ai Xia poked her daughter's forehead. "Mom will be going now. Take care of the house, ok?"
"Yes!"
After her mother left, Ye Jiao waited in the living room patiently. There were still another three hours before she could leave the house, so she spent the time practicing near the fireplace while checking the water from time to time.
After an unknown amount of time passed, Ye Jiao sensed that Wang Jun has arrived behind her.
"Miss Ye Jiao," Wang Jun called softly. It was impolite to disturb someone when they were practicing, so he did it with caution. After all, one didn't know whether the other person was in deep training or just a light one.
Ye Jiao opened her eyes slowly. Her bright green iris stared back at Wang Jun with questions all over her face. "Is it the time to meet with Senior Mu Xin?"
"Yes, she has finished making her rice dumpling, so she wants you to come over," Wang Jun replied.
"I can't. I still have to wait for another hour for the rice dumpling to finish," Ye Jiao pointed to the pot before her.
Wang Jun stared at the pot for a moment before turning around. "Wait here."
"Jun Ge?"
At that moment, Wang Jun had disappeared from the place without any trace. Ye Jiao could never understand how this man managed to erase his presence perfectly every single time. It was as if this man was a ghost, which would be totally absurd.
It took several minutes for Wang Jun to return back, this time he brought Mu Xin with him.
"Senior Mu," Ye Jiao was stunned to see the girl came here. She quickly stood up from her place and walked to the other party.
Mu Xin was wearing a blue long dress, which was light and easy to move in. Her face was starting to show the trace of maturity. Albeit faint, but the light makeup she wore today made it more visible.
"You take longer to make them," Mu Xin pointed to the pot.
Ye Jiao scratched her head. "I can't help it, it's not like I can speed them up."
"You're right."
Ye Jiao's eyes caught the basket in Mu Xin's arm. It was surely the rice dumpling that Mu Xin made with her father. Her eyes sparkled with interest as she had never eaten them before.
"Do you want some? I brought it here with me to wait for your rice dumpling. Jun Ge, you can also eat some if you want," Mu Xin remarked.
"Yes, thank you!"
"I'll not reject your offer, Miss," Wang Jun replied as he took the rice dumpling and opened it. His eyes widened when he saw the rather messy shape.
Mu Xin took one of the rice dumplings. "Some of them might not have good shape because I'm the one who put them in."
"I can't see the difference," Ye Jiao munched on the rice dumpling. The sweetness from the meat and sticky rice made her smile.
"Eat more, I'll eat yours too later."
"Good idea."
While the two girls chatted happily, Wang Jun ate the dumpling quietly by the side. He didn't have any intention to disturb the two of them.