Even after becoming healthy and the sun finally shines from the sky, she is still weak. It may be because of her sickness from previous but I wanna help her to find her family. They must be worried for her.
I asked her name and where she lived and this is how she said it. "Li Chiao... No family... No home..." I am quite sad hearing her words. Her eyes are lifeless when she looks at me. It is empty, an empty shell. I feel pity for Li Chiao. At least I wanna help her feel better.
Right now, she is bedridden. She doesn't want to get up from bed and exercise with me. I respect her wish and leave her alone. I cooked another rice porridge for her to eat. When I bring the porridge to her, her eyes widens but not that bright. She seems to like my cooking. She wanted to try to feed herself. She grabs the spoon tightly and scoop the porridge childishly. She eats it quickly before blowing the food, causing her to flinch because of the heat.
I wanted to help but the second scoop this time, she gently blow the porridge to cool it down, before eating it. She seems to be a quick learner. I thought about bringing the books for her to entertain herself but bad luck, she is illiterate. She cannot read nor write chinese. She reminds me of my childhood where there are some of my friends are illiterate like her. We used to be farmers back then after all.
I made a routine for me. A routine when I will work, when I will take care of Li Chiao, and when I have leisure time. My time is mostly spent to Li Chiao. I always make her rice porridge and teach her how to begin cultivating. It took a month before she has the Qi Gathering Stage. She then awkwardly smiles at me and speaks a few word. "I... did... it... big... sis..." Li Chiao said then she got flustered and hide away her embarrassment with my pillow. She is very cute.
Its been a while since anyone called me big sis. I may look like a teenager but I am an old lady who have lived for 600 years. Time used to be fly fast for me, but now that Li Chiao came to my life, I decided that I will take care of her as my junior apprentice.
It took half a week after she gains the Qi Gathering Stage, Li Chiao finally can stand up and exit the room. I am very happy for Li Chiao's improvement. "What... You... Doing?" Li Chiao asked looking at my hands. I was preparing the ingredients for the dishes for the diner. It was at that time I had an idea what I should give her as a gift.
I never have given her candy before, so I will teach her how to create a candy using sugar and fruit. I have hawthorn berries in stock because these are growing in the mountain south to my diner. The cooking method is very easy even a kid can make it themselves. I call for Li Chiao and asked her to watch me. She meekly nods and sits behind the counter in order to watch how I make the candy for her.
I washed the hawthorn berries first because I need them to be clean and fresh. I mixed water and sugar together and I heat them in a pan in medium heat. When the sugar bubbles and became syrup, the sweet scent lingers around our noses. I look at Li Chiao to see her reaction. Her eyes are closed as she sniff the scent to her nose. She is very cute. When I see the sugar turned into syrup, I prepared a cold water then used one chopstick to test the syrup. By dipping the chopstick that is coated with syrup in cold water, it will become hardened. I fully coat the hawthorn berries one by one and dip them to the cold water. I had to use toothpick to hold the berry without damaging the syrup.
The syrup hardens when it comes with contact with cold water. I taste tested it and the result is very sweet. The candy is hard on the outside and tarty in the inside. Its sweet and perfect for being snacks. I see that Li Chiao is curious about the candy. I begin making the candies now and placed them on the bowl. I happily served my creation to my dear junior.
Li Chiao is nervous at first and she looks at me with worried eyes. I gently nods to reassure that everything will be alright. She gulp and look at the candies that I made. She picks one up and inspect all the sides of the candy. The candy looks like a crystalized hawthorn berry. She opens her mouth and take a bite, making a crunchy sound. I got nervous and anxiously waited for her reaction. To my surprise, she begins to eat the candies tearing up. Her tears aren't quite the tears of sadness. She smiles as she chew the candies, savoring its sweet taste.
After eating all the candies, her face became brightened and her eyes are now lively. "Big sis... Teach me... Cook..." Li Chiao said looking at me with puppy eyes. How could I say no to the sweet angel? I will teach her everything I know to help her. From that day, Li Chiao is officially my junior apprentice. My life has become interesting.
New Snack Dish Added to Menu:
Hawthorn Candies