Fortunately, Xia Na didn't seem to want to dwell on the topic.
She hung the basket on her arm, lowered her head to peel a lotus seed from the pod she was holding, popped it in her mouth, and chewed. Then, with a "Mmm" of approval, she nodded—fresh lotus seeds had a sweet fragrance that intensify with each chew. Delicious.
Seeing that no one was around, she quickly peeled another seed and popped it into Gu Tianming's mouth.
"I never imagined fresh lotus seeds could taste this good, they're even better than the dried ones," she remarked.
Xia Na recalled how her father's student once bought them a bag of dried lotus seeds. Her mother had to cook them for ages before they softened, worrying about the coal used. Out of curiosity, Xia Na had tried biting into one and remembered how hard and almost impossible to chew it was, making her teeth ache.
"The taste is indeed special," Gu Tianming agreed.
