Hongyun felt a weight lift off her shoulders when she heard from her mother that her younger sister had agreed, and willingly so. Having saved up some silver over the past few months working for Da Sheng at Er Niu's place, Hongyun took a tael of silver from the cabinet.

Arriving at Madam Zhao’s house, Hongyun’s heart ached seeing Hongxia looking so thin. She sighed without saying anything, but instead handed Madam Zhao five hundred da qian (cash coins), asking her mother to cook better things for her sister to regain her strength. Additionally, she gave Hongxia another five hundred da qian, telling her sister to keep it for personal use, as the household always had needs. Hongxia accepted the money without a word.

Hongxia took the money quietly, but Hongyun felt a sense of relief. Deep down, she hoped Hongxia truly didn't want the child, that she held no deep affection for it, so that when the time came to take the baby away, it would be easier on both of them, and her sister wouldn't be heartbroken.

As if seeing through her sister’s thoughts, Hongxia spoke, “Big Sister, rest assured. Mother has already spoken with me. I won't be reluctant; I agree wholeheartedly. It is this child’s fortune to be with you. Otherwise, who knows where he would be reincarnated now, to be raised with such care?”

Knowing her sister spoke those words to ease her mind, Hongyun smiled and patted Hongxia’s hand, telling her to rest well at their mother’s home while pregnant and to stay there a while longer. Hongyun promised to visit often. After sitting for a while, Hongxia departed.

These past few days, Lin He had little to do at home but needlepoint, which was becoming quite dull. Noticing the abundance of vegetables and fruits piled up in their courtyard and stored in the cellar—pumpkins, winter melons, string beans, and some soybeans harvested recently—she thought it best to use them up. These items filled their yard, more than their family could consume, and others had plenty too; leaving them longer would mean spoilage and waste.

At this time, every household had a small plot of land where they grew common crops. During harvest, everyone had heaps of produce lying around, and if left too long until they spoiled, they were simply discarded without much thought about the waste. But Lin He hated such wastefulness, recalling how precious these things were in her previous life.

Winter melon, pumpkin, and beans would cost several coins per jin. A winter melon this size might fetch dozens of coins. Moreover, waste was shameful. It would be better to make some snacks; their family had many children who often clamored for sweets, which cost money. It was better to make some herself.

For the pumpkin, Lin He thought of deep-frying it into sweet and fragrant pumpkin balls—they would look lovely, and the children would surely adore them. Winter melon could be made into candied winter melon, a snack Lin He had made in her past life that was delicious—sweet but not cloying. As for the beans, they could simply be dried and preserved as pickles in jars, lasting a long time and serving well as a side dish or an ingredient later on.

Lin He acted as soon as the idea struck. She started with the candied winter melon, a process she was familiar with. It wasn't complicated, and the ingredients were simple and readily available, meaning it wouldn't take much effort. Lin He called Chen'er and Da Yuan to help, promising to make them snacks. Hearing this, the two little maids immediately rushed over.

Lin He considered that the main ingredient for candied winter melon required sugar, and they didn’t have much. She decided it was best to have Old Man Qin take the ox cart to town to buy some. She fetched silver from the house and asked Old Man Qin to make the trip for sugar. Old Man Qin chuckled, saying, “These little rascals are getting greedy again; is He’er cooking up a feast?” He took the silver, harnessed the ox cart, and left to buy sugar.

With Old Man Qin gone, Lin He began the preparation. She sifted through the winter melons in the yard, selecting several large ones, each weighing over ten jin. She told Chen'er and Da Yuan to wash them clean with plain water, then instructed them to peel off all the green skin, keeping only the white flesh, and remove the central core. They then cut the flesh into long, thin strips, about the thickness of an adult's finger. Fearing the girls might not grasp the concept from mere description, Lin He cut a few strips herself as a model for them to follow.

While the two girls were cutting the winter melon, Lin He moved to the next step: hardening the pieces. This involved mixing slaked lime with water in a specific ratio to create a lime milk solution—limewater—into which the melon strips would be steeped. Lin He first prepared the limewater. About half an hour later, the girls had nearly finished cutting the melon, and her solution was ready.

Lin He’s house had several large jars in the courtyard. She brought water to clean them, then poured in the limewater. The cut winter melon strips were submerged in the solution to make their texture firmer. This soaking needed to last overnight; in the morning, they would be taken out and rinsed thoroughly with clean water to remove any residual lime solution.

Madam Huang watched from the side, unsure what was happening, and asked, “He’er, didn’t you say you were making candied winter melon? Isn't candied winter melon something to eat? Why use limewater to soak it? And it has to soak overnight? Can we still eat it? Won't it be harmful?”

Lin He smiled and replied, “Don't worry, Mother, there won't be any problems at all. You can taste how delicious it is once it’s done tomorrow.”

Madam Huang smiled back and said, “If He’er says it’s fine, then it’s fine. Mother will wait for your candied winter melon.”

“Perfect, Mother! Just wait, I guarantee you’ll have sweet and fragrant candied winter melon,” Lin He replied cheerfully.

Madam Huang watched her smile. After all, the winter melons had been sitting around for days, and they couldn't eat them all. She might as well let her experiment; it was better than letting them rot.

The next morning, as soon as she woke up, Lin He went to check on the soaking melon strips. Thinking they were ready, she urged Madam Huang to prepare breakfast quickly. Once the candied winter melon was done, it needed to be exposed to the sun. Madam Huang, having no choice under her urging, quickly put out a simple breakfast, leaving the stove and pots free for Lin He’s use.

After the family finished breakfast, Lin He, along with Da Yuan and Chen'er, resumed making the candied winter melon. The next stage was removing the lime residue from the hardened melon. The strips were lifted out and soaked in clean water for about an hour, then the water was changed and the process repeated several times until all the lime was gone.

After rinsing, it was time for the boiling stage. The winter melon strips were placed in a clean, oil-free pot, sugar was added, and they were gently simmered over a low flame, stirred together evenly. Sugar was added gradually. When Lin He saw that the sugar had cooked down sufficiently and the strips had firmed up and become resilient, she told Chen'er to put out the fire and scooped the candied melon out.

The final step was spreading the melon strips on a bamboo sieve and coating them with powdered sugar. The finished candied winter melon was a pale green color, incredibly translucent. The little ones all thought it looked wonderful and begged for a taste. Lin He let each one sample a piece, and they all agreed it was much better than plain sugar. Lin He told them that after another half-day of sun exposure in the afternoon, it would taste even better.