Moonlight draped like gauze over the small courtyard of the Xia Family. Xia Huai'an lay on a bamboo mat with his arms pillowed behind his head, while Yufang carried over a bowl of mung bean and sweet potato soup with light steps. Wood ash from the stove still lingered in her hair, and her cuffs were half-soaked with water, but she had polished the rim of the bowl until it gleamed before handing it to him. "It was chilled with ice made from saltpeter. It's the best for beating the summer heat."
"Before I knew it, summer has already arrived!" Xia Huai'an took the mung bean and sweet potato soup and drank a large mouthful. The icy coolness surged through his entire body from the inside out. The sweet potatoes, stewed until they were meltingly soft and had frayed into threads, added a touch of sweetness to the mung bean soup. Refreshing!
"You should have a bowl too!" Xia Huai'an handed the bowl back to Yufang.
Chapter 61