Chapter 10 The Power of Zongzi

“You’re Erya?” Su Huanli looked shocked. He did not seem to be able to associate the beautiful girl in front of him with the ugly little doll who used to be as thin as bean sprouts. After three months of recuperation, Su Erya had changed her ugly demeanor. The warm red velvet clothes helped highlight her oval rosy face. Her nose was tall and small, and her pink lips glowed like honey. Long black hair spread behind her as if it were dyed by ink . Her eyes were like the stars, rippling with the purest colors in the world. The old housekeeper could not help exclaiming, “I didn’t expect that after the recuperation, Second Miss would look as if she had been reborn. You are really a beautiful girl! In a few years, you might be the most beautiful girl in Dasu Town!” Su Huanli now regretted his previous attitude. If he had known that Erya would look like this, he would never have let Erya take the blame for Zipei. But it was too late to say anything. When Su Huanli thought about this, he became angrier. He wanted to lock Su Zipei for another half a year. “Please don’t say that, Mr. Housekeeper. How can I deserve such a title?” Su Erya was shocked, though somewhat flattered. As she thought of something , her eyes looked like the crescent moon. She pushed the snacks on the tea table gently towards them. “Father, it’s still warm. Nanny Mammy said it was delicious. I wanted you to have a try.” Su Huanli did not change his face when he heard what she said , but he felt a warmth in his heart. He had almost forgotten the existence of this girl over the years, yet here she was, still thinking about him and sharing delicious food with him. At the thought of this, Su Huanli felt a little guilty. With a kind look on his face, he smiled and said, “All right, I’ll try it.” The old housekeeper watched in amazement. His master had never smiled at his children, and this was the first time he had shown such kindness. In the mind of the housekeeper, Second Miss’s position had immediately been raised. “Hmm? What kind of snack is this? It smells special.” The fragrance from the leaves of the checker-shaped indocalamus bamboo went into his nose, and Su Huanli picked up the snack on the tea table. The bulb-shaped snack was wrapped in a brown leaf. This was the first time he had seen such food. “Father, I made it by myself. I call it Zongzi.” Su Erya skillfully unwrapped the zongzi, and its fragrance, now stronger than before, wafted throughou t the whole room. “You made it by yourself?” Su Huanli frowned, and he thought at first that Su Erya was lying. However, now that he was drooling over the fragrance, he did not get to the bottom of the matter. Instead, he took the zongzi unwrapped from Su Erya’s hands and bit it off, the delicious taste exploding in his mouth! Sticky, gooey rice was mixed with fat meat. Yet it somehow wasn’t greasy. It was soft to the bite, and the smell of meat and egg went perfectly with the tender taste. Su Huanli, had lived almost half of his life, but this was the first time he ate such a delicious snack. He gobbled down the rest of the Zongzi. The old housekeeper swallowed his saliva as he watched. His master usually didn’t have a good appetite. At most, he had a small bowl of rice at noon. He did not expect that such a big rice dumpling would be eaten so quickly by his master . “Good. It’s delicious. You are a good girl.” Su Huanli smiled and touched Su Erya’s head. Everyone loved what was beautiful. His daughter was so filial, beautiful, and lovely. The more he saw her, the more he liked her, and he ignored the unhappiness caused by his daughter’s lies before. “Housekeeper, call the Mammy who takes care of Erya. I have a great reward for her!” Su Erya was stunned when she heard the words. She flashed a smile, which, in Su Huanli’s view, was very innocent. Mammy Li was called over by the old housekeeper, mistakenly thinking that Su Erya had made a mistake. As soon as she came over, she knelt down in fear and begged for mercy, “Master, the Second Miss is still young. And for the sake of kinship, please forgive her.” The old housekeeper laughed at once and explained, “Mammy Li, you misunderstood. The snacks from the Second Miss were delicious, and the master is pleased.” After hearing this, Mammy Li immediately turned from sadness to joy and quickly apologized on her knees, “I’m really sorry for my misunderstanding, master.” “That’s OK. You’re good to Erya. I want to ask you some questions. Where did you get the Zongzi?” Su Huanli asked with a smile. Delicious food like this was hard to see even in the county restaurants. Erya was still a child. How could she make such a delicious snack? Mammy Li froze when she heard it and said honestly, “Master, I dare not lie. The Zongzi was indeed made by the Second Miss herself. She ordered me to buy the materials she needed. Some are still left over in the yard. You can go to check.” Mammy Li’s answer surprised Su Huanli. He hurried to the yard with the old housekeeper. When he saw the raw rice, the checker-shaped indocalamus bamboo leaves, ropes and so on in the baskets in the kitchen in front of him, he had to believe that the zongzi was made by Erya herself. “Does Erya really have a gift for cooking?” Su Huanli was shocked and uncertain. A sense of excitement arose spontaneously. He looked up and down with burning eyes at Su Erya, as if he had found a great treasure.