Chapter 1936 - Her Appet.i.te Finally Returns
Si Yiyan relaxed on seeing her finally smile. He gave her hollow cheeks a gentle pinch. "Did you eat properly today?"
Her appet.i.te had been poor and she found it difficult to keep food down. As a result, she had no choice but to eat smaller portions at more frequent intervals.
Wen Xinya pouted and glared at him impetuously. "Stop pinching my face. You"ll be to blame if my face turns ugly from all that pinching." She then clung onto Si Yiyan"s arm coquettishly. "I ate two apples today, as well as a bunch of grapes. I also had a bowl of birds" nest soup, a bowl of donkey-hide gelatin, and a bowl of medicinal soup…"
She also mentioned a few other small snacks, making it sound as if she had eaten a lot.
At the end of her spiel, she glanced expectantly at Si Yiyan to hear his praise.
Si Yiyan pretended to put on a poker face. "You didn"t eat any rice?"
Fruits were not filling. While birds" nests, donkey-hide gelatin, and medicinal soups were not proper meals. It sounded like a lot, but it didn"t take into account the actual quant.i.ty of all the foods combined.
Wen Xinya pouted. "I just have no appet.i.te!"
Although it seemed like she had eaten a lot of food, she didn"t actually consume much of each item. Especially for proper food, she just found it too challenging to swallow.
If she wasn"t eating and Si Yiyan was around, he would personally cook some sweet porridge. Worried that she might get sick of it, he would often switch around the toppings and the sweetener to the porridge.
But recently, she didn"t have much appet.i.te for sweet things and so ate less.
Si Yiyan"s eyes dimmed and he retrieved a box on top of the cupboard. "Mother Wan heard that your appet.i.te has been poor, so sent she over some special dark plums. These plums were made using a secret recipe containing all sorts of nouris.h.i.+ng herbs and dried using a unique method. It"s most suitable for promoting appet.i.te during pregnancy. Have a taste and see if you like it!"
These darks plums were also called "Dry Branch Plums".
It was an expensive Chinese medicinal herb, and as its flowers were both purple and white, it was also called Limonium Bicolor. It was said to be very effective for nouris.h.i.+ng weak health.
And Mother Wan"s special dark plums were even more expensive and rare.
Only fruits from trees that had been growing for over 50 years were picked. They were very rare.
Mother Wan had several ancient Dry Branch Plum trees growing at her own home, and their yearly fruit harvest was very precious. Whether they were made into wine or food, they were extremely nutritious. Whenever she was bored at home, she would fiddle around and make some foodstuff, such that she had a store of dark plum products at home.
The sour fragrance of the dark plums triggered Wen Xinya"s sense of smell and taste. Her saliva glands were instantly activated, and her eyes suddenly sparkled.
Si Yiyan saw her lips twitching, so he picked up a gleaming dark plum and shoved it into her mouth. "If you like it, I can get Mother Wan to send over another batch."
It was now May and the harvest season for Dry Branch Plums.
Dry Branch Plums may be very expensive, but they were not that exotic. They were a specialty product of the Mongolian plateaus, and the wild Dry Branch Plums growing there thrived even better than those locally produced.
The sweet and sour taste completely opened up Wen Xinya"s taste buds. She squinted in appreciation. "Mother Wan is so capable. I have never tasted such delicious dark plums."
During this period of time, Si Yiyan had procured quite a number of dark plum-type food items, in order to improve her appet.i.te.
But she would get acid reflux whenever she consumed those foods.
She ate four to five dark plums in a row and was about to take another one when Si Yiyan closed the box. "Mother Wan said that dark plums will boost blood vitality. Your pregnancy is not stable yet, so you shouldn"t eat too many." With that, he placed another box of pastries in front of her. "Have some of these sweet pastries. They were also specially made by Mother Wan herself to improve your appet.i.te. They are nouris.h.i.+ng and good for inducing appet.i.te."
Mother Wan was very well-versed in herbal foods and had done a lot of research in this area.
Wen Xinya smacked her lips in a lingering manner, as the sweet and sour taste of the dark plums excited her saliva glands. She glanced at the kept box of dark plums with disappointment. But the moment she saw the box of exquisitely-made pastries, all of which she had never seen before, she immediately turned her attention to them.
"I wonder how this peppermint cake was made. It tastes so refres.h.i.+ng, delicious!"
"This glutinous rice is soft and fragrant and melts in your mouth. Not bad at all!"
"These b.u.t.ter pine nut rolls are sweet without being too cloying. They are also nice and crispy. Order this again in the future!"
Si Yiyan"s smile widened as Wen Xinya ate three to four pastries in a row. During this period of time, Xinya"s appet.i.te had been poor and he had racked his brains to think of all sorts of delicious food to prepare. He had come up with several plum delicacies, but her appet.i.te remained poor.
Looking at her consuming all this food now, he knew Mother Wan"s cooking was more suited to her taste.
Since her appet.i.te could be improved, the other problems could also be resolved.
However, they would have to trouble Mother Wan from now on.
Wen Xinya was eating very happily. Her poor appet.i.te during this period had been a constant torment, and now that her appet.i.te had returned, all she wished to do was to shove all that food into her tummy.
"Eat slowly. No one is competing with you." There were some crumbs by the side of her mouth. She looked like a little cute hamster stuffing food into her cheeks. Si Yiyan couldn"t resist reaching out one finger to gently wipe those crumbs away.
The soft, gentle movement was full of love.
Consuming too many pastries would make one sick. So, after she had eaten about six to seven pieces, Si Yiyan kept the box and had Mother He bring a bowl of medicinal soup over.
The kitchen ran all 24 hours to prepare all sorts of food, especially birds" nest, donkey-hide gelatin, medicinal dishes, as well as various types of nouris.h.i.+ng soups. Apart from a few standard must-haves, there was an a.s.sortment of different soups brewed each day.
Mother He was beyond happy upon seeing Wen Xinya eating.
"Have a bit more of some other foods!" Si Yiyan pushed the bowl before her.
This medicinal soup was specially concocted by Du Ruo and Old Mr. Du, according to Xinya"s physical condition. It was nouris.h.i.+ng and specially aimed at improving her health.
Wen Xinya"s eyes tracked the box of pastries in a pitiful manner. She finally turned back to the soup in front of her. "Can I have this later?"
She glanced at the dark plums and pastries on the cupboard again.
Those pastries were just too delicious. They were the yummiest foods she had eaten all her life.
Si Yiyan picked up the bowl. "I"ll feed you. If you finish this, I"ll reward you with a dark plum!"
At the mention of the plums, Wen Xinya started salivating again. "Five plums!"
She bargained.
"Two!"
"Four!"
"Three, and not a single more!"
"Alright, deal!" Wen Xinya hesitated a moment before agreeing reluctantly.
Si Yiyan spoon-fed her the medicinal soup.
Wen Xinya didn"t hate the taste of the Chinese herbs but just found it difficult to swallow. She forced back her nausea and finished it.
Wen Xinya wrinkled her nose at the bitterness before glaring grievously at Si Yiyan. "So bitter…"
Si Yiyan placed a dark plum in her mouth and pinched her nose. His face was full of smiles. "Good girl!"