Making Sour Plum Drink the Old-Fashioned Way

Because of Aunt Lin's arrival, the crowd around Aunt Zhang dispersed. Aunt Zhang was both angry and annoyed, feeling extremely uncomfortable. However, because she was used to rivaling Aunt Lin, she didn't want to show any curiosity that would make Aunt Lin proud. She muttered in a low voice, "Hmph, what's so great about fried rice? I know how to make it too. My daughter even says my fried rice is delicious."

But the people there were too busy discussing the fried rice they had just eaten to pay any attention to Aunt Zhang's words. Thus, Aunt Zhang's anger eventually dissolved into loneliness.

Zhao Xiaomin and Zhou Yuan were newly hired Chinese teachers at Haishi No. 2 High School. Haishi No. 2 High School was a key high school in the region. The students faced immense pressure, and the teachers' workload was not much better.

For the new teachers, the workload was heavy, and they had the most evening self-study sessions. The two of them found it hard to bear. Before graduating, they hadn't expected that being a teacher would require working like a beast of burden! Fortunately, they both found companionship in each other as peers, sharing common topics and a common language.

After a busy week, they finally had some free time to arrange a good meal. Haishi No. 2 High School was located in a bustling area, so there were many famous shops around. Zhao Xiaomin was planning to take her friend to the Ximiya Western Restaurant for a meal. Zhou Yuan was looking at her phone when she suddenly showed Zhao Xiaomin her students' Moments.

[This is the culprit that kept me awake all night, come and punish it for me! (image of beef fried rice)]

[I can only say that the beef fried rice from that nameless little shop on the dark street is too fragrant. If you wonder why I didn't describe the taste, it's because my friend snatched my portion, and in the end, I didn't even get a single spoonful. (photo of beef fried rice) (photo of friend grabbing food) (photo of empty plate) Today is also the day we cut ties (smiling face).]

Zhou Yuan said, "The students on my friend list posted about this shop's fried rice. It looks very delicious. Why don't we go try it?"

"What's so great about fried rice? We should still go to that Western restaurant. Fang Ya goes there every day and always invites us. Let's join the fun today."

But when Zhou Yuan looked at her WeChat wallet, she wanted to cry but had no tears: "But after getting paid on the 10th, I chose to splurge, and now my WeChat wallet only has 250 yuan left."

"It's only the end of the month!" Zhao Xiaomin looked at Zhou Yuan, who had just graduated and was always broke by the end of the month, and said helplessly, "Then let's go eat fried rice at that shop."

The two went to Bai Yinuo's shop. There were many students inside, so they chose to take out: "We'd like two portions of beef fried rice to go, please."

"Sure."

At this moment, Aunt Lin hurriedly walked in: "Aunt Wang and the others are playing mahjong, but they didn't forget to urge me to get the sour plum drink. Yinuo, is the sour plum drink you mentioned yesterday ready? How much is it?"

"It's ready, Auntie. It's eight yuan a cup, twenty cups in total, so that's one hundred and sixty yuan."

Aunt Lin paid by scanning the QR code, then hurriedly carried the sour plum drink away to quickly finish her ongoing mahjong game.

Zhao Xiaomin was a local. Every summer in the capital, many small shops at the end of the streets sold iced sour plum drink. A single sip was refreshing and relieved the heat, making it an essential summer beverage.

But since coming to Haishi, due to the difference in food culture, she rarely saw sour plum drink sold in restaurants. Even if they did, the taste was never authentic. The canned sour plum drink sold in supermarkets was mostly made from sour plum powder, which was not only expensive but also tasted terrible.

Every summer, Zhao Xiaomin would miss the sour plum drink of her hometown and the flavor of those years.

From the moment Bai Yinuo brought out the cups of sour plum drink, Zhao Xiaomin couldn't help but stare. Authentic sour plum drink must be freshly brewed. Since that batch of sour plum drink had such a rich color, it must be delicious.

She swallowed her saliva and asked, "Boss, can I buy a cup of sour plum drink?"

Because many people had asked for it yesterday, Bai Yinuo had specially made a large batch this morning. Thinking that everyone coming in needed to beat the heat, Bai Yinuo planned to officially launch the sour plum drink as a regular menu item tomorrow. "Of course, it's eight yuan a cup."