#how to wrap zongzi

[sikfankitchen]

How to wrap Zongzi (Chinese Sticky Rice Dumplings) Step-by-step Tutorial

[xiaosenthusiast]

10. dragon boat festival

Yn shook their head and sighed. Why couldn't he just leave them alone? First, he fuels the rumor by not denying it, and now he wants to ask about who they're going to the festival with? Yn just couldn't wrap their head around the situation.

"Hey! Yn. it's been a while."

The man walking up to Yn smirked, his hands in his pockets and a bounce in his step. He seemed happy. The voice snapped Yn out of their thoughts as they smiled to the person standing in front of them.

"Hey Scara. How've you been? Should we head inside?"

They signaled to the entrance and started walking, Scara matching his pace along with them. "I'm doing okay. Finals are over so I'm on summer break now."

"Oh! It's the same for me. Guess we got lucky haha. What are you planning to do for summer break..?"

The conversation continued into the festival as the pair walked around. They got to try Zongzi and view the dragon boat race. It was interesting to see how the school had adapted it since it didn't have a river. After a while, you headed to another booth that was selling Realgar wine in little cups.

There, you ran into Yanfei, Hu Tao, and...Xiao. Yn quickly glanced at him and focused their attention back on their friends.

"Yanfei! I thought you wouldn't be able to make it because of your finals." Yn smiled and held Yanfei's hand while subtly dragging her away. "Oh wow there's samples over here. I'm gonna borrow Yanfei for a second!" Hu Tao raised a brow and pouted. "You owe me dinner Yn!!" The woman sighed and looked at her leftover company. "Should I give you two a moment? I can't tell whether you're gonna fight or make out."

Xiao narrowed his eyes and Scaramouche sighed, Hu Tao could only hope that the two of you would come back soon.

"Yanfei! Why are you with him?! I mean, I know he's your family, but he wouldn't voluntarily third-wheel you and Hu Tao. I think."

"But he did! He said 'Can I join you? My friends left me.' So I took pity on the poor guy!"

Yanfei trailed off and looked over to the group that they left behind. "Why'd you decide to come with Scaramouche anyway?"

Yn looked at her and shrugged, "I wanted to do the mugwort walk but everyone was busy. So I asked him."

"Why didn't you ask Xiao? We both know you know each other better anyway."

As soon as Yanfei uttered her question, Yn sighed and shook their head. "Yanfei. We haven't talked long enough in recent years to be as remotely close as we used to be."

"Well yeah, but I can't believe that you just gave up without even trying. Especially when he-!" Yanfei stopped herself and huffed, moving her gaze to the ground. Like she wanted to say something but couldn't.

"So what? What about him?! If he still wanted to be close then he could've said something!" You sighed and gripped Yanfei's hand tighter, "It's not a big deal anymore. We've moved past that. All we are is acquaintances now." The way Yanfei acted made Yn confused. Why was she trying to group the two of them together so much?

"You're right. I'm sorry I acted like that. Let's just go back." She mumbled quietly and didn't look at you. It felt like she had more to say but stopped herself.

Meanwhile, Xiao glanced between Yn and Scaramouche. He convinced himself that he was only watching out for you, like he did at the party. He's known you since you were kids, how could he just sit back as one of his friends took you? In all honesty, his heart sank a little when he got that message from Scaramouche earlier in the day. Xiao would never admit to himself the obvious reason why though.. Which was out of character for him.

Scaramouche wasn't a bad person, he was just a little rough around the edges; but so was he. So why could you put up with Scaramouche's antics but not his? Well, he never really tried getting closer to you again. Especially after you confessed. It made sense why you disliked him.

As he was thinking about it, he came to the realization that you weren't the same person you were in your schooldays. Why would he look out for you when he didn't even know who you were anymore? You had your own friends that could take care of you. So why...

"Sorry we took so long. Scara, should we head over to the mugwort walk now?"

Xiao looked at the two of you, a ripple growing bigger in his chest. He couldn't, he thought to himself. He didn't know you; but then you turned your back. Like you did so many times before. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat. He didn't know you, but couldn't he change that? It was simple really. All he had to do was reach out to you, stop you from going with him.

Could he allow himself? Would he be content in that decision? He'd already hurt you once before, he couldn't bear to do it again. His thoughts were racing, trying to find a reason in which he could reach out to your hand.

He just didn't want to lose you.

And before he realized it, he did.

He grasped your hand without thinking.

"Oh."

Yn turned to him, slightly shocked. "Huh?" She swiftly composed herself and responded with a quick "What?" Her tone blunt.

"Can I join you guys instead? I don't feel like third-wheeling." He said the first thing that came to mind, his eyes were glued to yours, keeping the relaxed facade.

"How do you know you won't be third-wheeling us?"

Xiao gripped your hand tighter. The two of you looked at Scara, his impatience obvious with his crossed arms and annoyed eyes narrowing at Xiao.

Yn pulled their hand out of Xiao's hold and held their hands up. "Well, he won't! I'll just let you two go on since you're both friends. I don't mind staying with Hu Tao and Yanfei!"

You smiled nervously and clung to your friends who were bewildered at the scene playing out in front of them. You pushed the two ahead and laughed it off. Xiao took one glance at you before turning and walking away. It was weird.

It might have been your delusions but it seemed like he was looking at you longingly? No. It was definitely a delusion. You shook your head and turned back to Hu Tao and Yanfei, trying to process the situation.

"That was weird. Right?" They nodded in agreement immediately starting to gossip.

"I didn't expect him to do that. I didn't expect the other one to say that! Yn! Your love life is seriously turning into a fanfiction!! Where are all these men coming from? Who's the next bachelor?!" Hu Tao pulled you closer with fire in her eyes, her never ending questions poured out while Yanfei tried to pull her off of you.

Your mind was a jumbled mess. You could understand why Xiao said what he said, but you couldn't understand what Scara meant.

Xiao probably wanted to get away from the couple and since Scara was his friend, it was obvious he'd try to join us; but Scara...why would he reject Xiao's request like that? Why did Xiao grab your hand so suddenly?

The questions seemed to pile up, and you didn't have any of the answers. It was truly frustrating and you couldn't stop thinking about it throughout the festival.

In the mugwort walk, a conversation of its own was happening.

"Why did you come with Yn?"

"Why did you grab her hand?"

The two had questions that the other preferred not to answer. The air between them was awkward to say the least. Neither of them said anything until Xiao broke the air.

"Do you like Yn?" He kept his eyes ahead, maintaining a calm character. He was like this until Scara retorted with "Is that important right now? Shouldn't you figure out your feelings?"

"I..." He hesitated. "I'm not sure yet; but I want to find out." After that, they were quiet. As they both thought about what to say.

Scara looked away and muttered, "When you're able to answer that question, I'll answer yours." Xiao looked at him slightly puzzled and dismayed while nodding.

With that, the mugwort walk finished in silence. Neither of them saying a word to the other.

And soon, the day was coming to an end. All that was left was the the Performing Arts Department's showcase. There were many performances to enjoy ranging from plays to traditional dance and opera singing. Which Yunjin was part of. When you got to watch your friend perform, you couldn't help but forget about the happenings of the day as you finally relaxed and cheered for Yunjin.

prev / mlist / next

🎀 ; and that concludes the first part ! i'm gonna go on a quick hiatus to think about where i want the story to go because no direction = bad writing...even this is honestly a bit dookie but it's all part of my journey to becoming a better writer! i'll come back after a week or two refreshed and knowing in what direction i want to take!

💫 ; TAGLIST — (16/35) @layla240 @eccedentesiast-sapphic @okukura @trulyylee @6blxe @jayzioxx @x-hihihi-x @anqelkoz @jiminscarmex @yurisukhsm @bubblebellaz @introvertaku02 @raidenshogunmommy @serenity-xiao @atlatcaheart @celestiai0

[accio-victuuri]

a part of this may have been washed already, who cares lol. that won’t stop us from doing some mental gymnastics to make it sweet cause it’s all cpn anyway. for me, i’m already happy with their unintentional ( or is it? ) couple outfit at the airport. and yibo wearing a shirt that says “sporty & rich” which is well — a fact. lol. and feeds into the whole “young master” vibe that fans are seeing with him lately.

take this as an exercise on how clowning works. and once we get more information, it gets “washed” or feel free to take what you want. this is related to xz’s post on weibo. i love analyzing his posts because it’s personal and i feel like it gives us more clues. the first thing will be the gorgeous flower arrangement. 💐

i was thinking maybe it was his drama wrap-up bouquet, but we didn’t get to see it in the bts.

the choice is interesting because it combines flowers and that same ( i forgot what it’s called sorry ) red/circular things we saw years back. that has it’s own cpn/backstory that i discussed here. basically, that’s not his bouquet from the OOL team when the show wrapped but that’s the photo (p1) that he shared. so we think it’s from Bobo. and now he shared (p4) that has lots of very expensive flowers. the other arrangement on his post was from Tod’s and looked more appropriate for Dragon Boat Festival. but this one looks more romantic if i do say so myself.

and the rose (juliet) given is esspensive!!! who could it be from? a certain sporty and rich guy? 😏😏😏

next is the damn plate with the fancy bite of zongzi. this one is what i think has been given some explanation ( washing ) from what we initially thought.

so we know xz is mister “centered” photos and everything. so it was weird that the one he shared is not. add the other element of it not being the same size etc meaning it was taken via wechat camera and probably sent off. another point is, we think it was taken by someone else. someone whose shadow gets included in photos he takes (p3 = yibo).

so is yibo sending what he is eating abroad? i mean it looks fancy!

but the people tracked down where this is from. it’s something that’s available at the blvgari hotel in shanghai. but you know what, if you still wanna clown that xz sent this to bobo and shared with all of us— then feel free 🤡🤡🤡🤡

the last one i find cuteeee cause remember when xz went abroad and he was wearing GUCCI re-web shoes? I swear even toxic solos picked up on that and hated on him. now you have WYB going abroad and wearing rolex DAYTONA ( very close to DAYTOY. yes i know he collect rolex watches like nikes but it’s a nice coincidence.

bonus, another closer look at their couple outfit. the shoes. look. I can’t. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

[yinyuedijun]

happy dragon boat festival!! don't know if u celebrate or not,,,

are u and dan heng making/eating zongzi :) is one of you better at wrapping them and one of u better at filling them? sweet or savory filling?

端午节快乐！！ my family has never been big on celebrating but I do usually like to have some zongzi when it rolls around! sadly I am traveling right now though, and while I'm having lots of fun, this ask did give me an intense craving for zongzi (which I definitely cannot get here lol) and make me feel a little homesick!

I know zongzi has quite a few regional variations, the traditional shanghainese kind I had growing up has a savoury soy-sauce based filling with pork belly (left picture). I would definitely ask dan heng to make these because to this day, they are my favourite variation lol. dan heng's reaction to that dessert event in penacony makes me suspect that he doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, so I'm sure he'd be just fine with the shanghainese zongzi. but I do think we would also end up making northern-style sweet ones with a red bean filling (right picture) just to give the rest of the express ! I'm very sure march would prefer the sweet ones lol

I am. genuinely TERRIBLE at wrapping zongzi HAHAHFKSH I fill them and he wraps them because if we do it the other way around then they end up overfilled and weirdly shaped 💀

thank you for the ask anon! I hope you are having a wonderful duanwu jie 🫶 and don't hesitate to let me know how you and your f/o are celebrating !!! 🥺💞

[crzyimp]

Wander and Monkey: Dragon Boat Festival

Prompt: The duo at the dragon boat festival making Zongzi and Monkey(Wukong) missing his family

Warning: Angst, but with comfort

Author's Note: A day late, but this is for my friend @sparrow-in-boots request and birthday gift! Feel free to send an ask or prompt if you liked my story. Inbox is open!

How on earth in all their centuries of living did they end up here, here making sticky rice balls, what's the word again? Zongzi, that was the name, wrapped in bamboo leaves to eat later or to toss it into the river. Wander didn't want to linger in the village during what seems to be a festival just around the corner, honoring a beloved poet or worshiping gods and dragons alike; several scents overwhelmed their nose as children and women walked by with silk sachets or the wormwood and calamus. Something about the smell irritated them and the last time they asked someone, they got strange looks and the logic behind it all was to ward away evil spirits. Their eyes drift over to Monkey, too absorbed in noticing he's being watched.

Their once tattered clothes and furs were finally replaced after enough complaints from Monkey about ‘scaring the locals more than him’ or ‘You look more beastly than man’; now most of their wardrobe matched the locals, all but their furry cloak and their walking staff. Over the long journey since they left home, there are still some things they can't let go, at least a keepsake of their homeland; how they long to return, but know deep in their hearts they can't. Wander shift their thoughts at how they got into this mess, well the one Monkey dragged them in.

Monkey, the same stubborn fool, asked Wander to stay and observe the upcoming festival. When he heard a quick and harsh no, all hell broke loose; the tiny bastard kept pulling and yanking their hair back to the village, the colorful words he used (certainly picked that up from Wander), to biting and kicking, normally the harassment or abuse they can easily ignored or brush off, but it had more power and gruffness that Monkey never had before. Wander soon relented and agreed to stay longer, just to get him to stop, their eyes still linger on him.

“Hey Monkey, why did you want to observe this festival so badly? It's not like we never encountered this before.” Wander’s ears twitch as the melodious hum, Monkey still focus on his zongzi. They continue as they shift back to their own zongzi, “Didn't we see this five years ago? Weren't the people there worshiping a god or a dragon? I recall seeing those folks on decorated boats.” They laughed at the memory, “And I happened to remember you jumping on one boat with a family close to the river's edge.” Monkey stopped, his eyes locked on the zongzi and the edge of his lips tugs downwards. “Oh, didn't they offer to invite us for dinner after we cleared the air? That's right,...” They nod to themselves in thought, “...the entire family was visiting as a reunion, it was certainly a sight to see; some seeing each other for the first time in years, or bringing new additions to the family like a spouse or a child. Must be nice for everyone to see each other again.”

whamp!

Their body jerks and the table shook, Monkey stared long and hard at his smashed zongzi splattered on the wooden table with some of the rice sticking on his callous hands. “Monkey's going to get more rice.” he said abruptly with an unrecognizable tone, Wander didn't had the chance to object that the two still had a full bowl of rice left when he marched off. Their eyes watched him head towards the direction of their camp; most people refused to lodge them due to the duo’s appearance, but neither of them minded as they were both at home beneath the stars. Still though, it concerns them that Monkey left like that, but it's also clear as day to them that he needs time to be alone. So they give him time to himself and wait for his return.

They waited for nearly two hours before their stomach twisted itself into a knot and a frown on their lips. Rolled up sleeves, sticky hands stained with fruits and nuts, and a completed batch of zongzi for the intended goal later on. And yet, Monkey hasn't arrived back with a better mood or a smile; instead Wander stands alone with knitted brows, hastily grabbing everything and marching back to camp. Normally he's back in ten minutes, thirty at most, but it's rare, too rare, that he's gone for this long.

Wander pays no mind when people move to the other side of the road or the whispered stares as they briskly walk past. Walk past the village’ outskirt and into the trees, close to the river, but just a little over at the edge of its rocky banks, and finally next to a fallen tree is where camp was set up. Their eyes wide at the sight of the only bedroll thrown half-hazardly over the ashy firepit and supplies scattered everywhere with Monkey's back towards them.

“Monkey!” everything falling from their hands, their vision blur, and the sudden burning friction on their knees as they rush to his side. Ignoring the mess, the potential culprit, the future clean up, the only thing that concerns them was their beloved friend. Their hands on him as fingers touch and feel for anything out of place, his body slumps into Wander's body before he climbs into their lap.

“Wander” his voice quiet and soft, small hands clasp tightly against their robes as Monkey buries his face and body into their chest. “I…I miss'em, I miss my family…” His body shakes and his tail curls in. The reason for his departure earlier. “I miss them so much and yet I can't remember what they sound like or their faces. It's been fifteen years and I'm scare Wander, I'm scared I'm going to die alone!”

Arms, arms bigger and stronger than his encase him, a hand nudges him to the sound of a beating heart and the other gently grooming him as he sobs. He feels his friend, his sole companion in his lonely journey, press their lips on the crown of his head, and in a warm whisper: “You have me.”

His arms, his gangly and hairy arms clasp behind their back, embracing them tightly and takes a deep breath. Taking in the comforting scent, their scent, a scent that reminisce of home and happy times. “Thank you, my beloved friend. Thank you.”

[sfxsubs]

Source: Happy Superman Alliance: Magic Laboratory EP8

My style of translating is to preserve as much authenticity from the original culture as possible, but honestly, even if it wasn't for that...I have no idea how I'd explain zongzi (粽子) to someone who hasn't encountered this thing.

For those of you who might recognize what food I'm referring to:

Zongzi (粽子) are a traditional Chinese rice dish, it's basically sweet rice with fillings, wrapped up in bamboo leaves and then steamed. You eat this stuff during Dragon Boat Festival (Duan Wu Jie) (端午节). Rice is pretty tasty, I personally have never been one for the fillings, ahaha.... (Sorry mom)

Anyways, I keep running into this problem, like how do you describe traditional chinese foods to people in the Western world, when all they have for translation is "dumplings" and "steamed buns"? There's like so much nuance and types, it is so frustrating sometimes-

[thoughtfuljournal]

Traditional Holiday Dishes From Around The World

Food is such a wonderful way to experience different cultures, especially during the holiday season. Here are a few traditional holiday dishes from around the world:

Puto Bumbong (Philippines): This is a type of steamed rice cake that's traditionally made during the Christmas season. It's purple in color and is usually served with a sprinkle of brown sugar and shredded coconut.

Daifuku Mochi (Japan): This is a type of rice cake that's often enjoyed during New Year's celebrations. It can be sweet or savory, depending on the filling.

Turron (Spain): Turron is a traditional Spanish Christmas dessert made with almonds, honey, and egg whites. It has a nougat-like texture and comes in various flavors, such as almond, chocolate, and fruit.

Panettone (Italy): This is a sweet bread loaf originating from Milan, typically prepared and enjoyed for Christmas and New Year. It has a cupola shape, with a soft and airy interior beneath a dark exterior. The dough is cured for several days to give it its distinctive fluffy characteristics.

Tteokguk (South Korea): This is a soup made with sliced rice cakes, usually eaten during the Korean New Year. It's a comforting and hearty dish.

Biryani (India): This is a flavorful rice dish made with spices, meat (like chicken or mutton), and sometimes, hard-boiled eggs. It's often served during special occasions and festivals.

Tamales (Mexico): These are a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa (a dough made from corn) that's filled with meats, cheeses, fruits, or chilies, wrapped in a corn husk and then steamed. They're often made for special occasions and holidays like Christmas.

Pavlova (Australia): This is a meringue-based dessert named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. It's crisp on the outside and soft and light inside, usually topped with fruit and whipped cream. It's often served during Christmas celebrations.

Zongzi (Taiwan): This is a traditional dish for the Dragon Boat Festival. The dumplings are made from glutinous rice filled with a variety of ingredients like pork, mushrooms, and chestnuts, then wrapped in bamboo leaves and steamed.

Lo Bak Go (HongKong): This is a traditional dish served during Chinese New Year. It's made from shredded radish and rice flour, and often contains bits of dried shrimp or sausage.

Glühwein (Germany): This is a spiced mulled wine that's traditionally enjoyed during the Christmas season. It's made with red wine, citrus fruits, and a blend of spices like cloves and cinnamon.

Mince Pies (United Kingdom): These are small British sweet pies traditionally served during the Christmas season. Their ingredients are traceable to the 13th century, when returning European crusaders brought with them Middle Eastern recipes containing meats, fruits, and spices.

Isn't it fascinating how each country has its unique holiday traditions? Do you have a favorite holiday recipe? 🍽️🌍

Image sources:

https://foxyfolksy.com

https://pin.it/5C2VruB

https://spainonafork.com

https://pin.it/SNiSvqR

https://thewoksoflife.com

https://oetker.co.uk

https://pin.it/3Hn5Rer

https://www.lebkuchen-schmidt.com

https://cookerru.com

https://sweetcannela.com

https://roadfood.com

https://pin.it/27HuYBR

[umichenginabroad]

Week 11: Explore！

"Is Shanghai fun?", my uncle had asked me in the first week during May. My first impression of Shanghai had been its sheer size, so big I didn't know how to start exploring. Now, with less than two weeks left here, my answer to that question is a confident YES! To recollect my memories of the fleeting moments, I dug into my photo album and saw familiar faces and recognizable landmarks belonging to the different cities I've traveled to. For this week's blog, I want to share some of my experiences here (and tempt you to come to China). Now let's get to it!

May

The first month was all about exploring Shanghai, before classes started to hit and the electric fan started to blow warm air. It was about overcoming unfamiliarity with a new environment and making new friends as walls came down, revealing lively personalities. There were times when conversations dropped, replaced with awkward silence. Later, I became comfortable with the group's silence at times like when we crammed and stressed over our approaching midterms, or when we're so tired we collapsed on the hotel's beds and napped the day away, or when everyone scrolled on their phones as we stood, squatted, and inched forward on the super long line for one short and bumpy ride. With the new friends I made here, and my cousin who's doing the same program, and my other uncle who was vacationing in China and joined me for a bit, I explored a lot of places and got to know them all better. I experienced the magical air of Shanghai Disney, witnessed the frantic bike rush after class, got good canteen food with my buddy and classmates, explored the other SJTU campus at XuHui district, and held a concert glow stick for the first time at a meetup with a Shanghainese friend.

Between studying for classes and enjoying the summer, I have chosen my priority. I went from taking the ambitious 12 credits to doing the bare minimum 6 credits. My mindset changed as I realized I can take classes anywhere anytime, but I only plan to study abroad this one time in my undergrad years. I am not good at multitasking to handle both classes and traveling, so I made my choice. I'll have fun in China and lock in when I'm back in Ann Arbor. With my classes down to Calculus 3 and a Chinese culture class, I'm aiming to get A++ for both classes!

June

June was the rainy season. Shanghai became wet and humid, unfavorable weather conditions for biking, so I rode on cabs a lot. My traveling outside of Shanghai peaked this month, and my photo album overloaded from all the picture spamming during the weekend trips. I wrote three travel blogs during this time. Over the Dragon Boat Festival weekend, I traveled to Qingdao and Yantai and saw a memorable sunset over the bay. I came back on Monday and had the holiday food ZongZi (glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves that can have sweet red bean paste or salty pork belly for fillings) for dinner.

Scrolling down my June album as I write, on the following week, I took an hour long subway to Qipu Lu (七浦路) to shop for Qipao. I have something to share about the marketing and sales here. At one of the first stores we visited, we decided to look around more and compare our options before paying hundreds of RMB on a traditional Chinese dress. However, the owner was not chill about it and began to persuade us to buy the Qipao by offering more discounts. Despite our assurances that we would come back, she insisted we were her first customers and that it would bring bad luck for the day's business if we left without purchasing. Sellers can't force customers into buying, so she eventually had to see us go. That was my first time in Shanghai watching and experiencing such direct sales tactics. Anyways, we ended up getting our Qipaos at another store and dressed up for Suzhou :)

Later in June, I went to Hangzhou twice, once on a program trip to the water-town Wuzhen (乌镇), and the other time I visited the West Lake (西湖) with my roommate. Here are some pictures, some of which I'm stealing from my previous blogs.

Shanghai

Yantai

Suzhou

Hangzhou

July

July was when I brainstormed indoor activities to avoid the heat. I wanted the rain back. I would gladly welcome the dull cloudy sky, the humid weather, and even the puddle splashes that stained my shoes, anything but the glaring sun. Despite the heat, I traveled every weekend. In the following order, I went to Changzhou (常州), Changsha (长沙), Nanjing (南京) & Yangzhou (扬州), and Fuzhou (福州).

This is Changzhou, where I went up the tallest pagoda in the world.

2. Changsha really surprised me.

It's even more crowded than Shanghai and has a vibrant night life. We arrived in the morning and checked into a cute family room that has a rocking horse seat, mini teepee, and astronaut themed decorations on the wall. We napped for hours and came out at around 5pm to see the city.

Changsha is known for their good food. I missed their 果呀呀 fruit teas and 茶颜悦色 milk teas topped with whipping cream. I also had the authentic ChangSha stinky tofu, and it didn't smell as strong as the ones in other cities.

We waited for the DuFu River Pavilion to light up at 7:30pm. It was built to remember the famous poet DuFu from the Tang dynasty, and here's a screenshot from the video as we counted down.

We saw the gigantic sculpture of Chairman Mao below.

3. Nanjing and Yangzhou

Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall and Museum

4. Fuzhou was to see family, bring luggage to make moving out easier, and rest at home.

Okay, that's all on traveling. I've been exploring China for almost three months now, and there are still so many places I want to visit. Seeing giant pandas before I leave is one of my wishes, and I'll be able to fulfill that soon at Chengdu next week!! I had hoped to give helpful tips for planning weekend trips and crafting itineraries, but my writing power is faltering, so I think I'll save them for another time :) 拜拜!

Vivien Lin

Computer Engineering

UM-Shanghai Jiaotong University Joint Institute

[look-into-our-heart]

Unity is Strength: Making a Bunch of Rice Dumplings

The Dragon Boat Festival is coming. To celebrate this holiday, Chinese people would eat zongzi or rice dumpling. Dharma Master Cheng Yen says that Dharma can be found in everything, even in rice dumplings. Since 2017, Master began to use rice dumpling as a metaphor for how Tzu Chi and its volunteers and staff should operate. 

In society, there are many people in suffering, so a lot of work needs to be done to help people in need. Yet, resources in society, such as material goods, manpower, funds, etc., are scattered. In order to help people, there’s a need to pool society’s resources together. This is what Tzu Chi is doing. It’s like making rice dumplings.

To make rice dumplings, we first make a bundle of strings by tying a knot at the top. The strings are for tying individual rice dumpling. Each rice dumpling is made by wrapping glutinous rice and fillings in bamboo leaves and tying it with a string to maintain its pyramid shape. With the strings connected to the knot, the rice dumplings are tied together neatly in a bundle.

There are many kindhearted people in society who are willing to help people, so there’s a need to bring these kindhearted people and their strength together. The ingredients of rice dumpling are like the resources in society, such as people’s love, donors, donations, material goods, etc. There are people in society who do not know Tzu Chi and what it does.  Tzu Chi volunteers’ responsibility is to tell people about Tzu Chi and inspire love in people. Volunteers are like the bamboo leaves wrapping the ingredients together by gathering society’s resources, soliciting donations from donors and bring people’s love together.

The knot is like the spirit and values of Tzu Chi, the guiding principles of how Tzu Chi should function. Tzu Chi’s spirit and values come from Master’s teachings and the Buddha’s teachings. There’s a need to form a solid knot so that Tzu Chi volunteers and staff can have a clear understanding of Tzu Chi’s guiding principles and carry out Tzu Chi’s missions with these principles through various functional teams and division of work.

The strings are like the organizational structure of Tzu Chi, which includes Tzu Chi staff and Tzu Chi volunteer team leaders. The strings connect the rice dumplings to the knot. In Tzu Chi’s volunteer structure, the team leaders are like the strings, keeping the bamboo leaves in shape and connecting all the rice dumplings together. With the strings, we can hold up a bunch of rice dumplings by the knot. This is like gathering together society’s scattered resources, such as Tzu Chi’s donating members, donations, Tzu Chi volunteers, Tzu Chi team leaders, and link them to the knot, which is Dharma Master Cheng Yen and her teachings. Each rice dumpling can also be like a functional team. It’s through the string that they are connected to the knot. Without the Dharma as guiding principles, each functional team might go astray as they carry out their work. So, the string plays an important function of connecting the leaves to the knot.

The Dharma and Master’s teachings are the core and spirit of Tzu Chi. If each of the strings do not want to be connected to the knot, to Tzu Chi’s Dharma, over the course of time, Tzu Chi’s spirit and values will fade and its strength will wane. Master encourages Tzu Chi volunteers around the world to learn more about the Dharma so that they can all be guided by the Dharma and bring people’s strength together.

To contribute to society and help people in suffering, there’s a need to form an organization that has strength and spirit. Tzu Chi is a very orderly and organized organization. The metaphor of making a bunch of rice dumplings displays Tzu Chi’s spirit of unity. Volunteers are to work together in unity and harmony with love. If the hearts of all volunteers are united and what they do is correct and does not deviate from principles, this is embodying the spirit of a bunch of dumplings.

We can all be like a bunch of rice dumplings. We try to make as many rice dumplings as we can by inspiring love in many people, share the Dharma with them, and gather resources together. When people in society practice the Dharma and pool resources together to help people in need, together, we are protecting our society and the people in our society.

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Ginsei - Sakamoto Short Story

This short story was originally published in B's-LOG 2020年7-8月号.

Hakuoki B’s Log 2020年7-8月 - Fifth month of the lunar calendar - Sakamoto Short Story

Translation by KumoriYami

As the sakura were scattering, it began to feel like the sultriness of May.

Myself, and Sakamoto Ryouma, were walked leisurely through the usual noisy streets of Kyoto.

"Ah, Nakaoka, look! That house has a koinobori [carp-shaped flag]. How interesting!"

"......"

"Aren't those kids playing with sweet flags [菖蒲 are Acorus calamus, which are known as sweet flags]? They're clattering about, which is really nostalgic."

"……"

"….Hey, how about smiling? It's a rare festival, but you have such a sour expression."

Today was May 5th. The Dragon Boat Festival.

It's obvious that everyone was feeling happy, but that Nakaoka guy wasn't hiding how upset he was at all.

"During the Dragon Boat Festival, only the upper class would happily participate in the festivities. Would I be happy to see something like that? ”

"Having said that that, there's nothing sinful about a festival. Even if it was originally organized by samurai, now the people look forward to it.

Nakaoka glanced towards me and spoke.

"I'm not interested in samurai… On the contrary, you seem to be very close to that girl in the Shinsengumi recently."

"...It's nothing like that."

That being said, I do care about her.

During a festival presided over by men, and with everyone being so noisy, they should be at a loss… Huh.

“Sorry Nakaoka! just remembered that I have something else I had to do!"

"Hey—Chizuru!"

"Eh.... Sakamoto-san....?!"

In the surroundings of their headquarters, Chizuru could now be seen in the courtyard.

While she was surprised by my sudden greeting, but she however looked at me seriously.

"Sakamoto-san suddenly came to headquarters… Did something happen?"

Chizuru's expression was very earnest. As soon as I saw that, I felt the impulse to be mischievous for some reason.

"Yeah, that's it. In any case, it wouldn't be convenient to let the people around here it."

"You don't want people to know about it then?"

"Well, please take these."

"What are these?"

"Zongzi and kashiwamochi. They're delicious [粽子 are sticky rice dumplings and "white mochi surrounding a sweet anko filling with a Kashiwa leaf wrapped around it" according to wikipedia]."

"....Eh?"

"They're local specialties. As a reward, please treat me to some steamed buns."

Perhaps it was because she a bit slow to catch on, Chizuru blushed with embarrassment.

"Don't tell me that you snuck in to give this specialty…!?"

"That's right. Are you worried about me?"

"That's right. Could it be that you're worried about me?"

"I'm very worried… If the other members find you, they'll likely arrest you immediately. Please don't take risks for such a reason!"

She was complaining but also looked a bit happy.

"I came to see you, it's a reason worth betting my life."

After saying that, I gently stroked her hair and left before anyone unecessary came.

---end---

[rainbowsky]

Hi RBS! Hope you're doing great ☺️

I am here because I love ggdd & I support them wholeheartedly. It has been around 6 months of me into yizhan fandom & from what I have observed gg seems like someone who loves cooking for people he loves( plus he's a great cook! ). I know there's one cpn of dd eating a homemade spicy meat dish ( sorry I don't remember exactly) sent by mama xiao. But has there been any instances or any candy/cpn regarding gg cooking for dd??

This is one of my favorite CPN. I really love all the domestic ones. 🥺

Fake, fan fiction, CPN.

Anon is talking about the sauced beef saga which you can read more about here.

There are a few things that immediately come to mind that are part of the CPN/rumors about what GG has supposedly cooked for DD.

Quarantine Pancake

There is a whole saga of CPN around GG possibly having taught DD how to make this delicious pancake sandwich wrap type thing during quarantine. @accio-victuuri did a detailed post outlining the whole story, so I'll just link you to that.

DD cooked this for the other captains during SDOC4. You can find my review that episode (including the recipe for the pancake) here.

Zongzi

GG has said he loves making zongzi (wrapped stuffed rice dumplings) for Dragon Boat Festival, and there is some CPN that GG made zongzi around the time they went on their Dragon Boat Festival date. GG posted a photo on Weibo that evening holding some zongzi (there is CPN that DD took the photo).

There is also a fake rumor that GG visited DD on set during filming of BAH and DD helped him tie zongzi for the cast and crew.

Cola chicken wings

DD was asked in a Spring Festival interview last year what dish he liked to eat when he went home, and he said 'cola chicken wings'. The hosts commented that it wasn't a local dish.

Then for Spring Festival earlier this year GG posted photos of some of the dishes that were being prepared with a caption asking people to guess which dish he had prepared. Cola chicken wings were among the dishes on the table (top right corner).

Tomato and egg noodles

There's a new fake rumor that just came out, where DD is said to enjoy eating GG's homemade tomato and egg noodle soup (if you've ever had egg drop soup, it's basically that only with stewed tomatoes as the base instead of just chicken stock).

The rumor claims DD likes putting chili oil in it, and that he told GG he liked it even when GG didn't make it in his usual way, to which GG replied, "You think everything you eat is delicious."

There are other fake rumors about GG cooking for DD, too many to outline here, but a couple others I recall:

GG supposedly baked cookies and sent them to DD on set, and DD - not realizing GG had baked them - shared them around the set. When he realized GG made them he asked for them back.

During filming, DD said to GG, "You're always drawing me cakes, but I never get to eat any of them."

DD said he liked a kind of soup and GG told him it's easy to make and told DD how to make it, and DD said 'but it wouldn't taste like yours'. 🥺

Just a reminder that fake rumors are unconfirmed.

There are probably other examples I'm missing, and more details that have slipped my mind, but those are a few examples.

[elizabethanism]

The legend of Qu Yuan (c. 340 – 278 BCE), the poet of tristia and itinera, and how the custom of zongzi eating and dragon boat racing on Duanwu have come to be associated with his sad tale.

On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month—端午 Duanwu—we commemorate the death of the poet-minister Qu Yuan 屈原.

Exiled from the kingdom of Chu for his fierce opposition to Qin (which did indeed demolish all, in its imperial ambition), he drowned himself in the Miluo River.

Legend has it that fishing boats set out looking for the much-beloved Qu Yuan. When he could not be found, food was thrown into the river to prevent fish from consuming his corpse.

Hence Duanwu is also known as the Dragon Boat Festival & sticky rice packets (zongzi) are eaten.

'The Songs of Chu' 楚辭, attributed to Qu Yuan (but more likely by multiple authors) are densively allusive poetic laments dating from the 3rd c BCE collapse of the Chu kingdom.

To quote David Hawkes, Chuci 楚辭are the poetry of tristia and itineria —the laments of exile.

Qu Yuan's 'Songs of Chu' are the laments of one born to "an age foul and murky"

Sighs come from me often

the heart swells within

sad that I and these times

never will be matched.

As it is then, as it is now.

Another version:

Duanwu 端午 marks the beginning of summer heat and pestilence, and the in southern China and throughout southeast Asia it was an occasion to fumigate the household and eat restorative foods wrapped in naturally antiseptic leaves.

The legend of Qu Yuan - the loyal minister in exile, wandering the Southland - then, was a Han Confucian repackaging of local folk customs.

One stayed as low profile as possible to steer clear of all the miasmic, pestilential forces —hence the need for mugwort and spells...

「五月五日天中節一切惡事盡消滅 急急如律令」

FIFTH DAY OF FIFTH LUNAR MONTH: ALL THINGS WICKED AND PESTILENT TO BE VANQUISHED INSTANTLY WITH THIS SPELL

We could *really* do with such a 急急如律令 these days.

[Dunhuang fragment British library S.799]

[robininthelabyrinth]

i've been keeping a list of possible prompts for you and there's one i have no memory of adding that just says "courtesan nmj????" so i guess that's the prompt you're getting lmao

What Does the Fox Say - ao3

“Second Madame Nie!” a disciple shouted, rushing into her little garden. She didn’t recognize him, but he was solidly built and well-muscled like most of the others – truly, the Unclean Realm was a rapturous feast for one with eyes to see it. Yum, yum. “Second Madame Nie, I have bad news!”

Boo. She hated bad news: bad news meant she’d have to do something, usually, and right now she was seated very comfortably in a pleasant piece of sun in the garden path that’d been made up just for her and to her preferences, with her feet up on a chair and a full plate of fruit from the kitchen on the table in front of her just begging to be devoured, morsel by delicious morsel.

Her schedule was packed!

“I regret to tell you, but your husband has been killed!”

“Oh,” she said, frowning slightly. “Has he? How obnoxious of him.”

How unreliable. Men.

She sighed.

“Second Madame – Second Madame – you don’t understand!” The disciple was all red-eyed and weepy, which was a look she liked, especially in big, stout men like this. The salt added a bit of spice to the whole thing. “You must flee at once! He was killed by Sect Leader Wen in an act of outright aggression – Sect Leader Wen has declared war – the Wen sect is invading!”

She nodded and picked up another lychee to start peeling it. She’d get around to fleeing in her own time. As long as this Wen sect or whatnot was being led by a man, she wasn’t terribly concerned.

“They intend to wipe out the inheritance of Qinghe Nie! They will rip out the child in your belly!”

She hummed noncommittally. Really, how attached was she to having a child of her own? Really?

“They will slaughter civilians – execute Nie-gongzi –”

Her hands stilled.

“What,” she said, and the disciple took a step back automatically, proving that he, at least, had something more of a survival instinct than her late husband did. “Hurt my little meat bun? My darling rice roll? My savory zongzi?”

She stood up, diminutive height and over-large belly and frilly clothing doing absolutely nothing to diminish the vaguely menacing aura that darkened the sky around her. She bared her teeth.

“Who does this upstart Wen dog think he is?!”

The disciple blinked owlishly, but nodded, seeming relieved that she’d finally accepted his concern, though she could see on his face that he was thinking that her reasoning was – characteristically – a little strange. But then again, and she could see this thought process on his far too honest face, it was well known that the second Madame Nie been quite strange ever since Sect Leader Nie had found her in some lonesome place with no family or background and brought her back to be his new wife nevertheless.

Such a charming man. Pity about his loss, really.

“You have to flee at once, we can’t possibly fight so many people,” the disciple said once more, and this time she nodded in agreement. “We can escort you to a hidden exit –”

“No!” a little voice called. “We can’t go.”

She turned to look, and there was the little pork-and-shrimp dumpling himself, chubby-cheeked and earnest-eyed, looking as delicious as always.

“What do you mean, fish cake?” she asked. “Of course we have to go. Didn’t you hear what this strapping young man said? This Wen person wants to kill you!”

“If Father is dead, then I’m the sect leader,” her stepson said. He was serious and solemn in a way that made her want to pinch his cheeks and bury her face into his belly to blow raspberries, and also possibly to eat him right up, flesh and marrow and gristle and all. “That means it’s my responsibility to preserve the Nie sect.”

“Nie-gongzi, no!” the disciple cried, throwing himself to his knees in a dramatic display of loyalty. “You would only die – far better for you to run, and live!”

“Then isn’t the same true for everyone else?” the tasty little dish asked, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting. Possibly he was trying to put on a fierce expression, maybe, she couldn’t quite tell sometimes. He was so cute. “Why should I live, and them not? I refuse to buy my life with their deaths!”

“But – Nie-gongzi –”

Her charming little honey cake shook his head and held up a hand to stop the disciple, turning to look at her instead.

“Second Mother,” he said, and he had that wholesome trusting expression again that was such a perfect little one-shot-kill to the heart, ugh. “You always said you’re the best at hiding. The best in the world, no one better among all the gods or demons!”

She was, too. She couldn’t help but preen a little, proud.

“– can’t you do something?”

“Oh, darling cabbage bun,” she said, not without fondness. “I can hide myself from even the net of Heaven itself if I so choose, from gods and demons alike, and I can most certainly hide a small group from any mortal eyes that dare to look, if you don’t mind being a little tiny bit dishonorable about the business. But an entire sect? That’s a bit much, even for someone as talented and skilled as me.”

Her stepson looked up at her, all straight-steel sincerity and upright righteousness wrapped into a perfectly edible little snack-sized package. “If we split them up, the sect could be small groups,” he said eagerly. “Couldn’t you do something then?”

He was so cute, and he trusted her. He trusted her, believed in her, felt that she could perform miracles with a wave of her sleeve if only she so wished.

It was awful.

She couldn’t bear it.

“Oh all right, you nummy little slice of roast pork belly,” she said, yielding. “But I’m telling you now, it won’t be the least bit honorable! There’s only so many excuses you can come up with for having a lot of strong men with wide shoulders and women with thick thighs hanging around, and not a single one of them has the slightest bit to do with what you people consider to be appropriate.”

“That’s all right. Preserving human life comes first, always.”

The disciple looked between them, clearly completely confused. Clearly all his effort had been spent on developing the muscles in his arms (quite nice) rather than his brain (quite slow).

“What?” he said. “What’s happening?”

“We’re saving the sect,” Nie Mingjue announced happily, clapping his hands together. Too precious, too precious entirely; she’d have to make sure no one else even thought about going near her darling little snackling. “Tell everyone to prepare to evacuate.”

“That will take too long,” she said, and smiled, with teeth. “Let me call some friends to help.”

-

When the Wen sect arrived at the Unclean Realm, they found the gate open.

That was unexpected enough, but when they entered, they found that the entire place had emptied out – not just of people, but of everything else, too. There wasn’t a single intact chair or table in the entire place, not a scrap of cloth nor a bit of food, like it’d been swept clean by locusts or wild monkeys come to pilfer whatever they could.

Even the paving stones where arrays had been laid out by the Nie sect’s ancestors had been pried up and carted away.

Sect Leader Wen ordered a search, but there wasn’t any trace of it – of the people, of the stuff, anything.

No one ever found out what happened.

-

Jin Guangyao despised social events, he’d found.

It was one thing when it was something he’d planned himself, where the work was interesting enough to distract him, but when he was an honored guest for someone else…miserable. Utterly miserable.

The only thing more miserable was when the host was his erstwhile father, from whom he’d forcefully extracted recognition. With Wen Ruohan as his backer, indulging his favorite torturer as if a beloved pet, there wasn’t much Jin Guangshan could do to refuse, and neither could he force Jin Guangyao to do anything on his behalf, either. And so Jin Guangyao, sitting as always by Wen Ruohan’s side, right beneath his sons, was now an honored guest at his father’s house, getting offered his pick of prostitutes as if the man had no notion of the irony.

Maybe he didn’t. Jin Guangyao couldn’t quite tell if his father had just forgotten his origins, thinking his bastard son too unimportant to remember the details of, or whether it was meant as a deliberate insult – who could tell?

“Oh, right,” the simpering idiot in front of him, a nephew or cousin of some sort to the sect leader, said. “Our dear Jin Guangyao is known not to like the gentle flower queens, even when they come from the finest houses in Lanling. Isn’t that right, cousin?”

Jin Guangyao’s fists clenched. A deliberate insult, then.

Despite that, his face remained neutral. Instead, he chuckled and said, “The appeal is limited. After all, I have seen the best of them.”

Beside him, Wen Ruohan nodded and smirked. He appreciated Jin Guangyao’s devotion to his mother, though Jin Guangyao suspected it was because he thought it funny that Jin Guangyao would bother to honor such a lowly woman – but what he thought didn’t matter, not really. All that mattered was that he let Jin Guangyao pay his respects to her to his heart’s content.

“Well, you’re in luck!” the idiot Jin Zixun said, looking absurdly smug. “We have something of a different flavor than the usual tonight – we’ve invited entertainment from the local branch of Splendid Spring.”

Jin Guangyao barely managed to avoid rolling his eyes.

The Splendid Spring Palace was a series of brothels that had popped up fully formed just about everywhere some years back, with madams and girls and musicians and bodyguards of all sorts. It was so patently a political move that Jin Guangyao had barely bothered to pay attention to it once he’d become actually powerful, and Wen Ruohan hadn’t paid attention to it at all. After all, in the unlikely event that the business really was backed by a cultivation sect that didn’t care about its face any longer, anyone who needed to use such a façade to gather power was clearly beneath notice.

Jin Guangyao had paid only very little attention, but to different and unusual aspects of the place: by all accounts, they were surprisingly decent employers as far as places like that went. They didn’t steal girls or accept unwilling goods – they had some connection with the merchant caravans, or at least one of the companies that helped coordinate routes and provide protection to such things, and they were as meticulous about checking things over as they were about seeking refunds if they were dissatisfied – and they did accept married girls fleeing unhappy marriages, which not everyone did. They did buy up all the girls in the local markets wherever they were, but they swept them away and brought them back transformed, even the ones that wouldn’t sell because they were too ugly; Jin Guangyao assumed that meant they had people who were talented in make-up and clothing, since the usual rumors of the girls being blessed with a yao’s enchantment were obviously ridiculous and nothing more than the usual marketing gimmicks that brothels since time immemorial had tried.

Even once they had the girls in hand, the places were pretty decent: they had physicians on staff to help with the usual side effects of the business, made sure their girls were clean and healthy, and were said to even limit the number of customers a girl would be obliged to take on in a given evening…honestly, knowing as he did the brothel business, Jin Guangyao sometimes wondered how they’d managed to bespell enough people to even make money in the early days. At any rate, whatever they’d done, it’d worked, because by now they had a solid enough reputation to trade on.

In short: a decent enough place, far better than the usual run of the mill. Once he’d had the ability to do so, he’d even pulled a few strings and arranged for the better of his mother’s old compatriots to end up there, since he couldn’t convince them to leave their old professions behind entirely.

Anyway, if they also seemed to have a sideline in information brokering and assassinations, well, let them. In the cultivation world, where the only thing that mattered was strength, real strength.

A little thing like that wouldn’t make any real difference.

Or so Jin Guangyao had thought.

He found himself re-thinking that, though, when the entertainment in question came out. There were the usual set of attractive (albeit in a wider variety of shapes and sizes than usually seen) dancers, dressed up in silks that seemed actually high quality, and plenty of strapping young men carrying sabers – dancers as well, once assumed, to provide some spice to the entertainment, and implicitly on the offer for men who cut their sleeves or women with more flexibility, like widows or ones with especially permissive husbands. Wen Ruohan’s wives were in that latter category, and they were already whispering to each other excitedly, looking at them.

They’d even brought in the local madame, who was…

Well, she was actually breathtaking, even by Jin Guangyao’s extremely jaded standards. She had hair that fell almost all the way to her ankles, shimmering in the light, and dark eyes shining with liveliness, a smooth and ageless face that simultaneously suggested youth and health but also winked at knowable experience, the features characteristic of what his mother’s employers had called the ‘fox-face’. As if to emphasize that, the lady was wrapped in fox-fur and draped in embroidered brocade, with little stylized foxes running up and down the hems of her clothing and along the gazy silk draped on her shoulders.

It ought to have looked absurd, looked gaudy and overwrought and overdone, but it didn’t.

She was a thousand dreams of wealth and beauty and power and sex appeal all wrapped up in one, and even Jin Guangyao – who was in his personal preferences quite firmly a cutsleeve – couldn’t help but intrigued by her, wondering what it might be like to touch the hem of such a glorious creature.

And next to her…

The lady was accompanied by two men that seemed completely different from each other. One was a slender and winsome young man, fluttering his eyelashes from behind a fan with a charming smile, emanating the appeal of softness and weakness, ready to be indulged. While the other…

Jin Guangyao swallowed.

He was the exact opposite of the first man. Clearly strong, muscular and powerful, and tall to the point of towering, with wide shoulders and a narrow waist, a chest that you could lean your head against and an ass that begged to have someone’s hands on it – and there were his hands, big and broad, perfect for holding someone down or up if they so wished and of a size that was very promising as to what was only hinted at under his clothes. His face was hidden behind a veil as if he were a woman, marking him, like his comrade, as one of the available courtesans of the Splendid Spring, but his body was visible under clothing clearly cut to put it to the best advantage.

And oh, what advantages it had…!

“It seems we found something to the tastes of dear cousin Guangyao after all,” the idiot said mockingly, sniggering and snorting like the pig he was, and for once Jin Guangyao didn’t even care.

“Who’s the woman in front?” Wen Ruohan asked, ignoring their interplay. He seemed utterly fascinated, almost spellbound, and Jin Guangyao couldn’t blame him one bit. If this woman had been at the same brothel as his mother, there wouldn’t have even been room for jealousy or shame; his mother would have gone straight up to her to ask for some tips. “She seems…familiar, somehow.”

“That’s the madame of the Splendid Spring,” Jin Zixun said proudly, as if he’d done anything at all in relation to this – nonsense, of course. Everyone know which brothels were backed by the Jin sect, and Splendid Spring wasn’t one of them. He was acting as if he deserve a pat on the back just for the introduction! “That means she’s not for sale.”

His smile faded a little, twisting in a small bit of bitterness. “Or so she told my uncle, anyway…although I’m sure if it were Sect Leader Wen asking, the answer would undoubtedly be different.”

Probably because Jin Guangshan couldn’t slaughter prostitutes with impunity if they said no to him, whereas no one could stop Wen Ruohan from doing any damn thing he pleased.

Wen Ruohan grunted, pleased by the answer – he was a possessive man, in the rare events that he did exert himself in the realm of women, and there had been more than one instance where he’d stolen away some girl his sons had been eyeing first just for the joy of having had her first – and raised a hand, catching the lady’s eye and gesturing for her to come over, which she did.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

She laughed. “You can call me Hu Jiuwei. With the ‘Hu’ being the character for fox.”

Jin Guangyao tried not to choke. There were false names and then there were false names – the lady’s theme was already clearly related to foxes, given her fox-face and fox-fur lining and the foxes embroidered onto her robes. Was the over-the-top name really necessary?

“It’s a fake name,” she added, unnecessarily.

“I see,” Wen Ruohan said, sounding a little choked himself. Possibly it was the woman calling herself ‘Foxy Ninetails’ and then kindly reassuring them all that the name was false as if she thought them too dumb to figure it out that was tripping him up a little. Jin Guangyao couldn’t tell if she was doing it deliberately in order to make her frankly inhuman beauty a little less frightening, or maybe she was blessed with so much beauty that she hadn’t bothered to cultivate her brain at all. “Are you our entertainment for the evening?”

She smiled, and any complaints Jin Guangyao (or indeed Wen Ruohan) might have had about her intelligence faded away at once.

It was that type of smile.

You could wreck nations with that type of smile. Jin Guangyao couldn’t help but wonder: how had a woman this extraordinary ended up in a brothel, of all places? How had no one snatched her up to keep her all for himself before now?

“My sons and I –” she gestured at the two behind her, “– would be more than happy to provide you with all the entertainment you could possibly want.”

Her smile widened.

“We’ve been hoping for an opportunity like this for a long time.”

[stiltonbasket]

How many types of food have the babies been now? We started with A-Yuan as a radish, then there were dumplings, (Was there a potato thrown in somewhere?), The carious sweets and pastries, then the baby baguette in the bread basket, then the baos, now the cabbage wraps... If you tell me the next set of babies are zongzi, I don't think I'd be surprised. Laundry Basket Anon will swap out her laundry basket for a steamer basket and we can feast on the cuties!

We've already had a few posts about the tiger baos as zongzi wrapped in taro leaves! All the babies (tiger and human) are getting gentle nibbles from their parents.

[shirozen]

How to wrap sticky rice dumpling (zongzi) for Dragon Boat Festival 

[jewelry-making]

How to Celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival: History, Culture and Customs

The Dragon Boat Festival (Duan Wu Jie) is a traditional Chinese festival that has been celebrated for over 2,000 years. It is held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, which usually falls in June on the Gregorian calendar. The festival has a rich history and culture that is celebrated in different ways across China and other parts of the world. The most popular theory of the origin of the festival is that it was derived from the commemoration of a great patriot poet, Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan was a minister in the state of Chu during the Warring States period (475-221 BC). He was exiled by the king for opposing alliances with other states and committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River. The local people who admired him raced out in boats to save him or retrieve his body. They beat drums and splashed their paddles in the water to scare away fish and evil spirits. This is said to be the origin of dragon boat racing.

The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated in different ways across China. In southern China, especially in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau, people eat zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) wrapped in bamboo leaves. The fillings can vary from sweet to savory and include pork belly, salted egg yolk, mushrooms, chestnuts, and red bean paste. In northern China, people eat wheat dumplings called jiaozi instead. Dragon boat racing is another popular activity during the festival. It involves teams of paddlers racing dragon-shaped boats to the beat of drums. The races are held on rivers or lakes and are accompanied by loud cheers and applause from spectators.

The Dragon Boat Festival has become an important cultural event around the world. It is celebrated in many countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and the United States. In addition to dragon boat racing and eating zongzi, other activities include making sachets filled with herbs to ward off evil spirits and hanging calamus and wormwood leaves on doors to repel insects. I hope this information helps you understand more about this wonderful festival! Let me know if you have any other questions or if there’s anything else I can help you with. This is another blog post I wrote in French. If you are interested, please click to read https://teaware.over-blog.com/