After the New Year, the An Family completely shut their doors and started a path of study.
Now, An Yi and a few women sleep in the east room, and An Hu sleeps alone in the west room. This way, they can use one less heated bed, saving some firewood.
Because the snow kept falling intermittently without stopping, after it melted, the eaves were full of ice stalactites.
An Yi crushed the ice stalactites and mixed them with fruits, milk, red beans, and sugar, using molds to shape them into the look of ice cakes. She placed them outside to freeze solid before bringing them back in, turning them into natural ice cakes. Don't get me wrong, they tasted pretty good, but you can't eat too many; enjoying them once in a while is refreshing, but having them every day would be a bit silly.
Of course, you don't necessarily have to use ice stalactites; you can also use water directly. She used ice stalactites because she felt they carried special significance from this era.
