HLM -Chapter 1379 Two Kinds of Ice and Fire

It was hard to tell whether it was the warmth of the lake water or the ferocity of the water buffalo that did the trick, but Little Wang seemed to sober up.

With his tail tucked between his legs, he swam obediently in the lake—first slowly easing out of the encirclement of buffalo, then suddenly accelerating, slicing through the water and quickly reaching the shore before scrambling up onto land.

Only then did Wang Bo arrive on horseback. Zhuang Ding and the Queen roared at Little Wang in displeasure, while Little Wang drooped his head like a child who’d done something wrong, not daring to make a sound.

Wang Bo jumped off the horse and strode over angrily. Little Wang timidly lifted his head to glance at him, then hurriedly shuffled back two steps.

Seeing those clear, gentle eyes of this overgrown cub, the anger boiling in Wang Bo’s heart instantly dissipated by more than half.

The hand he’d raised forcefully came down lightly instead, giving Little Wang a pat on the head.
“So you’re behaving now?”

Little Wang was very sensitive and immediately sensed the change in his mood. He hurried over, rubbing his head against Wang Bo’s chest.

Wang Bo pushed him away irritably. “Now you know you were wrong? Too late! Sit here properly—don’t go anywhere. You’re being punished with meditation!”

Little Wang sat there, watching pitifully as they went off to find shade. He stood up and was just about to follow when Wang Bo turned back and shot him a sharp look.

Seeing that, he dejectedly flopped back down, opened his mouth, and started tearing at the grass with his sharp teeth.

A possum darted out in fright. Little Wang couldn’t be bothered to deal with it—he lazily flicked a paw and remained thoroughly sullen.

When Wang Bo felt that Little Wang’s fur had finally dried in the sun, he beckoned to him.

Little Wang instantly perked up again, swaying his tiger tail as he happily ran over to roughhouse with him.

After coming down from the mountain, Eva brought back a lot of cherries—big, plump fruits with a deep red sheen, their glossy skins looking irresistibly tempting.

The baby could now barely sit up. While her parents weren’t paying attention, she stretched out her little hand, grabbed a cherry, and stuffed it straight into her mouth.

Princess noticed this, leapt over, pinned the baby down on the bed, snatched the fruit away, and then happily ate it herself, clutching it in her paws.

The baby struggled to prop herself up with her arms and reached out to hit Princess, but couldn’t reach her.

Seeing this, Wang Bo said, “We need to train these fur kids a bit. It’s not good for them to roughhouse and snatch things from the baby like this.”

Eva waved her hand. “It’s fine. I taught Princess to do that on purpose. Our daughter is too young—she puts anything she grabs into her mouth. Princess is responsible for watching her. As soon as the baby grabs something, she snatches it away.”

Wang Bo nodded in sudden realization. “I see. But there are too many cherries—we can’t finish them all. Want to share some with the neighbors?”

Eva said, “You can give them some, but leave most for me. I’m going to make honey-preserved cherries. Otherwise, why would I pick so many?”

Wang Bo asked with interest, “Honey cherries? How do you make those? Just soak the cherries in honey?”

Eva laughed. “You’re oversimplifying it—it’s actually a bit of a hassle. Tomorrow’s the weekend, let’s make them together. For now, put them in the fridge to store.”

On the weekend, Dale got up early, slung her small backpack over her shoulders, and went off to continue her enterprise. Their youth car-wash company opened every few days, and the income was pretty decent.

Dale and Anliya worked as sales reps. With two cute little girls going out to drum up business, things always became much easier. Sometimes, when customers were scarce, the auto repair shop would even refer clients to them.

Little Wang trotted along behind them. Before leaving, he spotted a bottle of beer on the table and cast a lingering look at it.

Wang Bo immediately pulled a stern face. “Looking for a beating?”

Little Wang instantly sped up and ran.

Alcohol can embolden cowards—and apparently cowardly beasts too. Clearly, Little Wang greatly enjoyed that fearless feeling of being drunk, and after that incident, he developed a sudden interest in beer.

Zhuang Ding lay in the shade, yawning. Dale shouted, “Zhuang Ding, hurry up—we’re going to make money!”

Zhuang Ding reluctantly got up, looking thoroughly displeased.

Eva said, “Dale, next time don’t just make Zhuang Ding work. When you earn money, you should buy him something tasty.”

Dale replied, “We donate all our money to the Salvation Army—there’s no money to buy him food. Come on, Zhuang Ding, we’re doing charity!”

Wang Bo leaned on the window and laughed. “Well done, Dale. Brother-in-law supports you!”

Eva dragged him back. “Alright, let the Queen watch the baby. You and I will make something delicious.”

Leaning against the table, Wang Bo said, “Feels like it’s been a long time since the two of us made some ‘love-filled food’ together. What are we making?”

“You pit the cherries first,” Eva said. “I’ll prepare the ingredients.”

Wang Bo shrugged, brought out the cherries, sliced them in half with a small knife, and flicked out the pits with a quick twist.

He worked away diligently, then turned his head—and saw the Commissar and the General busily eating, with only a few pitted cherries left on the plate beside them.

“Ah! Get back to work!” the General squawked indignantly.

Wang Bo grabbed him in one go and snarled, “I might as well slaughter the two of you!”

“Ah! Not tasty! Ah! Good General!” the General hurriedly flapped his wings and cried out.

Eva poked her head out from the baking room. “Stop fooling around—hurry up and work.”

Wang Bo felt utterly aggrieved. “I am working! It’s just that these two little bastards ate everything!”

Eva came out carrying a big bowl of honey mixed evenly with spirit spring water. “Later, throw the cherries into this. They won’t dare touch what’s in the bowl.”

The General said weakly, “Ah… we dare.”

“Then I’ll pluck your feathers and stew you,” Eva replied.

The General and the Commissar immediately flapped their wings and fled.

Without the two thieving birds causing trouble, Wang Bo still wasn’t idle. Princess spotted the cherries and happily ran over, reaching out with her paw to grab and eat them directly.

Wang Bo had no choice but to toss her outside and warn her not to touch anything. This tormented Princess terribly—she stared at the cherries, drooling nonstop.

Eva mixed butter, caramel powder, and flour into a dough, then added egg whites. After mixing well, she kneaded it into a ball by hand.

Once Wang Bo had finished preparing the cherries, she placed plastic wrap above and below the dough and rolled it into thin sheets. She then evenly brushed a small amount of butter over the surface, folded it like a blanket, and rolled it out again.

She repeated this process—brushing butter, folding, rolling into thin sheets—several times. Then she stopped, took out tart molds, and cut the dough into small round bases.

When Eva made pastries, she was exceptionally skillful, quickly producing many layers of buttery pastry.

Wang Bo asked, “What’s next?”

“Bake them in the oven,” Eva said with a gentle smile. “Freeze these cherries in the fridge. Once the pastry is baked, put one cherry into each piece—ice and fire merging together. It’s amazing!”

Wang Bo said, “An extreme contrast of ice and fire?”

Eva grinned. “Want to try it?”

Wang Bo looked outside to make sure no one was around, then poured a cup of hot water and grabbed some ice cubes. “While the baby’s asleep, let’s hurry up and try it.”