Plant a watermelon seed around the Qingming Festival.
Harvest it in the height of summer,
And store it until the First Frost of late autumn.
Then, cut the watermelon into small slices.
Next, prepare a clean, dry, unglazed earthenware jar.
Layer the watermelon and Mangxiao in the jar, one after the other, and seal it with a lid.
Move the jar to a cool, ventilated place.
After letting it sit for a few days, snow-white crystals will precipitate on the jar's surface, resembling the first snow on green tiles.
Place a sheet of paper beneath the jar and gently brush the crystals from the surface onto it.
This is the treasured gem of traditional Chinese medicine, passed down for a thousand years—Watermelon Frost.
Watermelons were introduced to Central Earth during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and the Song people discovered that a marvelous transformation occurred when they were combined with Mangxiao.
