When Xu Lai went to the market to buy groceries, she picked up the package Xia Ning had mentioned at the courier station. When she got home and opened it, she found that the gardenias already had buds, and there was another package containing tulips.

She carefully read the instructions. It could be grown hydroponically or in soil. Xu Lai found a jar, put a few seeds in it for hydroponics as required, and took two old bowls, dug up a few spoonfuls of soil from the vegetable garden, and buried the other seeds in them.

To prevent her chickens, ducks, and geese from stealing her flowers, she specifically moved them to the balcony outside her room on the second floor.

Xu Lai gets angry whenever geese are mentioned. Sometimes when she goes to feed the chickens, those two geese chase after her and peck at her incessantly. If she hadn't kicked them away, she would definitely have a mark on her leg.

Xu Lai was thinking about the bamboo grove she had seen last time. If she didn't go pick bamboo shoots soon, she would get too old. She put on her basket and called to her grandmother, "Grandma, do you want to go pick bamboo shoots?"

Grandma was feeding the chickens when she heard this and said, "I'm afraid there aren't any left now. They've all been picked clean by the villagers."

Xu Lai said mysteriously, "I've discovered a large area."

The grandfather and grandson carried water up the mountain. Xu Lai knew the way and soon arrived at the same place.

No one has picked them yet. The bamboo shoots I saw a couple of days ago have grown even stronger. Xu Lai gestured for her grandmother to take a video of her with her phone while she pulled up the bamboo shoots.

Finally, when the basket was full, Xu Lai felt satisfied. She stood up, supporting herself on the ground. Her grandmother wanted to take the basket from her, but Xu Lai said, "It's okay, I'll do it. It's not very heavy."

Back home, Xu Lai and her grandmother peeled the bamboo shoots. She had learned a quick way to peel bamboo shoots: wrap your fingertips around the tip of the shoot a few times and peel off the skin. The surrounding shell would then come off easily.

The bamboo shoot leaves were also quite sharp, but because of her fair and delicate skin, Xu Lai didn't even notice that her fingers had been cut in several places.

Xu Lai left some bamboo shoots, peeled off the outer shell but kept the inner skin, blanched them with salt, and explained: "Change to clean water and add star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, scallions, ginger, garlic, and other seasonings. I will show them on the screen. Then simmer over low heat for an hour. The bamboo shoots are ready by hand. They taste even better after cooling overnight."

She only felt the stinging pain when she took a shower that night. Looking down, she saw several small cuts on her hand that had already scabbed over.

With Qingming Festival approaching, she noticed that the streets were full of items for ancestor worship. Xu Lai had only been able to worship her ancestors once during her student days, and hadn't had time to do so since she started working.

She bought some gold ingots and fake flowers. Finally, she saw some ghost money and took two stacks of it. Since they burn paper money in their hometown, Xu Lai asked the shopkeeper to give her a big bag of it.

When Grandma saw these when she got home, she said, "I was just saying I'd go buy them sometime, and you actually did."

Xu Lai washed the fruit and said, "I saw it for sale and guessed that it would be used for the ancestral worship this year, so I bought it."

Grandma rummaged through the ancestral offerings, took out a gold ingot, and said, "Why are you spending this money? This gold ingot is just for decoration. It's enough that our hearts are there. Our ancestors won't blame us."

Xu Lai picked up a strawberry and ate it. She shivered from the sourness and covered her mouth, saying, "It's okay, Grandma. I haven't worshipped my ancestors for so many years. It's fine to buy some expensive offerings."

She handed the strawberries to her grandmother: "Eat strawberries."

Grandma muttered again, "Oh dear, this must be that expensive."

Xu Lai comforted her, "It's not expensive. Strawberries are almost out of season now, so they're very cheap. When Xiao Yan comes back, we'll go to the nearby mulberry orchard to pick mulberries."

When Zhao Qingyun got off work, he went to the courier station and saw several boxes. He fell silent, walked over, and put them in his car. When he got home, he opened the packages, and his expression turned even worse.

He called his mother: "Mom, could you please stop sending so much fruit? Can Grandma and I finish all of it?"

Jiang Yingqiu, with a face mask on, said upon hearing this, "Why don't you share some with your neighbors? There are so many people in the village; if everyone shares a little, it will be gone in no time."

Zhao Qingyun pinched the bridge of his nose, hung up the phone, and asked, "What about four large durians, five boxes of mangosteens, and ten boxes of strawberries?"

Grandma Jiang looked at the fruit without saying a word; she was thinking about how to get Zhao Qingyun to deliver it to the neighbor's house.

Zhao Qingyun pulled out a mask, squatted down, took out the durian, put it in a bag, and then took two boxes of mangosteens and five boxes of strawberries. She carried them to the next room.

Grandma Jiang smiled with satisfaction, thinking, "This child is teachable."

Zhao Qingyun didn't knock; he just walked in. Xu Lai and the others were eating when they saw him carrying a large pile of things. They asked, somewhat puzzled, "What are you doing?"

Zhao Qingyun put his things down and moved away from the durian. He breathed a sigh of relief, took off his mask, greeted his grandparents, and then said, "My mom sent a lot of fruit. I brought some over for you."

Xu Lai asked in surprise, "You call this a little bit?"

Zhao Qingyun touched his nose, coughed lightly to ease the awkwardness, and said, "There's still half left at home. I don't eat durian, and the old lady can't eat too much either, so it's a waste to leave it there."

He left without lingering, then brought over another durian. Xu Lai called out to him, "One is enough, we really can't finish it."

Zhao Qingyun pretended not to hear and said, "Then I'll go back and eat first."

Looking at the remaining fruit at home, he sent some more to the village chief's house.

In the end, there was just enough fruit left for the old lady to eat. Seeing his expression, Grandma Jiang instructed, "Qingyun, help Grandma open the durian. Grandma wants to eat some."

Zhao Qingyun put on gloves and a mask, then opened the durian and placed it on a plate.

To be fair, Ms. Yingqiu has a good eye for buying fruit; each segment of the durian was very plump.

After opening the durian, he was overwhelmed by its rich aroma and went outside to eat.

Grandma Jiang scooped out a spoonful of durian flesh and said, "You really don't know how to enjoy life. You don't even eat something so delicious."

Zhao Qingyun wasn't against eating it; he simply thought it smelled too bad and couldn't stand the smell.

He returned to his room, washed up, and went to the balcony for some fresh air. Suddenly, he smelled a faint floral fragrance. He turned his head and saw a pot of gardenias and a row of bowls on the balcony next door.

Zhao Qingyun stared at it for a long time but couldn't figure out what was in the bowl. Just as he was about to scoop it up to take a look, Xu Lai came out of the room carrying a watering can.

When Xu Lai saw Zhao Qingyun, she remembered the two durians. She looked troubled and said, "Take those two durians back with you. We really can't finish them. Grandpa and Grandma can't eat much of them, and I'm not very interested in them either."

Zhao Qingyun had gone to great lengths to send two away, so there was no reason for him to take them back. He said confidently, "It's alright, I believe you'll find a solution."

Xu Lai's inner thoughts: What can I possibly do?

Some say:

Zhao Qingyun: Luckily, I wasn't discovered that I wanted to peek at her flowers.