The next day, the weather was nice. Gu Mingyue packed her things and, carrying the mung bean cakes she had made, knocked on Xia Qinghe's door.

Who is it?

A child's innocent voice rang out at the door; it was Yangyang.

Gu Mingyue smiled gently and lowered her voice, saying in a high-pitched tone, "Yangyang, it's me, Aunt Gu."

"Auntie!"

Yangyang peeked through the crack in the door, and after confirming it was his aunt, he opened the door with a smile on his face.

"Auntie!"

"Hey!"

Gu Mingyue: "Why is the door closed when you're home?"

“Mingyue is here? I was just teaching him something. This little guy is young but timid. I’m afraid someone will trick him with a piece of candy.”

“They need to be taught. Children are innocent, and we adults have to keep an eye on them.”

Xia Qinghe smiled and nodded. She agreed. Although there were guards in the family compound and people were required to register people entering and leaving, there were bound to be people with ill intentions.

It wasn't that she thought too badly of people, but rather that many of the bad things were done by people she knew best.

She also remembered a friend from her hometown who was kidnapped, and later found out it was her own uncle who did it. It's really impossible to guard against.

If this is the case with family members, shouldn't we be even more wary of strangers? In short, being cautious is always a good idea.

Xia Qinghe had to be careful, as her son would follow anyone even with just a piece of candy.

"These are mung bean cakes I made. I took some for you to try."

"Mung bean cake?"

Yangyang's eyes lit up, and he bit his finger with a look of longing.

"Greedy Cat, thank you, Mingyue. My son's eyes light up whenever he sees food."

Gu Mingyue really liked Yangyang, especially his chubby cheeks, which made people want to pinch them.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, she stretched out her wicked fingers and gently pinched it twice; the feel was indeed very good!

Yangyang looked puzzled. Why did all the adults like to pinch his cheeks?

My mother is the same way.

"How was it? Feeling good, huh?"

Xia Qinghe laughed and joked from the side.

Gu Mingyue coughed lightly and withdrew her finger, looking embarrassed. "It's very soft."

"Since you love children so much, why don't you and Comrade Lu have a couple more while you're still young? That way, the two children will have a companion."

Xia Qinghe is an only child and has never experienced the feeling of having a large family of brothers and sisters.

Since Yangyang was born, we have been hoping to have a younger sister to complete the family, but unfortunately there has been no news for the past few years.

Gu Mingyue's ears burned, but she smiled and remained silent.

Xia Qinghe was just mentioning it casually; it was a family matter. She had only said a few words in the heat of the moment, and the final decision would depend on the parties involved.

Let's get back to the main topic.

"I have a lot of flowers at home. Take a look and see which ones you like, and take a few pots home to grow."

Xia Qinghe's mother loved growing flowers and trees, and Xia Qinghe developed a love for it as well.

Unfortunately, the harvest was bad a few years ago. Forget about growing flowers, you couldn't even have anything that bloomed at home. If you did, it was considered bourgeois and you'd get yelled at.

Xia's mother tore up the small garden in her house and replaced it with a simple vegetable garden.

This is nothing unusual; everyone has different pursuits. However, in this era, sometimes we have to make unavoidable choices.

Xia Qinghe felt a deep sadness as she watched the flowers her mother had planted being uprooted.

She lived like that for several years after marrying He Binglin, but things improved after they came to the island.

Putting everything else aside, once the front door is closed, no one cares if you grow flowers and plants at home.

Xia Qinghe was afraid that someone with ulterior motives would seize on her husband's weakness and cause him trouble.

The flowers I grow at home are all common varieties, such as impatiens, hydrangeas, and bougainvillea.

Gu Mingyue thought of the bougainvillea on her balcony. Could it be a gift from her?

Xia Qinghe smiled and said, "No, but it's pretty much the same."

It turns out that He Binglin and Lu Lin mentioned bougainvillea casually during a conversation.

When Lu Lin heard that the flower was very beautiful, he thought that his wife would like it too, so he asked her for a piece.

"These flowers are easy to grow and look beautiful. Looking at them every day makes me feel better."

Yangyang, holding the mung bean cake, nodded in agreement, "It's ready too!"

Xia Qinghe wiped the crumbs from the corner of his mouth, tapped the tip of his nose, and said, "You sound like a parrot."

"Mommy, what is a parrot?"

Seeing that her son's talkative nature was about to be exposed, Xia Qinghe quickly said, "Your mung bean cake is about to fall."

Yangyang quickly caught it with one hand, successfully diverting his attention.

Xia Qinghe: "Let's go see the flowers."

Otherwise, if Yangyang remembers and keeps pressing her for answers, Xia Qinghe simply won't be able to handle it.

It's a sweet burden.

Xia Qinghe's flowers are mostly planted in the ground, which makes them easier to care for and allows the bouquets to grow better.

The last time she came was at night, and under the cover of darkness, Gu Mingyue could only smell the fragrance of flowers. Today, she finally saw them.

Hydrangeas in full bloom are vibrant and colorful, bougainvillea in the corner stretches its branches, and impatiens bloom in clusters, creating a scene full of vitality.

"You can dig up this four o'clock flower and plant it outside the outhouse to keep snakes away."

Gu Mingyue stood on tiptoe to take a look and realized that this was the landmine flower she often saw when she was a child.

Its scientific name is actually Mirabilis jalapa, which sounds quite nice.

"Okay, thank you, sister-in-law."

"Don't be so polite. These flowers aren't very expensive. We just grow them for fun."

Xia Qinghe sighed as she looked at the potted plant in front of her. "The most beautiful one is this orchid, but unfortunately, I don't know why it hasn't bloomed for several years, and it even wilted a while ago."

This was an orchid she brought from home and cultivated through branching. She had put a lot of effort into it, but unexpectedly, it just wouldn't work.

Gu Mingyue's eyes flickered slightly. "Sister-in-law, I've seen this kind of flower at home before, and I've grown it a few times. How about I bring it back for you to see?"

Xia Qinghe remembered her husband mentioning Gu Mingyue's family background, and figured that as a young lady from a prominent family, Gu Mingyue might be studying some courses. With a try-it-out mentality, she agreed.

"Okay, anyway, this flower doesn't look like it can hold up very well. If it doesn't work out, then forget it. Don't put any pressure on yourself."

Xia Qinghe wasn't confident she could save the orchid; perhaps someone else would have had a different effect.

Hearing these words, Gu Mingyue felt much more at ease.

As it was almost lunchtime, Gu Mingyue said goodbye and declined Xia Qinghe's offer to stay.

"There are still leftover vegetables at home, they'll spoil if we don't eat them soon."

That's true. Lu Lin is gone, and she can't finish all the leftover food at home by herself.

It's hot now, so we can't do too much. Lu Lin left in a hurry yesterday, and we didn't finish cleaning up the leftovers at home. Luckily, we have chickens and geese at home, so we didn't waste any food.

The first thing Gu Mingyue did when she got home was to replant the orchids.

Xia Qinghe said that summers on the island are often windy and rainy, so keeping the plants in pots and moving them indoors is much easier.

Gu Mingyue followed her advice and replaced the soil to keep the plant in the flowerpot.

Peel off the outer, dried, and moldy leaves, and soak the leaves in the spring water for an hour.

The orchid looked like it could still be saved; there were small buds at the bottom, and Gu Mingyue thought it might be okay.