The fire was getting too hot, so Chen Hong added firewood to the bottom of the stove and used a fire shovel to press a thick layer of charcoal ash on top of the firewood to control the fire.

Add a ladle of water to the pot to adjust the temperature, wash the pot, and when the temperature feels right, stir-fry about fifteen catties of fresh leaves. Repeat the stir-frying method again and again. Chen Hong continued to stir-fry until four o'clock in the morning, and finally all the tea leaves were stir-fried.

Chen Hong's hands ached, and she felt like her arms weren't even her own anymore. She couldn't remember exactly how many batches she had cooked, but she could see three large winnowing baskets drying in the kitchen, and three more winnowing baskets stored away in the living space. This was the result of a night's hard work.

After letting it air out in the kitchen to cool and remove moisture, Chen Hong cooked rice and mung bean porridge in a rice cooker, then went back to her room to take a shower and go to bed.

Chen Hong got up at six o'clock sharp. There was a gentle breeze this morning, and the weather was very cool.

Before the child woke up, Chen Hong got up first and moved the grapes out of her spatial dimension and put them in the storage room.

They went up to the roof and brought out bamboo sieves to dry the mushrooms. They set aside seven or eight pounds of oyster mushrooms to give away, and dried the rest on the roof. In the end, the bamboo sieves were completely full, and the wood ear mushrooms could only be scattered on the cement roof.

After washing up, feeding the chickens and ducks, making breakfast, and washing the clothes I changed out of in the early morning, I called my son to get up and eat.

The little guy, still half asleep, washed his face and brushed his teeth before sitting down at the table: "Mommy, didn't you sleep last night? I couldn't find you in the middle of the night."

My son needs to sleep in his own bed. Once we tidy up the room where his father used to live, we'll get him a new crib and move him there. This kid, when he sleeps in the same bed as me, always turns over in the middle of the night, constantly checking if his mother is there. This is a habit he developed from being afraid of not being home at night when I'm out fishing.

“Mom is asleep, but she went to bed a little late. The mushrooms she picked on the mountain yesterday need to be sorted, and the tea leaves need to be roasted overnight, otherwise they will spoil after Mom’s hard work carrying them back from the mountain,” Chen Hong explained to her son.

"Then you should have asked me to help. I know how to pick mushrooms," the son said, somewhat displeased.

"Kids shouldn't stay up late, or they won't grow tall. You can help Mom with chores today. I didn't finish them last night, so I saved them for you to help me!"

"Really? What kind of work? I'm sure I can do it well." The son was delighted.

"After you finish eating, go to Grandpa's house and tell him that Mom isn't going out today, so you can help Mom with the chores. Also, bring some mushrooms for your grandpa; I cleaned them last night so he can stir-fry them."

"Okay, Mom, I promise I'll finish the task." Yu Yang was especially happy to hear his mother assign him a chore. After finishing his meal, he happily went to the old house to deliver the oyster mushrooms.

Chen Hong packed all the grapes into a large plastic box and placed it under the jujube tree in the yard. She brought two small stools from the house and placed them next to the plastic box. She also prepared a clean large plastic basin, intending to let Yang pick the grapes when he returned. She thought her son could do this job well.

While her son was away, Chen Hong took a broom and swept the cement floor clean on the roof, then scattered daylilies on the roof to dry.

I moved two large water vats out of the storage room, washed them clean in the yard, scalded them with boiling water, and then left them to dry in the yard. I went into the kitchen, collected all the tea leaves from the bamboo sieve into large sealed bags, cleaned the kitchen, and then moved the tea leaves out of the storage space to dry.

After finishing their work, they sat under the tree to rest while picking grapes. Wearing disposable rubber gloves, they carefully picked the plump, pest-free grapes one by one and put them into a large plastic bucket. The remaining stems, rotten, worm-infested, and underdeveloped grapes were thrown into the trash can.

After picking for a while, Yu Yang came back skipping and jumping. Seeing his mother working, he walked over and sat down next to her. "Mom, let me help you pick them."

"I'm just waiting for my son to help me, but you need to wash your hands before putting on gloves."

Yu Yang washed his hands and put on gloves. "Mom, the gloves are a bit big."

"You'll have to make do with this. We don't have any kids' sizes available. Take your time finding the right size. There's no rush. Why don't you try it? These are wild grapes that Mom picked from the mountain."

Chen Hong peeled a large, purple grape and put it in her son's mouth. "Mom, it's so sweet! Shall we make grape juice? Shouldn't we wash it?" Yu Yang asked curiously.

"The grapes we use to make wine grow deep in the mountains. They're pesticide-free and completely clean. Washing them would expose them to tap water and ruin the white bloom. All we need to do is clean and disinfect the winemaking tools."

Yu Yang sat upright on a small stool, earnestly picking grapes. Chen Hong looked at his serious little face and smiled gently. The mother and son could live a peaceful life.

After a busy morning, the mother and son finally picked 300 jin of grapes. Chen Hong then told her son to go out and play with his friends for a while.

It's really tough on the child to sit for three hours. If she were a child, she wouldn't be able to sit still for even an hour. I packed three or four pounds of wild grapes for my son in a plastic bag and sent him off to play in the mountains.