The wheat season has just passed, and the air is filled with light wheat husks flying everywhere.

The bundled wheat stacks were spread out on the open ground. Shirtless men were beating the wheat stacks with wooden sticks under the scorching sun. A woman squatting nearby was unable to bear the sun, so she hid in the shade of a tree and rubbed the wheat grains that had not yet completely fallen out of the husks with her hands.

The Yang family's farce was known to everyone, and the women's ordinary conversations became jokes.

The women who didn't join in the fun always stopped others and asked again and again, and they never got tired of listening. When they heard the unbearable sounds coming from the door, even the thick-skinned people couldn't help but blush.

They gathered together and laughed and made a lot of noise, which made the tired man unhappy. He scolded them and told them to go home and get some water to drink before he dispersed the people who had gathered together.

The Zhao family couldn't join in the fun, so they closed the yard door and went about their own business.

It's hot now, and clothes have to be washed once a day. Zhao Fangchu had just hung the clothes on the rack to dry, and then he picked a cucumber from the vegetable garden and bit it, and it made a crunching sound.

The windows of the east room were always open to dissipate heat. He peeked in from outside and asked, "Brother Dong, what would you like to eat at noon? It's too hot. I have some warm mung bean soup from this morning. Would you like me to serve you a bowl?"

Yang Donghu's feet still hurt after standing for a long time, so Zhao Luochuan asked him to stay in the house and not walk around too much or overwork.

These days, we are lucky to have Yang Chunxiao around to help with cooking and cleaning the house. Otherwise, without Yang Donghu who can cook, the rest of us would have to make do with whatever meals we have.

Nowadays, in order to cool down in the summer heat, I always cook a big pot of mung bean soup in the morning. After it cools down, I pour some of it into a long bamboo tube, which I put in the well in Zhu Cuilan's yard and add cold water to it. I take it out at noon and drink it cool, which is the best way to quench your thirst.

Yang Donghu's cold body condition cannot be cured in a day or two, and Zhao Luochuan is strict. The mung bean soup taken from the well is too cold, so he is not allowed to drink it even in the hot summer. He is only allowed to drink the one kept at room temperature in the pot.

Except for Yang Donghu and the old lady, everyone else in the family could drink it. The old lady was too old to crave it, but Yang Donghu was different. He was sweating all over and it was not enough to drink only the water at room temperature. He had long set his eyes on the long bamboo tubes in the well water.

Except for Zhao Fangchu and Yang Chunxiao who were busy in the yard, no one knew where everyone else had gone. Taking advantage of the fact that Zhao Luochuan was not there, Yang Donghu actually wanted to go out directly.

"Brother Dong, what are you doing?"

Yang Donghu covered his mouth and whispered, "Shh, don't talk. It's so hot and I'm almost cooked. The food in the pot doesn't taste good. I want to drink the food in the well."

"Ah? But Dachuan said you're not feeling well and won't let you drink it. It's too cold here. What if you get sick?"

Yang Donghu waved his hand: "What kind of illness can I get in this hot weather? Don't tell Dachuan. I don't drink it directly. I put it in my mouth to warm it up before swallowing. No one will know unless you tell them."

Zhao Fangchu didn't even eat the cucumber. He frowned and said with a bitter face: "Is this okay?"

"Okay, just don't tell anyone else. The sour plums on the mountain behind the house are ripe. Dachuan said the other day that he would go pick them. I'll make you some sour plum water then." Yang Donghu said as he walked towards the door.

Zhao Fangchu pulled him back and pointed to a bench in the corridor, saying, "Brother Dong, wait a minute, don't go there. I'll get it for you. You can sit over there."

The summer melons that Aunt Zhang gave me in the yard grew into melons that weighed five or six pounds each. They made a popping sound when you slapped them with your hands. If they continued to grow and ripen, it would be bad, so I picked a few that were ready to eat and put them in the well water to cool.

Summer melon is also called cold melon, which is originally a cold thing. Needless to say, Yang Donghu cannot eat too much of the ones in the well water. Even the ones at room temperature have to be counted by Zhao Luochuan and cannot be eaten more than a little.

Yang Donghu knew that if he wanted to steal the summer melon while no one was around, Zhao Fangchu would probably not agree, so he suppressed his desire and didn't mention it. It would be nice to have some mung bean water to satisfy his craving.

Yang Chunxiao couldn't help laughing when she heard the conversation between the two. She laughed at Yang Donghu for being like a little child who had to steal food. However, she had seen it clearly during the few days she stayed at the Zhao family. Yang Donghu was much more comfortable at the Zhao family than at the Yang family.

Zhao Luochuan was not as scary as the rumors said. After spending a few days with her, he did not speak coldly to her, and he was even kind to other people.

The old lady was not very at ease when she first came to live here, fearing that she would be a burden to Yang Donghu. Zhao Luochuan knew her grandmother's concerns, so he told her about Yang Donghu's current business of selling peach blossom cakes.

At least this proves that Yang Donghu has the ability to make money and can support himself without relying on Zhao Luochuan. The old lady is very pleased.

After spending a few days together, how could she not see how Zhao Luochuan took good care of Yang Donghu? It was as if his hand was broken when he sprained his ankle. He wished he could feed all the food to his mouth. The old lady was very satisfied with Zhao Luochuan and naturally felt comfortable living in the Zhao family.

As for Zhu Cuilan's two children, they are both good and kind to everyone, especially Zhao Fangchu. He is a sweet-mouthed grandmother who chats with the old lady to relieve her boredom. He also helps the old lady walk slowly around the house to exercise her body and tells her interesting stories after he met Yang Donghu.

Yang Chunxiao can eat well and sleep peacefully at the Zhao family. She hasn't experienced such a relaxing life for a long time. Now she smiles more often than before.

"You'd better drink less. The well water is so cold that I don't dare put my hands in it. Drinking too much is not good for your health."

Life is going well for Yang Chunxiao. She no longer has the hostility and timidity she used to have. Sometimes she even speaks like a caring older sister.

Yang Donghu looked at the beads of sweat on her head and asked her to sit under the porch. He smiled at her and said playfully, "Shh, just this once. Don't tell anyone."

Yang Chunxiao smiled helplessly and shook his head. He couldn't control him and had to give up.

When Zhao Fangchu brought the mung bean soup back, Yang Donghu's eyes lit up as soon as he saw it. He threw all the words about putting it in his mouth to warm it up out of his mind and gulped down several big mouthfuls to satisfy his craving.

Zhao Fangchu groaned a few times and couldn't stop himself. When he took the empty bamboo tube from Yang Donghu's hand, he poured it twice and saw that there was not even a drop left. He couldn't help but complain: "Dong brother, you lied. You said you wouldn't drink so much."

Yang Donghu smiled a little embarrassedly: "I couldn't help it for a moment, it's okay, don't worry."

Zhao Fangchu was also quite frightened by the last drowning incident, and after hearing Zhu Cuilan nagging about Yang Donghu having a cold body all day long, Zhao Fangchu became unsure after listening to her for a long time, and secretly regretted giving him the whole bottle to drink.

"I won't dare give you any next time. What do you want to eat for lunch?"