After dinner, Xu Lai felt a little tired, so Zhao Qingyun drove back to the company. Xu Lai got into Xu Shen's car and prepared to go home.
The next morning, after she got up and went to the market to buy groceries, the sun wasn't too strong yet, so Xu Lai carried a hoe and went to the fields.
Today, she was going to remove all the watermelon vines and turn over the soil. While pulling the vines, she found several small watermelons. She guessed they were small fruits that had been hanging on the vines when she picked watermelons before, and they had grown up over time.
She noticed that some of the watermelons looked unripe, but she didn't plan to keep them. She simply picked them and put them aside, intending to feed them to the chickens and ducks if they weren't ripe.
After turning over the watermelon patch, she was covered in sweat and felt very sticky.
Xu Lai went back and got a basket, packed all the watermelons in, took them back to wash them, and put them in the freezer.
She wanted something cold to cool down, but when she opened the freezer, there wasn't a single popsicle in sight. Xu Lai then realized that she hadn't been to the cold storage all summer, so how could she buy popsicles and ice cream?
She happened to have some mung beans at home, so she planned to make mung bean paste herself and then freeze it.
She found the mung beans, which her grandmother had put in a Sprite bottle. In the past, her grandparents would keep any beverage bottles they had at home, wash them clean, and use them to store alcohol or other things.
The container was full before she went back to her hometown, but after she returned, only a third of it remained.
Xu Lai took a basin, poured some sand in, washed it twice, soaked it for half an hour, and then put it in the freezer for two hours. This would make it easier to get rid of the sand.
Around noon, she took out the mung beans, put them in a clay pot, boiled them for five minutes, and then added a few drops of lemon juice. Since she didn't have any lemons at home, she picked a small tangerine instead.
Cover the pot the whole time and simmer for half an hour. Turn off the heat, add rock sugar, and then it's ready to drink.
Xu Lai first put it aside and covered it with something to let it cool before freezing it.
She went to the market today and bought a sea bass. She made steamed sea bass for her grandparents, stir-fried dried tofu with pork, and made a loofah soup. That was it.
The sample that the brand sent her a couple of days ago arrived. It's an air conditioner for the kitchen, and she's going to have it installed today. Before, when she was cooking, she would just hold a fan to blow on herself, otherwise she would be sweating buckets.
After finishing cooking, Grandma looked at the large object in the corner of the kitchen and asked, "Xiao Lai, what is this?"
As Xu Lai served the food, she said, "The brand sent us a kitchen air conditioner. It won't be so hot here when you're using a wood-fired stove."
She brought the dishes to the table and took out the mulberry wine she had brewed earlier. There wasn't much left, so Xu Lai poured it all out, drinking one glass herself and giving the other to her grandfather.
My grandmother used to drink alcohol when she was young, but now that she's older, she's had some health problems, so she doesn't drink anymore.
She clinked glasses with her grandfather, who glanced at the wine and said, "I'll buy some baijiu another day and pour it in again; we can brew it once more."
Xu Lai shook the bottle. "Okay."
After finishing her meal, she took out the ice cream molds that came with the refrigerator, washed them several times with hot water, dried them, poured in the mung bean paste, and inserted the sticks.
Before taking her afternoon nap, she planned to contact the appliance installer in town. Her grandparents had previously taken their TV to him for repairs and still had his number.
Grandpa and Grandma didn't use a notebook to write; instead, they used the leftover charcoal from burning firewood to write numbers on the kitchen wall, with a note saying "Master Li."
Xu Lai glanced at it and saw rice milling masters, coal masters, and lime masters.
She made a phone call and arranged for the installer to come at four o'clock in the afternoon. The installer readily agreed.
Xu Lai went back to her room to sleep. When she woke up, her master had already arrived and was installing the air conditioner in the kitchen.
His grandparents watched from the side, occasionally handing him something.
As Mr. Li installed the equipment, he said, "Your house is really luxurious. Some people don't even have air conditioning in their bedrooms, but you have one in your kitchen."
Grandma said with a smile, "These are all videos my granddaughter filmed, which were sent to her by others for testing. It didn't cost her any money."
Mr. Li took the pipe and, upon hearing this, was somewhat skeptical: "Making money by filming videos? Maybe she bought it herself and didn't want you two to feel like you'd wasted money, so she said that."
Grandma continued, "Then I won't interfere with her. She earned the money herself, so she can spend it however she wants. I'll enjoy some of the good life with her too."
Master Li smiled and said, "Yes, if the younger generation is nice to you, you should accept it."
Xu Lai went down to check on the situation and found that it was almost finished. Master Li turned it on with the remote control and said, "It's installed."
Xu Lai took out her phone and asked, "How much? I'll scan your code."
Mr. Li pulled up the payment code and said, "Travel expenses 30, installation fee 30, total 60."
Xu Lai was surprised. When did they start charging a toll? And it was 30 yuan! It only takes ten minutes to get from their home to the town, or five or six minutes if they're fast.
But she didn't say anything, paid the money, and took a bottle of Red Bull out of the refrigerator, saying, "Sir, it's hot, take this and drink it."
This Red Bull was from a case she had bought before, which she gave to the workers guarding the peach orchard. There were still a few bottles left, so she kept them in the refrigerator.
When she was cooking dinner, she turned on the air conditioner. Her grandfather said, "Since you've already turned on the air conditioner, let's eat dinner here and not waste electricity."
Xu Lai also thought it was okay. The kitchen had a range hood, which she installed when she went home for the Chinese New Year, so she wasn't worried about the fumes.
Grandpa moved a small table and three stools, poured himself a glass of wine, and sipped it slowly while eating the stir-fried pork with dried tofu he had for lunch.
Xu Lai finished her meal and lay down on the recliner to cool off. Xiao Hei and Lai Fu came back from outside. They were getting bigger and bigger and were always going out to fight with the other dogs.
Both dogs are male, and she didn't get them spayed or neutered. She hasn't heard of any other dogs having puppies yet.
She squinted at the doorway. It seemed like Xiao Hei had something in its mouth, and it was moving. She couldn't see it clearly, so she leaned closer to take a look.
When Xiao Hei saw her, it ran over and spat something on the ground. Xu Lai looked closely and saw that it was a small snake about the size of a thumb. She was startled and quickly jumped away.
The snake tried to crawl away, but Xiao Hei nudged it with its paw and flipped it over.
Xu Lai was utterly disgusted. She quickly called her grandfather over, who took one look and saw that it was a non-venomous little snake. He then took some fire tongs and threw it into the bushes across the road.
Xu Lai was furious. She grabbed a stick and chased Xiao Hei all over the yard. "Xiao Hei, you're not allowed to bring back any random things from now on, or you're fired. I'll kick you out."
As Zhao Qingyun closed the car door, he heard Xu Lai scolding the dog. He leaned against the door and asked, "What did Xiao Hei do wrong?"
As soon as Xiao Hei saw Zhao Qingyun, it ran up and rubbed its paws against his trouser leg.
He crouched down and stroked its head. Xu Lai's expression was complicated. "Zhao Qingyun, it was carrying a snake in its mouth just now."
Zhao Qingyun quickly stood up, not forgetting to pat the dog's head, "Stay away from me."
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