She slung a small basket over her shoulder, took her grandmother's hand, and asked, "Where can we find wild vegetables?"
The sun was out today, which is rare. It was still quite sunny outside. Grandma put a small straw hat on Xu Lai and said, "There's a big patch of that grass on the ridge. Let's pick some Qingming grass to make rice cakes."
Xu Lai was in a good mood. She had been living in a big city for a long time, being pushed around like a top, and hadn't enjoyed this peaceful and leisurely life for too long.
Spring has arrived, and the village is filled with the roar of farming machines. Xu Lai asked, "Will our family still be farming this year?"
Grandma pointed to the plot of land where rice seedlings had already grown and said, "Just this small piece of land, we'll plant a field."
Xu Lai nodded. She remembered that when she was a child, her grandparents were always busy in the fields. In spring, they planted rice seedlings, in summer they harvested the first batch of rice, and in autumn there was a second batch. In winter, they could finally rest for a while, but then they had to busy themselves selling the fish that the family had raised for a year.
They walked and talked, and soon came to an open space. Looking down, they saw that it was full of water lilies.
Xu Lai picked a flower, held it to her nose, and smelled it. It had a fresh, indescribable fragrance that she quite liked.
Seeing that the plants were growing well on the other side of the field, she went over to pick some. Her grandmother reminded her, "Lai Lai, be careful, some of them may have been sprayed with pesticides. Don't pick them if they're turning yellow."
After picking for a short while, the basket was full. Luckily, Grandma had brought a plastic bag, and the two of them filled the bag before going home satisfied.
After resting at home for a while, she rode her electric scooter, asked her grandfather to move the gas cylinder to the front, and rode off to refill the gas cylinder.
As evening fell and the sun set, she slowly rode her bike back. Passing a scenic spot, Xu Lai couldn't resist stopping her bike and taking out her phone to take a few pictures.
After some revisions, I finally posted it on WeChat Moments with the caption: "The joy of hunting in the wild and the sunset in my hometown." I also attached photos of my grandma picking wild vegetables that I took today, and a photo of the sunset that I just took.
After sending the message, she put away her phone and prepared to go home to cook. Since she came back, she hadn't let her grandparents cook. The two old people had worked hard all their lives, so it was nice to let them eat ready-made meals.
When the car reached the door, the gas cylinder got stuck. Xu Lai called out, "Grandpa, come out and help me move the gas cylinder."
After waiting for a while, no one came. Xu Lai muttered, "Where did they go? Where did they run off to again?"
She had to get out of the car herself to carry the cans inside, but it wasn't that she couldn't carry them; she was just slow. By the time she finished, the meal was already over.
She lifted the jar with a swift motion and exclaimed in surprise, "Am I that strong?"
A soft laugh came from the side. Xu Lai peeked out and saw Zhao Qingyun helping her move a gas cylinder.
He gestured for her to let go: "Let me help you, this is a bit heavy."
Xu Lai didn't stand on ceremony. She instructed, "Just put it in the kitchen for me, thank you."
After Zhao Qingyun helped her put it away, Xu Lai thanked him and squatted down to figure out how to connect the fire. She looked left and right, and just as she was about to start, Zhao Qingyun took over and said, "Let me do it. I'll help her to the end."
Xu Lai smiled awkwardly and tried to start a conversation: "Thank you, but I rarely change gas cylinders, so I don't really know how to do it."
After Zhao Qingyun finished setting it up, she tested the flame and found it was quite strong. She then washed her hands and prepared to go back.
Before leaving, he suddenly asked, "Your house should be free of mice now, right?"
Xu Lai was a little confused and asked, "When did we get mice in our house...?" She suddenly realized and said, "How did you know?"
Zhao Qingyun smiled slightly as she recalled the words "Grandpa, save me" from that night, and said, "I bought some rat poison, I'll give you a portion."
Before Xu Lai could refuse, the other party had already gone home to get it, so she could only accept it: "Thank you so much, how much is it? I'll transfer it to you."
Zhao Qingyun was inexplicably annoyed. He said in a flat tone, "No need. Why be so calculating between neighbors?"
Xu Lai opened her mouth, but said nothing. Finally, she uttered two words: "Thank you."
Zhao Qingyun's expression darkened further, and he said, "There's no need to thank me for everything."
Since it was still early after dinner, Xu Lai washed the Qingming vegetables, blanched them, chopped them into a paste, mixed them with glutinous rice flour, kneaded them into dough, and made some without filling. She also planned to make some with salted egg yolk and pork floss, taro and red bean filling tomorrow.
After she finished getting ready, she went to wash up, dried her hair, and checked her phone, only to find that Xia Ning had called her.
She called back, and the other end answered immediately: "Xu Lai, you're having a good time at home, but I'm going crazy at work."
Xu Lai pressed two pumps of hair oil, applying it to her hair as she said, "You should also come back and rest for a few days. Don't break yourself."
Xia Ning sighed, "I'd like to, but I don't have the means. My bank account won't allow me to do it."
Hearing this, Xu Lai also became a little worried. She had worked for several years and had saved up over 100,000 yuan, but that couldn't last if she didn't work.
Xia Ning suggested, "Aren't you in the countryside? Many people in big cities yearn for rural life, and short videos are becoming increasingly popular. You could try filming your daily life."
Xu Lai thought about it and thought it was feasible. She put aside the matter of making money for the time being and said, "I went to pick Qingming grass today, so I can make the qingtuan tomorrow. I'll add the mung bean cakes I made and send them to you to try the day after tomorrow."
Xia Ning sent a kiss from afar and said, "Can you make it now? I want to eat it tomorrow."
Xu Lai pretended to be deep in thought and said, "That's not impossible, but Boss Xia, how should we calculate the overtime pay?"
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