After the Qingming Festival, it rained intermittently in Qingshui Town for more than a month. The drizzle was gentle and nourishing, but even with an umbrella and a raincoat, it was impossible to keep out the rain. Over the course of a month, the houses were wet and dry, and the clothes smelled musty. People were getting depressed from the continuous rain.
After waiting for dozens of days, the heavy dark clouds dispersed, and looking up, one could see clear blue skies, white clouds, and the dazzling sun. Finally, the heavens cleared up.
Li Xiuju cleaned the house inside and out, took apart all the clothes and quilts that could be disassembled, took them to the stream, washed them again, and then put them in the sun to dry.
Baoyu stayed home to clean the tables and chairs, while Zhou Chenyu followed Li Xiuju out. When they passed the vegetable garden, she saw Chen Cuiping and Zhou Wanqiu again.
Wearing a straw hat, Chen Cuiping squinted at the sun for a while, spat twice into her palms, wiped her hands vigorously, gripped her hoe tightly, and dug out several sweet potatoes, vines and leaves included.
Zhou Wanqiu, who was sitting obediently to the side, picked the sweet potatoes one by one into the winnowing basket. From a distance, it was clear that half of the back of her clothes was soaked with sweat.
Zhou Chenyu had kept in mind the fact that Zhou Wanqiu had guided her to find the perilla leaves, but because of her relationship with Chen Cuiping, she was afraid of affecting the timid Zhou Wanqiu, so she didn't linger and walked along the path to the stream.
The stream is formed by the convergence of several mountain springs behind the village. It flows along the outer edge of the village. In shallow places, the water only reaches the ankles, while in deeper places it reaches the waist. It is a few meters wide, and the terraced fields are just across the stream.
The place for washing clothes by the stream consists of three flat, huge rocks. They have become incredibly smooth from being washed by generations of people and can accommodate six or seven people washing clothes at the same time. Opposite the rocks is the deep part of the stream, where the surface is as calm as a mirror, with occasional eddies. Sunlight shines on the rocks and reflects off the surface, creating a shimmering effect like fish scales.
Li Xiuju soaked the clothes and sheets and piled them on a flat boulder, the smelly clothes piling up like a mountain.
The mother and daughter sat on a rock, each holding a smooth, long wooden stick, and vigorously beat the clothes. After beating them, they rubbed out the dirt and repeatedly soaked the clothes in the stream to wash them until they were completely clean.
"It's getting hot. I've only been showering for a short while and my back is already covered in sweat. But it's good that it's hot. I'd rather die from the heat than have it raining every day. That rain is making me feel like I'm turning into mold."
Zhou Chenyu tugged at her clothes that were sticking to her skin. Li Xiuju saw that her cheeks were red from the sun and said, "Let's switch places. It's under the shade of a tree here, and it's quite cool."
How can you leave an elderly person exposed to the scorching sun? This goes against her tradition of respecting the elderly and caring for the young.
Zhou Chenyu shook his head, then simply took off his shoes and soaked his bare feet in the water.
The stream water was knee-deep, icy and cool, and the bottom was covered with fine sand and pebbles. There seemed to be schools of fish swimming by, making it feel like a foot massage, which was quite enjoyable.
As if she had discovered a new continent, she said with a playful smile, "This feels much better."
"Roll up your trouser legs a little higher, so you don't get them wet." Li Xiuju smiled indulgently at her childlike appearance. At that moment, a young woman with a headscarf slowly walked down to the stream.
"Aunt Li, you're here too?" The young woman waved in their direction.
"It's Hongmei! You just gave birth, why aren't you resting at home? What are you doing out here? You might catch a cold." Li Xiuju saw her carrying a basin in one hand and a bucket in the other, so she quickly went to help.
"Auntie, it's not heavy." The woman refused Li Xiuju's help, but smiled at Zhou Chenyu, her face flushed and innocent. "I've been cooped up at home for two months. If I don't go out for a walk, I'll go crazy. Besides, it's just having a baby, why be so delicate?"
Red plum blossoms?
Zhou Shuqing's wife, she should remember correctly.
Zhou Chenyu smiled as she approached Hongmei, whose basin was full of baby clothes waiting to be washed.
Li Xiuju leaned closer to take a closer look at her. Her usually thin face was now as round as a child's, and it was clear that she had a good postpartum period.
Hongmei felt embarrassed by the stares and rubbed her chubby face vigorously, squeezing out two lumps of flesh. "Auntie, have I gotten a lot fatter? I'm almost a pig's head."
Li Xiuju, having been through it all, didn't mind. She simply spoke the truth: "What's wrong with gaining weight? It just means Shuqing took good care of you. A woman who has a proper postpartum period will reap many benefits later on."
Hongmei lowered her head shyly. "I have to thank you, Auntie. If it weren't for you acting as matchmaker, I wouldn't have married that blockhead. He's such a pain in the neck." As she finished speaking, there was a hint of reproach in her words. She said she didn't like it, but her heart was filled with sweetness.
Zhou Chenyu listened to Hongmei's reluctant words from the side and was forced to eat a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection).
Hongmei found a seat near the bottom and sat down. Although she and Li Xiuju were from different generations, they had a common topic of parenting and chatted happily.
Zhou Chenyu stayed quietly to the side, passively absorbing a lot of parenting knowledge. After listening for a while, she heard the clear and tender voices of several little children coming from downstream. They came up from downstream, some boys and some girls, the older ones in front and the younger ones behind. Each of them carried a basket containing a few fish, a few shrimp, and even some small crabs.
Although it had only been a few days since Zhou Chenyu last ate meat, it felt like a distant memory, like the last century.
She said, "I didn't know there were so many small fish and shrimp in this stream."
The villagers live off the land and water. The streams not only have fish and shrimp, but also snails and clams that can be cooked and served.
How could someone who grew up in the village not know?
Looking at Zhou Chenyu's eager eyes, Li Xiuju felt both sorry for him and smiled, saying, "Yes, it's getting hot. If you want to eat, let's go and fish for some."
Zhou Chenyu's little thoughts could never escape the old lady's eyes, and she no longer hid them: "Okay."
Hongmei was puzzled for a moment, then thought of the rumors she had heard during her postpartum period, and laughed, "These fish and shrimp are small and don't have much meat on them. They're just like little kids, just playing with them. Auntie, if Sister Chenyu wants to eat them, you can go to the spring near the back mountain; there's sure to be plenty there."
Li Xiuju's eyes widened. "Really? I have difficulty walking and have never been there before. I didn't know there was such a treasure place."
“Last time Shuqing went into the mountains to chop firewood, he brought back a lot of it. I don’t like eating these things, and Grandma has bad teeth, so she threw away a lot of them. If no one had gone there, there would definitely have been a lot of good stuff.”
Li Xiuju washed the sheets clean, and Zhou Chenyu and she each took one end and twisted them in opposite directions. "The weather is nice today. After we get back and have lunch, I'll go dig up some earthworms and then take the cage over there to take a look."
After they returned and hung up the clothes, they took a short nap. After eating and sleeping well, when the sun was setting a little, Zhou Chenyu and Baoyu took the earthworms prepared by Li Xiuju and headed towards the mountain spring behind the mountain.
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