Shi Jin: “…”

He tentatively put his hands together like Ashan did, and then gently slapped them on the table.

“Pah—”

The stacked cards shook lightly at their corners, without even one card turning over.

Ah Shan started laughing. He held his face and teased Shi Jin a few times. He played a few rounds with him and found that he really couldn't play this game, so he simply suggested: "Brother Shi Jin, let's play another game."

Shi Jin let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief: "Okay, what are we going to play?"

Ah Shan was still scratching his head when Yu You came down from the building: "Brother Shi Jin, is Sister Qiu not back yet?"

Shi Jin: “No.”

Yu You walked over to them and asked, "What are you playing?"

"Clap the cards!" Ah Shan happily announced the name of the game: "But Brother Shi Jin is too stupid and doesn't know how to play. We are going to try another game now."

"I'm free anyway, so I'll play with you guys." Yu You was eager to join in: "How about we play flying chess? Brother Yu Ci is not here right now, so I can kill everyone!"

Ah Shan was excited: "Great."

Shi Jin also nodded: "Okay."

So they took out the flying chess and started to spread out the chess paper. While they were spreading the chess paper, Yu You asked Shi Jin, "Did Sister Qiu tell you what we're going to eat before she left?"

He didn't eat much at noon, and now his stomach is rumbling in protest.

Shi Jin recalled: "No."

Yu You was discouraged: "That's it, there's no food to eat."

He can't cook, and Ah Shan is still young and can't be relied on, so the rest of the time...

Yu You glanced sideways.

With such a refined, dignified and ethereal appearance, it seemed a sin for him to even enter the kitchen.

Yu You sighed: "God wants to kill me."

Ah Shan looked at him and whispered, "I'm hungry too."

The child was in the period of growth. After a day of classes, he rushed to find Shi Jin and didn't even eat the dinner provided by the school.

Shi Jin pursed her lips and stood up: "You guys play first, I'll go to the kitchen to take a look."

"Huh?" Yu You looked at him in surprise: "Brother Shi Jin, can you cook?"

Shi Jin paused, then said calmly: "No."

Yu You was confused: "Huh?"

Shi Jin ignored the noise behind him. He looked around the kitchen and finally found two tomatoes and some eggs in the refrigerator, and a bundle of noodles in the cupboard.

He stood in front of the phone and thought for two seconds, then took out his cell phone and started searching.

When Yu Ci came back, there was an unfolded flying chess set on the table in the living room. There was no one at the table, but there were two people, one big and one small, gathered at the kitchen door.

He put the hoe back by the door. "What are you looking at?"

Yu You and A Shan were startled. They quickly jumped away from the kitchen, looked at each other, and replied, "I'm watching dinner."

dinner?

Yu Ci raised his eyebrows and walked towards the kitchen: "Aqiu is back?"

He remembered that Aqiu went out in the afternoon and said before leaving that he would not be back before dinner. Now he is back early?

With such doubts in mind, Yu Ci walked towards the kitchen.

There was no Aqiu in the kitchen, only the thin back of a young man in black.

Yu Ci walked to his side carrying a backpack, poured the contents of the basket into the pool, and his eyes casually swept across Shi Jin's body.

A few crookedly cut tomatoes, a handful of noodles, a few beaten eggs, a boiling pot, and...

A mobile phone that displays a message "A complete recipe for tomato and egg noodles that will make the kids next door cry with envy".

Yu Ci: “…”

Why does this scene look so familiar?

Shi Jin noticed him when he came in. When he noticed his gaze, he pursed his lips and tried to divert Yu Ci's attention awkwardly: "You're back?"

"Um."

Yu Ci's eyes were still on the phone.

Shi Jin wanted to say something else, but the water in the pot had already boiled and was bubbling.

He hesitated for two seconds and threw the tomatoes into the pot. According to the recipe, the tomatoes needed to be cooked for a while longer.

Shi Jin closed the lid on the pot and paused slightly when his eyes fell on the pool on the side.

Is this... a carrot?

Did he just go digging?

The steaming pot was emitting the sour aroma of tomatoes, and the tomatoes in the pot had been cooked until soft.

Shi Jin opened the lid of the pot, thought for a while looking at the red tomato soup, then threw the noodles in, followed by the eggs. Soon there were several more colors in the pot, alternating between red, white and yellow, which looked quite confusing.

Yu You and A Shan had already smelled the scent at the door and were peeking inside.

Shi Jin stood in front of the pot holding the salt shaker and fell into deep thought again.

Moderate amount...how much is moderate amount?

Beside him, Yu Ci cleaned the carrots that were covered with dirt and put them into the bamboo basket one by one: "Remember to wipe the carrots clean with water before feeding them, and the same goes for the leaves."

Xu Qian bought a rabbit before, but it died of diarrhea on the first day after he brought it home because it ate carrots soaked in water, and it howled in front of him for several days.

From then on, Yu Ci knew that this rabbit also had a delicate stomach.

Wait, also? Where did that come from?

After thinking fruitlessly, he carried the washed carrots out of the kitchen: "I put the carrots on the counter."

"Yeah, okay." Shi Jin was awakened by his voice. He looked at the salt shaker in his hand and tentatively poured a little into the pot.

“Pah—”

A large lump of salt rolled over the edge of the salt shaker into the pot.

Shi Jin: “…”

He pursed his lips and quickly scooped out the salt with a spoon before it melted.

Maybe... it should be okay? he thought.

Facts have proved that there are no big things, but there are definitely small things.

After finishing a bowl of noodles, Ashan was the first to give up. He didn't even take the flying chess piece with him. He just left a sentence "Brother Shi Jin, I'll come to play with you tomorrow" and hurried home.

Next came Yu You, who tried hard to save face but ended up eating only half a bowl of rice. He took the water cup and made an excuse to go to the bathroom, and never came back.

Shi Jin tasted it himself and found the noodles were overcooked, soft and shapeless, and with too much salt...

He frowned and put down his chopsticks.

Yu Ci, on the other hand, was very considerate and ate two bowls, which made Yu You, who had sneaked back, gasp in amazement.

Shi Jin leaned against the window and looked downstairs, just in time to see the person standing by the well under the tree.

Yu Ci was carrying a black bucket and drawing water from the well. Next to him was a larger wooden bucket that was already half full of water. Next to him was Yu You, who had volunteered to help and was sticking his head to look into the bottom of the well.

As if Yu You had said something to him, Yu Ci raised his eyebrows, the corners of his lips curled up, and there was a sense of laziness in the corners of his eyebrows and eyes.

Shi Jin twirled his fingertips slightly and suddenly remembered what had just happened at the dinner table.

At that time he asked Yu Ci if the noodles were not salty. What was Yu Ci's answer?

Shi Jin pursed her lips and thought.

His expression seemed similar to what it is now, with his eyebrows raised and the corners of his lips curled up.

The only difference was that when he spoke now, there was no infinite smile in his eyes like he had just now at the dinner table.

He said: Everything my roommate makes is delicious.

fraud.

When thinking.

It's obviously very salty.

——

When the weather clears up, it's time to wash and hang out the clothes and quilts that have accumulated during rainy days.

Shi Jin got up early, washed the clothes he had taken off a few days ago, and went downstairs carrying the basin.

On the second floor was the busy Qiu. Seeing him coming downstairs with a basin in his hand, he smiled and reminded him, "The clothes rails on the second floor are full. Brother Shi Jin, if you want to dry your clothes, you have to go to the square.

The square is not far from here and the sunlight is better.

Shi Jin nodded, and just as he was about to go out, he heard Yu You's voice behind him: "Brother Shi Jin, wait for me for a while, I will go with you."

Shi Jin paused for a moment, and Yu You quickly ran over with a bucket in his hand: "Okay, let's go."

Ah Qiu laughed at him: "You can hold a basin, but what does it look like to hold a bucket?"

"Isn't this convenient to carry?" Yu You scratched his head. After answering, he realized who was asking the question: "Sister Qiu, when did you come back?"

A Qiu put down the rag in his hand and said, "Last night, the tire of the car burst on the way back to the village. We were a little late, but luckily we finally got back."

"We'll have food to eat when you come back!" Yu You finally reacted after he finished speaking. He glanced at Shi Jin awkwardly and said, "No, Brother Shi Jin, that's not what I meant."

Shi Jin shook his head: "It's okay."

What he cooked was indeed not tasty.

A Qiu looked at the sky outside and said, "You guys should go quickly. There are a lot of people drying clothes in the square on a sunny day like this. If you go too late, there will be no space left."

"good."

The square is about a five-minute walk from the inn.

From a distance, you can see a group of people standing in the wide square, all carrying clothes and quilts to dry in the sun.

Yu You trotted all the way to the square, first used a bucket to occupy a clothes rack, and then waved to Shi Jin: "Brother Shi Jin, come here, you can dry your clothes here."

Shi Jin walked over and followed Yu You to hang the clothes on the clothesline.

The square was full of people drying their clothes. The warm sunshine shone on the washed clothes, and the air was filled with the light scent of laundry soap.

Sunshine is a rare good thing in the village, so most people are not in a hurry to leave after drying their clothes. Women with children, older people, and some men wiping sweat all sit in a group in front of the trees, enjoying the sunshine and breeze.

This makes the person holding an umbrella to dry clothes stand out.

Yu You hung a T-shirt on the hanger and looked at him curiously: "Brother Shi Jin, why don't you put down the umbrella?"

It is understandable that holding an umbrella all the way is because you are afraid of getting tanned, but why don’t you put it down when drying clothes? It is so inconvenient.

Shi Jin explained softly: "I am a little allergic to ultraviolet rays."

Yu You expressed his understanding: "Oh, I see."

Neither of them had much clothes, so they were all dried quickly.

Yu You carried his empty bucket and looked at the shade of a tree not far away: "Brother Shi Jin, how about we sit under the tree? We're just sitting there doing nothing anyway, and it'll be hot when we go back."

Before they left, Aqiu told them that the inn would have a power outage for maintenance today and the fans would not be usable.

It would have been fine if it had rained and the temperature was low a few days ago, but today happened to be a sunny day, and under the scorching sun, even the chickens raised in the village had to jump while walking - their feet were burned.

Shi Jin looked at the green shade under the tree and said, "Okay."

They found a tall magnolia tree with branches and leaves covered with magnolia flowers above its head. The faint fragrance of the magnolia flowers lingered around their noses.

Yu You sat down on the stone chair at the foot of the tree and wiped the seat for Shi Jin as well: "Come, Brother Shi Jin, sit down."

She walked to his side in a moment: "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Yu You suddenly turned to look at him: "Brother Shi Jin, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

Shi Jin: “You ask.”

Yu You then smiled: "Brother Shi Jin, don't you want to go back to the Qin family?"

Shi Jin frowned and looked at Yu You: "You..."

"Didn't I tell you?" Yu You smiled: "Then let me introduce myself in full."

"My name is Yu You, and I'm Chen Yuan's cousin."