Chapter 155 Swimming
Yao Yao, holding Huo Zheng's hand, practiced kicking in the shallow water, her little feet splashing the surface, sending up bursts of water droplets.
Lu Mingyue sat under the tree, watching the children gradually find their footing.
Leilei can hold his breath underwater for more than ten seconds now, and Yaoyao's leg kicks are becoming more and more standard. Occasionally, she looks up and waves at her with a smile on her face.
She opened the thermos, poured out the plum juice, and set it aside to cool, waiting for the children to drink it when they rested.
"Mom, I can hold my breath now!" Leilei popped his head out of the water and shouted to Lu Mingyue.
Lu Mingyue held up a glass of plum juice: "Come up and rest for a while, have some plum juice to quench your thirst."
The two children climbed ashore, wrapped themselves in towels, sat on small stools, picked up their plum juice and took a sip. The sweet and sour juice slid down their throats, instantly dispelling the summer heat.
Yao Yao squinted and said, "Mom, plum juice is so delicious, it's even more thirst-quenching than iced soda."
Leilei nodded, "Once I learn to swim, Mom won't have to wait for us here all the time. I can swim by myself."
When the sun gets really hot, my family always craves cold food.
Seeing that the children had no appetite, Lu Mingyue thought of making cold noodles and cold shrimp.
Cook the noodles in advance and rinse them with cold water; they'll have a chewy texture.
Liangxia is made by rolling rice flour into small strips, cooking them until soft, and then soaking them in rock sugar water and sour plum soup. One bite is refreshingly cool.
Early in the morning, she soaked rice noodles, cut cucumber and carrot into strips, made a bowl of sesame sauce, and minced some garlic.
When cooking noodles, Huo Zheng specially rushed back from the training ground to help: "You sit and direct, I'll do the heavy work of cooking noodles and rinsing them in cold water."
He was afraid that Lu Mingyue would get tired from standing for too long, so he even took over chopping vegetables, leaving her to sit next to him and prepare the sauce.
As soon as the cold noodles were mixed, Yao Yao came over and sniffed the aroma of sesame paste: "Mommy, I want more cucumber shreds."
Leilei chimed in, "I want two spoonfuls of minced garlic."
Lu Mingyue smiled and served them noodles, while Huo Zheng picked up a bowl of cold shrimp and ladled a spoonful of rock sugar water into each person's bowl: "Eat slowly, don't scald your teeth."
The family sat under the grape trellis in the yard, enjoying the evening breeze and eating with great relish.
But Huo Zheng was always worried that Lu Mingyue would get tired, so he would go to the cafeteria to get food early whenever it was mealtime.
There's scrambled eggs with tomatoes that kids love, light winter melon soup, and occasionally a cold seaweed salad, perfect with porridge.
Every time he brought back food, he wouldn't let Lu Mingyue touch the bowls and chopsticks, and he would set the table himself: "You're pregnant, you should rest if you can, don't always think about making this and that for us, the food in the cafeteria is also delicious."
Lu Mingyue looked at the warm food on the table, and then at Huo Zheng's busy figure. She knew that Huo Zheng didn't think her cooking was bad, but he was worried that she would get hot standing in front of the stove and that it would be too much work for her.
Early on a weekend morning, Lu Mingyue looked at the bright sunshine outside the window and said to Huo Zheng, "The kids always say they want to eat cold rice cakes. I have some free time today, so I'll make some for them to enjoy."
As soon as he finished speaking, Huo Zheng picked up his cloth bag and walked out: "You stay home and rest. I'll go to the market to buy glutinous rice, red beans, and white sugar. Don't touch cold water, and don't stand for too long."
When Huo Zheng returned from the market, he was carrying a full load of ingredients.
He didn't let Lu Mingyue lift a finger, and he poured the glutinous rice into the steamer himself, started the fire, and added firewood, all with great efficiency.
Lu Mingyue sat on a small stool next to him, wanting to help wash the red beans, but he stopped her: "You can just sit here. I'll call you when we're mixing the sugar later. That's an easy job."
The glutinous rice was steamed until soft, sticky, and fragrant. Huo Zheng poured it into an oiled wooden basin, put on gloves, and pressed it while it was still hot. He had to apply even pressure to make the rice cake firm and not loose.
Large beads of sweat streamed down his forehead, but he didn't bother to wipe them away. He would only occasionally look up at Lu Mingyue and say, "Smell this glutinous rice, doesn't it smell good? It'll be delicious when it cools down and we coat it with red bean paste."
After the glutinous rice was pressed into square cakes and cooled, Huo Zheng helped Lu Mingyue up: "Come on, it's your turn. Mix the white sugar and red bean paste together and spread it on the cakes."
Lu Mingyue picked up a spoon and spread the sweet red bean paste evenly on the cake dough, then sprinkled a layer of granulated sugar on top. Instantly, the sweet aroma mixed with the fragrance of rice filled the kitchen.
Yao Yao: "Mommy, is the rice cake ready? Can I have a bite?"
Huo Zheng smiled and cut a small piece for them, then specially cut a piece without too much sugar and handed it to Lu Mingyue: "You're pregnant, so doctors should eat less sweets, just enough to satisfy your cravings."
Lu Mingyue took a bite of the chilled rice cake. It was soft and fluffy, with just the right amount of sweetness and the right amount of pressure. It seemed that Huo Zheng's cooking skills had improved a lot since he became pregnant.
The holidays are almost here, and the school has announced the final exams.
Leilei has been working extra hard lately. Every day after school, he finishes his homework first and also reviews his textbooks on his own initiative. Even Yaoyao is following her brother's example, sitting next to him and drawing quietly.
Seeing this, Lu Mingyue would cook a bowl of mung bean soup for Leilei every day, and Huo Zheng would also accompany him to check his homework after training.
On the day the report cards were handed out, Leilei ran home clutching the paper. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he shouted, "Mom, Dad, I got first place! I tied with Xiaoman for first place!"
He held up his report card, the "100 points" on it particularly eye-catching.
Lu Mingyue quickly took the report card, smiled and patted his head: "I knew you could do it. I'll make you your favorite sweet and sour pork ribs tonight."
Lu Mingyue grew up under a repressive educational system and strongly dislikes this educational philosophy.
She believes that encouragement is more important for children, especially when their minds are not yet mature; constant suppression will only backfire.
So when Leilei gets good grades, his family always cooks a big meal to reward him.
Huo Zheng lifted Lei Lei up and spun him around: "Good lad, not bad at all."
After the results were released, some were happy while others were worried. Those who did well, like Li Li, naturally had nothing to worry about, but it's inevitable that some children will make mistakes.
Not long after, Zhang Haihua's voice came from next door, filled with anger: "Cui Xiaojun, look at the score you got. Leilei and Xiaoman in the same grade can both get first place. How come you are so disappointing? I always tell you to study more, but all you do is play."
Then came Cui Xiaojun's quiet defense, interspersed with Zhang Haihua's scolding.
Lu Mingyue pretended not to hear and asked the two children what other delicious food they wanted to make.
Huo Zheng nodded: "Our Leilei worked hard, so it's only right that he got first place. Just keep up the good work in the future."
Leilei nodded as if he understood, then remembered something and said to Lu Mingyue, "Mom, I want to go play with Xiaoman tomorrow. Xiaoman said there's a stream in front of his house with lots of shrimp and crabs in it."
"How deep is the water? Is it dangerous?"
In the summer, children love to go into the water to catch fish, and Leilei is no exception.
Lu Mingyue knew she couldn't detain him, but she wanted to find out the specific details before going.
"No, Mom, the water is very shallow, only up to my calves."
Lu Mingyue smiled and nodded: "Okay, be careful when you play together, and remember to come back early."
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