Chapter 16 Summer is Coming
Chapter 16
The last rain of late spring fell lingeringly, and when the sun came out, the temperature began to soar, and the cicadas chirped from the gaps in the trees, one after another.
Yu Pan maintained a habit of submitting manuscripts to the mailbox once a week, accumulating a thick stack of rejection letters. He marked each letter with the date, and as he sent more and more, the editor would also write some revision suggestions in them.
"Lack of detail" and "slightly one-dimensional characters" were initially jarring, but after a while, I've become numb to them.
That afternoon, Yu Pan went to the bookstore with paper and pen in her pocket again, and stopped when she passed the mailbox. The tin mailbox was scorching hot from the sun, and a yellow corner was faintly visible through the bottom gap. When she opened it, she found a brown paper envelope inside.
Yu Pan held it in his hand; its thickness was no different from when he sent it out.
"Another refund?" The old man at the bookstore was sitting in a wicker chair, fanning himself with a palm leaf fan. He didn't even lift his eyelids when he saw him come in.
Yu Pan nodded, opened the envelope, and took out the rejection slip. This time, the editor was different, and the comments were a few lines longer than before: "The writing is full of life, but the narrative is a bit long-winded. I suggest you streamline the dialogue and highlight the core conflict."
Yu Pan folded the rejection slip and stuffed it into the envelope. She took out her notebook and wrote on the paper with her head down: "I always feel that if any of those mundane family matters were missing, it wouldn't seem real."
The old man put down his palm-leaf fan, picked up his newly written manuscript, and flipped through it. “Living life is living life, but when it comes to writing stories, you have to be selective.”
Yu Pan suddenly realized, took the manuscript paper and looked at it carefully. Finally, she marked out the parts she thought were redundant and asked the old man to help her take a look.
Yu Pan is quite stubborn in this regard. He could have easily let the old man help him revise everything, but he refused. Just like with reading, he wouldn't start the next book until he finished the previous one. It's the same with writing; he believes that his stories need to be sorted out by himself before they make sense.
On her way back, the sunset had painted half the sky orange-red, and the stone pavement on the street shimmered with a warm glow. After finishing her meal, Yu Pan didn't go straight home but sat on the stone steps in front of the bookstore to cool off.
He was clutching two peppermint candies in his hand, which the old lady had given him during his meal. He was afraid that he would eat them all if he stayed at home, so he deliberately brought the candies with him to wait for Shen Yanzhou.
After sitting for a while, I glanced at the time and realized it was almost time for Shen Yanzhou to return.
Sure enough, not long after, Shen Yanzhou returned on his bicycle, a bulging cloth bag hanging from the handlebars. Yu Pan quickly stood up, unwrapped the candy, and offered it to him.
Shen Yanzhou bit into the candy, the minty coolness spreading in his mouth. He chuckled indistinctly, "Did the old lady give you candy again?"
Yu Pan nodded and gestured, "I gave you two. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to control myself if I stayed at home, so I sat here waiting for you."
Shen Yanzhou pushed the car into the courtyard and locked it. He then turned his head and nuzzled Yu Pan's ear, saying, "So good."
His breath tickled Yu Pan, who laughed and dodged away, but her head was away, though her hands were still wrapped around Shen Yanzhou's arm, and they went upstairs like that.
The cloth bag contained freshly bought mung beans. Chen Yanzhou poured half a bag into water and rinsed it. "I'll make mung bean soup tonight."
Yu Pan jumped up and down excitedly on the side.
Shen Yanzhou changed the subject: "I just ate some sugar, so I can only put a little sugar in the mung bean soup."
"Okay, okay, okay." Yu Pan gestured, gazing longingly at the mung beans soaking in the water.
Shen Yanzhou's business was going more and more smoothly, and he occasionally had to go on business trips for two or three days a week. Every time he came back, he would bring Yu Pan some new and interesting things, some food and some toys.
Like glass marbles with pictures embedded inside, or peanut candy from Jiang City that was so sweet it stuck in your teeth, once she even brought a small ceramic whistle that made a "cheep cheep" sound when you blew on it. The whistle was smooth and round, and Yu Pan held it in her hand and rubbed it for a long time, reluctant to put it down.
Yu Pan would sometimes go with him, sitting in the back seat. Tan Ming would tease him from the side, but he would pretend not to hear and focus on watching Shen Yanzhou's hands on the steering wheel.
nice.
He stopped watching Shen Yanzhou drive and started watching the shadows of the trees rushing past on the roadside, and the distant mountains that looked like cows. When they got to the big city, Shen Yanzhou would teach him to recognize road signs and traffic lights.
When she wasn't going out, Yu Pan would stay at home, sitting at her desk revising her manuscript. When she got tired, she would lean against the window and watch the children downstairs chasing after the popsicle tricycle, its bell ringing "ding-a-ling".
He would also go out to buy groceries with the old lady. When the old lady was drying pickled vegetables, he wanted to help turn the vegetables over, but the old lady complained that he was clumsy and told him to put aside and not block her work.
Yu Pan moved a stool over and sat down to watch, feeling dejected.
When Shen Yanzhou returned, Yu Pan could always smell a different scent on him. Sometimes it was a faint smell of tobacco, which Tan Ming had brought into the car after smoking, since Shen Yanzhou didn't smoke.
Sometimes it's the fishy smell of the river breeze. That's when they pass by the wild river on their way back. If they have enough time, they'll cast a net to catch fish. Although they only catch small fish and shrimp, they're very delicious when the old lady fries them. They're crispy and crunchy, and you can even chew the fish bones.
On the last day of June, Shen Yanzhou finished work very early, carrying a large box covered with a red cloth, which looked very heavy.
"This is an award given by the factory to outstanding employees." Shen Yanzhou lifted the red cloth, opened the box, and revealed an iron-gray electric fan inside.
The fan is about the height of three books standing upright, with a knob and four buttons on the blue base.
Yu Pan stared wide-eyed; he had only ever seen this thing in the supply and marketing cooperative.
Chen Yanzhou plugged in the power, pressed the switch, and the fan blades started spinning with a 'hum,' instantly blowing a cool breeze all over Yu Pan's face, making the stray hairs on her forehead flutter wildly.
"Be careful not to get caught in it." Shen Yanzhou smiled and turned Yu Pan's head to the side so that his head wouldn't be facing the fan.
Yu Pan obediently moved two steps to the side, then suddenly realized what she was doing and pointed to her hair, saying, "My hair is so short! How could it possibly get tangled in!"
Shen Yanzhou was amused by him and pinched his cheek. "That won't do either. Blowing on your head will give you a headache."
That night, they bought a big watermelon and put it under an electric fan to blow on it.
Shen Yanzhou cut the watermelon open with a knife; the flesh was red with black seeds, and sweet juice dripped down the handle of the knife.
The two sat on small stools, each holding half a watermelon and scooping it out with a spoon. The electric fan blew the sweet aroma of the watermelon throughout the room.
Yu Pan always eats too fast and can't control herself. Even with Shen Yanzhou watching her, she keeps eating spoonful after spoonful, her face covered in juice.
Shen Yanzhou put down her spoon, took a towel to wipe his face, and chuckled softly, "Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."
With her mouth full of watermelon, Yu Pan nodded vaguely.
The days passed by at a leisurely pace until mid-July. As the Ghost Festival approached, the firecracker business began to pick up again, and Shen Yanzhou was busier than usual.
Two days before the Ghost Festival, the weather was unusually hot. The air was hot and sticky. Yu Pan was facing the blank manuscript paper on his desk, fanning himself with a palm leaf fan. He felt like he was in a giant steamer. The heat was so intense that he had only managed to write one manuscript and submit it intermittently over the past two weeks.
When Shen Yanzhou returned, the back of his clothes was soaked. Yu Pan had just finished eating and was surprised to see Shen Yanzhou off work so early.
Before he could even gesture, Shen Yanzhou greeted the old lady and led him home.
After entering the room, Shen Yanzhou took an envelope out of his bag and handed it to Yu Pan: "Keep this month's wages."
Shen Yanzhou always kept his wages for himself, so Yu Pan wasn't surprised. She took the envelope, then was startled by its thickness. Since Shen Yanzhou changed jobs, his wages had been increasing.
Shen Yanzhou took off his short-sleeved shirt, revealing his muscular shoulders, and used a bamboo hook to pull up another short-sleeved shirt.
"Are we still going out?" Yu Pan put the envelope on the table and gestured to Chen Yanzhou.
"Yes, the factory has arranged an urgent shipment to the next county. It has to leave tonight."
"When are you coming back?" Yu Pan asked, gesturing.
Shen Yanzhou washed his hands, hugged Yu Pan, and kissed the tip of his nose. "I'll be back tonight. You go to sleep first, don't wait for me."
"I'm not waiting for you." Yu Pan pouted and deliberately turned her head to look at the electric fan.
Shen Yanzhou smiled and tilted her head to kiss his lips. "Okay, okay, I won't wait. I'll try to come back as soon as possible."
When they returned that evening, there was no need to pack anything. While Tan Ming was away, Shen Yanzhou sat down and looked through the delivery list, with Yu Pan sitting beside him watching.
Suddenly remembering something, Shen Yanzhou took out a piece of chocolate from his bag.
Tan Ming has been nagging him lately that his brother keeps pestering him to buy him chocolates. He complains that the cheap ones aren't good enough and insists on Golden Rabbit chocolates, which are so expensive—one chocolate costs 50 cents.
Shen Yanzhou noted it down. He had gotten off work early today, so he went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy two golden rabbits.
The chocolate was wrapped in tin foil with a gold rabbit sticker on it. It was too hot, and it had melted a bit on the way back when I put it in my bag. Shen Yanzhou frowned as he looked at the brown stains that had seeped out of the packaging, and then tossed it towards the trash can.
Yu Pan quickly snatched it away, gesturing, "Don't waste it!"
"Listen to me, I don't know if it's still edible," Shen Yanzhou coaxed him.
“It’s edible,” Yu Pan gestured. “The old lady gave me some, but it’s a little melted.”
Shen Yanzhou narrowed his eyes. "When did you eat it?"
Yu Pan blushed. The old lady had given her the food secretly and had specifically told her not to tell Shen Yanzhou.
"Okay, Panpan." Shen Yanzhou put down the chocolate, hugged him, and pinched his cheek. "You've even learned to play tricks on me."
Yu Pan pouted as her lips were pinched, and she whimpered, "I was wrong, brother."
Shen Yanzhou couldn't bear to really blame him, but he was worried that Yu Pan would get tooth decay from eating too much candy. He usually controlled the amount of candy he bought, only buying a few pieces every few days and keeping them in a tin box, knowing that Yu Pan didn't have much self-control when it came to food.
He let go of her hand and gently rubbed Yu Pan's flushed cheek with his fingertips. "Tell me what you want to eat next time."
Yu Pan nodded.
The two cuddled and snuggled for a while when Tan Ming arrived and honked the horn from below.
Shen Yanzhou pressed Yu Pan down and kissed him a few times, then buried his face in his neck and rubbed against him a few times before letting him go.
Yu Pan was slightly out of breath, her forehead pressed against Shen Yanzhou's high nose bridge, her eyes looking at his collar. Luckily, there was a fan blowing, otherwise she would have been sweating profusely again.
Go to bed early tonight, I'll be back when I wake up.
Yu Pan nodded emphatically and buried her face in his chest, nuzzling against him.
When Shen Yanzhou left, it was still light out, and the setting sun cast a long shadow of him. Yu Pan leaned against the window and watched him get into the truck, watch the truck start, and watch it gradually disappear into the intersection.
He returned to the table, peeled a chocolate and put it in his mouth, then picked up the envelope containing his wages and went back to his bedroom.
The wooden box containing the money was placed at the bottom of the wardrobe. He squatted down, dragged the box out, took out the money from the envelopes, sorted it, and folded it neatly.
Shen Yanzhou has really made a lot of money recently. The money that was originally in the wooden box was just a thin stack, but now it's so full that you have to press the money down to close the lid.
Yu Pan put the wooden box back in its place. When she turned around, she saw that the electric fan on the table was still turning, and a cool breeze was blowing gently, as if it was keeping Shen Yanzhou company.
The cicadas outside the window continued their tireless chirping, and Yu Pan felt that this summer wasn't so unbearable after all.
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