Qiuhua finished embroidering the four handkerchiefs earlier than expected, and she returned home the day before the appointment.
Just after noon the next day, Wu Xin came in the scorching sun and stood at the door holding a watermelon in his hand.
Perhaps it was because he had been walking in the sun for too long, his usually pale face was now red, the back of his white shirt was soaked, and even his hair was covered with sweat.
"Hey, come in quickly!"
Qiuhua went forward and reached out to hold the watermelon for him, but then she thought she was being too rude and hurriedly withdrew her hand.
Wu Xin handed the watermelon over, but unexpectedly it fell empty-handed. The watermelon fell to the ground and exploded, with the red flesh falling all over the floor.
"Ah--" Qiuhua was at a loss as to what to do when she saw the mess on the ground.
Unexpectedly, Wu Xin smiled faintly and said, "Since you've thrown it, eat it!"
As he said that, he squatted down, picked up a piece of watermelon and handed it to Qiuhua. Hearing what he said, Qiuhua also smiled, took the watermelon and took a bite. It was so sweet!
The watermelon at this moment doesn’t taste that refreshing. It has just been dried in the sun and feels a little warm when you put it in your mouth.
But the two people squatting on the ground eating watermelon enjoyed it so much!
Fortunately, the watermelon did not completely split, and a small half was still intact. Wu Xin helped Qiuhua bring it into the house and told her that she could soak it in well water later.
Qiuhua fetched some water from the well and called Wu Xin over to wash his face. Only then did Qiuhua realize that his sleeves were stained red by the watermelon juice.
"Oh, your snow-white shirt won't be clean later." Qiuhua pressed his hands into the water, unbuttoned his sleeves, and rubbed a small area.
Perhaps the heat had not subsided yet, Wu Xin's face became even redder, and even his ears and neck were hot.
"Why do you always bring me food every time you come? It's so embarrassing."
Qiuhua looked up and asked him, staring at him eagerly with her big eyes. If her hand had not been soaked in water, she would have noticed the sweat on her palm.
"No way..." Wu Xin spoke in a low voice.
"Where is it?"
Qiuhua's crisp voice was so pleasant to the ear, it was the sound of tinkling wind chimes. Wu Xin knew clearly that there was no wind at the moment, so why did his heart seem to be blown into the clouds and couldn't fall down?
"You brought two bags of food last time you came, remember?"
After washing, Qiuhua used her thumb and index finger to squeeze out the water bit by bit. The cuffs looked a little wrinkled, so she pulled them hard with both hands.
"Also, last time in the hospital..."
Qiuhua stopped what she was doing. She realized that she had said the wrong thing and didn't dare to look up at him.
After a brief silence, Wu Xin spoke calmly:
"You know about my mother, right?"
Qiuhua nodded. Wu Xin's reaction was too calm. It would be normal for him to feel pain, cry and curse.
"It's good to go. This is what she wants."
"You haven't eaten yet? I'll make you a bowl of noodles."
With that, Qiuhua walked towards home without looking back. Wu Xin breathed a sigh of relief. That was good. He didn't want to see the same expression of pity on her face as others.
When the water boiled, Qiuhua put the dough in and stirred it with chopsticks until it became loose. After cooking for a while, she beat an egg into the mixture. When the egg solidified into white, she put it into a bowl and added salt, lard and soy sauce.
Wu Xin is indeed different.
Dad slurped his noodles, Dahua slurped his noodles, and Erhua slurped his noodles. Only Wu Xin chewed with his mouth closed, making no sound at all.
"You and your father are so much alike."
Qiuhua couldn't help but sigh that the two people's unique feelings were so similar.
Wu Xin smiled, swallowed the noodles in his mouth, and then said, "He is my father from Shanghai, the same family my mother married before. He has only one son, and he walked into the pond and disappeared.
When my mother was around, he would come to see me occasionally...
I guess he won't come again in the future. My dad doesn't like him coming."
When he spoke, his voice was not loud and there was no emotion. Qiuhua could hear every word clearly.
She didn't know what to say in response, so she just listened blankly, not daring to breathe.
"Hey, don't look at me like that, it's nothing!"
Wu Xin buried his head in eating noodles again. Qiuhua felt a tightness in her chest and stood up on the pretext of pouring him some water to relieve his tension.
At this moment, Mom was accompanying Xiaohua and Chunhua to sleep. After noon, the cicadas chirped even louder, and the outside was like a furnace.
After eating a bowl of noodles, Wu Xin burped. He held his stomach in and let it out silently.
The face that had just been washed was now covered with sweat again.
Qiuhua poured Wu Xin a soup of ginger slices and salt tea. It was hot recently, and Dad and Dahua both did physical work and sweated a lot. Mom would boil a pot of soup every morning. In fact, she just waited for the water to boil and then added ginger slices, salt and a little tea leaves.
Each of them took a pot of water to work and drank when they were thirsty.
Wu Xin drank half a cup. It had a light salty taste, a tea aroma, and a hint of ginger spiciness.
Qiuhua went into the house to take out the handkerchief. Wu Xin took a look and found that there was an extra piece.
The corners of his mouth turned up, and now his smile extended along with his eyebrows and eyes.
"There's one extra piece." He asked knowingly.
"Yes, just one more piece."
Qiuhua just agreed with his answer without adding another word.
He was in no hurry, just smiled faintly. Seeing Qiuhua holding the handkerchief in both hands and not offering it to him, he reached out for it without hesitation: "Give it to me. I'm really tired from the journey. The extra dollar is my reward for my hard work."
Qiuhua took his outstretched hand and handed it over without any further movement.
He unfolded the piece on the surface and saw that it was embroidered with a pine and cypress tree. The handkerchief was made of silk and felt smooth and cool to the touch.
"I had some extra material, so I embroidered it. Thanks to you, I made forty dollars. This is my way of thanking you."
Wu Xin nodded. Qiuhua’s reasons were very convincing, so he deserved it.
When the sun was lower, Wu Xin said goodbye and left. Qiuhua felt that he seemed different from when he came. How to put it, he looked fuller and more energetic.
Towards evening, Dad and Dahua came back. The family was preparing to have dinner when the door was suddenly pushed open. Unexpectedly, Erhua had also come back.
He has been at his master's house for a while, and it is indeed time for him to come back and take a look.
The whole family sat together, one was smacking, another was humming, and another was slurping, but no one was talking. Dad and Mom glanced at the three of them at the same time, and then looked at each other. Today was really strange!
I think all three of them have something on their minds.
Dahua thought that Xiaojuan had taken leave and didn't come to work today;
Erhua thought that Luo Zhen still didn't care about him;
Qiuhua thought about what Wu Xin said during the day.
Erhua ate the fastest, slurping. After finishing, he put down the bowl and let out a long sigh, seeming to be very happy. He shouted:
"Dad, Mom, I want to learn how to drive a tractor!"
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