Chapter 23 Chapter 23 Pest Control

Back home.

Xia Junshan said, "I'll go get some hot water and take a hot bath to prevent a cold."

Meng Yufei nodded and said, "Okay, let's eat noodles tonight."

"Okay, the noodles are delicious too."

Meng Yufei took off Xia Qinqin's wet shoes that were covered with sand. Seeing that the original white color of the sneakers could no longer be seen, she wondered why she had forgotten to change her shoes!

I looked down at my shoes. Okay, same thing...

Xia Qinqin was thinking about the shells in the barrel. "Mom, won't the shells be damaged by the crabs if they are placed in there?"

Meng Yufei said: "No, the shell is very hard and they can't move it."

Xia Qinqin's clothes were also wet and dirty. Meng Yufei helped her take off the dirty clothes, held the little person wearing a vest and shorts and put him on the sofa, went into the house, found a shirt and put it on the little person.

"Hmm..." Xia Qinqin asked again: "Mom, the shells are very hard, will they hit the crabs?"

Meng Yufei replied: "No, the crab shell is also very hard."

Then he went back into the house to look for his pajamas. Looking at the empty closet, he wondered when the package from Haishi would arrive. Otherwise, he might as well go to the market to buy some clothes when he had time.

"Mom! Mom..." Xia Qinqin's voice came from the living room again. Meng Yufei hurried to the living room and asked, "What's wrong?"

Xia Qinqin pointed at the wooden barrel at the door and said, "Mom, the crabs are coming out."

Meng Yufei looked over and saw two crabs struggling to climb to the edge of the barrel, about to escape successfully.

Meng Yufei took two steps forward, stretched out her leg and kicked the crabs that were about to crawl out back into the bucket, then took out a wooden basin and covered them to prevent them from running out again.

Xia Qinqin clapped her hands happily and said, "Okay, now they can't escape."

Xia Junshan also boiled hot water and walked out of the kitchen with a basin of hot water in his hand. He said, "The water is ready. I'll take the hot water to the bathroom. You can bring Qinqin over to take a bath."

"Okay, I'll come right over."

Meng Yufei put on her pajamas and picked up Xia Qinqin from the sofa and took her to the bathroom. Xia Junshan put hot water in the bathtub and brought cold water to adjust the water temperature.

Meng Yufei said, "Go and get Qinqin's slippers. They're on the second row of the shoe cabinet."

"good."

Xia Junshan nodded and took the slippers over. Meng Yufei said again: "Junshan, please put the crabs in the kitchen. I just saw that they were about to crawl out, so I covered them with a basin."

Xia Junshan said, "I'd better put them in the yard. If they really run out at night, it will be difficult to find them in the house."

Meng Yufei said: "Yes, it would be best to put it in the yard."

Xia Junshan closed the bathroom door and went to deal with the crabs. He took the wooden barrel to the corner of the yard and added some water to it. The crabs would die without water.

After preparing the crabs, he lit the coal stove and boiled water to cook the noodles.

Xia Qinqin sat in the bathtub, splashing water with a smile. Meng Yufei hurriedly stopped her, "Qinqin, don't splash water! Look at the ground, it's all splashed water."

Xia Qinqin stopped what she was doing and tilted her head and said, "But mom, splashing water is really fun."

Meng Yufei put soap on her body and said, "You like playing in the water. Next time mom and dad take you to the beach, you are not allowed to play while taking a bath, okay?"

"Oh, I see." Xia Qinqin nodded obediently.

The slippery soap turned into fragrant and dense foam when it hit her body. Xia Qinqin held the foam in her palm, lowered her head to smell it, raised her smiling face and said, "It smells so good."

The fluffy foam touched her delicate little nose. Meng Yufei helped her wipe it clean with a smile, and then deliberately put on a stern face and said, "Don't move around. Let's wash quickly, otherwise the water will get cold."

"Okay~"

Meng Yufei finally finished bathing her daughter, changed her into pajamas and slippers, carried her into the house, patted her and said, "Go sit on the sofa."

When Xia Junshan saw them coming out, he pointed at the coal stove and said, "Fei Fei, the water is about to boil. Take a look. I'll go pour out the bath water."

Meng Yufei nodded and said, "Okay."

Xia Qinqin obediently ran to the sofa in her little slippers, took off her shoes, climbed onto the sofa, and started playing her little game again.

Meng Yufei glanced at the pot on the coal stove and saw that the water was beginning to bubble. She went to the kitchen, took out some noodles and put them in.

Tonight's dinner is still egg noodles with a few drops of sesame oil.

Meng Yufei said: "It would be nice if there were some pickled vegetables, but unfortunately I don't know how to make them."

Xia Junshan picked up his daughter from the sofa and put her on a chair, saying with a smile, "You can ask Mrs. Zhang next door for some when you have a chance. Her family likes pickled vegetables."

Meng Yufei said, "I don't feel comfortable bothering Mrs. Zhang all the time. I just ate her steamed buns." Today she even asked her to help make shoes.

Xia Junshan said: "What's the big deal? Let's go and make some peach cakes some other day. Isn't that how neighbors help each other? It's a give-and-take thing."

Meng Yufei nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go when I'm free."

Xia Qinqin saw that the wooden barrel at the door was gone, and asked curiously, "Mom, why are the shells and crabs gone?"

Xia Junshan explained to his daughter: "Dad put the barrel in the yard."

Xia Qinqin asked: "Why not put them in the house? Won't they be scared in the yard at night?"

Xia Junshan said: "They won't be scared. If they are placed in the house, when the crabs crawl out in the middle of the night, they will run to the child's ears and pinch her ears."

Xia Qinqin touched her ears and said, "Then let's put them in the yard, so Qinqin's ears don't get pinched!"

Xia Junshan assured her: "Don't worry, Qinqin, Dad will close the door at night, so they can't get in."

Xia Qinqin said worriedly, "Dad, you must close it tightly."

Xia Junshan suppressed his laughter and nodded, "Yes, Dad will."

Meng Yufei asked, "If we leave them like this overnight, they won't die tomorrow, right?"

Xia Junshan said: "No, I let the water out. It's just for one night. It's okay."

Meng Yufei said: "That's good."

After dinner, Xia Junshan stood up to clean up the dishes and said to Meng Yufei, "Go take a shower quickly, don't catch a cold."

After taking a bath, Meng Yufei took Xia Qinqin to sit on the sofa and took out a book called "Children's Library" to read to her daughter. Meng Yufei had read this book when she was a child. It contains many categories such as stories, social and natural, and there are many hand-drawn illustrations, which are very suitable for children to read.

Meng Yufei turned to the chapter "Pests" and read: "There are many pests in the world: some harm people, some harm livestock, and some harm plants. The common pests in our homes are flies, mosquitoes, bedbugs, etc...."

Xia Junshan just came out of the shower and heard this. He smiled and said, "It just so happens that we have to get rid of these pests in our yard tomorrow."

Meng Yufei asked: "Do I want to go with you tomorrow?"

Xia Junshan shook his head and said, "No need. Just send one man from each family to clean up the lawns and ditches in the family compound. It doesn't take much effort. With so many people, it will be done in less than an entire morning."

He walked over and sat next to Meng Yufei and continued, "It's not like a few years ago when we still had to hand in our 'missions'."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "You don't know, at that time, the teacher asked us to hand in ten rats every month! The students in our school would block the drains at the end of the street after class every day. When they saw a rat, their eyes lit up as if they were seeing a cat."

Xia Junshan looked at Meng Yufei and asked curiously, "Did you hand in ten mice in the end?"

Meng Yufei raised her eyebrows and said, "Well, of course, they are all handed in."

Xia Junshan opened his mouth in surprise, "You, really caught a mouse?" He couldn't imagine his wife catching a mouse.

Meng Yufei burst out laughing and said, "How is that possible! I was so scared that I burst into tears before my hands even touched the mice. I cried all the way home. In the end, my dad and Xiaoyan were the ones who caught the ten mice."

Xia Junshan said, "Thank you for your hard work, Dad. But I never knew you could catch mice." Father Meng is usually a gentle and refined man, but I never thought he could catch mice.

Meng Yufei raised her chin and said proudly, "My father is great in many other ways. Catching a few mice is nothing."

Xia Qinqin suddenly asked, "Dad, can you catch mice?"

Xia Junshan smiled and touched his daughter's head and said, "Of course Dad will."

Xia Qinqin smiled and leaned on her mother's shoulder and said, "Qinqin is just like mom. She also has a great dad who can catch mice."

Meng Yufei lowered her head and kissed her daughter's cheek, then smiled and said, "Yes, Mom and Qinqin are very lucky to have a great dad to protect us."

The family sat side by side on the sofa and continued reading. The breeze blew up the newly replaced green curtains. In the house, the sound of Meng Yufei reading could be heard. It was truly a picture of a peaceful and peaceful time.

…

The next day, Xia Junshan's biological clock woke him up early.

He quietly got up and went out for a run. At the beach, he met Captain Ma and his two sons who were also out for a run. Xia Junshan smiled and greeted them, "Captain Ma, good morning. You're out for a run with your sons."

Captain Ma smiled and said, "Good morning, Lao Xia. Why did you get up to run on your day off? Why don't you sleep a little longer?"

Xia Junshan said: "I'm used to training every day. If I don't move around for a day, I'll feel uncomfortable."

Captain Ma smiled and shook his head, saying, "I am still young after all. I was the same a few years ago. I felt bored if I didn't exercise for a day. But I can't do that anymore in the past two years. I am too old to move. If it weren't for the fact that this kid was going to join the army and I was afraid that he would embarrass me, I would have been lazy enough to run out early in the morning to suffer."

Then he pointed at his two sons behind him and said, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and say hello to your Uncle Xia."

Two boys, one about 17 or 18 years old and taller than Captain Ma, and the other only about 12 or 13 years old, both said in unison, "Hello, Uncle Xia."

Xia Junshan nodded and said, "Okay, okay, Wei Dong is going to join the army."

Captain Ma said, "Yes, a young man of this age can't continue his studies. It's a nuisance for him to stay at home every day. Let him go to the army to exercise. It's better than eating dry food at home."

Then he turned to his eldest son and said, "By the way, Wei Dong, your uncle Xia was the fighting champion of the last division competition. Come on, let him teach you a few moves. It will be enough for you."

Ma Weidong stepped forward, saluted, and said with a grin, "Uncle Xia, I've heard that you are very skilled. I'd like to trouble you to teach me today."

Xia Junshan smiled and said, "Okay, let's have a fight."

Here Xia Junshan was exercising by the sea. At home Meng Yufei woke up and opened the windows of several rooms for ventilation. She looked at the rising sun outside the window. It was another good day today. Well, she might as well take off the sheets and wash them later during the weekend.

Thinking of yesterday's crabs, Meng Yufei hurried to the yard, lifted the basin covering the wooden barrel, and saw the crabs inside moving around, looking quite energetic.

I went back to my room, changed out of my pajamas, and prepared to go to the cafeteria to get breakfast. I happened to meet Xia Junshan who had just returned from exercise. He was holding a lunch box with breakfast he had just bought from the cafeteria.

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "I was just about to go buy breakfast, but I didn't expect you to have already bought it."

Xia Junshan put the lunch box on the dining table and said with a smile, "I happened to be working out, so I bought some on my way back. The cafeteria made yakisoba this morning, with glutinous rice and pork filling. It was very fragrant."

Meng Yufei said, "Then I'll boil a few more eggs. I don't usually get to eat the eggs at home. I haven't even finished half of the 20 eggs I bought last time. I don't know how long they can last."

Xia Junshan said: "Okay, I'll light the coal stove."

After boiling the eggs, Meng Yufei went to the bedroom to wake up Xia Qinqin. Today, she had dressed her in a pair of green cotton and linen trousers and a pure cotton sailor shirt, which were light and breathable.

Xia Qinqin was a little grumpy when she woke up, pouting and looking unhappy. Meng Yufei said to her softly, "Let's go wash the shells after breakfast, okay?"

Thinking of the shells she picked up yesterday, Xia Qinqin became happy and nodded, "Okay."

The glutinous rice in the grilled wheat was paired with pork, which was oily, fragrant and soft, but the glutinous rice was difficult to digest. Xia Qinqin's stomach was full after eating one. She took the peeled egg from her father, ate only half of the egg white and put it down.

Xia Junshan said: "Eat the eggs. They are nutritious."

Xia Qinqin shook her head. Meng Yufei said, "It's fine if she doesn't want to eat. If she eats too much, her stomach will be upset if she can't digest it."

Xia Junshan shook his head, picked up half an egg on the table and said, "When I was a kid, I couldn't even eat a bite of egg during the Chinese New Year."

Meng Yufei peeled an egg and handed it to him, saying with a smile, "Then I will cook more eggs for you in the future."

Xia Junshan took the egg with a smile, ate the entire half egg, and nodded, "Okay, I am now living a happier life than I was as a landlord before."

Meng Yufei patted his arm and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? There are no landlords anymore."

Xia Junshan smiled and said, "I'm not, how do you say that word, metaphor, metaphor."

After breakfast, Meng Yufei took off the sheets and pillowcases and prepared to wash them.

After washing the dishes, Xia Junshan came out of the kitchen and saw her coming out of the house holding the sheets. He asked, "Do you want to wash the sheets?"

"Well, I think the weather is good today, so we can wash it and dry it in the afternoon."

"Let me wash it. This sheet is very heavy and you can't lift it." Then he took the sheet and put it in front of the faucet in the yard.

Meng Yufei asked, "Aren't you going to remove the insects this morning?"

Xia Junshan took out a large wooden basin for washing clothes, turned on the tap and let the water run while he replied, "Don't worry about it. I'll wash this first and then go. It won't take much time."

After finishing her breakfast, Xia Qinqin couldn't wait to run out to look at the shells and crabs. She saw that the top of the wooden barrel was full of crabs crawling around with their claws and fangs bared, and she couldn't see her own shells.

She said anxiously, "Mom, the crabs ate my shells!"

Meng Yufei walked over, shook the barrel, revealing the shells underneath, and said, "Look, the shells are all underneath."

Xia Qinqin leaned over to take a look, "Really? It turns out that the crab hid it underneath."

Meng Yufei said: "Mom will separate them later."

"Yes, I'll help mom separate them."

"good."

Xia Junshan acted at lightning speed, smearing soap on the bed sheet and rubbing it vigorously. The bed sheet was not dirty as it had been covered for several days. He changed the water twice to rinse off the soap foam, then hung it on the clothesline and spread it out.

After pouring out the water in the wooden basin, Xia Junshan clapped his hands and said, "I'm going out first."

Meng Yufei hurriedly said, "Wait a minute," and ran into the house, took out her straw hat, stood on tiptoe and put it on the top of Xia Jun Mountain, "The sun is quite bright in the morning, wear this."

Xia Junshan touched the straw hat on his head and said with a smile: "Okay, you guys wait for me to come back."

He turned around, picked up his daughter, kissed her little face, and said, "Qinqin, Daddy is out to get rid of pests. You stay home and listen to Mommy."

Xia Qinqin nodded vigorously and said, "Well, good-bye, Dad!"

"goodbye!"

After Xia Junshan left, Meng Yufei lifted the wooden barrel to the faucet, poured all the crabs into the basin, and picked up the crabs one by one and put them back into the barrel.

Soon only the shells were left in the basin. Xia Qinqin saw it and said in admiration: "Mom is so amazing. All the shells came out."

Meng Yufei turned on the tap and rinsed the shells clean. Then she took them to the cement floor under the eaves and spread them out one by one with her daughter.

Meng Yufei pointed at the shells on the ground and said, "When the water on them dries up, we can make wind chimes out of them."

Xia Qinqin asked curiously: "How long will it take?"

Meng Yufei replied: "It will be fine in the afternoon."

Xia Qinqin squatted on the ground, holding her chin with her hands, looking at the shells basking in the sun, and said to them seriously: "You have to work faster."

In the family compound, men came out of their homes in twos and threes to do pest control, and people from the General Section of the Logistics Department were distributing tools in front.

Today is a day off, and the men in the family compound are no longer wearing the same uniform. Some are wearing old military uniforms, some are wearing undershirts and jackets, but few are wearing hats.

Xia Junshan stood out in the crowd with his straw hat on. Some people who were close to him teased him, "Old Xia, why are you still wearing a straw hat?"

"Captain Xia should be wearing sunscreen."

"Ah? I thought the sun wasn't very bright this morning."

"Haha, Lao Xia, are you still afraid of getting tanned?"

Xia Junshan glanced at them, adjusted the hat on his head, and said lightly: "I didn't want to wear it at first, but my wife felt sorry for me and was afraid that I would get sunburned, so she insisted that I wear it." As he spoke, he shook his head and said, "Well, there's nothing I can do. I couldn't persuade her, so I put it on." After speaking, he couldn't help but smile, revealing his white teeth.

The people who were joking just now: "..."

The family compound was not very big, and we divided the groups into responsible areas. We took tools to trim the messy branches, cleared the grass and cleaned up the fallen leaves, and found many insects and mice...

While it was busy with pest control outside, Meng Yufei dried the shells at home, then moved a small stool to the faucet and started cleaning the crabs.

"Qinqin, go back to your room and draw. Mommy is going to wash the crabs."

Xia Qinqin moved to Meng Yufei's side and said, "Mom, I don't want to paint. I want to wash crabs with you."

Meng Yufei said, "Then go back to your room and bring out a small stool to sit on. Just sit here and watch how mommy cleans it. Don't touch it, or you'll get pinched."

Xia Qinqin nodded and said, "Yeah, okay." She ran into the house, came out holding a small stool in her hands, and sat next to her mother.