Although it was already past the start of autumn around National Day, the lingering summer heat was still quite intense.
As the sun rose higher, the temperature continued to rise.
Seeing that the children were sweating, Fang Qiao called them inside and told them not to play outside anymore.
Once inside, she lifted the thermos and noticed there wasn't much water left. She filled it about halfway with water from the kettle, added a small cup of spiritual spring water, and placed it on the iron stove to boil. Then she left the thermos lid off to let it cool, so that when the person returning from working in the fields would have water at the perfect temperature.
It's too hot. Working under the sun makes you lose moisture quickly, so you need to replenish your water in time.
Fang Qiao's consideration was timely and effective. The water had cooled down enough, and the people who had gone to work in the fields returned, all of them with flushed faces and drenched in sweat.
The sun is too strong, I can't stand it anymore. If I don't go home soon, I'll faint in the field and that would be a real problem.
There were only two enamel cups in the house, not enough for four people to drink water, so Fang Qiao took two more bowls from the kitchen and poured them with warm water that had been boiled and cooled.
Wang Qiuju took a sip and said the water was sweet. She asked Fang Qiao, "Sister-in-law, where did you get this water from? It's so sweet. It tastes better than the water I usually drink."
Fang Qiao laughed and said, "Where else can you get it? From the well at home. You think it tastes good because you're thirsty; everything tastes good when you're thirsty."
Actually, when Cheng Baidong left a year ago, he poured a lot of spiritual spring water into the well at home. However, after being diluted with a large amount of well water, the sweetness was not as strong. In addition, Wang Qiuju drank the well water every day and got used to the taste, so she found it ordinary.
It wasn't until today, when I drank the spiritual spring water which had a higher concentration than the well water, that I could immediately taste the difference in flavor.
However, no matter how sweet the spring water was, it was still just transparent and colorless water, no different from the well water we usually drank. So Wang Qiuju didn't think much of it, accepted Fang Qiao's explanation, and thought that she was just too thirsty, which was why everything tasted the same.
After drinking some water, Wang Qiuju glanced at the clock on the wall and said, "It's almost noon; we'll have to start cooking soon."
She looked at Fang Qiao and asked, "Sister-in-law, my brother went to the city on business. Will he be back by noon?"
"Yes," Fang Qiao replied. "He left early and will definitely be back by morning."
Wang Qiuju also knew that Cheng Baidong had gone to the city to get a certificate for Tiantian's household registration to be transferred out.
At that time, household registration management was not strict. As long as there was a place to receive them, a relocation certificate would be issued. However, Tian Tian's identity was a little special. She was a niece, so her biological father's signature was also required.
That's not difficult.
She had heard her mother-in-law say that Su Chen, that scoundrel, had wronged Cheng Bodong's deceased older sister. If he hadn't been shameless and hadn't been having an affair with a widow, his older sister wouldn't have been so upset that she went through a miscarriage and ended up having a difficult childbirth.
That's why they say men are fickle.
His first wife died in childbirth less than six months ago, and he's already found a new husband through a blind date. As for that widow from before? He could flirt with her, but actually marry her? He wouldn't even consider her.
He was in the wrong first and knew he was in the wrong in front of Cheng Baidong. He had been beaten half to death by Cheng Baidong before, and he was like a mouse before a cat whenever he saw Cheng Baidong. Cheng Baidong made him sign, and he dared not refuse.
So I think I can definitely get it done in one morning, and I'll probably be back in a little while.
"Then it's time to cook." Wang Qiuju thought that it was hot today and everyone was very irritable. Eating something cold would help cool them down, so she asked Fang Qiao, "Sister-in-law, I think it's hot today, so eating something cold would make us feel more comfortable. How about some cold noodles for lunch? It's the beginning of autumn, so we can only eat cold noodles for a few more days. Any later and we'll probably get diarrhea."
Fang Qiao had no objection; she quite liked eating cold noodles.
Wang Qiuju then asked, "Are Tian Tian and An An's stomachs okay? Can they eat cold food? Do we need to prepare something special for them?"
"Sweetie will be fine. Her stomach is great. She's eaten cold noodles countless times this summer, so she'll be okay." Fang Qiao smiled and said, "An'an is too young for that. When the noodles are cooked, just take out a small bowl beforehand, but not too cold. No need to make them separately, to save trouble."
She stood up and said, "I'll go. You've been busy all morning, take a break. Let me let you try my cooking today."
"That won't do, sister-in-law, you're a guest." Wang Qiuju quickly stood up and took Fang Qiao's hand.
“We’re all family, no need to distinguish between guests.” Fang Qiao pressed her shoulder and made her sit down on the stool. “Alright, it’s settled then. I’ll cook lunch today. You can stay inside and help me watch the kids.”
They said they asked Wang Qiuju to help take care of the child, but in reality, they didn't need her to take care of him much.
With everyone in the room watching, the child won't fall.
Fang Qiao went to the kitchen. She was quick and efficient, kneading dough and rolling it out with a rolling pin.
With a few quick rolls and flicks of the rolling pin, the dough is transformed into a thin, round, and large sheet. Then, the dough is folded into a rectangle using the rolling pin, cut into strips, sprinkled with flour, and shaken out to finish the hand-rolled noodles.
After making the hand-pulled noodles, Fang Qiao didn't rush to boil water and put them in the pot. First, she used a cleaver to smash a few cloves of garlic, then picked a small handful of cilantro leaves from the yard, washed them clean, and put them into a mortar and pestle along with the garlic cloves to make a paste. She added some salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil, and the dressing for the cold noodles was ready.
Although there aren't many seasonings, the dressing is full of garlic flavor and has the refreshing taste of cilantro, which is enough to mix with noodles.
Once the sauce was ready, Fang Qiao started boiling water to prepare the noodles.
Just then, Cheng Baidong finally finished his business and returned from the city. He pushed open the door and came in, carrying large and small packages in his hands.
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