Grandma Jiang's grave is in Babaoshan, Beijing.

It always rains during the Qingming Festival. It was drizzling outside when she woke up in the early summer morning. She knew that Cen Huaian would go to sweep the tombs of martyrs with the school today, so she told him to wear a raincoat.

She and Cen Zhengnian took the bus to Grandpa Jiang's house first. At this time, most of the people in the Jiang family had already arrived.

However, some did not come. They were too busy with work and could not rest even on their rest days, such as my eldest aunt Yang Mei. Her work was the kind that she came as soon as she said she would, and she had to deal with it quickly.

The children did not come either, and they were sent to school.

It was still drizzling, and Grandpa Jiang was too old to get wet in the rain. Magistrate Jiang drove the car and took Grandpa Jiang, Second Uncle Jiang, and Second Aunt Jiang to go first, and the rest of the people took the bus.

When we got off the bus, the rain outside had not stopped, but it was a little lighter.

Cen Zhengnian held a large black umbrella over Chuxia's head, and the two of them followed everyone to the cemetery.

Jiang Dajiu walked in the front, and he looked more serious today. Everyone's expression was heavy, even the most lively Jiang Zhida was wearing a neat black Zhongshan suit today, and his usual smile was gone.

There are many people buried in Babaoshan Cemetery, and it's not just the Jiang family who came to sweep the graves today.

But no matter whether they knew each other or not, everyone just nodded to each other when they met, without greeting each other.

Grandpa Jiang and Magistrate Jiang have already arrived. Magistrate Jiang is cleaning the weeds growing in the corners of the cemetery. Grandpa Jiang is sitting in front of the cemetery, throwing gold ingots and other things into the brazier while talking to the tombstone. Second Uncle

Jiang is handing paper money to Grandpa Jiang, lowering his head and his eyes are red. Second Aunt is standing aside, looking at the words on the tombstone, her eyes are a little empty, and I don’t know what she is thinking. There

are several pots of blooming flowers around the tombstone, not only chrysanthemums, but also gardenias, winter jasmines, lilacs...

Chuxia and Cen Zhengnian walked over and put the flowers in their hands in front of the tombstone.

This is what she prepared specially. There are no flower shops at this time, but there is a market selling potted flowers.

Before Chuxia came, she and Cen Zhengnian went to buy yellow and white chrysanthemums. She used newspapers and colorful cloth to tie the flowers into a bouquet, and embellished them with some small flowers and branches. The whole bouquet looked very beautiful.

When Cen Zhengnian saw the flowers that Chuxia had wrapped, he seemed to think of something, and his mouth slightly raised: "My grandma will definitely like it when she sees it. She loves flowers very much." It

was Grandma Jiang who taught Grandpa Jiang to grow flowers and plants. In Cen Zhengnian's words, Grandma Jiang was a person with a very elegant life. Chuxia listened and an elegant image of an old man emerged in her mind.

Others burned incense and placed offerings. Cen Zhengnian quietly took the small broom brought from the basket and cleaned the area around the tombstone.

After everyone had finished paying respects and Grandpa Chiang had said what he needed to say to Grandma Chiang, Cen Zhengnian knelt in front of Grandma Chiang's tomb, and Chu Xia knelt beside him.

"Grandma, I brought Chu Xia to see you."

Chu Xia: "Grandma, I'm your granddaughter-in-law Chu Xia. I'm sorry I came to see you just now."

She finished burning incense with a serious face and said, "You still have a great-grandson, but he has to go to sweep the martyrs' graves today and can't come to see you. I'll bring him next time."

Chu Xia didn't say much. After paying respects seriously, she stood aside with an umbrella and covered Cen Zhengnian's head with it.

Cen Zhengnian didn't say much to begin with. He just knelt there, looking at his grandmother's name carved on the tombstone, and his eyes were filled with longing.

Then he lowered his head to burn paper money for his grandmother, as well as some paper-wrapped things that Grandma Chiang liked when she was alive.

The rain was still falling, and the entire cemetery was shrouded in a layer of misty and gloomy rain, as if God knew that the relatives were very sad on this day.

Chuxia lowered his head to look at Cen Zhengnian. The rain fell on the stone slab in front of the tombstone and wet his pants, but he didn't care at all and concentrated on burning things for Grandma Chiang.

After he finished burning everything, he stood up, looked at the tombstone and said, "Grandma, we'll come to see you again later."

Chuxia didn't even hear what he said to Grandma Jiang about her own affairs, and asked him in surprise, "Are you leaving so soon? Have you finished talking to grandma?"

"Yeah." Cen Zhengnian lowered his head to look at Chuxia's knees, because the stone slab in front of the tombstone was wet by the rain, and there was an obvious water stain there.

"I said this to grandma in my heart, she can hear it."

Cen Zhengnian squatted down and wiped the water stain with a handkerchief: "Are you cold?"

Chuxia looked at Grandma Jiang's tombstone, her face flushed a little, and quickly reached out to pull him: "This is in front of grandma's tomb, what are you doing?"

Cen Zhengnian raised his head with a smile on his lips: "Grandma will be happier to see that we have a good relationship."

But he still stood up as Chuxia wanted, because the handkerchief couldn't wipe it dry, so he had to go home to change clothes.

Grandpa Jiang was a little tired after sweeping the tomb, so he asked the younger generation to go home. Except for Zhishu Jiang who sent him back, no one else had to go to his place again.

Cen Zhengnian and Chuxia also took the bus home.

Sitting on the bus, Chuxia was not in a very good mood as she looked at the drizzle outside the window.

She missed her grandfather, but she could not worship him openly.

Cen Zhengnian thought she was tired, so he let her lean on his shoulder and said, "You take a rest."

Chuxia said "hmm", leaned on him, and continued to look outside, still in a bad mood.

After arriving home, Cen Zhengnian urged Chuxia to change clothes quickly, and he went into the kitchen.

After Chuxia changed her clothes, Cen Zhengnian went to change his clothes. She was playing with the puppies in the living room.

Huangzi and Heizi don't have their own real doghouses yet, they have been sleeping in a box in the living room.

Chuxia took a small ball and let the two puppies play with it, thinking that it was time to build a real nest for them.

But she really doesn't know how to do it, otherwise she could go back and ask a carpenter?

Chuxia was thinking when Cen Zhengnian came in with two bowls of brown sugar ginger tea.

Before she came over, she could smell the strong smell of ginger. She looked up and smiled at Cen Zhengnian: "I was wondering why you went to the kitchen. It's not dinner time yet. You went to make this."

Cen Zhengnian put the bowl on the table, turned to Chuxia and said gently: "Drink it while it's hot."

Chuxia went to wash her hands, walked over to the bowl and smelled it, looking at Cen Zhengnian teasingly: "This ginger smell is strong enough, how much ginger did you put in?"

Cen Zhengnian was drinking ginger tea. He didn't look embarrassed by the teasing. He smiled and said slowly, "Ginger can drive away the cold."

He glanced at Chuxia's knees and said, "Your pants got wet just now. Drink more."

In Cen Zhengnian's eyes, Chuxia was so fragile that she could get sick with a little wind and rain. She had to be carefully taken care of.

Chuxia picked up the bowl to drink ginger tea. When she first took a sip, it was full of spicy ginger flavor, and the sweetness of brown sugar could not be tasted.

She swallowed the ginger tea and said, "You have used up all the ginger in our house."

Cen Zhengnian: "It works well."

But Chuxia still pinched her nose and drank the whole bowl of ginger tea. After drinking it, the spicy taste in her mouth did not disappear for a long time.

But it is true that after drinking a bowl of ginger tea, her whole body was warmed up, unlike when she just came back from outside, her hands and feet were cold, although it was not that hot now.

Chuxia talked to Cen Zhengnian about the doghouse of Huangzi and Heizi.

"The two puppies are growing up, and they can no longer live in that cardboard box."

Cen Zhengnian looked at the rain outside the yard, which was getting smaller and smaller, and said, "I will go back to the unit tomorrow, and I have time to do this today."

He stood up and wanted to walk directly into the rain, but Chuxia held him back: "The clothes you just changed are going to get wet again! Bring an umbrella."

Cen Zhengnian went out with an umbrella, and he came back soon. Chuxia did not ask him what he was doing, and guessed that it was about the puppy house.

Martyrs' Cemetery.

The students of Experimental Primary School came to sweep the tombs of the martyrs today.

In the past, some primary school students held umbrellas, and some wore raincoats. They lined up and were led by their teachers to the Martyrs' Cemetery.

On the way, the teacher took the lead in teaching them to sing red songs. Cen Huaian had not learned these songs, but he had heard them all. The loudspeakers in the textile factory often played them.

He had never sung before, and at first he didn't want to open his mouth. Later, he slowly didn't know if he was infected by the emotions of his classmates around him, and he also sang along.

After the end, Cen Huaian regretted it. He shouldn't have been too loud just now. Now his throat is dry and sore.

Fortunately, he brought a small water bottle, otherwise he would be thirsty all the time.

Cen Huaian and his classmates were in the preschool class. They were young and didn't know anything, so they didn't have any special tasks. They just followed the big troops and did whatever others did.

Arriving at the Martyrs' Cemetery, the teacher arranged the students into a line. Those holding umbrellas had to put them away, and those wearing raincoats had to pin the white paper flowers on their chests outside. Then they walked in with their heads held high and their faces held high.

First, they presented wreaths, one class at a time, placing one in front of each martyr's tomb, and then they all observed a moment of silence.

After the moment of silence, the teacher asked the students to stand in front of the tombs, and they told the students the stories of the martyrs.

The older and more sensible children could stand standing all the time, but the younger children couldn't control themselves and always wanted to move.

"An An, my legs hurt, I can't stand anymore."

Kong Yilin whispered to Cen Huaian. He had been enduring for a long time, and now he really couldn't stand it anymore.

Cen Huaian was not tired, because his foot injury had not healed yet, and he was given special treatment by the teacher and was pushed here by Teacher Fang on a bicycle.

He quietly supported Kong Yilin with his arm.

Not long after, Cen Huaian heard another classmate crying. He didn't dare to cry loudly, but only sobbed quietly. There were classmates' heads all around, and he couldn't see who was crying.

But when the teacher finished telling the story of the martyr, Cen Huaian knew that it was a student in their class who looked shorter than Kong Yilin.

He peed in his pants.

Teacher Fang was anxious and angry: "Why didn't you tell me if you wanted to pee?"

The short student kept wiping his tears and stuttered: "I... I don't dare."

Teacher Fang quickly asked the students in the class if anyone wanted to go to the toilet, and a bunch of students raised their hands to go.

Cen Huaian followed suit.

Then they were taken to the bushes outside the cemetery in batches, and the teacher turned his back to them and asked them to pee quickly.

Cen Huaian had peed outside before, but there was no one else around at that time. Now he was surrounded by his classmates.

But he couldn't bear it anymore, so he closed his eyes, pretending that there were no classmates around, and went to an open-air "toilet" with shame.

Kong Yilin also said to Cen Huaian: "I have wanted to pee for a long time, but I didn't dare to tell the teacher."

He was afraid of wetting his pants, but he was not afraid now.

Nothing happened on the way back, but Cen Huaian felt the rain sliding down his face and falling into his neck.

After sweeping the graves, everyone went straight home. Cen Huaian was sent to the door of his house by Teacher Fang, and it was Cen Zhengnian who opened the door.

"Dad!"

As soon as he saw Cen Zhengnian, Cen Huaian pulled his arm out of Teacher Fang's hand, looked at Cen Zhengnian, and waited for him to pick him up.

Cen Zhengnian saw the strong desire in his son's eyes, walked over, took his arm and placed it under the eaves of the door, turned to look at Teacher Fang, and thanked her.

This was the first time Teacher Fang met Cen Zhengnian, and she had never expected that he would be such a young and outstanding person.

But then she thought again, Cen Huaian's mother is also very outstanding, beautiful in appearance, speaking and doing things, and it is normal for her to marry such a man.

She smiled and waved her hand: "It's just on my way, and I'm An An's class teacher, this is what I should do. An An, goodbye."

"Goodbye, teacher."

Teacher Fang nodded to Cen Zhengnian and left, her face still calm, but she started calling her mom as soon as she got home.

"Mom, I've seen Chu Xia's husband next door. You don't know how handsome he is. No wonder he has such a beautiful child like An An."

Fang's mother said without any surprise, "I've seen him a long time ago. Don't worry about whether he is good-looking or not. Your aunt told me about a young man. Go and meet him."

Teacher Fang immediately showed a headache expression: "Mom, can you stop caring about this matter? I don't want to get married so early now."

Fang's mother: "How old are you..."

The two quarreled over this issue again.

Meanwhile, Chu Xia's family of three next door were having lunch happily, and Jiang Zhida came to deliver wood and bricks.

Chu Xia only then knew what Cen Zhengnian had been doing in the morning. It turned out that he had asked Jiang Zhida to find materials for building a puppy house.

When Cen Huaian heard that his father and cousin were going to build a house for the puppy, he immediately wanted to join in.

Unfortunately, he had to go to school in the afternoon and could not participate.

Chuxia watched for a while what Cen Zhengnian and Jiang Zhida did. Both of them were novices.

Cen Zhengnian even drew a design drawing. Chuxia felt that this was a waste of talent. After all, what was he drawing a design drawing for? Now drawing a doghouse is like a big boss coming down to earth.

But she looked at the picture of the doghouse, which was very beautiful. Even the size of each place was marked to the decimal point. Chuxia felt that if she needed to design anything in the future, she could give it to Cen Zhengnian.

But that was just a thought. After all, Cen Zhengnian was so busy, how could he have so much time.

With the drawing, the two started to work.

Cen Zhengnian was good at making things with his hands. His wall of models was an example. He made the doghouse in an orderly manner.

Jiang Zhida didn't seem to be helping, but rather making things worse: "Second cousin, is this how you mix the mud?"

"Too much water."

Jiang Zhida continued to add soil.

"Too dry."

Jiang Zhida added water again.

After repeating this many times, Chuxia pushed Jiang Zhida away: "If you keep mixing, my yard will be filled with mud."

Chuxia was not good at this job either. In the end, both of them were told by Cen Zhengnian to stand aside and let them watch.

Chuxia couldn't do anything, so she stopped watching. She went to the study to study, and Jiang Zhida stayed there, continuing to find opportunities to help from time to time.

After finishing the first class at school, Cen Huaian felt a little cold and had a headache.

He was wearing thick clothes now. At noon, Chuxia saw that his clothes were wet around his neck. Fearing that he might be sick, she gave him ginger tea and put on thicker clothes.

Cen Huaian thought that he was using his brain because of playing chess, so he put away the chess pieces and took out the comics to read. He

still had a headache and a cold body.

Halfway through the second class, he not only had a headache, but also felt a little dazed, his head felt dizzy and he wanted to sleep.

However, Cen Huaian did not tell the teacher that he was not feeling well, he did not think he was sick.

It was still the third class when Teacher Fang saw Cen Huaian lying on the table, his little face was pale and he had no energy at all, so he reached out and touched his forehead.

"It's so hot!"

You don't need to measure to know that Cen Huaian must have a fever. Teacher Fang asked Cen Huaian: "Can you stand up?" Cen

Huaian nodded and stood up staggeringly. It was obvious that he couldn't go home by himself. The child's fever couldn't wait, and he had to get rid of it quickly. Teacher Fang asked other teachers in the office to help watch the class for a while, and she sent Cen Huaian home. At this time, the doghouse at home was almost finished, and there was only a little more to be done. When Teacher Fang knocked on the door with An An, she saw Jiang Zhida with mud on his hands. This time was not the time to go home, and Jiang Zhida took another look at An An's face. "What's wrong with An An?" Teacher Fang: "She has a fever." Jiang Zhida wanted to help An An, but his hands were covered in mud and he couldn't help at all. He quickly called Cen Zhengnian and Chu Xia. Chu Xia had actually heard the noise and came out. She had just walked to the screen wall and heard Jiang Zhida's voice, and immediately trotted out. She ran directly to An An, and Chu Xia squatted down to support his arm. An An leaned on her shoulder and hummed, "Mom, I feel uncomfortable." "Where do you feel uncomfortable?" Chu Xia touched his forehead, which was indeed very hot. She touched his wrist and felt his pulse. It was the invasion of wind and cold evil, which meant he had caught a cold. It was probably because the rain in the morning flowed into his neck and he wore wet clothes for too long. Cen Zhengnian also came out at this time. He heard the noise outside and washed his hands before coming over. So he picked up Cen Huaian as soon as he came out, turned around and said to Chuxia, "Push the bike out, we will take An'an to see a doctor." Chuxia went to push the bike, Jiang Zhida hurried to wash his hands, and Cen Zhengnian stood at the door to thank Teacher Fang for sending An'an back. Teacher Fang waved her hand to indicate that she had to do it, turned around and hurried back to school, she still had to go to class. Chuxia held Cen Huaian, Cen Zhengnian led them, Jiang Zhida followed behind, and they went to the hospital. "Fever, 38℃." The doctor disinfected the thermometer and put it away. Seeing Chuxia and the others looking worried, she smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, it's not serious. Have you taken antipyretics?" Chuxia asked Cen Huaian, "Did the teacher give you medicine at school?" Cen Huaian shook his head. "Doctor, no." The doctor nodded and continued, "Then give me a small injection and some medicine." Although Cen Huaian was dizzy, he could hear what the doctor said and immediately held Chuxia's hand. Injection, he had never been injected before. Nowadays, the most common illness for children is injections in the buttocks, and many children have had this experience. Since they came to the hospital, they had to listen to the doctor. Cen Huaian had no choice but to do a skin test to see if he was allergic to the drug. This is very painful, Chuxia has done it herself. So when the doctor was doing it to Cen Huaian, Chuxia held his arm and said, "Scream out if it hurts." However, when the needle pushed a little medicine under the skin and it swelled up, Cen Huaian just tensed his body, pinched Cen Zhengnian's clothes tightly with his hands, and didn't say a word. Cen Zhengnian was also surprised that Cen Huaian could endure it, but then he felt distressed. Jiang Zhida felt the same as him. "An An, does it hurt?" Cen Huaian wanted to say it didn't hurt, but it did hurt a little, so he nodded after hesitation. "Why don't you make a sound if it hurts?" Cen Zhengnian touched his head, and Jiang Zhida also looked at him curiously. "It hurts to scream." So it's the same whether you scream or not, so don't scream. Chuxia said from the side: "If you scream, you can divert your attention from the pain." Cen Huaian didn't say anything, he didn't like to scream.

Chuxia saw what he meant and stopped forcing him. She rubbed his stubbled hair and said, "If you don't like it, then don't scream."

Cen Huaian was not allergic. Cen Zhengnian turned him over and made him lie on top of him. His ears were red when his pants were stripped off, exposing a small part of his buttocks. The doctor gave him an injection.

The doctor also praised him for his bravery. He didn't cry or move during the injection.

After returning home, Cen Huaian took the medicine, and Chuxia wrapped him in a quilt to let him sleep.

She was worried and sat in Cen Huaian's room to watch him.

Cen Huaian was dizzy and his body was heavy. He lay on the bed as if he was asleep but not asleep. He just felt very hot and wanted to kick the quilt away.

Chuxia found out and pressed the quilt to stop him from kicking.

During this period, Cen Zhengnian and Jiang Zhida also came in many times to check on him.

By the evening, the temperature of Cen Huaian, who had been sweating, had dropped.

Chuxia and the others were relieved.

When they went to bed at night, Chuxia and Cen Zhengnian did not let Cen Huaian sleep alone, in case he had a fever again.

The two of them were worried all night and woke up several times at night to check on him. Cen Huaian did not have a fever again, so Chuxia breathed a sigh of relief.

Chuxia knew when Cen Zhengnian left in the morning this time, because she was not asleep.

Chuxia followed him and sat up, whispering, "Leaving now? It's not even completely light yet."

Cen Zhengnian said as he put on his clothes, "I can see the road."

He was very worried about Cen Huaian, and he would look back from time to time: "An An's illness..."

Chuxia: "You go to work, I'm still here, and my home is not far from the hospital."

Cen Zhengnian turned around and hugged her. Knowing that she didn't like him saying sorry, he sighed deeply, and felt like a big stone was pressing on his heart, making him very uncomfortable.

"Call me if you have anything. If you can't find me, look for Da Zi and grandpa."

"Okay." Chuxia wanted to see him off, but was stopped by Cen Zhengnian: "You didn't sleep well last night, sleep a little longer."

"I still have to close the door after you leave."

Chuxia continued to put on her clothes.

She got up, went to the living room counter, found the snacks and bread she had just bought, packed them up and asked Cen Zhengnian to take them to the office to eat.

"There is a cafeteria in the office..."

Before Cen Zhengnian finished speaking, Chu Xia put the things in his hand without letting him refuse: "Take it!"

She walked Cen Zhengnian to the door.

He pushed the bicycle and watched the morning wind mess up Chu Xia's hair. He combed her hair and looked at her reluctantly.

"I'm leaving."

"Okay."

Chu Xia watched Cen Zhengnian riding his bicycle away, then she turned around, closed the door, and went home to continue sleeping.

It was already bright when Cen Huaian woke up. He was shocked: "Mom! I'm going to be late for school!"

Chu Xia was awakened by his voice. She covered her mouth and yawned and said: "You are still sick. Rest at home for a day before going to school." Fever

is easy to recur. If Cen Huaian doesn't have a fever in the next two days, she can be sure that he is well.

Instead of going to school, Cen Huaian was wrapped up thickly by Chu Xia and allowed to bask in the sun in the yard.

After basking in the sun for a while, he got up to check on the puppy's nest.

Cen Zhengnian stayed up late last night to make the nest. The two puppies live together. He made a big nest and placed it at the gatehouse. Even if the puppies grow up, there is no need to worry about not having enough space.

However, the new nest was covered with mud and had to be dried, so Chuxia and Cen Huaian carried the nest to the yard to dry it.

The two puppies were curious and always wanted to touch it with their paws. Every time, Cen Huaian stopped them and told them that this was their new nest.

After talking too much, they probably understood and wanted to get in. Cen Huaian quickly hugged them and pulled them out: "It's not dried well yet, so you can't live here."

Cen Huaian didn't play chess, do Sudoku puzzles, or read comics that day. He played with the puppies in the yard all day.

The recurring fever that Chuxia had been worried about did not appear, so she sent him to school with peace of mind.

A few days passed, and Chuxia went out to buy vegetables and walked in the alley. She could already smell the fragrance of locust flowers from the locust trees on both sides.

She looked up at the clusters of small flower buds growing on the tree, with joy in her eyes.

Chuxia loves to eat locust flowers, whether they are steamed, made into cakes, or wrapped into dumplings, she likes them all.

When she recalled these delicacies, she wanted to taste the unique sweet taste of locust flowers even more.

When passing by the door of Teacher Fang's house, Fang's mother was sitting at the door and talking to the neighbors around her while picking vegetables.

Chuxia stopped and greeted her: "Auntie Fang."

"Chuxia, you're back from buying vegetables."

"Yes."

Chuxia and the other neighbors now knew each other and nodded to each other.

"Auntie Fang, whose family planted the locust tree in our alley?"

When Fang's mother heard her words, she knew what she meant and said with a smile: "You saw the locust flowers on it, right?"

Chuxia smiled embarrassedly: "I can't hide it from Auntie."

The others also laughed: "It's really the season for eating locust flowers."

"I can only eat it once a year. I am really greedy."

Auntie Fang said to Chuxia: "I don't know when the tree was planted. It was there when we moved here. It's an ownerless tree. You can pick locust flowers if you want."

Chuxia got the news she wanted. When she went home, her eyebrows were stained with smiles.

The locust flowers have to wait for two more days. They are a little small now. The locust flowers bloom very quickly. If there is no refrigerator, they can't be preserved unless they are dried in the sun. Even if they are preserved in the refrigerator, they are not as delicious and fresh as those picked now.

Before picking the locust flowers, the weekend arrived first, and Chuxia took Cen Huaian to Grandpa Jiang's house.

There were also many locust trees in the alleys there, and some of the locust flowers bloomed early and were already edible.

Chuxia ate locust flower cakes at noon at Grandpa Jiang's house, which made her very surprised.

"Grandpa, where did you pick these locust flowers?"

Today, only Chuxia stayed after sending Cen Huaian here. Jiang Zhiguan and Jiang Zhishu left after sending the children here.

Therefore, there were only three children, Chuxia, Grandpa Jiang, and the nanny Aunt Li at the dinner table.

Grandpa Jiang looked at Aunt Li and said, "You have to ask Aunt Li about this. She buys all the vegetables at home."

Aunt Li usually doesn't talk much. Every time Chuxia came to see her, she was working, either mopping the floor or washing clothes outside.

If you don't ask her, she hardly speaks. When

Aunt Li heard her being called, she looked up at Chuxia and said with a little embarrassment on her face, "It's the locust tree at the door. Many people picked it yesterday."

"Is that also an ownerless tree?"

Grandpa Jiang nodded, "I guess it was planted with this house. I don't know how many years it has been there."

Chuxia asked Aunt Li if she could pick locust flowers, and got a positive answer.

Zhang Lu couldn't sit still when she heard Chuxia say that she would go pick the flowers after lunch and asked Aunt Li to borrow tools.

She had been listening attentively since Chuxia spoke. Picking Sophora japonica flowers was such an interesting thing, she wanted to join in.

"Auntie, me! Take me one! I'll help you pick them too!"

"I want to, too!" Jiang Weixian loved to follow his sister the most, and he wanted to join in whatever his sister did.

Cen Huaian put down the bowl and looked at Chuxia closely: "Mom, I'll pick them too."

There was plenty of time in the afternoon before Sun Feng came over. Picking Sophora japonica flowers with sickles and bamboo poles was not dangerous. The children were responsible for picking them from below, so Chuxia naturally agreed.

After lunch, the three children didn't want to take a nap, and surrounded Chuxia, wanting to pick them now.

Without a nap, they are not energetic in the afternoon. Cen Huaian and the other two still have to practice martial arts. Chu Xia disagrees: "Sleep for half an hour, I will ask you to get up and pick the flowers, otherwise I will not take you with me."

The three children quickly lay down on the bed and closed their eyes.

Grandpa Jiang smiled kindly beside them and said, "It's still lively when you are here."

Usually, only he and Aunt Li are at home, and Aunt Li doesn't like to talk. He lives in such a big yard, which is really deserted.

Chu Xia also smiled: "If I send An An here every day, you will definitely think it's noisy, Grandpa."

Grandpa Jiang took a sip of tea leisurely and said, "You can send it here every day, let me see if it's noisy."

Chu Xia also took a sip of tea. Grandpa Jiang has a lot of good tea leaves here, and she can drink good tea every time she comes.

"I almost fell for your trick, Grandpa." She held the cup and said, "I would like to send it every day, but An'an has to go to school."

Chuxia knew that Grandpa Jiang was well-versed in literature, so she asked him to explain a few words that she had a vague understanding of.

Grandpa Jiang was indeed a well-known scholar. He explained the origins and meanings of several words in a simple and profound way, and Chuxia remembered them all at once.

However, she also saw that Grandpa Jiang was a little tired, so she didn't ask any more questions and let him go to sleep.

When half an hour was up, Chuxia woke up the three children.

The tools for picking locust flowers yesterday were still there. The sickle was tied to the bamboo pole and could be used directly. Aunt Li had nothing to do, so she came out to see. Picking locust flowers

is also a delicate job. If you pick too lightly, you can't pick them off. If you pick too hard, you may just pull the flowers off, and the branches are still on the tree.

Chuxia went to pick locust flowers every year in her previous life, and she knew how to pick them. But she forgot. In this life, she didn't have enough strength, and she failed twice.

Zhang Lu was getting impatient. She wanted to pick locust flowers, so she ran over and hugged the tree and said, "Auntie, I'll climb up and pick them. It'll be quick."

"No!" Chuxia threw the bamboo pole on the ground and pulled her back by the collar: "You just stand by and watch."

The locust tree was thick and tall. Zhang Lu was only eight years old, and it was too dangerous to climb up and pick locust flowers.

"You believe me, let me rest for a while and regain some strength. I will definitely be able to pick them..."

Before Chuxia finished her words, she heard a slight "click" sound, and a branch with branches and many locust flowers fell in front of her.

Chuxia blinked, slowly turned her head, and saw Aunt Li picking locust flowers.

Aunt Li smiled at her innocently: "I'll hook them, you guys pick them."

"Pick the locust flowers!" Jiang Weixian didn't care who hooked the locust flowers, he just wanted to pick the ones on top.

Zhang Lu also ran over quickly: "I'll pick them too, leave some for me!"

Chuxia didn't care how Aunt Li hooked the locust flowers, and hurriedly said: "Be careful, there are thorns on them!"

Cen Huaian stood beside Chuxia, took her hand and shook it and said: "Mom, the teacher said that everyone has their own strengths, you should learn well."

That meant to comfort her that it was okay if she couldn't hook locust flowers, she was just not good at it.

Chuxia didn't care about this, but An'an's words made her feel comforted. She touched his head and said, "I don't care. It doesn't matter who picked it. As long as we can eat the locust flowers, it's fine. Come on, follow me to pick locust flowers."

She pulled Cen Huaian to squat aside and taught him how to pick the locust flowers. Some tender ones don't need to be picked and can be eaten directly.

"Don't pick the stems. The stems are not delicious."

Zhang Lu and Jiang Weixian just picked them randomly, so they didn't know what was delicious and what was not.

But after listening to Chuxia, they also picked them obediently.

Children are unstable, no matter how sensible they are.

Jiang Weixian picked them for a while, and then started to play with the locust flowers, hitting Zhang Lu, putting them on his head, and poking Cen Huaian.

Cen Huaian ignored him. He wanted to be the best child in his mother's heart. He wanted to help his mother with work, not play like a child.

But Zhang Lu was annoyed by him and started to fight back in the same way: "Jiang Weixian! Stop right there!"

"No, no! Come and chase me!" He provoked Zhang Lu with a locust flower, and Zhang Lu immediately stood up and started to chase him. The two ran around Chuxia and Cen Huaian.

Jiang Weixian was relatively weak, and he couldn't compare to Zhang Lu who ran and played every day. He was caught after running only two laps.

Zhang Lu pressed him to the ground and smeared his face with locust flowers, which made him itch: "Are your hands still weird? Are you still naughty?"

Jiang Weixian couldn't get away, and laughed, "Hahahaha," "Sister, let me go, let me go, I was wrong." As

soon as Zhang Lu let him go, he threw the locust flowers at Zhang Lu and started running again: "Sister, keep chasing me!"

The two of them kept chasing each other, only An An squatted there obediently, helping Chu Xia all the time.

"Mom."

"Hmm?" Chu Xia looked up at him.

Cen Huaian picked a bunch of locust flowers and put them in the basket and asked, "Am I the best one?"

"Yes." Chu Xia smiled and nodded, patted his head and said, "Not only the best one, but also the most important one in Mom's heart."