Chapter 93: Summer Daily Life

When Wen Jiajia got home, she didn’t even take off her backpack and hurried straight into the house.

She missed her daughter so much during her few days away that she felt like she could fly back home when she was on the road.

“It’s so hot outside. Come see my Xiaomei. She’s been crying every night lately,” Zhong Huisheng said anxiously.

Xiaomei was lying in the crib in the living room. Zhong Huisheng’s flower stand was in the corner, so she usually placed the crib next to it for convenience.

The moment Wen Jiajia saw her daughter, she wanted to hug and kiss her many times. She had missed her so much!

The little girl’s eyes were closed, her long, curled eyelashes brushing her cheeks, and her tiny hands clenched into little fists.

If she weren’t afraid of waking her up, Wen Jiajia would have picked her up immediately.

Wen Jiajia stood up and said, “Auntie, I’m going to take a shower first. I couldn’t shower on the train, and I’ve been sweating from riding my bike back. I must smell terrible.”

She could already smell her own odor.

Zhong Huisheng nodded. “The water in the pot should still be a bit warm. You can use it to wash up.”

Wen Jiajia laughed. “It’s such a hot day; the tap water is warm enough already.”

The iron pipes laid by the troops had been exposed to the scorching sun all morning and were unbearably hot.

Wen Jiajia put down her backpack, filled two buckets with warm water, and took them to the bathroom. She then went to her room, changed into her casual home clothes, and began her bath.

“Ah, so comfortable—”

As soon as she took off her clothes and poured warm water over her skin, Wen Jiajia sighed with relief. She hadn’t showered for two or three days, and her body felt sticky and itchy. She had to rub soap on her skin twice before feeling clean.

Feeling that a simple bath wasn’t enough, she decided to prepare some herbal water for a more thorough cleanse. By boiling honeysuckle, mulberry branches, perilla, and mint, she could create a bath that clears heat and dampness, relaxes muscles, and activates joints—perfect for the hot weather.

After her shower, she washed her clothes, including the set she’d changed out of in the capital, which had become unbearably smelly.

Even after washing, Wen Jiajia was sweating again, and her white short-sleeved shirt was damp. But that was okay; she planned to shower again in the evening.

Since the weather was so hot, she decided to wash her hair as well. With someone at home to help, she sat on a bench, bent forward, and had the aunt pour water over her hair. After using more than half a bucket of water, her hair was clean.

Wen Jiajia carefully dried her hair with two cotton towels until it was half dry and then sat in a spot where sunlight and shade met to finish drying.

Half an hour later, she heard her baby daughter, Xiaomei, making noises from the room. Wen Jiajia quickly tied up her hair and ran inside.

Xiaomei, who had been lying in her crib, was now sitting up with the great-aunt’s help. Upon seeing Wen Jiajia, she stared with surprise, then began to cry, her eyes red and her mouth pouting.

Wen Jiajia, feeling heartbroken, scooped her daughter into her arms. The little girl initially struggled but then clung tightly to Wen Jiajia’s neck, resting her face against her.

Gently stroking Xiaomei’s back, Wen Jiajia apologized, “I’m sorry I was away for so long, but it was for work.”

Though the child didn’t understand these words, she knew her mother, whom she had nearly forgotten, was back. After a short while, she stopped crying and smiled at Wen Jiajia, revealing her newly emerged teeth.

Wen Jiajia, touching her daughter’s face, exclaimed, “Wow, I can already see your teeth after just a few days!”

Xiaomei, delighted, waved her arms and continued to make happy sounds.

Wen Jiajia asked the aunt, “Has she had a fever recently? I heard some children get fevers when they’re teething.”

Zhong Huisheng replied, “Fever? I’ve heard of that. But Xiaomei hasn’t had a fever, just a lot of crying, probably from the discomfort of teething.”

Relieved that there was no fever, Wen Jiajia spent time with her daughter, checking the cupboard for any remaining candies, biscuits, and dough sticks. By the time she had pampered her daughter enough, her arms were sore.

“Shall we sit down?” Wen Jiajia asked, but Xiaomei resisted, fussing whenever Wen Jiajia tried to sit.

Wen Jiajia had to support her daughter under her arms, allowing her to stand on her lap. Taking care of a child proved to be as physically demanding as working, if not more so.

In the evening, Wen Chun and Wen Xuan returned home. Seeing the bicycle in the yard, they knew their aunt was back.

The two girls immediately called out, “Aunt, Aunt!”

Wen Jiajia poked her head out the window and said, “Stop shouting. I’ve brought the badges you wanted.”

With a joyful “Ah—,” the sisters ran into the room, excited. Wen Jiajia handed out the badges, hair bands, and flowers she had bought. The headbands were particularly popular, with the styles being out of stock in Linhe.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were thrilled. They tried on the hairpins and asked Wen Jiajia why one was purple and the other red.

Wen Jiajia reassured them, “Don’t worry, I bought two pairs of each color. If you want red, you have it too.”

Though the sisters were not twins, they insisted on having matching items. Wen Xuan smiled brightly, holding a red hairpin and playing with it in her hair.

The two girls were so absorbed in their new accessories that they didn’t even notice the Daoxiangcun^[1]is a famous Chinese pastry brand, known for its traditional treats like mooncakes and shortbread. cakes in the cupboard. Wen Jiajia didn’t remind them; she was content to let them enjoy their gifts.

As the sun set, the temperature cooled slightly. Wen Jiajia watered the flowers in the yard while holding Xiaomei, who refused to be put down. Every time Wen Jiajia watered a flower, Xiaomei reached out to grab the water, fascinated by the process.

When she saw a withered flower, Wen Jiajia picked it and gave it to her, but the baby would throw it away after a while and look at the next flower.

Wen Jiajia said, “Don’t do that. You can’t fall in love with every flower you see.”

Of course, a six or seven-month-old baby couldn’t understand this. If she wanted something, she would ask for it; if she didn’t, she would throw it away. Her hands were covered in the fragrant juice from the petals.

Wei Dai, who was outside the courtyard, had already heard the mother and daughter’s voices. He was so happy to see them that he called out, “Jia Jia!”

“Hey!” Wen Jiajia responded.

Wei Dai hurried into the yard and asked, “How was your journey? Did you encounter any problems? Is your work going well?”

Wen Jiajia wanted to hug him, but her hands were full. She could only reply, “Everything went well, and there were no issues on the way. Our factory received a few more orders this time, so we’ll be busy again soon.”

Wei Dai looked at his clothes and wanted to hug his wife but held back. “More orders are good. The more orders we get, the bigger the factory will become. I heard that the dormitory for your factory will be finished soon and that they are repairing the road next to it.”

Wen Jiajia was surprised. “That can’t be right. We were only gone for five or six days, not five or six months. Before we left, the buildings hadn’t even been topped out!”

She felt a bit annoyed. She had been so busy riding her bike that she hadn’t had time to check on the construction site.

“It’s almost roofed,” Wei Dai said. “It should be completed by the end of the year at the latest.”

Wen Jiajia sighed. “It doesn’t matter if it’s built. I can’t get a room anyway.”

She might have a chance to get a share in a few years if she continued working at the factory, but she had to take the college entrance exam tomorrow. If she passed, she would quit her job. How could she expect to get a share, then?

Wei Dai, not knowing the full story, said, “We might not get a share this year, but maybe in five or ten years. By then, our family could have several houses.”

Wen Jiajia’s hands were sore, but she thought that the first part of his statement was reasonable, while the second part was optimistic.

During her trip to the capital, she learned from the guesthouse staff about the current housing prices, which seemed like a bargain compared to the prices decades later.

She planned to buy four houses in the capital before 1990 and four more in Haishi. With many children in the family, each child would get two houses, and she and her husband would need one each. Four houses in each place would be enough.

Therefore, after graduation, Wen Jiajia planned to leave the medical field and start her own business.

Dinner was ready, and since Wen Jiajia was back, it was quite a feast. The bacon, which had been hanging on the kitchen ceiling for a long time, was finally edible. It was sliced thinly and fried with matsutake mushrooms and garlic sprouts. The aroma made Xiaomei drool.

Matsutake mushrooms, picked from nearby mountains, had benefited from recent rain, which had alleviated the drought. Zhong Huisheng discovered a lot of them and had been using them in various dishes.

Wen Jiajia’s favorite eggplant and green beans were also on the table. Zhong Huisheng’s fried eggplant and green beans were especially delicious, with a fragrant taste despite using minimal oil.

Lastly, a bowl of wild vegetable soup was served. Wild vegetables, which are bitter, are great for dispelling heat when boiled in soup.

Xiaomei was given a simple hard-boiled egg. While she couldn’t eat the egg white yet, she needed to eat the yolk every few days.

The child clearly loved food. She lay in her father’s arms, smacking her lips as if she were eating something even though she had nothing in her mouth.

Wei Dai couldn’t bear to see his daughter go hungry, so he fed her the egg yolk before eating his own meal.

After the two sisters finished eating, Wen Jiajia teasingly asked, “Did you save room for the snacks I brought back?”

Wen Xuan puffed out her chest and proudly said, “No! If you don’t believe me, go check for yourself.”

Wen Chun nodded vigorously, finishing the last bite of rice. “To avoid eating too many snacks, we asked Uncle-in-law to help us hide them.”

Wen Jiajia said, “Oh, you still use this method? Go ahead and get some candy or something from the cupboard.”

Wen Chun went to get it but froze when she opened the cupboard door.

“What’s wrong with my sister?” Wen Xuan ran over.

Wen Chun exclaimed, “Ah!” She quickly retrieved the cakes from the cupboard.

“Daoxiangcun!” Wen Chun recognized the name. Her aunt had said this was a famous pastry from the capital.

Wen Xuan, even more excited, hugged Wen Jiajia’s waist with tears in her eyes and asked eagerly, “Aunt, can we eat this now?”

Wen Jiajia touched her stomach and said regretfully, “Do you still have room for more?”

“Of course!” Wen Xuan affirmed. She insisted she had room, even if she didn’t.

Wen Jiajia said, “Each person can only have one piece of cake. Send half a box to Teacher Shen next door, and give the other half to Aunt Bao.”

Wen Chun raised her hand: “Can I share it with my sister? This way, we can have both kinds of snacks.”

Wen Jiajia spread her hands: “Make your own decision.”

Wen Xuan drew inferences from one example: “Then you guys can eat some too, Aunt. Let’s divide a piece of cake into five portions, so everyone can have five flavors of cake.”

Wen Jiajia looked at her in surprise: “It seems that you are good at math.”

Wen Xuan was proud again: “That’s eating!”

Wen Jiajia was speechless: “Okay, you divide it.”

Anyway, pastries won’t taste good if left for too long.

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