Chapter 23: Eliminating Pests

When they returned home.

Xia Junshan said, “I’ll go heat some water, take a hot shower to prevent catching a cold.”

Meng Yufei nodded and said, “Alright, let’s just have noodles tonight.”

“Okay, noodles are good too.”

Meng Yufei took off Xia Qinqin’s wet shoes that were covered in sand, looking at the sneakers that no longer looked white, thinking to herself, how could she have forgotten to change shoes?

She looked down at her own shoes—well, they’re the same…

Xia Qinqin was concerned about the seashells in the wooden bucket. “Mom, won’t the crabs crush the shells inside?”

Meng Yufei reassured her, “No, the shells are very hard, the crabs can’t crush them.”

Xia Qinqin’s clothes were also wet and dirty. Meng Yufei helped her take them off, then picked up the little girl wearing only a vest and shorts and placed her on the sofa. She went into the room to find a shirt and put it on her.

“Hmm…” Xia Qinqin asked again, “Mom, the shells are very hard. Won’t they hurt the crabs?”

Meng Yufei responded, “No, the crabs’ shells are hard too.”

She then went into the room to find some pajamas, but looking at the empty wardrobe, she thought, “I wonder when the package from Haishi will arrive. If it doesn’t come soon, maybe I should go to the city and buy a few clothes.”

“Mom! Mom…” Xia Qinqin’s voice came again from the living room. Meng Yufei quickly walked over and asked, “What is it?”

Xia Qinqin pointed at the wooden bucket by the door and said, “Mom, the crabs ran out!”

Meng Yufei looked over and indeed saw two crabs struggling to climb over the edge of the bucket, almost escaping.

Meng Yufei quickly took two steps forward, stretched her leg, and kicked the crabs back into the bucket. Then she grabbed a wooden lid to cover it and prevent them from escaping again.

Xia Qinqin clapped her hands happily. “Okay, now they can’t escape.”

Xia Junshan had also heated the water. He came out of the kitchen carrying a basin of hot water and said, “The water’s ready. I’ll take it to the bathroom, you bring Qinqin over to bathe.”

“Okay, I’ll be right there.”

Meng Yufei took the pajamas and picked up Xia Qinqin from the sofa, heading to the bathroom. Xia Junshan filled the bath with hot water and added some cold water to adjust the temperature.

Meng Yufei said, “You go get Qinqin’s slippers, they’re on the second shelf of the shoe cabinet.”

“Alright.”

Xia Junshan nodded and went to get the slippers. Meng Yufei then said, “Junshan, could you also take the crabs to the kitchen? I saw them trying to escape. I covered them with a lid.”

Xia Junshan replied, “I’ll put them in the yard. If they escape at night, it will be hard to find them inside the house.”

Meng Yufei agreed, “That’s true. It’s better to keep them in the yard.”

Xia Junshan closed the bathroom door and went to deal with the crabs. He took the wooden bucket to the corner of the yard, added more water to it, as the crabs would die without water.

After taking care of the crabs, he lit the coal stove to heat water for cooking the noodles.

Xia Qinqin sat in the bathtub, happily splashing water. Meng Yufei quickly stopped her, saying, “Qinqin, don’t splash the water! Look at the floor, it’s all wet from the splashes.”

Xia Qinqin stopped splashing, tilted her head, and said, “But Mom, splashing is really fun!”

Meng Yufei was washing her daughter with soap, replying, “You like playing with water, next time your dad and I will take you to the beach to play. But when you’re taking a bath, you can’t splash, okay?”

“Okay, got it,” Xia Qinqin nodded obediently.

The slippery soap lathered up into fragrant, dense bubbles. Xia Qinqin cupped the bubbles in her hands, leaned down to smell them, and smiled, saying, “It smells so good.”

The fluffy foam got on her delicate little nose. Meng Yufei, amused, wiped it off and then pretended to scold her, saying, “Stop moving around, let’s hurry up and wash. Otherwise, the water will get cold.”

“Okay~”

After finally finishing Xia Qinqin’s bath, Meng Yufei helped her put on pajamas and slippers, then carried her to the room and patted her, saying, “Go sit on the sofa.”

When Xia Junshan saw them coming out, he pointed to the coal stove and said, “Feifei, the water is almost boiling, can you check it? I’ll go dump the bath water.”

Meng Yufei nodded and said, “Okay.”

Xia Qinqin, wearing her little slippers, obediently ran to the sofa, took off her slippers, climbed up, and started playing with her small toys.

Meng Yufei glanced at the pot on the coal stove and saw the water starting to bubble, so she went to the kitchen, took out the noodles, and added them.

Tonight’s dinner was still egg noodles, with a few drops of sesame oil added.

Meng Yufei said, “If only we had some pickled vegetables, that would be perfect. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to make them.”

Xia Junshan picked up their daughter from the sofa and placed her on a chair, smiling, “You could ask Aunt Zhang next door if you want. They like to pickle vegetables over there.”

Meng Yufei replied, “I feel bad always troubling Aunt Zhang, we just had her steamed buns the other day.” She had also asked her for help with making shoes today.

Xia Junshan said, “What’s wrong with that? Another day we can bring some peach crisps as a return gift. Neighbors help each other out, that’s how it works—give and take.”

Meng Yufei nodded, “Okay, I’ll go when I have the time.”

Xia Qinqin noticed the wooden bucket was no longer by the door and asked curiously, “Mom, where did the shells and crabs go?”

Xia Junshan explained, “Dad moved the bucket to the yard.”

Xia Qinqin asked, “Why didn’t you put it inside the house? Won’t they be scared out in the yard at night?”

Xia Junshan answered, “They won’t be scared. If we keep them inside, and in the middle of the night, the crabs escape, they might crawl to a little kid’s ear and pinch it.”

Xia Qinqin touched her ear and said, “Then let’s leave them in the yard. I don’t want the crabs to pinch my ears!”

Xia Junshan quickly reassured her, “Don’t worry, Qinqin. I’ll close the door at night, and they won’t be able to get in.”

Xia Qinqin, still a bit concerned, said, “Dad, you must close it really tightly.”

Xia Junshan suppressed a smile and nodded, “Mm-hmm, I will.”

Meng Yufei asked, “If we leave them outside all night, they won’t die, will they?”

Xia Junshan said, “It’s fine, I added some water, it’s just for one night, nothing will happen.”

Meng Yufei replied, “That’s good.”

After dinner, Xia Junshan got up to clear the dishes and said to Meng Yufei, “You should go take a bath now, don’t catch a cold.”

After finishing her bath, Meng Yufei sat on the sofa with Xia Qinqin and took out a book from the “Children’s Library” to read to her. This was a book Meng Yufei had read when she was young. It contained stories, social topics, and natural science, along with many hand-drawn illustrations, making it perfect for children.

Meng Yufei flipped to the chapter “Pests” and read aloud: “There are many pests in the world, some harm humans, some harm livestock, and some harm plants. The common pests we see at home include flies, mosquitoes, bedbugs, etc…”

Xia Junshan came out of the bath just as she was reading this and laughed, saying, “It’s perfect. Tomorrow, we’ll be getting rid of these pests in our yard.”

Meng Yufei asked, “Do I need to go too?”

Xia Junshan shook his head, “No, just one man from each household is enough. It’s just clearing the grass and ditches around the family compound, not much work. With so many people, it’ll be done in the morning.”

He walked over, sat next to Meng Yufei, and continued, “It’s not like a few years ago, when we still had to hand in a ‘mission’.”

Speaking of this, Meng Yufei laughed and said, “You don’t know, back then, the teacher made us hand in ten rats every month! We, the students, would be blocking the drains in the streets every day after class. As soon as we saw a rat, our eyes would light up, just like seeing a cat.”

Xia Junshan looked at Meng Yufei, curious, and asked, “Did you actually hand in ten rats?”

Meng Yufei raised an eyebrow and said, “Of course, I handed them all in.”

Xia Junshan opened his mouth in surprise, “You… really caught rats?” He couldn’t picture his wife catching rats.

Meng Yufei laughed and said, “How could that be! Before I even touched a rat, I was already crying and ran home while crying. In the end, it was my dad who took Xiao Yan to catch the rats.”

Xia Junshan said, “Dad worked hard. But I really didn’t expect him to be able to catch rats.” Mr. Meng was usually cultured and refined, and Xia Junshan had never imagined him catching rats.

Meng Yufei proudly lifted her chin and said, “My dad is amazing at many things. Catching a few rats is nothing.”

At this moment, Xia Qinqin suddenly spoke up, “Dad, can you catch rats?”

Xia Junshan laughed and patted his daughter’s head, saying, “Of course, Dad can catch rats.”

Xia Qinqin smiled, leaning on her mother’s shoulder and said, “Qinqin, like Mom, has an amazing dad who can catch rats.”

Meng Yufei looked down and kissed her daughter’s cheek, smiling, “Yes, both Mom and Qinqin are very lucky to have such an amazing dad protecting us.”

The family sat side by side on the sofa, continuing to read. The gentle breeze lifted the newly changed green curtains, and the sound of Meng Yufei reading filled the room, creating a peaceful and beautiful scene.

—

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

He quietly got out of bed and went for a run. At the beach, he met Regiment Commander Ma and his two sons, who were also out for a run. Xia Junshan greeted them with a smile, “Good morning, Regiment Commander Ma. Out for a run with your sons?”

Regiment Commander Ma laughed and said, “Good morning, Old Xia. You’re running on your rest day? Don’t you want to sleep a bit longer?”

Xia Junshan replied, “I’m used to training every day. If I don’t come out to move around for a day, my body feels uncomfortable.”

Regiment Commander Ma shook his head with a smile and said, “Still young, huh? A few years ago, I was like that too. If I didn’t exercise for a day, I’d feel uneasy. But in the past two years, I can’t do it anymore. I’m getting old and too lazy to move. If it weren’t for this kid going into the army, I’d be too lazy to get up early and suffer like this.”

Regiment Commander Ma pointed at his two sons behind him and said, “What are you two standing there for? Quickly say hello to your Uncle Xia.”

The two boys, one around seventeen or eighteen and taller than Regiment Commander Ma, and the other about twelve or thirteen, both said in unison, “Hello, Uncle Xia.”

Xia Junshan nodded and said, “Good, good. Weidong is going to join the army.”

Regiment Commander Ma said, “Yes, this big guy, unable to focus on studying anymore, just staying at home every day being in the way. Might as well send him to the army to train, better than just eating at home.”

He turned to his eldest son and said, “By the way, Weidong, your Uncle Xia was the combat champion in the last division competition. You should ask him to teach you a few moves, they’ll be useful to you.”

Ma Weidong stepped forward, saluted, and grinned, saying, “Uncle Xia, I’ve heard that you’re really skilled. I hope you can teach me a few moves today.”

Xia Junshan smiled and said, “Alright, let’s spar a bit.”

While Xia Junshan was exercising by the sea, at home, Meng Yufei woke up and opened the windows in several rooms to let the fresh air in. Looking at the rising sun outside, it was another beautiful day. Hmm, I should take down the bed sheets to wash them today, since it’s the weekend.

Thinking about the crabs from yesterday, Meng Yufei quickly ran to the yard and lifted the bowl covering the wooden barrel. She saw the crabs moving around inside, still full of energy.

After changing out of her pajamas, she was about to go to the canteen for breakfast when she ran into Xia Junshan, who had returned from his exercise and was holding a lunchbox with breakfast he had bought on his way back from the canteen.

Meng Yufei smiled and said, “I was just about to go buy breakfast. I didn’t expect you to already have it.”

Xia Junshan placed the lunchbox on the dining table and smiled, “I happened to go for a workout and bought this on the way back. The canteen made shaomai this morning, filled with glutinous rice and pork. It smells so good.”

Meng Yufei said, “Then I’ll boil a few eggs. We rarely get to eat eggs at home. We still have half of the twenty eggs we bought last time, but I’m not sure how long they’ll last.”

Xia Junshan said, “Alright, I’ll light the coal stove.”

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

Xia Qinqin was a bit grumpy from being woken up, pouting and looking unhappy. Meng Yufei gently said to her, “How about we wash the shells after breakfast?”

Thinking about the shells she had picked up yesterday, Xia Qinqin’s mood brightened, and she nodded, saying, “Okay.”

The ^[1]Shāomài (烧卖), also spelled siu mai in Cantonese, is a traditional Chinese dumpling commonly found in dim sumshaomai, with its glutinous rice and pork filling, was fragrant and soft. However, since glutinous rice is hard to digest, after eating one, Xia Qinqin was full. She took the half-boiled egg from her dad, ate half the egg white, and then stopped.

Xia Junshan said, “Eat your egg, it’s good for you.”

Xia Qinqin shook her head. Meng Yufei said, “If she doesn’t want to eat it, it’s fine. Eating too much will upset her stomach.”

Xia Junshan shook his head, picked up the half egg from the table, and said, “When I was a kid, we never got to eat eggs during the New Year.”

Meng Yufei peeled another egg and handed it to him, smiling, “Then I’ll cook more eggs for you in the future.”

Xia Junshan laughed and took the egg, finishing the one and a half eggs, nodding, “Alright, now I’m living better than the old landlords ever did.”

Meng Yufei patted his arm, saying, “What are you talking about? There are no landlords anymore.”

Xia Junshan grinned, “I meant, well, it’s a metaphor, you know?”

After finishing breakfast, Meng Yufei took down the bed sheets and duvet cover to wash.

Xia Junshan came out from the kitchen after washing the dishes. Seeing her holding the bed sheets as she walked out of the room, he asked, “Are you going to wash the sheets?”

“Mm, I see the weather is nice today, so if I wash them now, they’ll be dry by the afternoon.”

“I’ll wash it. This bed sheet is very heavy, you won’t be able to lift it.” With that, he took the bed sheet and placed it by the water faucet in the yard.

Meng Yufei asked, “Aren’t you supposed to be going to get rid of the pests this morning?”

Xia Junshan took out a large wooden basin for washing clothes, turned on the faucet, and while filling it with water, replied, “No rush, I’ll do this first. It won’t take long to finish.”

After breakfast, Xia Qinqin couldn’t wait to run outside to check on the shells and crabs. She saw that the crabs on top of the barrel were all moving around, their claws waving wildly, and her shells were nowhere to be seen.

She panicked, “Mom, the crabs ate my shells!”

Meng Yufei walked over, shook the barrel, and revealed the shells at the bottom, saying, “Look, the shells are right here at the bottom.”

Xia Qinqin leaned in to take a look, “Oh, they’re really underneath. The crabs must have hidden them down there.”

Meng Yufei said, “Wait a moment, mom will separate them for you.”

“Mm-hmm, I’ll help you separate them, mom.”

“Okay.”

Xia Junshan moved quickly, using a couple of strokes to scrub the bed sheet with soap. It wasn’t too dirty after just a few days of use, so he changed the water twice and rinsed off all the soap foam, then hung it up to dry on the clothesline.

After emptying the wooden basin, Xia Junshan clapped his hands and said, “I’m heading out now.”

Meng Yufei hurriedly said, “Wait,” and ran inside to get her straw hat. She tiptoed to put it on Xia Junshan’s head, “The sun is pretty strong this morning, wear this.”

Xia Junshan touched the straw hat on his head and smiled, “Alright, I’ll be back soon.”

He then turned, picked up his daughter, kissed her little face, and said, “Qinqin, Dad is going out to get rid of the pests. Be a good girl and listen to Mom.”

Xia Qinqin nodded vigorously, “Mm, okay! Bye, Dad!”

“Goodbye!”

After Xia Junshan left, Meng Yufei took the wooden barrel to the faucet and poured the crabs into the basin, picking them up one by one and putting them back into the barrel.

Before long, the basin was filled with only the shells. Xia Qinqin saw this and admired, “Mom, you’re amazing! All the shells are out now.”

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

Meng Yufei pointed to the shells on the ground and said, “Once the water dries, we can make wind chimes.”

Xia Qinqin curiously asked, “How long will that take?”

Meng Yufei replied, “By the afternoon, they’ll be ready.”

Xia Qinqin squatted on the ground, propping her chin in her hands, watching the shells drying in the sun, and seriously said to them, “Hurry up and dry, okay?”

In the family compound, the men who were supposed to be getting rid of the pests started to gather in small groups, with the people from the logistics office handing out tools.

Since it was a rest day, the men in the family compound were no longer wearing uniforms. Some wore old military clothes, others wore t-shirts and jackets, and there weren’t many wearing hats.

Xia Junshan, wearing a straw hat, stood out in the crowd. A few of his close friends teased him, “Old Xia, why are you still wearing a straw hat?”

“Maybe it’s to protect himself from the sun,” one of them said.

“Huh? I thought the sun wasn’t that strong this morning,” another added.

“Haha, Old Xia, are you still worried about getting tan?”

Xia Junshan glanced at them, adjusted his hat, and said calmly, “I didn’t want to wear it either. My wife felt sorry for me, worried I’d get sunburned, so she insisted I wear it.” He shook his head and continued, “Well, what can I do? I couldn’t argue with her, so I put it on.” After saying that, he couldn’t help but laugh, showing his white teeth.

The group who had just teased him went silent: “……”

The family compound wasn’t very large. After dividing into groups and assigned areas, everyone picked up their tools to trim the messy branches, clear the grass, and remove the fallen leaves. They found quite a few bugs and mice…

While the outside was busy with pest control, inside, Meng Yufei, after drying the shells, brought out a small stool and sat by the faucet to clean the crabs.

“Qinqin, go to your room and draw, Mom is going to clean the crabs.”

Xia Qinqin came up beside Meng Yufei, “Mom, I don’t want to draw. I want to clean the crabs with you.”

Meng Yufei said, “Then go back and bring a small stool to sit on. You can sit here and watch Mom clean them, but don’t touch them. They might pinch you.”

Xia Qinqin nodded, “Mm, okay.” She quickly ran inside, came out holding a small stool, and sat next to her mom.