On Sunday, the family arrived at the courtyard.

Jiang Zhida led Zhang Lu and Jiang Weixian, who were also excited about picking jujubes and followed him to join in the fun.

Chuxia opened the large vermilion gate of the courtyard.

Huangzi and Heizi, the two dogs, rushed in eagerly.

The once-quiet house instantly came to life with the noise and activity.

Zhang Lu, holding Jiang Weixian with one hand and pulling Cen Huai’an with the other, laughed heartily as they ran into the yard with the two dogs.

Cen Huai’an was pulled along, running with them.

“Jujubes! So many jujubes!” Zhang Lu’s joyful voice rang out from the courtyard.

Jiang Weixian also joined in the excitement, shouting “Jujubes!” while Cen Huai’an, the youngest, remained silent.

As Chuxia passed the screen wall, she saw the yard covered in dry yellow leaves.

Looking down, she noticed Cen Huai’an, standing under the tall jujube tree, gazing up at the jujubes with sparkling eyes.

Zhang Lu was trying to climb the tree but was being pulled down by Jiang Zhida, like an eagle catching a chick.

Jiang Weixian was happily running around the tree while calling out.

Cen Zhengnian looked at them with a smile in his eyes. “They’re just like how I was with my older brother and Dazi when we used to pick jujubes.”

Chuxia reflected for a moment and said, “I never picked jujubes when I was young, but I did pick pomegranates.”

Cen Zhengnian replied, “There are pomegranate trees at my grandfather’s place; they’ll be ready to pick soon.”

Pomegranates and jujubes come into season around the same time, around the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Jujube trees are prone to pests called green-twig moths, which have venomous spines.

A sting can cause immediate swelling and redness.

To protect the children, Chuxia and Cen Zhengnian made sure they were fully covered, with no exposed skin, including their faces.

Jiang Zhida skillfully found a bamboo pole in the yard and attached a V-shaped branch to it.

He gently hooked the jujubes with the pole, causing them to fall.

Zhang Lu and Jiang Weixian, dressed warmly with thick hats, laughed and ran around, not fearing the jujubes falling on them.

Cen Huai’an, holding up the hem of his clothes, gathered a small pile of jujubes and ran to Chuxia and Cen Zhengnian.

“Mom, Dad, jujubes.”

He showed them the jujubes in his clothes, which varied in size and were mostly half red and half green, looking very sweet.

Chuxia smiled as she took a few, wiped them on her glove, took a bite, and then fed one to Cen Huai’an.

The jujubes were crispy and sweet, with plenty of juice, making it hard to stop at just one.

Cen Zhengnian also took a few jujubes and smiled as he patted Cen Huai’an on the head, letting him eat on his own.

Zhang Lu and Jiang Weixian squatted on the ground, picking up fallen jujubes and eating them.

The basket next to them still had only a few jujubes in it.

Cen Huai’an poured the jujubes from his clothes into the basket and then squatted down, eating a couple of jujubes while picking up more.

Jiang Zhida, having only tested the pole initially, called out to Cen Zhengnian, “Second Cousin, get a bedsheet to catch the jujubes!”

Without the bedsheet, the ripe jujubes would likely get damaged when they hit the ground.

“Okay.”

Cen Zhengnian handed the jujubes he was holding to Chuxia and went inside to find a bedsheet.

Chuxia also helped pick up the jujubes.

By the time Cen Zhengnian came out, Chuxia and the kids had finished picking up most of the jujubes from the ground, and the basket wasn’t even full yet.

Cen Zhengnian and Chuxia held the bedsheet by the corners, with Cen Huai’an and Zhang Lu each holding a corner.

Jiang Zhida used the pole to knock down the jujubes, and the four of them moved around to catch them.

Some jujubes missed the bedsheet and landed on their heads or bodies.

Zhang Lu, trying to avoid them, kept shouting, “Don’t hit me! Don’t hit me!”

Cen Huai’an, unlike Zhang Lu, did not dodge around.

He wasn’t afraid, as he was well-protected and only worried about getting hit.

Jiang Weixian played around nearby, occasionally squatting down to pick up a few jujubes.

Huangzi and Heizi, aware that falling jujubes could be painful, stayed away from directly under the tree and collected jujubes that rolled away, munching them and spitting out the pits.

Jiang Zhida, experienced in picking jujubes, skillfully made them fall without breaking the branches.

Soon, the two baskets were nearly full.

Zhang Lu, still not satisfied, wanted to climb the tree.

Although the tree was dense and tall, the first large branch was low and thick enough for a person to stand on.

Jiang Zhida had reached the high jujubes by standing on this thick branch and using it to hook the fruits.

Zhang Lu, itching to climb, decided to sneak up while the adults were tidying up.

She put on gloves and climbed up, unaware of the dangers posed by the green-twig moths since she had never picked jujubes before.

Moreover, she was fully covered, with only her eyes exposed, so her skin wouldn’t touch the pests.

Zhang Lu, who had always enjoyed climbing trees, was the fastest among her friends in this activity.

She finally reached the thick branch and was about to climb higher when Cen Huai’an ran to Cen Zhengnian and pushed him, saying, “Dad, Sister is climbing the tree again.”

Cen Zhengnian turned and saw Zhang Lu’s dangerous actions.

She was lying on a branch and trying to climb higher, causing his brow to furrow.

Jiang Zhida also noticed Zhang Lu and was about to scold her.

Cen Zhengnian quickly gestured for him to stay quiet.

“Shouting loudly might startle her.”

If a child gets frightened, they might panic and accidentally let go, leading to an unfavorable outcome.

Cen Zhengnian quickly ran to the tree, bracing himself against the thick branch and jumping up to stand on it.

He grabbed Zhang Lu’s foot as she tried to climb higher.

Zhang Lu, startled, looked back at Cen Zhengnian with a guilty expression, retracting her head and calling out, “Uncle.”

“It’s dangerous up here. Come down slowly.” Cen Zhengnian said, keeping his grip on her.

When the adults noticed, Zhang Lu knew that her plan to climb the tree was completely impossible.

She obediently climbed down, and Cen Zhengnian caught her and handed her to Jiang Zhida, who was waiting below the tree.

“Are you a monkey? Every time we turn around, you’re climbing a tree. You might as well live up there!” Jiang Zhida said irritably, patting Zhang Lu’s hat-covered head and pretending to scold her fiercely.

Zhang Lu giggled, hugging Jiang Zhida’s arm. “Uncle, I often climb trees at home. This isn’t even the highest tree I’ve climbed.”

Jiang Zhida rubbed her head again, making her hat crooked. “You really think you’re a monkey now?”

Chu Xia, standing aside, said, “Lu Lu, not every branch on a tree is sturdy. Just because you’re brave doesn’t mean you should climb every tree you see. It’s dangerous, and we’re worried about your safety.”

Cen Zhengnian, still on a branch, demonstrated by pressing down on a branch.

It bent down, and with a bit more force, it would break.

“If you had climbed that branch earlier, it wouldn’t have been able to support your weight. You could have fallen from the tree.”

As Cen Zhengnian came down from the tree, he looked at Zhang Lu, who became silent upon seeing the branch.

Jiang Zhida continued to lecture her, using a stick to point out the dangers of bugs like the “yang lazi” (a type of stinging insect), explaining how painful and itchy the sting could be, and that it would make her cry.

While the adults continued gathering dates, Jiang Weixian quietly approached Zhang Lu, looking around to make sure no one was watching.

With a secretive expression, he said, “Sister, it was An’an who told Uncle you were climbing trees!”

Zhang Lu didn’t scold Cen Huai’an as Jiang Weixian expected. Instead, she pulled off her gloves and grabbed Jiang Weixian’s ear. “Jiang Weixian, are you still a boy? Playing sneaky and tattling behind people’s backs? I hate kids who tell tales behind others’ backs!”

Jiang Weixian, his ear pinched painfully, began to wipe his tears. “Sister, I’m on your side. Why are you still hitting me?”

Zhang Lu let go of his ear, holding his face and saying sternly, “Don’t tattle behind people’s backs or speak ill of others secretly, or I won’t play with you anymore.”

After saying that, she ran to where Cen Huai’an was picking dates, squatted next to him, and asked curiously, “An’an, why did you tell Uncle I was climbing trees?”

Zhang Lu liked An’an and thought he surely didn’t mean to cause trouble by tattling.

“Mom said climbing trees isn’t safe,” Cen Huai’an said, handing a date to Zhang Lu. “Sister, eat this date.”

“Don’t climb trees anymore. The dates are so sweet and delicious.”

Zhang Lu took the date and bit into it. “Alright, since you gave me a date, I won’t blame you for telling tales.”

Cen Huai’an looked at her curiously. “Why blame me? It was you who did something wrong, not me.”

Zhang Lu bit into the date with a huff. “Hmph! An’an, you’re not cute anymore.”

She ran off, and Cen Huai’an wasn’t affected at all.

He never thought of himself as cute.

Chu Xia shared the fresh dates, taking only half a basket for herself.

The rest was carried by Jiang Zhida to be shared with Jiang’s grandfather, uncles, and several cousins.

Cen Huai’an happily looked at the remaining dates, occasionally grabbing one from the basket Cen Zhengnian was carrying.

At first, Chu Xia didn’t stop him, but when he tried to grab more, she said, “You’ve eaten too many. Your stomach will be full. You still need to eat lunch later.”

Cen Huai’an could only purse his lips, reluctantly looking at the dates.

When they got home, Chu Xia was exhausted.

She sat in a chair, unwilling to move. Picking dates was fun, but squatting down repeatedly had made her back sore.

These fresh dates couldn’t be stored for long; they spoiled easily.

Chu Xia asked Cen Zhengnian to sort the dates, taking part to his workplace to share with his colleagues, and the rest could be dried into date preserves if there were too many to eat.

That evening, Chu Xia’s back pain hadn’t eased. After so many squats, she couldn’t find a comfortable position lying in bed.

Cen Zhengnian, calculating on a blank sheet of paper at the desk, heard Chu Xia tossing and turning behind him.

He stopped writing and walked over to the bed. Chu Xia was lying on her back, her brow slightly furrowed, rubbing her lower back.

“Is your back uncomfortable?”

“Mm.”

Cen Zhengnian sat on the edge of the bed, placing his distinctly knuckled hand on Chu Xia’s back.

The warmth quickly spread from her lower back to her entire body.

His strength was greater than Chu Xia’s, and whenever she felt unwell, whether during her period or otherwise, Cen Zhengnian would give her massages in the evening.

He was very skilled at massaging, knowing exactly what pressure Chu Xia liked and where to apply it for her comfort.

Chu Xia turned over, lying on her stomach. Under Cen Zhengnian’s massage, she relaxed completely.

Her back felt particularly comfortable, and gradually, she began to feel drowsy.

“Feeling sleepy?”

“Mm.” Chu Xia responded vaguely, her voice very low.

Cen Zhengnian’s hand moved to her shoulder, asking, “Should I massage here too?”

“Mm.”

Chu Xia could barely respond as she was already half-asleep.

Slowly, Cen Zhengnian’s hand moved further down.

“Here?”

“Mm.”

With her permission, Cen Zhengnian’s movements became more confident and the massage became more intimate.

Chu Xia’s consciousness drifted into a pleasurable world, and she only needed to enjoy while Cen Zhengnian took care of everything, including the end of the session.

The next morning, Chu Xia’s back pain was gone, and she felt refreshed.

She went to school with An’an, while Cen Zhengnian brought a basket of dates to the research room, where many people had already arrived.