Time is like gravel, slipping away quietly in the busy day after day. In the blink of an eye, it is the midsummer of July. The hot sun shines on the earth conscientiously, and the cicadas scream tirelessly. People have already She put on light clothes, and the cattail leaf fan in her hand barely managed to bring a bit of coolness against the heat.
Fortunately, the second semester of her sophomore year of high school was over and Su Qingyun had already gone on summer vacation. Otherwise, she would be so hot after school every morning and evening.
The weather is too hot, so people in the village have moved their working time to the morning and evening, and rest during the hot times. Otherwise, the heat stroke will be more detrimental than the gain.
Wu Guixiang sat at the door, sighed, and was a little worried, "The weather is too hot this year. The leaves of the crops in the field are all rolled up. It doesn't rain every day. How can it go on like this?"
Farmers all depend on the weather. If the climate is good and the rain is sufficient, the crops they grow will yield good harvests. However, if they encounter severe and extreme weather, it will be in doubt. Maybe after a year of hard work, the crops will be harvested in the end. The public rations are not enough.
They, the older generation of farmers, are most worried about nothing more than this.
"Mom, things are better now than before. Even if there is no rain, can't we still bring water from the river?" Li Xiulian said.
"Water in the river?" Wu Guixiang still frowned, "Don't you know that the Nanhe River closest to us is drier than in previous years. In the past, a tall man could easily be flooded near the shore. , now the depth is no higher than a person’s head. If this continues, if the Nanhe River dries up, the crops will be completely destroyed.”
The Nanhe River is the largest river surrounding the ten miles and eight townships nearby. When there is insufficient rain, it is thanks to the water from this river that irrigates the crops. This year it has been too dry. The crops in so many villages rely on this river for irrigation. It is impossible to tell them apart. How much water is coming? This is why Wu Guixiang is so worried.
Qin Ying said from the side: "Mom, don't worry. Nowadays, science and technology are advanced. If it doesn't rain, we can still make artificial rainfall." When she was in school, she heard the teacher talk about artificial rainfall.
Su Qingyun had just finished a set of questions, and the high-intensity use of her brain gave her a headache, so she sat at the door to rest. When she heard her mother's words, she frowned slightly.
Artificial rainfall has actually been invented in the 1950s, but it is not an easy task. Artificial rainfall does not come out of nothing. It has specific conditions. It requires sufficient water vapor, cloud conditions and appropriate multiple shots of condensation nuclei. It also requires approval and filing from various departments such as meteorology and air traffic control. All in all, artificial rainfall has extremely high requirements and is even more troublesome to operate in practice.
If the climate really reaches the point of drought, things will be in trouble. Su Qingyun looked at the scorching sun in the sky and sighed, hoping that it would rain happily for a few days in the future.
The whole family is basically at home, and everyone looks worried about this day. Li Xiulian is also a little worried about her daughter-in-law.
"I don't know if Sisi's body can bear it when the weather is so hot?" She looked worried. "They said she was asked to take leave, but she thinks she can still hold on and has to go to work. I'm so worried. .”
Wen Sisi has been pregnant for more than five months now, and her belly is already quite big. There are many people and machines in the factory, so Li Xiulian is afraid that something will happen to her. Although it is not yet time for maternity leave, she still wants Wen Sisi to She asked for leave to have the baby at home, but Wen Sisi felt that she could still do it. There were so many pregnant women in the factory who were eight or nine months pregnant, and she couldn't be special and seemed pretentious.
For this reason, Li Xiulian was extremely worried. In such hot weather, she still often ran to the county.
Zhang Xinlan curled her lips slightly, she was not about to give birth, how could she be so precious? When she was pregnant with Congwu, she had to take care of Congwen, who was just over one year old, and she never saw them being so worried.
But after the lesson that Li Xiulian had treated her coldly last time, she didn't dare to say these words out loud, so she dared to read a few words in her heart. And now that Congwu was married, she also hoped that Wu Shuhui could give them a second wife. Adding a grandson.
Speaking of Congwu, she inevitably thought of Congwen and sighed, "I wonder how Congwen is doing in the army now? Is there anyone to talk to?"
Su Qingyun looked at her, "Second aunt, didn't second brother send a letter last week?"
"Letter?" Zhang Xinlan rolled her eyes, "That guy can only write a letter about what he ate today, what he ate yesterday, what he ate for the holidays. It takes two pages, but he can write more than one page about food. Who would have thought? See him writing this? Don’t talk about anything serious, like if you know any girls or something.”
Now that she received Su Congwen's letter, she could guess the general content without even reading it, and her mood changed from the excitement of receiving the letter to calmness.
"Congwen is in the army, and those things are confidential. If we don't tell them what they ate, how can we say what mission they had?" Su Dalin had always been a man of few words, but this time he spoke. He frowned and looked at the two men. Daughter-in-law, "Every day, don't keep talking about the person you want to talk to. He went to the army to serve the country, not for the sake of the love between his children."
Zhang Xinlan shrank her neck. In this family, Su Dalin usually didn't speak easily, but once he spoke, there was basically no room for others to argue. Wu Guixiang sometimes dared to say a few words when she spoke, but when her father-in-law opened his mouth, she didn't dare to say anything. Don't dare to choke.
"Yes, Dad, I understand." Zhang Xinlan could only hold back this sentence, hanging her head.
She was thinking about her son who was in the army, and Qin Ying was also thinking about her parents far away. She heard that it was hotter in the new province than here, and the temperature difference between morning and evening was huge. She didn't know how her parents were doing, so she was afraid. He didn't tell her when he was sick, and he reported good news but not bad news.
Qin Ying thought in her mind that she still had to find some medicine to send over, just in case.
When Su Aimin came back with the watermelon, he saw a family sitting at the door, all looking downcast. He was surprised, "What's wrong?" Why did he look so sluggish? They looked less alive than the crops in that field.
No one answered him, everyone's eyes were focused on the two big, round watermelons in his hand.
Su Qingyun stood up excitedly, "Dad, where did you get the watermelon?"
At this time, watermelon is a rare thing. No, it should be said that fruits in this era are rare things. The land now is not enough to grow crops, let alone grow fruits. Unless you are the kind who grow fruits as a hobby. Wherever they grow, they will be planted on a large scale.
Problems with production and transportation have made watermelons very rare. The only fruits they have here are cucumbers and tomatoes.
Therefore, Su Aimin suddenly came back with a watermelon, and the whole family was shocked.
"I came back from the county and bought not much at the market, just two." Su Aimin wrote lightly.
The weather is hot, and except for those who go to work, others rarely go out, but this gives Su Aimin the opportunity. Taking advantage of this summer, when few people come out to check around, he has started to do business again. This melon is not what he said. It was so easy to buy them at the market. It was because he was doing business with someone, and they gave him two specially.
"Two such big watermelons are enough, enough!" Wu Guixiang beamed.
There are two reasons for her laughter. One is that she has not tasted watermelon for a long time, but since she can still grow such a big watermelon, it means that at least there is no shortage of water, so even if their harvest this year is not as good as Fortunately, there are other places where relief can be found.
"Isn't this watermelon cheap?" Zhang Xinlan swallowed her saliva and asked.
Watermelons are so rare, they must cost a lot of money.
"Fortunately, let's all have a taste." Su Aimin said casually. He handed the watermelon to Wu Guixiang, "Mom, let's cut it up and eat it."
"Wait a moment." Wu Guixiang carried the watermelon and walked towards the water tank. "You carried this watermelon all the way back. It's still hot. Chill it with water before eating." The iced watermelon is ice cold. It tastes sweet and thirst-quenching, and the taste is unbelievably delicious.
Two round watermelons were placed in the well water, and the family no longer frowned, and they all waited to eat the watermelons.
It took about a few hours of freezing and the watermelon was taken out after the whole family had finished their dinner. Everyone had only eaten half full today and stared at the two melons.
Zhang Xinlan waved the knife, pointed it at the watermelon, and slashed it down impatiently. With a crisp "click", the overripe watermelon split open. She opened it with her hands, revealing the red flesh and black flesh. Melon seeds.
The skin of the watermelon is very thin, and the flesh looks red and sandy. Even before I taste it, I can already feel the sweet and crunchy taste. Everyone swallowed their saliva.
Zhang Xinlan moved very quickly. With a few strokes of her hand and the knife, the watermelon was divided into triangles of about the same size. The family couldn't wait to reach out, each person took a piece, and started to feast.
After one bite, it really did not disappoint. It was sweet, crispy, and full of moisture. The cold feeling went from the throat directly to the stomach. The whole person was refreshed, and every pore felt stretched. It was wonderful.
"tasty!"
"It is too sweet!"
"In such a hot weather, it would be great if I could eat this kind of watermelon every day."
"What good things are you thinking about? You can eat this every day, what kind of family is that?"
Su Qingyun smiled, watermelons can be seen everywhere in the future, but at this time, they are already extremely happy.
"I wonder if your grandma and grandpa can eat watermelon?" Qin Ying said suddenly.
She remembered that when she was a child, in summer in the capital, there were farmers selling watermelons in the alleys. Her parents would occasionally buy a watermelon after get off work, cut it open with a knife that smelled of garlic, and eat it in their mouths. It's sweet, spicy, and a little weird, but I just can't stop eating it.
Qin Ying's eyes softened. It was a memory that only belonged to the summer in the capital. It existed in her memory and would never fade.
