July is on fire, and August is not young.

In July, the hot weather did not mean to get cooler at all, especially when returning to the city from the cool environment on Nanmara Lake, people were like buns in a steamer, hot, stuffy and humid, making people breathless.

Let Junli and Ah Fu sleep first, Qiu Chen bathed by himself, and saw the two children kicking the thin cotton sheet far away, only wearing small shorts and falling asleep, but the two children's bodies were drenched in sweat. Also because of the heat, the two boys, who usually sleep like little piglets, don't sleep peacefully, and turn over irritably from time to time, bounce and move.

Qiu Chen picked up a banana fan and fanned the two children, and the slight breeze made the children sleep more peacefully, and Qiu Chen, who had just finished taking a bath, felt sweaty again.

Alas, in this era of no fans and no air conditioning, such hot weather is really sad.

Qiu Chen took a handkerchief and wiped the sweat of the children, and the fan in her hand evened out a little wind to her side, and unconsciously, she also fell asleep in a daze, but the person had already entered the dream, but the arm that shook the fan was still shaking one by one.

In the second half of the night, the wind rose, and soon the rumbling thunder and lightning came, and in the wind, lightning and thunder, the raindrops of beans finally fell, hitting the roof tiles and making a crisp sound like fried beans.

Qiu Chen was awakened by the thunder, heard the creaking sound of the propped up window sash, and hurriedly got up and put the window down and buckled it, and then heard Chen's voice coming from the outhouse: "Madam, you sleep, I'll go around!" ”

"Put on your robe!" Qiu Chen instructed, listened to Chen's answer, and the footsteps slowly walked away from the door, and she also turned around and re-entered the tent.

A thunderbolt seemed to explode overhead, Ah Fu woke up from his dream suddenly, and the first thing he said when he opened his eyes was: "Man'er is not afraid, my brother is here!" ”

Qiu Chen's heart warmed, he reached out and hugged Ah Fu into his arms, slowly groped his son's still sweaty head, and comforted softly: "What, I dreamed of my sister?" ”

Ah Fu leaned on his mother's warm arms at this time, blinked his eyes and woke up. At night, the little man who has been trying to make himself strong and brave seems to have loosened up a lot, subconsciously snuggled into his mother's arms, found a comfortable and reassuring position to lie down, answered in a low voice, and finally whispered after a while: "Is my mother afraid?" ”

Qiu Chen patted Ah Fu's back and whispered, "Mother is not afraid, and Fu'er is not afraid...... My mother told you that there is nothing terrible about thunder, but two clouds meet together, because they carry a special substance, just like two people who are not temperamental, and they quarrel, and thunder and lightning ......"

Ah Fu blinked his eyes and asked curiously, "The clouds will quarrel too?" ”

Qiu Chen was silent for a moment, and then nodded: "When I go home, my mother will explain it to you slowly, it's still night, it's time to sleep, Ah Fu go to bed obediently......"

"Hmm...... When I went home, my mother remembered to tell Fu'er...... "Ah Fu squeezed into Qiu Chen's arms again, closed his eyes, and soon fell asleep again.

Qiu Chen touched his son's back, and his tentacles were sweaty again, so he picked up the fan and shook it slowly. It's windy outside, and the windows can't be opened, so when the wind is light, remember to open the windows, it's cool......

This thought gradually blurred in his heart, and when Qiu Chen opened his eyes again, the sky was already bright. The window has been propped up at some point, and the moist and cool morning breeze blows in through the window, and even the bright light and chirping birds outside are all showing that after the heavy rain, it is a sunny day!

In the blink of an eye, Qiu Chen turned around, and sure enough, the two boys beside him got up, they should have gotten up early and exercised in the morning. Last night, there was something very hot and thundering, and I didn't sleep well, but I didn't expect the child to get up in the morning, and she didn't hear it.

After sleeping enough, Qiu Chen's spirit was also full, and he stretched his waist to get dressed and get up.

Chunxiang and Yuegui heard the sound and brought the water into the ear room, Yuegui was lively, and said to Qiu Chen with a smile: "It was so windy and rainy last night, but I didn't expect it to be a sunny day today, and we won't delay our way home." ”

Qiu Chen shook his head with a smile while getting out of bed in his middle coat: "It's raining just now, it's not easy to walk on the road!" ”

Yuegui put down the basin and cried out in annoyance: "Oh, we have blue bricks and stones inside and outside the house, and we walk very dryly, but we forgot the mud on the road......"

Looking at the annoyed little girl, Qiu Chen smiled and stopped talking. Compared with the initial restraint and caution, the laurel is obviously relaxed and much more lively, but the liveliness of the laurel is different from the crisp and spicy of the green apricot, and it is always a little rustic.

After Qiu Chen washed up, the children also came back, the family had a simple breakfast, Qiu Chen took the four children and set off home, while Lin Xu still stayed in Anyang Mansion, and after sending his sister-in-law and the children, he also went out to Guo Mansion to continue his classes and studies.

From Anyang to Qingshui Town is a slippery official road, the road surface is relatively smooth and solid, it rained heavily last night, the rain quickly flowed away, the road surface is not too good, and it is not too muddy. On the contrary, after passing Qingshui Town, after walking on the fork road to Liujiaao, the road was muddy, fortunately, this distance is very short, but five or six miles of road, step by step after slippery walking for more than half an hour, the carriage finally turned onto the fork road leading to Liujiaao, this road was repaired by the Lin family at the expense of two years ago, and now it shows its advantages, dry and smooth, as soon as the carriage travels here, even the horses let out a cheerful neighing briskly!

Back at home, people were sleepy and tired, so Zhao Jiu took people to pick up the vehicles and horses and settle them, while Qiu Chen and the entourage went back to their rooms to wash and rest.

Towards the end of the evening, Junwen Junshu hurried in from outside, saw Qiu Chen first smiled and saluted, and then met Junyan Junzhang and Ah Fu Junli, who ran out after hearing the sound, and said a few words, Junwen Junshu took the four small ones to the evening practice.

Qiu Chen also walked out of the house and came to the backyard.

The second crop of potatoes has now grown to more than a foot high, but it is still early from the harvest time, tomatoes are planted more this year, the tomatoes planted in the greenhouse early have passed the peak fruit period, but the tomatoes planted in the greenhouse have just entered the full fruit period, and now two baskets of tomatoes can be picked every day, in addition to the masters of the Lin family, even the workers of the workshop also eat once every few days, this novel fruit and vegetable thing has also been widely loved by the workers.

After harvesting the early corn crop, Qiu Chen planted another stubble, and now the plant is nearly one meter high, according to this growth trend, it should be in line with the growth cycle of modern field corn, and it can be harvested around August 15.

With the harvest of this corn crop, next year's corn seeds are also greatly abundant, although it will not be planted in a large area, but according to the previous yield per mu, the corn harvested this time is enough to plant dozens of acres of land in addition to tasting for their own families. After this year's reclamation and accumulation of fertilizer, the four newly bought Zhuangzi will be able to recover almost the soil next year, and then a piece of land will be set aside in the four Zhuangzi to plant corn, to see which kind of soil is more suitable for the growth of corn, and to determine the plot of land for large-scale corn planting in the future.

After inspecting these plants, Qiu Chen beckoned a few little girls to bring baskets, and went to the vegetable field to pick some tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, two ripe watermelons, and a few green onions and coriander, and then rushed back.

A jar of shrimp paste was sent from Haipuzi before, and when Daxingjia opened it, he almost threw it out on the spot, and the smell of fishy smell was unbearable for a person she had never eaten. However, Qiu Chen was very rare, but at that time, she was busy with other things, and she didn't care about this, but now she suddenly remembered that she simply started to make a few special dishes, and in this hot summer, she also gave the children an appetite.

The tomatoes, watermelons, and cucumbers were washed and let the girl hang into the well, while Qiu Chen rolled up his sleeves and started to cook his new dishes outside the big kitchen.

Wash the fresh green peppers, green onions, and coriander, cut them into sections, add shrimp oil, and the simplest cold tiger dish is ready.

Then I picked half a bowl of shrimp paste, beat in a dozen eggs, put in green peppers and chopped green onions, mix thoroughly, put it in the pot and stir-fry it into pieces, put in the coriander section and stir-fry it slightly. After such processing, the fishy shrimp paste disappears, leaving only the fragrant fragrance.

Qiu Chen took a round and thin pancake casually, dug up some fried shrimp paste eggs and put them into a roll of the cake, and took a bite of it, the dough was strong, with a slight burnt aroma, and the shrimp paste and eggs wrapped in it were fresh and fragrant, and they were soft and tender, full of fragrant, which made people have a great appetite.

"Hey, come and try it!" Qiu Chen swallowed a mouthful of burritos, and when he turned around, he saw that the Daxing family, Jia Shi and the others were all looking at her, as if they were surprised that she could eat such a fishy thing with such an intoxicated expression. Qiu Chen couldn't help but smile and beckoned, "You taste it first, if you think it's delicious, you will have one more good dish in the future...... If the big guys think it tastes good, this dish is the most appetizing to eat, and it is cheap to make. ”

The taste of Daxing's shrimp sauce is deeply memorable, and he is still a little hesitant for a while, and he doesn't dare to come forward to taste it. However, the two girls Yuegui and Chunxiang had never smelled the fishy smell of shrimp paste before, and they had seen the deliciousness of fresh food made by their wives many times, so they came forward for the first time, thanked Qiu Chen with a smile, and rolled the cake by themselves to eat.

As soon as she took a bite, the two girls praised one after another. Jia Shi also came forward to taste it, and then, the Daxing family finally mustered up the courage to step forward......

Unsurprisingly, after Qiu Chen's processing, the fishy and unacceptable thing really turned into a simple and affordable delicacy, Qiu Chen looked at the pancakes and shrimp paste eggs that were eaten up in a moment, and couldn't help laughing.

She seems to have found a way for the fishermen in the sea shop to make more money. This shrimp paste is made from the smallest dried shrimp grains, and the cost is extremely low for those fishermen who go out to sea, so if it can open up the market for shrimp paste...... No, just a few workshops are promoted, and the consumption is also very large, and it can also give fishermen a lot more benefits.

Moreover, shrimp paste is easy to preserve, and when there is a shortage of vegetables in winter, shrimp paste can also add a different dish to a monotonous recipe.

At dinner, Qiu Chen's scrambled eggs with shrimp sauce and cold tiger dishes really became the most popular dishes, and the children seemed to be more energetic to eat tiger dishes with burritos in addition to eating cakes and eggs, especially Junyan, who was reluctant to put down his chopsticks while hissing in his spicy mouth. Although the others were not as exaggerated as Junyan, they also ate a lot, but the result was that a large pot of mung bean soup was not enough to drink - the shrimp paste was very salty, and the children did not feel it when they ate it, but they felt salty after eating, so the mung bean soup that quenched their thirst and quenched the saltiness naturally increased their consumption.

Back in Liujiaao, Qiu Chen seemed to be lazy and relaxed.

After dinner, the children went to study as usual, and she also practiced big characters in her room. She has always remembered the mysterious simplified Chinese character that once appeared, but she has never mustered up the courage to look at it.

She knew very well what the appearance of simplified Chinese characters meant, but she was not sure what kind of world she would see through the inner world of her predecessors...... Moreover, more than 100 years have passed since the time of that codex, and even if there are predecessors, it has long been ancient...... She is still the loneliest one in the world. At least on the mind and soul level. There are many people around her now, but even the children will never be able to soothe the loneliness of her mind and soul.

Nowadays, although Qiu Chen's brush writing is not very good, it is gradually neatly organized, and the pen is becoming more and more fluent.

After writing the two big characters, Qiu Chen carefully studied his brush words, and couldn't help but feel a little proud, this word is in modern times, although it will not be a blockbuster, but it should be enough to write a couplet or something.

The second day is Tanabata.

For this traditional Valentine's Day that has been hyped by merchants in modern times, Qiu Chen does not have much impression, but this era attaches great importance to the 'Qiqiao Festival', the girls who have not come out of the cabinet will catch spiders to beg, and some places will use the way of sewing needles to compete who is the most ingenious, and some places will hold lantern festivals on the Qixi Festival, and even some people will go to worship the moon and Guanyin on the day of the legend of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl Magpie Bridge Meeting, and the unmarried pray for a good marriage, and the married pray for an early birth of a noble son......

The young lady of the West Courtyard of the Lin family lived in the capital. The little lady Man'er in the east courtyard of the Lin family was abducted by Old Man Mu, and the remaining hostess, Qiu Chen, knew nothing about needlework...... Therefore, no one in the Lin family cares about this festival.

However, seeing that the little girls had been chirping and discussing the appearance of begging since the morning, Qiu Chen was also interested, and instructed Yufeng to take the girl to the warehouse to take out the lanterns hung on the Lantern Festival, clean them up and hang them on the willow trees outside the gate, so that the villagers could enjoy the lanterns at the same time, and there was also a place to beg.

In the afternoon, Qiu Chen ordered the big kitchen to make dinner early, and then took the girls on vacation, and let them go to a rare festival exclusive to women.

At dinner, the children told her an unexpected thing that the gentlemen of the school did not leave homework for the children because of the holiday. Then, in the expectant eyes of the children, Qiu Chen waved his hand, and a few small ones rushed out of the city with cheers. Junwen Junshu looked at each other, and Junshu said: "It's enough for me to follow them, eldest brother should go back to the room to study!" ”

Junwen knows that his learning is limited, and there is no bottom to participate in next year's county exam, and he also knows that there are not many opportunities for him to study, if he can't pass this county exam, his age should talk about marrying, and then it is time to take the scientific examination and go home to help his aunt take care of the family's workshop and Zhuangzi.

Yes, he didn't shirk Junshu's kindness, and nodded to accept it.

Qiu Chen was quite relieved to see the friendship between the two brothers, so she simply smiled and sent them both to study, while she herself took a banana fan and walked out. It's rare to celebrate the festival, and if you don't pray for any skillful hands or marriage, you can also follow everyone to see the excitement. At the same time, it is also good to take care of a group of Tao boys.

The big and small girls in the family have cleaned up neatly, and they don't know where to run to find spiders, and the mothers-in-law are still doing their own work everywhere, yes, Qiu Chen walked all the way out of the three entrances in the twilight that was not completely dark, and when he walked to the second gate, he didn't meet anyone, and the second gate suddenly became empty and quiet.

Qiu Chen walked out of the second gate without hurrying, except for the Wang family on duty at the second gate, he didn't see a single person, not even the servants who entered the courtyard, Qin Li and the others.

Different from the quietness of the Lin family's courtyards, outside the gate of the Lin family at this time, various lanterns have been lit and hung on the branches, scattered under the willow trees with rich shade, lined with wisps of willow branches, the same lanterns, and the scenery seen during the Lantern Festival is completely different.

The workers who had not returned home from the workshop who had been left from work, and the men, women and children in the village gathered on the open platform in front of the Lin family, which was a bit bustling. On the other hand, the young girls begged for some reason, but they did not form a scale, and only a few three or two girls avoided the crowd and watched the lanterns on the willow trees from a distance.

Qiu Chen was a little stunned, and he didn't know why the girls didn't come out...... She didn't know the situation about the girls in the village, but the girls in the family had disappeared early, and if they weren't in front of the gate, where could they go?

In a daze, Qin Li came out of nowhere, quietly walked to Qiu Chen's side, and said in a low voice: "Madam, someone please see!" ”

Qiu Chen blinked, and in a trance felt that this scene was familiar, but remembering that the letter mentioned that Yang Jingyong went out of Beijing to bring people over to learn the firing of optical glass, she still didn't dare to slack off, secretly made a mistake, and reluctantly commanded: "Lead the way!" ”

Immediately, Qin Li didn't go out, but directly led Qiu Chen back to the gate of the Lin family, and walked all the way inside, crossed the sandwich road, and went straight to the stable garage in the back garden......

If it weren't for his understanding and trust in Qin Li, walking in the empty and dimly lit passage between the two high walls, Qiu Chen would have thought that Qin Li had bad intentions...... Then, she finally remembered that in addition to the gate of the main courtyard and the corner gate for workshop workers to walk and enter and exit goods, there was also a back door that opened in the corner of the backyard.

------Off topic------

Hehe, do you know who is coming?

The July fire does not mean that the weather is hot, but that the weather is getting cooler.