Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

The cold-mixed purslane at noon was well received by everyone.

The red and green purslane mixed with minced garlic and chili oil shines with an appetizing luster in the enamel bowl, and the sour aroma is fragrant.

Even Zhou Guixiang, who was always picky, didn't say much. She just quietly drank up the corn porridge in the bowl with the sour, crispy and refreshing cold-mixed purslane, and even scraped the bottom of the bowl clean.

Afternoons are the most prone to drowsiness. The Youth League compound was quiet, with only the occasional cicada chirping, unable to bear the loneliness, among the leaves. Sunlight filtered through the branches of the old locust tree, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

Since they didn't have to rush to work in the afternoon, most of the educated youth who had a rare chance to relax chose to go back to their rooms for a nap. Their satisfied sighs accompanied by the rustling of fabrics were soon replaced by the sound of snoring.

Lin Xi was not very sleepy. The midday sun shone brightly in the yard, turning the dirt white. Even a clump of unknown weeds in the corner of the wall drooped its head.

She squinted her eyes and looked at the sky, as if she suddenly thought of something, then turned around and went back to the house.

The room was quiet. Chen Lan and Zhao Xiaoyun had fallen asleep, breathing long and steady. Zhou Guixiang was only wearing a tight-fitting jacket with her trouser legs rolled up high. She was sleeping with her legs spread out, looking completely dignified.

Only Hu Aihong was leaning on the kang, holding a book in her hands, as if she was reading seriously. However, judging from her squinting eyes and the occasional nodding of her head, it seemed that she could not hold on for long.

Lin Xi tiptoed to her bed and lifted the blue quilt with white flowers. A faint smell of mold mixed with sweat immediately wafted out of the quilt. She wrinkled her nose uncomfortably and picked up the quilt and pillow together.

Her quilt really needs a good wash. She has been sick for some time, and has had a fever and sweats from time to time. The sweat has soaked the bedding with dampness, and the smell of the quilt and pillow is really not pleasant.

She had been thinking about washing and drying the quilt for a long time, but she had just recovered from a serious illness some time ago and had no strength, and it had been raining for a long time. She was afraid that if the quilt was washed and not dried, it would get moldy, so she had delayed it until now.

"Um...Lin Xi? What are you doing?" As if awakened by Lin Xi's actions, Hu Aihong shook her head and looked at her with a pair of somewhat confused eyes.

"It's okay. I'll let the quilt dry in the sun. Stop reading and go to sleep." Lin Xi stretched her neck, poked out a pair of round eyes from behind the quilt, and spoke in a low voice.

"Oh...oh." Hu Aihong blinked slowly, not knowing whether she heard clearly or not. Then she tilted her head and fell asleep against the wall.

Seeing her like this, Lin Xi shook his head with amusement, holding the quilt and tiptoed out of the room.

Lin Xi carried the bedding to the yard, carefully separated the quilt cover and the cotton inside, hung the cotton on the bamboo pole for hanging clothes, and then held her breath and beat it with a mallet on the side for a while. Then she carried the quilt cover and pillowcase to the well.

When the well water was drawn up, it still carried with it the coolness of the ground, and splashed on Lin Xi's face and the back of her hands, causing her to shiver and she couldn't help but let out a comfortable sigh - it turned out that hot weather was perfect for playing in the water.

After washing his hands and face with well water, Lin Xi poured the water into a large wooden basin beside him, soaked the quilt cover and pillowcase in it, broke off a piece of soap with some pain and threw it in, then began to rub and wash carefully.

Not far outside the educated youth's yard, Song Guanwen, who had gone out with a bamboo basket after lunch, was walking slowly towards this side under the scorching sun.

Feeling the increasingly unbearable itch on the back of his neck, he couldn't help but twist his neck, trying to relieve it a little by rubbing the collar fabric against his skin, but this was just a useless effort of trying to stop the itch from boiling over with more water.

After several frictions, the itchiness and pain on his neck not only did not ease, but instead became more and more intense, even causing his entire body to feel as if thousands of ants were biting him at the same time, causing dense itching and pain.

Song Guanwen bit his cheek, barely using the pain to suppress the urge to scratch his skin. He reached out to push down his straw hat and quickened his pace towards the educated youth point.

"I found a penny on the side of the road. Just as I was about to bend over to pick it up, I realized it was spit. Damn! Who spit something so round?"

Under the big locust tree in the educated youth's yard, Lin Xi was having a great time washing quilts and playing with water, happily humming a nursery rhyme that she had modified.

After changing the water for the last time and making sure that the quilt cover and pillowcases were clean, she wiped the beads of water on her forehead, which she didn't know whether they were water or sweat. She pounded her sore waist and lifted the soaked quilt cover with great effort, trying to wring out the water.

But she was thin and weak, and she had just spent a lot of energy drawing water from the well to change the water, so her hands were very sore at this moment. She took great pains to wring the quilt half dry. Not only was it very heavy in her hands, but it also kept dripping water.

Under normal circumstances, she would have asked Chen Lan and the others for help, but now they were all resting, and Lin Xi was embarrassed to wake them up. Moreover, the well platform was some distance away from the educated youth's houses, and she didn't want to run there in the scorching sun, so she could only find a way herself.

She lowered her head and thought for a moment, then a light bulb went off in her head and she suddenly had an idea.

The bamboo pole used to dry the quilt is right behind her. She can throw the quilt cover on it first, and then use the power of the bamboo pole to wring out the water from the quilt cover bit by bit. This saves time and effort, and does not require bothering others. It is a perfect way to kill two birds with one stone.

Thinking of this, she did it without hesitation. She stretched out her hands to roll up her sleeves, and then lifted the quilt cover from the wooden basin with great effort. Water droplets flowed down her wrists, formed a small stream at the bend of her elbow, and slid into her sleeves itchyly.

The bamboo pole was not far behind her, but it was a little high. Lin Xi blinked her long eyelashes that were covered with water droplets, and tried to throw a corner of the quilt cover up. She didn't reach it the first time, so she stood on tiptoe and tried again. As a result, she used too much force, and the wet quilt cover "slapped" on the bamboo pole, but bounced back and swept across the tip of her nose, making her shiver suddenly.

"Ah!" she exclaimed, and hurriedly caught the quilt that almost slipped to the ground.

"Hey, I still don't believe it." After two failures, Lin Xi couldn't help but get angry. She gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, regrouped, weighed the sheet in her hand, and then threw it forward with all her strength.

The quilt cover with splashing water raised a perfect arc in the air, and was about to be placed on the bamboo pole. Lin Xi couldn't help but relax the breath she had been holding, and prepared herself for the success this time.

But in a flash, a man wearing a straw hat and lowering his head suddenly emerged from under the bamboo pole with a quilt in front, as if he had not noticed the situation in front at all.

"Snap!" Lin Xi's eyes suddenly widened, watching the quilt cover in her hand being thrown out like a slippery and flexible water snake, and it hit the person in the face fiercely.