The Sweet Little Fulang

The wind is still hot, the sun is hot, and the ground is steaming with heat. When people sit in the shade and look into the sunny slope, they feel that the ground is white from the sun, and they even want to squint their eyes unconsciously.

The dog was lying on the ground, sticking out its tongue and panting, only getting up early and dusk to be lively all day long, and becoming lazy at noon.

The flowering branches in the yard attracted buzzing bees, and Cicadas sizzled tirelessly on the tree, and there was no wind, and the leaves didn't move, making people drowsy.

Standing in the sun on a day like noon can dry and scorch people. No matter how hardworking and capable people are, they have to avoid the sun. It is not a trivial matter if they get fainted.

Lu Gu and Shen Xuanqing were lying on the bamboo mat, fanning themselves with cattail fans, still sweating profusely.

Shen Xuanqing propped up one leg, fanned herself with a cattail fan, then fanned Lu Gu in the bed, and said: "I heard that the hollow of the porcelain pillow can be filled with cold water, even if the pillow is not filled with water, it is still made of porcelain ice. , I’m going to go to town, buy two and come back to try.”

There were only two Mrs. Bamboo in the family, one was put to sleep by Ji Qiuyue, and the other was taken to the room by Wei Lanxiang. They were all young and did not compete with their elders.

But the two of them couldn't fall asleep after lying down, so they talked about buying Mrs. Bamboo and selling Wan fans in the afternoon.

The fan was embroidered by Lu Gu, and it was very easy to sell in hot weather, there were twelve embroidered ones, and the tassels on the fan handle were also fastened, it was exquisitely made, he wanted to sell it in the town when the weather was cool in the afternoon.

As for Mrs. Bamboo, this thing is not expensive, and everyone can hold one, and it will be cool to sleep. Shen Yaoqing will either buy some from the bamboo strip maker's house in the neighboring village, or the two of them will pick it up when they come back from the town. It's not too late to discuss after everyone in the family wakes up.

In summer, the sun is long, and it would be great for country people to take a nap at noon, but most ordinary people have to sit at home and do other jobs, and few can rest.

Lu Gu used to be like this, when he didn't go out to dig wild vegetables in hot weather, Du Hehua would make him do embroidery work, which never stopped, so this summer he could take a rest at noon, and his life was much easier for him.

His trousers and sleeves were rolled up, exposing his arms and thighs. Shen Xuanqing was lying beside him just like him, and they were the only two in the room who didn't have to shy away from it.

Compared with Lu Gubai's arms and legs, Shen Xuanqing looked a bit dark. His limbs were long and strong, and his bronze muscles looked very strong.

The sun was scorching hot, talking and talking, the exhaustion from a busy morning hit me, I closed my eyes and fell asleep unconsciously, the hand shaking the palm-leaf fan sometimes shook, and sometimes forgot to move, and finally maintained the last bit of wakefulness and put the palm-leaf fan on On the stomach, the raised arms can be lowered to rest.

Before going to bed, the two of them brought a basin of hot water into the room to wipe their bodies, and it would cool them down, but they were already lying down now, no matter how hot they were, they didn't want to get up and move, like Xia Fu, people who are hot are lazy.

The cattail fan in Lu Gu's hand rested on his stomach, and the cattail fan in Shen Xuanqing's hand was still shaking slightly, sometimes when he woke up from the heat, he still remembered to fan Lu Gu.

There were two people squeezed on the bed, Lu Gu fell into a dazed sleep, after his back warmed the bamboo mat under his body, he closed his eyes and didn't wake up, he subconsciously moved his body to find a cooler place, but unexpectedly he bumped into it. Shen Xuanqing.

The two people's arms were touching each other, and soon there was thin sweat where they touched, not to mention him, even Shen Xuanqing moved out of the bed, and felt better after being separated.

When the place got hot, they turned around and changed places. Both of them did this. Although they didn't sleep well enough, they still took a nap.

After waking up from this nap, the sun was not so bright. Lu Gu wiped the sweat from his forehead, brushed a few strands of sweaty hair behind his ears, put on his shoes and went outside to wash his face. The water was dried in the sun. The hot water, the wind blows after washing, and I feel cool all of a sudden.

"Hurry up, mother added brown sugar to cook it today, it's completely cold." Shen Xuanqing brought out a bowl of mung bean soup from the kitchen and handed it to him.

Country people have no other drinking water to cool off, and a bowl of mung bean soup is already the best drink, not to mention it is added with sugar.

Lu Gu took a sip, although there wasn't much sugar, it was still sweet. After drying the mung bean soup for so long, it tasted cool and sweet, especially refreshing to relieve the heat.

He gulped down the soup, which was really satisfying. At the end of the bowl, there were still soft, waxy and slightly sweet mung beans.

When I was in Lu's house before, such sweet soup could only be drunk during Chinese New Year, not every year. It can be seen that Shen's family is well-off in ten miles and eight villages this year.

It's been too hot these days, Wei Lanxiang will cook mung bean soup every day, sometimes he wakes up to drink it at noon, and sometimes he can enjoy it when he comes back from work. , can drink such a bowl of soup, I just feel that my life has been saved.

Shen Xuanqing watched him swallow with a smile, and said, "I'll buy some lotus seeds today, lotus seed soup is also good for cooling off."

Lu Gu was chewing the soft and glutinous mung beans, but he only nodded in agreement, speechless.

Although the sun was not as strong as at noon, it was still hot after walking under it for a while. The two stayed at home for another half an hour, and went to the new house to spread out the thatch that was cut yesterday, and let it dry before stacking it in the thatched house , accumulate up, whenever you want to use it.

The calf has grown up a bit, and it’s been too hot recently, so it always wants to soak in the river, and Dahui follows it out the back door.

Dahui never bites people, but he knows how to protect his own livestock. Once a villager saw the calf drinking water by the river, and wanted to touch the calf, and it gritted its teeth. The man even told Shen Yaoqing about it , Said that he was almost bitten.

Shen Xuanqing knew that instead of reprimanding Da Hui, he would instead feed him a few more pieces of meat, so he should be more vigilant outside, in case he encounters a cow thief.

Wei Lanxiang drove the ducks to swim, and with her outside, she could watch the calf along the way.

Lu Gu carried a bamboo basket and Shen Xuanqing went out to the town. There were twelve Chinese fans in the basket, and he carefully covered them with handkerchiefs to avoid dust on the road.

As for Mrs. Bamboo, Shen Yaoqing said that he went to the neighboring village to buy rabbit grass, so they didn't need to worry about it.

Speaking of which, two days ago, the family members said that they wanted to buy some bamboo ladies, but they were busy with work, so they didn't take care of it for a while, and the sky became so hot in the blink of an eye.

The sun was bright and dazzling, and they both wore bamboo hats when they went out, so as to provide some shade and keep their eyes open to see the road.

The bamboo basket stuck to the back was really hot, and the clothes would get wet even after going back and forth, so Shen Xuanqing carried a bamboo basket with a single rope on her waist.

Finally arrived at Fenggu Town under the sun, the two of them stopped in the shadow of the houses, took off the bamboo hats on their heads and used them as fans to shake, the wind from the fans was quite strong.

"Here." Lu Gu handed over the bamboo tube, and took out the handkerchief in his arms with the other hand to wipe the water from the corners of his mouth.

Shen Xuanqing was also thirsty, she raised her head and drank a few gulps.

Now that the town only sells Wan fans, Lu Gu said, "Why don't you go directly to Huamei Alley and see if anyone wants it there."

The bamboo tube was empty, and I only brought this one when I came out today, and I have to ask for some water later, Shen Xuanqing put the lid on, nodded in agreement, and walked towards the direction of Huamei Alley.

When it was time for Shen, the people on the street gradually increased, and Lu Gu peddled while walking: "Wan fan, embroidered Wan fan."

He took two out of the basket and held them in his hands, motioned to the women and husbands passing by the road, and shouted: "The fans are cheap, 35 yuan a pair."

Before selling the fans this time, he inquired with Mrs. Gu in the village. The embroidered fans sold in the town cost 35 yuan apiece. Most of them are fans with little embroidery. He embroiders many patterns, and the fan handle is also broken. Although the colorful tassels are said to be [-] renminbi, if others negotiate the price, he will not lose money if they sell them for [-] renminbi.

The flowers and branches embroidered on the fan are gorgeous and beautiful. After yelling for half a street, a fat husband stopped him with a cloth basket: "What kind of patterns do you have on this fan?"

Lu Gu quickly showed him two fans in his hand, took three or four out of the bamboo basket, and said, "There are many, you can choose whatever you want, Grandma."

"It's good to be happy." The fat man picked up the fan embroidered with magpies and plum blossoms and looked at it for a while, then raised his eyes and asked him, "How about it being cheaper?"

Lu Gu didn't agree immediately, and said with a slight smile: "Grandma, look at this fancy style, which takes up more than half of the fan, and this tassel pendant, 35 renminbi is not expensive anymore."

The fat man looked around with his fan. His family is in the town, so he naturally knows the market price. Speaking of the exquisite flower and bird embroidery, it is considered cheap in a shop for [-] yuan, but out of habit, it can be sold on the street. They were all countrymen, so he begged and returned a few more words, seeing that Lu Gu would not let go, he had to pay in the end.

When he took out the money, he made a displeased look on his face, pursed his lips as if he had suffered a disadvantage, but he turned around and walked home, shaking the fan twice, he was still happy in his heart, it was cheap and good-looking, and he was happy The head sounds good.

Putting 35 copper coins into the money bag, there was a clanging sound, Lu Gu frowned, and carefully stuffed the money bag into his bosom.

The two of them walked to Huamei Alley again, and Shen Xuanqing said in a low voice: "Wait, you still say forty pennies a piece, so that customers have more time to bargain. If it's only two pennies cheaper, maybe someone will buy it. If it doesn't work, then Reduce it to 35 Wen, so that you can make concessions."

The fat man just now was willing to buy even if the price couldn't be lowered, so he knew that the price of the embroidered fan in the town must not be low.

That's right, the country people don't have any use for fan fans, they are all cattail fans. Most of the delicate things like this are bought by people in the town, and those who can afford them don't care about the thirty or forty renminbi.

Hearing this, Lu Gu said in a low voice: "I wanted to say a few more words, but he would be fine if he paid [-] renminbi, but he actually bought it. I heard from Mrs. Gu that the cheapest one in the town is [-] renminbi, but that It has less embroidery."

He usually doesn't talk to Shen Xuanqing about embroidery work.

After listening, Shen Xuanqing glanced at the fan in his hand, and said: "Then it's really cheap for us to sell 35 Wen, just do as I said, at least sell 35 Wen, don't press down any more, you buy embroidery thread and plain Fans have capital, and they are no worse than other people's embroidery."

Indeed, he bought the edge and handle of the fan from Aunt Gu, Sujuan and silk threads were also money, the cost of these twelve fans was about [-] Wen, of which the fan and Sujuan were the most expensive, and only twelve were expensive. It cost him nearly two hundred cash, and he bought one hundred cash for embroidery thread.

He had to work at home, and he embroidered these while he was free. Originally, he thought that he would be able to earn [-] yuan for a handful of [-] yuan.

Hearing Shen Xuanqing's words now, Lu Gu nodded and wrote it down, it would be good to sell a few more copper coins.