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Wen Sheng walked ahead with Wen Xin, while Changqing strummed his guitar behind them, nodding his head and singing along.
When they arrived at Wen Sheng's house, Wen Sheng's father had already come home from the wood factory and was sitting under the fan to cool off. Wen Sheng's mother had also returned from working in the fields and was busy preparing dinner in the kitchen. Wen Xin ran into the kitchen to help her mother cook, where it was hot and smoky. Seeing Wen Xin come in to help, Wen Sheng's mother smiled warmly, "Wen Xin! Why don't you wait for your brother to eat? It's quite hot in here!"
Wen Xin grinned, "Mom! I'm fine. I’m not tired. Since you’re so hot, why don’t you go sit by the fan for a bit? I can handle cooking by myself."
Seeing how considerate Wen Xin was, her mother smiled with satisfaction. Sometimes she thought that daughters could be better than sons. As she watched Wen Xin cooking, she went to prepare some cold dishes, which consisted of smashed cucumbers and sliced tomatoes mixed with garlic paste. The main dish was boiled noodles with some green beans added in. Soon everything was ready, and Wen Xin served the noodles before running out to call for Wen Sheng and set the table. Normally, they wouldn't need to set the table since it was just family, but with Changqing around, it felt like they had a guest.
Wen Xin brought the noodles to the table and then went to the west room to call her grandmother for dinner. Her grandmother was busy with some sewing work, mending Wen Xin's clothes and socks that were bought with money. When she saw that Wen Xin had worn them out, she couldn’t bear to throw them away and decided to patch them up instead. Whenever Wen Xin tried to mend them herself, she would always prick her fingers with the needle. Eventually, her grandmother stopped letting her do it and took over instead. With her eyesight failing and wearing reading glasses, her grandmother smiled when she saw Wen Xin enter, "Dear! Don’t work in the fields for too long during noon; it’s too hot! When it gets hot, let your brother take you to wash up!"
Wen Xin cheerfully replied, "Got it, Grandma! Dinner’s ready! I made today’s meal; you should try it and see if it’s good!"
Her grandmother beamed with joy, "Wen Xin is so good! Much better than your two brothers!" She put down her sewing tools and took Wen Xin's hand as they walked outside.
Hearing her grandmother praise her made Wen Xin feel delighted; even though it was just a short distance, she felt like skipping along.
When Changqing saw Wen Xin and her grandmother coming out, he quickly greeted them with a smile, "Grandma! How have you been lately? You’re looking strong!"
Wen Xin's grandmother replied happily, "Qing! Have you come to find Wen Sheng? Stay for lunch today! Don’t leave! Don’t think our food is bad!"
Changqing laughed politely, "Of course not, Grandma! I won’t leave; I’ll eat here! Who cares if it's not fancy? We’re all country folks; no one eats that well!"
Changqing then went to a shop on the street to buy some canned goods and six bottles of beer. He returned cheerfully to say to Wen Sheng's father, "Uncle, let’s drink less today! Hehe..."
Wen Sheng's Father smiled and said, "You child, why do you need to buy wine when you're having a home-cooked meal at our place? If you want to drink, Wen Sheng should go buy it! You're our guest!"
Changqing nodded and chuckled, "Hey! It's all the same! I'm not an outsider; I've been friends with Wen Sheng for many years!"
They also brought Wen Hao out in the car. Wen Hao still couldn't walk and leaned on a cane to stand.
Everyone sat down together for dinner! Changqing had bought six bottles of beer in total. Wen Hao drank three bottles by himself, Wen Sheng's Father had one, and Changqing had another. Wen Xin wanted to drink, so Wen Sheng poured her a cup to let her taste. After taking a sip, Wen Xin scrunched up her face and leaned close to Wen Sheng's ear, saying, "Brother! Why does this beer taste like horse urine?"
Wen Sheng was in the middle of raising his cup to drink when he heard this, and he sprayed beer all over the place. He then coughed for a bit and reached out to playfully hit Wen Xin. Quick as a flash, she dodged behind Changqing and peeked out at Wen Sheng with a mischievous grin. Wen Sheng's Father shot her a glare, and she obediently picked up her bowl and took a stool outside to sit in the shade of the yard, still glancing back at Wen Sheng to tease him.
Since Changqing had come over, Wen Sheng didn't have to work that afternoon. They set up a table in the cool shade of the yard and played chess together. After eating, Wen Sheng's Father headed off to work at the Wood Factory. Wen Xin went with their mother to cut grass in the fields. Wen Sheng also brought a stool for their grandmother, who sat nearby watching them play chess. Although she didn’t understand the game, she enjoyed chatting with them. Meanwhile, Wen Hao was lying inside taking a long nap.
As evening approached and it was nearly dark, Wen Xin returned home, still damp from her bath. After finishing their chores, their mother had taken her to the river for a wash. Back inside, she changed into the new clothes that Wen Sheng had bought for her at the market. Of course, she didn’t want to wear them while working.
After dinner that night, Changqing said to Wen Sheng's Mother, "Wen Sheng and I are going out to have some fun!" since it was cooler outside than at home.
Wen Sheng's Mother cautioned him, "Don't wander too far! The crops are so tall now." Rural folks can be a bit superstitious; she thought they might be heading towards the river near the fields because it was nice and cool there.
Just as they were about to leave, Wen Xin ran over and grabbed Wen Sheng's hand. "Brother! Take me with you!" She kept shaking his arm excitedly.
"Of course!" Wen Sheng smiled back at her since they were all heading in the same direction.
The weather was lovely that evening, with bright moonlight illuminating their path. Wen Sheng led Wen Xin and Changqing out of his house. As they passed by Lin Lin's house, Wen Sheng stopped and took out twenty cents from his pocket to give to Wen Xin. "Go find Lin Lin! You two go look for us in the woods behind the village!" He turned back and gave Changqing a gentle smile. Money really is a good thing.
Wen Xin took the money with a sweet smile but then walked over to Changqing and waved her hand in front of her face. Changqing immediately understood what was happening; she chuckled and pulled out fifty cents to give to her as well. With that, Wen Xin turned around and headed toward Lin Lin's house while glancing back at Wen Sheng and giving them a cheeky wink.
The door to Lin Lin's house was open, and Wen Xin stepped inside, cheerfully calling out, "Lin Sister, are you home? I came to play with you!"
Lin Lin had just finished her meal and was watching television in the living room. Hearing Wen Xin's voice, she ran out with a smile, "Wen Xin! Come in and sit down to watch TV!" She pulled Wen Xin into the room. Wen Xin was not shy about it and grabbed a stool to sit on. The television was playing "My Fair Princess," a show that many girls loved. Guo An was not home; he must have gone out with his brother. Uncle A Jin was also absent, likely off drinking at a friend's house. A Jin was watching TV with Lin Lin and kept chatting about the swallows with Wen Xin.
Although Wen Xin enjoyed watching, she had something on her mind and wasn't really in the mood. Her big eyes kept darting around to look at Lin Lin, who, of course, didn’t notice her. Lin Lin was also preoccupied. Wen Xin seemed restless; after a moment of thought, she turned to Lin Lin with a pout and said, "Lin Lin, my Er Ge scolded me! I'm so upset!"
Lin Lin asked in confusion, "Why? Your Er Ge rarely scolds you!"
"I don't know! What got into him? He scolded me for no reason! Just because he lost at chess—what does that have to do with me?" Wen Xin thought for a moment and then added, "Lin Lin, take me out for a walk; let's go have some fun!"
A Jin, not understanding what was going on, remarked in puzzlement, "This Wen Sheng really is something else; it's not a big deal! Why scold Wen Xin? It's late; why not just stay home and watch TV?"
Wen Xin pouted playfully, "Auntie! Just let Lin Lin take me out to play for a bit!" She turned back to wink at Lin Lin.
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