The weather in July was still very hot. The trees on the roadside were exposed to the sun, and their leaves curled up as if they were burned. Occasionally, a gust of wind blew from the street, but it was also a warm wind, which made people feel restless.
The sky suddenly changed in the afternoon, and dark clouds seemed to be pressing down on people's heads. Suddenly, a flash of lightning flashed across the sky, and then a thunderous sound resounded through the sky. After the thunder, bean-sized raindrops fell down, and the whole sky seemed to have dropped a pearl curtain, covering everything on the earth, making it difficult for people to see clearly even things a few meters away.
Jiang Miao sat under the eaves, drinking tea and watching the splashes of water as the raindrops fell. He suddenly felt that his recent days had been too comfortable.
He picked up a piece of soft, snow-white rice cake and put it into his mouth, thinking with a little emotion, it is true that a leisurely and comfortable life is the easiest to corrode people's fighting spirit. Since he handed over the Jiang Family Shop to Tang Lin, it seemed like he had lived an old age life in advance. He was only responsible for collecting money and launching new products in the shop. The business he wanted to expand was aborted due to lack of materials. For a while, he really didn't know what to do except staying at home to take care of the children.
After a rain, the heat on people's bodies was swept away, and the air was filled with the fragrance of soil. Jiang Miao took Pei Mu to the pond in the backyard and picked a lotus leaf.
Pei Mu was very interested in the crystal clear, pearl-like little water droplets on the lotus leaves. He stretched out his finger to touch them, and then carefully shook the lotus leaves to make the little water droplets roll on them continuously.
"What is this?" Jiang Miao did not miss any opportunity to talk to him. The child's pronunciation was very clear, but he just couldn't speak coherently.
"Lotus leaf!" Pei Mu said.
"What can lotus leaves be used for?" Jiang Miao asked again.
Pei Mu observed the lotus leaf carefully. He thought for a moment, then raised the lotus leaf above his head and asked tentatively, "Umbrella?"
Jiang Miao was amused by him and said, "That's fine, but this lotus leaf is not for making an umbrella."
Pei Mu's eyes were full of confusion. He took the lotus leaf and looked at it carefully, but still couldn't think of any other uses for it.
"What?" he asked.
"It's delicious." Jiang Miao raised his eyebrows, "Have you ever tried lotus leaf chicken?"
Pei Mu shook his head. He had eaten boiled chicken, stewed chicken, and braised chicken, but he had never eaten lotus leaf chicken.
"Then you are in for a treat today. Brother Miao will make you a lotus leaf chicken. I guarantee you will want to eat more after you have eaten it." Jiang Miao has been craving these lotus leaves for a long time. The lotus in their pond was planted late, so the lotus leaves are only now blooming.
"Thank you...Brother Miao!" Pei Mu smiled, his eyes full of anticipation.
Jiang Miao took the lotus leaf to the kitchen and started to prepare the chicken. The lotus leaf chicken he was going to make was a Huaiyang dish. The chicken was first fried, then boiled and then roasted. After the three processes, the whole chicken was crispy and boneless, and it tasted delicious with a fragrant lotus aroma.
After the chicken was cooked, Little Stone came back, but he was not as happy as usual today, and looked a little depressed.
"What's going on today?" Jiang Miao opened the lotus leaf and put the two chicken legs into the two bowls.
Little Stone sighed: "Brother, Master Yu gave us five questions today, and I couldn't answer one of them." Little Stone always thought he was a serious student, but he didn't expect to be stumped by a question. This made him a little frustrated.
"What's the big deal? Didn't he answer four questions? That's already very good." Jiang Miao said. It is the time to cultivate interest. He thinks praise should be the main thing. Too much criticism can easily make children feel inferior and timid.
"But several people have answered the question!" Little Stone was still very sad.
"It doesn't matter. The kids in your school are older than you. When you grow up, you will be able to answer the teacher's questions. Besides, if we want to compete, we should compete with ourselves. We just need to make progress every time." Jiang Miao touched his little head and said earnestly. Being competitive may not be a bad thing, especially in the student stage, as long as it is appropriate and not too stubborn.
Little Stone was thinking for a while. After thinking it through, his mood suddenly recovered from the bottom. The aroma of food that he had ignored rushed into his nose. He picked up the chicken leg and couldn't help but eat it.
Pei Mu, who was sitting next to him, had already finished his portion and was now eating other parts of the lotus leaf chicken.
Jiang Miao smiled, and suddenly realized that Jiang Yu seemed to have been motionless. When he turned around, he found that she was mechanically picking up the rice and putting it into her mouth with a sweet smile on her face. It was obvious that she was immersed in it and couldn't extricate herself.
"Sister Xiaoyu, what good thing happened to you?" Jiang Miao was a little curious.
Jiang Miao felt very suspicious, but he couldn't figure it out. He hadn't heard anything about what happened in the store. He stared at Jiang Yu suspiciously for a long time, but he couldn't figure it out, so he had to give up.
They were having dinner happily, but over at the Imperial College, Pei Che was feeling a little uneasy.
When it rained heavily, he and other students took martial arts lessons in the martial arts field. Because the rain came so fast and there was nowhere to hide, everyone ran back to the dormitory in the rain. After returning to the dormitory, everyone realized that from the hair to the soles of the feet, there was no dry spot on their bodies.
Normally, the Imperial College's logistics staff would be responsible for boiling water for bathing. Just ask, and they would carry a bathtub and hot water to serve you. Of course, this service was for students from wealthy families, and an additional fee was required. The free service was in the big bathhouse, and those from poor families could go there to bathe.
The sudden heavy rain caused calls for water to come one after another. Although the logistics personnel had anticipated this and started to boil water as soon as it rained, the supply still fell short of demand. Pei Che didn't want to wait there and be urged, so he just gave an order and went back to his room to read while waiting.
This wait lasted for a quarter of an hour.
When Pei Che stood up from the bathtub, he felt a little uncomfortable, but he didn't take it seriously. He thought it was summer now, and it shouldn't be a big problem to wear wet clothes for a while.
At this time, the Imperial College's kitchen had cooked ginger soup and sent it to them. Pei Che frowned at the strange smell of ginger soup, but ultimately refused to pour it into his mouth.
In the evening, Pei Che felt his head getting more and more dizzy. The words on the book in front of him also had double images. He shook his head and continued to read, but found it difficult to concentrate. After reading a few words, he became dazed.
Han Qin and others who came to have dinner with him saw him like this and saw the full bowl of ginger soup on the table, and they knew that Pei Che had caught a cold and was sick.
After hearing what everyone said, Pei Che realized that he was sick.
Han Qin called someone to invite Doctor Yang who was in charge of the Imperial College. The old doctor took Pei Che's pulse and said a lot of things. The general idea was that the evil wind had entered his body and he had a fever. He prescribed a few pills for Pei Che, told him to have a good rest, and left.
"Ah Che, how about I go to the Dean for you and tell him that you should go back to recuperate?" Seeing Pei Che's sickly appearance, Han Qin came up with an idea. He, He Chen, and Su Jin were not good at taking care of people. The people in the Imperial College were all rough and unskilled, and they certainly could not take care of him as patiently and carefully as family members.
Pei Che thought with his unclear mind at the moment. Staying in the Imperial College would mean being unattended and miserable. Going home would mean being taken care of and being warm and sweet. Anyway, he couldn't read and study if he was sick. Instead of staying here, he might as well go home.
"Ahem, then Ah Qin, thank you for your help. Ahem, ask them to send me to Jiang's house." Pei Che said while coughing.
When Pei Che arrived at Jiang's house in a carriage, Jiang Miao had fallen asleep. He heard housekeeper Wu knocking on the door and shouting, and then he realized that Pei Che had been sent back because of illness.
Jiang Miao's heart skipped a beat, and he jumped out of bed and rushed out without even turning on the light. Thinking of the medical measures in ancient times and the modern emergencies, Jiang Miao's palms were sweating with nervousness. In a short period of time, he had already sent Pei Che to the emergency room for surgery several times in his mind.
"You said he just caught a cold?" Jiang Miao asked in disbelief.
Pei Che coughed violently a few times when he heard it, refreshing his presence at the right time.
Steward Wu looked at Pei Che with pity and said disapprovingly, "Master Jiang, a cold can be a big deal or a small one, how can you say it's just a small matter?" Every time their young master was sick, he was taken care of by more than a dozen people. It was really uncomfortable for him to come down the mountain alone this time.
"Okay," Jiang Miao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He stepped forward to help Pei Che, "You take the medicine and boil it for him. I'll take him in and settle him down."
"Ahem... Thank you for your help, A Miao..." Pei Che half leaned on Jiang Miao, his hot breath hitting Jiang Miao's neck as he spoke.
Jiang Miao sighed: "Don't talk if you are so sick. You too, didn't you send someone back to inform us to go up? You were sick and took such a long time to get down..."
Although Jiang Miao's words were reproachful, Pei Che still felt the concern in his words. His heart suddenly warmed up, and even his heavy body seemed to become lighter.
(End of this chapter)