After the Great Heat, a thunderstorm that lasted for several days took away the last week of July.
The thunderstorm finally stopped, and the temperature in the mountains rose instead of falling.
In early August, summer is at its peak.
The stitches on Gu Jianian’s wound were removed.
The onions and garlic in the vegetable garden had been harvested several times. Gu Jianian helped his grandmother weed and planted the cucumber seeds left over from the spring.
Over the past few days, grandma has taught Gu Jianian a lot about growing vegetables.
Spring is the season for planting all kinds of fruits and vegetables; summer is the season for onions and garlic; between summer and autumn, radishes are planted, and after the autumnal equinox, when the wild berries bloom, it’s time to plant peas and broad beans…
Although my grandmother's family only has a few vegetable plots, they are self-sufficient in fresh fruits and vegetables all year round.
The midday sun was scorching and the heat was rolling, and the straw fan was no longer able to bear the burden.
Before dinner, Gu Jianian helped his grandmother move the antique-looking standing electric fan out of the utility room.
The fan was very heavy, covered in rust, and most of the paint had fallen off.
Gu Jianian doubted whether it was still useful.
She was convinced only after she plugged it in and heard the steady humming sound and the smooth rotation of the gears.
Grandma patted the bulky back of the fan, her eyes full of nostalgia: "This is what your grandpa and I bought at the market. It's an old brand and very useful."
The fan blew slowly, clearing a gap in the stuffy air.
Gu Jianian was very curious about his grandfather, whom he had never met.
Her grandfather died before she was born. Gu Jianian only knew that he used to be an accountant in the village branch and was a rare intellectual in the village. As for other things, she knew nothing.
She once saw a yellowed old photo hanging on the wall of her grandmother's room.
In the photo, standing side by side with my young grandmother is a tall, thin, serious-looking young man wearing a well-fitting Zhongshan suit and glasses.
That was Gu Jianian's only impression of his grandfather.
Grandma took a break and suddenly asked her, "Stop, are you a little bored staying in the countryside?"
Gu Jianian shook his head: "Why do you say that?"
Grandma looked at her and touched her hair: "You have been depressed these days, staying at home all the time, not talking much, and not reading. I wonder if your daily life is too dull?"
Gu Jianian was stunned.
It turns out that grandma had already seen it, but she just didn't say it.
She thought she wasn't being that obvious.
Since the day she was injured, she hasn't been to Chi Yan's house to read for ten days.
My grandmother asked about it, and she had used the excuse that the stitches on her foot had not been removed the week before. But after the stitches were removed, she still didn't go.
Gu Jianian knew he was running away.
Perhaps it was because her life in Yunmo was too comfortable, or because there had been no news from Beilin during this period, she actually began to have an illusion, as if nothing had happened.
She seemed to think of herself as a child who came to the countryside for vacation after successfully completing the college entrance examination.
She even began to have some romantic thoughts that shouldn't belong to her. She started trying to understand a person's past and excitedly looked forward to her future with him.
However, that day, when she saw the student card, she suddenly felt as if she had just woken up from a dream.