| TBBOTOF | 292
Actually, ever since Tang Mei got divorced, Luo Pingping had already mentioned several times that life is tough. No matter how much she loves her daughter, it is not easy to live alone.
Tang Mei herself also knew she would have to remarry sooner or later, so every time her mother brought it up, she would just listen.
But now!
Although she wasn't outright rejecting the idea of remarriage, she started to have thoughts of making plans for herself.
At first, she felt uncomfortable helping out in the backyard kitchen every day, but later she came to terms with it. There was no shame in earning money through hard work. People’s hearts may be dark sometimes, but she learned to let go.
Because she was good-looking, cheerful, efficient, and cooked well, she got along with the men in the backyard.
They knew Tang Mei was divorced and raising two sons, and some even began to take an interest in her.
“Da Cheng! What are you thinking about!” Zhang Wei slapped Zhang Cheng on the shoulder, snapping his daydreaming friend back to reality. “Everyone’s gone to get food already. Why are you still sitting here?”
“I’m tired, just taking a break.” Zhang Cheng raised his arm to push off Zhang Wei’s hand from his shoulder, grabbed the sweat towel hanging around his neck, and wiped his face.
Thank goodness Tang Xu had sent some ice over and asked Old Wu to prepare cooling herbal tea. Otherwise, even working during the less intense hours of the day in this weather would be unbearable.
Tang Mei scooped a big ladleful of spicy rabbit stew for a man in line and pointed to a nearby table. “There are some flatbreads and cold noodles over there.”
“Spicy food? Won’t eating spicy stuff in this heat make us overheat?” a middle-aged man muttered.
“Overheat, my foot! There’s plenty of herbal tea—just drink some!” the man behind him sneered, his tone mocking as he reached past to hand his food container over. “Da Mei, give me an extra scoop. I’ve tried the spicy rabbit dish made by Xu Ge’er before—it's amazing!”
Tang Mei smiled and nodded in agreement, serving him two generous ladles into his bowl. She then pointed to the side. “There are flatbreads and cold noodles over there—help yourself.”
Ever since Tang Xu introduced cold noodles to the village, skillful women had been able to recreate it.
Over the years, cold noodles had become a common dish in the village—nearly every household could make it. However, none of their sauces tasted as good as Tang Xu’s, though it was good enough for home consumption.
Eating a bowl of cold noodles on a hot day was indeed refreshing.
Recently, with the temperatures soaring, Tang Xu had forbidden Tang Mei from cooking over a fire here.
Instead, he had her prepare cold dishes for the workers.
Even though it was just cold dishes, every meal still included meat. They made sure nobody was treated poorly.
When all the men had taken their bowls and found shady spots to sit and eat, Tang Mei frowned slightly and scanned the area. She soon noticed someone who hadn’t come over to get food.
Tang Mei walked over and handed a bowl of cold noodles to him. “Is there something wrong?”
Zhang Cheng looked up at Tang Mei, took the bowl she offered, and tugged at the corner of his mouth in a half-smile. “Thanks.”
“Something on your mind?” Tang Mei asked. She remembered Zhang Cheng as someone who was usually quite cheerful, often joking and greeting her. His unnatural smile today made her ask further.
Holding the bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other, Zhang Cheng stirred the noodles and let out a light sigh. “It’s nothing. You should get back to your work.”
Tang Mei responded with an "oh" and didn’t press further. She simply said, “There’s spicy rabbit meat, cold noodles, and flatbreads over there. If this isn’t enough, just go help yourself.”
Zhang Cheng nodded and thanked her again.
Because of the hot weather, the work schedule for the men building houses had been adjusted.
The two hottest hours around noon were set aside for lunch and rest, with work resuming later in the evening. They finished later at night, but since it stayed light longer this time of year, it didn’t cause any delays.
After finishing cooking for the workers, Tang Mei headed over to another site where she could lend Tang Xu a hand.
The meals at home were more refined compared to what she made for the workers. Tang Xu was especially careful to prevent the older and younger family members from getting heatstroke.
Every day, he brought ice blocks out of the storage room, and lately, their family’s ice consumption had significantly increased.
“Cousin!” Tang Xu was distributing bowls of mung bean soup to the kids when he spotted her and called out, “Come over and have a bowl. I cooled it in the well—it’s super refreshing!”
Tang Mei smiled, took the bowl, and sipped it. The sweet, cool liquid spread through her body, refreshing her from the inside out and sweeping away the heat and fatigue.
“The weather’s getting hotter and hotter, and it’s barely rained recently.” She sat down on a small stool nearby and glanced at the vegetable patch covered with a makeshift burlap canopy.
It blocked out much of the scorching sunlight, though it was still a bit stifling underneath. “It’s better than direct exposure to the sun. We’re lucky to have a well here. Otherwise, hauling water under the blazing sun would be pure torture.”
Tang Xu also sat on a small stool with a bowl of mung bean soup in hand. Watching the children gathered around the ice basin, he reminded them, “Stay back, don’t touch it with your hands.”
He then turned to Tang Mei and said, “This year’s heat is something else. I remember last year around this time, we had several heavy rains. This year, we didn’t have even a single drop.”
“There was so much rain earlier that we were worried about flooding. Now we’re afraid of drought,” Tang Mei remarked with a wave of her hand, laughing. “You’ve never farmed, so you don’t understand. Even though it’s hot now, it won’t lead to a drought. If it were that bad, the villagers would already be panicking.”
Tang Xu thought about it and agreed. Even though it hadn’t rained for over a week, the earlier rains had been plentiful, and the water level in the well hadn’t dropped. That meant there wasn’t any sign of a major drought.
“At this rate, it’ll probably rain heavily in a couple of days,” Tang Mei said as she placed her empty bowl on the nearby table. She glanced at the children and then asked Tang Xu, “What’s for lunch?”
“Cold noodles,” Tang Xu sighed. “It’s too hot—nobody has much of an appetite.”
Tang Mei nodded with a smile. “Alright, I’ll go boil the noodles.”
“No need, you sit and rest for a bit. The noodles are already soaked; I just need to cook them,” Tang Xu said as he carried out a basin of soaked noodles from the kitchen and began heating water to cook them.
Earlier in the morning, Wei Dong had driven the mule cart to town to deliver some rabbits and sell the accumulated rabbit pelts.
—
At the braised food shop, Wei Dong unloaded the cart and called out to Tang Erhu, “Father!”
Tang Erhu smiled and patted Wei Dong's shoulder, asking, “How’s everything at home?”
“Everything’s good. It’s been really hot lately. How’s business?” Wei Dong replied.
Tang Erhu shook his head. “It’s about the same. The cold noodles are selling well though. It’s so hot, people just don’t have much of an appetite.”
Wei Dong gave a small hum of agreement. It was true—he had eaten more cold noodles than usual.
“Why don’t we go back home for a bit?” Wang Cuicui brought Wei Dong some cool boiled water and, looking at Tang Erhu, asked, “It’s been a few months since we last visited. Don’t you miss home?”
Tang Erhu thought for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, we’ll go stay for a bit. We’ll come back once the weather cools down.”
Originally, Wei Dong had planned to finish his deliveries and head back, but seeing that both of them had decided to go back to the village, he stayed behind to eat and helped clean up afterward.
The cart full of rabbits had been hauled there, and now it was being hauled back just the same.
By the time they arrived in the evening, Tang Xu was completely stunned.
“How willful,” he commented.
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