This is a quick article

……

The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and it's time to pick up cicada shells.

Zhang Lan happily filled a bag and went around the village looking for cicada shells. Cicada shells can be exchanged for money, so Zhang Lan naturally didn't want to miss it.

It was only 36 or 37 degrees Celsius, and Zhang Lan searched for the entire afternoon. Her body couldn't take it and she suffered from heatstroke.

Zhang Lan was carried back by Aunt Li who was traveling with her. She was not usually sick, but she had a severe heatstroke and was lying in bed unable to move.

The village doctor was called home by Xiao De to prescribe some medicine. Zhang Lan groaned on the bed: "Oh, no need... I'll just lie down for a while and drink some sugar water."

Xiao De smoked a leaf cigarette and glared at her. "I told you not to go out in such hot weather, but you went out to pick up that thing. How much is it worth? What you picked up is not as much as what you spent."

"Who am I doing this for? It's all for this family. It's easy for you to talk like that. Tianci has to pay tuition every year, and there are so many mouths to feed at home. You complain about me spending money? You didn't dislike me when I was young, but now that I'm old, you start to dislike me!"

"I can't explain anything to you."

The sound of the two people quarreling could be heard by the neighbors next door. Xiao De stopped talking. He looked at Zhang Lan, whose face was pale, but at least he didn't say anything.

Qi He sent the village doctor to the door and paid the medical expenses.

When Xiao De was away, he gave Zhang Lan another two hundred yuan and asked her to take good care of her health.

Zhang Lan declined several times, but finally accepted it.

Everything is fake, only money is real.

"Big brother, stay here for a few more days. Aunt Zhang will kill a chicken the day after tomorrow and make chicken soup for you."

Qi He recalled that when Xiao Xiaoyi was young, he loved drinking chicken soup and could drink two big bowls by himself.

"Okay, Aunt Zhang, you should have a good rest."

After Qi He left, Zhang Lan felt extremely proud. She thought that supporting Qi He during high school was the best thing their family had ever done.

In the past, raising Qi He only cost some rice and provided him with a place to live. Qi He's tuition was paid by the village and he received subsidies.

Now Qi He gave them more than just rice in return.

Zhang Lan thought about it and sighed again. It would be great if there was a girl in the family. She could be Qi He's wife, and the two families would be completely tied together.

Since Zhang Lan was sick, the task of making dinner fell on Xiao Tianci and Chen Ye.

As for Xiao De, the head of the family, his mother cooked for him when he was young, and when he grew up and got married, he has never been into the kitchen in his life.

Xiao De was talking to Qi He in the living room.

Qi He responded to Xiao De without a single mistake, but his eyes were always looking outside.

In the kitchen, Chen Ye was holding the potatoes and had no idea what to do with him.

"System, help me, help me cut a potato."

System: [Self-reliance.]

Chen Ye: "What use is there for you!"

He lowered his head, bent over, and stared at the potatoes as if facing a great enemy.

Xiao Tianci asked him to cut potato shreds. Chen had never done that before, so he tried cutting it and it was okay, not a big problem.

He cut the potatoes into slices first, but when he cut the last slice, he got scared, afraid of cutting his hand.

Chen Ye has a nanny at home. He has seen the aunt cutting vegetables, but he has never tried it himself. It turns out to be quite tiring and his waist hurts when he bends.

Putting the potato slices down, Chen Ye began to try to cut them into strips, but the potato slices were too thick, so he cut them into strips, like French fries.

The oil in the pot was getting spicy, and Xiao Tianci took the time to look at the chopping board. "What are you doing? What are you cutting? Xiao Xiaoyi, you've been sitting at home like an idiot, right? Now you can't even cut a potato."

Chen was also scolded. He put down the kitchen knife and said, "Brother, I will light the fire. I know how to light the fire."

"I don't need you to light the fire, just chop it well, cut the potatoes into thin strips."

Qi He stood at the kitchen door and saw Chen Ye struggling with the shredded potatoes.

He went into the kitchen, took Chen Ye's knife, and started shredding potatoes.

The shredded potatoes became obedient and compliant in his hands and would not slide around.

In a few minutes, the potato shreds are ready.

Chen Ye winked at Qi He, "Brother, you are so nice."

[Favorability +5, current favorability is 40. ]

Qi He silently helped him cut the tomatoes.

"Brother, you are so awesome."

[Favorability +2, current favorability is 42. ]

A smile appeared on Qi He's lips.

"Brother, you..."

Chen Ye wanted to praise him a little more. It was too easy to increase his favorability. Xiao Tianci naturally noticed Qi He coming in. He interrupted Chen Ye and said, "Brother, let him do it. He does it all day long..."

Xiao Tianci wanted to say that Chen Ye was a white-meal eater, but he remembered Qi He's warning to him, so he changed his words and said, "You've been idle all day long, you need to exercise. Mom will find him a wife in two years, who would want him if he can't cook?"

Most men in the village don’t need to know how to cook, but the original owner, Xiao Xiaoyi, is obviously not ordinary. He must learn some skills before he can get a wife, otherwise no one will be interested in him.

Chen also noticed that the smile on the man's face disappeared.

"Brother, you won't dislike me, will you? I can't cook."

Xiao Tianci swung the spatula and said, "Why do you care if Big Brother dislikes you or not? Big Brother doesn't want you."

"I don't mind it."

Qi He's voice was so low that Xiao Tianci didn't hear it, but Chen also heard it.

Chen Ye smiled and narrowed his eyes, obviously very satisfied with this statement.

"Hey, system, am I almost successful in the attack?"

System: [Put your pillow higher. The current progress is 42, it's still early.]

Chen was not depressed. From the initial 20 to the current 42, it was already pretty good. After all, Qi He's favorability towards Zhang Lan and Xiao De was only over at the beginning.

Zhang Lan didn't get up to eat, so Xiao De brought the food in for her. This old couple sometimes quarreled, but they still loved each other.

……

Zhang Lan recovered quickly, and when the watermelon seller came in his truck, she was the first one to jump out to buy a watermelon.

The watermelon was big and round, a local native watermelon. Zhang Lan placed it in a water jar to keep it in place until dinner time before eating it.

Chen Ye's eyes never left the water tank for the whole day. Watermelon, fragrant and sweet watermelon, wouldn't it be so refreshing to have a bite of it in such hot weather?

After waiting for a whole day, it was finally time to divide the watermelon. Zhang Lan cut a piece first and asked Chen Ye to deliver it to Aunt Li's house.

Aunt Li carried her back home when she had heatstroke, so she should be grateful to her.

Chen also arrived at Aunt Li's house. Aunt Li's daughter Zhou Chunfang was washing her hair in the yard. She squatted on the ground and scooped water with a gourd ladle. Her somewhat dry hair hung to the dusty ground.

In Chen Ye's opinion, this was just a lonely wash.

"Sister Chunfang, my mother asked me to bring you some watermelon."

Zhou Chunfang wrung the water out of her hair and called into the house, "Mom, Xiao Xiaoyi is here."

Aunt Li is in her forties, but she looks almost the same as Zhang Lan, who is in her fifties. More than half of her hair is white. She has a very hard life.

When she was in her early twenties, her five-year-old son was taken swimming and drowned. She was also beaten and scolded by her husband all day long, who blamed her for not taking good care of her son.

Later, she and her husband gave birth to a daughter. Her husband was away from home all year round, so she and her daughter depended on each other at home.

Chen also explained his purpose and gave the watermelon to Aunt Li.

"Why send me watermelon? Your mother is the same."

Aunt Li said this with a simple smile on her face.

Chen Ye chatted with her for a while and then went home. He was still waiting to eat watermelon.

Aunt Li said to her daughter Zhou Chunfang, "Xiaofang, do you think Xiaoyi has become more fluent in speaking? In the past, he would never greet us neighbors and would never say a word when we asked him anything."

Zhou Chunfang continued to wash her hair. "I don't know. Maybe I've finally gotten the hang of it."

After saying a few perfunctory words, Zhou Chunfang went into the room and locked the door.

Aunt Li sighed, her daughter was grown up and didn't like to talk to her. Zhou Chunfang also felt resentful because the family didn't have the money to send her to college.

When Chen Ye returned home, the watermelon had been almost eaten.

There is half a watermelon among five people, and each person gets not much.

The sweetest one in the middle was given by Zhang Lan to Qi He and Xiao De.

The second best ones were given to Xiao Tianci, and the worst ones were given to her and Chen Ye.

Chen Ye took the watermelon that had little meat on it and took a bite. He felt dead in his heart and it had no taste.

But it’s better to have something than nothing, so Chen ate it cleanly before throwing away the green watermelon rind.

A piece of watermelon was handed to him from behind. Chen Ye turned around and saw that it was the original owner's mother.

"Eat one more piece, then go to sleep."

Chen Ye took the watermelon. Although this piece of watermelon was not the best, it still had some meat.

Everyone else was in the living room, and they were the only two in the yard.

Zhang Lan glanced towards the living room and asked, "Have you been getting close to your eldest brother recently?"

Chen Ye took a bite of the watermelon and spoke vaguely, "It's okay."

"Your elder brother is capable. Let him take good care of you. Maybe he can help you find a job. With such an elder brother, you will have a stable wife. Mom doesn't have any big wishes. She just wants to see you and your brother get married and start a family."

Chen Ye felt a little touched and he thought of his mother.

"Mom, I don't want a wife. I'll follow my eldest brother."

Zhang Lan was amused by her youngest son's innocent words. She then recalled her business and said, "Your eldest brother will be staying for a while. Ask him indirectly if he can help your brother find an internship. He will be a junior next year and needs an internship to get a good job."

It turned out that this was Zhang Lan's purpose. Chen was just moved for nothing.

Zhang Lan pretended to pull Chen Ye's ears, "Did you hear that?"

Chen Ye stood up from the stool and walked towards the living room, "I heard it, I heard it."