Chapter 2262 - 726: Wind and Flowers (Daily Life)

Tuesday, December 12, 2023.

Han City, Shangqian Village.

It’s 6:30 in the morning, and the sky is still dark.

The small village on the Jinan Plain is silent, with only the occasional scattered barking of dogs from afar, making the winter dawn feel even colder.

In the cold, Qian Lele wakes up from her sleep on time.

Without a hint of laziness, she deftly puts on the thick clothes covering her quilt and walks out of her small bedroom.

First, she stretches her limbs in the frost-covered yard, doing a few exercises to fully dispel the last traces of sleepiness.

In the main room, the briquette stove is huffing and puffing with heat, but because the old house lacks insulation, the walls are drafty, and the actual temperature inside remains low.

Her father, Qian Yong, is already awake, leaning on that smooth cane, slowly and stubbornly working on his rehabilitation walking.

"Dad, you’re up."

"Lele... why, why so early again, not sleeping some more?"

Having suffered a stroke, Qian Yong’s speech is unclear and muddled, but Lele can understand him.

"I’ve slept enough, not tired."

Lele smiles, steps forward briskly, expertly picks up the fire tongs, helps her father clean out the burnt coal ash in the stove, and carefully adds a few new coals.

The sky still holds a deep inky color.

For the next hour, she moves efficiently like a tireless spinning top.

First, she fills two large basins with water from the faucet wrapped tightly in old cotton quilts, adjusting the temperature with hot water.

Then she hunkers down in the cramped bathroom, scrubbing the family’s clothes, using the old twin-tub washing machine to spin them dry, and finally hangs each item on the wire in the yard, frozen stiff.

The icy vapor steams up, quickly forming a fine frost on her bangs and eyebrows.

Yet she just exhales white breath, rubs her slightly red and swollen hands, and turns to busy herself with the next task.

Kneading dough, chopping vegetables, simmering porridge...

Soon, a steaming hot homemade breakfast is freshly prepared by her hands.

At the dining table, the three of them sit together.

Her mother, Zhang Guifang, looks at her daughter’s slightly chapped hands, feeling very distressed.

"This child, always busy as soon as you come back. In this freezing weather, that water is like ice chips, see how it’s made your hands look."

"It’s alright, Mom, it’s not like I do this every day."

Qian Lele’s eyes crinkle with a smile, picking up a piece of cooked food she brought home and placing it in her mother’s bowl, serving her father a bowl of steaming hot porridge.

In a light-hearted tone, she reassures them:

"I bought those fleece-lined washing gloves online, they’ll be delivered in a couple of days, and then you can use them."

"Besides, I’m always sitting at school looking at the computer, it’s just right to come back and exercise a bit."

Then she enthusiastically talks about her life in Yan City, choosing only the good things to say.

She tells them Teacher Jiang treats her very well, taking her into a great laboratory, giving her the chance to access cutting-edge AI technology.

She says her part-time job at Glimmer Coffee is also going smoothly, colleagues and the boss all especially like her.

She proudly tells her parents that she can now earn 4,500 yuan a month, assuring them there’s no need to worry about her, and she can cover more than half of the household expenses in the future.

Her parents listen with both pride and a bit of heartache, their eyes slightly red.

After breakfast, taking care of her father to lie down and rest.

Qian Lele mysteriously grabs her mother Zhang Guifang’s arm, "Mom, come on, I’ll take you to a good place."

"In this freezing weather, where are we going?"

"Come on, you’ll know when we get there!"

She helps her mom put on a thick scarf and woolen hat, and together they head out the door.

First, they ride the family’s old electric scooter to the village entrance, then take the half-hour interval bus, swaying for over twenty minutes, finally reaching the county’s bus station.

The street is bustling with people, the sound of horns and vendors calling out intertwining, filled with the unique clamor and hustle of a small county.

She leads her mother, walking for another dozen minutes, and finally stops in front of a shop with the sign "Zhengpeng Car Shop."

"Lele, why did you bring me here? To buy an electric scooter? The one we have still works."

Zhang Guifang looks puzzled.

Qian Lele doesn’t answer, her face full of irrepressible excitement, pulling her inside.

She’s obviously not new here, finding the boss who’s repairing cars with ease.

The boss greets her with a smile: "Young lady, you’re here, the vehicle is ready for you, it’s in the backyard."

"Come on, Mom."

The boss leads them both, through the display area filled with various models of electric scooters, to the yard behind.

Following her daughter’s excited gaze, Zhang Guifang immediately sees the ’big guy’ parked in the corner.

It’s a brand new electric tricycle, sprayed with eye-catching royal blue paint.

The rear cargo area is expertly converted into a small stall with a canopy and stainless steel worktop.

On it, the new dough maker, griddle, double-headed gas stove, and other equipment are all bright and shiny.

Glimmering in the winter sunlight with a fresh sheen.

Qian Lele excitedly runs up, introducing it to her mother as if it’s a rare treasure:

"Mom! Look, this is my gift to you."

"The vehicle is new, I asked the boss to reinforce and overhaul the brakes and battery, it’s very safe."

"The set of machines for making meat sandwiches is second-hand, but they’re all in good condition, I personally tested them, they look nearly new!"