As the Mid-Autumn Festival drew closer, the weather grew increasingly stifling, with not a trace of the refreshing coolness promised by poetic lines like "When gold winds et jade dews, they surpass earthly pleasures tenfold."
While Jiang Jinghuai was out of the house, Tian Sangsang sneaked into her private space to test out her singing. The space had air-conditioning, and once inside, she found it hard to leave. She had spent a lot of ti deliberating over which song to choose but struggled to find one that could qualify both as a revolutionary anthem and sothing tied to Mid-Autumn thes. If it was purely about Mid-Autumn, there were plenty of options: "Fifteenth Moon," "The Moon Represents My Heart," "When Will the Moon Be Bright Again," and so on. Songs related to soldiers were even more abundant — "For Whom," "Green Flower of the Army," "We Who Serve," "Our eting Is a Song," and others. But ones combining both? Extrely rare.
The essence of Mid-Autumn lied in its atmosphere—the togetherness of family reunion. Setting the mood would suffice; there was no point overthinking it.
In the end, Tian Sangsang conceded and settled on one song...
The problem was, she couldn’t find it available at the mont—there was no cassette backing track she could buy. Performing while holding both the microphone and playing an instrunt to accompany herself wasn’t practical. Thus, she had no choice but to let the idea go. For Tian Sangsang, what mattered most wasn’t having the perfect backing but that the song itself posed quite a challenge for her.
It was a man’s song, one she worried she couldn’t pull off. So she tested it out in the space—her tone was steady, and her voice wasn’t overly sharp, allowing her to channel the rich resonance characteristic of male vocals. After practicing several tis, she finally managed to sing it with so resemblance to the original.
Lately, the blazing heat had truly beco unbearable—this was in an era without air conditioning, no less. If soone asked her, "If you could choose between air conditioning or waterlon, which would you pick?", leaving a blank for her to fill in, her response would be pure exasperation. What kind of nonsense question was that? Even waterlon was hard to co by, let alone air conditioning—a rarity even overseas at that ti!
Unable to bear it any longer, Tian Sangsang ended up buying a few bottles of waterlon juice in her private space, each packaged in glass.
"Son, co have so waterlon juice~" She called out to her son. The weather was hotter today than yesterday, oppressive enough that even sitting motionlessly indoors would still result in a persistent trickle of sweat from every pore. Though she hadn’t watched the weather forecast, Tian Sangsang guessed it had to be around 40°C.
ng Shuyan wiped sweat from his brow, took the glass, and gulped down a mouthful. Then, sticking out his tongue, he asked, "Mom, have you drunk so?"
"I have," Tian Sangsang replied. "Drink more, it’ll help cool you down."
"I want to save so for Dad." ng Shuyan stared at the half-filled remains in the glass bottle.
"Your dad has his own share. I already set so aside for him. Do you think your mom is an unfeeling person?" Tian Sangsang feigned irritation.
"Ah! Mom, you’re the best!" ng Shuyan planted a loud kiss on her cheek.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Tian Sangsang went out to open it.
A blast of hot air rushed in, accompanied by a familiar masculine energy.
Jiang Jinghuai stepped in, carrying a small electric fan.
Tian Sangsang noticed the item he was cradling and followed him inside before realizing, her eyes widening in astonishnt—it was a small electric fan. It was an old-fashioned model, its casing made of tal, the fan blades fashioned from plastic, and its base a sturdy green hue. It looked tough and durable.
"Is this... an electric fan?" Fangirling ever so subtly, Tian Sangsang felt as though she were dreaming.
"Yeah." Jiang Jinghuai shot her a slightly odd glance.
"What made you suddenly decide to buy an electric fan?"
"Yanyan was feeling hot at night." Jiang Jinghuai stated plainly as they walked into the room.
She glanced at his camouflage tank top, soaked through with sweat, and gently handed him a glass of waterlon juice. "Here, have so juice to soothe your throat. Let take that fan—I’ll set it up for you~"
Jiang Jinghuai accepted the vibrant red beverage in one hand, while Tian Sangsang took the fan from him.
But wait—why did her arm suddenly feel weak? She had the confidence in her robust fra to lift this iron fan, but now she felt like a total weakling? Fortunately, the nightstand wasn’t far, and she quickly managed to place the fan atop it.
After venturing outdoors, Jiang Jinghuai felt utterly uncomfortable, his face showing a flush from the heat. Now with the chilled cup of waterlon juice in his hand, he gazed at it intensely before taking a sip. The mont it hit his throat, he felt significantly cooled down and couldn’t resist gulping the whole thing down.
"Where did you get this waterlon juice?"
By now, lying ca effortlessly to Tian Sangsang. Without skipping a beat or batting an eyelash, she replied nonchalantly, "I bumped into an old grandpa selling waterlons on the roadside and bought one from him. You wouldn’t believe it—he was quite sothing, carrying two huge bags full, with dozens of waterlons inside."
Jiang Jinghuai paused in thought, doubt flickering across his face. "An old grandpa... carrying dozens of waterlons?"
"Uh." Tian Sangsang froze, responding woodenly, "It’s really nothing. That grandpa was pretty extraordinary. You know the saying, ’An old man invigorated with youthful passion, holding the reins of yellow and green steeds, even the pear blossoms bow to his vigor.’"
"Tian Sangsang!" Jiang Jinghuai’s expression darkened. "Watch your language!"
Seeing his righteous aura, his defined pectoral muscles visible even through his tank top, and his perfectly bronzed skin glistening with sweat, Tian Sangsang suddenly felt trapped under the steel gaze of his eyes. Nervously, she mumbled, "Fine, fine! Don’t get hung up on the details!"
"Yanyan, Mom misspoke earlier—how should we properly describe an old grandpa hauling dozens of waterlons? We need to use the right idiom: that’s ’aged but robust.’" She fiddled with the fan, pressed the switch, and in an instant, a cool breeze swept the room, causing ng Shuyan’s hair to flutter.
Previously, ng Shuyan had little exposure to electrical appliances back in the countryside, aside from the phonograph. Even now, being at the military base, apart from radios, he didn’t see much else that required electricity. Experiencing the electric fan now, his curiosity spiked, and he squinted happily at it as he observed it closely.
"Mom, what’s this called?"
Jiang Jinghuai answered on behalf of Tian Sangsang, "Electric fan." Then, he sat beside him and joined in enjoying the breeze.
Gazing out the window, Tian Sangsang suddenly thought of sothing. She grabbed her palm-leaf fan and said, "Take your rest; I already prepared dinner. I’ll go downstairs to check on my flowers."
With the sun beating down so fiercely, she worried her flowers might have wilted.
"He-ya-yi~ Er-ya-ai~ He-ai-he-yi-er-ya~" Tian Sangsang humd lightly, practicing the rhythm of the song she’d chosen as she lazily waved her palm-leaf fan.
Luckily, despite the harsh sunlight, her flowers were doing alright. As she walked back, she happened to bump into You Huixixi and the other military wives, chatting and laughing together.
"Huixixi, sister-in-law." Tian Sangsang called out to them. She couldn’t help but notice how their cheerful faces seed mismatched with the scorching weather.
When You Huixixi and the others saw her, they exchanged knowing smiles.
"We were just saying—it’s unbearably hot today, like being in a furnace. We were all trying to co up with comparisons to describe the heat, seeing who could co up with the most vivid one," one of the military wives suggested. "Sangsang, since you’re here, why not share one too?"
It was just a lighthearted competition among friends. Tian Sangsang, intrigued, shook her fan and smiled. "It truly is hot! Let tell you all sothing—"
Her expression was impeccably sincere.
"Hmm?" You Huixixi and the others perked up their ears in anticipation.
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