Chen Huanhuan pumped a fist in the air, cheering Li Xiang on from over a thousand kilometers away. After a moment of thought, she plucked up the courage to give him a call and catch up.
Li Xiang told her he had a new phone number and would stop using the old one soon. Chen Huanhuan quickly saved his new number.
"You've done a great job renovating your place. When I get the chance, I'd like to come over for a vacation. You wouldn't mind, would you?" Chen Huanhuan asked, a little shyly and half-jokingly.
Li Xiang replied, "Of course you can! You're welcome anytime!"
To be honest, he hadn't made many friends since graduating from college.
The workplace, with all its scheming and backstabbing, was no place to make friends. Chen Huanhuan was a rare exception.
While he had been close with a few classmates, they had all gone their separate ways after graduation. Everyone had their own lives, and they gradually lost touch.
"It's a deal!" Chen Huanhuan hung up and sighed softly. She looked at the mountain of files on her desk and the mess of unfinished spreadsheets on her computer. 'The National Day holiday is coming up,' she thought. 'I hope I can get a few extra days off.'
As it turned out, when the end of the workday came, the holiday notice was released. It was only a three-day break—just the three statutory days!
Chen Huanhuan was instantly crushed.
Most companies would add the weekend and adjust the work schedule to create a seven-day mini-vacation. There were even suggestions online that if you took two days of annual leave, you could get a ten-day break!
Annual leave? What the hell was annual leave?
Her company had never heard of such a thing. For Chen Huanhuan, it was like how she'd never known what a "Youth Palace" was for when she was a kid—it existed only in legend.
'This damn company makes us work overtime every day. Brother Xiang has it so good. Lying flat in the countryside must be so relaxing.' Chen Huanhuan suddenly felt a pang of envy for Li Xiang.
Li Xiang was indeed quite relaxed. He was busy roasting chestnuts.
His grandfather had given him a large bag of chestnuts, each one large and plump. The kitchen in the backyard had been simply constructed, and he was using the wood-fired stove he had built himself from river sand, lime, and some old bricks for the very first time.
He had washed the chestnuts in the clean, crisp spring water from the Overlapping Waterfall, then drained them and let them air dry. He also cut a small slit in each one to help them absorb flavor and make them easier to peel.
Grandma added firewood to the stove while Li Xiang took charge of the cooking.
Once the wok was hot, he added a little rapeseed oil, poured in the prepared chestnuts, and stir-fried them over low heat until their shells had a glossy sheen.
Next, he added enough water to cover about half the chestnuts, then stirred in several large spoonfuls of white sugar for flavor.
He brought it to a boil over high heat, covered the wok, and let it simmer for about ten minutes.
Once the water had evaporated, he stir-fried them quickly until the shells were dry and had an appetizing color.
It just goes to show, high-quality ingredients often only require the simplest cooking methods. No expensive butter, no excessive additives or seasonings. When the chestnuts came out of the wok, their fragrance was irresistible.
Li Xiang peeled one and tried it. It was sweet, tender, and fluffy—the texture was superb.
"Grandma, have some." Li Xiang filled a plate and handed it to her. Then he saw the two big yellow dogs wagging their tails nearby, clearly drawn by the aroma of the chestnuts. He grabbed a handful and tossed them into their bowl.
The two dogs wolfed them down and, surprisingly, even knew how to spit out the shells—and quite neatly at that.
The pregnant old cat also hopped down from the roof and sauntered over. Li Xiang was much gentler with her; he peeled two chestnuts, crushed them, and placed them in her bowl.
She was pregnant, after all. Besides, a cat's mouth and teeth weren't as big as a dog's, so she needed special treatment.
The old cat ate much more daintily. Cats tend to eat small meals frequently, so she stopped after just two. Li Xiang peeled a few more and left them in her bowl so she could come back and eat whenever she wanted.
The two dogs were very Spiritual and knew better than to cause trouble by eating the food in the cat's bowl.
"Grandma, how long has this cat been pregnant?" Li Xiang asked.
"About a month and a half," Grandma said.
"So she should be giving birth in about half a month."
Li Xiang considered this. He'd have to prepare a larger, cleaner nest for the old cat, or it wouldn't be a suitable place for her to have her kittens.
A cat's gestation period is typically 63 to 68 days. When there are more kittens in a litter, the pregnancy tends to be shorter.
Li Xiang noticed the cat's belly was quite large and figured she was going to have several kittens. She might even give birth early. He couldn't help but feel a little excited.
When it comes to cuteness, baby animals are unbeatable. Whether they're kittens or puppies, they all possess a natural cute Attribute. The same goes for humans.
If babies weren't cute, they would have a hard time surviving. It's likely a protective rule that evolved in Nature.
Of course, with the exception of some insect larvae, like flies.
This thought made Li Xiang feel an urgent need to renovate his bathroom. However, his home was an old, traditional tile-roofed house. Renovating the bathroom would involve renovating the entire house, or even rebuilding it. That would cost a lot of money, so he had to put the idea on hold for now.
He didn't have much else at home, but he had plenty of bamboo. Li Xiang decided to use it to build a deluxe nest for the old cat, lining it with cotton batting and old bedding like sheets and duvet covers.
He had considered building a cat tree, but then he thought, 'That's something for city housecats. My backyard is huge, there's even a persimmon tree. With all this space, will the cat really have nothing to play with?'
Of course, building the cat's nest was also something he planned to film for a video.
The Red-Chain Snake under the eaves had long since air-dried. Li Xiang rode his tricycle to a wine shop in town and came back with ten jin of bulk grain liquor.
This shop had been open for many years. According to Grandma, it had been around for at least fifty or sixty years, making it a time-honored local brand. It specialized in small-batch sorghum liquor. Although sold in bulk, it was guaranteed to be pure grain liquor. It was also especially strong—around 58% ABV—making it perfect for preparing Snake Wine.
The owner explained that his homemade sorghum liquor was made from a unique local variety of sweet, glutinous sorghum. They only used the "heart" of the distillation—the best part—discarding the "heads" and "tails." This resulted in a high-proof, potent spirit, perfect for making Medicinal Wine or for cellaring at home.
Li Xiang bought a batch the owner recommended, which had been aged for two years and cost 45 yuan per jin. When he got back, he tried a sip. It was indeed excellent—mellow, sweet, and rich, with a fresh, elegant aroma and a long finish.
They also had bulk liquors for over one hundred or two hundred yuan per jin, but Li Xiang felt that was too expensive. The 45-yuan one was good enough. In fact, it was their bestseller.
...
In the blink of an eye, the National Day holiday arrived.
Back when he was a wage slave in the city, he had always looked forward to the short National Day holiday, but he'd never truly enjoyed it, getting three or four days off at most. Now, however, it didn't matter. For the current Li Xiang, every day was a holiday.
Life is short, so why make things hard for yourself? Much of our unhappiness comes from having too many desires.
"Brother Li Xiang, I came across your video last night! You're so amazing!" A young woman with her hair in pigtail braids, dressed in red, came skipping over. Her clothes were simple, but she had a graceful figure, a delicate face, and a youthful glow.