The weather

Even after he posted on Moments, a close buddy asked him to mail over some crispy rice to try.

"Mm, okay. We can't come until we finish what we're working on, probably in about a month, right when the autumn skies are clear and the air is crisp. We'll get in touch then." Ye Yingying nodded. They couldn't get away right now either.

The richer you were, the busier you got-that was no lie. True financial freedom with nothing to do was Ye Huan's ultimate goal.

"Okay, let me know ahead of time. I'll pick you up in the county town."

"Okay, bye~"

"Bye~"

After hanging up, Ye Huan tried to sleep a little longer, but couldn't. He checked the time; it was already two thirty, so he simply got up. The workers had already started working. The weather was pretty good today, not hot, with a little breeze. Ye Huan reckoned it would rain that evening or during the night.

Back in the courtyard, he handed the workers a pack of cigarettes for them to share, then nodded and went back inside.

The two little girls had probably tired themselves out chatting and had both fallen asleep sprawled on the sofa. Ye Huan smiled, took off their shoes, and settled them both on the sofa so they could sleep a little longer.

He turned off the television, then saw that his mom had gotten up too.

"Why didn't you sleep a little longer?" Ye Huan glanced at the two little girls and spoke softly to his mom.

"Once I woke up, I couldn't get back to sleep. It's a bit stuffy inside. There might be heavy rain tonight," his mom said softly too.

"Then you and Sister Bai should pick tomorrow morning's vegetables this afternoon. They'll be fine left overnight. Spray them once with that nutrient water in the big vat, and they'll stay fresh," Ye Huan suggested to his mom.

"All right. Otherwise, if it pours, we won't be able to pick them tomorrow morning anyway. Who knows how many vegetables will suffer in this downpour? I'll go take a look this afternoon and pick anything that comes off easily first." His mom nodded.

Mother and son were chatting when Bai Jie walked into the house. "Auntie, it looks like there'll be heavy rain tonight. Should we go put up a shelter?"

"No need. We'll pick tomorrow's vegetables this afternoon, so we won't need to pick them tomorrow morning. This rain looks like it'll be quite heavy." Ye Huan's mom shook her head.

"Okay, let's go now." Bai Jie went to wheel out the electric tricycle, put several vegetable baskets on it, and rode toward the vegetable plot out back with Auntie.

Ye Huan stayed home rather than going along. He could take the two little girls out to play once they woke up. He was starting to look like a man with nothing to do; he wasn't needed for cooking, farming, or picking vegetables.

He generally didn't enter the Spirit Spring Space during the day. He worried that someone at home or outside might need him, which made it a little risky, so he almost always waited until bedtime at night to go in and cultivate or study the things in those jade plaques.

After all, one night gave him five or six days inside. Although he wouldn't stay that long, it was much safer than going in during the day. Still, if something really happened and someone called him, his soul could sense it from inside. He only needed to come back.

"Uncle~" Jingjing woke up, and Little Tangyuan woke up right after her.

"You're awake? Here, have some fruit, then I'll take you to pick vegetables." Ye Huan smiled and gave each girl a small bowl of scooped watermelon balls.

"So yummy." The two little girls provided plenty of emotional value.

Once the two girls finished eating, Ye Huan tidied up and took them toward the vegetable plot out back. It was muggy, without even a trace of wind now. Ye Huan knew this was probably the calm before the storm. Tonight's rain would likely be heavy.

When they reached the vegetable plot, the two little girls went off to pick cucumbers, making a nuisance of themselves. Ye Huan left them to it and walked over to his mom, squatting down to help her pick vegetables. "Mom, let's pick some extra. I'm afraid this rain might not stop after just one day."

"Will the vegetables still be fresh?" his mom asked worriedly. They cost thirty yuan a jin; they couldn't fob people off.

"Don't worry. Have Dad deliver some extra tomorrow. Seeing the situation, the restaurant will stock up a little too. If we get a downpour, we won't be able to get out of the village. That road's hard to drive on." Ye Huan laid out the actual situation.

If not for that wretched road out of the village, so many villagers wouldn't have had to leave to find work. Mountain delicacies were worth so much these days! But the road had been the death of them. The key was that simply going to town wouldn't do; the town couldn't absorb such expensive goods.

They had to go at least as far as the county town, and even without rain or any unusual circumstances, it took Ye Huan a long time to drive there. His dad was a new driver, too. Once rain or snow hit that road at the village entrance, they could forget about leaving the village. They could just about manage on foot, but a vehicle could get stuck. It was too dilapidated.

"All right. Explain it properly to them. This village road really is terrible. Back when your dad and I grew fruit trees and gathered mountain delicacies at home, it was this road that finally drove us to leave for work in a fit of anger." Ye Huan's mom sighed too. The village was deep in the mountains.

Development never reached them. They had no scenic attractions, and the town was so poor its pockets rattled. Neither the city nor the county town would invest money in a little village like this to build a road just for them.

"Once I make big money, I'll build it myself. It doesn't have to be great. At least we can lay gravel or something, as long as vehicles don't get stuck." Ye Huan nodded. No wonder the older generation always said, "If you want to get rich, build roads first."

"How much would that cost? Building a road isn't something you can do just because you want to." His mom was worried. How much money would that whole road take?

"I certainly can't afford it now. We'll talk about it later. I'm not stupid. At the very least, I'll only do it once my own life has improved." Ye Huan smiled.

"Mm, as long as you don't do anything foolish." His mom nodded.

Before long, Ye Huan's dad came over to help pick vegetables too. He could also tell that the rain would be heavy.

"This rain won't be light. Will we still be able to deliver tomorrow morning's vegetables?" he asked worriedly. Ten or twenty thousand yuan in cash a day-seeing this made his heart ache.

Ye Huan was just about to repeat what he had told his mom when his phone rang again. "What's going on today? I've barely had any calls since coming back."

Seeing that it was Manager Du, he figured it was about the vegetables and answered. "Hello, Manager Du."

"Boss Ye, this weather doesn't look right. Will tomorrow's vegetables be all right?" Manager Du asked anxiously.

"The road out of the village is a bit difficult, but as long as it isn't a full-blown storm, it shouldn't be much of a problem. We might just be a little late," Ye Huan said honestly.

"Could you see if you can deliver a batch now? With proper refrigeration, we can use them for two days. With this weather, I'm afraid there'll be a downpour."

"Now? Let me see how much we have. That works. I'll bring you extra watermelons and peaches too, however many we have. Once this rain starts, we'll probably have no watermelons to supply for a few days." Ye Huan was helpless too. A downpour like this wasn't something he could control.

"All right. I'll have the workers get ready. Bring them over as soon as you can."

Ye Huan hung up and looked at the vegetables in the bamboo baskets. There were probably three or four hundred jin already. "Dad, you and Mom take these vegetables back first and load them up. Sister Bai, go check the peaches and pick any ripe ones. I'll check the watermelons. Let's make a delivery before it rains."