It’s a real rainbow, Lian Manman widened her eyes as she gazed. In her previous life, apart from those childhood years, it seemed she never saw such a beautiful rainbow again. No, to be precise, she didn’t even see a less beautiful rainbow. There was no way around it, the air pollution was too severe.

Xiao Qi raised his hand, about to point at the rainbow and speak, but Lady Zhang beside him slapped his hand down.

"Do not point your finger at that," Lady Zhang said.

Xiao Qi stuck out his tongue and obediently withdrew his hand.

It seemed there was such an old customary rule, saying that after the rain, you shouldn’t point at a rainbow with your finger, otherwise something bad would happen. No one could clearly trace the origin of this old rule, everyone just remembered this taboo.

After the storm, the sky will be clearer. This saying is not only true in a metaphorical sense, but also in the natural world.

The day after the rain stopped was a bright and sunny day.

Lian Manman went out again, to the riverside. In just one night’s time, the water surface was still wide, and the water level hadn’t dropped much, but it had lost the overwhelming surge from yesterday, and the flow became more gentle.

On the official road, pedestrians and carts were already moving. The Flood Bridge still hadn’t surfaced from the water, the carter would get off at the riverbank, first asking people nearby if the bridge was passable, then personally testing the water, only then daring to drive the cart across the bridge.

Even so, the carter didn’t dare to sit on the shaft of the cart, instead carefully walking in front of the mules and horses, leading the reins and treading carefully, fearing one misstep might send them all tumbling into the river.

Lian Manman originally planned to cross the bridge to see the fish ponds and Lotus Pond, but was firmly stopped by Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang.

"With your father leading people over, you’d better stay home. There are plenty of chores inside and outside the house."

In their courtyard, the vegetable garden, and the entire farm had flowers, trees, fruits, and vegetables knocked down or bent by the storm. These all needed to be cleared.

Getting up in the morning, the air still felt very humid. By noon, it was as if the sun had sucked away all the moisture, only the ground remained damp.

Lady Zhang, Lian Manman, Lian Zhizhi, Xiao Qi, and Wu Lang all took Malan ropes and prepared sticks to prop up and tie the battered green peas and melon vines that had been knocked over, giving them support. Despite the dismal state of some of the green peas and melon vines now, it wouldn’t take long before they could stand back up, without missing a beat.

Two days later, the river’s water surface had receded significantly, and the river was clear again. The Flood Bridge was exposed once more, and the water on the ground had dried up.

Looking at the Lotus Pond, the fish pond, and the entire farm’s flowers and trees, everything returned to normal and seemed even more vibrant and lively.

The fish in the pond fattened up, and the Lotus Pond was full of lotus pods. The lotus pods were still small, but the fish were ready to sell.

Lian Manman first added fish porridge to her family’s Lian’s Shop. The fish porridge is limited daily, only a potful, once it’s sold out there’s no more, anyone wanting it has to wait until the next day. The leftover fish heads and fish bones from cooking the fish porridge were used to make broth, the taste extremely delicious, also receiving enthusiastic acclaim.

Shopkeeper Wu’s family was still the first customer, followed by various restaurants in Qingyang Town rushing to place orders. Then came restaurants in nearby towns, the Thirty Mile Camp, and landlords and wealthy families from nearby villages wanting to eat fish also came to Lian Manman’s family’s fish pond to purchase. For those buying large amounts, Lian Manman’s family even offered free delivery.

On the mountain, because they required a meal at noon, sometimes they would come down to buy a basket of fish. Lian Manman’s family also signed contracts with several restaurants in Jinyang County Town to deliver a cart of fresh fish every other day.

For the thirty-mile distance, fish were netted into wooden barrels in the middle of the night, to ensure they could be delivered to the county town at dawn.

After selling fish for a few days, Lian Manman took it upon herself to replenish some fish fry in the fish pond. Since the fish raised were good and sales prospects looked promising, Lian Manman grew bolder, additionally placing some shrimp and crab fry.

"Just in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival," Lian Manman said.

In the dog days of summer, the farmstead’s vegetable garden produced plentifully, but it didn’t necessarily mean more dishes on their table. Because of the heat, and last year’s firewood needing to be conserved, this was the time when farmstead tables were dominated by pickled vegetables with sauce.

At Lian Manman’s house, because meals needed to be nourishing for Wu Lang, who was preparing for the exams, they had hot dishes every meal. Of course, pickled vegetables with sauce were also abundant.

In the heat, freshly cooked steaming sorghum rice was hard to digest, so the farmstead housewives would typically prepare a basin of cold water, scoop the dried sorghum rice from the pot and put it directly into the cold water. Passing it through once wasn’t enough, generally it was passed twice, even three times, and this way the sorghum rice was the most refreshing to eat.

When it came to meals, Lian Shouxin was the easiest to please (according to Lady Zhang), with freshly picked green onions from the garden, removing soil and roots, washing them clean with well water, breaking open the stalks to remove any slimy membranes, dipping them in thick sauce from the crock, he needed nothing else and could easily eat four bowls of such rinsed sorghum rice.

Lady Zhang could even eat three bowls.

Although Lian Shouxin was easy to please, Lady Zhang wouldn’t just let him eat green onions with thick sauce.

Slightly lazier housewives needed only to light one fire each day, cooking a large enough pot of rice to feed the family three meals, thus managing the family’s meals for the entire day.

Lady Zhang was a diligent and skillful, talented cook, so Lian Shouxin and the children were in for a treat.

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Presenting one update, another will be available tonight, seeking your pink support. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations, monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)