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 meet 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 time deliberating over which song to choose but struggled to find one that could qualify both as a revolutionary anthem and something tied to Mid-Autumn themes. 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 Meeting Is a Song," and others. But ones combining both? Extremely 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 moment—there was no cassette backing track she could buy. Performing while holding both the microphone and playing an instrument 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 times, she finally managed to sing it with some resemblance to the original.
Lately, the blazing heat had truly become unbearable—this was in an era without air conditioning, no less. If someone asked her, "If you could choose between air conditioning or watermelon, 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 watermelon was hard to come by, let alone air conditioning—a rarity even overseas at that time!
Unable to bear it any longer, Tian Sangsang ended up buying a few bottles of watermelon juice in her private space, each packaged in glass.
"Son, come have some watermelon 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.
Meng 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 some?"
"I have," Tian Sangsang replied. "Drink more, it’ll help cool you down."
"I want to save some for Dad." Meng Shuyan stared at the half-filled remains in the glass bottle.
"Your dad has his own share. I already set some aside for him. Do you think your mom is an unfeeling person?" Tian Sangsang feigned irritation.
"Ah! Mom, you’re the best!" Meng 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 astonishment—it was a small electric fan. It was an old-fashioned model, its casing made of metal, 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 watermelon juice. "Here, have some juice to soothe your throat. Let me 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 frame 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 watermelon juice in his hand, he gazed at it intensely before taking a sip. The moment it hit his throat, he felt significantly cooled down and couldn’t resist gulping the whole thing down.
"Where did you get this watermelon juice?"
By now, lying came effortlessly to Tian Sangsang. Without skipping a beat or batting an eyelash, she replied nonchalantly, "I bumped into an old grandpa selling watermelons on the roadside and bought one from him. You wouldn’t believe it—he was quite something, carrying two huge bags full, with dozens of watermelons inside."
Jiang Jinghuai paused in thought, doubt flickering across his face. "An old grandpa... carrying dozens of watermelons?"
"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 watermelons? 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 Meng Shuyan’s hair to flutter.
Previously, Meng 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 something. 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 hummed 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 seemed 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 come up with comparisons to describe the heat, seeing who could come 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 me tell you all something—"
Her expression was impeccably sincere.
"Hmm?" You Huixixi and the others perked up their ears in anticipation.