Zhou Li stood at the edge of the rooftop, leaning over to look down.

Fixed to the glazed roof tiles was a small, tilted satellite dish; one had to lean out quite a bit to see the road below.

In the increasingly dim light, the white cement road, reflecting what little light remained, was the most eye-catching, its brightness almost unnatural. A dog trotted cheerfully across it and then headed down the street. Several elderly women were sitting and chatting under the eaves of the house diagonally opposite. A middle-aged man was also walking down the street, smoking. In the darkness, the crimson tip of his cigarette could be seen, glowing brighter as he inhaled, then dimming again in an instant. When he met an acquaintance, he would stop to greet them, his voice carrying loudly.

The streetlight opposite was on, with moths fluttering around it.

This was a rural summer.

Zhou Li felt a touch of childhood memories in this scene. It was just a pity he didn't see any fireflies. In his memories, besides swallows frolicking in the sky, annoying mosquitoes, and bats fluttering about with audible wingbeats, summer evenings should also have had tiny, glowing green specks of light.

Is it the wrong month? Maybe around June or July? I hope so.

His second uncle's shout came from below, calling them down for watermelon. Everyone went downstairs.

The watermelons had only been bought at dinnertime, delivered by a man on a tricycle. Hearing the vendor's calls, his second uncle had gone out to pick a few large ones and hastily put them in the fridge to chill, though it probably hadn't done much good.

Indeed, the watermelon was only slightly cool.

But it was very sweet, with a pleasant, sandy texture.

One bite, and it truly melted in his mouth. The sandy, sweet flesh and abundant juice filled his palate, even trickling down the corners of his mouth. Soon, a few light red stains appeared on the collar of Zhou Li's white t-shirt. Coupled with what he had seen and heard on the rooftop, he finally experienced the taste of summer on the second day of May.

And it was clearer than in previous years.

After eating watermelon, the vibrant young people played cards and chatted, only going to bed late at night. Summer itself is a season that belongs to youth.

「May 3rd.」

In the morning, they went to catch crayfish again. In the afternoon, Brother Nan took them for a barbecue by the river, and they caught many crabs on the riverbank.

The riverbank teemed with crabs. If you found a stone and moved it, the crabs underneath would immediately scatter in panic. There were so many that the number one could catch depended entirely on personal skill.

Brother Nan's way of catching crabs was unlike others'.

Crab pincers could really hurt. Others would select a large one, or one close by, carefully press down on its back to immobilize it, then pinch its carapace to pick it up. The entire process was done with extreme caution. Brother Nan, however, would just dive in recklessly, relying on quick eyes and swift hands. She'd grab several crabs before they could react—the more, the better—then grip them tightly, leaving them no room to resist.

Huai Xu's style was also different. He simply let the crabs pinch him. Not only that, but judging by his expression when a crab got him, he actually seemed to find it... comfortable?

In the local dialect, crabs had a specific name, and these particular ones were called something akin to 'iron-shelled crabs,' a term signifying they had little meat. However, they were quite fragrant when fried until crispy, though one wouldn't want to eat more than a few.

「May 4th, market day.」

Zhou Li got up early to help with the fire, then sat by the door with a bowl to eat breakfast.

Brother Nan hadn't woken up yet.

The street hadn't come alive yet either. After all, dawn had just broken, the sky still tinged with blue. Only a few vendors were making their way down, carrying their goods on shoulder poles or in large back-baskets.

After breakfast, people began to stream in. The rural street transformed from quiet to filled with voices, and then to a lively cacophony.

Zhou Li waited and waited.

Brother Nan finally woke up. She came downstairs yawning, her hair a bit messy, a stubborn tuft sticking straight up on her head. Scratching her head, she greeted Zhou Li—

"Morning."

"Morning."

"Why'd you get up so early?"

"For market day."

"Ah! I almost forgot! No rush, no rush, it's not the busiest time yet." Brother Nan waved her hand, then took out a mirror and a comb. "I haven't had breakfast yet."

"I'm not in a hurry."

"Hmm..."

Brother Nan seemed to be deliberately making him wait, taking her sweet time getting ready and leisurely eating her breakfast. She occasionally chatted with the other classmates or exchanged a few pleasantries with a relative who had also come for the market.

Zhou Li waited silently by her side, not making a sound.

After nine o'clock.

Brother Nan wiped her mouth and asked the others, "I'm taking Zhou Li out for market day. Do you guys want to come?"

"I'm coming!" Huai Xu was very enthusiastic.

"Not going," Kang Xue'er said.

"Not going," Zhang Hao said.

"I'm not going," Jiang Han said.

"...Then I won't go either. I'll just go by myself later." Huai Xu's wide eyes were filled with utter bewilderment.

"I want to go," Li Dong said.

"No way!" Brother Nan frowned at him. "The moment you're out on the street, all you think about is barbecue. You're not allowed to go!"

"I won't eat barbecue."

"You're not allowed to go."

"I really won't eat it."

"No! You're! Not! Going!"

"..." Although Li Dong didn't know what he'd done wrong, he didn't dare make another peep. He stood there looking aggrieved, picking at his fingers.

"Let's go!" Brother Nan looked towards Zhou Li.

"Oh, oh!"

Zhou Li was still a bit dazed, but Brother Nan had already stepped out the door, wearing a pair of old flip-flops that slapped with each step, so he could only hurry to catch up.

The two walked side by side, about half a meter apart.

"The market isn't as bustling as it used to be. There are so few people, not much to see, and you can mostly only buy vegetables," Brother Nan described to Zhou Li. "I remember back in the day, on market days, the whole street would be packed, people jostling each other. There were vendors selling scallion pancakes, acrobats performing, and even men with sacks full of various poisonous snakes selling medicinal wine. Now, you rarely even see sellers of fake medicine."

"There are barbecue sellers."

"Do you want some?"

"Let's buy some to take back later." Li Dong is so pitiful, Zhou Li thought. Other younger brothers are just bullied by their older sisters when they're young and can turn the tables as they grow up. But Li Dong will probably never be able to overpower his sister in his entire life.

"Sure thing!" Brother Nan agreed cheerfully. "Actually, their barbecue is pretty good, better than many places in the city."

"Is that so."

Brother Nan was already accustomed to Zhou Li's personality and way of speaking. Coincidentally, she wasn't someone who needed enthusiastic replies to keep a conversation going, so she didn't mind. Catching sight of someone selling small watermelons out of the corner of her eye, she pointed and said to Zhou Li, "See that person selling small watermelons? Why don't we buy one, cut it in half, and eat it with spoons as we walk?"

Eating while walking... that doesn't seem very proper, does it? Zhou Li looked around. There were quite a few people, and he felt a bit awkward.

"What's not proper about it?"

"You didn't bring a spoon," Zhou Li offered as another excuse.

"Who says I didn't?"

Brother Nan just reached into her trouser pocket and, as if performing a magic trick, pulled out a spoon. She then rubbed her fingers together lightly, and like fanning out two playing cards that had been stuck together, two spoons appeared before Zhou Li's eyes.

She handed one spoon to Zhou Li.

Her jeans were snug, and the spoon she had kept in her pocket... was still warm when Zhou Li took it.

Small watermelons were sold by the piece, five yuan each.

And so, the two, who had been walking empty-handed moments before, were now strolling along, eating watermelon. They would occasionally point at something and comment on it, drawing glances from passersby.

Combined with Brother Nan's swagger and devil-may-care air in every glance and gesture... Zhou Li couldn't help but feel he was being a bit audacious himself.

"Let's have lunch before we leave today," Brother Nan said.

"Ah? Oh, yes."

"What are you doing?"

"I was distracted."

"What were you thinking about?" Brother Nan looked at Zhou Li, but before he could reply, she answered for him, "Is it because walking with Big Bro makes you feel all light and floaty?"

"Yes."

"Yeah! There are still plenty of crayfish left!"

"I'll take some with me."

"Take a lot. They don't really like them, and they don't know how to prepare this stuff anyway," Brother Nan said, then suddenly asked him, "So, have you had a good time these past few days?"

"Very much."

Zhou Li caught Brother Nan sneaking glances at him out of the corner of his eye. He thought for a moment and elaborated on his answer, "Really happy."

He paused again. "I've lived in the countryside too, but I hardly ever did any of these things. It makes me feel like... I might have missed out on many wonderful experiences back then."

"Hmm..." Brother Nan mused for a moment. "Well, at your current age, it's not too late."

"Right."

Indeed, it really wasn't too late. He hadn't yet reached the age where he'd feel embarrassed to set up a fishing rod by the fields.

So he was very grateful to Brother Nan.

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