The air in Changqing Garden was pleasant as ever; it felt wonderful just to take a breath. Having been forced to stick a thermometer under his arm, Shen Weimin went out for a stroll with it still clamped in place.
'Poor black soil.' Fields elsewhere got to rest during the winter, but his wife had worked this patch to the bone, filling it with little seedlings again. It never got a moment's rest.
"You started working without me again."
"Not at all, there's still plenty to do." It was hot in there, so Xu Changqing quickly shed her heavy layers, feeling so much lighter all of a sudden.
"What did you plant?"
"Chives?" Xu Changqing tilted her head, chuckled, and held out her right hand. "I just dibbled the seeds. It wasn't tiring. Now, let me see what your temperature is."
