October was the time to harvest peanuts, and it was scorching hot. Her father would often set up a big umbrella at the edge of the field, where she would hide under it, watching her family members work under the sun, picking peanuts.
Before setting out each time, Xue Yuantong would always fill a small bottle with water from their well.
The well water in summer was cool. Her family forbade her from drinking raw water, but she would secretly drink it, and it was a supreme delight when paired with a spicy strip.
Xue Yuantong heard that in the village, there was a family whose well water had a sweet taste and was particularly good, but she was too young then and didn't have the courage to go to someone else's house to ask for water.
In her childhood, she would take the small bottle to the fields to wait for her parents, and after a while, the cool well water in the bottle would become warm from the sun.
