Hsk 3

During summer vacation, Xiaoming and Lili plant sunflower seeds with their mother, carefully digging, sowing, and watering. They patiently watch the seeds sprout and the plants grow taller each day until golden flowers finally bloom. Their mother praises them for learning how to care for plants and for being patient, making it their most memorable summer.

As the damp weather before Lesser Heat approached, Lili and Xiaoming helped their mother sun-dry winter clothes and books to prevent mold. Afterwards, they visited a rice paddy where a farmer showed them freshly harvested rice and explained how it is dried to become the grains they eat. The day ended with the whole family joyfully making and eating dumplings together, marking a warm start to the summer.

On a hot summer day, Xiaoming and Lili worked with their father to build a shade shelter to protect the wilting vegetables in their garden. After picking cucumbers and tomatoes, they made cool, refreshing dishes and enjoyed the meal together, feeling deep happiness from their shared labor and homegrown food.

On the day before the summer solstice, Lili and Xiaoming help their mother knead dough and prepare cold noodles, while their father explains the tradition that eating long noodles celebrates harvest and wishes for health. The family works together to make the meal and later enjoys it in the yard as the sun sets, feeling a deep sense of family warmth and connection to their cultural heritage.

Xiaoming and Lili want to learn to make zongzi for the Dragon Boat Festival and their grandfather teaches them. After struggling at first, they practice carefully and succeed, feeling joyful and finding the holiday more meaningful now that they can make their own delicious zongzi.

Xiaoming and Lili found an injured bird with a broken wing in their yard and took it home to care for it. They fed it and waited patiently until its wing healed, then released it on a sunny afternoon. The bird sang a grateful song before flying into the sky, leaving them feeling both happy and a little sad.

A family prepares for the Dragon Boat Festival by making zongzi together, and the father tells the children the story of Qu Yuan to explain the tradition’s origin. The children learn about their culture and happily enjoy the zongzi they made themselves.

Before the Dragon Boat Festival, Xiao Ming and Lili visit their grandma to learn how to wrap zongzi, during which grandma tells them the story of Qu Yuan and how people threw rice into the river to protect him, which became the origin of zongzi. After several funny and clumsy attempts, including Xiao Ming accidentally dropping all his rice into a water basin, both children successfully wrap their first zongzi. They bring a big basket of cooked zongzi home to share with their parents, and the whole family enjoys a happy Dragon Boat Festival together.

The day before Mother’s Day, Xiao Ming and Lili planned a surprise for their mom by buying pink carnations, making a heartfelt greeting card, and cooking her favorite dishes including braised pork, tomato egg soup, and green vegetables. Despite never having cooked before, they followed a recipe on their phone and persevered through the messy process without giving up. When their mom came home and saw the flowers, card, and homemade dinner, she was moved to tears and said it was the best Mother’s Day gift she had ever received, declaring the braised pork the most delicious she had ever eaten because it was filled with her children’s love.

The day before the Start of Summer festival, sister Lili and her younger brother Xiaoming picked broad beans and bamboo shoots from their garden, and their mother taught them how to cook a traditional Start of Summer rice with the fresh ingredients. Xiaoming also wove a colorful egg pouch from silk threads and proudly hung a boiled egg around his neck, while their father carried out the tradition of weighing everyone, revealing that both children had grown since last year. The family enjoyed a delicious meal together and happily welcomed the new summer season.