梅雨季

Xiao Yue, let me tell you something weird — the past few days, my walls and mirrors have been completely covered in water droplets, like they're sweating. What on earth is going on?

Haha, don't panic — it's not a leak. It's "return-south weather."

Return-south weather? That's the first time I've heard that word. What does it mean?

Simply put, there's too much water in the air, and when it hits the cold walls and mirror, it turns into little droplets.

Oh, like when I take a bottle of cola out of the fridge and the outside gets all wet?

Exactly! It's just that right now your whole room is "sweating."

Then how come your shop is nice and dry, not a drop anywhere?

Because this is a business, I keep the dehumidifier running all the time. But this is just the beginning — the whole month ahead is the plum rain season we dread the most.

Plum rain season? Why is it called "plum rain"? Does it have something to do with plum blossoms?

A little. This season is exactly when the plums ripen in Jiangnan (the lower Yangtze region), so it's called "plum rain."

I see — and here I thought plum blossoms were going to fall from the sky.

Haha, no plum blossoms falling — it just rains every single day, on and on with no end.

Around when is it? Does it rain for a long time?

Usually June to July, about a month — gray skies every day, with rain coming and going all the time.

A month? Isn't that miserable?

You bet — so we locals start moaning and groaning the moment it arrives.

"Jiào kǔ lián tiān" — does that mean complaining nonstop, endlessly crying about how awful it is?

Exactly — it's so unbearable you're grumbling day after day. Today let's have a good chat about this love-hate plum rain season.

So with it this damp, if I throw all the windows open to air the place out, wouldn't that fix it?

Absolutely not! That's a mistake a lot of people make.

Why? Doesn't opening the windows let the air circulate?

The air outside is even damper than inside, so opening the window is basically inviting more moisture in.

Oh, so that's how it works — I had it completely backwards.

So during return-south weather, keep the windows shut in the daytime, and only open them once the sun's out and things dry up a bit.

That's super practical — let me write it down: when it's damp, close the windows.

Right, especially morning and evening, when the humidity is highest — make sure they're shut tight.

So tell me first — what's the most unbearable part of the plum rain season?

Number one is the dampness. Everything's wet — the air, the floor, even the quilt feels clammy to the touch.

"Cháo hū hū" — what a cute word. Does it mean that slightly wet but not soaked feeling?

Yes — that damp, sticky, uncomfortable feeling. We call it "cháo hū hū."

Does the floor get wet too? Won't you slip and fall walking on it?

Oh yeah, tile floors are the most dangerous — you get up in the morning and the floor is as slippery as an ice rink.

An ice rink, haha — now that you put it that way, it really is.

Seriously, my mom slipped once during plum rain season, and ever since she walks holding onto the wall.

Then I'd better be careful. Oh — you said the quilt is damp too. Isn't it awful to sleep under at night?

So awful — the quilt is clammy, it's not warm at all, and it's got this weird smell.

A weird smell? You mean a moldy smell?

You guessed it — a musty smell. During plum rain season things go moldy really easily.

Mold — I know that word. Bread that sits too long grows green stuff, right?

Right, that's mold. And in plum rain season it's not just food — clothes, shoes, wall corners, everything can grow mold.

Even shoes go moldy? That's terrifying.

Let me tell you, I had a pair of leather shoes sitting in the cabinet for a week without wearing them, and when I took them out they were covered in white fuzz.

White fuzz? Sounds like they grew a beard.

Haha, pretty much — it looked so gross I had to throw them out.

So if the floor's wet, if I mop it a few more times, wouldn't it dry out a bit?

Haha, the opposite actually — the more you mop, the more water on the floor and the more slippery it gets.

Huh? Then what are you supposed to do about a wet floor?

You can use a dry mop, or lay down old newspaper or old towels to soak up the water.

Newspaper again — sounds like newspaper is a real treasure during plum rain season.

Exactly — don't underestimate it: soaking up damp, lining shoes, wiping glass, it does it all.

What about driving? Isn't driving a hassle in this weather too?

Really dangerous — the windshield fogs up inside and out and you can't see a thing.

Then what do you do? You can't exactly stop and keep wiping it.

Turn on the AC and blow it at the glass — the fog clears in a moment. That's another little trick.

What about clothes? With all this rain, how do you get them dry?

That's the second big headache of plum rain season — clothes won't dry.

Won't dry? You mean they just hang there staying wet?

Right — clothes that normally dry in a day still hang wet for three or four days in plum rain season.

Doesn't that leave you with nothing to wear?

So a lot of people have no choice but to head out in half-dry clothes, and let me tell you, it feels awful.

Half-dry clothes clinging to your body — just thinking about it gives me goosebumps all up my arms, in little bumps.

And clothes that won't dry get that smell too — the same musty smell we just talked about.

Then is there any solution? You can't just keep wearing wet clothes.

Of course there is. These days a lot of families have a dryer — wash them and dry them right away.

A dryer — that's the machine that heats clothes up and dries them?

Right, but for dealing with the damp, the real hero is the one I run in my shop — the dehumidifier.

Speaking of "chú shī jī" — "chú" means to remove, "shī" means damp — so that's where the name comes from!

Exactly. It pulls the water right out of the air — leave it running overnight and it fills up a whole bucket.

A whole bucket of water, all from the air — every time I empty it I can't believe it.

Right? So this thing is something no household can do without once plum rain season hits.

So if you didn't have a dehumidifier, what did people do in the old days?

The older generation had all sorts of homemade tricks — like putting newspaper or desiccant packs in the cabinet to soak up the moisture.

Desiccant — is that the little packet in the box when I buy shoes, the one that says "do not eat"?

Haha, that's the one! A lot of people don't realize it, but if you keep that little packet, it's really useful in plum rain season.

So that little packet is that powerful — I always used to throw it straight out.

What a shame — next time keep it, put it in your shoe cabinet, and it'll help your shoes grow a little less mold.

I've also noticed that even delivery boxes go soft during plum rain season.

Right, once a cardboard box gets damp it goes soft and warps, and sometimes the stuff inside gets crushed.

So doesn't online shopping easily leave you with crushed stuff?

That's why when I buy anything important this season, I always make a point of telling the seller — watch out for moisture.

Oh right — you run a dessert shop. Does this weather affect your business?

Hugely. Even with the dehumidifier running all the time, there are some things you just can't guard against — that's my biggest headache.

How so? Cake isn't afraid of a little damp, is it?

You don't realize — my flour and sugar clump into hard lumps the moment they get damp, totally unusable.

Sugar clumps up too? I thought sugar keeps forever.

Normally it's fine, but come plum rain season the sugar jar is full of hard lumps.

What about cookies? Your cookies are my favorite.

Don't even mention it — cookies are the worst. Half a day after they're made they go from crispy-crunchy to limp and soggy.

"Crispy-crunchy" to "limp and soggy" — haha, those two phrases are so vivid.

So in plum rain season I don't dare make too much — make too much, can't sell it all, and it all goes damp.

What about your cat, Xiao Hua? How's she doing in this weather?

Xiao Hua's all listless too — lies around all day not moving, and her fur feels damp to the touch.

Even the cat's out of energy — looks like everyone's been beaten by this weather.

Yeah, she's even lazier than me — once plum rain season hits, she can't even be bothered to eat.

We've covered things — what about people? Does plum rain season affect people's moods?

A big effect. No sun day after day, muggy and damp, and your mood goes moldy right along with it.

"Your mood goes moldy" — haha, what a vivid way to put it.

Really, in that weather people get irritable so easily and don't feel like doing anything.

I get it — that listless, can't-be-bothered feeling.

Right, and it's really "mèn." Do you know the character "mèn"?

I've heard it, but I'm not quite sure — is it that hot and stuffy, no-air feeling?

Yes, that's the feeling. In plum rain season it's often hot and damp with no wind — like you're wrapped in a wet towel.

A wet towel — just hearing that makes me feel like I can't breathe.

So a lot of people break into a sweat the moment they move, clothes sticking to their back — really uncomfortable.