Xia Minmin held Xia Jianguo's chin with her hand, afraid that he would rub his chin against her face.

"Chunmei, let's try again tomorrow morning and see if Xia Xiaomin can memorize today's ten poems. If she can, we'll continue teaching her tonight, taking advantage of the little one's good memory to help her memorize more."

Li Chunmei put on her apron and prepared to cook. "I know, Jianguo, your daughter actually threw coal briquettes into the water tank today. I was so angry that I spanked her."

Xia Jianguo put on a stern face and said, "Xia Xiaomin, how can you be so naughty? Your mother has already worked hard enough taking care of you, how can you cause her more trouble?"

Xia Minmin lowered her head and said, "I'm sorry."

"This is the last time," Xia Jianguo said, placing Xia Minmin on the bed and handing her toys before casually tidying up the goods he planned to take out the next day.

Xia Minmin stared blankly at her toy, her mind racing. While others were reborn to prepare for the middle school or college entrance exams, she had to start from scratch, reliving elementary, middle, high school, and university. Others were reborn with cheat codes—a spatial spring, lucky charms, or an upgraded intellect that made them academic superstars—but she seemed to have none of these.

Li Chunmei simply stir-fried two dishes: a bowl of cabbage, a bowl of egg and minced meat soup, and a small piece of fermented bean curd. The rice was extra cooked at noon and only needed to be heated up.

Xia Jianguo picked up a bit of fermented bean curd with the tip of his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. "Mother-in-law, this fermented bean curd is really delicious."

Xia Minmin looked at the fermented bean curd made by her maternal grandmother. She hadn't tasted it for many years since her grandmother passed away. Her grandmother's pickled vegetables were delicious. Before Xia Minmin was ten years old, her grandmother had a fixed stall in the market and her business was very good.

The cabbage that has been touched by frost in the twelfth lunar month has a natural sweetness. It was Xia Minmin's favorite when she was a child. She had to eat it at every meal, or she would burst into tears. This is what Xia's maternal grandfather said, but its authenticity cannot be verified.

Li Chunmei held Xia Minmin and fed her. The two-year-old was dressed in many clothes and couldn't do it herself. Xia Minmin finished the meal expressionlessly, and kept telling herself, "You're not an adult now, you're a little kid! A little kid!"