Xia Minmin squatted at the door holding a roasted sweet potato. It was so cold outside, she didn't seem to mind jumping rope. The contrast between the heat and the cold made their faces look like "monkey bottoms".

Xia Minmin is not even tall enough to support the ropes for them, so it's impossible to play with her.

I could hear my cousin Li Qing and her friends jumping rope and reciting nursery rhymes.

"Little ball, kick it with your foot, the Malan flower blooms at twenty-one..."

In her past life, Xia Minmin accidentally stumbled upon a video related to a nursery rhyme and learned the story behind this widely circulated nursery rhyme. It was the first atomic bomb test in China, and all the numbers represented a unit and a group of people working hard and persevering behind the scenes.

Xia Minmin glanced at her grandmother who was cleaning, stood up, picked up a broom, and prepared to go and help.

Grandma Xia quickly stopped her, "Little darling, can't you just behave yourself and stay quiet for a while? Don't make things worse."

"Grandma, I didn't cause any trouble. I want to help you clean." Xia Minmin stood next to her grandmother with a broom in hand.

Grandma Xia looked at her granddaughter, who wasn't even as tall as the broom, and said, "You're not even as tall as the broom, and you're still causing trouble while I'm cleaning?"

"But Grandma, I'm so bored, and Sister Qing won't play with me either." Xia Minmin looked at her grandmother with an innocent expression.

"Who told you to be the smallest and shortest? You think the kids next door are childish, but can't your sister Qing think you're childish too? You need to eat well and grow taller quickly, then they won't look down on you. Go warm yourself by the fire in the fire room."

"Okay!" Xia Minmin listened to the advice and dragged the broom to the kitchen to sleep. There was a recliner in the kitchen that Xia's maternal grandfather had placed there, and Xia Minmin liked to curl up on it and sleep when she had nothing to do.

Xia Minmin struggled to take off her cotton-padded coat and climb onto the recliner. After lying down, she covered herself with the coat. She didn't know when she had developed this habit, but whenever she slept, she always had to cover her stomach with something, regardless of whether it was hot or not.

Unlike the cold air outside, the kitchen was so warm that it made your pores open up.

Xia Minmin sets herself tasks every day, arranging her time for sleeping, walking, memorizing, and gazing into the distance perfectly. She strives to grow to 170cm tall without wearing glasses or getting a tan.

"Xiaomin, dinner's ready." Grandpa Xia pushed open the door to the kitchen and then quickly closed it. Xia Minmin had been in poor health since childhood and often caught colds. From injections and medicine to mystical treatments, Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo could do it all with ease.

Xia Minmin rolled over, pulled her clothes over her head, and went back to sleep…

Seeing this, Grandpa Xia immediately started tickling the soles of Xia Minmin's feet, hitting the mark every time, and Xia Minmin woke up.

"Grandpa, you're cheating! You promised me the day before yesterday that you wouldn't tickle my feet anymore."

Grandpa Xia looked bewildered. "Did I promise? I forgot. Xiaomin, Grandpa is old and my memory isn't what it used to be.

Xia Minmin was so angry that she kept groaning, but she was helpless.

Grandpa Xia had a very good memory; he was still sharp even in his eighties.

"Come on, Grandpa will help you get dressed, so your sister Qing won't laugh at you when she comes over later."

"Grandpa, it hurts to pull on my sweater."

"Okay! I'll get it out for you right away."

When Xia Minmin arrived at the restaurant, Li Qing was already sitting in a chair. "Oh, the sleeping goddess is here? Why don't you sleep a little longer?"

"Grandpa, look, Sister Qing is bullying me!" Xia Minmin waved her grandfather's hand.

"Alright, alright, you two stop arguing. You two are noisier than a flock of ducks!" Grandpa Xia said, trying to smooth things over.

Xia Minmin made a face at Li Qing, "Hmph, I'm magnanimous and forgive you!"

Li Qing raised her arm and made a fist at Xia Minmin.

Xia Minmin quickly hid behind her maternal grandfather and peeked out, saying, "Grandpa, Sister Qing is going to hit me!"

"Dinner is about to start, you two sit down." Grandpa Xia said sternly.

Xia Minmin and Li Qing didn't dare to be presumptuous anymore and sat quietly at the table waiting for dinner to be served.

"Xiaomin, your parents have sent someone to tell you that they'll be picking you up this afternoon. After you finish eating, pack your things, and Grandma will help you pack them up."

"Okay, Grandma."

"Grandma, can't Xiaomin stay a few more days?"

"Tomorrow is Chinese New Year, and Xiaomin will be going back to her own home. In a couple of days, her aunt and uncle will bring Xiaomin to pay their respects, and you can all play together again."

"All right!"

"Sister Qing, don't miss me too much!"

"Me, miss you? I just want to hit you." Li Qing said, raising her fist again.

Xia Minmin didn't have much to keep; besides clothes, there was a notebook and a pencil that Li Qing had given her.

When Xia Jianguo and Li Chunmei arrived, Xia Minmin was playing a card game called "Cat Fishing" with Li Qing in the kitchen.

The general rules are that a deck of cards is divided in two, and each player plays one card at a time and places it on the table. If a card matches the first card in the deck, all cards can be collected until the opponent has no cards left.

Don't underestimate this simple game; there are stakes involved. The loser has to stick stickers on their face, and Xia Minmin was unlucky enough to have them all over her face.

"Aunt, Uncle," Li Qing said, standing up to greet them.

"Xiao Qing, are you playing cards with Xiao Min?"

"Hmm, is Auntie here to pick up Xiaomin? I'll go call Grandpa and Grandma, they've gone to Uncle's house." After saying that, she put on her clothes, tore off the note from her face, and ran out.

Xia Minmin turned her head and saw Xia Jianguo and Li Chunmei, whom she hadn't seen for a long time. She quickly got up and ran towards them, raising her hands to ask for a hug.

Xia Jianguo picked up Xia Minmin in one go, and Li Chunmei reached out to help her tear off the note on her face, but was refused.

"Mom, I'm playing a game with Qingjie! Don't tear it up, I'll win it back."

"Your game is over, your sister Qing has already left."

"But... I've never won before. I always lose." Xia Minmin lowered her head in frustration.

Xia Jianguo patted Xia Minmin's head and comforted her, "You're still young. When you're the same age as your sister Qing, you'll be able to beat her."

"But Sister Qing will grow up too, then I'll never be able to beat her."

Li Chunmei comforted her, "Xiaomin, just have fun playing games. Don't worry about winning or losing. Sometimes, the more you want to win, the easier it is to lose."

Li Chunmei helped Xia Minmin clean the note off her face, and asked, "Was it fun at your grandparents' house?"

"It's so much fun! There's so much delicious food every day, and I even helped Sister Qing with her homework."

"Really? You can do your sister Qing's homework?"

"Of course it's true. Sister Qing is too stupid. She needs paper to do simple calculations and can't do mental arithmetic."

"It's not that I'm stupid, it's that you're good at mental arithmetic. If you say I'm stupid again, I'll hit you!" Li Qing, who went to call Grandpa and Grandma Xia, returned.

"Aunt and Uncle, you really need to educate Xiaomin properly. You always complain that I'm stupid."

"Then why did you call me short-legged and laugh at me for not being able to go down the stairs or get dressed!"

"Chunmei and Jianguo, you two sit down. These two argue every day, you'll get used to it." Grandpa Xia responded calmly, it was clear that this wasn't the first time they had argued.