Ding-dong…

"Xiaomin, what brings you here?"

Li Qing was very happy to see his little cousin outside the door; he hadn't seen her in a long time.

Xia Minmin put the shopping bags on the ground and leaned against the shoe cabinet to change into slippers. "I heard from Dad that you were coming home today, so I came to see you."

Li Qing squatted down and rummaged through the shopping bags. "Are all these for me?"

Xia Minmin nodded. "These are the new snacks from the small supermarket. I guessed you hadn't tried them before, so I brought them all for you."

Li Qing nodded. "Xiao Min, you're still the best to me."

The TV in the living room was still on, playing a zombie drama series that Xia Minmin had watched countless times.

Xia Minmin also searched for hand seal movements online and practiced them repeatedly: "Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Zai, Qian, Zhu Xie".

Upon seeing the TV series again, her lost memories returned, and she made hand gestures as if forming mudras.

This move shocked Li Qing. She had tried to learn this hand seal many times but had never been able to master it.

"Xiaomin, teach me quickly. How did you learn it? I've tried to learn it from TV so many times. But it always flashes by so quickly that I don't even have time to remember the move before the next one comes out."

With Xia Minmin's exclusive instruction, Li Qing quickly learned the set of movements.

The two sat on the sofa, eating snacks and watching TV.

Modern TV dramas are great, covering all sorts of themes and full of imaginative ideas.

Unlike later generations, which had a pitifully small number of themes and whose content was all the same, either CEO dramas or campus dramas, where you could guess the ending from the beginning, the male and female protagonists would go through various misunderstandings and then live happily ever after.

Li Qing pointed to the female protagonist in the TV series and said, "Xiao Ling has such a great figure, her legs are absolutely gorgeous, and her style of dressing is so beautiful. I want to buy a similar outfit and try it on."

Xia Minmin hesitated, "Are you sure your aunt will let you wear it?"

In Xia Minmin's memory, her aunt was an extremely conservative person.

Li Qing's face fell. "They definitely won't let me wear it. Ever since my sister had a falling out with the family, she's been much stricter with me than before."

"Hasn't the young lady reconciled with her family yet?"

Xia Minmin last saw Li Xiaoxiao more than a year ago.

Li Qing shook her head. "No, she's practically severing ties with your aunt and uncle now. I really don't understand what's so great about men that makes her give up so much. Isn't it better to focus on her career? She can spend her own money; why support a man?"

The current Li Qing is exactly the same as Xia Minmin remembered: a career woman who thinks about how to make money every day.

"Agreed! The old folks say that if you can rely on a man, pigs can fly."

Li Qing patted her serious-looking little cousin, "I didn't expect you to know so much at such a young age."

Li Qing continued, "Before I went to study in Shanghai, my sister came to see me and gave me fifty yuan. She must not be doing well. The clothes she was wearing were the same ones she bought back in our hometown. She also looked much more haggard and older than she did back home. Judging by her face, she looks to be the same age as your aunt."

Xia Minmin really couldn't understand this behavior. Was it really worth it for a man?

"I don't dare tell your uncle and aunt about this. If I mention my sister, they'll definitely start arguing. I can only tell you about it."

After thinking for a moment, Xia Minmin asked, "Do you need me to go with you to see her?"

"Okay, I'll treat you to hot pot for lunch." Li Qing turned off the TV and came out of the room with her backpack.

Do you know the young lady's address? Will she be home at noon?

Li Qing nodded. "I overheard your uncle and aunt mentioning my sister's address. She goes home every day at noon to cook for that man."

"Can the young lady cook? I've never seen her cook."

"Don't even mention you, I've never even seen you before."

Xia Minmin followed Li Qing on a bus to the outskirts of Shenzhen, arriving at 2 PM.

"Xiaomin, are you hungry?"

"I'm not hungry, I ate a lot of snacks earlier."

After getting off the bus and walking inside, Xia Minmin was shocked by the dirty and chaotic environment. There was garbage everywhere, sewage was flowing everywhere, and even men were standing in the corners urinating.

Upon seeing this, Li Qing quickly covered her little cousin's eyes. The idle men were eyeing the two sisters with hostile looks, and Li Qing couldn't help but tighten her grip on her little cousin's hand.

Xia Minmin and Li Qing seemed out of place in this environment. People who walked past them would stare at them as if they were prey.

This was Li Qing's first time here, and she hadn't expected the environment to be so terrible. No wonder her parents had always refused her requests to come before; now she truly regretted bringing her little cousin here.

"Xiaomin, shall we go back? It's too chaotic here."

Xia Minmin comforted Li Qing, "Didn't you want to see the young lady? It's not far, so go and take a look. I haven't seen the young lady in a long time either."

After walking for about ten minutes, Xia Minmin and Li Qing finally arrived at the house rented by Li Xiaoxiao.

The two of them looked around at their surroundings.

The road in front of the house is still a muddy road full of potholes. Such roads are rare even in my hometown. Although it is a muddy road, at least it is not full of potholes. You can tell whether this family is hardworking or lazy.

If it weren't for the fact that it was Shenzhen, Xia Minmin would have thought she had returned to the countryside; this place seemed to have been forgotten by Shenzhen's urbanization.

Li Qing looked diagonally ahead without speaking. Xia Minmin followed her gaze and saw Li Xiaoxiao.

She was squatting by the well, washing dishes, with two large basins of unwashed clothes at her feet, a stark contrast to her previous image working in a factory back home.

Xia Minmin was somewhat hesitant to recognize her, "Is this the young lady?"

"Um."

Watching Li Xiaoxiao finish washing the dishes and then go to wash the two basins of clothes, Li Qing couldn't help but ask, "Is this the life you want?"

Li Xiaoxiao turned her head when she heard the familiar voices and saw her younger sister and cousin.

She stood up with a pleasant surprise, drying her wet hands on her clothes. "What brings you two here? Come in and sit down."

Li Xiaoxiao suddenly remembered something, "Let's stand here and talk. Why did you two girls come here alone? It's dangerous for two girls to walk around here."

Li Qing asked, "You know it's dangerous, so why do you still live here?"

Li Xiaoxiao pretended to be relaxed, "I'm different from you guys, none of them dare to mess with me."

Li Qing stared into Li Xiaoxiao's eyes and asked, "Aren't you planning to go home yet? Are you planning to live like this for the rest of your life?"

Li Xiaoxiao reacted as if she'd been pricked by a hedgehog, "Mind your own business. You're just a little girl, you don't need to tell me what to do. Go back if you have nothing else to do! Don't come looking for me again."

After Li Xiao finished speaking, he turned around and went into the house.

Li Qing wanted to step forward but ultimately gave up and whispered, "Xiao Min, let's go!"

On the way back, Li Qing was absent-minded. After getting off the bus, they ate something casually. Xia Minmin took her home before going back herself.