Xia Minmin's biological clock didn't work for the first time, and she didn't wake up until Li Chunmei called her at eight o'clock. Xia Minmin rolled around in bed a few times before getting up.

Pulling back the curtains of the French windows in the room, one could see that there was still snow on the streets of Beijing that hadn't been cleared. It must have snowed heavily last night. There were also sanitation workers wearing orange-red coats busy on the streets.

Inside, it's like spring all year round; outside, it's a world of ice and snow.

Xia Jianguo came out of the washroom and saw his daughter standing in front of the French windows, lost in thought. "Hurry up and wash up. You're the only one who hasn't washed up yet. We should go have breakfast."

Xia Minmin asked, "What are we having for breakfast? Are we eating at the hotel?"

"Yes, the hotel gave us breakfast vouchers for two days."

There were many people having breakfast around 8 a.m., and it took me a while to find an empty table.

Li Chunmei said, "The breakfast at 8 o'clock is more substantial than that at 6 or 7 o'clock, with a lot more bread and pastries."

Xia Jianguo held a bowl of beef noodles in his right hand and a plate with two meat buns, two shumai, and an egg in his left hand.

Li Chunmei had a bowl of wontons and two pan-fried buns.

Xia Minmin's plate was full of Western-style pastries: pork floss buns, croissants, blueberry shortbread, croissants, and donuts.

Xia Minmin got up, picked up her plate, and prepared to add another croissant.

Li Chunmei said, "Xiaomin, you can't eat anymore. Today's breakfast portion is already more than your usual portion."

Xia Minmin looked innocent. "Mom, I'm not full yet. I can eat a little more. We're going to look at houses later. If I eat too little, I'll get hungry after walking only a few steps."

Li Chunmei thought it made sense, so she didn't continue to stop them.

Xia Minmin had spotted the new arrivals a long time ago: croissants and scones in various flavors.

Looking at the five or six pieces of bread on her plate, Li Chunmei couldn't help but worry that she might overeat.

Towards the end of the meal, Xia Minmin's movements became slower and slower. Xia Jianguo and Li Chunmei neither urged her nor helped her finish eating.

Fewer and fewer people are having breakfast in the restaurant, and the waiters are starting to clear away the various plates.

When Xia Minmin came out of the restaurant, her belly was already bulging, and the cashmere sweater she was wearing was stretched out. She walked with her back straight, which was very unnatural.

Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo were secretly laughing behind her. When they got close to the door, Li Chunmei put the down jacket on Xia Minmin.

The moment the door opened, I felt a chill; it was much colder than the last time I came.

Xia Jianguo, familiar with the area, led the mother and daughter through the alley, intending to find the real estate agency they had seen before.

Perhaps because it's almost Chinese New Year, the alleyways are decorated with bright red lanterns, and the streets are full of people selling candied hawthorns, donkey rolls, and roasted sweet potatoes.

Xia Minmin was so engrossed in watching that she could hardly move, but her stomach was already full.

belch…

And it kept burping.

Li Chunmei bought five yuan worth of donkey rolls and ate them with Xia Jianguo as they walked.

Li Chunmei said, "This donkey roll is really good, even better than the ones in Shenzhen. It's a pity that someone can't finish it."

Xia Minmin snorted coldly.

"We're here." Xia Jianguo pointed to the sign not far away.

The agency's door was blocked by a cotton quilt curtain. Xia Jianguo lifted the curtain; the storefront wasn't large. Inside, a woman was knitting a sweater. Besides a counter, the rest of the items were pots, pans, and a cot.

"Hello, is this a real estate agency?"

Xia Jianguo was a little unsure. Apart from the storefront sign indicating it was a real estate agency, nothing inside looked like a real estate agency.

The woman knitting looked up and sized up the family of three who had entered. They were dressed in clothes that made them look quite wealthy. She put down the sweater she was knitting and got up to pour water.

"Yes, are you looking to buy or rent a house? I have the most listings."

Li Chunmei said, "If you're buying a house, it would be best if you could introduce some options to us and take us to see the actual property."

When the woman knitting the sweater heard that it was about buying a house, her attitude became even more enthusiastic.

"My surname is Chen, you can just call me Sister Chen. How big of a house would you like to see? Which district would you like to see?"

Xia Jianguo said, "Sister Chen, we want to buy a house near the school, about fifty or sixty square meters would be fine."

Sister Chen opened her notebook, which was already worn and frayed.

"How about Cuiwei Road in Haidian District? There's an elementary school there. The house is 60 square meters. The landlord lost money in the stock market and his business cash flow dried up, so the house is being sold at a very low price. The only requirement is cash payment. Your families are not poor either. Why don't you go and take a look at the house? The house has been renovated after handover, so you can start renovating right away after you buy it."

Holding the cup in her hand, Li Chunmei said, "Sister Chen, we don't know much about that area. Could you take us to see the house?"

Sister Chen was very straightforward. She took the key, locked the door, and pushed a pedal tricycle out from the side.

"You three, come on up, I'll give you a ride."

Xia Jianguo and Li Chunmei hesitated for a moment, after all, their combined weight was not light.

Sister Chen noticed their hesitation. "You two can rest assured. I'm very strong, and this isn't the first time I've driven people to see houses."

The streets on both sides were still covered with snow that hadn't been cleared. There were many people on the road, greeting Sister Chen. No wonder she's a real estate agent with a wide network of connections.

Sister Chen was very talkative. She kept introducing the sights along the way to the Xia family of three, and she knew exactly what major events had happened in those places.

"We're almost there. This is an elementary school, and beyond that is our destination, Huarong Residential Area. It's a new residential area that opened less than three years ago, and the prices have been rising steadily over the past few years. The transportation is also very convenient, with many universities nearby, and there's a bus stop right at the entrance of the residential area that goes directly there."

Ms. Chen pointed to the location of the bus stop and greeted the security guard at the community security booth with practiced ease, indicating that she had been here many times before.

Sister Chen parked her tricycle in the community's bicycle shed. The shed had a small number of bicycles and a large number of motorcycles, indicating that the community's economic conditions were quite good.

The landscaping in Huarong Community is similar to that of Dudu Garden Community. The property management is also very responsible. Except for the snow in the green belts, the snow in other areas of the community has been cleared clean.

"The property management of this community is one of the best in Beijing. As you can see, the snow that fell last night has already been cleared away by now. What is the purpose of buying a house? It is to live comfortably. It will be so convenient for our children to go to university, with the bus stop right outside the community."

Sister Chen's words struck a chord with Xia Jianguo and Li Chunmei.

They followed Sister Chen to Unit 2.

"Our apartment is on the fourth floor, room 402."

Li Chunmei frowned and said, "The fourth floor... that's a bit unlucky."

Sister Chen wasn't upset when she heard this. "Four is auspicious. It means wealth in all four seasons, spring-like weather all year round, four generations living under one roof, stability and peace in all four seasons. In the Book of Changes, it says, 'The Taiji generates the two polarities, and the two polarities generate the four symbols.' Four is a very auspicious number, but in recent years it has been misunderstood by people using homophones."

Li Chunmei found Chen's explanation quite reasonable.