"Little child, little child, don't be greedy, after the Laba Festival comes the New Year... The 24th is the day for house cleaning..."

Children downstairs were singing this nursery rhyme as they ran back and forth in the neighborhood.

Today is the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, the day for cleaning before the New Year. Xia Minmin's family got up at seven o'clock to start cleaning.

The three people were fully armed, wearing aprons and paper hats, and all the furniture in the house was covered with old bed sheets.

Xia Jianguo held a cotton broom about three meters long and swept it back and forth on the ceiling.

Standing beside Xia Jianguo, Li Chunmei pointed to the places most prone to leaving cobwebs, saying, "Jianguo, make sure to sweep the corners and edges clean; that's where cobwebs are most easily left."

Xia Jianguo casually agreed, his hands never stopping as he swept from the bedroom to the living room to the balcony. After sweeping the ceiling, he waited twenty minutes until all the dust had settled.

Xia Jianguo and Li Chunmei worked together to remove the old bed sheets covering the furniture, shook off the dust on the balcony, folded them, and put them in the cabinet so they could be used again next year.

The three men held a slightly damp rag and rolled up their sleeves.

Jianguo stood on a chair wiping the windows and furniture, while Li Chunmei washed the tiles on the walls of the bathroom.

Xia Minmin was just there to make up the numbers; her height only allowed her to wipe low places like coffee tables, dining tables, and desks.

Li Chunmei stood in the living room, looking around the bright and tidy house. She felt comforted, but the thought of the big house on the fifth floor near the discount supermarket gave her a headache.

"Phew... Dudu Garden is easy to clean. It's 10:05 now, shall we go straight to the discount supermarket?"

"Mom, are we coming back after we go to the discount supermarket?"

Xia Jianguo washed his hands at the half-wall wet and dry separation washbasin. "Bring all our things with us. We're spending the Spring Festival there this year. Xiao Wu called and invited us to have lunch there."

"Then we need to speed things up; there's a lot to organize."

As Li Chunmei spoke, she walked to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and carefully checked the contents, muttering, "I'll take this with me." She placed the food she wanted to take on the kitchen counter.

Xia Minmin tidied up her room, put the clothes and books she was going to take into her suitcase, pushed it into the living room, and then carried the bag to the entrance to change her shoes.

"Mom and Dad, I'm going to deliver something to Mengmeng and I'll be right back."

Li Chunmei came out of the kitchen carrying a bag. "Hurry up and come back. We need to get there before lunch. Your uncle has prepared lunch."

Xia Minmin's answer was followed by the sound of her heavy footsteps as she left.

Hearing his daughter come downstairs, Xia Jianguo frowned and shook his head. "She's like a flea, jumping up and down every day. She doesn't even pay attention when she goes down the stairs. I'll give her a beating sooner or later to teach her a lesson."

Li Chunmei chuckled, "You're just talking behind her back, indulging in empty talk. If you're so capable, why don't you tell her to her face that you're going to beat her up?"

Hearing his wife's words, Xia Jianguo choked up, stubbornly saying, "I... what wouldn't I dare to do? It's the father's fault if the son is not taught properly! Do you believe I'll beat her when she gets back? No... I'll talk to her!"

Li Chunmei pursed her lips, went into the master bedroom to pack her luggage, and did not respond further.

Xia Jianguo followed him into the bedroom and leaned against the door frame. "Don't go! I'm telling the truth! You'll see if you don't believe me."

Li Chunmei pushed aside Xia Jianguo, who was blocking the aisle, and said, "Sir, could you please pack your clothes before Xiaomin comes back? We should be leaving soon."

Xia Jianguo shrugged, went into the room, and stuffed his clothes into his suitcase.

"Do you want to bring your first-year junior high textbook?" Li Chunmei's voice came from the living room.

"Take it! Xiaomin said she'll give me an exam in a couple of days."

Ding-dong…

The doorbell rang.

Li Chunmei put down what she was packing and went to open the door. When she opened the door, she saw her daughter standing far away from the door, and she immediately smiled.

"Xiaomin, you're standing too far away."

Xia Jianguo pushed his suitcase out of the room and looked over when he heard Li Chunmei's laughter. Perhaps she was still traumatized by the head injury she had suffered last time. At this moment, she was standing on the doormat of the neighbor's house across the street.

Xia Minmin squatted down in the entryway to change her shoes.

"Xiaomin, your dad said he's going to beat you up!"

Xia Minmin was speechless when she heard her mother's words. Why could you laugh so happily after knowing that your child was going to be beaten?

Xia Jianguo came over from the living room and quickly explained, "Xiaomin, don't listen to your mother's divisive words. I never said I was going to beat you up. She just made things up."

"I just want you to be careful when you go downstairs. Don't jump around on the stairs. If you accidentally fall, you might break your leg. Your parents would be so sad!"

Li Chunmei glanced at Xia Jianguo, her meaning clear: Is that all you've got?

Xia Minmin changed her shoes, stood up, and turned to look at her parents.

"I'll be more careful. I don't usually walk like this. It happened so suddenly today, and I was a little anxious."

Li Chunmei tidied her daughter's messy hair, "What did you just give Mengmeng?"

Xia Minmin saw two suitcases, one large and one small, in the living room.

"A few cassette tapes of English songs! Have you all packed them? When are we coming over?"

"Let's go now." Xia Jianguo pushed two suitcases to the entrance, while Li Chunmei carried a bag full of groceries.

Xia Minmin was very annoyed. She had just changed her shoes, and now she had to change them again. She should have just stood outside the door and waited.

Xia Jianguo always has a habit of repeatedly checking doors, windows, water, electricity, and gas before leaving home.

I got into Jiang Hao's taxi at the door.

"Brother Jianguo, are you planning to spend the New Year over there?"

"Hmm, how's business lately?"

"Well, it's just so-so. Business was pretty good a few days ago, but most people have gone home recently, so business isn't great. It's just enough to make a living. It can't compare to you bosses."

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