Xia Minmin took out the key hanging around her neck and opened the door to the first-floor staircase, which led directly to the fifth floor.

Wang Jie stayed downstairs to unload his luggage, while Xia Damei carried a bag upstairs.

As Wang Yu walked, she asked, "Your cousin's experience is much more exciting than mine. How are you so amazing? What happened to that conman who used counterfeit money?"

Xia Minmin shrugged. "I don't know yet. Maybe I'll see news about him in the newspaper in a few months."

"Why?"

“Because…” Xia Minmin then made a gun gesture with her hand, pointed it at her temple, and made a “bang” sound.

The door to the fifth floor was already open, and Li Chunmei stood in the entrance hall to greet guests. Several pairs of slippers were neatly arranged on the floor mat.

"Happy New Year, Auntie!"

"Happy New Year."

"Little sister, how was the journey? Was it smooth sailing?"

Xia Damei handed the bag she was carrying to Li Chunmei, saying, "Everything went smoothly, Second Sister-in-law. This is cured meat that Wang Jie's family prepared. They asked us to bring it over for you. I heard that it tastes especially good after being smoked for one or two months."

Li Chunmei opened the bag and smelled the aroma of smoking. The cured meat inside was glossy and reddish-brown. "This cured meat is really good. A while ago, your second brother said he wanted to eat cured meat from our hometown. I was thinking of asking my brother to find some, but I didn't expect you to send it over. I'll stir-fry a plate of it tonight."

Seeing that her gift was appreciated, Xia Damei was also very happy. "Then, Second Sister-in-law, I'll help you with the gift. By the way, where is Second Brother?"

"He went to the terrace to propagate chrysanthemums."

Li Chunmei turned to Xia Minmin and said, "Xiaomin, go to the terrace and call your dad."

The two women, sister-in-law and aunt, went to the kitchen hand in hand.

Xia Minmin brought Wang Yu a few bags of snacks in the living room. "These are delicious, you should try them. Our new chrysanthemum variety has bloomed, I'll take you to see it."

“Great! The chrysanthemum cuttings you gave me have survived. My mom said they’ll bloom this year. It’s a pity my balcony is too small to put them there, otherwise I would have taken a few more pots home.”

Xia Jianguo sat on a small stool wearing gloves, with several pots of chrysanthemum cuttings at his feet.

"Dad, Aunt and Uncle have arrived. Mom wants you to go to the living room. I'll take care of these things."

"Remember to wear gloves."

Xia Jianguo took off his gloves to wash his hands, then turned around and saw his daughter playing in the dirt with her bare hands, the veins on her forehead throbbing. He wondered who she got her rebellious streak from; the older she got, the harder she was to manage.

He kept taking deep breaths, trying to reassure himself: Don't get angry, don't get angry! Smile.

After preparing himself mentally, Xia Jianguo leisurely returned to the living room. His brother-in-law, Wang Jie, was already sitting on the sofa drinking tea, while Li Chunmei and Xia's older sister were chatting and laughing in the kitchen.

"Wang Jie, Happy New Year! Looks like the food at home is pretty good; I've even gained weight in the two weeks since I got back!"

Wang Jie touched his face. "Second brother, Happy New Year! You know how it is back home. During the New Year, we eat four meals a day. How can we not gain weight like that?"

Xia Jianguo handed him some pistachios, saying, "Eat some pistachios, they're delicious. Xiaomin eats a pound of them every day."

If Xia Minmin knew that Xia Jianguo was spreading such rumors behind her back, she would probably cause a huge uproar. They were clearly eating together as a family.

Wang Jie smiled, grabbed a handful of pistachios and started eating. As expected of the family's most discerning palate, if she thought it was delicious, then it must be good.

"Did you go back to offer incense to your parents? How was the burial plot?"

“I went there. My uncle helped clear the weeds in front of my parents’ graves.”

"How are your two uncles doing?"

"Everything is fine."

Xia Jianguo nodded, saying he would return home to pay respects to his parents during the Qingming Festival.

Xia Minmin, who was playing with chrysanthemum cuttings on the terrace, was more rough and casual than Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo. She believed that she had done what she had to do and whether she could survive was up to fate.

The streetlights downstairs came on, and there were fewer pedestrians dragging suitcases on the road.

Xia Minmin was very satisfied with the rows of crookedly planted chrysanthemum seedlings.

Xia Minmin and Wang Yu worked together to clean up the tools and the mud on the ground.

"Let's go wash our hands. Remember to clean between your fingers so you don't get scolded!" Xia Minmin solemnly imparted her experience to Wang Yu, unaware that her little secret had already been discovered by Xia Jianguo and Li Chunmei.

Playing with dirt with bare hands is quite comfortable, but cleaning between the fingers is difficult. Both of our hands were wrinkled from washing, and there was still dirt between our fingers.

"Xiaomin, Xiaoyu, it's time to eat." Li Chunmei stood behind the two children.

Xia Minmin and Wang Yu froze. Li Chunmei sensed something was amiss. "You two, stretch out your little hands so I can see them!"

Xia Minmin and Wang Yu exchanged a bitter smile; they were done for, they'd been found out.

Li Chunmei pointed at the two of them in the air with her finger, "It's still the New Year, so I won't scold you. You two should reflect on yourselves and go eat."

As soon as Li Chunmei finished speaking, the two children ran away from the scene of the crime.

Xia Jianguo and the others had already started pouring wine, and Xia Damei was serving rice to everyone.

Once everyone was present, we started eating. Since we were all family, there weren't many formalities.

Xia Damei picked up a piece of cured meat with her chopsticks and put it into Xia Xiaomei's bowl. "Xiaomei, try it and see if it tastes good."

Xia Xiaomei wanted to refuse, but seeing her sister's expectant eyes, she picked up a small piece of meat and put it in her mouth, "Delicious!"

Xiao Wu, who had been observing Xia Xiaomei, was pleasantly surprised. "Xiaxia, you didn't feel nauseous at all!"

Everyone else at the table was amused by Xiao Wu's comment about Xia Xia, and Xia Xiaomei blushed immediately.

Xiao Wu didn't care about anything else and picked up some other dishes and put them into Xia Xiaomei's mouth. "How about we try some other dishes?"

Everyone else at the table stared at Xia Xiaomei.

Li Chunmei said, "Little sister, it seems like you've stopped vomiting. I never thought that the morning sickness that had bothered me for so long would be cured by cured meat."

Xia Damei was delighted. "Little sister, I have a few pieces of cured meat left. Take them back and have Xiaowu cook them for you."

"No need, big sister. The meat you gave us is enough for Xiao Wu and me to eat for a long time. The doctor told us to eat less pickled food."

The cured pork that Xia Damei gave me was made from pork belly that had been smoked, and it looked especially beautiful with its three layers of fat and two layers of white fat.

Seeing that everyone enjoyed the food, Wang Jie explained, "This pork comes from pigs that have grown up eating grass and have never eaten any feed. These pigs are a cross between wild boars and black pigs, so the taste is exceptionally good with no fishy or strange smell at all."

Xia Minmin nodded, "It definitely tastes different."

Hearing her daughter's nonsensical words, Li Chunmei explained, "We rarely buy pork to eat. Xiaomin always says that pork has a strange smell and can't be tasted carefully."

This resonated with Xia Xiaomei. "Since I became pregnant, my sense of taste has become more sensitive, and I often find strange tastes in food. I thought it was my problem, but I never expected it was the meat."

While they were talking, Xia Minmin and Wang Yu were busy showing off their chicken feet and wings.

"My aunt's braised food is so delicious!"

Xia Minmin nodded, holding the chicken wings.

After dinner, Xia Jianguo and the others brought out the mahjong table and played a couple of rounds, while Xia Minmin and Wang Yu were sent to take a shower.