I walked to the bus stop across the street, but the bus hadn't arrived yet.

Looking at the surrounding pastoral scenery without a trace of emotion, Li Chunmei was reminded for a moment of the days when she was busy working in the fields back home. "Jianguo, weren't you very interested in the factory over there? Why did you decide to give it up?"

“I’ve thought about what you said and it makes sense. The clan mentality is very strong in the villages here in Shenzhen, and it’s too troublesome to deal with anything,” Xia Jianguo said.

Not long after, Xia Jianguo continued, "I used to think that if I could buy a factory building, it would be a fixed asset, and it would be good if it were demolished. But now, if it is really demolished, the seller will definitely make a fuss."

“I also think renting a factory is more suitable for us. The factory near the discount supermarket has complete basic facilities, and we have many acquaintances there. If anything happens, we can take care of each other,” Li Chunmei said.

The sun was already high overhead at 10 a.m., and under the scorching heat, Xia Jianguo and Li Chunmei felt like they were about to be cooked. There was only a lonely bus stop sign standing there, and there was nowhere nearby to block out the sun.

Xia Jianguo stood face to face with Li Chunmei, shielding her from the sun slightly.

"I'm carrying this bag wrong today, I forgot to bring my parasol." Li Chunmei shook her shoulder bag, which was so small that it couldn't even fit a parasol. She was just a beautiful but useless person.

At Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo's call, the bus stopped at the station. They found two seats in the last row by the window and the bus started moving, with a gentle breeze blowing in through the windows.

"Jianguo, shall we be home by one o'clock this afternoon?" Li Chunmei asked.

Xia Jianguo took out his phone to calculate the time, "If there are no delays on the road, it should be about time."

"Call Xiaomin and tell her not to wait for us to come home for lunch."

Xia Jianguo dialed his home landline number, and the phone rang for about a minute before being answered.

"Hey, Xiaomin, this is your dad. Your mom and I won't be home to cook today. Just order something to eat outside, or go to your godfather's restaurant."

Xia Jianguo bombarded Xia Minmin with a long message, and before she could figure out what was going on, she paused for a moment before replying, "Oh, I know. Remember to eat lunch too."

"I'll hang up now if there's nothing else," Xia Jianguo said, and then promptly hung up the phone.

Xia Minmin held the phone, listening to the dial tone. It was obvious that the other party had hung up. Wasn't she supposed to be going to see the factory? Why did it take so long? She couldn't even go home for lunch.

Xia Minmin didn't dwell on it for long and went back to her room to continue assembling the remaining quarter of the building blocks. However, this time she didn't forget to set her alarm for 11:30 to eat on time.

Xia Jianguo hung up the phone and held Li Chunmei's hand beside him. "We're free this afternoon, how about we go see a movie on a date? It's been a long time since I've gone shopping with you for clothes. Now that the kids are older, we don't have to look after them all the time. Let's enjoy some time alone together while we can."

"Great!" Li Chunmei never expected that Xia Jianguo, that blockhead, would actually say such a thing, but she was quite happy.

Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo looked at each other and thought to themselves, "Today is truly a good day. Although we didn't get everything done, it's nice to be away from the troubles of our child's parents' business. It's a time that belongs to just the two of us."

After the alarm clock rang, Xia Minmin grabbed her money and ran outside the neighborhood to buy a bowl of cold gluten salad, then rushed home. While eating the gluten, she continued building with blocks, completely absorbed in her work.

Xia Jianguo and Li Chunmei arrived in the city center around 1 p.m. After getting off the bus, Li Chunmei felt as if she had been in another world.

"I'm so hungry..." Li Chunmei said, holding Xia Jianguo's hand.

As Xia Jianguo listened to his wife's coquettish voice, it was as if he had returned to the time when the two were dating, and all the scenes from the past came to mind.

Since having children and shouldering the burdens of life, I haven't seen my wife act coquettishly in a long time. She's still as adorable as she was when she was young. But I can't say that to her, or I'll definitely get a beating. After all, every woman's age is a secret.

Xia Jianguo looked around. Tea restaurants? Tired of them; Western food? Neither of them had the taste for pure Chinese food; hot pot? Too strong a smell; Japanese ramen shops? No atmosphere; iron pot stew? Sure.

Xia Jianguo pointed to a restaurant not far away, with a sign above the door that read "Iron Pot Stew". "How about we go eat iron pot stew? Didn't you say you wanted to eat iron pot stewed goose when you watched TV last time?"

Li Chunmei pulled Xia Jianguo along and jogged towards the restaurant. Pushing open the glass door, a blast of cool air rushed in—it felt so refreshing! At one o'clock in the afternoon, the number of customers in the restaurant had not decreased at all.

The restaurant staff greeted the guests as they entered, "Hello, how many are in your party?"

“The two of us,” Li Chunmei said.

"Please follow me." The restaurant waiter directed them to a table for four.

The waiter placed the menu on the table. "Please take a look at the menu first. Let me know if you need anything."

Li Chunmei flipped through the menu. "We'd like to have braised goose in an iron pot, three catties of goose meat, with side dishes of corn, green beans, and potatoes, a serving of steamed buns, a serving of sweet and sour pork, and two bottles of iced coconut juice."

"Jian Guo, is there anything else you'd like to eat?" Li Chunmei asked.

"No, it would be a waste to order more."

Li Chunmei closed the menu and handed it to the waiter.

The waiter put away the menu. "Okay, please wait a moment."

About five minutes later, several waiters brought the ingredients for stewing goose in an iron pot to the table and started stewing it.

"Please wait a moment. It will take about 30 minutes for the meat to cook. The steamed buns will be served after they are cooked. Let them simmer for another 10 minutes before eating."

Li Chunmei smiled wryly. It was her first time eating stew in an iron pot, and she had no experience. She thought it would be served immediately, just like hot pot, but she didn't expect it would take another forty minutes to get to eat.

Xia Jianguo looked at his wife and knew what she was thinking. "It's okay, let's eat the sweet and sour pork first. Good food takes time to arrive."

With Xia Jianguo's comforting words, Li Chunmei's mood gradually improved.

The waiter placed a mountain of sweet and sour pork on the table, and Li Chunmei opened her mouth wide in surprise.

Xia Jianguo picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of sweet and sour pork, and placed it in his wife's bowl, saying, "Try it."

"It's delicious, crispy and sweet and sour."

After the two of them finished a plate of sweet and sour pork, the stewed goose in the iron pot was finally cooked.

Li Chunmei couldn't wait to put the steamed buns from the pot onto a plate.

Xia Jianguo scooped a spoonful of goose meat into his wife's bowl and let it cool. "Want to try it?"

"tasty!"

The two, who had been starving for too long, didn't say much and started eating right away.

After finishing the last bite of the steamed bun, Xia Jianguo said, "This shop is really good, the steamed buns are delicious. I don't know if they're authentic, but next time we'll take my parents and Xiaomin to Northeast China to see the snow and eat iron pot stew."

Li Chunmei said, "Great! Xiaomin should like sweet and sour pork, it's practically her favorite. I wonder how her lunch went!"

Xia Jianguo disagreed, saying, "Don't worry about her, she won't go hungry."

After the couple finished eating, they remembered their daughter who was alone.