As Xia Minmin and her family walked downstairs to their apartment building, familiar neighbors came over to greet them.

Xia Jianguo led Li Zhonghua upstairs with their luggage, while Li Chunmei and the other two stayed behind to chat for a while.

"Chunmei, did you just get back from your hometown today?"

"Just got off the train. How come you have time to chat downstairs today instead of going to pay New Year's visits?"

“We don’t have many relatives. Is this your older brother?” the neighbor asked, looking at Li Zhonghua.

Li Chunmei asked in surprise, "How did you know?"

The neighbor smiled and explained, "You and your older brother do look a bit alike."

“You have a sharp eye. We’ll go upstairs first. We haven’t been home for more than ten days, and there’s still a ton of cleaning to do.”

"Yes, that's right. You're going to the mall for dinner tonight. The restaurants near the neighborhood won't open until the eighth day of the Lunar New Year." The neighbor waved his hand.

Thank you!

Xia Jianguo, who went upstairs first, has already arrived home.

Xia Jianguo said, "Brother, this is Building 5, Unit 3. We live in 302. I'll give you Xiaomin's access card and key later, and you can wander around here by yourself."

Xia Jianguo opened the door, took out slippers from the shoe cabinet, and handed them to Li Zhonghua. After changing his shoes, he led Li Zhonghua around for a while.

"Jianguo, your house is really nicely decorated. It doesn't look small at all. All these appliances must have cost a lot of money!" Looking at his brother-in-law's house, Li Zhonghua became even more determined to stay. Big cities are indeed much better than small towns.

Xia Jianguo led Li Zhonghua to the balcony and pointed to the school playground not far away, saying, "This is the primary school that Xiaomin will attend in the future. There are also junior high and high schools nearby, and the hospital and shopping mall are not far away either, only a 20-minute walk away."

Looking at the playground, Li Zhonghua couldn't help but sigh, "This playground is even bigger than the primary school back home."

Xia Jianguo explained, "This school is newly built and will not be moved for at least twenty years. It was built by experts based on the birth rate."

Li Chunmei and Xia Xiaomei led Xia Minmin in. "Jianguo, we're taking our older brother to the mall for dinner tonight. Our neighbor said that none of the restaurants around the neighborhood are open."

"knew."

"Mom, I want to eat Sichuan food!" Xia Minmin shouted.

Li Chunmei looked at Li Zhonghua and said, "Brother, is it alright? We often go to that Sichuan restaurant; the food is very good."

Tonight's dinner is to entertain Li Zhonghua, so of course we should prioritize his opinion.

"I'm fine with either."

Li Chunmei took out a feather duster and brushed the dust off the sofa. "Jianguo, you watch TV with your older brother for a while. After my younger sister and I finish cleaning the house, we'll go eat."

Before going home, we closed all the doors and windows tightly to reduce dust. The small house also has its advantages; the two of us cleaned it in less than an hour.

On the way to the mall, Xia Xiaomei recommended several restaurants with high foot traffic nearby to Li Zhonghua so he could try them out. Xia Xiaomei and Xia Minmin were quite familiar with the neighborhood; they often strolled around the area in the mornings and evenings.

Before even entering the Sichuan restaurant, Xia Minmin started drooling; she hadn't eaten there in so long and really missed it. Li Chunmei only let Xia Minmin eat it once every two or three months, and Xia Minmin would get a sore throat afterward each time.

Kung Pao Chicken, Mapo Tofu, and Boiled Fish are must-order dishes every time. Li Zhonghua ordered a dish of Sliced ​​Beef and Offal in Chili Sauce and a vegetable dish, which was enough for four adults and one child.

When Xia Minmin came out of the Sichuan restaurant, her lips were bright red, indicating that she had been quite burned by the spiciness.

In the following days, Xia Jianguo took Li Zhonghua to many night markets and restaurants with good food and low prices, while Li Chunmei took Xia Xiaomei and Xia Minmin to a small supermarket.

Not many people come to the small supermarket to buy things. Most factories will not officially start work until the twelfth day of the first lunar month. This year, several factories have opened nearby and some factories have added several production lines. Recruitment advertisements have been posted on the bulletin board outside the supermarket.

It was originally a small bulletin board that Xia Jianguo used to post supermarket promotional information. Later, people also posted job advertisements and rental advertisements there. So Xia Jianguo replaced the small bulletin board with a large notice board, and more and more information was posted there.

There aren't many people shopping at the small supermarket, so Li Chunmei and her colleagues usually lock up and go home around 5 or 6 pm.

When Li Chunmei, Xia Minmin, and Xia Xiaomei arrived home, Xia Jianguo had already finished eating with Li Zhonghua and gone home, and even packed some food for them.

“Jianguo, your friend called today. They will arrive in Shenzhen tomorrow. I plan to have my younger sister pick them up. I have also prepared the factory information. They should be able to enter the factory this afternoon. Let’s treat them to dinner at the shop next to the small supermarket tonight.”

How many of them are there?

"About ten."

"Okay, you can arrange it as you see fit. Brother, let's go over for dinner together tomorrow night, you've never been there before."

...

Li Zhonghua stayed in Shenzhen for a week before deciding to go home, resign, and set up a stall in Shenzhen with Sun Erni. They had already paid the rent for the house and the stall.

People are always willing to spend money on food, no matter when they are in the world. Li Zhonghua's night market stall can earn in two months what his wife and he earn in a year back in their hometown. The couple is very frugal in order to buy a house in Shenzhen.

In the summer of 1995, Aunt Xia brought her maternal grandparents and six or seven children of all ages to Shenzhen.

The couple, Xia Jianguo and Li Chunmei, couldn't fit everyone in their house, so they stayed at the small supermarket during the summer vacation. Everyone else slept on the floor at home, making the house lively every day.

...

In September 1995, three-and-a-half-year-old Xia Minmin officially began her first step in her reading journey—kindergarten.

Xia Minmin had thought that going to kindergarten would be tiring, but she never imagined it would be this tiring! Going to kindergarten every day was torture for her! Her classmates were constantly surrounded by their nagging and crying.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!