After sitting in the courtyard for a while, I rode my motorcycle with Ye Zhi to the Walmart supermarket in Xiaguan. We pushed shopping carts and squeezed through the crowd, picking out items we needed. I didn't feel too uncomfortable; on the contrary, I quite enjoyed it...

I put a bottle of soy sauce I needed for cooking into the shopping cart, and then asked Ye Zhi, "Do you usually have time to go to the supermarket?"

What do you think?

I thought for a moment and replied, "I always need to buy daily necessities, but it's hard to imagine you having the leisure to push a shopping cart around the supermarket."

"The nanny buys daily necessities. We only go to the mall occasionally, and we almost never go to the supermarket."

As Ye Zhi spoke, she picked up a box of imported biscuits, looked at it, and then put it in the shopping cart. We continued walking towards the fresh meat section. After a brief discussion, we bought ribs and a sea bass.

We were going to steam the sea bass, so we went to a small appliance store and bought a steamer. Before long, the shopping cart was full.

...

With the Lunar New Year approaching, the supermarket was packed with people, and we had to queue up with the crowds of shoppers. This long process gave us plenty of opportunities to chat, and the topics of conversation were all about the New Year. Suddenly, I remembered something important, so I told Ye Zhi about it and then ran back to the area selling New Year's goods, where I grabbed a bag of red envelopes.

I think that red envelopes are an essential part of Chinese New Year, especially for Ye Zhi, who has come all the way here. As the only person who can give her a red envelope, I can't forget about this.

Ye Zhi asked me, "Where did you go just now?"

I laughed and said, "I forgot to buy red envelopes, I'll make one for you on New Year's Eve."

"You're the first person to remember to send me a red envelope."

I could hear a hint of disappointment in Ye Zhi's tone, so I comforted her, "If you'd like, I can make you a bag every year."

"You said it, you can't go back on your word."

"I'm so rich, I could give you money until you're a hundred without any pressure."

Ye Zhi smiled and said, "Judging from this, you really are very rich! ...A hundred years old, can we all live to be a hundred years old?"

"Eighty years old is fine... Actually, as long as I can live with the people I love, I'm satisfied even if I live to sixty... We all have to die eventually, so the most important thing is to live a meaningful life within our limited time. Simply pursuing longevity is, in my opinion, a burden."

"Your idea is quite carefree."

"Not so carefree... After all, everything has two sides. If you can't live with the person you like, the pain in life will be magnified... Sometimes I think that luck is really important in life. It's hard to meet someone you truly like, and it's even harder to be together with them!"

Ye Zhi understood immediately: "For a woman, it means marrying for love, right?"

"Yes, whether you marry for love or find love in marriage, it's something that's hard to come by."

I don't know what my expression was when I said that, but Ye Zhi kept looking at me with a very complicated look, and then asked, "Are you thinking about your ex-girlfriend? Or someone else?"

"You can't joke like that!"

“I don’t think this is a joke… We’ve known each other for quite a while now, and I’ve always felt that you’re someone who carries a lot on your mind.”

"Some of my past experiences were indeed unpleasant."

"So, have you let it go?"

"I think I've let go of the past, but sometimes I reflect on it... I just hope that I can learn from my mistakes and try not to make wrong decisions, otherwise it will hurt both myself and others... I have no other purpose than that."

"I hope that's really what you think."

...

It was already 8 PM when I returned to the vacation villa where Ye Zhi was staying. I quickly stir-fried a few dishes and steamed a sea bass, but because I was inexperienced, I ruined my first attempt at making scrambled eggs with tomatoes. It was quite embarrassing, especially since I had presented a confident image to Ye Zhi earlier. Fortunately, the view from the vacation villa was truly beautiful, so Ye Zhi, drinking beer and enjoying the night view of Dali, didn't care too much about the quality of the food.

Luckily, she didn't hold it against me. The dish wasn't very good, partly because she was the one who added the seasonings. Since she dared to complain about me, I dared to laugh at her.

...

Halfway through the meal, I received another call from Lao Mi, which instantly wiped away all the ease and comfort I had accumulated... I knew he was calling to ask for my answer, because until today, I had been using delaying tactics and hadn't said whether Ye Zhi would come back to the small mountain town with me for the New Year.

I avoided Ye Zhi and then answered the call. He asked me, "Have you eaten?"

"Eating now."

"Why are you only eating now?"

"The guesthouse has been busy lately..." I said with a smile, "The tourism market in Dali this year is unbelievably good. Those of us who run guesthouses have made a lot of money... Guess how much money I made just during the Chinese New Year season."

"How many?"

"It's at least 200,000 yuan, which is much better than what I earned when I worked in Shanghai!"

After a moment of contemplation, Old Mi replied, "It's good to be able to earn so much money... Why don't you buy a car first? Cars aren't rare these days. All the young men next door drove home for the New Year. If you have a car, it'll be more convenient for you to come back in the future, right?"

"I do have the money to buy a car... but next year, I want to expand the business, so I don't dare to spend the money yet."

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