“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I’m already very grateful that you let me stay here. In fact, I would feel uncomfortable if you didn’t let me do it, and I would have to move to a guesthouse tonight.”

Hearing Qiao Qiqi say that, Fang's mother finally let go of her hand. "Alright then, thank you for your trouble."

Before leaving, Fang Ke taught Qiao Qiqi how to use the television and gave her the house key.

"You can watch TV at home, and if you're really bored, you can take a walk around, but don't go too far or you'll get lost."

Qiao Qiqi looked at the keys in front of her and realized that this was a sign of trust. She was touched, but she still took the keys and said, "You go to work. I can take care of myself."

"I'm really running out of time, so I'll have to go now. Goodbye."

Mr. and Mrs. Fang also changed their clothes and came downstairs.

Mr. Fang drove his wife to work, while Fang Ke rode a bicycle to work.

As soon as the three left, the house immediately became quiet and deserted.

Qiao Qiqi turned on the TV for Xin Xin. After taking the remote control, Xin Xin skillfully started changing channels without any sense of unfamiliarity.

Qiao Qiqi watched this scene for a while, then went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

After washing the dishes, she took out her and Xin Xin's dirty clothes from the guest room and went upstairs to the bathroom to look for them. Sure enough, she found Fang Ke's dirty clothes and two other pieces that should have belonged to Fang's mother. She took them downstairs and washed them all together.

After washing the clothes, I mopped the entire floor of the house.

Since the second floor consisted of bedrooms and a study, Qiao Qiqi didn't go in; she only cleaned the hallway and stairs.

Two hours had passed by the time I finished doing these two things.

Qiao Qiqi sat on the sofa to rest for a while, glanced at the kitchen, picked up the empty vinegar bottle from that morning, and then took Xin Xin out the door.

After locking the door and coming out, Qiao Qiqi asked an older man, "Uncle, do you know where I can buy meat and vegetables?"

The man pointed her in a direction: "Just keep walking along this road and you'll see it."

"Thank you, Uncle." Qiao Qiqi thanked him and led Xin Xin forward. Sure enough, they soon saw a grocery store.

This shop looks much bigger than the supply and marketing cooperative in town, and even bigger than the one in the county. The counter on the left sells all kinds of seasonings, as well as rice, flour and cooking oil, while the right side sells pastries and various snacks.

There were many things that Qiao Qiqi had never seen in the county.

Seeing a counter selling meat, Qiao Qiqi first went over and bought a pound of pork belly, then bought a bottle of vinegar, and finally picked out some vegetables to make sure she had enough for lunch before leaving the grocery store.

Now that she had a watch, she wasn't worried about the time at all.

I strolled around the street for half an hour and bought Xin Xin a set of clothes.

Xin Xin initially realized that she didn't want the clothes Qiao Qiqi was buying for her, but Qiao Qiqi said that she should dress neatly and cleanly when she was out. The little girl seemed to understand, so she didn't stop her after that.

However, Qiao Qiqi didn't have many cloth coupons left, and once she bought this outfit, she would run out.

Beijing truly lives up to its reputation as the most prosperous city. Bicycles and cars are everywhere on the streets, and Qiao Qiqi even saw a tram. Of course, the most common vehicles on the streets are rickshaws.

Although Qiao Qiqi had learned about these things through books and TV dramas in the 21st century, experiencing them firsthand is still different.

In short, it's very fresh and novel.

Just as Qiao Qiqi was about to leave when she realized it was almost time, Xin Xin suddenly pointed to a spot, looking very excited.

Before Qiao Qiqi could react, the little girl ran across the street.

"Xin Xin!" Qiao Qiqi was startled and quickly chased after her, finally managing to pull Xin Xin back in the middle of the road. But the little girl was still focused on running to the other side, looking anxious.

Realizing that Xin Xin must have seen someone or something that attracted her, Qiao Qiqi didn't have time to explain the dangers of crossing the road to her, and quickly led her to where she wanted to go.

It was a department store. As soon as you entered, there were many counters, row upon row, selling all sorts of things.

But Xin Xin seemed completely uninterested. After entering, she went straight to the second counter on the left. After stopping in front of a women's clothing counter, she immediately slipped inside.

Qiao Qiqi tried to pull him back but couldn't.

She looked up and glanced inside the counter, where she saw a woman in her thirties sitting. When Xin Xin suddenly squeezed in, the woman frowned in displeasure.

"What's wrong with you, little girl? How did you suddenly crawl in here? Whose child is this?"

Qiao Qiqi quickly said, "It's my house, I'm sorry, boss."

Qiao Qiqi quickly pulled Xin Xin out, only to find that the little one seemed to have not found what she was looking for, and was so anxious that her eyes were brimming with tears and she was about to cry.

This was the first time Qiao Qiqi had seen her like this, and she immediately frowned. "Xin Xin, what are you looking for? Are you looking for someone? Or something?"

Xin Xin couldn't hear her words, she just kept crying and trying to crawl inside.

But Qiao Qiqi could tell that she must recognize this place, and it was very likely that she had been here before, otherwise she wouldn't have gone straight here as soon as she entered.

Realizing that Xin Xin must have remembered something, Qiao Qiqi was very excited, but because Xin Xin couldn't hear or speak, the two couldn't communicate at all.

Helpless, Qiao Qiqi could only pick up Xin Xin under the displeased gaze of the saleswoman and ask, "Sister, do you know someone surnamed Qin? She might have worked at your stall before."

The saleswoman shook her head without hesitation, "I don't know her."

"Ah...ah..." Xin Xin strained towards the counter, wanting to go down and go back inside.

But Qiao Qiqi realized that what she was looking for was no longer there, so she had to harden her heart, pick her up, and quickly turn around and leave.

"Ahhh!!!" Xin Xin's cries grew louder, attracting a lot of attention.

Fearing that it would cause unnecessary trouble, Qiao Qiqi quickly picked up Xin Xin and left.

It wasn't until she got home that Xin Xin's emotions finally calmed down a bit.

Of course, it's also possible that they were just tired from crying.

When Qiao Qiqi put her on the sofa, the little one's shoulders were still twitching, and she was even hiccuping from crying.

Qiao Qiqi wiped her face with a damp towel, then took out the candy she had just bought to comfort her, "Xin Xin, be good, don't cry."

The little girl ate the candy, and then ate much quieter.

Qiao Qiqi comforted her for a while, and only after making sure she had stopped crying did she turn on the TV for her. "Sister needs to cook, so why don't you sit here and watch TV obediently?"

The little girl couldn't hear, her eyes glued to the TV.