In February, temperatures rose in Shenzhen. Among the crowds on the streets, some wore coats, some wore light down jackets, and some wore short sleeves and shorts.
The wall clock in the entrance hall of the Xia family's house chimes at four o'clock in the afternoon.
In Xia Minmin's living room, there was a suitcase, and the sofa was messy with lots of clothes, some of which looked like matching sets that could be worn right out of the box.
Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo looked at the clothes their daughter had put together and found it all very strange. They had brought clothes for autumn.
Xia Minmin muttered to herself as she stuffed things into her suitcase.
Li Chunmei said, "Xiaomin, have you forgotten? The temperature in Beijing is twenty or thirty degrees lower than in Shenzhen. These cashmere cardigans and pants you brought won't be very useful. We'll bring two sets of thermal underwear and a down jacket; you should wear them as soon as you get off the plane."
Xia Minmin slapped her forehead. She had forgotten that the temperature in Shenzhen and Beijing was very different. After arriving in Beijing, she might not even be able to shower every day. Two or three days would pass in the blink of an eye, so it would be enough to bring two sets of thermal underwear.
Xia Minmin folded the cashmere cardigan and pants on the sofa and put them back in the wardrobe.
Xia Jianguo sat on the sofa watching Xia Minmin frantically trying to put together outfits for each day, but to no avail. Her pitiful appearance broke Xia Jianguo's heart.
"Xiaomin, autumn in Beijing is in November. The maple leaves turn red then. Your dad and I will take you to see them."
Li Chunmei slapped Xia Jianguo's arm. "November? Xiaomin doesn't have time! Don't make empty promises!"
Xia Jianguo disagreed, saying, "We can take one day off on the weekend and fly back and forth, that's enough."
Li Chunmei didn't say much; taking a day off wasn't a big problem.
Xia Minmin watched her parents playfully fighting on the sofa and genuinely felt that they were becoming more and more childish.
Xia Minmin said, "Mom and Dad, I've packed everything. You can pack your clothes now. Are we taking a flight to Beijing tonight?"
Xia Jianguo went into the room, took the prepared thermal underwear, and put it into his suitcase.
Upon hearing her daughter's words, Li Chunmei said, "Yes, we need to get there as soon as possible and buy the house, otherwise it will be past the Spring Festival."
The three of them shared one suitcase, which was still empty. Xia Jianguo closed the suitcase and carried it to the entrance hall.
Li Chunmei packed the down jackets for the family of three into a large shopping bag, intending to carry them by hand, as they anticipated feeling the chill of Beijing as soon as the plane landed.
The phone rang at home, and Xia Jianguo quickly went forward to answer it.
"Thirty minutes, right? Okay, we're all ready."
Xia Jianguo hung up the phone and shouted, "Chunmei, Xiaomin, are you ready? We should head to the airport. The taxi we booked will arrive in thirty minutes."
Li Chunmei and Xia Minmin hurriedly came out of the room.
Xia Minmin's cashmere cardigan wasn't even buttoned up yet.
Li Chunmei was still tying the scarf around her neck.
"You two don't need to rush. There are still 30 minutes left. It takes about five minutes to walk from our house to the outside of the community."
Hearing that there was still time, Li Chunmei went back to her room and tied her scarf in front of the dressing mirror. She tried tying the scarf in many different ways, and after more than ten minutes of fiddling, she finally tied it properly. She struck various poses in front of the mirror, seemingly very satisfied with her outfit for the day.
When Li Chunmei stepped out of the room, she saw the father and daughter sitting on separate sofas, each holding a book. They were indeed father and daughter; their little actions were exactly the same.
"I'm ready, we can go now."
Upon hearing this, the two put down their books, Xia Minmin went to the entrance to change into her outdoor shoes, and Xia Jianguo checked the doors, windows, water, electricity, and gas in the house once again.
Li Chunmei and Xia Minmin stood in the entryway, watching Xia Jianguo's actions. The two rolled their eyes in unison. This was the fifth time Xia Jianguo had checked the doors, windows, water, electricity, and gas.
After checking repeatedly and finding everything was ready, Xia Jianguo finally smiled with satisfaction. He changed his shoes, picked up his suitcase, and the family prepared to go downstairs to take the pre-booked taxi to the airport to go to Beijing.
As I went downstairs, I bumped into a neighbor who was taking a walk in the neighborhood, and we ended up exchanging pleasantries.
"Chunmei, are you planning to go back to your hometown?"
"No, isn't it winter break? I'm planning to take Xiaomin to Beijing."
The neighbor nodded, "Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. It's better for children to go out and see more of the world."
After saying goodbye to their neighbors, the family dragged their suitcases outside the residential area.
Xia Jianguo suddenly picked up his suitcase and carried it away.
Li Chunmei asked, somewhat puzzled, "Jianguo, why did you bring your suitcase?"
Xia Jianguo said, "The path we're walking on now is a gravel path. Didn't you hear it just now? The wheels of the suitcase were sliding on the gravel, making a very loud noise. And this kind of gravel path is not good for the suitcase wheels either. The suitcase isn't heavy, so I just carry it and walk faster."
Xia Minmin nodded, "It really is very jarring. I was just thinking that hearing that sound gave me a headache."
After walking along that stretch of gravel road, Xia Jianguo finally put down his suitcase and dragged it along.
As we passed the security post, a young security guard came out to greet us, "Brother Jianguo, are you going out to have some fun?"
Xia Jianguo nodded, "We're not home, so please keep an eye on things for me while you're on patrol."
"No problem, we've got your back. You guys can relax and have fun."
The phone rang in the security booth. The young security guard smiled apologetically at Xia Jianguo and ran inside to answer the call.
A taxi with a familiar license plate was parked at the entrance of the residential area.
Xia Jianguo quickened his pace and walked to the taxi, knocking on the driver's side window.
"Jiang Hao, why are you here so early? It's not time yet."
Jiang Hao saw Xia Jianguo, opened the car door and got out, "I was just worried you'd be anxious."
Jiang Hao went around to the trunk and laid the suitcase flat. "Sister-in-law, Xiaomin, you two get in the car and fasten your seatbelts. We're leaving now."
Jiang Hao was Xia Jianguo's friend. They met while renting a car. He was very shrewd in business; everyone who rented a car from him would receive his business card for easy booking. Over time, Xia Jianguo and Jiang Hao became friends.
Jiang Hao turned on his left turn signal and overtook a car that was going too slowly. The driver of this car was probably a novice. Not only was the speed slow, but he would also brake frequently. Jiang Hao, who could no longer bear it, finally got the chance to overtake.
"Jianguo, I'll be picking you up at the airport at 2 PM on February 8th, right?"
"Yes, don't forget."
"Don't worry, I won't forget."
Li Chunmei and Xia Minmin, who were sitting in the back seat, had already fallen asleep. When they woke up, it was already getting dark.
Xia Minmin's voice was a little hoarse from sleeping, "Dad, are we there yet?"
Jiang Hao said, "Xiao Min, it will take another twenty minutes to arrive."
Xia Jianguo took a bottle of water out of his backpack and handed it to Xia Minmin. She gradually regained consciousness after drinking the water.
After Xia Minmin drank the water, she handed it to Li Chunmei.
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