Having successfully completed their main mission in Beijing by buying the house, they strolled through the hutongs until 5 p.m., then prepared to go out for hot pot that evening.
There were even more people having dinner at the hot pot restaurant than when they last came to Beijing. Xia Minmin and her group waited for a while before they could find seats.
After a hearty meal, the Xia family of three walked out of the hot pot restaurant, supporting their backs. It was already completely dark, and pedestrians on the street were hurrying home.
Xia Minmin said, "The most authentic mutton hot pot is in Beijing; the mutton at that restaurant in Shenzhen is of very poor quality."
Xia Jianguo said, "The mutton used in this restaurant is from free-range sheep raised on the grassland, which is of course different from the feed-fed sheep in Shenzhen."
Li Chunmei said, "Just like when we eat seafood, wild seafood has a sweet taste and firm flesh, while farmed seafood has loose flesh. When buying meat at the market, no matter what kind of meat it is, if it is free-range or wild, the price is twice that of farmed meat."
At 7 p.m. on a winter evening, Shenzhen's nightlife is just beginning, while in Beijing only restaurants are still open, and the shops on both sides of the street look desolate under the dim streetlights.
Fortunately, the hotel was not far from the alley. From a distance, the hotel was decorated with lights all over, like a lighthouse guiding people home late at night.
The hotel doormen stood diligently at the entrance, welcoming and seeing off guests.
As soon as Xia Minmin entered the hotel, she felt a warm sensation in her nose, as if she had a runny nose. She took out a tissue and blew her nose, and bright red blood stained the tissue.
Seeing that her daughter hadn't followed, Li Chunmei turned to look behind her. Her daughter was holding a wad of red-stained tissue in her hand, and there was blood under her nose. The blood in her nose hadn't stopped flowing.
"Xiaomin, tilt your head forward slightly."
Upon hearing Li Chunmei's voice, Xia Jianguo quickened his pace and walked to his daughter's side.
Li Chunmei pinched her daughter's nostrils to apply pressure and stop the bleeding.
Hotel staff noticed the unusual situation and came over to inquire.
Xia Jianguo was a little anxious. "Do you have any ice packs here? We urgently need ice packs to stop the bleeding, or even packaged ice cream would be fine."
Li Chunmei said, "Xiaomin, don't be nervous, breathe through your mouth."
One of the staff members ran away quickly and returned shortly with two ice creams. Xia Jianguo used the ice creams to cover his daughter's noses, one on each side.
About five minutes later, Xia Minmin's nosebleed finally stopped, and the staff who had been helping her went to do their own work.
Only the foreman was left to handle the follow-up matters.
Xia Jianguo said, "It's probably because we just came to Beijing from Shenzhen yesterday, and the temperature change was so big that my daughter had a nosebleed. Thanks to your help, the bleeding stopped so quickly. Thank you for your help today."
The supervisor said, "You're too kind. It's our duty. If you need any further assistance, please call the front desk. Our kitchen will bring you a bowl of white fungus and lotus seed soup shortly."
"Okay, thank you."
After telling the supervisor his room number, Xia Jianguo took the elevator upstairs.
Xia Minmin checked her clothes for bloodstains while in the elevator.
Li Chunmei said, "Beijing winters are still too dry. After just one day of alternating cold and heat, Xiaomin immediately had a nosebleed. The bleeding was too heavy today. Luckily, she learned how to stop bleeding quickly from the doctor beforehand, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to stop the bleeding so quickly."
Xia Jianguo said, "Adults have better immune systems. Children are all like this; it will get better as she gets older."
Xia Minmin didn't know if she was frightened by the amount of blood she was bleeding, but she had been listless ever since she had her nosebleed.
After drinking the white fungus and lotus seed soup provided by the hotel, Xia Minmin took a shower and went to bed.
At 11 p.m., Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo turned off the TV and prepared to go to sleep.
When Li Chunmei saw that her daughter's face was flushed, something seemed wrong. She reached out and touched her forehead and found that her temperature was not high, but she had a fever.
"Jianguo, don't turn off the lights yet. Go get the thermometer and the fever reducer too."
Xia Jianguo took the thermometer to the mother and daughter's bedside and put it under the daughter's armpit. Li Chunmei hugged her daughter and held her arm down.
"It must be a cold. I haven't seen my youngest son have such a high fever in many years."
"Yes, since she came to Shenzhen, I haven't seen her have a fever or a cold. Luckily, we always keep fever reducers on hand."
Xia Jianguo calculated the time, took out the thermometer, and checked the reading under the light.
"39.5 degrees Celsius. Let's try giving her a fever reducer and using physical cooling methods. If that doesn't work, we'll go to the hospital."
Xia Jianguo took out a fever reducer from his suitcase, and fed it to his daughter with a glass of warm water.
She hurriedly grabbed two towels that were wet with warm water from the bathroom, placed one on her daughter's forehead, and used the other to wipe her daughter's neck, wrists, and ankles.
"Xiaomin, have some water." Li Chunmei half-held her daughter in her arms and fed her water.
After Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo repeatedly wiped her down, Xia Minmin's body temperature finally returned to normal at 2 a.m.
Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo can finally sleep peacefully.
At eight o'clock in the morning, it was already bright outside, but Xia Minmin's room was still pitch black.
Ring ring…
The phone rang.
Xia Minmin fumbled for the phone and answered it.
"Hello?" Xia Minmin's voice was a little hoarse.
The person on the other end of the phone hesitated when they heard a child's voice answering the phone.
"Hello, is this Mr. Xia Jianguo's room?"
"He's my father, is there something you need?"
"Here's the thing, your father booked our wake-up service for 8 a.m., and it's already 8 a.m. now."
"Okay, we understand. Thank you!"
"Okay, please feel free to contact us if you need anything later. Goodbye."
Xia Jianguo woke up when the phone rang. "Xiaomin, is that a wake-up call from the hotel front desk?"
"Yes, it's already eight in the morning. We all overslept today."
Xia Jianguo turned on the room light, and Li Chunmei stretched on the bed with her eyes half-closed.
Is it eight o'clock yet?
"Okay, take Xiaomin's temperature in a bit." Xia Jianguo handed the thermometer to Li Chunmei.
Xia Minmin was full of questions. "Did I have a fever yesterday? I didn't feel anything at all, I just felt a little sore all over."
Xia Minmin leaned against Li Chunmei's chest as her temperature was taken.
"Of course you didn't feel anything. Your mother and I took care of you all night last night and didn't go to sleep until 2 a.m.." Xia Jianguo had already gotten up, washed, and changed his clothes.
Li Chunmei held the thermometer up to the light to check the reading. "37.6 degrees Celsius, still a slight fever. It's best not to let her go out this morning."
Xia Jianguo applied lotion and said, "After you finish breakfast, go upstairs and sleep or watch TV in your room. Your mother and I will buy some souvenirs and come back. We will take a plane home this afternoon."
Although somewhat reluctant, Xia Minmin agreed, after all, she still had a fever and couldn't be willful.
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