All afternoon, Xia Minmin's nose was surrounded by the aroma of braised meat and spices.
Xia Minmin's eyes were fixed on the kitchen. When she saw Li Chunmei carrying a basin and chopsticks, about to scoop the meat out of the braising pot, she ran to the kitchen.
“My dearest mother, is there anything I can help you with? I’m always here to help.”
Xia Jianguo, holding a kitchen knife, said, "Get out of the way! Just not causing trouble is already helping!"
Li Chunmei watched as her daughter stared intently at the braising pot, picked up a braised chicken foot, let it cool slightly, and handed it to her daughter.
"Once you finish this, it'll be all gone. You can go play or go read a book!"
With no other options, Xia Minmin took a chicken foot, walked to the balcony, leaned against the railing, and gazed into the distance. The industrial area, which had looked like a ghost town just a few days ago, was now back to life.
The streets were filled with people dragging suitcases and carrying large and small bags, returning to the city to work.
There were also vans, from which young men and women emerged, timidly peering into the city, their faces beaming with smiles, which were particularly charming.
"Xia-Min-Min, where are you?"
Li Chunmei searched the house for her daughter. The book she had been reading was still in the same place, but she didn't know where she was hiding.
Xia Jianguo came out of the kitchen and said, "Go check on the terrace!"
Li Chunmei patted her head, "Look at my memory, a lot of employees from the surrounding factories came today, I guess he was watching the fun from the terrace."
The door to the terrace was open. Li Chunmei walked over and saw her daughter leaning against the terrace railing, her right toes dangling back and forth.
"Xiaomin, take the lunchbox on the table to your Uncle Xie."
Xia Minmin turned to look at Li Chunmei, "Lunchbox? Is it filled with braised food for Uncle Xie?"
"Yes, you're not allowed to steal any food!" Li Chunmei warned Xia Minmin again.
"I know! How could I possibly do such a thing!" Xia Minmin was helpless in the face of Li Chunmei's suspicion.
Xia Minmin skipped downstairs, and Xia Jianguo chased after her, saying, "Be careful going down the stairs! Don't be reckless."
"knew!"
Xia Jianguo looked displeased as he heard the sound of people coming downstairs. He agreed quickly, but didn't follow through.
Back in the living room, Li Chunmei sat on the sofa eating a banana and watching TV. "She'll know how serious it is when she breaks her bone. She'll be more careful going down the stairs. Your reminders are useless! Sit down for a while, we still have a lot to do later."
Li Chunmei handed some pistachios to Xia Jianguo, saying, "Have some pistachios."
Compared to her father's worries, Xia Minmin was like a fish in water. She went downstairs and saw many dramas of love and hate. She had seen stories of factory couples who met later in life on trending topics before, but she never expected to see them in real life.
Xia Minmin stood on the periphery, pushing her bicycle, watching from the sidelines. Unfortunately, she was too short to see what was happening. She couldn't hear anything clearly either; there were too many onlookers around, each talking to the other, and Xia Minmin only caught bits and pieces of what they were saying.
Xia Minmin pushed her bicycle away sheepishly. She was annoyed because she had something to do and missed the excitement of the day.
Xia Minmin kept her eyes and ears open. Old Xie appeared outside the guard post with a broom, apparently preparing to sweep the floor.
"Uncle Xie, my mom asked me to bring you some braised food! It's super delicious!"
Old Xie raised his head, squinted at the direction of the sound, and smiled faintly. He was much more cheerful than when Xia Minmin first met him, and his face was less troubled.
Xia Minmin is short, so even when riding an adult women's bicycle, she can't sit on the seat and has to stand and pedal, which looks quite comical.
She slammed on the brakes and rushed right in front of Lao Xie, nearly tipping the bicycle over. Lao Xie grabbed the handlebars with his left hand.
"Xiaomin, when riding a bike, use the squeeze brake, not the front brake, or you'll easily fall."
Xia Minmin appeared very obedient because she felt guilty. "I know, Uncle Xie, I will be careful."
She took a lunchbox out of the bicycle basket and handed it to Uncle Xie, saying, "Uncle Xie, this is some braised food my mom made. It'll go well with your drinks."
Xia Minmin could smell the aroma even through the lunchbox.
Old Xie leaned the broom against the wall, took the lunchbox, and led Xia Minmin into the guard post.
"Uncle Xie, I saw two couples arguing on the way here. It was so interesting. I heard that they were friends who worked in two different factories, but ended up getting together with each other. Isn't it said that you shouldn't mess with your friend's wife? Why are they eating the grass near their own nest? If they like each other so much, why don't they divorce and remarry?"
Old Xie poured Xia Minmin a glass of warm water in a clean enamel mug, saying, "You've been talking for so long, have some water."
Xia Minmin hadn't drunk any water all afternoon and was very thirsty. She only felt alive again after drinking a glass of water, and she boldly wiped the water off her mouth with the back of her hand.
The police station's old-fashioned van was dispatched; someone must have called the police again.
"Human nature is greedy; people want everything. They want not only love but also family and friendship. As a result, they can't get anything good. There is no such thing as perfection in the world."
Xia Minmin nodded, ignoring Lao Xie's attempts to persuade her to stay, and rode her bike home. The police car that had driven out of the police station earlier was parked at the spot where the two couples were arguing, and the surrounding onlookers had been dispersed and were now standing at a distance watching.
Xia Minmin slowed down her pedaling speed. Both couples had injuries on their faces, the two women's clothes were torn, their hair was messy, and there were strands of hair on the ground. The battle was fierce.
"Xiaomin, what are you looking at?"
Xia Minmin heard someone calling her from behind, so she squeezed the back brake to stop the bicycle and looked back. "Aunt Xiaoyu and Uncle Xiaoyu, Happy New Year! Did you just arrive? Why didn't you ask us to pick you up?"
"Happy New Year." The voices of the group were slightly out of breath.
Xia Damei and Wang Jie were covered in sweat, carrying heavy luggage, while Wang Yu was holding up the things she had just bought.
Xia Minmin parked the bicycle. "Uncle, tie the luggage to the bicycle and carry it back."
Wang Jie and the others were tired from carrying so much luggage, so they agreed with Xia Minmin's suggestion.
Wang Yu watched her cousin chatter on about what she had seen and heard, "Xiao Min, you don't know, there were pickpockets on the bus today, and a lot of people got robbed, but we weren't. Maybe they thought we were too poor."
Xia Minmin found it unbelievable. "Really? This thief is so clueless. People who return to the city to work usually don't have much money. What could he possibly steal?"
"We didn't manage to steal any money; we were taken directly to the police station, and we had to walk all the way there, which almost killed me."
After Wang Yu finished speaking, she took another bite and handed it to Xia Minmin, asking, "Want some?"
Xia Minmin shook her head, "You eat it!"
Xia Damei couldn't bear to look at her filthy daughter. "Xiaomin, shall I buy you another skewer?"
"No need, Auntie, let's go home quickly! My parents are still waiting for you at home!"
Whether you're going home for the Chinese New Year or returning to the city to work, theft is a common occurrence. You can get robbed if you're not careful, and there are few surveillance cameras on the streets. Even if you call the police, it's difficult to find the thief. Once you're robbed, you can only accept your bad luck.
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