A crescent moon hung high in the night sky, accompanied by twinkling stars. The warm yellow streetlights lit up as Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo, a married couple, returned to their residential compound, chatting and laughing as they carried large and small bags.
"Xiaomin, I wonder if this child has eaten dinner yet?" Li Chunmei said.
"She definitely ate! We called her around 6 p.m., but she didn't answer. She must have gone to dinner."
Xia Jianguo took out his access card, opened the unit door, and gently closed it after Li Chunmei passed through.
The sound of a lock being opened came from the front door. Xia Minmin turned off the lights in the room, and using the streetlights in the community as a guide, she quickly ran to the sofa and sat up straight with a serious expression.
Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo entered through the front door. The house was pitch black inside, with a floor-to-ceiling shoe cabinet in the entryway blocking the view into the living room.
Li Chunmei asked, "Xiaomin, are you sleeping so early today?"
Xia Jianguo turned on the living room light, and the living room became bright again. "Her bedroom door is still open. She's probably up to no good!"
Hearing their conversation from the living room, Xia Minmin felt she couldn't just sit idly by and wait to be killed; she had to strike first. "So you two actually know how to come home? You didn't even answer the phone! Don't you know you have a baby crying for you at home? How heartless you are!"
Listening to Xia Minmin's tearful accusations, Li Chunmei seemed a little embarrassed, while Xia Jianguo was more composed.
"Why don't you turn on the lights at home, kid?" Xia Jianguo casually placed the paper bag he was holding on the chair next to the dining table.
Xia Minmin held her forehead with her hand and whispered, "I'm not in the mood. The thought of my dearest parents going out to eat something delicious behind my back makes me feel terrible!"
Li Chunmei handed a small paper bag to her daughter, saying ingratiatingly, "Xiaomin, look what Mom and Dad brought you!"
Xia Minmin turned her head to the side and lowered her head, pretending to be unhappy.
Li Chunmei took the contents of the bag out. "Tiramisu! Didn't you say you wanted to eat it? Your parents bought it especially for you. Try it and see if it's good!"
Li Chunmei held the spoon and dessert up to Xia Minmin's eyes.
"That's good enough!" Xia Jianguo said.
Xia Minmin then stopped acting and happily ate her dessert, "Where did you guys go shopping? I called you but you didn't answer."
"When you called, your mom and I were watching a movie, and our phones were on silent."
"Watching a movie?! I haven't seen a movie in ages, I'm so envious of you guys." After saying that, Xia Minmin gave Li Chunmei a resentful look.
This made Li Chunmei very distressed. "Xiaomin, your parents will definitely take you with them when they go to the movies in the future."
"No need, I won't disturb your time together." The last spoonful of dessert was fed to her.
"Don't bother me! Honey, you agree, right?" Li Chunmei kept giving Xia Jianguo meaningful glances.
Xia Jianguo rubbed his temples. Sometimes, it's not a good thing for kids to be too smart; they're not easy to fool. "You two can go see a movie when Mengmeng gets back. I'll pay, okay?"
Xia Minmin held her hand up to her face and made a "V" sign. "You said it yourself, I didn't say anything."
Looking at his daughter, who was acting innocent while taking advantage of the situation, Xia Jianguo was at a loss for words.
...
A few days later, Tang Meng returned to Shenzhen, put down her luggage, and ran to her best friend's house with her backpack.
"Xiaomin, I need your help! Bring me your English and Chinese homework so I can take a look." Tang Meng placed her schoolbag on Xia Minmin's dining table.
At this time, Xia Minmin was alone at home. Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo were both busy with the home textile factory. Otherwise, Tang Meng would not have dared to shout at home.
Seeing that Xia Minmin was still sitting there, looking like she was watching a good show, Tang Meng dragged and pulled Xia Minmin into her room.
Tang Meng clasped her hands together and blinked her eyes. "Please, Xiaomin, help me! School starts the day after tomorrow. You know how ruthless Lao Lu is. If she finds out I haven't finished my homework, I'm doomed."
Both of them thought that Gu Fei had been punished for not doing his winter break homework and being late, so he not only had to clean the house for the whole semester but also had to open and lock the door every day. He was complaining every day, and they wondered if there would be any more unlucky ones this year.
Xia Minmin pulled out the summer homework for Chinese and English from the second drawer on the right side of the desk and handed it to Tang Meng, saying, "Didn't you say you would do the summer homework for these two subjects when you went back to Shanghai?"
Tang Meng sighed, "Don't even mention it. My cousin packed the wrong homework. He took mine back to his grandparents' house and left his own homework with me. Neither of us has finished our homework."
Xia Minmin ate her ice cream while watching Tang Meng write furiously, finding it rather amusing. Uh… more like mischievous amusement, hehe!
The indoor light grew dimmer, so Xia Minmin got up and turned on the light.
Tang Meng stretched, flexed her fingers, and rubbed the calluses on her fingertips. "Xiao Min, didn't you say you brought me Baiji steamed buns, a specialty of Chang'an?"
Xia Minmin smiled bitterly when she heard the words "Baiji bun," but she was too embarrassed to interrupt her when she saw her best friend's expectant eyes.
Tang Meng, oblivious to her best friend's change, continued, "Let me see this quickly. I've seen mutton stew in a TV series before, and I've wanted to eat it for a long time."
Xia Minmin said with a long face, "Mengmeng, the Baiji buns I brought back from Chang'an got moldy the morning after I called you. They're covered in mold spots."
Tang Meng's mouth dropped open. "Huh?! It's moldy? That's so fast, just one night!"
"That's right, that's the Shenzhen speed!"
Tang Meng couldn't hold back her laughter as she listened to her best friend's teasing.
Tang Meng wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with her fingers. "Hey, to be honest, this is the first time I've ever been in this situation. I've never noticed it before. I just thought that during the rainy season, everything gets especially damp."
Having lived in Shenzhen for so many years, the two of them absolutely loathe the city's rainy season. Every year during those two months, a layer of glistening water droplets would appear on the floors and walls of their home, and all the blankets and clothes would become damp.
"I didn't expect it to be like this even though it's almost September. The mold is spreading so fast. Do you want some fresh walnuts?"
Tang Meng nodded; she had never eaten fresh walnuts before.
Xia Minmin took a transparent bag out of the refrigerator. Tang Meng looked at the walnuts inside and saw that they were no different from dried walnuts.
Xiaxia and Minmin placed the fresh walnuts on the dining table, then found a nutcracker on the coffee table, cracked open a walnut and handed it to Tang Meng, before continuing to crack open the next one.
Following the method for eating dried walnuts, Tang Meng put the kernels directly into her mouth. "Ptooey! Xiaomin, is this how you eat fresh walnuts? Why are they so bitter and astringent?"
Xia Minmin then realized that she hadn't told Tang Meng how to eat them. "Sorry, Mengmeng, I forgot to tell you that you have to peel off the outer membrane when eating fresh walnuts."
Seeing her best friend's guilty look, Tang Meng patted her hand generously, "It's okay!"
After peeling off the walnut membrane, "It's really delicious! It's crisp and tender! And it even has a hint of sweetness, so tasty."
To express her apology, Xia Minmin picked up a large plate of walnuts and placed it in front of her best friend.
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