The four people inside were engrossed in a card game and didn't hear the door open at all.
Grandma Xia's voice was strong and clear as she pushed the tiles aside, "I won!"
"Old woman, you're really amazing! You've beaten Xiaomin so many times."
Just by listening to his voice, you can tell how sycophantic Grandpa Xia is.
"Haha, it seems my card skills have improved quite a bit these past few years in Shenzhen." Grandma Xia was quite pleased with Grandpa Xia's flattery, and her lips never left her mouth.
Li Chunmei lost badly after playing mahjong all afternoon. Her maternal grandparents were okay because Xia Minmin let them win, but that little brat Xia Minmin didn't let them win at all all afternoon!
"Xia Xiaomin, did you secretly let your grandparents have water again just now?"
"Mom, I really didn't let you win. I just wanted to make the game more fun. Otherwise, it's no fun if I always win!"
Xia Minmin looked innocent, as if she wasn't the one who let the water go.
Upon hearing this, Grandma Xia took out her handkerchief and wiped away her tears. "Now that you've grown up, you don't respect us anymore. For this little bit of winning or losing, Xiaomin even went easy on us."
Li Chunmei hurriedly explained, "Mom, that's not what I meant!"
Grandma Xia glanced at Li Chunmei discreetly, "Really?"
"Really!" Li Chunmei knew that Grandma Xia was doing it on purpose, but she could only passively accept it. Isn't it just that old people are like children and should be spoiled?
"Come on, let's continue!"
Grandma Xia put down her handkerchief and called everyone to shuffle the cards. Her tears were contained with remarkable ease; her acting skills were truly admirable.
Xia Jianguo stood in the entryway for a long time before daring to enter the living room, only after his father-in-law, mother-in-law, wife, and daughter continued playing cards. He dared not provoke any of the four people at the card table.
"Mom and Dad, when did you arrive?"
"It's Jianguo coming back!" Grandpa Xia glanced at Xia Jianguo, then focused his attention back on the mahjong table.
"Hey, hey, I'm going to take it! Chunmei, put the tile down!"
"Dad, I've already drawn my cards!"
"I don't care! I'm going to touch it!"
"Fine, you're older, so you're right." Li Chunmei put the cards she had picked up back down.
"Jianguo, come and take over for me after this game. We don't have much time left, and I should start preparing dinner."
Xia Jianguo could only passively accept it. Playing cards with his parents-in-law required him to be extremely focused, ready to feed them cards at any time. "I understand."
"I won!" Grandpa Xia exclaimed excitedly as he placed his cards on the table.
"You all need to check carefully this time, lest you accuse me of cheating again!" Grandpa Xia was annoyed just thinking about how they accused him of cheating. How could he possibly do something like cheating?
"Mom and Dad, I'm going to cook. Jianguo will take over for me."
Grandma Xia waved her hand to indicate that she understood.
Xia Jianguo finally understood what it meant to be on pins and needles. His father-in-law and mother-in-law couldn't even dream of winning, let alone kong! His daughter's hand was completely unplayable; she was just a sparring partner.
Ding-dong…
When Xia Minmin heard the doorbell ring, she immediately stood up and ran to open the door.
"Uncle, Aunt, Sister Qing, you're finally here! I've missed you so much!"
Xia Minmin pulled Li Qing's hand and dragged her inside, then took out three pairs of slippers from the cupboard and placed them on the floor.
"Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt and Uncle, we're here! Were you playing mahjong just now?" Li Qing saw the mahjong set on the table as soon as she entered the living room.
Xia Jianguo stood up and greeted them, "Xiaomin, pour tea for your uncle, aunt, and Sister Qing. Brother and sister-in-law, you two play cards with Mom and Dad for a while. I'll go help Chunmei so we can have dinner early."
Li Zhonghua knew his parents' card-playing habits well. While others would take back a move in chess, they would often take back a card. "Okay, you guys help first, we'll play cards here for a while."
"Come on! Let's continue!" Grandpa Xia quickly called to his son and daughter-in-law to play cards.
"Uncle and Aunt, please have some tea. The cups are on the coffee table."
Xia Minmin remembered that Li Qing never liked drinking tea. "Sister Qing, would you like tea or boiled water?"
"Cool boiled water is fine." Li Qing stared intently at the TV. Xia Minmin remembered that in her previous life, Li Qing watched TV dramas all day the day before the college entrance examination. Later, when the college entrance examination results came out, they were very different from her usual grades. During that time, the atmosphere in Li Zhonghua's family was somber for a long time.
Xia Minmin placed the cup in front of Li Qing and handed her a salty tea snack, saying, "Sister Qing, this is delicious! Try it. I specially took a car to buy it today."
Li Qing took a bite. "Is it the one near the library?"
Xia Minmin nodded. Sure enough, it was a shop that the whole family liked. One bite and you could tell where it was from. "Mmm, it's delicious, isn't it! Their tea cakes and glutinous rice balls are the best in Shenzhen."
Li Qing ate the tea cakes in small bites. "I haven't eaten these in so long! I've had tutoring on weekends these past two months, so my parents haven't had time to buy them for me. And my sister is even less of a concern; she hasn't been home much since after the Lunar New Year."
Every college entrance exam candidate has a tough time. "Sister Qing, what else would you like to eat? I'll buy some and bring it to you at the gathering next week."
"Really?" Li Qing was pleasantly surprised. These past two months had been exhausting. There had been no entertainment at all, and she couldn't even buy anything she wanted to eat occasionally.
"Sister Qing, you said I would definitely buy it for you." Xia Minmin practically patted her chest to make a promise.
"I heard from a classmate that the taro cake at the cake shop next to the newly opened arcade is really delicious."
"Okay, I'll definitely buy it for you next week, and I'll also bring you some egg tarts."
"Thank you, Xiaomin. You really are the most considerate little sister." Li Qing hugged Xia Minmin and kept acting cute.
As soon as Xia Jianguo entered the kitchen, Li Chunmei teased him, "Why do you look like you're going to war when you're playing cards with my parents?"
"How could that be? It's just that my card skills are too bad." Xia Jianguo thought to himself that he couldn't complain about this; he needed to be wary of Comrade Li Chunmei settling scores later.
"By the way, didn't you say you'd be eating at home for lunch this morning? Why did Xiaomin go and buy cold noodles?" Xia Jianguo mentally applauded himself; changing the subject was a brilliant tactic that never failed.
"It's because Xiaomin was craving braised meat. She put the freshly cooked braised meat directly into her mouth, and as a result, her oral mucosa was burned and peeled off, so she can't eat hot food for the time being."
Li Chunmei spoke with a helpless tone about what happened to Xia Minmin at noon, "We haven't lacked her food or drink, so why is she so greedy? This isn't the first time this has happened, why can't she learn her lesson?"
Xia Jianguo said, "He only remembers the good times, not the bad ones. He seems mature, but he's still just a child."
Seeing that Li Chunmei only had one dish left to cook, Xia Jianguo went out and moved the dining table to the middle so that everyone could sit down.
"Mom and Dad, older brother and sister-in-law, we need to eat after we finish this game."
Li Zhonghua said, "Understood, we'll finish this game soon."
Xiaomin, come help Dad set the table.
Xia Minmin went to the kitchen to help when she heard Xia Jianguo's call, and Li Qing followed her.
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