It was already 5 p.m. when they returned from Beijing. After arriving home, Li Chunmei took out a thermometer and handed it to Xia Minmin to take her temperature.
Li Chunmei said, "Xiaomin, hold the thermometer in place yourself."
Xia Minmin nodded, indicating that she understood.
Xia Jianguo went home and put down his luggage. "I'm going to the small supermarket and wholesale store to check the accounts. I'll be back later. Don't wait for me for dinner."
"It's okay. Xiaomin ate a lot of snacks on the plane this afternoon, so she's probably not hungry yet. We'll start eating at 6 PM."
Xia Jianguo nodded, "Okay, I'll be back as soon as possible."
Xia Jianguo changed his shoes and hurriedly left home.
Xia Minmin sat on the sofa, holding the thermometer tightly between her fingers, motionless as if she were playing a game of "Red Light, Green Light" with her friends.
She kept track of the time by watching her watch, and when the time was up, she took out her thermometer to check the reading. Her temperature of 37.3 degrees Celsius had returned to normal.
To Li Chunmei, who was standing on the balcony stuffing clothes into the washing machine, he said, "Mom, I'm all better now, my temperature is normal."
Li Chunmei's anxiety finally eased a little, but she still needed to observe for a few more nights to determine if she was truly cured.
After having her temperature checked, Xia Minmin lay lazily on the sofa. After a short while, she couldn't resist rummaging through the gifts that Xia Jianguo and the others had brought back, sorting them and labeling them with tags for relatives and friends.
Li Chunmei walked through the living room and saw her daughter had laid out a bunch of gifts on the floor. She shook her head and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
After sorting out the gifts in the living room, Xia Minmin called out towards the kitchen, "Mom, I'm going to deliver the gifts to Aunt Yang and Uncle Wang."
Li Chunmei poked her head out from the kitchen, "Don't forget the time while chatting with Xiaomeng, we still need to eat dinner. Also, bring a box of pastries to the security guard at the guard booth."
"I know, I'll be right back." Just by listening to Xia Minmin's voice, you could feel her joy.
Walking in the neighborhood, Xia Minmin greeted every neighbor she knew who passed by. It's so nice to be at home; she doesn't have to worry about getting cold or catching a fever even when she's not dressed warmly enough.
She was really impatient with wearing such thick clothes.
Ding-dong…
Xia Minmin waited a moment, and then the door to Tang Meng's house opened, revealing Tang Meng herself.
Tang Meng's eyes lit up when she saw Xia Minmin outside the door. "Why are you back so soon? Didn't you say you were going to the capital? I thought you wouldn't be back for a few days."
"No, we went there on business this time. We flew both ways, so it was very quick. We came back as soon as we finished. This is a gift for your family."
Xia Minmin handed the gift she was carrying in her right hand to Tang Meng, "Let's talk again tomorrow. I still need to deliver the gift to Uncle Wang."
"Okay, then be careful." Tang Meng watched her best friend leave and go downstairs. Only after making sure she could no longer see her back did Tang Meng close the door.
Luo Yang walked over from the balcony and looked at Tang Meng, who was carrying a gift box. "Is this from Xiaomin's family? I heard from your Aunt Chunmei that they are going to buy an apartment in Beijing to prepare for Xiaomin's college education. Should I buy you an apartment in Beijing too?"
Tang Meng shook her head, "No, we haven't even paid off the mortgage on this house yet, how can we afford to buy another one? My tutoring fees every year have already cost you a lot of money, and with the mortgage on top of that, it will be even more difficult."
Luo Yang laughed, thinking to himself, "Kids these days think so much, unlike when they were little, they only knew how to eat and sleep, and didn't care about anything at home."
Luo Yang patted his daughter's head and said, "Silly child, the reason we can't afford to pay for this house is because the mortgage is really cheap. In addition, your dad's company implemented the housing provident fund five years ago, and his housing provident fund can cover the mortgage. That's why your dad and I chose to use the housing provident fund."
Tang Meng chuckled foolishly. A few nights ago, when she went to the bathroom, she overheard her parents talking about the mortgage in the living room. She assumed the family was short of money and would imagine it every day.
Luo Yang could tell from his daughter's unnatural expression that she was imagining a lot of things on her own again. He wondered whose genes she inherited from, as she was always thinking about things on her own.
“I’ll ask your Aunt Chunmei about the situation later. We’ll also buy a house in Beijing this summer. It will be more convenient if you study at the Public Security University in the future. House prices are getting higher every year. I think your Aunt Chunmei and her family are right to invest in houses. Our family will buy more houses in the future.”
Xia Minmin carried a pastry gift box in each hand, dodging the children playing on the alley in the community, and walked to the security booth.
Two young security guards were sitting in the guard booth. Xia Minmin couldn't remember their names, but they looked familiar.
"Uncle, these are some souvenirs from Beijing that my parents asked me to bring over. You can share them. We bought some last time and they tasted pretty good."
The security guard took the gift from Xia Minmin, looking a little embarrassed, and tried to return the gift box to her.
"Your family has gone to so much trouble. You didn't really have to buy it for us."
Xia Minmin said, "It's on the way. You guys are on duty in the community every day and don't have time to go out and play. These pastries are nothing. Each person will only get two or three pieces."
After saying that, Xia Minmin carried the last of her gifts out of the residential area.
Seeing Xia Minmin leave, the young security guard could only return to the guard booth with the gift. His colleague saw it and said, "Was it sent by that young lady from the Xia family? It seems they went to the capital again this time. When you went back to your hometown in January, they brought us a box of the exact same pastries from the capital."
The young security guard grabbed his colleague with his arm, saying, "You didn't even leave any for me, that's outrageous!"
"Aren't you going back to your hometown? You probably won't care about these things. Your parents have made so many delicious meals for you at home, why would you miss this?"
"That's different!"
"Alright, alright, I'll let you have one more piece this time."
The young security guard placed the gifts on the table and then resumed his work diligently.
Xia Minmin passed by the small supermarket and glanced inside, but didn't see Xia Jianguo. She guessed he had gone to the wholesale store.
She walked forward, and Uncle Wang's business was still booming, with customers pouring in, eating dinner, and chatting happily.
Uncle Wang was standing behind the counter paying his bill at that moment.
After Xia Minmin and the other customers left after paying their bills, they placed the souvenirs on the counter.
"Uncle Wang, I'm back. These are pastries from the capital for you, completely different from those from Shenzhen."
Wang Aimin looked up in surprise when he heard his goddaughter's voice.
"Xiaomin, when did you and your parents come back? Why didn't you call so I could pick you up?"
As Xia Minmin dodged the customers entering the store, she said, "Uncle Wang, you're already tired enough. It's so convenient to book a taxi now. Uncle Wang, I'm going home now. My mom is waiting for me to eat."
Wang Aimin turned to the kitchen and called out, "A-Zhong, make Xiaomin a plate of stir-fried beef noodles, and pack it up."
"Understood." Chef Zhong understood what the boss meant and increased the portion size of the dishes.
Xia Minmin carried Wang Aimin's specially made stir-fried beef noodles home.
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