Xia Minmin took Li Chunmei's hand and went to Tang Meng's house. It was her first time there, and she didn't know exactly which building, unit, or floor it was in.
Xia Minmin looked at the familiar road and asked, "Mom, are we going to Building Two? Aunt Yang's house is in Building Two?"
"Yes, Room 301, Unit 5, Building 2."
Xia Jianguo said, "It should be a 118-square-meter house!"
"I didn't ask about that. Their house looks much bigger than ours. It has three bedrooms, two living rooms, and two bathrooms."
"That must be it."
Xia Minmin held her parents' hands and said, "I'll buy you a big house in the future, a really, really big house."
"Okay, thank you Xiaomin then," the couple said in unison.
"You're welcome. Can Mom and Dad play on the swings for a while?"
Xia Jianguo and Li Chunmei understood each other without saying a word, and both raised their hands to hold Xia Minmin's hand and swayed her. Xia Minmin curled up her legs and swayed with the inertia.
"Alright, that's enough playing around. Xia Xiaomin, be careful you don't dislocate your arm."
After Xia Jianguo finished speaking, he lowered his raised arm, and Li Chunmei followed suit.
"Mom and Dad, hurry up! We're almost there!" Xia Minmin said and ran ahead by herself.
Xia Jianguo and Li Chunmei watched their daughter running ahead and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Slow down."
"knew!"
When Xia Minmin arrived at Tang Meng's building, she was panting and covered in sweat.
Li Chunmei took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped Xia Minmin's sweat. "I told you to slow down, but you insisted on running. Look how much sweat you've shed!"
The family of three stood downstairs for a while, waiting until Xia Minmin's sweat had subsided before going upstairs.
Ding-dong…
Less than a minute later, the door opened.
"Uncle and Aunt Xiaomin, you're here! Come in quickly."
Tang Meng took out three pairs of slippers and placed them at the feet of Xia Minmin, Xia Jianguo, and Li Chunmei.
"Thank you, Mengmeng!"
Luo Yang and Tang Wu came out of the kitchen when they heard the noise. "Chunmei and Jianguo, you're here. Welcome, welcome."
"Sister Yang, Brother Wu, this is a housewarming gift for you." Xia Jianguo handed the gift to Tang Wu.
Luo Yang: "You're here, why did you bring anything?"
Li Chunmei said, "Isn't this your family moving to a new house? We should bring gifts, but don't worry, we definitely won't buy anything next time we come."
Everyone was amused by Li Chunmei's words.
"Old Tang, sit with Jianguo and Chunmei for a while. I have two more dishes to cook before we have dinner. Mengmeng, go and serve tea to your uncle, aunt, and Xiaomin."
Li Chunmei looked at the busy Luo Yang and said, "Sister Yang, let me help you!"
"Okay, then I'll trouble you." Luo Yang looked at the mess in the kitchen and agreed in order to eat as soon as possible.
The kitchen was a mess, with crumbs and bits of food scattered all over the countertop.
"Chunmei, I'm sorry to have made you laugh. I'm a pretty good cook, but the kitchen always gets a mess after I cook."
Luo Yang was cooking, while Li Chunmei was cleaning up the pots and pans on the counter.
The two of them did indeed work much faster.
Looking at the now tidy kitchen, Luo Yang said, "Chunmei, I'm so sorry. You came here as a guest, but I ended up having you clean up the kitchen for me."
"Sister Yang, we don't need to be so polite with each other."
...
Tang Meng handed the poured tea to Xia Jianguo and Xia Minmin.
"Uncle, please have some tea!"
"Xiaomin, please have some tea!"
Xia Jianguo quickly reached out and took the teacup from Tang Meng's hand.
"Thank you, Mengmeng!"
"Thank you, Mengmeng!"
Tang Meng sat down next to Tang Wu, looking quite different from her usual self.
Tang Wu sighed, “Jianguo, my daughter used to be shy and introverted. Her mother and I were busy and didn’t take good care of her. We thought that if we didn’t have enough money, she would grow up healthy. But the excessive allowance led to her being blackmailed and even bullied. We were completely unaware that she had been blackmailed for almost three years.”
Xia Jianguo said, "Children nowadays are too influenced by those gangster movies from Hong Kong, and the crime rate among children is getting higher and higher. This is why Chunmei and I let Xiaomin learn Sanda (Chinese kickboxing)."
"Brother, you guys are really farsighted! I'm ashamed of myself. Luckily, Xiaomin discovered it in time, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable. Ever since Mengmeng went to the Sanda class with Xiaomin, she has become much more lively and outgoing. Her grades have also improved."
Tang Meng was excited when Tang Wu mentioned her grades. "Dad, I ranked eighteenth in the whole grade in this monthly exam. Teacher Wang said I can get into the junior high school next door."
"Really? Mengmeng's dad is so proud of you!" Tang Wu praised Tang Meng loudly.
Tang Meng touched her nose sheepishly and said, "Thanks to Xiaomin for tutoring me, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to improve so quickly. Xiaomin, thank you."
Xia Minmin waved her hand, "No, we're good friends, isn't it only natural for us to help each other?"
Luo Yang brought out a bowl of soup from the kitchen, and Li Chunmei carried the bowl and chopsticks.
Luo Yang: "Wash your hands and get ready to eat."
Xia Minmin and Tang Meng laughed and shoved each other as they walked to the bathroom to wash their hands.
Xia Jianguo and Tang Wu could only shake their heads with smiles at the sight.
After everyone sat down, Tang Wu poured a drink for each person.
Tang Wu handed the drink to Xia Jianguo, saying, "Jianguo, I should be drinking with you, but I need to be on duty recently and can't drink alcohol. I'm sorry, I can only let you drink with me."
"Brother Wu, I don't usually drink alcohol. Drinking leads to trouble, so soft drinks are fine."
Luo Yang said, "I apologize for not serving you more dishes than what you have prepared. These are all local specialties from my hometown. Please try them and I hope you will like them."
Sitting at the dining table, Luo Yang gave a general introduction to the dishes: Eight Treasure Duck, Smoked Fish, Water Spinach with Fermented Bean Curd, Stuffed Fried Gluten, Fried Ribbonfish, Vegetarian Crab Roe, Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs, and Luo Song Soup.
Li Chunmei said, "Sister Yang, you're being too modest."
"No, no. I don't know if it suits your taste. Please eat more vegetables."
Luo Yang picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs with his chopsticks and placed it in Xia Minmin's bowl. "Xiaomin, try the sweet and sour pork ribs. This is Mengmeng's favorite dish."
"Thank you, Auntie!" Xia Minmin tried a bite and it was indeed quite delicious, with a sweet and sour taste that was very appetizing.
"Aunt Yang, it's delicious!" Xia Minmin gave a thumbs up.
"If you like it, eat more. Chunmei and Jianguo, please take some food and don't be shy."
Six people had seven dishes and a soup, and in the end, only a little soup was left.
Li Chunmei helped clear the dishes, saying, "Sister Yang, your cooking is so delicious! It's much better than the Shanghai cuisine restaurant we ate at last time."
Luo Yang smiled and said, "It's delicious. I'll come here to eat often."
"That's so embarrassing!" Li Chunmei covered her mouth and laughed.
"What's there to be embarrassed about? Mengmeng has eaten so many meals at your house these past two months. You just told me not to be polite, but now you're the one being polite!"
Li Chunmei and Luo Yang quickly washed the dishes, and the two families went out to take their two children to their Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) class.
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