n

n

n

n

n

nAfter the father and daughter from the Qian family left the Xia residence, Xia Fang and Qiao Mei did not dwell on it. They actually felt that it would be stranger if Qian’e admitted to her mistake.

n

n“Why was Qian Wang so anxious to come to our place to apologize?” Qiao Mei asked.

n

n“There is a grading exercise in the hospital. He might be fighting for a chance to get a good grade,” Xia Fang said nonchalantly.

n

nGrading? Then why wasn’t Aunt anxious about this?

n

n“Aunt, aren’t you going to be graded?” Qiao Mei asked.

n

nXia Fang shook her head and said, “This kind of thing is most troublesome and useless. I won’t take part in such a thing.”

n

n“Isn’t grading based on capability where anyone who is more capable gets a higher grading? Why would it be troublesome?” Qiao Mei looked at Xia Fang in confusion.

n

n“Silly child, it’s not like that now. It depends on a person’s personality nowadays. Capability only plays a small part,” Xia Fang said.

n

nNo wonder Qian Wang was so adamant about visiting them to apologize. It was to let everyone think that he had a good character.

n

nHowever, in reality, he looked like a two-faced person. Qian’e definitely looked like she had her share of beatings and scoldings at home.

n

nQian’e was also a pitiful person.

n

n“Don’t be so kind as to forgive Qian’e. I hope you won’t forget what she did,” Xia Fang said.

n

n“No, Aunt, of course I won’t,” Qiao Mei said.

n

nAfter a night’s rest, Qiao Mei and Xia Fang headed to the old house the next day to take a look around.

n

nIt was a work day today, so Xia Fang specially applied for leave to accompany Qiao Mei.

n

n“Aunt, where is the exact location of the old house?” Qiao Mei asked.

n

n“It’s near the museum,” said Xia Fang.

n

nXia Fang had a poor sense of direction and she usually went to the house with her other family members.

n

nAs there was a museum nearby, the land in the area was very expensive and the government also imposed height restrictions. Businessmen usually did not invest in the area, so the houses nearby were all compound complexes where each house was occupied by many families.

n

nQiao Mei thought that the old house was located in such an area, but Xia Fang brought her into an alley.

n

nEven though it was an alley, it was big enough for a horse carriage to pass through. Ordinary alleys could only allow a maximum of two people to pass side by side, so it was obvious that this was an area where rich families lived.

n

nNot long after, Qiao Mei and Xia Fang arrived at a courtyard. An old man came out and smiled happily at Xia Fang.

n

n“Oh my, what a rare guest. Why did you think of coming here to take a look today?” said the old man.

n

nQiao Mei stood obediently behind Xia Fang and smiled sweetly.

n

n“Uncle Zhou, I brought Xia Zhe’s wife to come and take a look at the old house. Where are you going?” Xia Fang said.

n

nThe moment Uncle Zhou heard that Xia Zhe’s wife was there, he instantly perked up and sized Qiao Mei up carefully.

n

n“This Xia Zhe is so lucky. This young girl is really good-looking. If his grandmother can know about it, she will definitely be very happy,” Uncle Zhou said happily.

n

nAs he spoke, Uncle Zhou’s eyes turned red. Uncle Zhou had lived in this place since he was young and could be said to be childhood sweethearts with Xia Zhe’s grandmother. They used to be very close.

n

n“Grandpa Zhou, you flatter me,” Qiao Mei said with a shy smile.

n

n“Our Xia Zhe is more than just lucky. Mei Mei is a good cook. When they move here, Uncle Zhou, you must oblige them and come over for a meal,” Xia Fang said happily.

n

n“Alright, alright, alright. Xia Zhe’s grandmother is not lucky enough to try it so I’ll try it for her.” Uncle Zhou smiled happily and waved his hand.

n

n“Alright, Uncle Zhou. We’re going to look at the house. Take your time and be careful.” With that, Xia Fang left with Qiao Mei.

n

nAlong the way, they encountered many old people. There were not many young people around and the common area was being taken care of by the old people who lived here. Now that the pace of life in the city had become very fast, the old people were unwilling to live in the apartment buildings, so they all chose to live in the old houses which they found more comfortable.

n

nThe neighbors also knew one another and they were quite comfortable chatting and playing chess together at the entrance of the alley.

n

n“Aunt, how long until we arrive?” Qiao Mei asked.

n

nXia Fang looked at the houses nearby. Even though she had grown up here, she could not remember the roads around here. When she was young, she often needed Xia Zhe’s father, Xia Mao, to bring her home when she got lost.

n

nNow that the road signs around the area had changed, it was indeed difficult to distinguish the roads.

n

n