The moment you step out of Bai Gezhuang New Village District, thereâs a Jingkelong Supermarket right there.
Even though this supermarket isnât as big as big chains like Wumart or Yonghui,
the produce inside is really fresh, and the selection is pretty complete.
In the half a month since Xu Li moved in, sheâs already become a regular here.
The two of them, chatting and laughing, grabbed a shopping cart at the entrance and headed in to pick out groceries for tonightâs dinner with Old LĂŒ and his wife.
In the meat section, they bought a rack of ribs, some chicken wings, some drumsticks, and there was still beef at home brought from the old place, enough for another dish.
At the veggie section they bought broccoli, lettuce, new garlic shoots, cucumbers, and tomatoesâall standard, everyday veggies.
Xu Li also grabbed two boxes of okra and a bunch of chives, saying she wanted to make an extra dish just for Old Jiang.
In the seafood section, they fished out a 4-jin Qingjiang fish and asked the fish guy to clean and prep it.
They got over 4 jin of big prawns and a foam box full of oysters.
After that, they picked up some drinks, plus dessert and fruit for after the meal.
And lastly, Xu Li and Jiang Xue loaded up on a pile of snacks.
This mom and daughter pair are both snack lovers, always munching on treats at home.
By the end, their little shopping cart was packed to the brim.
At checkout, they spent over 800 yuan all together.
Back in the day, if they spent that much in one trip, Jiang Tao might have felt a little pain in his wallet.
But now, 800 yuan isnât a big deal for him anymore.
Just today, not counting his stock fund returns, he made 180,000 selling stones!
Even after 20% personal income tax, heâd still take home over 140,000!
Jiang Tao and Xu Li had to make two trips back and forth to get everything from the cart into the trunk.
After this grand grocery haul, by the time they were back downstairs at their building, it was already after 6 p.m.
Jiang Wen had gotten Jiang Taoâs call and came down to help them carry all the groceries upstairs together.
Once home, Xu Li, Dad, and Mom all went straight to the kitchen to get busy.
Jiang Tao cracked open Jiang Xueâs little bedroom door and saw she was lying on her stomach on the bed, chatting away in a video call with her little mouth going non-stop.
"Teacher Jiang, does your hurt foot make it really hard for you to walk?"
"My dad is super strong! Want me to ask him to carry you downstairs for dinner?"
"When dinnerâs over, he can carry you back upstairs again."
As soon as Jiang Xue finished her sentence, Jiang Yiâs laughterâa tinkling, silvery soundâcame through the phone.
Old Jiang, sneaking a listen at the doorway, couldnât help but chuckle at his Little Cotton Padded Jacketâs proposal.
Kids really do see the world in such a simple way.
Your dad toting your teacher down for dinner? Heâd probably end up kneeling on the washboard at home!
"Thank you for your sweet offer, Xiao Xue, you really know how to care for people."
"But, sweetie, Iâm a grown up. I weigh about 100 jinâitâs too heavy. Your dad canât carry me."
"He can! My dad is super strong! Besides, Teacher Jiang, youâre only 100 jin, thatâs not that heavy."
"My aunt weighed herself on our home scale during New Yearâsâshe was 120 jin! And she tried to trick me, saying the scale was broken."
"Tch, does she think Iâm only three years old?"
Listening to this back and forth between Little Cotton Padded Jacket and Jiang Yi, Jiang Tao couldnât help but laugh out loud at the doorway.
Is this how you rat out your little aunt? For real!
Jiang Tao glanced at the Green Water Ghost Rolex on his wrist.
Right now it was already a bit past 6:30 p.m.
Itâd been just over an hour since he and Xu Li left to buy groceries.
Which meant Jiang Xue and Jiang Yi had been video chatting for more than an hour, too.
Jiang Tao pushed open the door, walked over in a few steps to Jiang Xueâs little bed, and said gently:
"Xiao Xue, Teacher Jiang is hurt and needs to rest. Thatâs enough chatting for today. Say bye-bye to Teacher Jiang."
Jiang Xue pouted, "Aww, no~ I still have so much to talk to Teacher Jiang about."
Jiang Tao glanced at her phoneâs screen and saw Jiang Yi was also lying on her bed, just like Jiang Xue.
That deep cleavage was on full display; the two "Bears" were squished in a way that stoked the imagination.
Once Jiang Tao suddenly appeared on screen,
Jiang Yi on the other end quickly shifted her position, got up and sat on her bed, her beauty there but gone in a flash.
She ran her hand through her hair a bit sheepishly, pretending nothing happened.
"Xiao Xue, little kids canât use electronics for too long."
"Be a good girl for your dad, you can call Teacher again anytime you want."
"Okay then, see you, Teacher Jiang."
"Bye-bye~"
Hearing Jiang Yiâs words, Jiang Xue finally hung up the call, a little reluctantly.
She slid on a pair of pink fuzzy slippers and followed Jiang Tao out of the room.
Ding-ling-lingâ
Jiang Tao had just stepped out of Jiang Xueâs room when his phone started ringing in his pocket.
He pulled it out and saw the caller ID: "Old LĂŒ."
"Hey Old LĂŒ, you and Aunt Ma are downstairs? Iâll come down to meet you."
Jiang Tao answered, said a quick few words into the phone, and hung up.
Taking the elevator down, he happened to bump into that stone-faced brother from next door heading up.
The guy didnât greet him, and Jiang Tao wasnât about to warm up to someone who didnât want to talk.
Downstairs, he saw LĂŒ Qian and Ma Dongmei just arriving at the entrance carrying bags and bags of stuff.
"Brother LĂŒ, youâre too politeâno need to bring so much stuff when you come over."
Jiang Tao chuckled as he walked up,
taking a few of the boxes from LĂŒ Qianâs hands.
There were boxes of snacks, milk, cigarettes, alcohol, tea, and candy.
And Ma Dongmei was holding several big bags of fruit.