Chapter 91: Red Bean Soup

The ninth day of the first lunar month.

Yesterday’s heavy rain washed away the dust in the sky, bringing a golden, bright sun to today.

Anqing slept in unusually late, waking up only at noon.

In this rented apartment, the eldest cousin, Yu Minghui, sat at the dining table reviewing manuscripts, occasionally taking a sip of her coffee.

On the television, an endlessly long commercial that sometimes played all morning was on, with an extremely enthusiastic sales pitch coming through.

“The Jinli Voice King—looks like a four or five thousand yuan phone, but now only 1,299! Call the hotline now and receive a DV camera worth 999 yuan as a gift!”

“Huihui…”

Anqing rubbed her sleepy eyes, yawning as she walked out of the washroom, staggering slightly as she bumped into the tea table, then collapsed onto the sofa.

“Still not awake?”

“Sleeping too long just makes me more tired…”

“Hungry?”

“No. Just thirsty…”

“Want something warm to drink?”

“Do you have any?”

“I made some red bean soup this morning. I’ll heat some up for you.”

“Okay.”

Anqing stretched out lazily, sitting up on the sofa.

“It feels like there’s red bean soup every spring.”

“Red bean soup is meant for spring.”

“Summer is mung bean soup, so what about autumn and winter?”

“Sponge gourd soup and white radish soup.”

“Savory?”

“Half savory, half sweet.”

Yu Minghui pressed the Enter key on her keyboard and pushed back her chair, standing up.

“I’ll heat it up. Want anything else?”

“Not really hungry.”

“Sugar?”

“A little…”

“I already added rock sugar. It’s sweet enough.”

“Then no need. Too sweet isn’t tasty—where’s the remote?”

“On the sofa. Look for it yourself.”

“Jin quality, leading the world, Jinli Voice King phone, your best choice!”

The commercial on the TV went on nonstop, and it wasn’t just the same loop repeated.

Each segment was slightly different.

Anqing lay face down on the sofa, searching for the remote.

Her loose shirt had slipped halfway off one shoulder, and her unkempt ear-length hair looked even messier.

After quite some time, she finally found the small remote in a crack and pointed it at the TV, pressing the buttons several times.

Although it was only the ninth day of the lunar new year, the holiday already felt completely over.

There was no trace of the Spring Festival left on the television.

Everything was as usual—although it was a new year, life didn’t seem to have changed much.

“The sunlight outside is really nice today.”

Yu Minghui stood by the stove, where a low flame was lit, but her gaze was fixed out the kitchen window.

At the start of work, most of the backlog had to be cleared within these few days, so there were few idlers on the streets and alleys.

The shop owners were all busy working:

At the back door of a restaurant, a pole held cloths and aprons drying; the grocery store owner swept dust onto the street; the fruit store owner counted the newly delivered fruits, while the shopkeeper’s wife threw rotten fruits from the New Year into a plastic trash bin beside her.

Busy people held a distinct, vivid beauty.

“Sigh.”

“Huihui, why the sudden sigh?”

Anqing found a channel playing “Approaching Science,” turned up the volume slightly, and tilted her head to ask.

“There are fewer and fewer people in small towns. Everyone’s moving to big cities.”

“Yeah… when we were kids, the small town felt livelier than now.”

“Back then, living on the island, the farthest we’d go was a nearby small town.

Going to the small city felt like reaching the most prosperous place in the world.”

Yu Minghui smiled softly.

“As we grew up, we realized the small city was really small. There are many cities bigger and much more bustling than it.”

“Huihui, even you get sentimental sometimes.”

Anqing sat on the far right of the sofa, looking at Yu Minghui in the kitchen.

“Why don’t you come with me to the provincial capital after summer? My dad can arrange a job for you, no problem!”

“We’ll see when the time comes.”

Yu Minghui shook her head gently.

“If your dad really becomes a bureau chief, he’ll be very busy too.”

“Busy or not, arranging a job won’t take much time.”

Anqing rested her elbow on the sofa armrest, propping her cheek.

“Let’s all go together. It’ll be more lively!”

“Are you already reluctant to leave us, Xiaojing?”

“It’s mainly… because we’re used to living together.”

“But if we go, we definitely won’t live with you.”

“Uh… at least we could meet often…”

Yu Minghui smiled faintly, noncommittal.

“Xiaojing, do you want to sit outside for a while today?”

“Outside?”

“In the corridor, you can catch some sun.”

“Okay.”

Anqing nodded enthusiastically.

The apartment corridor was wide enough for four adults to walk side by side, and except during rush hours, almost no one passed through.

Though the apartment had windows, they couldn’t compare to the fully open corridor.

Anqing slipped on her outdoor cotton slippers and gently pushed open the door.

A soft breeze drifted across her face—she had felt weak just moments ago but suddenly felt energized.

People are often like this—staying at home, reluctant to go out, thinking outside isn’t as comfortable.

But once outside, you often realize it’s much more pleasant than being at home.

“Huihui, where did you put that little table board?”

“Just in the gap beside the shoe rack. Look there.”

“Oh, got it!”

Anqing reached in and pulled out the folding table board, laying it flat in the corridor by the door.

Then she grabbed a small wooden stool and plopped down.

This wasn’t as comfortable as the sofa, but somehow felt more relaxing than sitting on the sofa.

Yu Minghui carried two bowls of heated red bean soup and set them on the table.

“Huihui, where’s the plastic stool?”

“In my room. I’ll go get it.”

“So leisurely…”

Anqing squinted her eyes.

“I feel like the holiday is way too long…”

“Isn’t having more days off great?”

“It is, but before the eighth day, I kind of missed school. After the eighth day, I started to feel afraid of going back.”

“Yeah, I felt the same in school. But summer vacation was different. One summer break lasted almost three months, and during the last half-month, I was eager to go back.”

“Maybe it’s because it was long enough, but also not long enough. This winter break—speaking of it, the summer break after junior three graduation is about three months, right?”

“That depends on your high school schedule. Usually it’s only about two months.”

“When’s the longest summer break?”

Anqing scooped a small spoonful of red bean soup, put it in her mouth, then quickly spat it out.

“Ah, it’s hot!”

“Eat slower.”

“Phew.”

“The longest summer break is probably after senior three graduation.”

“Really? Senior three graduation?”

Anqing took a breath to cool the red beans, then sipped them, swallowing contentedly.

“I’m not even graduated from junior three yet. Senior three graduation seems so far away.”

“So far that it feels like it’ll never come?”

“Yeah… kind of feels like that.”

“Three years pass quickly.”

Yu Minghui stirred the soup slowly with her spoon.

“College goes even faster. Before you know it, you’re working…”

“That’s only how it seems in hindsight. For students living day to day, it feels slow.” Anqing scooped another spoonful with extra red beans.

“But Huihui, you have it easy, right? You work from home every day.”

“Maybe soon I’ll have to work at the company instead?”

“Huh? Not at home anymore?”

“The company is restructuring, cutting staff—times are changing, and the old ways have to change too, or we’ll fall behind the new era.”

“I don’t think there’s a more comfortable job than working from home.”

“Going to the office has its own fun,” Yu Minghui smiled.

“You have to have eyes that see the beauty around.”

“School has its joys, holidays have their joys, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Hey, how did you do on the college entrance exam, Huihui?”

“Not too well. I almost got into a first-tier university.”

“Such a shame.”

“More and more people get into first-tier schools now. Xiaojing, you have to work hard too.”

“Hmph, my goal is Z University!”

“Z University? That’s tough.”

“It’s only fun if it’s challenging.”

“Then I hope you get in.”

“Still early. I’m just in junior three.”

Anqing cleared her throat, swallowing the soft red beans.

“Anyway, these next few years are for working hard. Getting into college is mission accomplished.”

“Ha… life’s missions just keep piling up.”

“Are there always endless things waiting to be done? Sigh… that would be too tiring. Pressure is good, but when you see no end, it feels hopeless.”

“Yeah, that’s why as adults, life is for you to take control of.”

“Huihui, do you have any life goals?”

“Me? My goal is~”

“What?”

“To keep breathing, and not stop.”

“Hey, hey!”

“If I’m serious, I guess I hope to save enough money to retire early.”

“That’s so hard.”

“A simpler goal is to live each day well, learn more, so I won’t be unemployed later.”

“That’s already a good life. Oh, my dad said housing prices are rising again. Huihui, if you make money trading stocks, want to buy a house?”

“Maybe, but it depends on when I can save enough money.”

“Buy now, sell in a few years, definitely profit! That’s what my dad says.”

“That depends on timing,” Yu Minghui smiled and shook her head.

“Housing prices don’t always go up…”