While watching the news, Wang Qiqi would occasionally engage Zhang Yan in English conversation. If Zhang Yan struggled to understand a segment, Wang Qiqi would quickly explain it in Chinese. As they watched more news programs, Zhang Yan’s English proficiency gradually began to climb.

When the news segment ended, Zhang Yan stretched languidly. “It’s getting so late; why aren’t they back yet?” It was already pushing five o’clock. She wondered if they had run into some trouble on the road.

Wang Qiqi glanced at the time and mused, “Maybe they got caught up in a massive shopping spree.” If that were the case, poor Zhao Rongrong would be exhausted. Wang Qiqi and Zhang Yan exchanged a look. “I’ll start dinner. They’ll likely come back starving and ready to eat.”

“I’ll help you,” Zhang Yan offered. Despite being a menace in the kitchen, she could still handle washing and prepping vegetables.

Wang Qiqi shook her head. “I’m just making càifàn today.” She had spotted some excellent sausage earlier, perfect for a mixed rice dish. Add a simple soup and a couple of side dishes, and it would be fast and delicious.

Hearing the menu, Zhang Yan hummed in agreement. After watching Qiqi cook for a few days, she knew this workload was nothing for her. “Are you making bread today? That caterpillar bread you made last time was excellent.” Zhang Yan hadn't cared for creamy pastries before; she usually found the cream awful. But since she couldn't waste it at home (as her family insisted she finish everything), she had developed an aversion to anything with cream. That day, however, tasting Qiqi’s caterpillar bread completely overturned her perception of cream, and she understood why the quality varied so much.

Caterpillar bread? That was certainly possible, but there was one issue: “I’m out of cream. I used it all up last time. How about…” Since someone had requested caterpillar bread, the errand was naturally delegated to someone else.

“No problem.” Zhang Yan immediately stood up and headed toward the supermarket outside the complex. Although walking took time, it was a chance for Zhang Yan to practice her conversational English—perhaps striking up a brief chat with a girl walking her dog. That’s how conversational skills were built, after all. At home, even though they aimed to chat in English, conversations inevitably devolved into code-switching, eventually settling into Mandarin. So, Zhang Yan felt that to improve her spoken fluency, beyond listening to the news, she needed to get out more and ideally chat with locals, with part-time work or shopping being the best avenues. As for the former, Zhang Yan would consider it after the trip; better speaking skills, she believed, would increase her chances of landing a high-paying job later.

Wang Qiqi turned and entered the kitchen, washing the vegetables and starting the rice cooker. Then, she began prepping the pastry ingredients. “I’m such a good person,” she mused to herself, “knowing they’ll be tired, I’m making them pastries as a treat.” She felt increasingly virtuous. “Yes, and I’ll brew some coffee; they must be exhausted after all that walking.”

If Shi Man were present to witness Wang Qiqi’s self-admiration, she would surely scoff, claiming Qiqi was doing this deliberately—to flaunt how leisurely her afternoon was while they were miserably hauling bags around, engaged in self-inflicted exertion.

Wang Qiqi hadn't expected them to take so long. Zhang Yan had already returned with the cream, and the bread was already in the oven for its final bake, yet there was still no sign of the trio. Now, both girls were getting unsettled. “They’re still not back?” It was past six. Wang Qiqi knew that even if Shi Man loved shopping, she wouldn't shop until this late. They had left around nine that morning. Even if Shi Man and Shi Hongrui had lost track of time while shopping madly, Zhao Rongrong was with them. Qiqi couldn't imagine Rongrong letting them shop unchecked.

Zhang Yan stood anxiously by the door, peering outside. “Qiqi, do you remember where they planned to go today?” Zhang Yan wanted to search for them but suddenly realized she had forgotten to ask their destination yesterday. What now? Didn’t they have to wait 48 hours before reporting someone missing?

Wang Qiqi looked equally embarrassed. “I forgot too.” She vaguely recalled Shi Man mentioning a general area yesterday, but she hadn't paid close attention, and now she certainly didn't know the location. At this moment, Wang Qiqi genuinely missed the future convenience of the internet; even if she didn't know the place, a few key phrases would surely lead her there. Of course, a more direct method would be contacting them via phone. “I think we need to buy cell phones.” That way, if someone was out and couldn’t make it back, they could notify the house, or they could contact each other—anything was better than waiting here helplessly.

Zhang Yan agreed. A mobile phone was essential. If they had phones now, they would know the situation and wouldn't be stuck waiting. “That’s a must. We have to tell them about it when they get back. They truly have no sense of time.”

“Even if that place has great things, they didn’t need to see it all in one day. They could go tomorrow, or another time,” Wang Qiqi thought. It wasn't a traveling vendor or the final day of a mall sale; there was no need for such excitement.

“Exactly, exactly.” Although the two were verbalizing threats about severely punishing the three, their anxious eyes remained glued to the road.

“They’re here! They’re here!” Zhang Yan shouted excitedly, pointing outside, then yanked the front door open and rushed out like a gust of wind.

Watching Zhang Yan vanish in a flash, Wang Qiqi hesitated briefly before deciding not to follow. She turned back to the kitchen to finish preparing the meal and pour the coffee into their respective mugs.

Just as Wang Qiqi finished setting everything out, she heard Shi Man’s weak voice. “Ugh, Qiqi, you’re terrible! You didn’t even come to pick us up.” Shi Man walked in, dropped her bags unceremoniously where she stood, and dramatically threw herself onto the comfortable sofa.

Wang Qiqi brought three cups of drinks and three freshly baked loaves of bread. “Oh, saying that is too much! The coffee is gone, the bread is gone, and the càifàn will be gone too.” Hmph, how dare they accuse her of neglect!

As she spoke, Wang Qiqi glanced at the scattered parcels by the door. Her eyes widened in surprise. They had been gone so long; she had assumed they must have bought a mountain of goods to lose track of time.

Bread, coffee, càifàn? Shi Man’s ears twitched, and she immediately sat bolt upright, flashing a saccharine smile. “I knew Qiqi didn’t pick us up for a good reason. Oh, it’s caterpillar bread! I love it!” Shi Man adored the sweet but not cloying cream, and after all that exertion, she felt she absolutely needed to replenish her energy reserves.

Zhao Rongrong and Shi Hongrui each grabbed a cup of coffee and a piece of bread from Qiqi’s hand, immediately starting to devour them. For them, having food was the greatest happiness right now; they were too tired to speak.

After finishing her bread and coffee, Zhao Rongrong felt truly revived and let out a long sigh. “It’s so much better having food ready at home! Qiqi, you have no idea. Today I truly regretted following them out.” Zhao Rongrong’s expression was one of profound, absolute regret.

Zhao Rongrong’s regret was within Wang Qiqi’s expectations, but once they heard the details of their day, they understood the depth of it. “You didn’t find the place until one o’clock?” Wang Qiqi asked, astonished. That was four hours after they left. This explained why their purchases weren't extensive.

“Huh? Didn’t you guys say you already knew where it was yesterday?” Zhang Yan was equally surprised and felt a pang of relief, realizing she had narrowly avoided walking herself ragged if she had gone with Shi Man’s group. When she went to meet them earlier, Zhang Yan’s only thought was whether they were returning from the Long March; seeing them looked like they were on the verge of tears.

Bringing it up only made Shi Man angrier. “You have no idea. The person who told us yesterday wasn't clear, and the people we asked later were unreliable! If we hadn't finally found someone who knew the location, we would have come back empty-handed today.” Shi Man was furious, her mouth pursed so tightly Wang Qiqi estimated three soy sauce bottles could fit in the gap.

“Still, that place was really nice, well decorated,” Zhao Rongrong admitted. Despite her exhaustion, she still offered a positive review. “I don’t regret going there; I regret going today instead of waiting until they had scouted the location properly. We spent about an hour finding our way back, too. If we had driven ourselves, it probably would have only taken half an hour.”

Shi Man took a breath and stopped playing dead on the sofa. “Qiqi, if we hadn't realized how late it was and worried about missing the last bus, we would have kept shopping.” They had only covered about one-third of the area, and not even thoroughly, and they had already acquired so much. Shi Man felt that a more detailed look would yield even greater results.

So close? Wang Qiqi and Zhang Yan exchanged a look. The place wasn't actually far; it was just a matter of not knowing the way. However, Wang Qiqi’s anger flared. “Knowing it was getting late, why didn’t you head back sooner and make us worry? And if you weren't afraid of missing the bus, I bet you would have kept shopping, right?” Wang Qiqi couldn't help being annoyed. All three of them had the same attitude. If she didn't discipline them severely this time, who knew what they’d do in the future.

“Um, we were wrong,” Shi Man started to say that they were adults and it shouldn’t matter if they were a bit late, but seeing Wang Qiqi’s genuinely displeased expression, she swallowed the words.

Although Shi Man’s expression looked contrite, Wang Qiqi could tell she wasn't entirely convinced. What could Qiqi do? She wasn't their mother, and even if she were, grown children were hard to control. “We should go look at phones sometime soon. It’ll be easier to stay in touch.”

“Buy phones?” Shi Hongrui exclaimed in surprise. In her mind, those were purchases for wealthy people. What did she count as wealthy?

“Is it necessary to spend that money?” Shi Man thought Qiqi was overreacting. “We’ll just pay better attention to the time next time. Today was an exception.” Shi Man admitted she had been excessive by not returning earlier, and she saw Zhang Yan’s anxious look, but Qiqi kept dwelling on this topic, which made Shi Man feel slightly uneasy.

“Convenient for contact,” Wang Qiqi stressed. “Tomorrow, let’s check the phone prices and service fees. It will also be easier for you to get notified if you find a new part-time job or if new merchandise arrives.” With school not yet started, keeping track of who was home for dinner was simple, but once classes began, that would get tricky.

As soon as these words were spoken, the thought of wasting money vanished. Phones were incredibly convenient. “Should we check the prices then?” Shi Hongrui asked cautiously after a moment’s thought. Yesterday, she might not have had the heart to spend, but after today’s outing and the things she saw, she felt she shouldn't worry so much about future finances. If Rongrong partnered with her, would their future business really be a concern?

This was exactly the result Wang Qiqi wanted. “Time to eat. One piece of bread couldn't even fill a gap between their teeth, right?” The famished look on the three of them when they were wolfing down those first pieces of bread clearly showed they must have been starving. It was tough on them to shop on an empty stomach.

Although the three had just eaten a slice of bread, for those who had been hungry for so long, one piece was nowhere near enough. They immediately got up and headed to the kitchen to start dinner. “Wow, it really is càifàn! And it’s sausage càifàn!” Shi Man had expected the càifàn to just have a few specks of meat, not actual sausage.

“I saw it at the supermarket today. I didn’t buy much since I wasn’t sure of the taste.” Seeing Shi Man’s excitement, Wang Qiqi knew that although the meal was simple, it would elicit a great response.

“If it’s not good, we’ll make it ourselves,” Shi Man declared dismissively. In her eyes, Qiqi was the ultimate capable person who could do anything.

Make it yourself? Wang Qiqi glared at her. “I definitely can’t, can you?” Making sausage required casings, and Qiqi had no idea where to source those, plus the process wasn't easy. If the seasoning wasn't mixed right, all that meat would be ruined.

Shi Man was just saying. She wordlessly picked up her rice bowl and began eating. “Hey, the sausage is good, though it needs more spices mixed in.” Shi Man quickly finished a bowl of rice and offered this measured critique.

“The flavor is great,” Zhao Rongrong and Shi Hongrui said, finally eating a bowl of warm rice after being so hungry. They were overjoyed. While the meal was simple, the taste was superb, and they agreed with Shi Man’s suggestion.

“You think there’s not enough filler?” Wang Qiqi knew the portion was a bit sparse since she was just experimenting. “In the future, how about adding corn kernels, some green peas, and more meat chunks?”

Shi Man truly couldn't imagine eating càifàn with the ingredients Wang Qiqi listed. “Won’t that make eating this dish too much work? Meat chunks are fine, corn is fine, but green peas are a bit too hard, aren’t they?” She wasn't a child needing to chew on hard things, and she worried that finishing the meal would destroy her last remaining fondness for beans.

“You said there wasn’t enough stuff, so I’ll add more,” Wang Qiqi said innocently, essentially following her lead. “Also, did you know sausage is really expensive?” It was three to four times the price of regular meat, which Wang Qiqi found hard to accept. Although cured meat was significantly lighter than fresh meat, the price difference was immense. “If you don’t mind, I can try making salted cured pork in the winter.” She wondered if Zhao Rongrong or Shi Hongrui had any issues with preserved foods.

“Salted pork càifàn sounds good too,” Shi Man’s preference for salted pork was limited to dishes like càifàn, and it seemed easier to make than sausage. “Can you make it?”

“It should be easier, maybe.” Wang Qiqi wasn't entirely sure. While it involved rubbing salt on meat, making it genuinely delicious wasn't simple. “Let’s make a small batch.”

Wang Qiqi started taking out the newly purchased items around the room, planning the layout. She arranged things to create enclosed spaces, ensuring that the old, unsightly furniture wouldn't be visible, as seeing that would make the room look messy no matter how clean it was otherwise.

When Song Yao pushed the door open, she saw Wang Qiqi sitting on the floor diligently sewing something. “What are you…?” Song Yao looked at the large pieces of fabric, unsure of Qiqi’s plan.

“I plan to enclose the lower section.”

Enclose it? Shi Man looked around the room. It needed enclosing, otherwise, the space still felt like a storage unit. But this was a massive undertaking. “You plan to fence off that part?” Shi Man pointed to the area where the worn-out furniture was piled. That was really the only unsightly spot, heavily detracting from the room’s overall aesthetic.

“That’s the main focus for enclosure,” Wang Qiqi intended to section off that area on three sides. “And I’ll enclose other spots too, so clothes and books won’t collect so much dust.” While dust would still settle, it was better than leaving them fully exposed.

I see. “This project is quite big,” Shi Man thought. Fencing off that much space would require a lot of fabric. “Are you planning to use wire to hold the fabric up?”

Wang Qiqi nodded. Although it was rudimentary, for temporary living quarters, she couldn’t expect the landlord to allow track installation for curtain rods on the floor. “I bought thick wire, it should work. And I bought fifty meters of fabric.”

“Fifty meters? That’s a lot!” Shi Man felt faint. She surveyed the room. “It doesn’t seem like we need that much fabric.” Buying that much seemed like a waste.

“Is it too much?” Wang Qiqi didn't think so. “I also need to set up the desk area.” If the desk area was kept simple, naturally, anything that shouldn't be seen needed covering.

Seeing Wang Qiqi busy, Shi Man decided she’d better find another time tomorrow to talk to Qiqi about something. She was genuinely worried Qiqi would rope her into manual labor. Even if fifty meters weren't used today, maybe thirty would be needed. The more Shi Man thought about it, the more uneasy she felt; avoiding it seemed best.

Just as she was preparing to excuse herself, Wang Qiqi tossed a piece of fabric her way. “Help me out.” Wang Qiqi hadn't originally intended to ask Shi Man to help, but seeing her about to leave, Qiqi thought that after she had worried about her all day—and only needed to pull an all-nighter because of their shopping trip—she deserved to pitch in.

Shi Man looked at the fabric suddenly landing in her lap, rubbed her eyes pitifully, and sighed. “I’m so tired after walking all day.”

Wang Qiqi rolled her eyes. “That little bit of exercise should have recovered after eating three bowls of rice and two pieces of bread.”

Shi Man knew she couldn't escape today, so she sighed again, dutifully picked up the tools, asked Wang Qiqi how to sew the door curtain, and began stitching seriously.

Watching Shi Man start sewing the curtain, Wang Qiqi set aside her fabric, picked up a hammer, and began tapping nails into the floor where she had previously marked lines with a pen. Although it risked slightly damaging the floorboards, Wang Qiqi figured the landlord wouldn't notice such a minor disturbance.

“You’re not planning to install the wire right now, are you?” Shi Man asked, puzzled. Based on what Qiqi was doing to the fabric, there were no hooks; the wire would just slide through the stitched channel. Wouldn't she be doing useless work, only to take it down later?

“I’m just thinking it through, I’m not entirely sure about the specifics,” Wang Qiqi scratched her head, looking quite embarrassed. “Of course, the fabric is prepared this way, but how to handle the wire is the question.” Wang Qiqi preferred to fuss over the wire than have the curtain ready but unusable because it got dirty before it was even hung.

"Do you think you would have called me anyway, whether I came today or not?" Shi Man suddenly had this thought, which made her feel a bit better. Originally, she had been thinking how much better it would have been if she hadn't come upstairs earlier, but now she realized avoidance was impossible.

Looking at the expectant gaze directed her way, Wang Qiqi really wanted to say yes, but she honestly replied, "I was planning on sewing the fabric myself, and then letting Han Tao handle the wiring."

Wang Qiqi's words deeply struck Shi Man, leaving her decidedly displeased. "Couldn't you have waited until Han Tao arrived to do that?" Since she had already planned to delegate the task to Han Tao, why had she been made to work?

"Since you’re already here, you might as well help out. That way, Han Tao will have an easier time when he gets here. Don't forget he has other assignments," Wang Qiqi said without any courtesy. "Hurry up and get this done. Even if it means pulling an all-nighter, it needs to be finished by tomorrow noon because I have to pick him up from the airport." Han Tao was scheduled to take a connecting flight immediately after arriving in London tomorrow morning. Although she didn't know his exact arrival time, she was certain he would be here by five or six in the afternoon at the latest.

Shi Man once again deeply regretted having eagerly rushed over to find Qiqi to share the news she knew. Regret, sheer regret.

Apologies for the late update. Yesterday’s long hike home completely drained me, leaving no strength to draft today's chapters. These were just finished in a rush.

After yesterday’s ordeal, Bu Bu finally understood that hiking ten kilometers on flat ground every day does not prepare you for climbing mountains. The sheer expenditure of energy required was terrifying.