Zhao Xiuqin came out carrying two bowls, with Wei Zijin following behind her, carefully holding two more bowls of freshly served eight-treasure porridge.
Four bowls of porridge, three side dishes, a plate of steamed buns, and four fried eggs.
"Zijin, try these meat buns. Pork and scallion. Xiaoliang's been eating them since he was little. Have a taste."
"Okay."
The four of them sat around the dining table.
The steam from the porridge mingled with the aroma of the buns.
There was no forced small talk over breakfast, nor any awkward silence.
Zhao Xiuqin never stopped talking, going from how the son of the owner of Liu's Bun Shop had gotten married last year to how Old Li's grandson in the building opposite had scored full marks in both subjects on his final exams. She said the bun shop owner's son was only six years older than Xiaoliang.
Most of the time, Wei Zijin listened attentively. When someone asked her something, she quietly answered in a sentence or two.
Her answers were simple, but earnest.
Wang Xiaoliang quietly ate his bun, that wondrous sense of happiness inside him growing stronger.
After breakfast, Zhao Xiuqin and Wei Zijin cleared away the dishes together. They went into the kitchen chatting and laughing, working together with surprising ease.
Wang Keqin wiped his mouth and said to Wang Xiaoliang, "We'll go to the wholesale market in a bit and buy a few things."
As he spoke, he took a set of car keys from his pocket and tossed them onto the table.
"You drive."
"Me? I can't."
"Why not? It's just a matter of practice. You need to drive more and get used to it. If you never drive, you'll never learn."
"But it's winter. The roads are slippery. I... I've never driven in