Little Sizi came to my house and became the family's darling, and Li Shimin got anxious.

A tickling sensation came from the soles of my feet.

Li Yinxun groggily pulled her feet back and turned over.

Another wave of itching hit, this time even more intense, like tiny brushes were scratching me.

She suddenly opened her eyes.

Two little faces were close to her feet. Si Zi grinned and pinched her toes with her little hands, while Princess Chengyang gently scraped the soles of her feet with her fingertips.

"Sister's awake!" Sizi cheered.

Li Yinxun wasn't fully awake yet, and shifted her gaze upwards.

There was another person standing beside the bed, naturally beautiful, with skin as white as snow and features as exquisite as a painting.

Li Yin suddenly jolted awake.

She sat up abruptly, "You...you are..."

Looking at the face that bore some resemblance to Li Mingda, but was clearly a few years older and possessed a calm demeanor, his mind raced. "Princess Chang Le, Li Lizhi?"

The girl by the bed nodded slightly, clasped her hands gently in front of her chest, and knelt down slightly to perform a curtsy.

"Indeed." Her voice was a little reserved. "I'm sorry to bother you, fairy."

"No bothering you, no bothering you." She scratched her messy hair, glanced at the daylight streaming in through the window, and said, "My name is Li Yinxun, I'm not some fairy, you can just call me by my full name."

She could accept the little princess's flattering "fairy sister" title, but she absolutely couldn't stand Li Lizhi calling her "fairy" when she herself was so beautiful.

Li Lizhi didn't think too much about it and shook her head in refusal, "It would be too impolite to call someone by their full name. If you don't mind, I'll call you 'little lady' from now on."

"Why are you calling me 'little lady'? I'm older than you. If you don't mind, you can call me 'elder sister' like Si Zi and Cheng Yang do. It's more convenient and friendly that way."

"Young lady, young lady," people might think she's some old relic from the mountains if they heard her.

Li Lizhi greeted her gracefully and appropriately, "Sister."

Li Yinxun simply tied her hair up. "You're here so early, haven't you had breakfast yet?"

"Not yet," Li Lizhi said shyly. "Sizi took a bite and complained that it didn't taste as good as the ones here, so she brought me here directly."

"Okay, wait for me a moment, I'll wash up and then take you to have breakfast."

After saying that, he went into the bathroom.

Sizi had already skillfully climbed off the bed and ran to the bathroom door, clinging to the doorframe: "Sister, what are we doing here?"

"I'll treat you to something good," Li Yinxun's voice came through the sound of water.

Princess Chengyang also got out of bed, walked to Li Lizhi's side, and whispered, "Sister, isn't it nice here?"

Li Lizhi nodded, her gaze slowly sweeping across the small space.

White walls, strange furniture, and that huge, transparent... glass door that lets in light?

She walked to the window. Outside, taller, square buildings stood, their surfaces reflecting the morning sunlight, making her squint.

After washing up, Li Yinxun tidied up the three girls as well.

Sizi had already familiarly pulled out her little toothbrush, and Chengyang followed suit and grabbed one as well.

Li Lizhi looked at the small, soft-haired object, hesitated for a moment, and then took it.

"Like this, brush up and down," Li Yinxun demonstrated.

Li Lizhi studied very diligently.

After the four of them finished getting ready, Li Yinxun opened the door.

"Come on, let me take you for morning tea."

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Li Lizhi stopped in her tracks.

She looked at the wide street in front of her, paved with smooth black pavement, at the various colored, square iron boxes that ran swiftly on their own without horses, and at the building across the street that was so tall it almost pierced the clouds.

A bus whizzed past, kicking up a gust of wind.

Li Lizhi subconsciously took half a step back.

"Sister?" Chengyang looked up at her.

Li Lizhi, who was in a state of astonishment, did not hear anything. Her gaze followed the bus as it stopped at a bus stop in the distance, watching some people get on and some people get off.

Then it drove away again.

"That's a bus, a convenient mode of transportation for people without cars," Li Yinxun explained, noticing her gaze. "It's relatively inexpensive, and senior citizens and students ride for free."

"free?"

So how do you make money?

How can the business continue operating if it's not making money?

"Look! It's turned green!" Si Zi suddenly pointed to the intersection.

Li Lizhi looked in the direction she pointed.

On the pole at the intersection, a round light changed from red to green.

Then, all those densely packed metal boxes that were stopped at the intersection started moving at the same time, flowing in the same direction.

Neat and orderly.

Looking at the flowing, metallic river, Li Lizhi felt her throat go dry.

"That's a traffic light." Li Yinxun took Sizi's hand, glanced at Chengyang, and said, "The light's green, we can cross the street now. Come on, follow me."

Chengyang immediately grabbed Li Yinxun's other hand.

Li Lizhi looked at the white striped pavement and followed.

His gaze couldn't help but wander to both sides.

Those metal boxes that were stopped behind the white line looked even bigger up close, and people were sitting behind the window glass, some of them looking down at the small, shiny cubes in their hands.

Li Lizhi followed silently, her gaze sweeping over the dazzling array of goods in the shop windows, over the pedestrians dressed in strange clothes but with composed expressions, and over the huge screens hanging on the outside of buildings, constantly changing images.

This world is unlike anywhere else she knows.

The teahouse is not far away.

Pushing open the door, a wave of heat, a mixture of food aromas and noisy chatter, rushed out.

It was a large room filled with round tables, and almost every table was occupied.

People dressed in uniform pushed metal carts between tables, with stacks of small bamboo baskets on the carts, steaming hot.

The noise is very loud.

The sounds of talking, laughter, and clinking of cups and plates.

"This way, please, all four of you!" A young woman greeted them with a smile and led them to a table against the wall.

Li Lizhi sat down as well, placing her hands on her knees and sitting upright.

His gaze fell on the table next to him.

Several elderly people with gray hair had several small steamers in front of them, containing shrimp wrapped in transparent skin, as well as long, golden-fried items.

They ate while speaking loudly in a language she couldn't understand.

"What would you like to eat?" Li Yinxun pushed a laminated, colorfully illustrated list to the center of the table. "Look, there are pictures."

The little princess immediately lay down beside the picture, pointing with her tiny finger: "I want this one! And this one too!"

Chengyang also leaned over to look and whispered, "Sister, what's that white thing?"

"Rice noodle rolls." Li Yinxun emptied the kettle, pressed the switch, and said, "I'll order you one."

"Lizhi, is there anything you'd like to try?"

Li Lizhi looked at the small water pipe that automatically dispensed water, pursed her lips, and then focused her gaze on the sheet.

The picture is in color and printed very clearly.

"What...are these things? How are they made?"

Li Yinxun scratched his head. "This... is a snack."

She tried to explain simply, "Shrimp dumplings are made by wrapping shrimp in dough and steaming them, chicken feet are just chicken feet that are fried and then steamed, rice noodle rolls are thin wrappers made from rice flour and filled with stuffing... You'll understand once you eat them."

Li Lizhi looked up and glanced around.

Similar snacks were laid out on almost every table.

People ate and chatted casually, feeling comfortable and at ease.

This is what a prosperous era should be like.

Is it like this everywhere here?

"Dim sum is very common," Li Yinxun said. "Most of the customers are elderly people with pensions. Young people rarely drink tea. I thought you guys hadn't tried it before, so I brought you here to give it a go."

The cart is here.

The uniformed waiters deftly took several plates of pastries from the steamer and placed them on their table.

Shrimp dumplings, siu mai, chicken feet, rice noodle rolls, and a plate of golden fried spring rolls.

The little princess skillfully picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a shrimp dumpling, and popped it into her mouth. It was so hot she was panting, and she mumbled, "Good!"

Chengyang took a small bite of the shumai, and her eyes lit up.

Li Lizhi looked at the plate of shrimp dumplings in front of her.

The translucent skin wraps around plump shrimp, with fine pleats at the top, resembling a flower.

She picked up her chopsticks, took one bite, and put it in her mouth.

The shrimp are fresh, sweet, and bouncy, with thin yet chewy skin, and the broth is warm.

delicious.

It was a taste and texture she had never experienced before.

She chewed slowly, swallowed, and then looked at Li Yinxun.

"Sister, is this the same scene every morning here?"

Li Yinxun was pouring tea when she heard this and nodded: "Pretty much, there are even more people on weekends."