My wife is a witch princess.

He had seen Xia Li in this state several times, and each time he thought she was very cute.

"Good morning." Song Che took her clothes out of the closet and placed them by the bed. It was the same dress as yesterday; Zhang Shushu said she would be taking photos today and it would look good in it.

Xia Li finished dressing and sat on the edge of the bed, then solemnly tied a tight knot in her white canvas shoes.

Song Che squatted down, untied the knot, and tied a slipknot. "A slipknot is just as tight."

After tying one knot, Song Che moved on to the other. Once both knots were tied, he stood up and said, "Let's go, they're waiting."

Xia Li jumped off the bed, stood in front of him, and looked up at him. Her eyes, which had just woken up, became clear. "There's foam around your mouth."

……

When they left, Zhang Shushu was already waiting in the corridor, holding a travel guide and carrying a large, bulging canvas bag slung over her shoulder, its contents unknown. Song Jianguo stood beside her, still unhurried, holding a thermos. Tao Xiang circled around their feet like a puppy impatiently waiting to leave.

Tao Xiang is very happy now; she is very fortunate.

It turns out that what the bad woman said was true. As long as you follow Song Che and Xia Li, you can be this happy every day!

"Xia Li looks beautiful today." Zhang Shushu smiled when she saw Xia Li, her eyes curving into two crescent moons. "You made the right choice with this dress; it complements your skin tone."

Xia Li looked down at herself. "Thank you, Auntie."

"No need to thank me, it looks good." Zhang Shushu walked over and helped Xia Li straighten the lace at her neckline. She then stepped back to look at her and nodded in satisfaction. "Let's go eat soup dumplings. These are different from those in Nanhui; they have their own unique flavor."

The soup dumpling shop is located in an alley in the city, a fifteen-minute walk away. The alley is narrow, lined with old houses on both sides, with red lanterns hanging under the eaves. They are lit at night and just hang there during the day, like a string of persimmons. The overall style is quite old-fashioned and belongs to a kind of cultural heritage.

The stone-paved road was worn smooth by footsteps. The morning sun was not yet strong, and it felt warm on my skin. There was a breeze in the alley, blowing in from one end and going out from the other, carrying the smell of cooking oil from the breakfast stalls and the sweetness of soy milk.

Living here feels very pleasant.

Tao Xiang walked in front, her steps so fast it was like she was running, and she was soon left behind.

There was a queue of seven or eight people in front of the store.

Zhang Shushu asked Song Che and Xia Li to reserve seats while she and Song Jianguo waited in line.

Song Che led Xia Li and Tao Xiang into the shop and found a table by the window to sit down. The shop wasn't big, with only five or six tables, and menus were posted on the wall in red paper with black lettering.

The air was thick with steam, and the steamer baskets were stacked high. When the owner lifted one basket, steam billowed out.

Xia Li sat by the window, looking outside.

Someone was walking their dog in the alley. It was a chubby Corgi, its rear end wiggling back and forth. It would walk a few steps, stop, sniff the base of the wall, and then walk a few more steps.

She watched for a while, then suddenly said, "If Bruce came, he would do the same."

Song Che thought about Bruce's lazy appearance, "It won't. It will find a shady place to lie down and not move at all."

"Too."

When the soup dumplings arrived, Tao Xiang's eyes widened in surprise.

Eight in a steamer basket, the skin so thin you can see the broth sloshing inside.

"Open the window first, then drink the soup."

Poke a small hole with chopsticks, pour the broth into a spoon, blow on it, drink it, and then dip the skin and filling in vinegar before eating.

Xia Li had eaten soup dumplings before. This time, she carefully blew on it, took a sip, and successfully won the soup dumpling.

As it turns out, she wasn't foolish enough to burn her mouth with soup dumplings again.

"Is it good?" Song Che asked.

"It's delicious," Xia Li said, then held the spoon to his lips. "Try it."

Song Che paused for a moment, then opened his mouth and drank it.

Fresh, hot, with the aroma of meat and a hint of ginger.

"Delicious."

Xia Li was satisfied and moved on to the next one.

Tao Xiang had already finished two, her mouth was covered in vinegar. Zhang Shushu handed her a tissue to wipe it, but she dodged while reaching for the third one. Song Jianguo ate slowly and methodically beside her, taking a sip of porridge, a bite of a bun, then another sip of porridge. He was always like this; when they were out together, he was the quietest one.

After finishing breakfast, the sun was already high in the sky, and the alley was starting to feel stuffy. Zhang Shushu glanced at the guidebook and said, "Let's go to the ancient building complex."

The ancient building complex is located in the center of the old town of Licheng, covering a considerable area. The entrance fee is 31 yuan, which Zhang Shushu paid for.

Once inside, Tao Xiang disappeared.

She darted to a sugar figurine stall nearby. Song Jianguo followed, bought her one, and ran back to show Xia Li, exclaiming, "Xia Li, look! A dragon!"

Xia Li glanced at the crooked sugar dragon, then at Song Che.

Song Che asked, "Want it?"

"Ah."

Song Che walked over and bought one too. It wasn't a dragon, but a rabbit, with long, sugar-coated ears and two red dots for eyes. He handed it to Xia Li, "Here you go."

Xia Li took it, held it up and looked at it for a while, then bit her ear.

The candy crumbled, making a crisp sound in her mouth. She chewed it. "Sweet."

"Of course, sugar figurines are sweet."

"Sweeter than ice cream."

Song Che laughed, "Then you'll eat sugar figurines from now on?"

Xia Li thought for a moment, "No, I want both."

Zhang Shushu called out to them from the front, "Come quickly, there's a big stage here!"

The stage stood in the center of the complex, a wooden structure with upturned eaves. The paint on the two pillars at the stage entrance had peeled off, revealing the wood grain beneath. The stage was low, about waist-high, with a wooden plank surface that thudded underfoot. Zhang Shushu stood in front of the stage, looking up at the carvings for a long time.

"Mom, what are you thinking about?" Song Che walked over.

“When I was little, I think my dad brought me here before,” Zhang Shushu said. “He used to sing opera when he was young. He learned a few pieces from an opera troupe during the Spring Festival in the village. He said he sang old male roles. His voice wasn’t good, but his stage presence was good.”

She smiled and said, "He stopped singing later. Your grandma thought he sang terribly."

Xia Li walked over and stood on the other side of Song Che. She looked at the stage and suddenly said, "I want to go up there too."

"Why go up there?"

"Take a look," Xia Li said, "and see what it feels like to stand up there."

Song Che led her around to the side and up the steps. The platform was spacious, and the wooden planks made a thumping sound when stepped on, the echo reverberating throughout the building.

Xia Li walked to the edge of the stage, stopped, and looked down.

Zhang Shushu and Song Jianguo stood below the stage, looking up at her, while Tao Xiang, holding a sugar figurine, jumped around and shouted, "Sister Xia Li! Sing a song!"

Xia Li didn't sing; she couldn't sing opera. But she stood there, her skirt fluttering gently in the wind, her silver hair shining in the sunlight, looking as beautiful as a painting.

Song Che stood next to her, the two of them standing side by side, looking at the audience.

"How does it feel?" he asked.

“It’s very tall,” Xia Li said.

"Only half a person's height."

“Not that kind of tall,” Xia Li thought for a moment, “but the kind of tall that everyone looks at.”

Song Che thought about it for a moment and seemed to understand a little.

After coming down from the stage, we strolled through several courtyards.

One was an old schoolhouse, with rows of old desks and chairs, a portrait of Confucius hanging on the wall, and incense still burning in the incense burner. Tao Xiang sat down on a chair and said she wanted to go to school.

One is an old ancestral hall, filled with ancestral tablets, densely packed together, with a smell of wood and incense ash mixed together in the air.

By noon, the sun was blazing, and the stone pavement was scorching hot; our feet got hot after walking for a while. Zhang Shushu suggested we go have lunch and then go to the museum in the afternoon, where it would be cooler.

We had lunch at a restaurant next to the ancient building complex. Zhang Shushu picked it out, saying it served local cuisine and had high online ratings.

……

The museum in the afternoon was in the Licheng New District, a twenty-minute taxi ride away. The car had air conditioning, and Tao Xiang fell asleep as soon as she got in, her head resting on Zhang Shushu's shoulder, still clutching the unfinished sugar figurine stick in her hand. Xia Li was also sleepy, leaning against Song Che, her eyes half-open, opening briefly with each bump in the car, then closing them again.

The museum is a modern building with a glass curtain wall, square in shape, and a large stone at the entrance with the five characters "Licheng Museum" engraved on it.

Upon entering, they had to go through security. Zhang Shushu's canvas bag was searched thoroughly—it was full of snacks. The security girl chuckled as she looked through it. Tao Xiang woke up, rubbing her eyes, and followed behind, still unaware of where she was.

The museum was cool, with the air conditioning on full blast; as soon as you entered, every pore on your body opened up. The first floor was a history exhibition hall, covering everything from the Neolithic Age to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with rows and rows of glass cases displaying pottery, bronzes, porcelain, and calligraphy and paintings.

Zhang Shushu looked around intently, stopping at each display case to read the explanatory plaques and then reading them aloud to Song Jianguo. Song Jianguo nodded after listening, and the two continued walking. It was the first time they had ever shopped like this before, and after living most of their lives, it was also the first time Zhang Shushu had ever felt so relaxed.

Her eyes were bright, like a little girl's.

Xia Li walked slowly, stopping at each display case to look at the items, but she ignored the labels and focused on the objects themselves. She stared at a Shang Dynasty bronze ding (a type of ancient Chinese cooking vessel) for a long time, while Song Che waited beside her.

"What did you see?" he asked.

“This pattern,” Xia Li pointed to the pattern on the cauldron, “is similar to the one in Hite.”

Song Che was stunned for a moment, "Really?"

"Yes, but it's not bronze, it's iron. The old witch has a box with a pattern that looks a lot like this."

After she finished speaking, she continued walking forward.

Song Che followed behind her, watching her skirt sway in the exhibition hall.

He thought she would probably always be like this—seeing the world through two eyes. One this way, the other that way. The two worlds overlapped in her heart, and she couldn't tell which was more real and which was more fake.

When they reached the second floor, Taoxiang suddenly exclaimed, "Aunt Zhang, look at this!"

She stood in front of a glass cabinet containing a Song Dynasty porcelain pillow. The pillow was painted with a scene of children playing, several of them flying kites. Tao Xiang pointed at the children, "They look like me! Like me!"

Zhang Shushu leaned closer to look. "It does look a bit like it. This little braid is exactly the same as yours."

Tao Xiang was delighted and walked around the glass cabinet.

There is also a temporary exhibition hall on the second floor, which displays old photos of Licheng, from the late Qing Dynasty to the 1970s and 1980s. The black and white photos record the old appearance of this city.

Zhang Shushu read very slowly, taking a long time to look at each page.

"Mom, do you know these places?" Song Che asked.

"I don't know him," Zhang Shushu said, "but he looks familiar."

She pointed to one of the photos and said, "Look at this street, there are shops on both sides, selling all kinds of things. Your grandfather once said that when he was a child, he walked on streets like this when he went to the city."