Chapter 16: A Sense of Everyday Life

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He and his younger sister both understood perfectly well how kind their aunt had been to them.

Because their uncle spent most of the year away from home, working hard to earn money and support the family, nearly all the household responsibilities had fallen to their aunt alone.

Ever since their parents passed away, she had cared for the two siblings with exceptional devotion and worried over them constantly.

From that time onward, she had often urged his sister not to stay at school on weekends, but to go directly to her house instead.

His sister, however, had always been carefree and independent. She was not accustomed to living under someone else’s roof.

Whenever she stayed at another person’s home, she felt uncomfortable from head to toe—even if it was the home of her own maternal uncle.

Thinking of his sister’s feelings, he had ultimately agreed to let her remain at school during the week and return home only from time to time.

Since coming home from school for the winter break, Li Ping’an had been completely absorbed in developing artificial intelligence. He had been so busy that he had not even found the time to visit his uncle’s family.

Thinking about it now, he felt that he really had no excuse.

And he had not even gone to see his grandfather, who lived with his uncle. A faint sense of guilt rose in Li Ping’an’s heart.

Night fell, and the streetlights began to glow. After bustling about in the kitchen for a while, Li Ping’an finally finished preparing dinner.

As usual, he sent his sister a message, calling her downstairs to eat.

The evening meal was hardly lavish. It was merely a large hotpot made by stewing various leftovers together.

But one should not judge the dish by its unappealing appearance. Its flavor was unexpectedly fresh and delicious, with a charm all its own.

He and his sister both loved this kind of mixed hotpot.

Before long, his sister came downstairs. While arranging the bowls and chopsticks, Li Ping’an said, “Uncle called and asked us to go to his place for lunch tomorrow.”

As he spoke, he glanced at his sister and added with a hint of warning, “When you get up tomorrow morning, don’t be like usual and come downstairs without even washing your face.”

“Uncle invited us over for dinner?” Li Ya asked, slightly startled.

“Mm,” Li Ping’an replied simply.

“Oh, right, Big Brother, your Pet Elf app is really amazing!”

As if she had suddenly remembered something, Li Ya said excitedly, “My classmates tried it, and they all said it was great. Its functions are incredibly powerful.”

“When they come across problems they can’t solve, they can just take a picture and upload it to Pet Elf, and it will provide the answer. Of course, there are also plenty of problems even Pet Elf can’t solve.”

As she spoke, she frowned slightly and offered a regretful assessment:

“The only thing is that the interface really is a little ugly. If it looked better, it would be perfect.”

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Listening to his sister’s comments, Li Ping’an was already delighted.

If the Pet Elf app could win over children, there was no need to worry about whether it could win over adults!

As for his sister’s remark that it could not solve certain problems, Li Ping’an was not surprised.

If a problem of the same type could not be found online and there was no corresponding data in the database, being able to solve it at all would practically be miraculous.

Given the capabilities of a mobile phone, solving even some of the problems was already quite impressive.

To make it truly intelligent, he would need more sophisticated artificial intelligence and supporting hardware.

Clearly, neither was something Li Ping’an could provide in the short term.

“All I developed was software, not an all-knowing god.”

The next morning, lazy sunlight spilled across the earth as Li Ping’an repeatedly called up from downstairs for his sister to hurry.

Only after quite some time did Li Ya finally finish dressing and grooming herself, tying her hair into a playful pair of buns. Humming a cheerful tune Li Ping’an had never heard before, she bounced down the stairs.

“I’ve called you at least eight hundred times. You really know how to take your time.”

Li Ya shot her brother a mischievous look and retorted, “Big Brother, with that impatient personality of yours, you’d better be careful. You may have a hard time finding a girlfriend in the future. Girls need to spend some time getting ready before they go out.”

Li Ping’an shook his head helplessly and did not continue arguing with her. Instead, he silently tossed her a pair of thick leather gloves and said with concern, “Put on the gloves if you don’t want your hands to freeze. It’s bitterly cold outside, so don’t let yourself get frostbite.”

“Got it!” Li Ya replied obediently, quickly putting on the gloves.

Once the two of them had bundled themselves up from head to toe, Li Ping’an was still not entirely reassured. He went over and tugged firmly on the front door, carefully making sure it was locked. Only then did he mount the electric scooter and slowly drive toward his uncle’s house with his sister seated behind him.

His uncle’s house was not very far away. It was about a kilometer along the road outside his sister’s school, in the direction of the county town.

Since it was still early, Li Ping’an was in an especially relaxed mood and felt no need to hurry. He rode the little electric scooter at a leisurely pace, enjoying the rare peace and comfort of the winter day.

Li Ya, sitting in the back, was not nearly so patient. She lightly tapped her brother on the shoulder and urged him, “Big Brother, ride faster. At this speed, we’re practically crawling like snails.”

“Safety first. What’s the hurry?” Li Ping’an replied unhurriedly.

“Heh-heh—twenty kilometers an hour. That really is safe.”

A little over ten minutes later, the two of them reached the main street.

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Li Ping’an slowly brought the electric scooter to a stop and turned to his sister. “Get off. Let’s buy some things to take with us.”

“Ohhh…” Li Ya answered and hopped off.

The butcher’s shop was swarming with people, lively and bustling. Customers buying provisions for the New Year stood shoulder to shoulder, every face filled with the joy and anticipation of the approaching holiday.

When these customers bought pork, they were exceptionally generous, often purchasing several dozen pounds at a time.

In the local tradition, most of the fresh pork would be taken home and carefully cured into delicious preserved meat in preparation for the New Year.

“Boss, cut me a piece of hind leg—about ten pounds,” Li Ping’an called out.

“Sure thing!”

The butcher responded briskly. His knife flashed down with practiced ease, and in no time he had expertly chopped off a piece of hind leg.

He tossed the meat onto the electronic scale.

Well, what do you know? It weighed exactly ten pounds—not an ounce more or less.

“Fourteen yuan a pound. That’ll be one hundred and forty yuan altogether.”

As he skillfully placed the pork into a red plastic bag and set it aside, the butcher continued cutting meat for other customers without even turning around, apparently not at all worried that Li Ping’an might take the meat without paying.

“Payment received: one hundred and forty yuan.”

When the shop’s speaker announced the payment, Li Ping’an called out to the butcher, “Boss, I’ve sent the money.”

“All right, got it,” the butcher replied casually, never pausing in his work.

Li Ping’an then bought some fresh fruit from a roadside stall and specially chose a pair of warm, comfortable woolen shoes for his grandfather.

Once everything had been purchased, he handed all the heavy bags to his sister in one go, remembering to caution her, “They’re a bit heavy. Hold on tight.”

The reason Li Ping’an had told her to put on gloves earlier was precisely to make it easier for her to carry things now.

Back in their first year, his sister had been reluctant to wear gloves. She thought they were uncool and would always keep her hands stuffed in her pockets.

But after suffering frozen fingers several times over the years, she had learned her lesson. Now she obediently wore gloves and no longer tried to look cool at the expense of her comfort.

P.S. I’m taking my wife shopping tonight, so tomorrow morning’s update may be a little late—probably sometime before noon. Well… as always, I’m here to ask for monthly votes. Monthly votes are still extremely important for a new book.

I’m off, I’m off—to go out and serve as a human coat hook.

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