My hotel is full of emperors throughout history.

The door opened, and a warm breeze rushed in, carrying a variety of scents—the fresh aroma of fruit, the sweet smell of bread, and the clean smell of cleaning agents.

He stood at the doorway, stunned for a moment.

Chen Mo knew what he was staring at.

This supermarket wasn't big; it was just an ordinary neighborhood supermarket. But for him, everything in front of him was overwhelming.

On the shelves, there are red, green, yellow, all sorts of colors.

The apples were piled up like a small mountain, shiny and glistening, as if they had been waxed—in fact, they were naturally shiny.

Next to him were oranges, pears, bananas, grapes, and other tropical fruits he couldn't name.

Dragon fruit, custard apple, durian—the ones wrapped up tightly, as if afraid their aroma would escape.

The old man walked over and gently touched an apple.

Chen Mo stood to the side without saying a word.

The old man continued walking forward.

Vegetable section.

Green bell peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, celery, chives, spinach, lettuce, romaine lettuce...

Rows and stacks, bright green and pleasing red.

Some of them still had water droplets on them, as if they had just been picked from the ground.

The old man stopped and looked at the green vegetables.

"In winter," he said softly, "we can only eat cabbage and radishes. Cabbage stewed with radishes, radishes stewed with cabbage. We eat like that all winter long."

He reached out and touched the lush green lettuce.

"this……"

Chen Mo said.

"Romaine lettuce. It's delicious stir-fried, or with minced garlic."

He nodded, glanced at it a couple more times, and then continued walking forward.

Meat section.

The freezer was filled with all kinds of meat: pork, beef, lamb, chicken, and duck.

Pork belly, tenderloin, ribs, minced meat, sliced ​​meat, and shredded meat are all clearly distinguished.

There were also cut steaks and lamb chops on the side, wrapped in plastic wrap with price tags on them.

He looked at the price tags and read them aloud softly.

"Pork belly...15.8 yuan per jin?"

Chen Mo nodded: "Ordinary families can afford it."

He was silent for a while.

"Back then," he said, "we only ate meat a few times a year. When we slaughtered a pig for the New Year, the whole village would come and share it."

He looked at the neatly arranged ribs and suddenly asked.

"Do people buy this every day?"

Chen Mo smiled.

"Every day. Some people buy it to make soup, some buy it to braise. They can eat it whenever they want."

He didn't speak.

But his eyes were slightly red.

If you walk forward, you'll reach the grain and oil section.

Rice, in bags, from Northeast China, Jiangnan, Thailand, all kinds of origin.

White flour, cornmeal, millet, black rice, red rice, mung beans, red beans, soybeans, black beans—row after row, neat and tidy.

The old man stood in front of that row of rice and looked at it for a long time.

"When I was a child," he said, "I dreamed of eating a bowl of white rice."

He paused.

"Then came the war, and we didn't get to eat for a very, very long time. And then..."

He didn't finish speaking.

Chen Mo knew what he wanted to say.

He reached out and gently patted the bag of rice.

"Now it's great," he said, "we can eat white rice every day."

Snack section.

The colorful packaging of chocolates, potato chips, cookies, candies, jellies, spicy strips, nuts... is dazzling and overwhelming.

The old man stared blankly at the packaging.

"Is all of this food?"

he asks.

Chen Mo smiled.

"Yes, they are. The kids love to eat them."

The old man thought for a moment and then asked.

"Little Sisi, which one do you like to eat?"

Chen Mo pointed: "That...and that, the lollipop."

The old man nodded, walked to the shelf, picked up a box of candy and looked at it.

"Is this expensive?"

Chen Mo said.

"It's not expensive. Even children from ordinary families can afford it."

The old man put the box of candy back and then picked up a bag of lollipops to look at it.

They come in a variety of colors and are individually packaged.

He looked at it for a long time, put it back, and then picked up another bag.

Chen Mo wanted to say something, but he didn't let him.

"I'll buy her some."

The old man said.

He took out some money from his pocket, counted it, and bought two bags of lollipops and a box of candy.

"This," he said, pointing to the candy, "you keep it for her, but don't let her eat too much at once."

Chen Mo took it, feeling a warm glow in his heart.

The old man stopped as he passed the freezer section.

He stared at the rows of ice cream, his eyes widening.

"This..." he pointed, "...can we eat ice in winter?"

Chen Mo smiled.

"Refrigerator. Eat whenever you want."

The old man walked closer to take a look.

Various flavors, various packaging, all colorful. There are bowls, cones, popsicle sticks, and even family packs in boxes.

"Which one does Little Sizi like to eat?"

he asks.

Chen Mo pointed.

"That one, strawberry flavored."

The old man looked at the price tag and then took out his money.

"Buy her some more of this."

Chen Mo tried to stop him, but he didn't.

"I rarely come all this way," he said, "to buy something nice for the kids."

Chen Mo looked at him and suddenly felt a little sore in her eyes.

He knew that this old man had spent his whole life thinking of others.

"That's eighty-seven yuan and fifty cents in total."

The old man took out his money, counted it out one bill at a time, and handed it over.

When the girl was giving him change, she glanced at him and suddenly said something.

"Grandpa, you really look just like someone."

The old man paused for a moment, then smiled.

"Who does he look like?"

The girl thought for a moment, then shook her head:

"I can't quite put my finger on it. It's just... the person we all think about."

The old man smiled and took the change without saying anything more.

Stepping out of the supermarket, a cool night breeze blew by.

The old man was carrying a plastic bag containing lollipops and ice cream.

The two continued walking forward.

After walking for a while, the old man suddenly said.

"Look—this supermarket, all the food and supplies, they all belong to us."

Chen Mo nodded.

“Before,” he said, “we couldn’t even get enough to eat. Now, we have so much food we can’t finish it all, and we have to figure out how to store it and keep it fresh.”

He paused.

"We have truly stood up."

Chen Mo looked at him, at that face that was faintly glowing under the streetlight.

Suddenly I realized, tonight's trip... no!

This life has been worth it!!!

They walked for a long time and saw a lot.

Finally, the two walked onto a pedestrian bridge.

He stopped, looking down at the endless stream of cars and the brightly lit high-rise buildings.