Chapter 092: That Year’s Spring Festival

This story is entirely fictional.

Spring Festival was just around the corner. Mingyue had long since decided she would return to Big River for the New Year, but because the master of the house had been too busy before the holiday, he had not let her go home early.

Situ Kong was thinking that this New Year, he did not even know where he should go.

In Little River, there was an unwritten custom: a daughter who had married out was not allowed to spend the New Year at her parents’ home.

With nowhere else to turn, Situ planned to stay at the fish farm for the holiday, and he began to regret selling the house he had bought in Little River years ago with his savings of ten thousand yuan.

That ten thousand yuan had been blood and sweat earned from selling vegetables in Big River. What a pity that they had not been able to withstand the other side’s relentless pressure, and in the end they had sold the house anyway. As a result, he was now homeless.

“Where are Mingyue and I supposed to go when you all go home for the New Year?” Situ asked his brother-in-law, Chi Minghe, probing for his true thoughts.

Whenever Situ tried to sound him out, Chi Minghe would either play dumb and say nothing, or simply avoid the subject altogether.

New Year’s Day was almost here, yet Mingyue still had not returned.

Situ Cong and his father stayed at the fish farm, counting down the days on the calendar and waiting for Mingyue’s return.

It was not until late on the night before New Year’s Eve that Chi Mingyue finally came back to the fish farm from Big River.

Situ Cong was already fast asleep. Mingyue woke him, and because the child had not seen his mother for so long, he was overjoyed. He rummaged through her bag for the gifts she had brought back from Big River, looking to see whether she had brought him the Wahaha he loved.

When he found several bundles of Wahaha in her bag, his face broke into a radiant smile. He was not the least bit sleepy now. He gazed intently at Mingyue before him, and that look was nothing like that of a five-year-old child; it was more like the expression of a grown man who, after a long separation, has finally seen the one he has longed for in his heart.

Seeing the lovely Situ Cong, Mingyue could no longer hold back her tears. They surged from her eyes in spite of her effort to restrain them. A little embarrassed, she wiped her face with her sleeve and said, “I was too excited. Too excited.”

As she spoke, a rare smile appeared on her face, and within that smile there was bitterness, joy, and, above all, a mother’s endless longing and concern for her son and husband.

After a while, Situ Cong quietly fell asleep in Mingyue’s arms.

There was a smile on his face, as if he were living happily and freely in a sweet dream.

Mingyue stroked the child’s little face, and her heart filled with tenderness. Seeing that her son had grown taller again, she felt both delight and sorrow. She did not know when such a life would ever end. Helpless, she kept shaking her head.

That night at the fish farm, neither Mingyue nor Situ slept at all.

After breakfast, Minghe arranged for Situ’s family to stay at the fish farm for the New Year. They found a minibus bound for Little River and prepared to return to the old country house there for the holiday.

When the minibus reached the tile-roofed house in Little River, Mingyue’s parents kept looking around, as if searching among those getting off for the figures of Situ and Mingyue.

“What are you looking for?” Minghe asked Chi Qian.

“Where are Situ and Mingyue’s family? Why didn’t I see them come back with you?” Chi Qian demanded loudly.

Standing nearby, the third son, Chi Mingri, suddenly understood: his parents were looking for Mingyue and Situ’s family.

“Maybe they had something to handle in the county seat, so they’ll come back a little later,” he said. “Don’t worry yet. Ask about it first.”

Seeing how anxious his parents looked, Minghe had no choice but to tell them, “They’re not coming back for the New Year. They’re staying at the fish farm to keep watch, and they’re planning to spend the holiday there.”

As soon as his father heard this, tears began to stream down his face. He loudly scolded Minghe, who had only just gotten off the bus: “Who came up with this brilliant idea? How could you arrange for Mingyue’s family to spend the New Year at the fish farm? Are you trying to make me lose all face?”

Minghe’s father was truly agitated.

“Isn’t that the custom here? I was only worried that if I didn’t follow the rules, I might upset you,” Minghe explained.

“What century do you think this is? And you’re still clinging to those absurd rules? The rest of you could stay away for the New Year if you wanted, but Situ and Mingyue must not be slighted.”

“Please don’t be angry. Yes, yes, even if none of us came back, that would still be fine. But this is the New Year, and we came home with filial hearts to spend it with you, to enjoy some family happiness together. The reason we didn’t arrange for Mingyue to come back and left her at the fish farm was because it was their own request to keep watch there, so I agreed. I never imagined you would be this upset. It’s all my fault, all right?”

“Hmph. Filial hearts? You still have the nerve to talk about filial hearts? When it comes to filial duty, which of you brothers can compare with Situ and Mingyue? They live away from home all year round, but in their hearts they always think of me and your mother. Every few days they call to ask after us. And you? Once you walk out of this house, do you still remember that there are two old people here waiting for you? No, you don’t. Whenever I say you don’t keep in touch with the family, you always come up with one excuse after another—phone calls are expensive, you’re too busy, and so on. I tell you, none of that is the real reason. It’s simply that you lack filial piety. You know the old saying: when a son travels a thousand miles, his mother worries. But now it seems that when a daughter travels a thousand miles, her father worries. Am I wrong?”

“Say it. That’s right. It’s all our fault. We’ll pay more attention from now on. I’ll call for another car right away and go personally to the fish farm to bring Mingyue’s family back home for the New Year. Will that do?”

Only when Minghe said he would send a car to fetch Mingyue’s family did his father finally stop lecturing, and his mood eased considerably.

At least this New Year now had a place to settle into. Minghe, Mingri, and Mingyue spent the first Spring Festival in the old house in Little River, with only Chi Zhaoming absent, alone in Big River and not having returned home.

In Big River, because fireworks were banned, the New Year without firecrackers sounded the same year after year, and as the holiday approached, the city became especially quiet.

The Ultimate Sports Bar was lively during the New Year as well.

Some of the patrons there were hoping to seize a chance and make a little money.

Because during the holiday, the MC headquarters also opened betting lines on a number of inconsequential matches.

Even the New Year Cup, a competition not fit for any grand stage, appeared on Flower Crown’s betting page.

Because the level of the matches was low, the number of goals in the games was enormous. In a single match, more than a dozen goals could be scored, and the bettors would howl with excitement, cheering during the live betting whenever a goal came through and they could win money, venting the frustrations that had been bottled up inside them.

When Will’s deputy reported the New Year Cup situation and asked whether they should stop handing out the so-called perks to the players, Will laughed and said, “Even beggars need to celebrate the New Year. Regard the losses on the scoreboard from the goals as dog food thrown to the beggars. They have it hard enough already.”

In Chi Zhaoming’s little house, Dujuan had never felt more frustrated in any previous New Year.

The family had not prepared any New Year goods, and no one had the heart to do so.

The financial situation in Chi Zhaoming’s home had fallen to the point of utter poverty. Talking about the New Year now felt almost meaningless.

“Should we go back to Little River? This year, all our brothers and sisters have gone home for the Spring Festival. Shouldn’t we go back too?” Chi Zhaoming asked Dujuan.

“What would we go back for? Do you still have the face to go home for the New Year? You’ve made this house so empty that we can barely even open the pot lid, and now you want to go back for the holiday? If you go back, you’ll have to buy gifts, won’t you? We’ll have to visit your uncle and pay our respects, won’t we? Do you have any money? I sure don’t. If you want to go, then go by yourself. I can’t bear the shame of it.”

Dujuan rattled on like a machine gun.

“If we’re not going back, then we’re not going back. Why get so angry? It’s the New Year,” Chi Zhaoming said softly.

“I don’t want to talk to you. Stay away from me!” Dujuan shrieked hysterically.

Chi Zhaoming said nothing. He sat in the living room chair, lost in a daze.

At the Ultimate bar, all the employees of the All Good Company were present. They gathered in Ultimate’s conference hall for the annual meeting.

Those attending were all employees under the Ultimate banner. Before the banquet, they held a brief tea gathering in the various side rooms.

Every face was lit with springlike smiles, all of them wearing the joy of a year’s harvest as they spoke freely about their hopes and visions.

The tea gathering at All Good Finance had a style of its own. Unlike other departments, which distributed year-end bonuses in envelopes, each person here received a huge bouquet of flowers. Hidden within those flowers were different bonuses. It was called “wealth in bloom.”

Spiral-Leg, who had little education, had gone to great pains to come up with such an idea, and it gave Gao Yating just a little something to smile about.

“Well done, very well done. All Good Finance has a bright future, a very bright future!”

Seeing Gao Yating praise him in public, Spiral-Leg beamed as though his face had blossomed like a flower.

Ma Shengwei, who had also come to the event, nodded repeatedly for his younger brother, smiling and giving him a thumbs-up.

Spiral-Leg was overjoyed. Silently, he made up his mind to accomplish even greater things in the new year and build a more brilliant tomorrow for All Good...

In the countryside of Big River, the New Year is not truly over until after the Lantern Festival.

On the night of the Lantern Festival, the local people weave straw into torches and light them after dark. Then they run wildly across the countryside fields, torches in hand.

All around, burning torches move swiftly through the night. It is said they are driving away the wild dogs and feral cats roaming the fields, hoping that after the coming spring sowing, there will be a good harvest and abundant crops.

Once the Lantern Festival has passed, adults often say that the New Year is over, the month is over, and it is time to steady the heart and return to work. The children, too, know that it is time to settle down and get on with things.

The third son, Mingri, taught at the middle school in Water Town. He had already returned before the Lantern Festival, and all the matters for the start of school had to be handled by his own hands. The school’s logistical chores piled up like a mountain.

Chi Minghe’s fish farm did not make enough money, but it still provided a livelihood of sorts. The boss said he would continue his fish business, calling out the slogan that persistence is victory.