New Year's Eve, a Snake Swallows a Giant Elephant (continued)

Last year, apart from Song Wenwen buying a new dress, neither she, her husband, nor Song Tianyao bought any new clothes. But this year, Zhao Meizhen looked down at the cotton-padded fox fur trimmed floral jacket she was wearing, and then at Meng Wanqing in the living room who was helping Lou Fengyun put change into the Red packet. All the new clothes for more than a dozen people this year were given by Meng Wanqing.

Miss Meng had her tailor come to take her measurements half a month ago, and she came early this morning. Everyone had two sets of new clothes, including shoes. I wonder how much money Miss Meng's family has made. The little jacket I'm wearing has fox fur trim on the collar and cuffs, which is said to be the same material used for the expensive clothes in those Shanghai tailor shops.

Lou Fengyun seemed to have made a lot of money as well. Several stacks of brand-new small bills, specially prepared by her, were on the living room table. She, Meng Wanqing, Song Wenwen, and Sister Fen were stuffing them into Red packet. These Red packet were meant for Zhao Meizhen and Song Chunliang to give to younger neighbors who came to pay New Year's visits. Each Red packet contained five brand-new one-yuan bills. Judging by the stacks, there must be at least five or six hundred yuan in total.

The firecrackers were exploding outside. The candied fruit and sweets in her hand were brought from the grocery store by Xianyu Shuan's wife, Sister Fen. The grains, oils, vegetables, chicken, duck, fish, and meat that had been stored in the house for the past few days were delivered by workers from Tianming Company in a truck, arranged by Scribe Hui.

It wasn't until near the end of the year that Zhao Meizhen realized that her family hadn't spent any money on New Year's goods; when she wanted to buy them, everyone else had already prepared them.

"It's a good thing your building has four floors, otherwise one room wouldn't be enough to accommodate so many people." Zhao Meizhu, who was helping her sister put the last of the candies into the wedding bag, remarked with a touch of emotion, "Are all these girls, young and old, A-Yao's girlfriends?"

Zhao Meizhen shook her head, recalling the distance her son had shown when he left home, and said helplessly, "I don't know either. A-Yao has grown up and isn't as obedient as before. His Dad and I don't dare to interfere anymore. We didn't realize A-Yao was a womanizer before. Do you remember Suzhen from the Squatter Area? Back then, A-Yao was always clinging to Suzhen, and he only had eyes for Suzhen. Now, Lou Fengyun told me that A-Yao has a Foreign Girl girlfriend with red hair."

Outside, Zhao Wenye, Nine-Tattooed Dragon, Scribe Hui, and the others had finished setting off firecrackers and were now chatting and laughing as they returned to the second floor. Zhao Wenye now had a slight stubble on his face, and his eyes were more piercing than when he was doing hard labor. He walked up behind Zhao Meizhen and asked, "Auntie Zhen, where's Brother Yiu?"

As soon as he spoke, Meng Wanqing and Lou Fengyun in the living room immediately looked over. They had arrived early in the morning but hadn't seen Song Tianyao. The two of them were just sitting opposite each other, and neither of them dared to ask him.

"His grandfather and aunt went to see them." Zhao Meizhen said angrily when Zhao Wenye asked about her son, "He drove off early this morning, and when I called him from behind, he pretended not to hear me. Did he think I wouldn't let him go? I wanted him to pack some New Year's goods and deliver them!"

Song Tianyao did indeed get up early on New Year's Eve and drove to Kowloon Walled City to see Song Chengqi. Song Chengqi, without Bo Ming for company, was now busy with Qi Weiwen and a few elderly people who still had some strength, renovating a two-story wooden building that they had acquired. It seemed that the wooden building would be able to open for business after the Spring Festival.

After leaving behind the New Year's goods he had bought and put in his car the day before, and secretly giving Song Chengqi two thousand Hong Kong dollars to help the elderly and children in the Elderly Home celebrate the Spring Festival, Song Tianyao drove to Ngau Tau Shan to visit Lin Yujing and Feng Yunzhi.

Song Tianyao originally wanted to take the two of them to Tai Wo Street for the Spring Festival, but when he called to ask, Lin Yujing declined. After thinking about it for a moment, Song Tianyao realized that the Lin Family had strict rules and that the whole family usually gathered together on New Year's Eve and Spring Festival. So Song Tianyao rushed to deliver New Year's goods to his third aunt Lin Yujing on the morning of New Year's Eve to avoid being late and missing her.

Down the mountain, they were first stopped by Wen Jingyuan, an old servant of the Lin Family. He walked slowly to Lin Yujing's small building to deliver the message. After receiving Lin Yujing's reply, he then let Song Tianyao drive up.

Song Tianyao didn't dare to put on airs with this servant of the Lin Family. He had heard from his third aunt that this was one of Lin Xizhen's men when he was smuggling opium at sea. He had been with the Lin Family for decades, and his marksmanship and courage had been tempered by pirates and other opium traffickers. Despite his age, several young men would not be a match for this man in his sixties.

"Brother Yiu!" Feng Yunzhi, dressed in a women's hunting outfit, skipped and hopped towards Song Tianyao as he got out of the car. Her long boots almost reached her knees, and her hair was tied into a neat ponytail that swung behind her head. She wore a black goatskin coat with a white fur collar turned up. However, Feng Yunzhi was a well-behaved girl, and even in such wild clothing, she didn't have that wildness. Instead, the contrast made her look even cuter.

"You picked these out yourself?" Song Tianyao got out of the car, opened the trunk, took out some New Year's goods, and walked towards the small building with Feng Yunzhi. "What is Third Aunt doing?"

"My mother is copying Buddhist scriptures, Sister Xiang is tidying up to give Red packet to the other children when we return to the main house at noon. This is what I chose myself, isn't it nice?" Feng Yunzhi said, carrying a bag of dried abalone for Song Tianyao he followed behind him.

Once inside the small building, Lin Yujing had already stopped writing and walked down from her room on the second floor. Lin Yujing looked much better recently and seemed more energetic. Seeing Song Tianyao, Lin Yujing down the steps and said:

"You must have a lot to do at home during the New Year, why bother coming here first thing in the morning? Have you had breakfast yet? Sister Xiang, is breakfast ready?"

Song Tianyao, Lin Yujing, and Feng Yunzhi sat down at the dining table to eat breakfast together. Lin Yujing smiled at Song Tianyao, while Feng Yunzhi kept glancing at him while eating. After quickly finishing his breakfast, he wiped his mouth and asked Song Tianyao, "Brother Yiu, when can we move to Kowloon Walled City to see Grandpa? I don't want to go to the Lin Family for Chinese New Year. It's stuffy, crowded, and noisy. I want to spend Spring Festival with Grandpa."

"Soon, soon." Song Tianyao swallowed his breakfast and smiled at Feng Yunzhi, saying, "I'm trying to figure out how you won't get bored when you go to the Lin Family in the future."