A New Year

At nine o'clock on the morning of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year in 2010, 23-year-old Li Yang was still having a sweet dream in his warm bed. Last night, he had been drinking at his childhood friend Xu Rui's house until midnight before stumbling home drunk. After returning, he first filled a basin with hot water from the stove in the kitchen and carried it to his small room.

He comfortably soaked his feet, then leaned back on the bed and picked up the remote control, casually flipping through the channels on the Konka TV in the room.

This TV was bought by Li Yang three years ago when he was working at the factory near his home. To pass the boring time, he gritted his teeth and spent over seven hundred yuan at the appliance store to buy an old-fashioned big-screen TV. He also called the cable TV installation company and had a line connected at home so he could receive programs from various provincial TV stations.

From then on, this TV accompanied Li Yang through three long years of boredom. In his free time, it also helped him pass the dull days.

He tuned to Hunan Satellite TV, which was full of various New Year's Eve entertainment programs. Li Yang just lay there casually, listening to Zhang Jie singing a new song released for the New Year, watching with great interest.

From time to time, there were bursts of firecrackers from outside. In the countryside, there were always night owls who didn't sleep all night, wandering around the village like annoying lone ghosts.

After tonight, tomorrow it would be his family's turn to host a drinking party.

This was a tradition that they, a few childhood friends, had maintained every year during the New Year, without fail.

It started from New Year's Eve and didn't end until everyone had hosted a round.

Every time they drank, there were all sorts of arguments, disagreements, drinking contests, and general chaos that gave people headaches. Even so, it was a process that had to be participated in every year, unless you weren't home for the New Year; otherwise, no one could escape it.

After a while, the water for soaking his feet gradually turned cold. Li Yang picked up the towel to quickly dry his feet, put on his sweater, and went out to pour the water onto the snow pile in the yard.

It had snowed heavily all night on the first day of the Lunar New Year, which made Li Yang, who disliked visiting relatives, extremely happy.

With the snow making transportation inconvenient, relatives who lived far away naturally didn't have to go through the process of visiting, saving him a lot of trouble.

As of now, he was still a single dog with nothing in terms of love or career. Going out would inevitably lead to gossip, so staying at home was good.

Every night he had a little wine to drink. Actually, Li Yang rarely even drank beer normally, but the New Year's activities were unavoidable. If he didn't drink a little, he couldn't get by.

Tomorrow he had to tell his mom early to cook a few dishes in the evening, otherwise, he wouldn't know how to cook.

The alcohol was kicking in, and a wave of sleepiness washed over him. Li Yang couldn't help but turn off the TV, strip off his upper body clothes, and crawl into bed wearing only his underwear. Fortunately, the electric blanket had been plugged in and turned on beforehand, and it was now comfortably hot.

After lying down, Li Yang casually turned off the bedside lamp switch, and the room immediately plunged into darkness.

Gradually, Li Yang drifted off to sleep...

At nine-thirty in the morning, Li Yang slowly opened his eyes. He hadn't woken up in the middle of the night at all last night; it seemed sleeping after drinking was indeed comfortable.

His mom hadn't come to call him either. Today was already the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, and the process of visiting relatives was basically declared over.

He lay in bed, fully awake for a long time, before slowly putting on his clothes. The temperature in the room was very low, and the process of getting dressed was quite uncomfortable. There was no heating in the countryside.

Getting out of bed felt almost the same as standing in the wilderness. After a process of grimacing, Li Yang finally put on his thick winter clothes.

No wonder the beautiful women on TV didn't like winter; they probably didn't want to wear so many clothes either. Amidst various speculations, Li Yang was too lazy to make his bed. He shuffled out of the bedroom and came into the yard.

His family's financial situation was very ordinary. His dad had been unable to bear the burden of the family very early on. For so many years, they had stumbled along to get to where they were now.

Fortunately, he and his older brother Li Guang were both working and earning money. Not to mention whether they could save money, it was already quite good that they could at least take care of themselves and not make their family worry about them.

Last year, Li Yang and Xu Rui had just returned from working in the provincial capital. They had originally thought there would be good prospects in Zhengzhou, but they realized after going there that if you didn't have any skills, it was the same no matter where you went. They had messed around in Zhengzhou for a year, didn't earn much money, and wasted a year for nothing.

As the end of the year approached, the two of them completed their resignation procedures in advance, packed their bags, and took the train back. Fortunately, Luoyang wasn't far, and the train ticket only cost twenty yuan.

They discussed going to the talent market after the New Year to see if there were any good jobs.

The house was very quiet. His dad and mom were probably out for a stroll. Older generations in the countryside often liked to visit each other, gossiping endlessly about this family's affairs and that family's shortcomings. As someone from the 80s generation, Li Yang couldn't understand what meaning there was in this hobby!

Li Yang walked into the kitchen. The stove in the countryside, which they built themselves, burned honeycomb briquettes, and the temperature was quite warm, much more comfortable than the bedroom.

He opened the lid of the pot placed on top of the coal fire. Inside was the meal his mom had left for him: steamed buns, porridge, and stir-fried dishes.

Li Yang slowly carried them out with his hands and sat down at the dining table, starting to eat and drink heartily. Boys from the countryside had a great advantage: they were easy to feed. Having grown up enduring all sorts of hardships, they never fussed about food, clothing, housing, or transportation. As long as they had enough to eat and a bed to sleep in, that was fine.

Li Yang had grown up eating his mom's cooking. To be honest, her cooking skills were very ordinary. He couldn't say it was delicious; barely being able to fill his stomach was the best evaluation Li Yang could give of his mom's cooking.

After eating, he didn't wash the dishes either. He casually threw them in the sink, wiped his mouth, and walked out.

He checked his phone; it was only ten o'clock in the morning. What should he do? Li Yang stood at the gate, stunned for a long time, before finally deciding to go to Xu Rui's house.

Since they didn't live far apart, and Xu Rui's parents were quite warm and hospitable, Li Yang often hung out with Xu Rui when he had nothing to do. His parents didn't object to the two of them associating, unlike some parents who liked to judge people and choose who their children should socialize with.

It's really a bit ridiculous, Li Yang thought to himself. When I have children in the future, I will definitely not interfere with who they socialize with. Everyone has the right to choose for themselves, whether it's love or friendship. As long as the children like it, why not?

Lost in thought, Li Yang walked slowly towards Xu Rui's house with his hands in the pockets of his thick cotton coat, stepping on the melting snow on the ground. He greeted acquaintances he met on the way warmly.

In the village, quite a few people knew him. This was also thanks to the fact that Li Yang had spent almost a year messing around in the city a few years ago. As the saying goes, good news doesn't go out, but bad news travels far.

The rumors about Li Yang messing around outside eventually reached his family's ears.

His mom, who didn't understand big principles, used what she thought was the most correct method to cut off Li Yang's future of continuing to mess around. To this day, Li Yang doesn't know if leaving that circle was the most correct choice.

His mom's analysis was simple: anyone who didn't live a proper life was classified as a hooligan or a small-time thug and would be drowned in people's spit.

Li Yang was doing well in the city at that time and had achieved a little success, but in the end, his mom forcibly dragged him back to work honestly.

He had worked for a few years, but hadn't saved much money. He only bought a TV and had a few thousand yuan left. He had nothing else. His usual mode of transportation was either a bicycle or the bus, and he rarely took a taxi more than a few times a year.

After a while, he arrived at Xu Rui's doorstep. Without knocking, he walked directly into the yard, familiar with the way.

Xu Rui was sitting in the yard, looking bewildered, burning firewood. He didn't know what was steaming in the large pot on the stove.

Seeing Li Yang walk in, a smile immediately appeared on his face. He turned his head and said, "You just woke up, right?"

Li Yang walked over and sat down on a small stool next to him, his brow furrowing slightly.

"What, you thought I was still drunk? Don't you know what you looked like last night?"

The two of them started mocking each other about their drunken states last night, both being stubborn and refusing to admit how much they could drink.

Xu Rui took out a five-yuan cigarette from his pocket, lit one, and handed it to Li Yang.

Li Yang looked at him with disdain. "I've told you hundreds of times I quit. Are you still trying to tempt me? Get lost."

"Oh, oh, oh, good for you, kid, you've got backbone. Let's see how long you can last," he said, lighting one for himself, taking a satisfying puff, and then showing off by blowing a large cloud of smoke in front of Li Yang's face.

"You'll smoke yourself to death sooner or later."

"You'll be dying of impatience."

The two of them started bickering again, while reaching out their hands to warm them over the glowing red charcoal in the brazier. Immediately, they felt comfortable and relaxed all over.

"Oh right, tonight we should go to your place, and tomorrow we'll go to He Junjun's, the last one. This year will be over then."

Xu Rui said the upcoming schedule with a relaxed expression.

"When are we going to look for work?" Li Yang asked the most important question.

"After the New Year. This time I won't run around aimlessly. I'm not going to other places anymore, it's a waste of time." Xu Rui got a headache thinking about his work trip to Guangdong a few years ago. It was all scams. He also made up his mind that he would never step out of Luoyang again.

Unconsciously, the two of them sat in front of the fire and chatted until lunchtime.

At this time, Xu Rui's mother also came over and lifted the lid of the pot on the fire. It turned out to be steamed white buns inside.

"Eat here, Yangyang," Xu Rui's mother invited politely.

"No thanks, Auntie, I have to go back. My mom has already made food. You guys eat," he said, standing up and stretching.

This fire is really comfortable to watch, I'm even sweating, and my face is red and hot. After quickly saying goodbye to Xu Rui and his mother, he went out and headed home.

When he got home, his mother was just about to call him for dinner, and his older brother Li Guang also came over from his house.

Li Yang called out "Brother" and then there was no further conversation. They used to fight often when they were kids, and they didn't interact much after they grew up. The biological brothers felt a bit estranged, not as close as they were with their buddies.

Because it was during the New Year, the food at home was also much better than usual. At least there were a few dishes with a mix of meat and vegetables. The family of four sat at the dining table in the kitchen and started eating.

Li Yang ate two bowls of the rice his mother steamed before reluctantly putting down his bowl.

"Mom, it's my turn to host the drinking session tonight. Remember to stir-fry a few dishes. It doesn't have to be too fancy, there aren't many of us." Li Yang had grown up, and he felt quite confident talking about drinking with his family.

"Alright, is six dishes enough?" his mother replied while eating a mouthful of rice.

"That's fine. We'll be drinking a lot, so we won't eat much food. There was a lot of leftover food at Xu Rui's place last night."

Li Yang told his mother in advance to avoid being flustered later.

"Then come to my place. The liquor is already there. Just let Mom stir-fry a few dishes," his older brother Li Guang suddenly suggested to Li Yang.

"Okay then," Li Yang didn't refuse his brother's enthusiasm. If biological brothers were too polite, it would feel awkward. They were both adults, and Li Yang didn't want to hurt his brother's feelings, so he readily agreed.

A few years ago, the village allocated another residential plot to Li Yang's family. To avoid any complications, his mother went around to all the relatives' houses and finally managed to scrape together tens of thousands of yuan to build a single-story house. After they moved in, the family felt much more at ease.

Although his brother wasn't married, the two brothers had already tacitly agreed on the result of dividing the houses. The old house was left to Li Yang, and it was much larger than his brother's house.

The two brothers had no dispute over this. Usually, his brother lived in his new house.

After eating lunch in the afternoon, Li Yang was really bored, so he went out and wandered to the small supermarket by the roadside at the entrance of the village.

When the proprietress saw Li Yang coming, she enthusiastically started calling people to arrange a card game.

Li Yang's only hobby was playing mahjong. Although he didn't play for high stakes, he still lost a lot of money. Sometimes he would owe money here, but he would basically clear the debt every few months. The proprietress was very confident in Li Yang's creditworthiness, after all, they were from the same village.

Usually, some migrant workers who worked in nearby factories also came to play.

After a while, four people gathered, all of whom were card players they usually played with, and they were all familiar with each other.

Due to the limited space in the supermarket, they could barely fit two automatic mahjong tables. Even so, they were full every day, mainly because the stakes were not high, and both men and women could accept it.

A few minutes later, the other table also started, and the room suddenly became a bit crowded. Because it was during the New Year, most people were bored, and those who brought their children to play were also making noise in the supermarket.

Li Yang felt very annoyed. Finally, he managed to endure until after five o'clock. The four of them discussed it and decided to finish the last hand and break up.

When they finally calculated, Li Yang had won sixty yuan, and he was quite happy. At first, his cards were terrible, but who knew that his luck would suddenly turn good just before the end? He had several consecutive "gang" hands and finally turned the tables to become the winner again.

After taking the money the proprietress handed him, Li Yang quickly walked back to his brother's house.

His mother was already busy preparing, and his brother was also very helpful in setting up the table in the living room. Four bottles of Dukang Old Cellar white wine were placed on the table, and two cold dishes were already made: cold mixed sausage and cold mixed pig's head meat, both good for drinking. Four hot dishes would complete the meal.

"You hurry up and call them, otherwise the dishes might get cold," his mother reminded Li Yang from the kitchen doorway.

"Okay, I'll call now," he had just finished speaking when Xu Rui walked in alone.

"Hurry up and come, I was just about to call you guys. You call a few people too, I can't handle it alone," Li Yang said to Xu Rui, and then called the other buddies.