On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Li Xun spent the day going door to door in the village to wish the elders a happy new year. That evening, he gathered at the village's "CBD," the little shop at the entrance, to watch his mother, Wang Huiqing, play mahjong.
Four women were gathered around the mahjong table.
The stakes in Li Family Bay were pretty low—usually two yuan per hand, so each game only involved a hundred yuan or so.
"Pung! South wind!"
"Hey, did you all watch the Spring Festival Gala last night? That song, 'Where Did the Time Go,' was so good. I almost cried listening to it!"
Li Xun had to call the woman speaking his second sister-in-law.
"Exactly! I loved that performance too. Hey, Wang Huiqing, did you notice? The lyricist and composer have the same name as your Li Xun!"
By seniority, Li Xun had to call this speaker his grandaunt.
"I noticed too. Wang Huiqing really knew how to pick a name. Li Xun—just listen to it, it sounds special. Look, now there's a great composer with that name!" said the neighbor's wife with a smile.
"People say your fate comes first, then your luck, feng shui, and your name. Why don't you try learning to compose, Li Xun? Maybe your name is just right for the job. And your wife's a big star, too. Wouldn't it be great if you composed and she sang?" his second sister-in-law said.
Wang Huiqing's lips curled into a smile. "My son wrote that song."
"Chow!"
The neighbor's wife discarded an East wind. Wang Huiqing had three East winds in her hand, so she declared a kong. She drew a tile, a nine of characters, and she already had three of those, too.
"Another kong!"
Wang