Dinner was full of idle chatter.
There were so many relatives that they split into two tables, one in the living room and one in the dining room.
Wang Yan sat with the younger generation. Her little niece was there too, so her aunt and sister-in-law sat at their table with the child, along with several older women.
In the dining room, the men laughed and drank. The sounds of pouring and toasting rose and fell without pause.
A cartoon played in the living room. Her little niece sat on the sofa, but every so often she got up and bounced around.
The conversation shifted from stocks, real estate, and medical and social insurance to employment.
The conversation in the dining room carried clearly into the living room.
Wang Yan's younger siblings were both in college, and one of her nephews was in high school, so they naturally became the focus of the discussion.
"...Foreign trade is tough these days. Small companies can't make it anymore. Everything's online now. Everyone's buying things online."
"You should've had your boy learn computers back then."
"He did."
"Huh? Little Fatty studied computers?"
"Yeah. He studied computers, then went and let himself down. He even got into some computer company, but he quit and went into sales. All that tuition money went to waste."
"Sales isn't bad, though."
"What's so good about it...? Make sure your son picks a good major for his college entrance exams. Computer science, networking—those are really good."
"He's not good at science. He's studying arts."
"What's a boy doing studying arts?"
"He can't get his physics and chemistry scores up. What can he do?"
"Wang Yan studied science, didn't she?"
"What's Wang Yan doing these days? Working for a foreign company?"
"Right, she works in HR at a company