On the second day of the Lunar New Year, it was customary to visit the wife's family. Zhao Xiuqin's parents had both passed away.
Wang Xiaoliang's eldest uncle was seventy-two that year, hale and hearty, with more energy than many young people. Ever since his grandparents had passed away, the Zhao siblings had gathered at their eldest brother's home on this day every year without fail. This year, the elderly couple had announced that cooking was getting beyond them, so they would simply host everyone at a restaurant to save themselves the trouble.
Lunch was scheduled for noon at a fairly well-known Chinese restaurant.
Wang Xiaoliang drove straight to the restaurant with Wei Zijin and Zhao Xiuqin.
When he reached the parking lot, he was a little dumbfounded.
There were spaces, but their positions were truly awkward. Two rows were packed with cars, and the empty space between them was like a shy girl, willing to reveal only a small part of herself.
Worse still, the aisle between the two rows was narrow, leaving very little room to maneuver.
Wang Xiaoliang took a deep breath, shifted into reverse, and cautiously inched his way in.
On his first attempt, the aftermarket parking sensors on the Jetta kept beeping, sending him back to square one.
He tried again, but his angle was even further off.
"Beep-beep-beep-!"
A red Golf behind him honked impatiently. The piercing sound echoed through the partially enclosed parking lot, particularly grating.
Already nervous, Wang Xiaoliang started sweating through his palms under the pressure, and his steering grew even more erratic.
He simply stopped, afraid he might accidentally scrape a car beside him. That would mean even bigger trouble.
The door of the red Golf opened, and a rather full-figured woman stepped out, wearing a conspicuous down jacket and