The first day of the Lunar New Year in 2006 was a snowy one, with large snowflakes falling from the sky.
According to rural customs for celebrating the New Year, the first day was for visiting villagers and close friends. The second day was for nephews to visit their maternal uncles, and the third day was for sons-in-law to visit their parents-in-law.
This custom, passed down from ancient times, was likely directly related to the modes of transportation. Traveling on foot, one could only visit one family a day. For those with distant relatives, they would start their journey in the middle of the night. Even with the advent of bicycles, inconvenient rural transportation meant this custom persisted well into the new millennium.
However, with the gradual popularization of motorcycles in rural areas, the time spent traveling for New Year visits significantly decreased, and the custom began to change. Relatives living nearby could be visited within a day or two. New Year visits became more of a formality: seeing the elders and giving children lucky money.
In local customs in Xinhe, there was another tradition: when visiting a relative, one had to eat something, but not finish it. For example, if a relative served a bowl of chicken and fish balls, and you found it delicious or were genuinely hungry, you could eat most of it. If you couldn't finish, you could eat two fish balls or two pieces of chicken and return the rest.
The origin of this dining practice, or custom, is unknown. It was likely due to the poverty in rural areas in the past, where families didn't have much to offer guests. However, it's clear that this way of eating was unhygienic.
With the improvement of living conditions in rural areas, this bad habit has mostly changed. Food is still served, and one doesn't have to finish it, but before eating, half of the food could be returned to the pot, and the rest could be finished.
Yang Jian encountered this situation when he went to visit Lu Qian's home. He woke up early, visited relatives in the village, paid respects at the ancestral hall, and then drove to Lu Qian's house.
Without their son at home, the Lu family's house felt rather quiet, lacking the festive atmosphere of the New Year. However, Yang Jian's arrival brought long-lost smiles to Lu Qian and his wife.
Chen Lan served Yang Jian a large bowl of braised pork ribs with lotus root.
"Xiao Yang, we don't have many formalities at home. Eat all of this. There's more in the pot if you're not full. You must not have had breakfast coming so early."
"Auntie, I can't eat this much."
Yang Jian, following the custom, prepared to get up and pour some of the ribs from his bowl back into the pot in the kitchen. However, Lu Yao, who had just come out of the kitchen with a bowl of ribs herself, stopped him.
"What era is this? Still clinging to those old customs. Just finish it. None of us have had breakfast yet."
Lu Yao walked directly to Yang Jian, pushed him back into his chair, and then sat opposite him, starting to eat.
"Xiao Yang, how did the project in Xichuan go last year? You should be going back after the fifteenth, right?" Lu Qian asked from the side. It was a polite question, but Yang Jian stopped eating.
"Uncle, I lost several hundred thousand yuan in cash in Xichuan and am over a million yuan in debt. I have to go back."
At these words, all three members of the Lu family were stunned. Lu Yao's eyes widened as she looked at him.
Lu Qian was exceptionally surprised. "What happened? You've only been there for half a year, how did you accumulate so much debt?"
Lu Yao didn't believe it. "Didn't you buy a car? How could you possibly lose money?"
Yang Jian gave a wry smile and briefly explained Liu Yong's situation. He wasn't complaining; he was talking to Lu Qian, a professional in the construction industry, because he wanted to discuss matters related to the industry.
After listening to Yang Jian's explanation, Lu Qian sighed. "Xiao Yang, take my advice. Don't partner up on projects in the future. Even brothers can fall out over profits. There are too many such examples."
Yang Jian nodded. "This lesson is too profound. I probably won't have the chance to take on projects anymore."
"Don't be discouraged. Put the debt aside for now. Find a stable job and work. I'll help you find a good project in the second half of the year. Turning things around won't be difficult."
"The second half of the year? Uncle, are you planning to come out of retirement?"
"Yes, I need to handle Lu Feng's case in the first half of the year. Once his judgment is passed, I'll go back to work. Several large companies have offered me positions as chief engineer."
"Then I'll be waiting. By the way, how is Lu Feng's situation?"
"It's still a long way off. The police are still investigating his case. It will likely be sent to court around April. We've already found people, and it's estimated he won't be sentenced too harshly, as none of the places where Old Gui was shot were fatal. His main responsibility is illegal possession of a firearm. A sentence of ten years or less is possible."
"Oh, that's great. Even if he's sentenced to ten years, he'll only be in his thirties when he gets out, which won't affect marriage and having children."
"Let's hope he reforms well inside and strives for a reduced sentence. By the way, Xiao Yang, have you found a girlfriend? You're twenty-four this year, right?"
Yang Jian shook his head. "No, I'll be twenty-four in March."
Lu Yao immediately tapped the table. "Brother Jian, you're not being honest. Last time you told me you had a girlfriend, and now you're denying it?"
"We broke up. With such huge debts, the girl definitely wouldn't want to suffer with me."
After his cousin's incident, Yang Jian finally understood why Chen Xiaoli had broken up with him. Manager Chen likely knew in advance that his cousin would go bankrupt and had thus prevented Chen Xiaoli from continuing to date him.
"Damn, that girl is too materialistic! She broke up with you just because you were in debt?"
"It's quite normal. Her family's conditions are already very good. Me, a country boy, owing over a million yuan in debt is an astronomical figure. It's possible I'll never recover. Even if she was willing to endure hardship with me, her family wouldn't agree."
Lu Yao pouted. "That's her lack of foresight. Brother Jian, I have faith in you. As a child from a rural background, with no background or resources, you dared to contract projects at such a young age and even bought a car. That shows you have considerable ability, and turning things around is inevitable. A debt of a few hundred thousand is nothing. I believe you'll pay it off soon."
Yang Jian smiled. "Really? Thank you for your good wishes."
"Brother Jian, leave finding you a girlfriend to me. I have many unmarried colleagues and friends. I'll introduce one to you then." Lu Yao said, patting her chest with a righteous air.
Chen Lan snorted from the side. "You're playing matchmaker, but look at yourself. You'll also be twenty-four in March, and you haven't found a boyfriend yet."
"What's the rush? As long as I want to, many will fall at my feet."
Yang Jian asked curiously, "Yaoyao, you're also born in March?"
"Yes, the sixth of March."
"I'm also born on the sixth of March."
"No way, what a coincidence! I've been calling you Brother Jian for so long. Are you younger than me? What time were you born?"
"My mom said it was eight in the morning."
"I was born at eight in the evening. You're a whole twelve hours older than me. Forget it, I'll still call you brother."
As soon as she said this, everyone in the room burst into laughter.