After a bunch of them had taken turns helping Ms. Sima out for five days, someone from her hometown arrived.
Coincidentally, the students were about to begin their semester. They bid each other farewell and went home to get ready for the new semester.
Dressed in a summer outfit, Lixin arrived at Haiqin Railway Station on September 2 carrying a suitcase. She was wearing a light yellow dress and a pair of sunglasses. Her parents were also carrying a lot of stuff beside her.
As her semester commenced late, most of her schoolmates had already left. When it was her turn to leave, no one came to see her off.
She put in her earplugs and looked around in frustration. She seemed to be anticipating something.
At last, she walked to the platform with her parents since she did not see any schoolmates around.
'Hmph, I've spent six days with them looking after Ms. Sima, and they didn't even bother to come to see me off. How terrible.'
…
On the other hand, Chen Chuan's house was full of activity that day.
It was the celebration of his great-grandfather's death anniversary.
His great-grandfather, who was also the father of Chen Chuan's grandfather, was hale and hearty. He had managed to live a long life and died at the age of 102.
The Chen family was quite influential in Dujia Village. Nearly half the villagers attended the celebration that day.
Wearing decent, dark-colored clothes, the descendants of the Chen family solemnly headed to the graveyard.
The graveyard was not far from the village. They were moving in force, and Chen Chuan was walking among them.
The smell of fireworks and incense permeated the village as a firecracker was set off at the front of the street. It exploded with a deafening sound like that of a suona.
Chen Chuan's great-grandfather had four sons, each of whom had four or five sons. In other words, there were 20-plus people from the generation of Chen Chuan's parents, whereas his generation consisted of nearly 30 people among his immediate family.
Among those of his generation, some were quite old. They had gotten married and had children, who were now three to four years old.
In this regard, the queue was conceivably long.
Thanks to Grand Old Master Chen's good genes, his descendants were born with an attractive appearance and a finely proportioned physique. They looked charismatic in both Western and Chinese suits.
In the Chen family's graveyard, dozens of people were kneeling to worship together amid the cheers and noises of the firecracker.
Chen Chuan felt strongly connected with the clan here. The connection was rooted in his blood and soul, and it had nothing to do with time or space.
He had gained a different understanding of this place through the worship, which was now clouded with smoke. He was overwhelmed with a sense of belonging among the clan.
All of a sudden, he felt as if he was indigenous to this land. He was biologically related to the clan, and it felt rooted to his blood and soul.
Birds flew past the verdant trees and white clouds in the boundless, azure sky in early September.
At this point, it felt comfortable, despite the strong burning odor of joss paper and incense which permeated the air earlier.
After the worship had ended, the atmosphere was not as solemn and tense as before when everyone was on their way back.
Some of them had begun whispering to each other, sharing their cigarettes and discussing shares, houses, cars, and businesses, among other things.
This reminded Chen Chuan that he had to get back the Maserati before his semester began.
The women did not go to the graveyard but stayed in the Chen's Grand Courtyard preparing lunch.
For those of Chen Chuan's generation who had gotten married, their wives and children came. Even the girlfriends of those who had not gotten married had turned up.
More than ten cars were parked at the entrance of the courtyard. There were all kinds of car brands, including those from the BMW Brilliance Automotive.
The crowd returned from the worship. They then trickled into the Chen's Grand Courtyard.
Chen Chuan's elder uncle pulled Father Chen aside, handed a cigarette to him, and said, "Hey, Fourth Brother. Chen Sun is getting married soon. He's been interested in buying a car lately. Do you have any recommendations?"
"A car? How much money is he lacking?" Father Chen asked directly.
"I had some money initially, but there's a project I'd like to invest in. In this case, Chen Sun still needs 15,000 yuan to buy a car," Elder Uncle said.
"My hotpot restaurant… I've been struggling with the business recently. There's a newly-opened restaurant across the street, and it has drawn my customers there. I'm left with only two choices: either renovate my restaurant to remain competitive or close it down and move to another line of work. At this point, I'm also desperate for money. I can't help you with the car," Father Chen replied concernedly.
"There's no rush. Let's talk about it when we drink later," Elder Uncle said.
A little distance away, a young man with a crew cut tapped Chen Chuan on the shoulder.
"Chen Chuan, you're about to start your semester, right? Is it at Haiqin University?" The young man took out a cigarette and handed it to Chen Chuan.
It was a Feitian Soft cigarette.
"Yeah." Chean Chuan glanced at the young man.
Chen Sun was a 24-year-old graduate of Yanshan University.
Chen Sun smilingly said, "Let's go and meet my girlfriend. She's really beautiful."
Chen Sun dragged Chen Chuan to the courtyard, then shouted at the girl in a pink dress, "Jiaojiao."
The girl looked back with a smile. She came leaping with her eye-catching long legs.
It was the girl in the pink dress whom Chen Chuan had noticed early on in the crowd. He thought, 'Today's the celebration of a death anniversary. How dare she wear pink! I didn't know she's Elder Cousin Chen Sun's girlfriend.'
"Let me introduce the two of you. She's my girlfriend, Lin Jiao. Jiaojiao, this is my younger cousin, Chen Chuan. He's the pride of our family," Chen Sun said, exhaling the smoke through his nose.
Lin Jiao gave a coquettish smile. "Can't you just be like your little brother? Don't smoke too much. Look, he doesn't even smoke."
"It's no big deal for men to drink and smoke a little. It's not that he doesn't smoke. He just doesn't do it in public. If you don't believe me, go and touch his pocket." Chen Sun laughed, then he touched Chen Chuan's trouser pocket.
"Look how elegant your little brother is. I bet you can't find it…" While Lin Jiao was giggling, Chen Chuan took out a box of Huanghelou 1916 cigarettes.
"Ah, 1916! You smoke 100-plus cigarettes, huh? Impressive." Chen Sun said.
The box of cigarettes was given by Chen Chuan's mother this morning. Smiling weakly, Chen Chuan said, "Well, I offer a cigarette to everyone I meet. There's no harm in being gracious, right?"
Just as Chen Chuan was in an awkward situation, some youngsters walked toward him.
They were Second Elder Brother Chen He, Third Elder Brother Chen Hu, Fourth Elder Brother Chen Hai, Younger Brother Chen Xing, and Younger Sister Chen Ziyue.
These youngsters had the same grandfather, so they were considered to be members of Chen Chuan's family.
"Congrats, Big Brother. You're getting married soon."
"Is she Sister-in-law? What's her name?"
"Bro, Sister-in-law is really beautiful. How did you manage to win her heart?"
The youngsters began to chat away.
As a big brother, Chen Sun opened the cigarette box and distributed the cigarettes. He then began to narrate the love story with his girlfriend.
Chen Chuan walked to the other side. He took a cucumber from the food basket beside the well and had a bite of it. It was sweet and crispy.
He sighed as he watched hundreds of men and women in the courtyard. How grand the Chan family was. Also, there was a large courtyard here. He presumed that his great-grandfather had been quite a wealthy master back then.
Xiangyun walked toward Chen Chuan, offered him a thick pancake, and said, "Eat it while it's still hot… Oh look, Chen Chuan. They already have girlfriends. You're not young anymore. Grab the chance to pursue Little Pei. Go make the initiative and ask for her contact details. If she's interested in you, the bride price isn't a problem."
Before Chen Chuan could say anything, Xiangyun added, "Look at your prospective sister-in-law, Jiao Lin. How beautiful she is. Having said that, Little Pei looks much more beautiful. If you could bring Little Pei along, you'd be the most promising son in the Chen family.
"That's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't that?" Chen Chuan laughed.
"Of course not. If you could bring Little Pei along, you'd become the star of the Chen's family. If you could bring Nazar along, you'd become the star of the whole village then. Not only would you feel honored, but our family's reputation would also skyrocket," Xiangyun replied, then she continued preparing lunch.
The villagers made the effort to come and burn joss paper. Grand Old Master Chen had obviously been a reputable man in this village.
Chen Chuan stood at an empty area outside the courtyard sunning himself while waiting for the feast to begin at noon.
At that moment, Chen Chuan saw Lin Jiao walking out of the courtyard with a garbage bag. It seemed like she was going to throw the garbage.
Lin Jiao saw Chen Chuan, then said, "Hey, why are you here? Are you here to smoke? Don't smoke too much, alright."
"No, I'm just here to get some fresh air. The courtyard is crowded," replied Chen Chuan.
"Your village is well-planned. Unlike the cement roads in my village, the roads here are constructed using asphalt," Ling Jiao said casually.
She walked over to the garbage bin with vigorous strides while speaking to Chen Chuan. She threw the garbage into the bin and said, "Your brother said he'll let you be the groomsman. You've got to come then."
"I'll make it if I'm available."
"You've got to make yourself available," said Ling Jiao while walking back to the courtyard.
Soon, it was noontime.
During the feast, Chen Sun opened a bottle of GreatWall Dry Red Wine and poured it for his little brothers and their girlfriends as well as his little sisters. "Little brothers, you guys haven't drunk alcohol since childhood. Now that you guys are university students, you guys should learn to drink. You'll have to drink when you start working later on. We, as big brothers, will accompany you guys to drink a little."
Chen Chuan felt comfortable drinking wine as he had [Sober Pill]. Nevertheless, he had not really tasted red wine and consequently could not tell whether it was good at this point.
After having a few sips, he felt like tasting a few bottles of good wine, such as the 1982 Lafite. Anyway, he was entitled to unlimited [Expenditure Cash Return]. He finally had the privilege of drinking all the fine wine which he dared not think about previously.
The youngsters' faces flushed after they had a few glasses of wine at the table.
Chen Chuan happened to notice that Lin Jiao had quite a high alcohol tolerance. Her vision was the clearest among them.
"By the way, Chen Chuan, I'm going to visit an auto show the day after tomorrow to buy a car. Do you want to come along?" Putting his arm around Chen Chuan's shoulder, Chen Sun added, "Little brother, previously I didn't realize that you have a high tolerance for alcohol. You've got to drink on behalf of me during my wedding ceremony. Your sister-in-law and I will treat you well after that."
They kept drinking until evening.
When Chen Chuan reached home, he felt that something was not right.
Bang!
The door of the living hall was violently opened. Seething with anger, Xiangyun marched out while carrying a bag.
"Your son can't even afford his own house. How dare you lend someone money to set up his business! We're also struggling with our hotpot restaurant business. Rather than keep the money for the renovation of our restaurant, you actually lent it to someone to buy a car. How kind of you," Xiangyun grumbled as she marched out of the courtyard. She opened the door of her red jeep and started the car.
Father Chan ran out and tapped the door. "Hey, where are you going? Listen to me. Chen Sun's getting married soon, and the bride's family has asked for a car worth at least 20,000 yuan…"
Vroom vroom!
Xiangyun started the car and drove away.
Chen Chuan froze. He did not know what was going on, nor did he dare to ask.
Watching the car leave, Father Chen turned around. Gazing at Chen Chuan, he tried to explain, "You were there with Chen Sun and the others too, right? Did Chen Sun mention that the bride's family asked for something?"
"Nope," replied Chen Chuan.
"The couple insists on getting married despite the disapproval of the bride's family. The bride's family asked for a house, car and bridal jewelry set from Chen Sun's family. Your elder uncle has bought Chen Sun an apartment in Shidong District. Although it consists of only two bedrooms, the apartment is new and enough for two people to live in. Having spent the money on the apartment, he can't afford a car, so I lent him 10,000 yuan. Because of this, your mom got annoyed…" said Father Chen.
"What about the hotpot restaurant business that Mom talked about?" asked Chen Chuan.
"Recently, there's a new restaurant across the street. The decor looks great, and its dishes are reasonably priced. Our customers have all gone there. Initially, we've prepared 10,000 yuan to renovate our restaurant to remain competitive…" Father Chen paused for a while, then said, "Renovating the restaurant is your mum's idea. I mean, it takes a lot of effort and money to renovate it, and it may not turn out to be productive."
Finally, Chen Chuan was clear about what had happened. It was related to the 10,000 yuan that his father had lent to Elder Uncle.
Standing in the courtyard, the two of them were at their wits' end.
Father Chen had only turned 43 this year, yet he had gotten white hair, which made him look old. It was probably because he had a lot to worry about.
"Now what?" asked Chen Chuan.
"Your mom wants me to ask for that 10,000 yuan back for the renovation of our hotpot restaurant. If I fail to get it, she won't come back. She's now at your granny's house." Father Chen rubbed his face, then he squatted and scratched his head. 'I just transferred the amount to him. How can I get it back? Xiangyun is a bit too impulsive.'
"How much money do you still have?" asked Chen Chuan.
Father Chen lifted his head and looked at Chen Chuan. After thinking about it, he replied, "Less than 50,000 yuan. There's another 40,000 yuan which is my term deposit. I can't withdraw it. I've accumulated it over the years so that you can buy a house."