Chapter 174 Bringing Gifts
Today is New Year's Eve. Song Yuanchao went to the telephone office at noon and called Lin Yan who was far away in Yanjing to say hello.
On the phone, Song Yuanchao told Lin Yan that he would return to Yanjing after the third year of junior high school. Lin Yan asked why he came back so early. Song Yuanchao smiled and said that he missed her in Shanghai, so he came back early to see her.
Lin Yan was very happy on the phone and talked a lot with Song Yuanchao in private. The call lasted for half an hour. If the person behind her hadn't urged her, Song Yuanchao might have wanted to continue chatting.
After paying the bill and leaving the telephone office, I could hear the intermittent sound of firecrackers outside. Since yesterday, many children have been playing in the street with colorful firecrackers in their pockets and a lit cotton thread or incense in their hands.
Looking at these children laughing and playing, throwing firecrackers at each other, Song Yuanchao stood aside and watched with a smile. This is not the 21st century. Nowadays, the atmosphere of the New Year is strong, and the sound of firecrackers echoes from the end of the year to the beginning of the year, and gradually dies down until the Lantern Festival.
Although there are many criticisms about setting off firecrackers in later generations, such as that they are easy to cause fires or air pollution, experts can find a lot of reasons, all of which seem to be reasonable and well-founded. But in Song Yuanchao's view, is it still the New Year without firecrackers? The loss of a thousand-year-old tradition will do more harm than good. As for fires, just take precautions. You can't throw out the baby in the basin with the bath water, right?
The strong New Year flavor brings a festive atmosphere. Compared with last year, this can be said to be the first New Year that Song Yuanchao has celebrated since returning to the old times.
Looking at the smiling, happy pedestrians on the street and the children running and playing, Song Yuanchao felt as if he was in another world.
Today's New Year's Eve dinner has been arranged long ago, and it will be eaten at Zhang's mother's house. In addition to the Zhang family, there are also Qin Zhengguo and Ying Caixia.
Yesterday, Song Yuanchao specifically told Qin Zhengguo about him and Ying Caixia. He didn't know whether Qin Zhengguo and Ying Caixia had confessed their feelings. Today, when Song Yuanchao saw that Qin Zhengguo and Ying Caixia seemed to be doing nothing special, but when the two of them sat down, Qin Zhengguo carefully helped Ying Caixia hold up the stool, Song Yuanchao couldn't help but smile.
Whether it is Qin Zhengguo or Ying Caixia, they are his best friends. As a friend, Song Yuanchao naturally hopes that they can be together.
Compared to Qin Zhengguo's outgoing and often childish personality, Ying Caixia is much more stable. Moreover, Ying Caixia, who comes from a wealthy family, has an outstanding temperament and is thrifty in housekeeping. The two of them know each other well, making her the best candidate for Qin Zhengguo's partner.
In his previous life, Qin Zhengguo was successful, wealthy and had a lot of money. The beauties around him changed like a revolving lantern, and he was the envy of many people.
But is he really happy? In Song Yuanchao's view, the money and beauties are nothing more than things Qin Zhengguo shows off. To outsiders, he lacks nothing, but he is a complete loser in love and family.
If it weren't for this, Qin Zhengguo wouldn't have ended his life in that way. And now, he can be with Ying Caixia. Song Yuanchao doesn't dare to say anything else, but at least his relationship and family life will be much more complete than before.
The New Year's Eve dinner was very lively. Song Yuanchao sat beside Zhang's mother and took care of her, serving her like a grandson. Seeing Song Yuanchao grow up and become successful, Zhang's mother was very pleased. Looking at the table of delicious food, her son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, and granddaughters, life was getting better and better. As an old man, what could she be dissatisfied with?
If the only regret is that Lin Yan is not here, Song Yuanchao has already made it clear with Zhang's mother that he will definitely bring Lin Yan back during the summer vacation to let Zhang's mother take a good look at the granddaughter-in-law he has chosen for her.
After dinner, everyone sat together and laughed and talked. Song Yuanchao took out the New Year's money he had prepared long ago and gave it to the two children.
In Shanghai, New Year's money can be given on the first day of the new year or during the New Year's Eve vigil. Seeing that the two children were already looking forward to it and excited, the smiling Song Yuanchao simply gave them the money in advance.
Who would have thought that just after giving out the New Year's money, Song Yuanchao himself also received New Year's money. It was a red envelope specially wrapped by Zhang's mother for them. Song Yuanchao, Qin Zhengguo, and Ying Caixia, all three of them, received one each. Although the money was not much, only ten cents in the red envelope, it made everyone very happy.
Song Yuanchao wanted to refuse, but Zhang's mother said something that made it impossible for him to refuse. According to the old lady, anyone who is not married is still a child no matter how old they are, and as an elder, they must accept the New Year's money. So Song Yuanchao and his friends thanked Zhang's mother and accepted the gift. When midnight approached, everyone went out happily and hung firecrackers at the door and set them off.
At this time, the sound of firecrackers echoed everywhere in Shanghai, and the air was filled with a strong smell of sulfur. This is the Chinese New Year, this is the traditional flavor of the New Year. Looking at this scene, Song Yuanchao was sincerely moved.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Song Yuanchao first kowtowed to Zhang's mother, and then spent the next period of time visiting each household.
He visited Li Daqi's family, Gu Jie's family, Director Ma's family, Principal Zhou's family, and even Zhang Yong's family, all the elders and friends in Shanghai. After the second day of the Chinese New Year, Song Yuanchao would set off for Yanjing.
Song Yuanchao left first. Qin Zhengguo, Ying Caixia, Gu Jie and others went to Yangcheng on the fourth day of the New Year. Before leaving that night, everyone had dinner at Song Yuanchao's house again and talked a lot.
This time we won't see each other again for at least half a year. Although we can keep in touch by phone or letter, there are still some things that must be explained clearly before leaving.
Li Xiaoyun also came that day. As soon as this crazy girl returned to Shanghai, she either looked for her former classmates and friends or stuck with Ying Caixia. Especially during the past two days of the New Year, she had a lot of fun. Song Yuanchao returned to Yanjing on the third day of the New Year. She originally planned to go with Li Xiaoyun, but who would have thought that she would stay in Shanghai for a few more days. Firstly, Ying Caixia would leave a day later, so she had to accompany her for another day. Secondly, she had made an appointment with several classmates and friends to go to the City God Temple on the fifth day of the New Year.
Since this is the case, Song Yuanchao did not force it. He could ask someone else to buy the train tickets anyway, and with Li Daqi around, such a small matter could be easily resolved.
Early in the morning on the third day of the Lunar New Year, Song Yuanchao took his luggage and said goodbye to everyone, went straight to the train station and boarded a train heading north. When the train left Shanghai Station, Song Yuanchao's heart had already flown to Yanjing, to Lin Yan's side.
After returning to Yanjing, Song Yuanchao first went to the courtyard, sorted out the things he brought back, then took out his bicycle and rode to Lin Yan's house.
"Auntie, Happy New Year!"
I knocked on the Lin family's door and the person who opened it was Chen Yuqin, who was wearing an apron. She didn't expect that the person who came was Song Yuanchao.
"Yuan Chao, when did you come back? Come in, come in quickly!" Chen Yuqin was very happy to see Song Yuan Chao, and hurriedly called Song Yuan Chao into the house. At the same time, she turned around and shouted inside: "Lao Lin! Yan Zi, Yuan Chao is here!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Yan, who was in her room, ran out of the house like a swallow returning to its nest. Seeing Song Yuanchao looking at her with a smile, Lin Yan suppressed the urge to throw herself into her lover's arms, stopped and smiled at him from the bottom of her heart.
"You're back?"
"I just came back. I put my things down and came here."
"Why don't you take a break before coming back?"
"I don't miss you anymore."
Song Yuanchao said with a smile. Seeing the two children's conversation, Chen Yuqin couldn't help laughing. She patted her daughter and said, "Silly girl, why don't you let Yuanchao go in and sit down first? Oh, go make Yuanchao a cup of tea. It's cold outside today. Drink some water to warm yourself up."
Lin Yan nodded repeatedly and went to make tea happily. At this time, Lin Daoyuan also came out of the study. Song Yuanchao stepped forward and bowed to Lin Daoyuan and wished him a happy new year.
"Well, Happy New Year to you too. Did your trip back to Shanghai go smoothly?" Lin Daoyuan asked with a smile.
"Thank you for your concern, uncle. Everything is going well. I came back early as things are fine in Shanghai." Song Yuanchao answered politely.
Lin Daoyuan asked Song Yuanchao to sit down and chatted with him for a while. At this time, Lin Yan also came out of the kitchen, brought a cup of tea and put it on the coffee table, and sat down next to Song Yuanchao.
"By the way, uncle and aunt, and Yan Zi, I brought you some things this time." Song Yuanchao said as he stood up and brought over the bag he had brought.
"Child, just come back. You must be tired from coming so far to bring such things." Chen Yuqin complained, but her face was full of smiles. Song Yuanchao specially brought gifts from Shanghai for them. As a future mother-in-law, how could she not be happy?
Song Yuanchao brought a lot of things back this time, including the clothes and pants produced in advance by the factory, and the things Qin Zhengguo brought back from Yangcheng. These things were packed into several bags, and Song Yuanchao almost couldn't carry them all by himself, so he brought them back from thousands of miles away.
The gifts for Lin Yan's family were carefully prepared by Song Yuanchao. Among them, the one for Lin Daoyuan was a set of custom-made clothes and a pair of "Dengyun" brand leather shoes.
I went to the store specifically to buy the leather shoes. They are made of the best calfskin. The Dengyun brand is a famous product of Shanghai's No. 1 Leather Shoe Factory.
As for the suit, Song Yuanchao specially asked two masters in the factory to help him make it. It was made of high-count black and gray wool fabric. The top was a jacket with a small lapel, and the pants were suit pants. Song Yuanchao designed the style according to the common style of cadres in later generations, which looked generous and fashionable.
"Oh, these clothes and shoes are really nice. Song Yuanchao, how much did they cost?" When Song Yuanchao took out these things, Chen Yuqin's eyes suddenly lit up, and she couldn't help asking as she touched the crisp and soft fabric.
"It didn't cost much. I got the leather shoes at an internal price through connections at the shoe factory. I asked the master craftsman at the factory where I worked before to help me make these clothes. I only spent the cost of the fabric. Uncle, do you want to try them on?"
"Yes, yes, Old Lin, change it, try it on quickly." Chen Yuqin urged Lin Daoyuan impatiently. Lin Daoyuan smiled and shook his head, then went into the room with the clothes. After a while, Lin Daoyuan came out in a brand new look. When Chen Yuqin and Lin Yan, mother and daughter, saw Lin Daoyuan appear in front of them wearing such an outfit, their eyes suddenly lit up.
