"I remembered something," Lin Yao went downstairs and saw Lu Teng and his nephews and nieces playing happily, all rolling on the carpet. He turned around and looked at Guan Ze, "It seems that I messed up the way I addressed Lu Teng just now."
Guan Ze thought about it and laughed: "It seems so, call your uncle uncle and call your mother grandma."
"Yes, I am of the same generation," Lin Yao sighed, "But Lu Teng is quite smart. He calls me uncle according to my age and grandmother according to her generation..."
"Let him change it later."
"Forget it. Kids are confused to begin with. If you keep asking him to correct it, he'll get it mixed up again," Lin Yao looked at Lu Teng, who looked excited. "If you really want to correct it, you have to correct the habit of calling me brother first."
"I don't think this will work." Guan Ze smiled.
The lunch was very sumptuous. There were many relatives at home, so we had three tables, which almost filled the living room.
Lin Yao called several children to him and Guan Ze and gave them red envelopes one by one. In the past, it was not so easy for him and Lin Zong to get lucky money. They had to kowtow to the adults one by one after another after midnight and say a lot of auspicious words to get it. And every time, he was the one who said a bunch of auspicious words, and Lin Zong was lazy and just hummed along.
Several children were making so much noise and laughing that the adults had to shout to talk. The old aunt poked her head out of the kitchen and shouted, "Lin Yao! Serve the dishes! Your brother was in the kitchen just now, but I don't know where he is now!"
"Here he comes," Lin Yao quickly pulled Guan Ze into the kitchen, "My brother must have gone to the rooftop to smoke and couldn't hold it in any longer."
"Guan Ze, don't come in. Go out and sit." The old aunt pushed Guan Ze out.
"It's alright," Guan Ze leaned against the door frame, "I don't find it interesting to sit there."
"Let him serve," my mother shouted from inside, "I tell you he is more reliable than Lin Yao. You all know that Lin Yao dumped a whole pot of chicken on the ground last year..."
"Oh, I'll never forget it!" The old aunt laughed so hard that she stopped trying to stop Guan Ze. "Lin Yao was just sabotaging things. When he was setting off the fireworks, he aimed them at his uncle's car and almost burned it down."
"It's none of my business," Lin Yao walked out holding a plate of fish. "I've never seen a car parked without closing the windows, and I was desperately trying to put out the fire."
"How did you save him?" Guan Ze followed behind with a large earthenware jar. No one knew what was in it, but it smelled like a faint herbal scent.
"I stuffed my 1.8-meter-tall body into half of the car window and fished out the firework!" Lin Yao turned around proudly, "But it was a bit difficult to get it out. My brother pulled me out by my legs."
Before Lu Teng went to wash his hands and prepare to eat, he pulled Guan Ze aside and said, "Dad, come here."
"What's wrong?" Guan Ze followed him to the side, squatted down and looked at him.
"Help me take it. I can't keep all of it." Lu Teng took out a bunch of red envelopes stuffed in his clothes, feeling a little embarrassed in his excitement. "They keep falling out when I'm playing."
“So many.” Guan Ze smiled. The red envelopes from Lin Yao’s relatives were all very big. This was probably the first time that Lu Teng had received so many red envelopes since he was a child.
"Dad, can I have it?" Lu Teng thought for a moment and asked carefully.
"Yes." Guan Ze touched his head.
"Then when you have time, can you take me to buy gifts for the kids? I'll use half to buy gifts, and you can save the other half for me." Lu Teng put his arms around his neck and twisted his body against him.
"Okay, little rich man."
We said we would have a simple lunch and a big dinner in the evening, but there were still several large tables filled with dishes.
Lin Yao tasted it. This time his mother didn't prepare many dishes on her own. The aunts saved the taste of the dishes on the table. He enjoyed the meal very much.
The meal was noisy and ended in no time because there were other important things to do in the afternoon, such as preparing dinner and making dumplings. Of course, the extra people played cards.
"Guan Ze," Mom was cleaning up in the kitchen when she saw Guan Ze coming in, and quickly pulled him back, "It's up to you later!"
"Yeah," Guan Ze nodded with a smile, "Watch me."
"Don't brag too much," Lin Yao came in and took a rag to wipe the table, "What if we can't win?"
"Let's take a look at the situation first," Guan Ze stretched his arms, "I have been playing cards for more than ten years, much longer than you."
"Shut up!" Lin Yao turned around and glared at him.
Dad raised his eyebrows when he saw Guan Ze sitting at the table, and looked at Guan Ze: "Auntie sent you here, right?"
"No," Guan Ze smiled, "I haven't touched it for a long time, so I want to review it."
"Humph," Dad sneered, "I won't show mercy."
"Come on." Guan Ze said.
Lin Yao took out the juice tea and other things prepared by his mother and placed them on the table next to him, along with a bunch of fruits and snacks. His main job during the Chinese New Year every year was to serve the people while everyone was playing cards.
After preparing food for both tables, Lin Yao took a chair and sat behind Guan Ze.
Everyone at the table is an expert, including dad, aunt and uncle. Lin Yao doesn't know how good Guan Ze is, so he stared at his moves for a while and thought that there might be a chance.
Guan Ze's movements were very skillful. He picked up the cards and arranged them quickly, unlike Lin Yao, who would look at a card for a long time or he didn't understand the combination. Lin Zong was willing to nag at him while he was holding the cards and pondering, saying, "Pinch hard, and if you pinch for a while, you will get offspring. I will give you a litter of all the same color."
Guan Ze didn't put the cards in order like him, but just put them randomly, saying that it was difficult to guess the cards this way. In fact, Lin Yao felt that if his opponent was like him, unless he showed all the cards, he would not be able to guess them even if they were in order.
No one in the family has been able to beat Dad for two or three years. Lin Yao was willing to see Guan Ze win, but after two or three rounds, Dad made a lot of money, but Guan Ze didn't make any progress.
"You can't do it." Lin Yao whispered in Guan Ze's ear.
"Really?" Guan Ze turned his head to look at him with a smile on his lips.
This smile obviously had other meanings. Lin Yao glared at him fiercely and stood up: "Who wants something to eat or drink?"
"Brother Lin Yao—" Lu Teng called him.
There was no sound in the room at that moment, and Lu Teng's call of "brother" made everyone in the room laugh. The children who were about the same age as Lu Teng were all cousins, and they either called him uncle or uncle.
"Brother Lin Yao, I can't figure out why you've been so inconsistent in your life," said my cousin, who was mixing the dumpling stuffing. "Brother Lin Zong, go wash your hands. I'm going to roll out the dough."
"I'm so innocent." Lin Zong put down the teacup and went into the kitchen.
"Brother," the nephew followed and shouted, "Are there any more fruits?"
"Yes, little monkey, stop yelling or I'll tell others about your father's cards," Lin Yao said helplessly as he took a fruit plate and placed it next to the children. "What are you doing?"
"Playing chess." Lu Teng replied.
"Get down nicely," Lin Yao squatted down beside Lu Teng, put his arm around his shoulders and whispered, "Can you call me uncle?"
"Uncle." Lu Teng stared at the chessboard without looking at him, but he corrected himself readily.
"So good! Uncle will take you to set off fireworks tonight." Lin Yao pinched his face.
Just when he was about to praise Lu Teng and ask him to keep calling him uncle for a little longer, his father suddenly yelled, "Hey—?"
Lin Yao was stunned by the inflection point of the voice. He jumped up and ran back to the card table.
The cards in front of Guan Ze have been pushed down, and the old aunt and uncle are very happy: "You can still fire a cannon, what a strange news."
Lin Yao quickly looked at the cards. Not only did his father choose Guan Ze's cannon, but it was a big cannon. This cannon alone could wipe out almost half of his father's previous profits.
"Thank you, uncle." Guan Ze smiled.
"You're amazing! This card can even trigger a firecracker." Dad glanced at his cards and squinted his eyes. "I underestimated you. You were just testing my strength before!"
"Don't fight a battle without preparation." Guan Ze still smiled.
Lin Yao admired Guan Ze very much. He could win against his father, a wealthy man who had been in business for thousands of years, but he remained calm and collected, and didn't even show any modesty.
"Okay, take it. Let's see how much you can beat me today."
Lin Yao didn't know whether his mother had any reason to ask Guan Ze to help her win money from his father. Regardless of whether his mother had a sharp eye or was just a blind soldier, Guan Ze did not disappoint his mother.
Dad was defeated by Guan Ze for the first time ever. Ever since that shot, he has basically never won again. Lin Yao even suspected that this deck of cards was tampered with by Mom in collusion with Guan Ze...
Three hours later, my dad stretched himself and said, "Hey, who's going to take over my shift?"
Lin Zong sat on the sofa behind him, playing with his phone, and glanced at the table: "You don't want to call?"
"We have no cash left," Dad pointed at Guan Ze, "this kid took it all."
"Now that Gang Bang'er is gone, who will take over your job?" Lin Zong was happy.
"Oh, Brother Lin, you have finally come to this day," my mother came out after washing her hands after making dumplings. She happily ran to Guan Ze and took all the money away, "Is it enough for me and mom to each buy a piece of clothing..."
"I knew it was you!" Dad poured a cup of tea and drank it.
"Give way, you have been occupying the position of God of Gamblers in our family for a long time," the mother said with a sigh, looking at Guan Ze with a smile, "I really didn't realize that Guan Ze, you are so powerful."
"Uncle underestimated the enemy." Guan Ze stood up and moved around. It had been a long time since he had sat in one position for so long.
"I'm not underestimating the enemy. I'm just being falsely modest." Dad glanced at him.
"Yes," Guan Ze smiled, "Uncle, you are no match for me."
Lin Yao was amused: "This is worse than false modesty."
There was still some time before dinner, and a few little kids were bored of playing at home and wanted to go out to set off firecrackers. Lin Yao and Guan Ze took a bag full of fireworks and firecrackers and led them out.
It was very cold outside and snowflakes were falling, but the smell of gunpowder in the air and the sound of firecrackers coming from far and near made people ignore the cold.
Several children played in the snow and followed them towards the lakeside garden in the community.
"Did you always stay alone at home during the New Year before?" Lin Yao walked close to Guan Ze and rubbed his shoulder against him. He reached into Guan Ze's pocket and touched his hand. After all, they were just kids and were having fun so no one would pay attention to what was happening between him and Guan Ze.
"Yeah, same as usual." Guan Ze held his hand.
"You have to experience this New Year well," Lin Yao gently scratched his palm, "Our family likes to celebrate the New Year in a noisy and fun way. We must drive to the central square at night to set off fireworks. If you and my brother bring those back, maybe someone will come to buy them..."
"Then you can sell them while you're at it, and the money from the sales will go to your father."
Lin Yao laughed for a while: "How much did you win from my dad today?"
"I don't know, I didn't count. Your family played too big, and I didn't even feel comfortable trying hard to win."
"You'd better be nice to me next time. A nouveau riche like my dad needs to be bitten hard," Lin Yao sniffed and suddenly stood up, "Give me a formal New Year's greeting."
"Yaoyao, happy new year, all the best, prosperity and big wins." Guan Ze said with a smile.
"You're so good." Lin Yao took out a red envelope from his clothes and put it in his hand. "This is your New Year's money. I wanted to give it to you in the evening, but I was afraid there would be too many people around."
Guan Ze took the red envelope. It was very thick, but it didn't look like there was money in it. Guan Ze opened it and took out a small notebook. He flipped it open and saw that there were pictures on every page. They were the kind of three-headed little men that Lin Yao loved to draw the most.
"Do you know how to see it?" Lin Yao rubbed his nose and jumped twice on the spot, with a little pride on his face.
"This is how I drew matchstick figures when I was a kid." Guan Ze pinched the edge of the notebook, letting pages of paper slide quickly from his fingertips.
The content of Lin Yao's painting is very simple. It is an action of a little man turning his head and jumping onto another little man to hug and kiss him. But it is quite cute. At the end, there is a line of words swaying from side to side: Happy New Year, my wife.
Guan Ze's mouth curled up, and he turned the page several times: "The one being pressed down is you, right?"
"It's you." Lin Yao turned around and continued walking forward. Several children had reached the lake and were shouting at them for firecrackers.
Lin Yao placed the firecrackers and fireworks on the ground and distributed them to the little ones. Guan Ze squatted beside him and stuffed something into his pocket: "This is for you."
"What is it?" Lin Yao excitedly reached into his pocket and touched a small bag.
"Handmade," Guan Ze took out a cigarette box from Lin Yao's other pocket, took out a few cigarettes, lit them up, took a few puffs, and passed them to the children, "For lighting flowers, don't smoke. If you run out of fire, let Uncle Lin Yao help you light them."
"Fuck," Lin Yao stared in surprise at the smoke coming out of Guan Ze's mouth, "You know how to smoke?"
"No." Guan Ze answered calmly.
"I've already inhaled it. Do you really think I have bad eyesight..." Lin Yao muttered softly. He wanted to say a few more words, but he was anxious to see the gift Guan Ze gave him, so he didn't bother to say more. "You can also do handicrafts?"
Guan Ze didn't say anything, just smiled.
It was a small red bag with a small red string tied on it, which looked very festive. After Lin Yao opened it, he poured the contents of the bag into his hands. After seeing clearly, he was stunned. After a long while, he shouted, "You did this?"
"Well, do you like it?"
"I..." Lin Yao was speechless as he looked at the thing in his palm. It was a little fat wooden man carved out with a knife. It was slightly larger than a thumb and was carved very delicately. The movements of the clothes were very clear and even the expression on the face could be seen clearly, and it was also colored.
Lin Yao never thought that Guan Ze would give him such a gift. As he stared at this little guy, tears began to well up in his eyes.
"I carved it according to the little man in the painting you sent to the marketing department last time," Guan Ze flicked his ear with his finger, "Don't cry, you are in front of so many children."
"Hmm," Lin Yao took a breath, holding the wooden figurine in his palm, and finally said, "Fuck, you are really skillful."
"I haven't carved for many years. My hands are not good enough. It took me a long time. I wanted to give it to you on your birthday, but I didn't get it right."
"It took so long to carve?" Lin Yao was surprised.
“Well, there are countless broken ones. Didn’t you see when you searched my house? There are still a dozen broken ones in the lunch box in the cupboard…” Guan Ze stood up and watched several children setting off fireworks by the lake. In fact, it was still daylight and the fireworks could not be seen, but the children did not care about these. He was the same when he was a child. During the Chinese New Year, he squatted far away and watched other children set off fireworks. Even if he could not see the colors of the fireworks during the day, he would still feel envious.
"I get angry when I talk about this! My little heart aches when I think about this. You're so awesome. You said you didn't get this thing ready for your birthday." Lin Yao also stood up and lowered his voice, "Then you just ran away halfway. Are you going to keep this thing for your old age and not give it to me? You went to so much trouble to destroy me and you're just going to leave it like this?"
Guan Ze quickly turned around and hugged him: "Please forgive me and don't hold on to this matter. Isn't it a gift to you now?"
Lin Yao looked down at the little man in his hand and said, "Forget it, I'll spare your life... Is this me?"
"Um."
"If you have time, you can carve a pair of them. Or you can carve little Lu Teng as well. I drew three people anyway."
"I..." Guan Ze was stunned. It took him several months to carve this one, but after thinking about it, he nodded, "Okay."
The nephew ran over with a cigarette and handed it to Lin Yao. Lin Yao took a puff, grabbed a few fireworks for him, and then turned around and asked again: "Master, where did you learn this skill?"
"When I was a kid, I was bored so I just used a small knife to carve randomly. After a while, I got the hang of it." Guan Ze took out a firecracker from the bag, looked at it and couldn't help laughing. "Last time you said there was a firecracker stuck in your butt..."
"Shut the fuck up!" Lin Yao slapped him on the back.
"This is too dangerous for children to play with. Let's play together." Guan Ze threw one to him.
"How do you play?"
"Let's see who can hold it longer," Guan Ze narrowed his eyes, "Do you dare?"
"Am I afraid of you? Come here." Lin Yao lit a cigarette and did a horse stance.
"Watch the direction when you throw it," Guan Ze paused for two seconds and added, "Whoever throws first gets to be the wife."
"Okay." Lin Yao filed his teeth.
Lin Yao thought this way of playing was quite exciting, although he had never played like this since he was a child.
The two of them put the firecrackers together and lit them with cigarettes. When the fuse flashed a small spark, Lin Yao suddenly became a little nervous. He threw the cigarette in his hand directly to the ground, staring at the sparks, and did not forget to glance at Guan Ze.
As the fuse became shorter and shorter, Lin Yao's hands began to tremble. He even wanted to light up ordinary firecrackers in his hands and throw them away, but his mother wouldn't let him. Besides, he had been afraid of this thing since he was a child. Whenever Lin Zong set off firecrackers in the past, he always hid far away. The two loud noises alone were enough to make him unbearable. Now, holding it in his hands like this made him feel a huge pressure.
But Guan Ze seemed very calm and just held it like that.
Lin Yao felt that the sound of sparks was getting louder and louder. He almost lost feeling from clenching his teeth, and his heart was beating like a thundering war drum.
"Oh my god—" Lin Yao couldn't bear it anymore. He waved his hand and threw the kick in his hand towards the lake like a dart.
The sparks created a trail of smoke in the air, followed by a loud bang on the lake.
Before Lin Yao could react, another loud noise exploded in his ears, and he was completely frightened.
Guan Ze's firecracker was not thrown out, but flew out from Guan Ze's hand after the first explosion, and then the second explosion broke out in the air, almost at the same time as the one thrown by Lin Yao.
After these noises were heard, the little kids cheered, shouting and laughing.
Lin Yao finally came to his senses, not caring about the buzzing in his ears as if he had been tied to a speaker and listening to rock music all day. He rushed over and grabbed Guan Ze's hand: "Are you sick? Why don't you throw it away!"
"You've never played like this before, have you?" Guan Ze smiled and asked him to hold his hand and turn it over and over to check, "Your hand won't explode."
"Fuck..." Lin Yao did not find anything unusual in Guan Ze's hand. "What the hell is this? It scares me to death!"
"One bang in your hand, one bang in the sky, that's what we call playing with firecrackers," Guan Ze flicked them on his face, "I know the good kid hasn't played like this before."
Lin Yao rubbed his ears, and after calming down, he suddenly realized: "Fuck you! You are setting a trap for me!"
"Call me husband," Guan Ze hooked his chin, "I'm willing to admit defeat."
"Guan Ze," Lin Yao poked Guan Ze's chest a few times, "I didn't realize you were so sinister."
"Call quickly," Guan Ze said with a smile on his face, "Be quick, old man."
"...Husband." Lin Yao called out dejectedly.