It was a warm spring this year. The sun was shining brightly on New Year's Eve, with the lowest temperature being 17 or 18 degrees.
Ye Zhao slept in. When she got up and opened the door, she was startled by a large bouquet of light yellow roses at the door.
This year New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day coincided with each other, and Brother Xiang prepared a tacky big surprise for her.
How could Ye Zhao dislike it in front of him? If he really disliked it, Bking Xiangge might not send him a gift next time.
So, she had to be very careful in praising him.
"Ahhh! What a beautiful rose! This is the first time I've seen a rose of this color!" Ye Zhao took the rose, smelled it, and praised it exaggeratedly.
Zeng Xiang raised his eyebrows proudly: "French roses flown in from the Netherlands, ordered a month in advance."
Ye Zhao kissed him and continued to praise him: "It's really beautiful, Brother Xiang, quickly take the camera and take a picture for me."
Then, in the room, on the balcony, in the warm sunshine, Zeng Xiang took photo after photo of her.
Finally, they went downstairs and asked Ah Hui to take a family photo for the three of them.
Aunt Qiao, who was standing in the middle, was a little nervous: "Take a better picture. After taking the picture, we need to enlarge it and hang it up."
Ye Zhao smiled and said, "It's okay, take a few more pictures, there will always be a suitable one."
Considering that Brother Xiang had to eat two New Year’s Eve dinners, the reunion dinner at Chiwuju started at three or four o’clock.
Aunt Qiao complained that the New Year celebrations here were too quiet. There was no one she knew and there was no New Year atmosphere at all.
Aunt Qiao said, "It's still more interesting to celebrate the New Year in Zengwuwei. On New Year's Eve, we can hear firecrackers before we even get up. It's nothing like here. We can't set off firecrackers or fireworks. It's so boring."
Ye Zhao drank the soup and said, "After the fourth day of the New Year, we will go back."
Aunt Qiao ate rapeseed sprouts and sighed again: "It doesn't feel like Chinese New Year if I don't play mahjong during the Chinese New Year."
Brother Xiang whispered back, "You play mahjong every day even when it's not the New Year."
Aunt Qiao: "The mahjong we play during the Chinese New Year is different. We have to play until 12 o'clock and set off firecrackers to welcome the God of Wealth."
Ye Zhao coaxed her: "I'll hoe the land with you."
Aunt Qiao: "What's the point of playing with just two people? I should have let Ah Hui stay. There are just four of us, so we can still form a good team."
"I don't want to play mahjong with us." Ye Zhao asked Ah Hui to go home for the New Year at noon. She didn't want any rules of wealthy families. Unless there were special circumstances, the family should be reunited during the New Year, no matter if they were bosses or workers.
Except for the people's livelihood industries like supplying vegetables to Hong Kong, which have to supply goods all year round and have to take turns on duty, everyone who can take a holiday should take it.
Zeng Xiang picked up a piece of pork with preserved vegetables and said, "If you think home is boring, you can go to Victoria Harbour to watch the fireworks later, around eight o'clock."
Ye Zhao asked Aunt Qiao: "Are you going?"
"That's fine, let's go and join in the fun. Otherwise, you can only watch TV at home, and this TV isn't very good."
After dinner, Zeng Xiang drove back to the Luo family mansion in Mid-Levels.
At this time every year, Old Mrs. Luo has to reconcile accounts with Old Fan and the others. Zeng Xiang goes back to his room first, preparing to bring some books for Ye Zhao to read.
Aunt Feng brought some dumplings made by Guo's mother from Qingfeng Bay. She came to Zeng Xiang and said, "There are two boxes of dumplings in the kitchen refrigerator. You can take them back later, young master."
Zeng Xiang quickly said yes.
Aunt Feng didn't go out. She helped Zeng Xiang tidy up the table and asked softly, "Young Master, when are you going back to Shenzhen?"
"Maybe on the third or fourth day of the Chinese New Year, I haven't decided yet."
Feng Ma added, "You know your aunt is going to immigrate next year, right? Oh, I'm running out of places to go."
Zeng Xiang understood what Feng Ma meant. She wanted to move in with him, but the two women in the family disagreed. He had no choice but to say, "Then you can look for a house for your aunt and treat it as a retirement home."
Aunt Feng was a little disappointed, but she didn't know what to say. She just said, "Your aunt's house is so big and it's halfway up the mountain. I don't dare live there alone. If it doesn't work out, I can only go home."
Zeng Xiang pulled out two comic books from the bookshelf and said, "It's okay to go home and retire."
"I don't get along with my wife there, and I have to depend on her for help when I go back."
Zeng Xiang paused for a moment, and couldn't help but feel compassion. After all, it was Feng Ma who took care of him during his most lonely and helpless childhood. He turned around and said, "If it really doesn't work out, I'll buy you a house and you can live in it by yourself."
When Aunt Feng heard this, tears started to flow. She quickly wiped her tears with a handkerchief. "How can I have the nerve to ask you to buy a house for me? It won't be good if the old lady finds out. If I really have nowhere to go, can you let me go to Chiwuju and help you look for a house? Chiwuju is in the downtown area, and I won't be afraid to live alone."
Zeng Xiang said in embarrassment: "Chiwuju is Ye Zhao's house..."
The implication is that he cannot make this decision.
Aunt Feng said, "Then you can discuss it with Miss Ye. If it's possible... that would be the best."
Zeng Xiang didn't say anything else. He thought it would be easiest to just buy a house for Feng Ma.
There was a car horn outside. Aunt Feng looked out the window and said softly, "Luo Jiafei and his family of three are here. These people are so shameless. It's as if they kidnapped you back then never happened. If it wasn't for the Luo family's face, the old lady would have stopped them from coming to the door long ago."
In fact, Luo Jiafei's family only comes twice a year, once for Mrs. Luo's birthday and once for the New Year's Eve dinner.
Luo Jiafei and Luo Jiaming are cousins. They hold shares in the Luo family and receive living expenses from the Luo family fund every month. According to the will of the previous generation of the Luo family, if Grandma Luo's branch has no descendants, Luo Jiafei can inherit the Luo family estate.
Old Mrs. Luo did not completely break off relations with them because she had many concerns. On the surface, she was "keeping peace is the most important thing", but in reality, it was all for her own benefit.
After Feng Ma left, Zeng Xiang put the book into his backpack and prepared to take it to his car.
When I walked to the garage, I heard Luo Jiafei and his wife were talking by the garage before they went upstairs.
Luo Jiafei sat in a wheelchair and asked impatiently, "Did you find it?"
His wife Zhong Lifen was rummaging around in the car, "Looking for it, I don't know where it was put."
The driver took a day off for the New Year, so they drove here themselves.
Luo Jiafei: "Ask Luo Qi later, maybe he has put it away. It's okay to send the red envelopes later."
Zhong Lifen lowered her voice and said, "Don't you know that servants in mansions are the most snobbish? Find it out and send it out early, so you don't have to look at people's faces. Also, Lini hasn't been normal recently, so don't provoke her."
"What has she done? Has she gone mad from being locked up? If she really wanted to go out for a walk, would the old lady stop her? At most, she would just let someone follow her."
Zhong Lifen: "She called me yesterday and asked for sleeping pills, but I didn't bring any. I was really worried that she would become depressed."
Luo Jiafei was very thin. He glanced outside the door and saw no one there. He could not help but snorted coldly, "Give it to her."
"I only have this cousin..."
"Do you think she will die on her own? If you give her enough, she might bring down the whole family, young and old."
Zhong Lifen was so scared that she lowered her voice and said anxiously, "What are you talking about?! Stop talking nonsense and don't you know where you are?"
"What are you afraid of? Do you think those people from the Luo family will come here to pick you up? I tell you, Zhong Lini is stubborn. She will definitely do such a thing. We will all die together. It would be great if they die together, so we will benefit. Right? Then our Luo Qi will be the only heir of the Luo family." Luo Jiafei was still dreaming.
"Bah! Shut up." Zhong Lifen is a normal person who just wants to live a simple life. She said, "I should have known not to tell you this. Don't secretly give Lini drugs. Otherwise, I will never forgive you... Oh, I finally found it."
Zhong Lifen found the red envelope, but she didn't push Luo Jiafei's wheelchair and came out first.
All night long, Zeng Xiang secretly observed Luo Jiafei's every move. Sure enough, he finally went to find Zhong Lini quietly, and the two talked in a low voice in the back hall.
Zeng Xiang didn't hear what was said specifically, but it seemed that Luo Jiafei agreed to get sleeping pills for Zhong Lini.
Zeng Xiang frowned and stood in the distance looking at them coldly.
Since they refuse to change their bad habits, don't blame his men for being merciless.
Zeng Xiang was worried, so he went to find Feng Ma and asked her not to go back to Qingfeng Bay for the next two days, but to stay in the mansion and keep an eye on the old lady's diet.
The procedure for the Luo family’s New Year’s Eve dinner is the same every year. After dinner, everyone receives red envelopes from Old Mrs. Luo, some play mahjong, and some go their separate ways.
When handing out red envelopes, Old Lady Luo called Zeng Xiang to her side and said to him, "Tomorrow I will go to burn incense with your aunt. You don't have to accompany us. You can accompany your mother and Ye Zhao. The day after tomorrow, on the second day of the Chinese New Year, I have an appointment with the two elders of the Guo family... I plan to visit your new home. Is that okay? Are you welcome?"
How could a grandchild dare to say no? But Zeng Xiang was afraid that his mother would be unhappy, so he was about to refuse. Old Lady Luo said, "Don't think of rejecting me. It's New Year's Day, and don't make me sad. Don't worry, this is your own territory, your own rules. Are you afraid that an old woman like me will eat your mother?"
Zeng Xiang, whose thoughts were seen through, could only smile and say, "You guys bring the mahjong over. My mom wants to play mahjong."
"Mahjong? No problem. I'll let her play Mahjong."
On the way back, Zeng Xiang drove to Qingfeng Bay to pay New Year's greetings to the Guo family elders, and then planned to pick up Ye Zhao and his mother near Victoria Harbour. As a result, no one answered Ye Zhao's mobile phone, so he called home and his mother answered. It turned out that they had already returned home after watching the fireworks display.
It was not yet ten o'clock when they got home. The family of three took a bath and played poker in their pajamas. Ye Zhao taught them how to play Landlord.
Seeing that Brother Xiang was absent-minded, Ye Zhao hurriedly said, "Play your cards, brother, what are you thinking about! Stop the landlord."
Zeng Xiang pulled himself out of his thoughts. He was just thinking about Zhong Lini and Luo Jiafei. After looking at the cards, he gave the landlord a hand and whispered, "Mom, my grandma and Grandpa Guo and Grandma Guo want to come to our house as guests the day after tomorrow."
Aunt Qiao: “…”
Ye Zhao also stared at Aunt Qiao and didn't dare to speak.
Zeng Xiang said: "Come and play mahjong with you."
Aunt Qiao was about to refuse when she heard that the charm of mahjong seemed to have overcome the grudge between them. She paused and asked, "How big?"
Ye Zhao and Zeng Xiang couldn't help laughing. Ye Zhao said, "No matter how big her game is, I'll give you the capital. You will definitely win big! Ah Hui will be back on the morning of the second day of the Chinese New Year. Aunt Qiao, you don't have to worry about cooking, just play mahjong."
They played cards until twelve o'clock, had a midnight snack, and then went to bed.
Zeng Xiang followed Ye Zhao into her room and placed the books he brought back from the mansion on the table.
Ye Zhao asked him quietly: "Brother Xiang, what's wrong with you today? You seem absent-minded."
"Have it?"
"Yes. Did something happen in your mansion?"
Zeng Xiang said: "My grandmother knows that you are my aunt's daughter."
He just learned about this from Feng Ma today.
Ye Zhao was not surprised. He would know sooner or later. "Oh, and then?"
"If nothing happened, my grandma shouldn't mind it. Besides, they are even closer relatives, right? But I don't know if Grandpa Guo and Grandma Guo know about it."
Ye Zhao actually didn't care. She said, "Never mind. Let's play dumb. If they don't play any cards, we won't play any cards either. Let's just pretend that nothing happened."
Zeng Xiang just said "hmm" and said nothing more.
Seeing Zeng Xiang didn't leave, Ye Zhao thought he wanted to sleep in her room, so she couldn't help but said coquettishly, "Be good, go back to your room, Aunt Qiao is at home."
He suddenly asked, "The last time we passed by Jiale Building, do you remember what you said?"
Ye Zhao thought about it. It was when Qi Lian An asked her why she could always accurately guess the direction of the stock market and crude oil futures. She just answered casually, saying that she often had strange dreams, and what happened in the dreams would soon become reality.
Just like the Jiale Building they just passed, there would be a fire on the second day of the Chinese New Year.
This is what she said at the time.
Ye Zhao asked: "What's wrong?"
"I want to know the details."
Ye Zhao stared at Zeng Xiang. He must have something wrong. Since he didn't say anything, there was no point in her continuing to ask.
"At 12:30 noon on the second day of the Chinese New Year, a fire broke out on the 14th floor of Jiale Building due to a short circuit in the electrical wires. Since no one was at work at the time, no one was injured or killed."
That was the first time the original heroine Bai Lu came to Hong Kong City with Luo Qi for a visit. They were near Jiale Building and witnessed the event with their own eyes.
Ye Zhao asked again: "What's wrong? Brother Xiang."
"It's okay. You'll know later."
"You can't do anything illegal."
"Don't worry, this isn't against the law."
Brother Xiang didn't want to say it, and Ye Zhao didn't continue to ask. If the time came when he was willing to share with her, she believed he would tell her.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the family of three also went to eat vegetarian food and worship the Buddha.
On the second day of the Chinese New Year, Old Lady Luo and the two elders of the Guo family arrived at around ten o'clock in the morning. Ye Zhao went to open the door. As soon as he entered, they gave Ye Zhao red envelopes.
When Father Guo saw Ye Zhao, he couldn't help but smile and said, "Oh, the little girl has grown taller."
Ye Zhao also smiled: "It's grown a little bit."
Mother Guo took her hand, looked at her carefully, and said distressedly: "School is hard, right? You seem to have lost some weight?"
"Really?" Ye Zhao heard Guo's mother say that she had lost weight, as if she was being praised, "I gained a pound during the Chinese New Year."
Zeng Erqiao also came out to greet them. She forced a smile and said, "Dear guests, Happy New Year. Come in and have a seat."
Distinguished guest? They treated her as a guest. Mrs. Luo felt uncomfortable after hearing this. She asked someone to take the gift into the house while asking, "Am I a guest?"
Aunt Qiao refused to give in and said with a smile, "We are all guests. Did you see the house number at the door? This is Ye's residence."
Old Mrs. Luo made way for him and said, "Okay, okay, we are all guests."
Ye Zhao and Brother Xiang looked at each other. Zeng Xiang changed the subject and said, "Grandpa and grandma, please come in first."
Old Mrs. Luo smiled and said, "Let's walk around the garden and see what flowers you have planted."
Father Guo asked curiously: "What's the name of that flower on your wall? It's so beautiful."
Zeng Xiang said: "Grandpa Guo, those are firecracker flowers, planted by the previous owner."
"I don't know if they can be grown in Jingshi, but I want to plant a few in our yard."
Ye Zhao said: "I don't think so. This flower is not cold-resistant."
Ye Zhao and Zeng Xiang took them for a walk in the garden. There was a pavilion in the back garden. Aunt Qiao and A Hui brought hot sugar water to the guests. Everyone sat there chatting and laughing, and they were quite harmonious.
After chatting for a while, they returned to the house and divided into two tables. Ye Zhao and Guo's father played chess, while Zeng Xiang played mahjong with the three female elders.
Mahjong and the mahjong table were gifts brought by Old Lady Luo. Zeng Erqiao asked, "How much does it cost to play? I won't play if the bet is too high."
Mrs. Luo asked her, "How much do you want to take?"
Zeng Erqiao said: "I usually play 50 cents."
Zeng Xiang distributed the chips to everyone and said, "Then we'll play fifty cents."
Guo's mother smiled and said, "I can do anything. In our alley, some people beat us for one or two cents, and some for one or two yuan."
"Just have fun, you can play as much as you want." Seeing that there was only one maid in the room, Mrs. Luo secretly told Sister Hong: "Go to the kitchen and help prepare lunch."
Zhong Lini's pager rang. She picked it up and took a look at it, then looked at the clock on the table and hurried into the cloakroom to change clothes.
After changing clothes and putting on a hat, when I passed by Luo Jiaming's study, I heard a scolding voice coming from the room. Luo Jiaming was scolding her son!
Zhong Lini hurriedly pushed the door open and asked, "What's wrong?"
Luo Jiaming ignored her and continued to say to his son: "Don't do this next time, understand?"
The second son of the Luo family is sixteen years old this year. Because he has autism, he usually attends a special school. Unless it is necessary, he will never go downstairs to participate in interpersonal communication. Luo Jiaming said to him, but he didn't listen at all.
Zhong Lini was anxious and asked again: "What happened?"
Luo Jiaming still ignored him and just patted his son: "Go out."
After her son left, Zhong Lini closed the door and said angrily, "Can you please not treat me like this in front of the children in the future?"
Luo Jiaming asked back: "What did I do to you?"
"How did you treat me? You slapped me in public and treated me like air in front of our son. I know you don't have any scruples about me now, right? In your heart, you never treated me as your wife!"
Luo Jiaming gathered up the documents on the desk and put them in the drawer, then stood up and said, "From the day you teamed up with outsiders to kidnap Luo Shen, in my heart, you are no longer my wife."
Zhong Lini said aggrievedly: "After so many years, you still remember that I have changed."
Luo Jiaming snorted coldly, looking down at the woman in front of him from above: "Don't think I don't know how you treated Luo Shen. I'm not blind. For Felix's sake, you'd better keep your tail between your legs in the future, otherwise, I'll beat you up every time I see you!"
After saying that, Luo Jiaming opened the door and went out.
Beat her every time you see her?! Zhong Lini, furious, picked up the statue on the table and smashed it directly on Luo Jiaming's head.
Luo Jiaming was completely unprepared. He covered his head and slowly fell down.
Zhong Lini's head was buzzing, the statue slipped onto the carpet, and her hands were shaking with nervousness...
Luo Jiaming curled up and seemed to be in poor condition. She shook her head and wanted to bend down to take a look, but didn't want to. In the end, she ignored Luo Jiaming, closed the door and ran out.
When she got downstairs, she asked someone to call the driver. The manager came over and asked her where she was going. Zhong Lini rolled her eyes at him and said harshly, "We are going to visit the graves!"
Old Mrs. Luo had instructed that as long as Zhong Lini didn't take the second young master out, she only needed the driver to follow her.
The manager had no choice but to send a driver.
On the other hand, the card players in Chiwuju played cards until 12 o'clock. Zeng Erqiao was very lucky today and he beat three people.
After a game of mahjong, the relationship between the mahjong players improved a lot. Zeng Erqiao sighed, "If we had known this, we would have played for 5 yuan. What's wrong with me? This is my life of playing for 50 cents."
Old Lady Luo smiled and said, "Do you regret it? It's too late."
"You are the host today, so it is natural that you are prosperous." Mother Guo ate the freshly steamed brown sugar rice cake and asked, "Is this rice cake made of glutinous rice? It is soft and sweet, and really delicious."
Zeng Erqiao said, "I made it myself, purely handmade. If you like it, I'll give you two pieces to take back later. If you want to eat it, just cut a few slices and steam them in a pot until they are soft."
Compared to the liveliness at the mahjong table, the grandfather and grandson playing chess next to them were much quieter.
Ye Zhao made a mistake this time. He was going to let the old man take two steps, but he failed. He only played one game in the morning and finally won against Guo's father.
Father Guo was also very happy after losing: "Look! We are equally strong. Last time I was suspicious, worried that you were letting me win on purpose. This time I paid special attention and I saw that you were not willing to give me any ground."
Ye Zhao, who failed to give in, laughed and said, "The chess field is like a battlefield, how can I give in?"
"You're right. Not giving me a handicap means you think highly of me and believe in my ability."
Lunch is ready here, everyone wash your hands and sit down to eat.
Sister Hong answered a mobile phone call, then quickly ran over to whisper a few words to Old Lady Luo.
Luo Jiaming was hospitalized with a head injury.
Zeng Xiang accompanied Old Mrs. Luo to the hospital. Luo Jiaming was seriously injured and had been unconscious since he was sent to the hospital.
Old Mrs. Luo asked about the whereabouts of the assailant, Zhong Lini. The driver said that the lady went to the restroom in the mall and then disappeared.
Old Mrs. Luo thought that Zhong Lini was afraid and hid herself, so she ordered that they would dig three feet deep to find her.
Zeng Xiang and Qi Lian'an looked at each other and said nothing.
While Ye Zhao and Aunt Qiao were waiting for news at home, Zeng Xiang called and said he had to wait in the hospital and would accompany his grandmother later, so he could not come back for the time being. He reminded Ye Zhao to watch the six o'clock news.
I turned on the TV and watched the six o'clock news. When the news program was about to end, there was a news report on the Jiale Building fire.
"At 12:30 noon today, a fire broke out in Jiale Building on Nathan Road. The fire has been put out. The fire has caused two deaths, a man and a woman. Their identities are still being verified. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. It is initially suspected to be caused by aging circuits."
Ye Zhao understood that the dead were Luo Jiafei and Zhong Lini, and Zeng Xiang indirectly killed all his enemies.
She sat on the sofa in a daze. No matter what, she had to stand on her brother Xiang's side in this matter.
The color of life is not black or white. Sometimes, there is a thin layer of gray between black and white.
Just don't cross the line.
In the afternoon, Old Mrs. Luo learned that Luo Jiafei and Zhong Lini had died in the fire.
She stood outside the glass window of the intensive care unit and pondered, thinking that maybe God couldn't bear it and took these two damn people away.
Her son was also a man who had committed serious crimes and taken human lives, so he was lying in the hospital and no one knew when he would wake up.
When she got home at nearly 10 o'clock that night, Mrs. Luo told the manager, "Keep a low profile. Arrange the funeral as it should be. Don't make it extravagant. Just let your relatives and friends know."
"Will he be buried in the family cemetery?"
Old Mrs. Luo thought for a moment and said, "Let's buy another cemetery."
After the manager left, Old Mrs. Luo sighed heavily and glanced at Luo Shen who was standing next to her.
She stood up, walked to the window, and whispered, "As long as your grandmother is still here, I will not let the Luo family fall. As long as you are here, there is still hope for our Luo family."
(End of this chapter)