Chapter 92: To Survivors Who Worry Too Much
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
w.a.n.g Yao was having a snack and didn’t say a word, so his family stopped talking about Tong Wei. The New Year’s Eve dinner was for family reunions; people normally had dumpling on New Year’s Eve.
w.a.n.g Yao took the chance to sleep at home, which he hadn’t done for days. The next morning, w.a.n.g Yao said happy new year to his parents and sister, then to his neighbors and relatives in the village. After he had sent greetings to everyone, it was lunchtime. w.a.n.g Yao returned to Nanshan hill after lunch with a basket of cooked meat and dumplings.
Both San Xian and Da Xia were happy to see w.a.n.g Yao. San Xian wagged his tail and ran after w.a.n.g Yao while Da Xia flapped his wings cheerfully.
“You guys know I brought something nice for you, right?” w.a.n.g Yao placed down some food on two plates.
“Here you go. I’ve got meat and dumplings here. I didn’t bring garlic and wine as I presume you guys are not a big fan of them,” smiled w.a.n.g Yao.
After w.a.n.g Yao had prepared a meal for San Xian and Da Xia, he watered the licorice roots, and then went back home.
w.a.n.g Yao didn’t have much to do at home. He laid on his bed and watched TV for a while, then chatted with his family and surfed the internet on his phone. It started to get dark; w.a.n.g Yao didn’t return to Nanshan hill.
The next day, according to the cultural custom of the village, w.a.n.g Yao went to the cemetery to wors.h.i.+p their ancestors. Both of w.a.n.g Yao’s paternal grandparents had pa.s.sed away and were buried on the hill at the eastern side of the village. Both brothers of w.a.n.g Yao’s father and their family returned to the village on the second day of Chinese New Year to wors.h.i.+p their ancestors and had lunch at w.a.n.g Yao’s home.
On the hill at the east side of the village, there were two graves inside which, lay w.a.n.g Yao’s paternal grandparents. The wors.h.i.+p included burning paper money, holding a memorial ceremony, and setting off firecrackers. w.a.n.g Yao and his family wished the deceased grandparents to be happy in heaven and protect the still living family members.
It was some sort of spiritual sustenance and hope.
After the wors.h.i.+p, all the family members gathered at w.a.n.g Yao’s home for lunch.
w.a.n.g Yao’s father had three brothers, one of whom died years ago due to heart disease. He even died before w.a.n.g Yao’s paternal grandpa. It was unfortunate that offspring died before their elders.h.i.+p. This was the main reason why w.a.n.g Yao’s paternal grandpa pa.s.sed away a few years later. His deceased uncle’s wife married someone else and was no longer in contact with w.a.n.g Yao’s family. Their son occasionally came back to the village to see his father’s grave but he hasn’t come back in two years.
w.a.n.g Yao remembered his father had called his cousin but didn’t have much to say on the phone.
“He’s no longer a member of our family,” commented his mother.
w.a.n.g Yao used to play with his cousin quite often when they were both children. His cousin was a quiet and stubborn kid. The last time w.a.n.g Yao saw his cousin was three years ago during Chinese New Year and they were no longer close by then.
Who knows what will happen in the future if they meet up again.
The other two brothers of w.a.n.g Yao’s father’s both liked drinking wine. Fortunately, w.a.n.g Yao had some good wine at home, all brought by Tian Yuantu, He Qisheng and w.a.n.g Mingbao.
w.a.n.g Yao’s father filled up his brother’s gla.s.ses with wine. They were chatting happily.
“I plan to quit my current job and start my own business,” said w.a.n.g Yao’s youngest uncle.
w.a.n.g Yao’s youngest uncle worked in an agricultural machinery company. It was hard work during the first few years. The company then became listed on the stock market and he made a lot of money by investing in his own company. Now he wanted to start his own business to make more money.
“I think it will be less risky to continue to be employed,” said w.a.n.g Yao’s father after some thinking.
“The wage is only two to three thousand a month—it’s not enough,” said w.a.n.g Yao’s youngest uncle who took a pack of Yuxi cigarettes out of his pocket.
Of course three thousand a month won’t be enough if you smoke Yuxi cigarettes, thought w.a.n.g Yao.
“I want to open a BBQ restaurant. I’ve chosen the place,” said w.a.n.g Yao’s youngest uncle.
The business of BBQ restaurants was very profitable. Meat in the BBQ restaurants was sold at ridiculously high prices. But business was business; not everyone had the talent to make money out of a business.
One needed to be hard working, flexible, creative and willing to discard small profits to run a business well.
“I don’t think you should quit,” said w.a.n.g Yao’s youngest uncle’s wife.
“What do you know!” scowled his uncle.
“You should think it over carefully. It’s not easy to run your own business,” said w.a.n.g Fenghua.
“I’ve got all the information I need. I heard it won’t cost too much to open a BBQ restaurant. It’s not going to be a fancy restaurant anyway. I just need to find a good location and make sure the food provided is good. I heard it won’t be too hard to make hundreds of thousands a year!” said w.a.n.g Yao’s uncle excitedly.
w.a.n.g Fenghua sighed and said no more.
The other uncle of w.a.n.g Yao’s didn’t speak much. He wore gla.s.ses and looked quite polite. He turned 40 this year and didn’t have much hair left on his head. He hadn’t had kids yet even though he and his wife were really keen on having kids. They’ve seen quite a lot of fertility specialists but his wife still hadn’t gotten pregnant.
w.a.n.g Yao’s uncles drank a bit too much at lunchtime. Both of them looked a bit drunk.
“I think you guys should leave your car here and let Yao drive you home,” said w.a.n.g Fenghua.
“No, I’m fine!” said both of w.a.n.g Yao’s uncles.
They insisted to drive home by themselves. His elder uncle drove a motorcycle and his youngest uncle drove a van. They left w.a.n.g Yao’s home and both of them couldn’t keep their vehicles straight.
“This happens every time!” said Zhang Xiuying.
“Yao, follow them to make sure they don’t end up in an accident or killing anyone,” said w.a.n.g Fenghua.
“Sure.” w.a.n.g Yao followed his uncles’ vehicles. They lived in different locations of town.
Both of his uncles drove quite fast and unsafe, making w.a.n.g Yao very worried. It would be a disaster if any one of them had an accident, because they had pa.s.sengers. Fortunately, nothing happened on road. His uncles arrived at their homes sound and safe. w.a.n.g Yao went home afterwards.
“Are they alright?” asked w.a.n.g Fenghua as soon as he saw w.a.n.g Yao. He was quite worried about his brothers.
“Yes, they are fine. Don’t worry!” smiled w.a.n.g Yao. He knew his father cared about his uncles a lot.
“Thank G.o.d!” said w.a.n.g Fenghua