Happy New Year

  After getting in the car, Wang Ao Xuan's father didn't ask him questions like he used to, such as "Has anyone bullied you?" or "Have your grades dropped?". This time, it seemed like he knew about Wang Ao Xuan's situation at school and didn't ask him much. He rolled down the window, smoked a cigarette, and didn't scold him like other parents would. From his expression, Wang Ao Xuan felt that his father was somewhat relieved by his actions. He only said one sentence: "Ao Xuan, don't be bothered with trivial matters in the future. Some things you can't handle. Try to avoid trouble outside and don't offend people easily. Your uncle told me everything, and I'm not like I used to be. You should understand, I've lost money doing business, it's my own choice, don't say I didn't warn you."

  Wang Ao Xuan said somewhat impatiently, "In the future, you should also mind your own business less. I have my own measure of things and a clear conscience. It's not like when I was young and always being bullied by others, or else I wouldn't be like this now."

  "I don't care about you, who cares about you?! Your uncle is always busy in the county and doesn't have time to take care of you. You should also stop causing trouble for him. Last time your uncle came home for dinner, he told your mom about what happened with you, saying that you even hit your teacher. Your mom was worried sick every night, crying and worrying about how the teacher would treat you. If it weren't for your uncle going to school to handle this matter, your mom would definitely go to school to see you. You're so big now, but still causing adults to worry. When you need money, you go to your uncle for it, when you want something, you rely on him. This time, if you don't behave and study well in school, and get expelled by the teacher, I won't care about you either, do whatever you want."

  Upon hearing this, Wang Ao Xuan felt a bit downhearted and didn't think about next year's matters anymore. He opened the car window, took in a few mouthfuls of cold air, and habitually pulled out a cigarette to light up.

  "What's gotten into you now, smoking! You're throwing your life away." his father said in an educational tone.

  Wang Ao Xuan threw the cigarette out of the window and didn't say a word. He was a bit unhappy in his heart, and Wang Ao Xuan's father said again: "You're acting like a fool, not learning from good people, but learning these bad habits. In the future, you'll be laughed at by others, and my face will be lost."

  His father was solemnly telling him his grand theories, but Wang Ao Xuan gazed out the window, one ear in and one ear out, not paying much attention to what his father said. The cold wind blew through the window onto his face, and he put his hands into his pockets, looking at the familiar white poplar trees standing straight on both sides of the road, their yellow leaves withering away from the branches due to the season's ravages. This made him understand a truth: this world would continue to turn without anyone. The car turned right and stopped after a minute, and his father got out, carrying luggage, and walked down to the house. They were home. Wang Ao Xuan's father gave the driver money and shouted for his mother to go buy groceries. As they walked to the door, just as he stepped across the threshold, Wang Ao Xuan saw his mother knitting a sweater in the living room, wearing the red coat she had bought last New Year's. He didn't know if it was the winter weather that made her look more haggard than last year. Wang Ao Xuan looked around at the furniture and decorations in the house, which hadn't changed at all, but felt that his mother had become worn out from taking care of the family and worrying about him. His heart ached as he called out: "Mom, I'm back!" His mother looked up at him and immediately hugged him tightly: "You're finally back! You haven't come home to see me in half a year, and no one takes care of you at school, and your uncle isn't even home. You make me worry so much about you!" His mother's eyes were red as she looked him up and down, holding his hand and saying: "Hmm, now you're taller and look more spirited! And no one bullies you at school this time, right?" The familiar and affectionate nagging voice echoed in Wang Ao Xuan's ears once again.

  "Alright! Mom, I'm back safely now. Why don't you go buy some groceries? It's been a long time since we've had your cooking. I'll come help you with the preparations later."

  Wang Ao Xuan walked into the room he hadn't entered in half a year, and the first thing that caught his eye was Lee Xiao Long's wallpaper, the room's layout, and the secret martial arts manual in the drawer. Everything was still intact. He looked at Lee Xiao Long again, thinking about the school fight scene, and the moves didn't follow any routine. A smile tickled his nerves. He smiled as he took out his BP machine to send a message to Luo Xian Jun, Qi Qi, Xiao Bin, and Fang Hang. Then, he went to find Peng Hao.

  Peng Hao's house was a 3-minute walk from Wang Ao Xuan's home. After the farewell dinner that afternoon, his dad had gone to school to pick him up, so Peng Hao arrived home before Wang Ao Xuan. When Wang Ao Xuan arrived at Peng Hao's house, Peng Hao's dad was very hospitable and invited Wang Ao Xuan to come in and play. Wang Ao Xuan walked into Peng Hao's house, put his arm around his shoulder, and went to the alleyway to smoke and chat. The content of their conversation wasn't worth mentioning; it was all about beautiful girls.

  Every day during the break, they hung out together, which was quite boring. Sometimes, he would send a message on his BP machine or play marbles with the neighborhood kids. He won many marbles in different colors - red, yellow, blue, and black - big and small ones. When he got home, he would fill several bottles with water, put the marbles inside to keep them clean, and they looked very pretty. After accumulating a lot of marbles, he would sell them back to the kids at a new price, seemingly showing some business acumen.

  There are only a few days left until the Spring Festival, and the weather is getting colder and colder. This morning, when I opened the door, I saw that the sky was fluttering with snowflakes, starting from just a little bit, gradually, all I could see were large pieces of snowflakes, like cotton balls spitting out from the dense dark clouds.

  The snowflakes floated down from the sky. The snow got bigger and bigger, and before long, the entire earth, tree branches, buildings, were all covered in white snow. The heavy snow fell for a whole day, and the neighborhood seemed to have turned into a fairy tale world full of poetic and picturesque beauty. On the trees beside the road, sparkling silver strips hung, while those evergreen trees were laden with heavy snowballs, just like "Suddenly, spring breeze came overnight, thousands of trees bloomed with pear flowers". The accumulated snow on the road was over 10 centimeters deep, and when stepped on, it made a "crunch" sound.

  The crisp sound of "crunching". The mischievous little friends gently shook the branches, and the snowflakes fell on their heads like jade powder, causing them to exclaim in surprise. Wang Ao Xuan didn't stop either, took out his BP machine and sent a message to Peng Hao, asking him to rush to his house immediately to prepare for the snowman-building activity. Before long, Peng Hao was seen in the distance, carrying an iron shovel and wearing thick cotton-padded jacket, looking just like a snowman himself.

  Peng Hao ran over, holding a shovel and said: "What are you still dawdling for? Get to work!"

  Wang Ao Xuan ran into the snowy scene, picked up a handful of snow and poked it in his hand. Peng Hao took out an iron shovel and started shoveling. Some were holding brooms, looking like a housewife; others wore button-down "clothes" and even tied a tie, looking like a refined gentleman. In the crowd playing in front of him, Wang Ao Xuan seemed to see Meng Huan, still holding her hand and rolling snowballs, enjoying the joy brought by the rare snowy scene. Looking at the scenery in front of him, he unknowingly immersed himself in it, sinking into this snowy world. Before long, some snowmen with different shapes appeared on the snowy ground. When they saw these piled-up snowmen, they welcomed the day everyone had been expecting amidst the sound of firecrackers - they welcomed the grandest festival, the Spring Festival. Every household posted couplets, hung lanterns, and gathered to eat reunion dinner, give red envelopes... In short, every household was filled with a festive atmosphere.

  Spring Festival, Wang Ao Xuan got up the earliest, because he wanted to set off firecrackers with Peng Hao. They came to the courtyard, lit a string of firecrackers, and made a "crackling" sound. A spring breeze blew in, bringing the festive atmosphere to thousands of households. Wang Ao Xuan covered his ears, looked south, and saw many families pasting Spring Festival couplets and hanging up Fu characters. This inspired Wang Ao Xuan's poetic enthusiasm, and he recited to himself: "The firecracker sounds usher out the old year, spring breeze brings warmth into the kitchen."

  After finishing the reunion dinner, they began to celebrate the New Year. At around 7 o'clock, the Spring Festival Gala started, and the whole family sat in front of the TV watching the Spring Festival Gala, with the sound of deafening firecrackers coming from outside. The programs were wonderful: there were beautiful songs, humorous sketches, and hilarious cross-talks... The program was rich and colorful.

  On the third day of the first month, Yang Jing drove to Wang Ao Xuan's house. Wang Ao Xuan said some auspicious words to his uncle for the New Year, and his uncle gave him a big red envelope. He secretly opened it and counted 1000 yuan, then quickly put it in his pocket, dividing it into two parts: 800 yuan in one pocket and 200 yuan in another.

  In the afternoon, his mother asked Yang Jing how much money he had received in red envelopes. Wang Ao Xuan knew she would ask him, so he had divided the money into two parts. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the money, and said, "200." "Here, give it to mom to keep for you, and we'll give it back to you when school starts," he said.

  But what parents say is often just a ruse - once school starts, the money is gone, or they might give you only tens of yuan. However, Wang Ao Xuan still had 800 yuan in another pocket. So he gave his mother 200 yuan and went to find his uncle, who was chatting with his father.

  Wang Ao Xuan wanted his uncle to take him to town to play with his brothers and Meng Huan. He discussed it with his mother, who said, "We'll go together in two days."

  Wang Ao Xuan thought to himself, that's good too, anyway he can get more red envelopes. Anyway, his family has many relatives, after a while Yang Jing came to find Wang Ao Xuan and told him about the plans for the new semester for the several brothers. He said in a few days he would take them to the county town to have some fun. Wang Ao Xuan was excited at that time, after Yang Jing left, Wang Ao Xuan told Peng Hao the news, Peng Hao was even more excited than him! At home anxiously waiting for Yang Jing to come and pick them up. On the ninth day of the first month, Yang Jing sent a message saying he wanted Wang Ao Xuan and Peng Hao to go to his house to find him. Wang Ao Xuan brought the 1700 yuan of lucky money given by relatives and called a van with Peng Hao to arrive at his uncle's house, meanwhile on the road he had already sent messages to Xian Jun, Qi Qi, Fang Hang and Xiao Bin, after a while all the brothers gathered at Yang Jing's house. Yang Jing made a phone call to come over several cars to take them to the county town's bar and said: "You guys have fun, I'll pay for all the expenses."

  Yang Jing called over 6 hostesses and arranged them, then left, saying he'd be back later. Two of the six were quite pretty, around 20 years old, while the others were average. They sat next to each other with the guys, drinking and shaking dice, reminding Wang Ao Xuan of the Liu sisters. He really wanted to invite the Liu sisters over to play, especially Wan Meng Huan, but it wasn't convenient.

  They still had a pretty good time, drinking a lot of wine. Later, Wang Ao Xuan couldn't even remember when he left. When he woke up, he was in a hotel room and quickly sent Yang Jing a message on his BP machine. After a while, his uncle came to the room and said: "You guys all drank too much yesterday. I arranged for them to stay in the next room over. Let's call them later and go eat, then we can arrange the rest of the activities."

  Wang Ao Xuan looked at Yang Jing and said: "Uncle, I don't know what's going on this time, just say it straight."

  "No big deal! I just think your brothers are pretty good, so I'll take some time to invite you guys out for fun. Don't overthink it, we can talk about anything else when school starts!" Yang Jing said, exhaling smoke.

  Wang Ao Xuan roughly understood his uncle's meaning. So Wang Ao Xuan went next door to find Luo Xian Jun and said to him: "Do you still want to play here?" Forget it, let's go back later, if we continue playing, it would be a bit embarrassing.

  "Alright, after lunch we'll head back, Uncle said he needs to find us for something when school starts,"

  "Alright, I'll go wake them up," Luo Xianjun said as he got dressed and headed to their room. By the time they came downstairs, Yang Jing had already reserved a table at the wine house next door. The brothers ate without hesitation and then bid farewell to Yang Jing before leaving. When they arrived in town, they insisted on going to his home to play, but Wang Ao Xuan was too embarrassed to see their parents, so he refused and said: "School starts in a few days, we can play again then, I have to go back, or my dad will get angry."

  They said that and didn't stay long, Xianjun shouted "Replace us to give your parents a New Year's greeting". He waved his hand and turned around to leave. Wang Ao Xuan closed the car door and let the driver drive home, when he returned home, Wang Ao Xuan kept thinking about Yang Jing finding them after school started, waiting for Yuanxiao to arrive was also the time they started school. After the New Year's festival, everyone will prepare for things in the campus.