Chapter 1142: Celebrating the New Year

Ma Kui naturally had to consider his own family; although Wang Yan's words were infuriating, the logic behind them was sound.

Even if Ma Yan did not marry Wang Yan, she would eventually marry and have children, still requiring the elderly in the family to help out; there was hardly a difference of two years either way.

To put it bluntly, one's own biological child always feels more intimate than an adopted one, leaving no knot in the heart; even if they truly interacted like a family of blood relatives, one could not help but occasionally think of this, making it difficult to fully accept.

Therefore, after hearing Wang Yan's words, Ma Kui kept it in mind and did not mention the matter to Wang Sufang.

As expected, the child's parents were not found afterward, and the child remained at the Fuli Academy quite smoothly; the trio of Wang Yan went to check again, and the child's condition was quite good.

That matter was considered settled, with only Ma Kui occasionally remembering such a child and pedaling his bicycle over to take a look.

In the blink of an eye, the year ended, and it was time for the New Year; before the snow had fully melted, new snowflakes fell again, and everyone harmoniously murmured that a timely snow promises a bumper harvest.

At this time, although the railway system did not have the massive passenger flow of several decades later, the pressure was still immense; this year, passenger volume broke the one hundred million mark, and the Spring Festival travel rush essentially began from this point.

Various units across China liked to refer to all sorts of tasks as fighting tough battles, a tradition since the founding of the nation; for the railway system, the Spring Festival was precisely such a tough battle, and unless under special circumstances, no one was allowed to take leave or rest, with holidays only gradually becoming available after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Since entering the twelfth lunar month, the increase in passenger flow had become obvious; correspondingly, theft incidents exploded in growth.

Even the Ningyang-Haicheng line was no exception, as it was the wealthiest and only line in the Northeast, teeming with people and rich pickings; no matter how awesome Wang Yan was, he could not stop the thieves, especially professional ones, who wanted to enjoy a prosperous New Year.

Thus, Wang Yan's record became increasingly fierce, returning to the days when thieves treated him as a checkpoint to grind for experience, even exceeding that; one round trip, covering both the train and the station, yielded a baseline of twenty captures.

The difficulty of apprehension had also risen significantly; due to the crowds, speed was severely affected, and sometimes there was not even room to maneuver; furthermore, many crimes were committed by gangs with various combinations of old, young, men, and women, who transferred stolen goods immediately and, when caught, threw tantrums and rolled on the ground, refusing to admit anything unless concrete evidence was slapped in their faces.

Child kidnappings also increased, but Wang Yan had become serious; while it was inevitable that some items might go missing on his train, if a child went missing, he would definitely catch the perpetrator.

When catching thieves, he squeezed a path through the aisle; when catching human traffickers, he stepped on seat backs to shuttle as quickly as possible through every carriage, letting none escape, and upon capture, he first allowed nearby passengers to deliver a severe beating.

The trio of Wang Yan was relatively lucky, or rather, Leader Old Hu had slightly exercised his authority, allowing them to return to Ningyang Station on the morning of the thirtieth so they could spend the New Year at home...

A group of men returned home without unnecessary chatter, first grabbing bath towels and similar items to head to the nearby bathhouse for a wash.

The old year was about to pass and the new year was about to arrive; washing away the dirt of the body removed the bad of the old year and welcomed the good of the new.

Obviously, everyone in the bathhouse thought the same.

The weather was cold, and the bathhouse was quite spacious; with hot water below and cold air above, plus the large crowd, some people even had to share a single showerhead, resulting in the interior being filled with water mist where one could barely see their hand before them, resembling a fairyland, except this fairyland was full of naked, rough men, which was not much to look at.

After bathing, the group of men from the courtyard walked back in rows of two or three, their footsteps crunching on the snow, returning to the yard to prepare for eating and drinking.

Wang Yan went home to put away his belongings and tidy up; his home was not cold, as Wang Sufang usually calculated the days and lit the kang on the morning of his return, so he did not have to return to an ice-cold home and busy himself waiting half an hour for a bit of warmth.

After tidying up and pressing coal onto the stove to smolder the fire, Wang Yan went out the door.

Snow drifted from the sky, and in the courtyard, children of various sizes were building snowmen; these were all the grandchildren of the elders in the yard who had returned for the New Year, as several families in the yard had gathered together as entire households.

The children's faces were frozen red, their hands likewise, and snot dripped from their noses; constantly sniffing, when the snot that could not be sniffed back seemed about to hang from their lips, they would lift their small arms and wipe it across their noses, a traditional skill of Northeast children.

As soon as he came out, he saw Cai Xiaonian squatting in the corner with Niu Dali, smoking.

Wang Yan also lit a cigarette, walked over with a smile, and squatted down together: "Feeling sad again, Old Niu?"

"Get lost, you two are really something, bringing up exactly what shouldn't be brought up; it's the New Year, can't you let people celebrate happily?" Niu Dali shifted his body and ignored Wang Yan.

"Cut the crap, it wasn't us brothers," Cai Xiaonian said to Wang Yan, "He just saw Little Yao go to Wang Xin's house, and that's what made him upset."

"It seems that ever since they got together, Yao Yuling has basically been eating at Wang Xin's house, right?"

"Yes, just like you; don't you eat at your father-in-law's house too? Little Yao is eating at her in-laws'."

"Hiss..."

Before Niu Dali could speak, Cai Xiaonian nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes, I misspoke; future in-laws, future in-laws, that's correct, right?"

"Get lost," Niu Dali said, having detected Cai Xiaonian's intentional provocation.

Wang Yan asked with a smile: "What's the plan for the New Year?"

"Come to my place; he's done this for the past few years, either at my home or at Big Brother Old Wu's," Cai Xiaonian said, "My dad is stewing braised pork, which is your favorite; I'll bring you a bowl in a bit."

"Alright, I got some mantis shrimp; I'll bring some over for you."

"Damn, I knew you had wild connections; what other good stuff do you have? Take care of your little brother."

"Nothing much, it's mostly meat anyway, all about the same; let's go, grab it and hurry back to cook, dinner will be ready soon."

"Finish the cigarette first; not a single person in your wife's family smokes."

"You're quite considerate of me."

"You're my own brother; if you hadn't gotten together with Ma Yan, wouldn't you be coming to my place for the New Year? Saying such things..." Cai Xiaonian sighed, "Shall we play mahjong this afternoon? Let's go to your place; the kang is heated warmer there."

"No playing without money on the line."

"It's the New Year; we're eating meat, how can we drink cold water? We must play for money; let me tell you, I'm memorizing tiles now when playing mahjong, so you better prepare more money."

"No problem," Wang Yan nodded with amusement.

Their mahjong stakes were not large, usually costing just a few packs of cigarettes for a whole day of clicking tiles; for the New Year, they played slightly bigger, roughly the cost of a meal at the state-run restaurant.

The two did not speak further to provoke the sorrowful Niu Dali; after a few jokes and finishing their cigarettes, Wang Yan took Cai Xiaonian to Old Ma's house to get the mantis shrimp, waiting for their braised pork to be delivered.

Wang Sufang said: "Wang Yan, don't buy so many things in the future; there are only four of us, Yanzi is usually at school, and you father and son are here only one day out of three; I can't eat all this by myself."

"It's fine if we can't finish it, but we cannot have too little," Wang Yan said with a smile, "If we can't finish it, we can give it away; the people in our courtyard are all quite nice, and besides, my first and second uncles' families are not well-off, so we can take care of them a bit."

Old Ma's family New Year goods were all handled by him; he had bought quite a lot of things, making Wang Sufang feel overwhelmed.

Ma Yan said: "If he wants to buy, let him buy; don't worry about him."

"How can that be acceptable? Spending like this, how will we live in the future?"

"Will we starve to death?" Ma Kui waved his hand, "Enough, we are not yet one family, so don't worry about him."

"How heartless, Old Ma; I've already offered my filial piety in advance, and you still talk as if we are two separate families? Yanzi, look at him."

"Get lost," Ma Yan waved her hand in disgust, "It's the New Year; can you be serious?"

"Stand straight for me!" Wang Yan straightened his expression, startling Ma Yan, then immediately smiled, "Serious enough?"

"I'll beat you to death," Ma Yan walked over and unleashed a flurry of Wang Ba fists.

Wang Sufang found it quite amusing, but Ma Kui simply could not bear to watch: "Enough, you are grown adults; is this proper?"

Ma Yan delivered one final heavy blow before finally stopping.

Wang Yan asked: "It's been half a year; let's summarize, how has university life been?"

"So-so. At first I couldn't understand, then I couldn't keep up; now I'm just barely managing."

Old Ma's face turned stern again: "How can that be acceptable? You're still receiving a subsidy for attending university; you must study hard."

"Oh, Comrade Old Ma, don't you know how I got into university?" Ma Yan rolled her eyes. "My foundation was poor to begin with, and university knowledge is deep."

"Oh... but everyone is in the same boat, all picking up studies after stopping for several years. You studied so well before; you'll surely do well now. You must be confident; we are no worse than others." Ma Kui's tone softened again.

In this family, his status was the lowest; even Wang Yan ranked higher than him.

"Old Ma is right; just take it slow. 'Renew yourself daily, and again daily.' As long as today is better than yesterday, that is a good thing. You needn't feel any burden. How are you getting along with your roommates?"

"How could they be bad? Every day is like a gala celebration; it's extremely lively. Oh, right, Mom, several of my roommates aren't going home. Tomorrow, cook some food, and I'll deliver it to them."

"All right, I'll make extra." Wang Sufang nodded with a smile.

"Hey, Wang Yan, do you have something to do?"

"What, do you want to go see Old Blindie?"

Old Ma smiled: "I forgot earlier. Since there's still a while before dinner, let's take some things over to visit him while we have the time."

"It's snowing outside; what difference do these two days make?"

"Tomorrow the New Year will have passed; how can that be the same?"

"You old thing, always acting on whims." Wang Sufang expressed her displeasure.

Old Ma merely smiled, said nothing, and had already risen to start selecting items.

Wang Yan shook his head, pulled a phone directory from his pocket with proper formality, flipped through a few pages to find a number, then used the nearby telephone to make the call. One could hear a round of greetings and conversation, filled with laughter, after which he hung up.

"Wait a bit; a car will come to pick us up shortly."

"Just how do you operate, kid? In the middle of the New Year, one phone call and a car arrives?"

"It's no big deal; they're genuine friends, all locals. We'll bring them some gifts later; just a token gesture is enough. Besides, you bringing this up means you thought of it too, right? Otherwise, what decent person would cause trouble during the New Year?" Watching Old Ma laugh triumphantly, Wang Yan shook his head. "Should we invite Wang Xin?"

"Invite him. Don't let their constant bickering when they meet fool you; their relationship is actually quite good."

"All right, I'll go tell him."

In less than half an hour, a jeep drove into the courtyard compound. Wang Yan gathered some items, and together with Ma Kui and Wang Xin, they boarded the vehicle, heading through wind and snow to the nursing home.

The nursing home was quite lively; activities had been arranged for the New Year. When Wang Yan and the others arrived, Old Blindie was bragging to someone, not lonely in the least. This old rascal was a Fengdan Fengdan Sihai type, shameless and willing to play dirty; he could fit in anywhere.

When Old Blindie approached, none of the trio made a sound; the old rascal sniffed the air.

"I don't even need to smell to know it's you three. Nowadays, the only ones who remember me are you." The old rascal smiled.

"If you didn't need to smell, why were you sniffing?" Wang Xin asked with a laugh.

"So what? Am I supposed to die? Can't I breathe?"

Ma Kui let out an "Ai": "Old brother, it's the New Year; why talk about death?"

"You know it's the New Year? It's snowing, the roads are bad to travel. Why aren't you three drinking at home on your heated kang beds, but instead ran over here to see me? What for? You don't need to worry about me; look how lively it is here. Didn't you see?"

Wang Xin said with a smile: "How could we not see? Before, I thought you were suffering, but now I see you're truly enjoying life."

"Indeed, it's quite good," Wang Yan agreed with a smile.

"See? That's why I said there's no need to worry. All right, you've seen me, I'm living well; hurry back. If the snow gets thicker later, it will be hard to travel."

Ma Kui grasped Old Blindie's hand: "Old brother, we brought you some things. I can't visit often, but you know both my work and home phone numbers; if anything comes up, call me. I wish you a healthy New Year; do take care of your health."

"You must also stay safe and sound; pay attention to safety."

"Oh my, we'll borrow your auspicious words for that, old brother."

"If I say 'safe and sound,' then it shall be safe and sound."

After such banter for a while, the trio was driven back to the courtyard compound; this time, dinner was served.

The food at Old Ma's house was exceptionally rich due to Wang Yan's presence; furthermore, families throughout the courtyard compound visited each other, bringing their signature dishes, so the table was a colorful array, featuring every kind of dish.

This was Wang Yan's first Spring Festival since arriving here, spent with the three members of Old Ma's family; it felt as though they were already one family, everything feeling perfectly natural. And indeed it was natural; after Ma Yan went to university, Wang Yan had been eating at his mother's house, never missing a single meal, except for occasional drinks with Cai Xiao, Niu Dali, and others.

Wang Sufang was very happy; Ma Kui was equally happy; Ma Yan, of course, was also very happy.

After dinner, the adults chatted and laughed at home, especially those who hadn't seen relatives in a long time, making it even livelier. Families with few members also visited neighbors to chat.

The children were outside setting off small firecrackers. These were tiny crackers strung together; the children would light an incense stick, stuff a pocketful of the small crackers, and run around as they exploded with ding-dang noises everywhere.

As for the men, they had split into several groups. Playing poker, playing mahjong, playing strip cards, and the like; it was also bustling and lively.

The snow in the sky grew heavier; every household lit their dim yellow lamps, reflecting off the condensed water droplets on the insulating plastic sheeting, crystal clear and translucent...