Chapter 435: A Happy Worry

For Chinese people, the New Year is a term etched into their DNA, and the saying "Rich or poor, go home for the New Year" was once a widely popular phrase.

As a province with strong clan traditions and atmosphere, the New Year means a flood of ancestral worship rituals.

Last year at this time, Zhao Ping and Zhou Yaoguo had stayed in their hometown for the New Year, unwilling to burden their son in the capital with too much trouble, and because they still had to handle various local rituals.

But this year was different—they finally left their hometown and came to the capital, moving into the apartment their son had prepared for them.

As for the activities back home…

The key is sincerity; where you worship doesn't matter—just have someone light incense for you if needed.

If all else fails, they could return home after celebrating the New Year in the capital to make up for it.

After all, Zhou Yaoguo and Zhao Ping, whose entire lifetimes of connections and networks were rooted in their hometown's patch of land, didn't feel entirely at ease living in the capital—they came only because their son Zhou Yi had to perform on the Spring Festival Gala and couldn't return home in time.

Since their son couldn't come, they could go to him.

"I tell you, even ordering a good goose here is so hard—sigh. Back home, we'd have just called Old Man Guai and his whole village to get it all sorted."

Zhao Ping rose early to prepare for the New Year's Eve dinner, riding her electric bike to pick up the pre-ordered goose.

Back home, she bled and plucked the goose, clattering pots and pans in a noisy rush—the small living room filled with the bustle: "If we were back home, we'd just move it all to the yard—it's too cramped here."

"It's all your fault—you kept telling us to live with him, he said we could pick any of his two apartments."

Zhao Ping, exhausted from plucking feathers and drenched in sweat, kept muttering.

"You don't understand—he's a big star now, still unmarried, living with him would be inconvenient."

Zhou Yaoguo, stubborn on this issue, refused to yield: "Living here is fine now—we can just go see him anytime, he stays comfortable, and we can visit him whenever we want."

This was the apartment Zhou Yi had bought; after he moved out, they moved in.

Although the fact that their son had quietly become a "landlord" shocked the two elders, out of respect for their son's privacy, Zhou Yaoguo chose not to live with him.

Though his education ended in elementary school, Zhou Yaoguo understood his son, who had been independent since childhood.

Each generation has its own way of living; since his son had already made a name for himself, he felt it best not to be a burden.

Between two generations, there's always something—the experts call it a generation gap.

With different lifestyles, living together would inevitably cause friction.

Besides, their son clearly still cares for them—doesn't he even wrote a song called "Dad and Mom"?

That song is wildly popular.

After a full day of preparation, they ate the New Year's Eve dinner early, then waited for their son and the rumored daughters-in-law to perform on the Spring Festival Gala before turning on the TV.

On the evening of January 31, 2003, the Year of the Goat Spring Festival Gala opened under the hosting of Ni Ping, Zhu Jun, Li Yong, and Zhou Tao.

On various internet sites, many had listed the highlights of this year's Gala—

Zhou Yi's "Young China" and Zhao Benshan's "Heartache" topped the first tier;

Others like Sun and Xiao's "Dad and Mom," Huang Hong, Lin Yi, Feng Gong, and others' acts ranked in the second tier.

That was it.

By 2003, rumors had already spread that "the Spring Festival Gala is over."

This year, to create buzz and change things, they even broke new ground by introducing online voting to select songs—shortly after the opening dance, Xie Xiaodong and Zhang Bai's song "DV Live" was an audience-submitted entry.

Frankly, it was pretty average.

After that came Feng Gong's highly controversial "hybrid crosstalk": "Roadside Love Song."

Having parted ways with Guo Donglin this year, Feng Gong once again continued his habit of slapping a new skin on sketches and calling them crosstalk, performing a gender-swapped version of "Police and Thief" with this year's host Zhou Tao.

Zhou Yi felt little emotion, but Sun Yanzi laughed loudly and clapped enthusiastically, her two front teeth gleaming brightly as the camera zoomed in—

Watching Xiao Yaxuan, who had little exposure to skits, also covered her mouth and laughed.

"Hey! Look quick, look—it's our son! And those two daughters-in-law!"

At home, Zhao Ping, seeing the live broadcast's camera sweep over her son and the media's "two daughters-in-law," slapped her thigh in delight, calling Zhou Yaoguo in from the balcony to watch, her tone tinged with pride—

"See? Our son's getting more handsome. But which of these two supposed daughters-in-law should we pick?"

Zhao Ping was caught in a happy dilemma.

She read the news and knew which female stars were closest to her son.

Though her son kept tight-lipped during phone calls, the number of names he mentioned suggested these two—and Cheng Hao—were definitely possibilities.

Zhou Yaoguo, seeing his son's success, wore a helpless smile: "You're dreaming—pick which one? Your son's probably just playing around."

He knew his son's nature too well.

Young people like to play.

He couldn't control him.

He only hoped his son wouldn't stir up any scandals.

Zhao Ping's eyes were clouded by her son's achievements, constantly boasting—he could still see objectively the string of rumors trailing behind him.

Of course, outsiders called them rumors, but in Zhao Ping's own words, they were "my son's talents."

Time passed as the old couple chattered back and forth until the host announced the performance of "Dad and Mom," when both suddenly perked up.

On screen, Sun Yanzi and Watching Xiao Yaxuan, dressed simply, walked slowly onto the stage like a pair of sisters, exchanged a smile, and began to sing—

"I once wondered how many times the same words must be said before they're heard."

"Those old, repeated phrases—I only realized their meaning when I grew up."

Amid the gentle piano melody, behind them, a tree's silhouette showed a child sitting on a swing beneath its branches, living carefree. Watching Xiao Yaxuan's opening voice, rich with emotion and paired with the screen's visuals, gradually drew the entire audience into the mood.

"Rarely do they embrace willingly, even out of pride."

"A shy smile, stubborn yet quiet."

"The fabric I gave you, the coat I gave you—outdated, but never thrown away~"

Compared to Watching Xiao Yaxuan, Sun Yanzi's voice was clearly brighter; holding the microphone, she sang this verse like a sweet, obedient girl.

Together, the two top vocalists of the Chinese music scene delivered lyrics so vivid they pulled listeners deep into the song.

At least Zhao Ping and Zhou Yaoguo, who had just been enjoying their "happy troubles" in front of the TV, fell silent at once, their expressions somewhat complex.

Especially Zhou Yaoguo.

He had no money before; the painter work was done only when he traveled far to work with others, returning home just once a year for the New Year. Back then, all the family's affairs, big and small, relied on Zhao Ping to handle inside and out; the son's independence had indeed spared the two of them a great deal of worry.

Although he was occasionally called to school by the teachers due to the son's various unorthodox experiences, the son's academic grades always remained excellent, leaving him unsure how to teach his son, so he could only join the teacher in scolding him.

The most direct result of this was that the son wanted to live alone.

After he saved money from working, laid the foundation in his hometown, built a house, and the son had his own independent room, communication between him and his son, while not scarce, was absolutely not as frequent as that between him and Zhao Ping.

Strict father, kind mother; their family was roughly the standard setup for most Chinese-style families.

"Oh~ Not too much, not too little, what Mom and Dad gave me

"Enough for me to hustle in this era

"Enough for me to live~"

(End of this chapter)