Chapter 128: New Year (5)

  "Brother, you said that Jia Bao just mentioned that Da Tang Ge joined the Green Gang. Our family and San Shu's family are still not getting along, can he cause trouble for us?" Qiu Ye asked her brother with some concern.

  "This is hard to say, I also think Qiu Jiaqing doesn't seem like a good person, and the people with him aren't any better. We usually don't bother them, but if they want to look for trouble, we can't tolerate it, so we just fight? With his small build, he dares to provoke me, I won't be able to kill him." Qiu Feng is still very confident in the showdown between himself and Qiu Jiaqing.

  Qiu Ye listened to her brother's words and snorted: "Brother, your fighting moves are all unorthodox and irregular. You should go learn real martial arts so you can better protect me, protect Mom and Dad. Isn't that right?" Qiu Ye had thought this way for a long time. In rebirth stories, the female lead always has a childhood sweetheart who protects her closely. Not to mention whether she had such thoughts or not, but looking at herself now, she didn't have those conditions, so she could only rely on her brother to make do.

  Qiu Feng heard his sister say that his skills were not good, and he was a bit unconvinced. He loudly said: "Sister, open your eyes wide and take a good look! My skills are not bad, ah?" As he spoke, he began to show off in the room.

  Qiu Ye was lost in thought. Qiu Jiaqing, that child, seemed to have a narrow mind and might become a time bomb if not handled properly. Shouldn't he think of a way to find someone to discipline him well? Or should he take the initiative to get rid of him by sending him to prison and letting the police educate him? Maybe it would work, and when he came out, he could even turn over a new leaf and become a better person. That way, Qiu Ye would have done a good deed too.

  On the last day of the year at noon, quietly slipped away in Qiu Ye's gaze and Qiu Feng's chaotic dance.

  On New Year's Eve, there was another big show. Qiu Ye took out the jade ornaments he brought back from Beijing, two jade bangles and a jade button. There were not enough things for everyone to share, so in the end, Qiu Ye still had to distribute them himself. The two jade bangles were given to the two mothers, letting them wear them every day from now on, and nourish each other with the jade. Maybe there will be unexpected effects later. As for the single jade button, Qiu Ye gave it to his brother, tied it with a red thread, and let him hang it around his neck, close to his body.

  Qiu Ye had already discussed with her mother, and these good sheep fat jade bangles would also be given to her godmother. The two families had a very good relationship, and her godfather and godmother treated her and her sister as their own. Whenever there was something delicious, they would have a share. Now that they had such good jade bangles at home, it was only right to give one to her godmother.

  Qiu Feng had no objection to such a distribution, but Qiu's mother and Zhao Shuyan both wanted to give the jade bangle they got to Qiu Ye first. They said, "Don't worry, Mom/Dry mom. Little Ye, you wear this bangle first, when the remaining ones are carved next year, I'll wear it then."

  Qiu Ye very much understood the two mothers' loving hearts for their children, but... Qiu Ye stretched out her small hands in front of the two mothers, letting them carefully observe, and they were unaware of it, so she had to point it out herself.

  "Mom, aunt, these two bangles can only be worn by you both now. Look at my arm, it's so thin, can I wear this bangle? Qiu Ye just turned ten after the New Year, she hasn't developed yet, there's still too little flesh on her body, and now the bangle has become a cuff on her wrist, how can that look good?"

  Two mothers understood the problem through Qiu Ye's demonstration of wearing armlets, and it was really not possible to give the girl an armlet now, as if she accidentally dropped it and broke it, it would be a pity.

  The two mothers looked at each other and took back the bangles they had given away.

  "Then you wear the jade ring." Old Lady Qiu thought of her son's jade ring and, if all else failed, would temporarily inconvenience her son. The young lady was ill, so it would be better to let her wear it first and absorb some spiritual energy.

  "No need, mom, you forgot, I've been wearing the jade pendant given by my aunt all along. That one is pretty good too, and when we get back the remaining jade ornaments from Grandpa Jiang next year, I'll pick a nice one to wear." Qiu Ye said, patting her own chest, where she was still wearing the jade, although it wasn't top-grade sheep fat jade, but it was still jade, not bad at all.

  The distribution of jade accessories ended with Qiu Ye's persistence, and from then on, Qiu's mother and Zhao Shuyan always wore the sheep fat jade bangle on their wrists, never taking it off again.

  On the first day of the Lunar New Year, it's time to pay New Year's visits. In Oil City, Qiu's father and mother only have Qiu's grandmother as their relative, and Fang Haibo's couple is also in the same situation. Therefore, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, they can only stay at home watching TV. At that time, there were not many TV programs to choose from, so they could only watch the replay of the Spring Festival Gala on New Year's Eve. Everyone had watched it at least twice and was no longer interested. Just as they were getting bored, Qiu's father found a set of mahjong tiles that had been stored away for many years in the miscellaneous items on the balcony, which sparked everyone's great interest.

  Qiu Feng saw it and was about to join in the fun, but was kicked out of the house by his father, who also gave him a dollar and said: "You little rascal, instead of going out to play with your friends, you're staying home to join in on the commotion. Hurry up and get out!" And so, poor Qiu Feng was chased out of the house by his own father.

  The remaining four adults made up a table of mahjong, and they started killing each other. Qiu Ye was just serving the game, sometimes giving his father a cigarette, and sometimes pouring water for his aunt.

  At first, Zhao Shuyan didn't know how to play mahjong. Wasn't this a case of "three lacking one"? Three people took turns teaching Zhao Shuyan hand in hand. They say that people who have just learned or just started playing mahjong are extremely lucky and have good hands. Zhao Shuyan's card skills were basically non-existent, but she often won against the teacher Fu. The so-called "random punches killing the teacher" is precisely this kind of luck. This law was once again proven on Zhao Shuyan's body. After just learning mahjong, her luck was exceptionally good. Basically, every round she won, whatever she wanted, the previous player would give it to her, and whenever she declared a win, someone would give her the final tile. In the end, she came from behind to win, and surprisingly, only her side won while the other three sides lost.

  By the time it was late at night, except for Zhao Shuyan, the other three families were all defeated with a miserable and decadent expression. However, when pushing cards, they just said that they would fight again tomorrow.

  Zhao Shuyan had just learned to play mahjong and was particularly addicted. As soon as she had free time, she would drag three other people to play with her, and in the end, she became the most enthusiastic one.

  Qiu Ye was also watching from the side, feeling quite itchy, she too knew how to have fun, but at this moment in her life, she shouldn't be having fun, so she could only watch from the side. Fortunately, Zhao Shuyan, although fond of playing mahjong, didn't care about the money won, every time the game was over, she would let Qiu Ye collect the winnings, saying it was for her to buy red envelopes, after all, Qiu Ye had been serving at the table all along!

  By the seventh day, Qiu's mother finally couldn't hold on anymore, so she pushed away the mahjong and decided to temporarily quit the mahjong scene. "Alright, I've relaxed for so many days already, and the bathhouse should be open for business too. I've decided to go back to work tomorrow." In fact, she was secretly crying inside. She had only played mahjong for a few days, but basically lost every game, losing nearly 100 yuan in total. This was really bad luck! Playing small-stakes mahjong and still managing to lose so much money. So she decided to temporarily wash her hands of the golden basin, avoiding Zhao Shuyan's sharp tongue. The best choice was to go open the bathhouse - not only wouldn't she lose money, but she could also earn some. If things went well, she might even be able to make back the money she had lost in just a few days.

  Fang Haibo and Qiu Baba also lost, looking disheveled and pale. They both raised their hands in agreement with Qiu Mama's decision. Only Zhao Shuyan was somewhat disappointed about the dispersal of the mahjong gathering, as she hadn't had enough fun yet.

  Qiu's mother went to the front of the bathhouse at 9 o'clock on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year and set off a string of firecrackers, opening for business.

  Because Oil City is located in the north, it's just New Year's Day, and the workers in the boiler room don't have a holiday either. After all, someone has to provide heating for the entire university. The workers are just on duty in shifts, so whenever Qiu Ma wants to open her bathhouse, as long as she makes an appointment with the boiler room, there will be hot water supply.

  Qiu's father wasn't a stubborn person, on the evening of the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, he took several boxes of cigarettes and some packages of melon seeds and went to the boiler room, where he established a connection with the workers on duty, which was considered bribery in the 1980s.

  Qiu's mother's diligence made Qiu Ye, who had been idle for a while, realize her physical and mental laziness. She decided to reform and follow in her mother's footsteps, starting to make money by selling lamb skewers.

  On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Qiu Ye and Zhao Shuyan went to the market together, trudging through the snow, to buy some mutton. However, the market was deserted and quiet, with only a few stray cats around.

  The mother and daughter held hands, strolling through the desolate market. After Qiu Ye arrived, she didn't have much hope of buying mutton today. After walking around in a circle, they found that there were the most vendors selling firecrackers, as well as stalls selling frozen fish, bean bags, and only one stall selling freshly sprouted green beans.

  The mother and daughter returned home in vain, trudging through the snow. Qiu Ye thought for a long time about the future development direction of her business. From glutinous rice balls to tea eggs to roasted lamb skewers, plus squatting in the market during every holiday, it seemed like small business, petty trading, which would be chased by city management and banned by the government in the future, and could be said to have no prospects for development at all.

  Qiu Ye looked at the numbers on his passbook, thinking that he now had some assets and wondering if it was time to consider his next move. In half a year, he would be entering junior high school, and with less free time, it would be difficult to continue running his small stall after school. He needed to reform his business model or risk disappearing into the annals of history.

  Let's just talk about the whole serious store, no need to mention the chicken that lays golden eggs, but also give yourself a mother who lays eggs!