A leisurely life starting in a bar after being reborn

Time flies and it's already New Year's Eve.

The Lunar New Year's Eve in Bincheng is more lively than in Yanjing. This city, which originated from a fishing village, emphasizes the "lively" aspect of the New Year celebrations—firecrackers start going off in the morning and continue until midnight. Every household has red paper-cut window decorations and red lanterns hanging at their doors, turning the entire street into a crimson glow.

Fu Yan and Fu Jianguo are putting up Spring Festival couplets in the courtyard.

Fu Jianguo stood on a stool, while Fu Yan supported him from below.

"A little higher on the left—a little higher—okay, that's it!"

Fu Jianguo pasted up the first line of the couplet, then pasted up the second line. Fu Yan glanced at it as he handed over the paste—

First line: May you have abundance and wealth every year.

Second line: May you have peace and happiness every year.

Horizontal scroll: Harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things.

"Dad, who wrote these Spring Festival couplets?"

"It was written by your uncle-in-law; he has good calligraphy skills."

Fu Yan recalled Sun Hongqiang's gold teeth and slicked-back hair, and couldn't imagine him holding a calligraphy brush and writing. To be honest, the contrast was absolutely striking.

After putting up the Spring Festival couplets, Fu Jianguo hung two red lanterns on the old grapevines in the yard. The lanterns were bought by Liu Meilan from the market. They were hung on the trellis, one on the left and one on the right. When the wind blew, they swayed gently, which had a unique charm.

Inside the house, Liu Meilan and Fu Xiao were making dumplings.

Fu Xiao was in charge of rolling out the dough, and Liu Meilan was in charge of wrapping the dumplings; the two worked together quite well. The TV was on, and CCTV's Spring Festival Gala was being warmed up; the hosts, dressed in bright red suits, stood on the stage, beaming with joy.

"Mom, what fillings are you making this year?" Fu Yan asked, peeking inside.

"You'll need either mackerel or pork and cabbage filling. Make the mackerel filling yourself; I won't help you!"

"I don't remember ever saying I was going to make them myself?"

"When you were little, you always said you'd make mackerel dumplings for Mom when you grew up. Now you're thirty-one, isn't it time to keep your promise?"

Fu Yan was both amused and exasperated, so she rolled up her sleeves, washed her hands, and sat down next to Fu Xiao to start wrapping the food.

He honed his dumpling-making skills in the United States—the dumplings at Chinese restaurants in Silicon Valley were so bad that he had to make them himself. Although they turned out crooked and not as pretty as Liu Meilan's, at least they didn't leak filling.

Fu Xiao laughed at him from the side, "Brother, are you making dumplings or wontons?"

"Stop talking nonsense and get your dough rolling."

The family of four worked in the kitchen for over an hour, making three trays full of dumplings. Liu Meilan also cooked several other dishes—braised pork ribs, braised prawns, braised yellow croaker in soy sauce, cold jellyfish salad, and braised sea cucumber with scallions—plus a plate of peanuts for Fu Jianguo to enjoy with his drinks.

It was already dark when the New Year's Eve dinner was served.

The sound of firecrackers rose and fell outside the window, and the distant night sky was illuminated by fireworks. Fu Jianguo opened a bottle of Moutai—it was a New Year's gift that Fu Yan had brought back, and he hadn't been able to bring himself to drink it until today.

"Come on, it's Chinese New Year!" Fu Jianguo raised his glass, his eyes a little red. "The whole family is here this year, good, cheers!"

"Cheers." Liu Meilan also picked up her glass, looking at Fu Yan and Fu Xiao, tears almost falling down her face.

Fu Xiao quickly hugged her: "Mom! It's New Year's! Don't cry!"

"Who's crying! I'm just happy!" Liu Meilan wiped her eyes and smiled.

As Fu Yan held his wine glass and looked at the scene before him, a warm feeling welled up in his heart.

In his past life, he was all alone, spending Chinese New Year alone with takeout and a computer screen, with no one to talk to. Now—he has a father, a mother, and a younger sister; hot dumplings and vegetables are on the table, and firecrackers are popping outside the window.

This is the true essence of celebrating the Chinese New Year.

……

Early on the second day of the Lunar New Year, Fu Yan and his family of four rushed to the airport.

There are only two flights a day from Bincheng to Changwei, so Fu Yan had Yang Yi book four economy class tickets in advance.

It was Liu Meilan's first time flying, and she was incredibly nervous. Before boarding, she repeatedly checked her belongings, afraid of forgetting anything. Fu Xiao, on the other hand, was very excited, pressing her face against the window to look at the runway outside.

Fu Jianguo sat in his seat, gripping the armrests tightly with both hands. He froze completely and turned pale when the plane took off.

Fu Yan, suppressing a laugh, said, "Dad, relax, the plane won't crash."

"Shut up, I'm nervous!" Fu Jianguo said through gritted teeth.

An hour and a half later, the plane landed at Changwei Tingzhou International Airport.

Changwei is a prefecture-level city in Qi Province. Its economy is not as good as the provincial capital, but it is not bad either. It is a coastal city with a port and a fishing industry, and it has a similar atmosphere to Bincheng. Fu Yan's grandparents and maternal grandparents are all from a county called "Anqiu" under Changwei, which is about an hour's drive from the city center.

As Fu Yan exited the airport, she saw a short, stout middle-aged man with his hands behind his back, searching around for the person he was supposed to pick up.

"Your uncle!" Liu Meilan pointed at the man.

Fu Yan's uncle is named Fu Qingguo. He and his father had very different fates. His father sold fish in Bincheng, while his uncle farmed in his hometown and later opened a small shop. They lived a very frugal life.

My uncle picked us up in a van, the back seat crammed full of New Year's goods for the elders. The four of us squeezed in, and the van wobbled and swayed as it drove towards Anqiu.

……

Anqiu is a typical small county town in northern China. The streets are narrow, the buildings are not tall, and there are stalls selling New Year's goods on both sides of the road. Red lanterns and Spring Festival couplets are hung everywhere, and loudspeakers are blaring "Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you."

Fu Yan's grandparents lived in a village on the outskirts of the county town. It was a detached house with red brick tiles. They kept chickens in the yard, and there was a big locust tree in front of the door with a string of red lanterns hanging on its bare branches.

As soon as the car stopped at the door, an elderly woman with a full head of white hair rushed out of the house.

"Xiao Yan! My Xiao Yan is back!"

Grandma Sun Guifen is seventy-three years old this year. She is short and a little hunched over, but she is very energetic. She grabbed Fu Yan's hand and looked up at him—Fu Yan is 1.85 meters tall, and she only reaches his chest.

"You've grown so tall! Let Grandma see! You've lost weight! Did you not eat properly in America?"

"Grandma, eat well, eat well, don't worry..."

"What's the rush! You're Grandma's eldest grandson, we haven't seen each other for years, how could I not be anxious?"

Fu Yan was pulled into the house by her, followed by Fu Jianguo and Liu Meilan, with Fu Xiao walking at the back, a smile on her lips.

Grandpa Fu Dehou sat in the armchair in the main room. He was seventy-six years old and still in good health, though his hearing wasn't very good. When he saw Fu Yan come in, he was stunned for a moment, then suddenly stood up, almost dropping his cane.

"Xiaoyan?!"

"grandfather!"

Fu Yan walked over, and Fu Dehou grasped his hand tightly, his eyes instantly reddening.

"Okay...okay...it's good that you're back..."

The old man couldn't say anything polite, he just kept saying "good" and "it's good that you're back," but his hand never let go.

Fu Yan felt a little sore.

He was an orphan in his past life, but in this life he has a family—not just his parents and sister, but also his grandparents, uncles and aunts, cousins… a whole big family. It felt like walking from a freezing cold place into a warm house with a stove, warm from head to toe.

……