Two months later…
There was less than half a month left before the new year. Every household was busy preparing for the new year. The school was also on holiday. A few children were setting off firecrackers on the streets. Every new year was the most troublesome for adults because there was nothing but busy new year. However, children were different. They looked forward to the new year the most. They had fun in school during the holidays. Their grandparents gave them red pocket money and wore new clothes. They would eat, drink, and play every day when they opened their eyes. It was simply too blissful. Any child would look forward to the new year.
Looking at the children playing on the streets during the Lunar New Year, one could tell that the children of the poor and the children of the rich were divided into two groups. The children of the poor played hide-and-seek in the mud. Some of them were not qualified to play, so they helped out at home, while the children of the rich set off firecrackers from morning till night and went to various places where they could spend money. Sometimes, after buying what needed to be bought and eating what needed to be eaten, there was also a kind of curiosity that was not satisfied and wanted to play with things that had never been played before.
Third Brother had been hiding in an alley early in the morning. He was waiting. After waiting for the whole morning, he did not see the person he wanted to see. He was a little impatient. However, he still looked around and waited. He had to wait for his prey.”
The door of a house opened. Judging from the door, this family could be considered rich. As soon as the door opened, Old San's rat eyes lit up. He saw a shop assistant bringing a boy about 10 years old out. It seemed that they were going to buy something.
"Prey." As soon as he appeared, No. 3 did not run over quickly. Instead, he followed carefully behind him. When they arrived at the bustling market, the boy suddenly told the waiter beside him that he wanted to eat rice cakes. The waiter looked troubled and turned around to look at the crowded street. He said," Little Master, we've walked far away from the place that sells rice cakes. There are so many people. I'm afraid it will hurt you if we go back. Why don't we come back tomorrow to buy some?"”
"I don't want to, I don't want to, I want to eat rice cakes.”The little boy started to be mischievous.
The shop assistant continued to look at the bustling crowd and was still a little troubled. Just as they were weighing the pros and cons, No. 3 seemed to have descended from the sky and stood directly in front of them.
"If you want anything, Third Uncle will bring you to buy it.”No. 3 smiled and pulled the child's hand.
When the little boy saw that it was his third uncle, he naturally became more cordial and shouted,"Third uncle, third uncle, I want to eat rice cakes."”
When the waiter saw that it was his third uncle, he greeted him respectfully. Seeing that Third Uncle was about to take Little Young Master away, she was a little anxious and tried to stop him. She said," Third Uncle, Second Mistress asked me to take good care of Little Young Master. Don't lose him."”
"Brat, what do you mean? This is my nephew. I can't wait to kiss him. Why would I lose him?”Third Uncle glared at him.
"No, I didn't mean that.”The waiter wanted to explain.
"Third Uncle, I want to eat rice cakes, I want to eat rice cakes.”The little man shouted more and more loudly.
"Go away, go away." Third Uncle pushed the waiter to the side and held the boy's hand as they walked into the crowd.
"Eh? "Third Uncle…Third Uncle…" The waiter was helpless, but he did not know what to do.
Third Uncle and his nephew had walked far away from the shop assistant. He turned around and looked at the shop assistant with relief. Then, he bent down and said to the boy," Third Uncle will buy you rice cakes and then take you to a fun place, okay?”
"Alright, alright!" The boy was completely unprepared.
After buying some rice cakes and other delicious food for his nephew, Third Brother brought him to a large courtyard.
There were many doors in the courtyard, and every room was warm. There were a few middle-aged men lying on the kang inside, smoking long sticks in their mouths, making gurgling sounds.
He led his nephew into the innermost room. When she saw Third Master come in, the servant girl inside immediately came out to serve her and called out coquettishly,"Third Master, you're here."”
"What is this place?" his nephew asked his third uncle, confused.”Third Brother said," Third Uncle brought you to a good place today.”As he spoke, he picked up the long pole that the servant girl handed over and took two mouthfuls. With a drunken face, he narrowed his eyes and said to his nephew," My nephew, this is called **. One breath and you will be rich for a lifetime. One year and you will live a hundred years."”
Third Uncle's intoxicated look greatly aroused the boy's curiosity. He threw the snacks he had bought on the brick bed and then went to snatch the long pole from Third Uncle's mouth.
His nephew didn't know how to suck, so he choked on the first mouthful and coughed twice. The teacher smiled and said," Nephew, don't worry. Third Uncle will teach you."”
Following Third Uncle's guidance, his nephew took a sip. Third Uncle immediately asked how it was. His nephew said," It's okay. It doesn't taste as sweet as candy, but the process is quite fun."”Third Brother was happy and said," I feel too bad to enjoy such a good thing alone, so I brought you here to enjoy it together. I'm the closest to you among the children in Second Sister's family.”The little nephew was also happy when he heard this. He said," Third Uncle treats me the best. The waiter doesn't buy me new year cakes, so only Third Uncle buys them for me."”Therefore, Third Brother struck while the iron was hot and discussed with his nephew,"。”In the future, as long as his nephew was happy, Third Uncle would buy him anything he wanted.”His nephew clapped his hands happily." That's great. As long as Third Uncle buys me something good to eat and play with, I'll listen to whatever Third Uncle says."”No. 3 thought for a moment and said," Let's keep this a secret. We can't let a third person know.”His nephew said that there was no problem, and the two of them pinky swear.
After the waiter went home, he did not dare to tell Second Young Mistress about this, afraid that Second Young Mistress would blame him and deduct his salary. He guessed that it was afternoon and Second Young Mistress was busy. Perhaps by dinner time, that little descendant would be back. This matter was hidden. Moreover, Third Elder Wen was Second Young Mistress 'younger brother. If his nephew was taken away by his uncle, it would usually be fine.
Third Brother had been smoking in the house for the entire afternoon. He estimated that it was almost time for dinner. If he did not send the child back, Second Sister would probably question him. He quickly led his nephew out of the Great Smoke Hall and took the rice cakes and snacks he had bought. He wanted to send his nephew back to his house.
When they arrived at Second Sister's house, Third Brother told his nephew to go in quickly. If his mother asked, he would say that Third Uncle took him to buy delicious food. If he didn't ask, he wouldn't say anything. Also, we can't tell anyone about our sexual activities today. My nephew told me to rest assured. With that, she pushed open the door and went home alone.
As soon as the boy returned home, he went into his room. The waiter who was working in the courtyard accidentally discovered that the little ancestor had returned and was safe and sound, so he was relieved. Fortunately, Second Young Mistress did not look for the child the entire afternoon. As long as she did not ask about dinner, it would usually be fine. Before dinner, Second Young Mistress really did not ask about Little Young Master's matters for the entire afternoon. After dinner, everyone went about their own business. The waiter heaved a sigh of relief.
In the next few days, Third Brother had made an appointment with his nephew to pick him up from time to time. Before the boy went out, he told his family that he was looking for his neighbors to set off firecrackers, so his family did not take it to heart.
In the blink of an eye, it was the day before the new year. The Xia family's grandfather and grandmother returned from Shanghai by boat early in the morning. The eldest son's house was decorated with lanterns and streamers to welcome the old man. When the old man came back in the morning, the poor people in the surrounding few miles crowded the Xia residence. The butler and Ah Fu brought a few waiters to maintain the order of the crowd and said,"Everyone has a share. Line up. Don't be anxious.”Under the lead of the butler, everyone formed a long line. The line was so long that they stood at the entrance of the Xia residence and could not see where the last line went. The people on the left entered the door in an orderly manner, and the people on the right exited the door in an orderly manner. When they entered the door, their hands were empty. When they left, their hands were full of daily necessities, such as combs, eye drops, ointment, candy, melon seeds, and peanuts. Among the people lining up at the entrance of the Xia residence, a few women were whispering,""Every year, when the old master of the Xia family comes back from Shanghai during the new year, he will bring back a lot of medicines and medicines that poor people like us can't buy.”"That's right. This old man is very kind. It's said that he started from scratch, so he's especially considerate of the poor.”"His grandmother is also a good person. My son wants to eat peanuts. As long as he goes to New Year, he won't come back empty-handed.”The people were all talking at once, basically praising the old master of the Xia residence. It seemed that this old master was really respected by others.
There was a woman who was dressed in noble clothes and had an elegant temperament. She passed by the Xia Mansion and saw many poor people chattering at the door. She couldn't help but hear a few words. She sighed and walked towards the gate of the Xia Mansion with a dissatisfied expression.
Ah Fu, who was keeping order at the door, had sharp eyes. She recognized at a glance that this was the only daughter of the Old Master, the Second Young Mistress. She quickly went up to greet her respectfully. The Second Young Mistress smiled slightly and asked,"Where's my father?" "He's inside, Second Young Mistress. Please come in.”
The courtyard of the Xia residence was very lively. There was a row of tables with all kinds of daily necessities brought back from Shanghai. The servant girls were distributing them to the poor people who were collecting them. In the main hall, the old man and the old woman sat on the main seats on one side while Xia Qingfeng and Xia Menglin stood on both sides to talk to them. When Second Young Mistress saw it, she quickly went forward to greet him.
"Father, Mother, why don't you go to your daughter's place and settle down when you come back this year?”
The old man sitting in the main seat was obviously an old man in his eighties. He was quite strong and tall, with a righteous aura. At this moment, the old man was drinking tea. If his daughter had not interrupted him, he would not have known that her daughter had already come to him.
"Aiyo, my daughter, why are you here? I was just thinking of going to your place to take a look in the afternoon.”
When the old grandma saw her second daughter, she couldn't help but ask,"Daughter, come over and let mother take a good look."”
"Father, what are you doing? Why should he give away the food and necessities he brought all the way from Shanghai to these unrelated poor people?”The second girl said with a displeased expression.
"Hey, daughter, you can't say that. Your father was also born poor back then! Besides, I'm not giving it to them for free. The biggest beneficiary is still myself!”
"Father, what do you mean?"
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