Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1072 The Festive Atmosphere

"When did you get back? Did your fourth uncle come over?" Uncle Wang asked Xiao Wei, looking at Wang Guifang and her son.

Xiao Hong came out carrying the little girl: "Come on, say hello to Grandpa. Hello Grandpa, give me a red envelope quickly."

Little Beibei looked at Uncle Wang and called out softly, "Grandpa."

Uncle Wang then noticed that Xiao Hong was holding a child. He smiled and agreed, reaching out to touch the child's face, but then, afraid his hand would be cold, he patted the little girl's head instead. "Whose child is this?" he asked, glancing at Wang Guifang and her mother.

As soon as the door opened, Aunt Wang poked her head out: "Can't you come inside and talk? The adults aren't cold, and neither are the children! Wang Xiaohong, you're such a troublemaker, come in here."

Wang Xiaohong stuck out her tongue and said to the little girl, "Grandma's angry! Run! Come inside and eat!" She picked up Beibei and ran over, leaving the little girl giggling behind.

Xiao Wei said to Uncle Wang, "Uncle, this is Wang Guifang, Beibei's mother. This is Aunt Wang, Beibei's maternal grandmother, from our county. Xiao Hong and I have adopted Beibei as our goddaughter, so we brought them here to meet you. Sister, Aunt, this is Xiao Hong's father, my father-in-law, also surnamed Wang."

Uncle Wang was taken aback for a moment, then immediately smiled and said, "Oh my, so we're in-laws now. Come in, come in, let's go inside and talk."

A group of people went inside, changed their shoes, and sat down in the living room to talk. Xiao Hong changed the little girl's shoes into a pair of tiger-head cotton shoes, saying, "What a coincidence! I just bought a few pairs on a whim the other day because they looked nice, and now they come in handy."

Now Chen Xiao and Geng Hui have a habit of grabbing children's things when they go out, and Xiao Hong has caught it too. Anyway, with more and more children in the family, they'll always find something to use.

Aunt Wang wiped her hands, picked up Beibei, and walked over to Uncle Wang: "Look, isn't she lovely? This girl is so clever."

Uncle Wang invited his guests, saying, "Come on in, sister, Xiao Wang, have a seat. It's your home, don't be shy."

Chen Xiaohui nestled in Chen Xiao's arms, gazing at Beibei. Xia Gensheng, meanwhile, was busy nursing and couldn't pay attention to Beibei.

The old lady and Wang Guifang sat down on the sofa and said, "You all live together? This is so lively and nice."

Xiao Wei's dad put his briefcase aside, took off his scarf, sat down, and said, "It's more lively with more people, and it's more comfortable to live together. The house is too big; there's still a lot of empty space. Come on, girl, let Grandpa take a look."

Xiaowei's mom brought over a meatball and handed it to Beibei: "Are you hungry? We'll eat in a little while."

"Thank you, Grandma."

Xiao Wei's father and Uncle Wang, who were envious of other people's grandsons, were quickly won over by Xiao Beibei, their affection for her reaching an extreme level, clearly surpassing that of Xiao Wei's mother.

Little Beibei took a keen interest in Chen Xiaohui and Xia Gensheng, her big eyes following them around as if she had discovered a great toy.

The two children knew nothing about the future.

The next day, January 20th, 1993.

In the morning, Xiao Hong dragged Xiu'er and Wang Guifang out shopping with Bei Bei in their arms, and Zhang Bing reluctantly followed along.

Grandma Beibei, Xiaowei's mom, Xia's mom, Shan's mom, Chen Xiao's mom, and Fourth Aunt were all in the annex building watching the children talk. Xiaowei and Chen Hui went upstairs to work, preparing for the big meeting that evening.

Xiao Wei's dad took his fourth uncle for a drive around to familiarize them with the roads, and then the two brothers went to their eldest brother's place to have some tea and chat.

The festive atmosphere is already strong. Every household is cleaning and tidying up, washing and sweeping away dust, and everyone on the street has a smile on their face.

The children couldn't resist and had already taken apart the firecrackers, put them in their pockets, and run out to set them off. Every now and then, you could hear a series of crisp sounds coming from somewhere, which caused a chorus of barks from the dogs.

Street vendors started appearing more frequently, hawking all sorts of colorful candies, snacks, and ice cream, trying to squeeze the last penny out of the greedy kids' pockets. Stalls selling roasted sunflower seeds and peanuts were doing particularly well, and people were carrying away cases of Jianlibao beer and soft drinks.

Pedestrians on the street were carrying large and small bags, all on their way to visit relatives and friends and pay New Year's greetings to leaders. The pastry gift boxes launched by the food factory sold out, which also boosted the sales of bread.

The fruit and vegetable vendors pushed their carts, their faces covered except for their eyes, eagerly watching every passerby.

"Bang!" A pot of fresh popcorn, filled with aroma and smoke, burst out of the shaker, causing the surrounding children to laugh and shout with joy.

Chinese New Year is a deeply ingrained tradition in the hearts of Chinese people. Every family puts aside their daily routines, including work, to wear new clothes, eat delicious food, visit relatives and friends, exchange blessings, and look forward to the future with hope and anticipation.

In this day and age, these are the happiest days of the year for children. There are fewer beatings, they can set off firecrackers, eat snacks, have meat at meals, and lenient families will even give them a few yuan in lucky money. On New Year's Eve, they will also wear new clothes.

Children always count down the days, eagerly anticipating the day, staring at the almanac every day.

Adults lack the innocence of children. For them, the Lunar New Year is all about spending money. They endure the pain of indulging in these few days all year, hoping for good luck and positive changes in the coming year. Deep down, they know it's just a beautiful dream.

"The bonus has been calculated, and the money has been withdrawn. There are still several hundred thousand left," Geng Hui said to Xiao Wei, holding up the report.

Chen Hui, sitting to one side, said, "What do you mean? You mean we have to spend it all?"

Geng Hui laughed and said, "It feels like I found this money on the street; it's strange to keep it in my hand."

Xiao Wei said, "Why would we need money? Just tell us if there's anything we haven't thought of."

Geng Hui said, "Isn't the plan to build a kindergarten? We can cooperate with the primary school. Also, I feel we could visit the homes of workers with elderly members, excluding cadres."

Chen Hui said, "I think it's a good idea. The kindergarten definitely needs to be set up. I don't feel comfortable leaving my child with someone else. I'll go see Principal Sun tomorrow."

Xiao Wei said, "You talk like you're always taking care of the kids. I think what Xiao Hui said makes more sense—visiting the elderly."

Chen Hui said, "Visiting an elderly person won't cost much, so let's go ahead. What age is considered old? Sixty? Do you have a specific idea?"

Geng Hui said, "I overheard them talking about it in the office, about an elderly person getting sick and being hospitalized during the Lunar New Year. I thought that since we're a new company, visiting the elderly might help build some cohesion."

I don't understand corporate culture. I feel that if workers are loyal to the company and side with it when things happen, wouldn't things be better? Some employees come from families with modest means, so we don't need to give them much—just 300 yuan per family for the New Year. What do you think?

Xiao Wei asked, "Have you counted them? How many people are there?"

Geng Hui said, "I conducted a survey on the family situation of employees some time ago. According to the survey, there are nearly 200 families with elderly people over 60 years old. I mean those who are directly supported and are on the same household registration."

Chen Hui shook his head and said, "We can't do it this way. If we're going to give it to them, we have to give it to everyone. They don't care whether they're on the household registration book or not. They'll definitely feel uncomfortable. In these kinds of things, you can easily do more harm than good."

Xiao Wei said, "We really need to be careful about this. It's better to miss a whole group than to miss a single one. Forget it, let's just forget about it. We can't do it, and we can't go to each and every one of them."

Geng Hui said, "Okay, I haven't really thought about it yet. Chen Xiao said the staff uniforms should be uniform, so you two decide on that."

(End of this chapter)