Chapter 9 Missing loved ones every festive season

In order to facilitate the filling of checks, Mr. Wang has been working hard to learn to write English.Every day, he practiced writing "one, two, three..." with the same enthusiasm and meticulous spirit that he practiced calligraphy until he wrote one hundred.Mrs. Tan bought him an original ballpoint pen, and he felt a little awkward holding the ballpoint pen, like an American using chopsticks for the first time. At any rate, Master Wang resolved to learn to write up to a thousand, since that was the amount he intended to keep constantly in his check-book.He found writing checks a great pleasure, it seemed to give him a great sense of authority, made him feel important, and knowing that his handwriting could be seen by the people who received the checks and the people at the bank also gave him He felt a sense of satisfaction.

It's a quiet night.After dinner and enjoying a cough, he began to practice writing English until his fingers tingled.He put the ballpoint pen aside, massaged his fingers, and cracked his knuckles. At the same time, he was satisfied with the effect of the English words he wrote on the high-quality bond paper, feeling very happy.He wondered how his wife would feel about his newfound abilities if she was still alive.She has always admired his calligraphy.Now this kind of strange writing must also arouse her admiration, but he was not sure whether his own writing lacked force and character.in these days.One day, when he was more familiar with this kind of writing, he suddenly thought that if he wrote a pair of couplets in English and pasted them on the wall, he didn't seem to know what effect it would have.I have written a lot today.He put the writing guy aside.Tell Mama Liu to bring him ginseng soup and Chinese newspapers.

Mama Liu came into the house immediately, as if she had been waiting for the master's orders at the door.Her fat face was flushed with excitement, and her thin lips were tightly closed, as if there were some explosives in her mouth, ready to spit them out at any time. "My lord," she said while putting the Chinese newspaper on Wang Qiyang's desk, "please read the illustrated news published here." It was a photo of a girl with a duck egg-shaped face, long wavy hair in a shawl, and earrings in the shape of a seven-story pagoda.Wang Qiyang thought, another female devil appeared.Frowning slightly, he read the headline, "Shooting in Chinatown."

"Last night, two men got into a fight over a girl, one of whom was shot. The girl's name is Don Linda, a divorcee. She was at a merchants club on Sacramento Avenue last night with a man she claims is her brother dancing. She ignored her ex-boyfriend who greeted her as she danced cheek-to-cheek with her 'brother'. Her ex-boyfriend, a sailor named Vidic, tapped her bare shoulder and asked if she heard him Miss Tang opened her eyes and shook her eyelashes. Wei was very dissatisfied with her indifferent attitude, and patted her on the shoulder again, telling her not to jump, he wanted to talk to her. Then it happened An argument. Her dance partner, who was later identified as George Sun, an underwriter, asked Wei to go out and argue. The two of them walked out of the club. Wei pulled a gun on Sun while Sun was taking off his coat. Sun showed extraordinary bravery at the moment. He didn't care about the gun pointed at himself, and suddenly rushed at Wei, who was immediately shot in the stomach. Murdered human life. Sun was sent to Donghua Hospital for treatment, and according to the hospital, he is not out of danger."

Master Wang quickly finished reading the report, raised his head and said, "I don't usually waste my time on such nonsense about a female devil. Why did you let me read this report?" Without saying a word, Mama Liu took out a photo from her pocket and placed it in front of Master Wang.Wang Qiyang looked at it with a frown. "This is a picture of that female devil, where did you get it?" "It's in the young master's room." Liu Ma said proudly, "I found it in the drawer of his desk." "Tell the young master to come to my room immediately."

"He's not at home, he went out after dinner." "Incurably bereaved dog." Wang Qiyang muttered angrily.He threw the photo on the table and asked Mama Liu, "Does he go out every night?" "I don't know, Master." Liu Ma said, "but every time I pass by his room at night, the light in his room is always off." "Has he ever brought a bad woman home?" "I don't know." Liu Ma replied, and then she leaned forward and confided, "Liu Long told me that one night he heard something wrong with the young master's room, I can ask Liu Long what he heard What kind of voice is it?"

"Where is Young Master Shan?" Wang Qiyang asked, "Where did everyone in the family go tonight?" "Master Shan and Mrs. Tan went to the movies together, but they haven't come back yet. The cook has a guest..." "I'm not interested in cooks." Wang Qiyang interrupted her, "When Mrs. Tan comes back, ask her to come see me and take this bowl of ginseng soup away. I don't want to drink it at all tonight." "Master, may I give you a back massage?" "No need." After Liu Ma left, Wang Qiyang paced back and forth in the room, gnashing his teeth at Wang Da's messy life.He is determined to discipline Wang Da, but he doesn't know how to start.If he cut off his monthly expenses, people might say he was stingy, and the boy could get money from his aunt, and if he scolded him, his word might go in one of the boy's ears, right away. It will come out of the other ear again.And he couldn't hit the adult's palm with the bamboo stick used to discipline Wang Shan.He suddenly missed his deceased wife, and felt that there were some things that he couldn't do without her.She was a good woman, well educated, and always kept things in order.Since her death, everything seems to be out of order.The sons have become difficult to discipline, and the servants are getting lazy and not as loyal as before. Now this new home is far less spacious than the old one in China, but it also looks empty, lonely and desolate, and the warmth of the family is also the same. Gone forever.

He went into the living room, the only room comparable to the atrium of his old Chinese house.When he was in the old house, he always liked to pace the middle hall, sit on the kang and smoke a hookah.The kang is as spacious as a large double bed, and there is a small kang table in the center. On the table are paper twists, watermelon seeds, tea and various candied fruits, which he can reach with just one hand.On both sides of the kang table are embroidered pillows made by his wife. He is used to lying on the kang for a nap after meals.In the middle hall, there is an old birthday star with a wide forehead and big earlobes, a fruit plate full of fresh fruits, a gold-plated clock, an incense burner, and a moon-shaped window that can see the bamboo garden... But this foreign-style What's in the living room?Nothing but straight back chairs.The room was almost a barren place of haunted spirits and abandoned faces.He immediately went back to his bedroom, took out a piece of paper, and started listing the things he wanted to buy.He must redecorate the living room for the coming of the Year of the Horse, and the living room should indeed be decorated. He must use the ancient spirit and the warmth of the old house created by his deceased wife to drive away the ghosts of this foreign house...

Around ten o'clock, Mrs. Tan came to his room. "Mother Liu told me that you want to see me." Mrs. Tan said, sitting on a wicker chair, "What happened?" Wang Qiyang's cough just happened. "Have you seen the Chinese newspaper?" he asked, clearing his throat. "I've seen it." After Mrs. Tan finished speaking, she narrowed her eyes and looked at Wang Qiyang, frowning, "Your cough is getting worse, if Chinese medicine can't completely cure it, you'd better go see a western doctor .You should take care of it..." "It's not my cough that I'm worried about at the moment." Wang Qiyang interrupted her. "My cough would be much better if my sons weren't busy destroying themselves. The newspaper said that a man for a The bad woman killed another man, did you see that?"

"The man was not killed," Mrs. Tan said. "I knew him. He's still in the hospital. This kind of thing is very common in American society, but it's the first time in Chinatown in fifteen years." "Do you know that Wang Da is also entangled with this bad woman?" Mrs. Tan looked shocked. "No, I don't know," she said. "Have the police been here?" "No, but Mama Liu found this woman's photo in the drawer of Wang Da's desk." Mrs. Tan stared at her brother-in-law for a while, then shook her head in disappointment, "My brother-in-law, having her picture doesn't necessarily mean that we are entangled with her. Just now you surprised me for no reason .This woman may want to be a singer or something, so it's like a street leafleter, who distributes her photos everywhere. I don't believe that Wang Dahui would date a woman like her. She used to be a dancer, legal or illegal. On, married at least a dozen times."

"Wang Da also dated that pockmarked woman—the one whose body was found in the sea." Wang Qiyang said, "Why does he always associate with these women, either involved in murder cases or died of violence?" Mrs. Tan quickly glanced at the door, stepped forward to warn Wang Qiyang, and said, "My brother-in-law, I hope no one heard what you just said. According to your understanding, Wang Da is simply a gangster who specializes in murdering women." Boss. Miss Zhao died of suicide, and the newspaper said the police had confirmed it. You can never talk about it like this again!" "Sister-in-law." Wang Qiyang sighed and said, "Wang Da was born in the Year of the Goat. He should be a kind-hearted person. But now I begin to suspect that there is a ghost in this house that has been haunting him. lead him on the evil path, lead him into blood and death..." "That's superstition!" Mrs. Tan said firmly.But Master Wang ignored her, he stood up and walked around the room.Then he said, "The old spirit that your sister created is gone. The new house is always different from the old one. Maybe that's why the ghosts have invaded this house. Today I have made a decision that I want to decorate the living room as The middle hall of the old house looks like everything should be arranged as your sister put it in the old house, do you know where there is a bed seller in Chinatown?" "A trader I know might sell it," said Mrs. Tan, her voice softening a little. "You're right, brother-in-law. Things haven't been quite right since my sister died, and her Is the gilded clock still there?" "It's still there. I've brought it to the United States, and I still have a portrait of the old birthday star. What's missing now is the kang. As long as the atmosphere of the old house is restored in the house, maybe the Year of the Horse will be different." "Perhaps," said Mrs. Tam, "if you had thought of my sister long ago, perhaps no ghosts would have appeared, and perhaps your cough would not have been so bad, and I am very glad now that you have finally realized that. " After Mrs. Tan left Wang Zhai to look for Kang in Chinatown, Wang Qiyang opened another locker he locked, and took out the portrait of the old birthday star and the gold-plated clock.The gold-plated clock was the most cherished thing of his wife in the old house during his lifetime.In Wang Qiyang's view, these two things placed in the middle hall have the power to drive away any ghosts, and they can be blocked from the aisles of all rooms.Then, he poured the best ink into the big inkstone, and wrote a few couplets with the biggest brush.The words and sentences of the couplet are exactly the same as those written in the old house back then.After everything was ready, he called Liu Ma into the room and told her his plan. The next day, Liu Ma and Liu Long started to redecorate the living room and rearrange the furniture.A large black-lacquered teak bed with a small Kang table was sent to the Wang residence.It was placed on the wall facing the entrance, couplets were pasted on both sides of the kang, and the portrait of the old birthday star was hung on the wall to the right of the small kang table. offerings.A gilded clock stands in front of the censer.According to the old-fashioned arrangement, all these things should be placed against the left wall, but there is a fireplace on the left wall of this foreign house. In Wang's opinion, this fireplace has no other purpose except for another entrance and exit for ghosts. use.Therefore, he decided to hang the old birthday star on the opposite wall, so that the gods could have one eye to monitor the "ghost hole in the wall".After a few pots of orchids were placed in every corner of the room, they filled up the empty space along the wall with chairs and rosewood tea tables.Liu Ma even hung silk embroidered curtains brought from the old house on the door of each room.Except for the six copper spittoons, Mama Liu brought everything she could.Mrs. Tan said it was difficult to buy copper spittoons in this country, so they had to be left out of the room. Meanwhile, chefs are busy cleaning the kitchen for the new year.He cleaned everything and scrubbed the floor.He took down the portrait of the Stove Lord hanging above the stove as an adult, and burned it after smearing honey on its big lips, in order for it to say more good things for the family after it ascended to heaven.Then he pasted a new portrait of the Stove Lord back on top of the stove.But there is one thing that has troubled him for many years, that is, there are no servants of the Stove Lord in foreign kitchens - cockroaches.This matter must be properly resolved in the Year of the Horse.He reported the incident to Mr. Wang, who then told Mrs. Tan, asking her to think of a way.Mrs. Tam hated cockroaches, but since this wasn't her kitchen, she promised to get some from any newspaper cook, because the newspaper had the oldest kitchen in Chinatown. On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, the palace was thoroughly cleaned.Two big cockroaches were also put into the kitchen, and bacon and sausages were also hung on the wall of the kitchen, symbolizing the prosperity of the house, two live fish swimming in a water basin, and an old hen's legs tied On the legs of the table in the kitchen, clucking under the chopping board.Sea cucumbers, bird's nests, and shark's fins are also foaming in the large bowl of clear water.The chef is sharpening his kitchen knife, ready to show off his skills when making New Year's dinner. Liu Ma and Liu Long dug out their best clothes from the bottom of their suitcases, washed all the old clothes, and hung out the bedding to dry.Master Wang invited a barber from Guangdong to have all the men in the house cut their hair. When Master Wang paid the barber, he specially wrapped the money in a red envelope, which contained good luck.Master Wang also prepared more than a dozen red envelopes, some with five dollars and some with ten dollars.He will distribute the New Year's money to his servants and sons, as well as the children of friends who may come to pay him New Year's greetings. By New Year's Eve, everything is ready.The most important thing on this day is the New Year's Eve dinner.In China, the New Year’s Eve dinner may be a feast of at least twenty tables. Guests and relatives may play mahjong and gamble until dawn. 's arrivalBut in this country, Mr. Wang has no other relatives except Mrs. Tan, so the feast is just a matter of "a banquet".But it was an elaborate table, all cooked in chicken broth and decorated with mushrooms and flowers carved from bamboo shoots.The fifteen-course meal included two soups and the chef's specialty, eight-treasure rice, a dessert of intricately designed glutinous rice mixed with red dates, lotus seeds and candied fruit of various colours.It looks like an artificial hill full of jewels, served in a large Jingdezhen porcelain bowl. At the New Year's Eve dinner, everyone puts their personal sorrows and worries behind them.Master Wang, sitting on the main seat facing the door, was actually full of joy, but he didn't laugh so much that he lost his dignity.Mrs. Tan, the second seat to his right, kept adding vegetables to her nephews' bowls.Wang Da ate slowly, appearing very restrained, occasionally grinning, showing his respect for tradition, ready to enter the new year with a brand new body and mind.Wang Shan, who just watched a Robin Hood movie last night, was gnawing on a big chicken leg in his hand. This is an indecent behavior that would make the elders angry under normal circumstances, but no one was angry about it today. Wang Shan Knowing this, he made the most of this rare opportunity. "I hope each of you will pay off your old debts." Wang Qiyang said kindly to his two sons.It is very important to pay off old debts before the Spring Festival, so Wang Qiyang paid off all the bills at home in advance.Once again, Wang Shan made the most of the opportunity, saying he ordered a bicycle and two tennis rackets. "Why two tennis rackets?" asked Mrs. Tan. "Everyone in the school has a spare racket, Auntie," Wang Shan said. Master Wang didn't know what a tennis racket was, and he wasn't interested in finding out. "How much do you need for these things?" he asked. "Seventy-five dollars." Wang Shan replied. "Give your aunt the address of the store, and we'll send him a check for that amount," Wang Qiyang said. Wang Shan thanked his father and quickly finished the New Year's Eve dinner.He sneaked out of the house and hurried to order bicycles and tennis rackets.He regretted not telling his father that he needed a hundred dollars. "How are you, Wang Da?" Mrs. Tan asked. "Auntie, apart from the five hundred and thirty dollars I owe you, I have no foreign debts." Wang Da said, "However, this year I can't afford to pay back the money I owe you." "I'll write your aunt a check for five hundred and thirty dollars." Wang Qiyang said hastily. "Thank you, Dad." Wang Da said, "If you and Auntie don't mind, I think I should pay the debt myself..." Wang Qiyang raised his head and looked at his son, as if a little unhappy. "What will you pay for..." "Hey, hey, hey." Mrs. Tan coughed a few times and said, "Wang Da, how is your car? Can it still run?" "It's okay, it can still run." Wang Da said, "This car is not bad." They looked at each other, and then they stopped talking about money. They talked about pleasant topics, expressing a consensus that there was no room for quarrel.After they finished the New Year's Eve dinner, the servants sat down at the table, and the New Year's Eve dinner continued until most of the delicacies on the table were eaten.The New Year's Eve dinner was very enjoyable, and everyone was in a good mood, which is a good sign of prosperity and prosperity in the new year. In the early morning of the next day, the entire palace was awakened by a fifteen-foot-long firecracker that Liu Long set off at the front door to welcome the Year of the Horse.Under the supervision of Master Wang, the incense in the middle hall was lit, and offerings such as food and fruits were offered under the ancestral tablet.At ten o'clock, after a sumptuous breakfast—with porridge and a variety of cold dishes, including bacon, sausages, various offal, chicken and duck meat, etc.—the New Year greetings officially began. Mrs. Tan came early, and she bowed to Mr. Wang. Mr. Wang clasped his fists and bowed politely with a smile.Then Wang Da and Wang Shan bowed three times to the elders each, and the two elders nodded their heads in return.After saluting, father and aunt each took out a red envelope from the pockets of their new satin robes and handed it to Wang Da and Wang Shan, who, as custom and good upbringing required, accepted it after some pretentious refusal. Pay New Year's greetings in a way that people are unwilling to bow.They insisted that Mr. Wang and Mrs. Tan sit on the two master chairs that Liu Long placed in the middle of the hall facing the door.After they sat down, the servants, led by the chef, kowtowed to them one by one to pay New Year's greetings.Master Wang was very happy.The servants are still so loyal and honest, even in foreign lands, they still don't want to give up their old habits.He accepted their kowtow with a smile, and waved a hand and said, "Okay, okay. Don't stain your clothes, don't stain your clothes." Mrs. Tan struggled in her chair, like a sixteen-year-old girl being pestered by a man she didn't like.She turned her head to one side, half smiling and half frowning, and waved one hand again and again and said, "Get up, that's enough, get up!" After the servants finished kowtowing, Master Wang and Mrs. Tan reached into their pockets again, and they each took out three red envelopes and distributed them to the servants.The servants refused: "No, no. You are too kind to us, master, Mrs. Tan, we don't want money..." Until they couldn't wait to put money in their pockets, they were still declining. "Wang Da, Wang Shan." Mrs. Tan said to her nephews, "Today I have made a reservation for the Spring Festival dinner at the Hongwalou Restaurant. You two should be there at six o'clock. Don't be late, or we will miss eight o'clock Did you hear the New Year's parade on the half-grand avenue?" "Listen clearly, Auntie." Wang Shan said, and hurried out.The red envelope in his pocket contained ten dollars, and everyone was restless waiting there. "I'll go, Auntie." Then he added in English, "There's a New Year's parade now! May I go?" "You can go." Mrs. Tan said. Wang Da also walked towards the door. "Thank you for giving me the New Year's money, Dad and Aunt." He said, "I will be at the restaurant on time." After the sons left, the servants also left.Wang Qiyang sighed and said to his sister-in-law: "I'm very happy, at least there is one son who has not forgotten that he is a Chinese, and still knows a little etiquette." "Wang Shan's age is just the time to be naughty." Mrs. Tan said, "I'm not worried about him. When he grows up to Wang Da's age, he will be more sensible." "Wang Da is almost 30 years old." Wang Qiyang said, "According to Confucius' words, one should be established at thirty." "Confucius lived thousands of years ago," Mrs. Tan said. "The standards are different now. In today's modern world, there are many people who are still in school after the age of forty, both men and women..." "Yes, yes." Wang Qiyang interrupted her hastily, "But Wang Da is still a bachelor, I have been worrying about this matter. Oh, I forgot to tell you, sister-in-law, under the recommendation of a Chinese medicine doctor , I have been looking for his family through a matchmaker in Hong Kong. I received a photo the day before yesterday. The girl looks good and was born in the year of the rabbit. I want to hear your opinion on this girl first, and then on Wang Talk a lot." He took out a small photo from his pocket and handed it to Mrs. Tan.Mrs. Tan looked at it for a while without any expression on her face. "What do you think of her?" "I like the face," said Mrs. Tan, "but what about her limbs and weight? Do you have a full description of her body?" "There is no physical defect." Wang Qiyang said, "This is a guarantee. She is a bit plump, which can be seen from her face. She can really say that I like what I want, because plumpness indicates how much I want. Happy son." Mrs. Tan looked at the photo for a while, and then said with a smile: "I like this girl. She has steady eyes and a pair of thick lips, which shows that she is honest and reliable. What is her family background?" "Her father was a middle school teacher who died in the fire in Hong Kong three years ago." Mrs. Tan nodded, "I'll take the photo away first, and ask a well-known face-face master to make a face-to-face with her carefully. If she becomes Wang Da's wife, sooner or later she will share my property, so we One must know her character clearly." "You are right, sister-in-law." Wang Qiyang said, "but now we are facing a problem. Even if this girl is as good as the matchmaker promised, how can we get her to come to this country? Chinese medicine Said, if Wang Da is not a citizen of this country, it will be quite troublesome." "I'll talk to Ms. Xiao about this," said Mrs. Tan. "Ms. Xiao is my civics teacher. Let's check with her. You'll see her tonight, and I've invited her to our Chinese New Year dinner gone." She looked at the photo again, then nodded, and quickly put the photo in her handbag. "I like this girl." She said calmly, trying to hide her excitement, "I hope this photo is a recent photo, a restaurant owner in Chinatown married a Hong Kong photo bride, and the bride lied to her He's fifteen years old." "I believe this one will not cheat." Wang Qiyang said, "The photo looks new, and besides, the matchmaker has a good reputation. It was recommended by a Chinese medicine doctor who has become my good friend." "I'd like to meet this Chinese doctor." Mrs. Tan said, "Let's invite him to our Spring Festival dinner. Hurry up and write him an invitation and ask Liu Long to send it to him. As your good friend, If you have no other appointments, you should come and have a drink." Wang Qiyang agreed.He hurried into his room to write invitations, while Mrs. Tan was pacing up and down in the middle hall, fanning herself with a handkerchief.When she saw that Wang Da's marriage had taken shape, and the girl's innocent face was very happy, she became more and more excited.She has no children of her own and is very keen to see her sister's family grow and thrive.And, since her money always ends up being used to fertilize the family tree, she feels like taking care of the tree and keeping unwanted seeds and other plants from getting entangled and feeding on it , is their unshirkable responsibility.When she thought of this, she immediately became anxious and urgent. "Liu Long, Liu Ma!" she called, "You all come here, tell the chef to come too!" When the servants gathered in the middle hall, Mrs. Tan took out a twenty-dollar bill from her wallet and handed it to Mama Liu, "I'm having a dinner at the restaurant tonight. You three don't have anything special, you can also go to the restaurant Have a meal, and then go to see the parade. Spend the money." Mama Liu took the twenty dollars with a smile on her face.After she thanked Mrs. Tan, she asked her husband and the cook to thank Mrs. Tan too. "Brother-in-law, haven't you finished writing your invitation?" Mr. Wang hurried out of the room with the invitation card, and Mrs. Tan immediately took it and handed it to Liu Long, "Hurry up and send it. Please tell the Chinese medicine practitioner that you must be honored to participate." "Ok?" "Oh, I'm so busy," she said, snatching the invitation from the deaf servant and handing it to the cook. "Old Feng, you go to deliver the invitation. The address is written on the envelope. Brother-in-law, let's see you in Hongwalou at six o'clock." "Are you in such a hurry to leave?" Wang Qiyang asked. Mrs. Tan was anxious to meet the face-mianing master and meet the girl in the photo as soon as possible, but she didn't want to act so urgently. "Yes," she said, "I have to go home and take a nap." Master Wang smiled.He sat on the kang and enjoyed his own coughing for a while.