The message was from Gu Qingqing.
Since their last photoshoot on New Year's Day, Tan Jincheng and Gu Qingqing hadn't seen each other.
During this time, Gu Qingqing had asked Tan Jincheng several times if he had any translated documents she could use for practice.
Tan Jincheng selected some documents that didn't involve company secrets, as well as some expired contracts, and sent them to Gu Qingqing.
Gu Qingqing was very grateful and, to show her appreciation, even wanted to treat Tan Jincheng to a meal.
However, Tan Jincheng declined, citing lack of time.
Other than that, the two didn't have much contact.
Tan Jincheng simply edited a quick message, "Happy New Year," and sent it back.
Gu Qingqing felt a sense of relief upon seeing the reply.
Bored at home that evening, she was browsing the internet in her room and inadvertently stumbled upon Tan Jincheng's Taobao shop.
Looking at the photos she had taken, for some reason, she thought of their last meeting on New Year's Day.
At Starbucks, Tan Jincheng thoughtfully bought her a cake and patiently explained things about the Taobao shop, leaving a good impression on Gu Qingqing.
Initially, during the photoshoot, Gu Qingqing was quite shy as she posed in various ways under Tan Jincheng's direction.
His straightforward descriptions and bold words were things Gu Qingqing had not encountered before.
Despite this, Gu Qingqing felt no emotions beyond work and maintained a good sense of boundaries after the photoshoot.
Tan Jincheng even specifically instructed that the photographer must be female; a young boss with strong boundaries gave Gu Qingqing a considerable sense of security during the shoot.
Undeniably, Gu Qingqing's invitation after the New Year's Day shoot was largely motivated by a utilitarian purpose, but through it, she also discovered another side of Tan Jincheng: his thoughtfulness and patience.
However, the brief four-character reply left Gu Qingqing speechless.
How was she supposed to continue the conversation? She still wanted to earn Boss Tan's money next year.
After thinking for a moment, Gu Qingqing sent another message:
"Happy New Year, Boss Tan! What's it like celebrating New Year in Yongcheng? Is the New Year's Eve dinner full of seafood?"
"Uh, I'm not from Yongcheng. I went back to my hometown for New Year's. But Yongcheng people's New Year's Eve dinner indeed mostly consists of seafood."
This person is so dull.
Can't he ask me some questions?
How does he do business like this?
"Ah, then where are you from, Boss Tan? Your Yongcheng dialect is so good, I thought you were from Yongcheng."
"That's all for business. I'm from Yicheng, Anhui Province. Gu Qingqing, aren't you going out tonight?"
As if sensing Gu Qingqing's resentment, Tan Jincheng finally started asking questions.
That's right, a back-and-forth conversation is the only way to keep talking.
She's still counting on Boss Tan for her pocket money when school starts next year.
Whether it was fashion model photoshoots or English translation, both were a great help to Gu Qingqing.
Having already established trust, Gu Qingqing didn't want to lose such a client.
Just like that, through their back-and-forth questions and answers, the two chatted for nearly an hour.
They gained a certain understanding of each other.
Topics among young people inevitably revolved around entertainment like music and movies.
What surprised Gu Qingqing was that a "social person" like Tan Jincheng would actually like an "unconventional" singer like Jay Chou and didn't show much aversion to online songs.
This was quite interesting.
After midnight, Tanjiacun returned to its previous silence.
Every household, upstairs and downstairs, was brightly lit.
From this evening until the second day of the first lunar month, the rooms had to remain lit.
Tan Jincheng wasn't clear about the custom.
Anyway, it had been like that since he was little.
Only Tan Jincheng was left in the main hall, staying up for New Year's Eve.
Xiao Jinyue had been taken away.
Today, until the early morning, Xiao Jinyue had barely slept well.
As soon as the firecrackers stopped, she immediately fell asleep.
Lighting a cigarette, Tan Jincheng took a comfortable puff.
Without the child, Tan Jincheng could finally smoke with peace of mind.
Speaking of which, the biggest benefit of this trip back to the countryside for Tan Jincheng was that Tan Lihua and his wife had accepted his smoking.
It seemed that once one entered society, many facts became taken for granted.
On the first day of the first lunar month, after paying respects to their ancestors, Tan Jincheng started catching up on sleep.
There was no need to visit relatives on the first day of the New Year.
Apart from playing mahjong, rural people didn't have many entertainment options; they either gathered to chat idly or played mahjong.
Tan Jincheng also had some childhood friends of the same age in the village.
Some of them had come to find him to play these past few days, but after many years apart, their bond had faded, and there wasn't much to talk about.
The second day of the first lunar month, the day for married women to visit their parents' homes.
Tan Jincheng's family of four set off early.
It was Xiao Jinyue's first formal visit.
According to local customs, a newborn and a new daughter-in-law's first visit are highly valued, and firecrackers must be set off at the maternal uncles' homes to welcome them.
The firecracker ritual in his hometown was probably the highest form of hospitality.
In addition, today Xiao Jinyue would receive greeting red envelopes from her maternal grandparents and maternal uncles.
Her paternal uncles and aunts had already given red envelopes; today was the maternal uncles' turn.
Two paternal uncles, one paternal aunt, five maternal uncles, plus paternal grandparents and maternal grandparents – Xiao Jinyue had a very fruitful New Year.
Since their niece was making her first formal visit today, none of the maternal uncles returned to their wives' parents' homes; they waited at home.
The first visit was to the youngest maternal uncle's house, where the maternal grandparents lived.
The youngest maternal uncle's house, with the wedding date approaching, had undergone a significant transformation since the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Both inside and out had been repainted, and the furniture had been replaced.
However, there wasn't much in the youngest maternal uncle's room, waiting for the dowry to be moved in.
Starting from the youngest maternal uncle's house, they then proceeded in order from eldest to youngest to pay New Year's greetings to all the maternal uncles.
Zhang Qingliang happened to be the last, and lunch was to be had at his house.
This suited Tan Jincheng perfectly.
Besides paying New Year's greetings, his biggest task today was to convince his fourth maternal uncle not to go to Northeast China for work this year.
They drank Wuliangye brought by Tan Jincheng for lunch.
All five maternal uncles were fond of drinking, but Tan Lihua was allergic to alcohol.
His paternal grandfather and several paternal uncles also had very poor alcohol tolerance.
It was a wonder how they became in-laws.
Tan Jincheng could drink a little, but his alcohol tolerance was also average, perhaps only about three liang.
Plus, he was driving today, so drinking was out of the question.
Lunch was a big family meal.
The maternal uncles could get themselves drunk.
The atmosphere at the table was very lively, with everyone discussing how to pick up the bride on Friday.
Starting tomorrow, the maternal uncles would be busy.
Seeing the two bottles of baijiu nearly empty, the maternal uncles were still enjoying themselves and wanted to open more bottles to continue drinking.
At this point, Tan Jincheng also grew a bit anxious.
He quickly pulled his fourth maternal uncle aside and whispered,
"Uncle, drink less, don't drink too much. I have something to discuss with you later."
(End of chapter)
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