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Wang Yao was having a snack and didn’t say a word, so his family stopped talking about Tong Wei. The New Year’s Eve dinner was for family reunions; people normally had dumpling on New Year’s Eve.

Wang Yao took the chance to sleep at home, which he hadn’t done for days. The next morning, Wang Yao said happy new year to his parents and sister, then to his neighbors and relatives in the village. After he had sent greetings to everyone, it was lunchtime. Wang Yao returned to Nanshan hill after lunch with a basket of cooked meat and dumplings.

Both San Xian and Da Xia were happy to see Wang Yao. San Xian wagged his tail and ran after Wang Yao while Da Xia flapped his wings cheerfully.

“You guys know I brought something nice for you, right?” Wang Yao placed down some food on two plates.

“Here you go. I’ve got meat and dumplings here. I didn’t bring garlic and wine as I presume you guys are not a big fan of them,” smiled Wang Yao.

After Wang Yao had prepared a meal for San Xian and Da Xia, he watered the licorice roots, and then went back home.

Wang Yao didn’t have much to do at home. He laid on his bed and watched TV for a while, then chatted with his family and surfed the internet on his phone. It started to get dark; Wang Yao didn’t return to Nanshan hill.

The next day, according to the cultural custom of the village, Wang Yao went to the cemetery to worship their ancestors. Both of Wang Yao’s paternal grandparents had passed away and were buried on the hill at the eastern side of the village. Both brothers of Wang Yao’s father and their family returned to the village on the second day of Chinese New Year to worship their ancestors and had lunch at Wang Yao’s home.

On the hill at the east side of the village, there were two graves inside which, lay Wang Yao’s paternal grandparents. The worship included burning paper money, holding a memorial ceremony, and setting off firecrackers. Wang Yao and his family wished the deceased grandparents to be happy in heaven and protect the still living family members.

It was some sort of spiritual sustenance and hope.

After the worship, all the family members gathered at Wang Yao’s home for lunch.

Wang Yao’s father had three brothers, one of whom died years ago due to heart disease. He even died before Wang Yao’s paternal grandpa. It was unfortunate that offspring died before their eldership. This was the main reason why Wang Yao’s paternal grandpa passed away a few years later. His deceased uncle’s wife married someone else and was no longer in contact with Wang Yao’s family. Their son occasionally came back to the village to see his father’s grave but he hasn’t come back in two years.

Wang Yao remembered his father had called his cousin but didn’t have much to say on the phone.

“He’s no longer a member of our family,” commented his mother.

Wang Yao used to play with his cousin quite often when they were both children. His cousin was a quiet and stubborn kid. The last time Wang Yao saw his cousin was three years ago during Chinese New Year and they were no longer close by then.

Who knows what will happen in the future if they meet up again.

The other two brothers of Wang Yao’s father’s both liked drinking wine. Fortunately, Wang Yao had some good wine at home, all brought by Tian Yuantu, He Qisheng and Wang Mingbao.

Wang Yao’s father filled up his brother’s glasses with wine. They were chatting happily.

“I plan to quit my current job and start my own business,” said Wang Yao’s youngest uncle.

Wang Yao’s youngest uncle worked in an agricultural machinery company. It was hard work during the first few years. The company then became listed on the stock market and he made a lot of money by investing in his own company. Now he wanted to start his own business to make more money.

“I think it will be less risky to continue to be employed,” said Wang Yao’s father after some thinking.

“The wage is only two to three thousand a month—it’s not enough,” said Wang Yao’s youngest uncle who took a pack of Yuxi cigarettes out of his pocket.

Of course three thousand a month won’t be enough if you smoke Yuxi cigarettes, thought Wang Yao.

“I want to open a BBQ restaurant. I’ve chosen the place,” said Wang Yao’s youngest uncle.

The business of BBQ restaurants was very profitable. Meat in the BBQ restaurants was sold at ridiculously high prices. But business was business; not everyone had the talent to make money out of a business.

One needed to be hard working, flexible, creative and willing to discard small profits to run a business well.

“I don’t think you should quit,” said Wang Yao’s youngest uncle’s wife.

“What do you know!” scowled his uncle.

“You should think it over carefully. It’s not easy to run your own business,” said Wang Fenghua.

“I’ve got all the information I need. I heard it won’t cost too much to open a BBQ restaurant. It’s not going to be a fancy restaurant anyway. I just need to find a good location and make sure the food provided is good. I heard it won’t be too hard to make hundreds of thousands a year!” said Wang Yao’s uncle excitedly.

Wang Fenghua sighed and said no more.

The other uncle of Wang Yao’s didn’t speak much. He wore glasses and looked quite polite. He turned 40 this year and didn’t have much hair left on his head. He hadn’t had kids yet even though he and his wife were really keen on having kids. They’ve seen quite a lot of fertility specialists but his wife still hadn’t gotten pregnant.

Wang Yao’s uncles drank a bit too much at lunchtime. Both of them looked a bit drunk.

“I think you guys should leave your car here and let Yao drive you home,” said Wang Fenghua.

“No, I’m fine!” said both of Wang Yao’s uncles.

They insisted to drive home by themselves. His elder uncle drove a motorcycle and his youngest uncle drove a van. They left Wang Yao’s home and both of them couldn’t keep their vehicles straight.

“This happens every time!” said Zhang Xiuying.

“Yao, follow them to make sure they don’t end up in an accident or killing anyone,” said Wang Fenghua.

“Sure.” Wang Yao followed his uncles’ vehicles. They lived in different locations of town.

Both of his uncles drove quite fast and unsafe, making Wang Yao very worried. It would be a disaster if any one of them had an accident, because they had passengers. Fortunately, nothing happened on road. His uncles arrived at their homes sound and safe. Wang Yao went home afterwards.

“Are they alright?” asked Wang Fenghua as soon as he saw Wang Yao. He was quite worried about his brothers.

“Yes, they are fine. Don’t worry!” smiled Wang Yao. He knew his father cared about his uncles a lot.

“Thank god!” said Wang Fenghua