“Mother, the Young Master is already making inquiries, it needs time!”
Old Lady Xia kept complaining about the Hong Kong boss not helping, drawing stares from others at the table – this wasn’t just a meal for the three Xias. Xia Da Jun was just a bodyguard, and Xia Zi Yu was merely tagging along… yet this old lady dared question the big boss – that took courage.
Even more courageous was what came next – Old Lady Xia started complaining about the small portion of noodles:
“How much could one bowl of noodles cost?”
Embarrassed by his colleagues’ stares, Xia Da Jun quickly moved his shark fin soup to his mother’s bowl:
“Mother, this is shark fin, not rice noodles – it’s very expensive!”
Xia Da Jun hadn’t known about it before either, but having lived in Hong Kong, he knew wealthy Hong Kongers loved shark fin and bird’s nest soup.
Xia Zi Yu had never eaten shark fin either – its slippery texture did resemble rice noodles. But her cleverness showed in how she pretended to know things, avoiding embarrassment by keeping quiet about what she didn’t understand. Later, when Du Zhao Hui distributed red packets, both Xia Zi Yu and Old Lady Xia received them.
Old Lady Xia opened hers immediately – it contained 200 Hong Kong dollars.
Xia Zi Yu guessed hers contained the same amount. She wasn’t angry – come March, when that big event she mentioned happened, her status in Du Zhao Hui’s eyes would change.
Xia Da Jun’s red packet was much thicker, probably containing several thousand.
This wasn’t special treatment from Du Zhao Hui – all his bodyguards received such large packets, rather like year-end bonuses.
With Old Lady Xia present, Xia Da Jun kept drawing attention throughout the Spring Banquet. Even someone as thick-skinned as him had his pride, and he sighed with relief when it ended.
Pushing the wheelchair, Xia Zi Yu worried:
“Second Uncle, I don’t think Grandmother is suited for these occasions. She’s uncomfortable eating here, and it affects others.”
Xia Zi Yu was mortified. Old Lady Xia had a habit of sucking her chopsticks; she’d mangled a steamed grouper into an unappetizing mess with her chopsticks. Dining out with Old Lady Xia was embarrassing for Xia Zi Yu.
She was very conscious of her rural background. Even though her household registration had transferred to the school, and she’d be completely urban after her job assignment upon graduation, having Old Lady Xia around instantly revealed her family background.
Xia Da Jun usually listened to Xia Zi Yu, and today’s meal had particularly affected him.
He decided to talk with Old Lady Xia. “Mother, are you going back to Yu Nan?”
“You unfilial son, now you want to drive me away!”
Xia Da Jun had a headache. “I’m not driving you away. If you’re staying in Peng City, I’ll rent an apartment. We can’t keep living in the guesthouse, right?”
Old Lady Xia nodded unconsciously. “That’s right, the guesthouse costs too much. Rent a bigger place – when we find your brother, our whole family can live together.”
Though Xia Da Jun earned more now, Old Lady Xia is still pained to see money spent. Rather than waste it on the guesthouse, she’d rather have it herself.
When she left with Xia Hong Bing and the others, she’d prepared to live with Xia Da Jun and become city folk. Renting was acceptable – she even hoped the Hong Kong boss would give Xia Da Jun a house.
Xia Zi Yu’s eye twitched hearing this. Though she didn’t care much about the money, seeing it all go to her uncle’s family made her uncomfortable.
She’d always been the family’s center, but after the family split, Old Lady Xia resented her eldest son. Now with her second son to rely on, she didn’t value Xia Zi Yu as much.
Even hearing about Xia Chang Zheng losing a hand only brought superficial grief from Old Lady Xia.
While Xia Da Jun couldn’t see it, Xia Zi Yu saw it.
Given this, she couldn’t be bothered to act in front of Old Lady Xia anymore. She directly asked Xia Da Jun: “Second Uncle, what do you think about me helping my parents open a small restaurant in Beijing? Mom has the cooking skills, and Dad could help collect money – it would keep him from drinking himself drunk all day.”
He drank because he was depressed about becoming disabled.
And he became disabled because of Xia Xiao Lan.
Xia Da Jun felt he owed his elder brother Xia Chang Zheng and had a responsibility to care for his family.
“Opening a restaurant is good – I’ll provide the money.”
The previous Zhang’s Eatery had torn the family apart, leading to the split.
Seeing Xia Da Jun about to spend big money, Old Lady Xia coughed loudly. Xia Zi Yu showed some concern, but Xia Da Jun missed Old Lady Xia’s meaning, still calculating his money.
Since Old Lady Xia and Xia Zi Yu came to Peng City, he’d spent about two thousand on clothes and pocket money for them.
But today’s Spring Banquet red packet contained 5,000 Hong Kong dollars, and he could still pull together 10,000 yuan.
“Is 10,000 enough to open a shop?”
“If it’s not enough, I can find others to pitch in.”
It depended on the location and size. Opening a shop in Beijing wasn’t just about money – you needed connections to rent space. Outsiders were at a disadvantage; many current small shops were converted from Beijing locals’ private homes.
Just add a street-facing door and a window, and you have a small restaurant.
Xia Zi Yu now looked down on such small shops – too limited in scale, it would take forever to make big money.
But she couldn’t let Xia Da Jun spend money elsewhere. Sure enough, when she mentioned finding others to contribute, he panicked: “You’re just a student – who could you ask? Don’t you dare ask the Wang family? If 10,000 isn’t enough, I’ll save two more months’ salary-“
“Da Jun, finding your brother needs money too!”
Old Lady Xia finally found her reason to object.
Xia Da Jun couldn’t argue with this logic. Yes, searching for someone costs money – without payment, who would actively provide information?
Xia Da Jun wanted to scratch his head. His monthly salary of over 3,000 still couldn’t satisfy his family’s needs.
Chang Zheng’s family needed money for the shop, and Hong Bing’s family needed money for the search. Xia Da Jun suddenly felt grateful that Xia Xiao Lan hadn’t taken his 10,000 yuan – otherwise, his finances would be even tighter.
Thinking about renting an apartment reminded him of his hometown friend Xiao Yu.
He wondered if Xiao Yu still lived in that house if she’d found work, how she’d spent the New Year.
Having fled her hometown after a broken engagement, saying she couldn’t face going back, she had no one in Peng City.
As Xia Da Jun’s injury healed and he returned from Hong Kong to Peng City, he started thinking about Xiao Yu again. His whole family needed his money to escape their difficulties – Xia Da Jun felt needed but also pressured.
Xiao Yu was the most understanding, never pressuring him.
…
While Xia Da Jun’s three-person family received red packets and enjoyed a feast for the Spring Festival.
The black brick factory and small beauty salon didn’t observe the Spring Festival.
While Xia Hong Bing and Wang Jin Gui were barely hanging on, Xia Hong Xia, who’d fallen to working at the small salon, had officially started as a hair washer. That day, while washing a client’s hair, Hong Xia noticed this client seemed to genuinely like her, having come for several washes and always speaking to her gently. Hong Xia gathered her courage and slipped a note into the client’s coat pocket.