Over the past couple of days, family members had been coming back one after another. Fang Chi went out two or three times a day to pick people up, and Xiaozi excitedly ran back and forth with him.
Grandpa and Grandma were the busiest, arranging food and lodging, preparing the New Year dishes. If Fang Chi and Fang Hui started arguing, Grandma also had to rush over to separate them.
But this year Fang Chi wasn’t in high spirits. On one hand, he had things on his mind and felt unsettled; on the other, he felt heartache for his grandparents, who also had things weighing on them but had to suppress it. So when Fang Hui, as usual, started giving his “speech,” only Hu Ying remained enthusiastically firing back at him.
On New Year’s Eve, it was the same old routine. Early in the morning, the whole family got up, chaotic yet lively, some working, some making trouble, some teasing the cats and dogs.
Fang Chi stayed in the room for a while. When the relatives’ topic began to shift toward getting a girlfriend in college, he got up and went to the kitchen.
“Have a piece of this,” Grandpa held a small medicine box, peeling off a slice and putting it into Grandma’s mouth, “it’s quite refreshing.”
“Ginseng slice?” Fang Chi immediately caught that intoxicating scent of American ginseng tablets amid all the smells of meat.
“Mm,” Grandpa nodded, “pretty refreshing.”
Hearing that made Fang Chi feel a pang of heartache. These past days, Grandpa and Grandma hadn’t slept well. Grandma lay on the bed staring blankly, and Grandpa often sat in the living room smoking late into the night. Even Xiaozi had been affected by the atmosphere, he hadn’t gone to the neighboring village to play with his little buddies for several days.
“Is there anything I can help with?” Fang Chi asked. “I’ve got nothing to do, how about I help Grandma chop bones?”
“The bones are already done. At this point, there’s nothing much left to do,” Grandma said. “Why don’t you help me wash the vegetables?”
“Okay.” Fang Chi immediately took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and got ready to wash vegetables. But when he turned his head, he saw the ginseng box Grandpa had placed beside the basin and froze for a moment. “Where did this ginseng come from?”
“Oh, Grandpa Zhang gave it to me,” Grandpa said, “said your Uncle Zhang brought it for them.”
Fang Chi didn’t say anything.
Uncle Zhang, a middle-aged man who had lived in the countryside for decades, how could he possibly think of buying ginseng slices for Grandpa Zhang and his wife? And this ginseng… Fang Chi found it very familiar. It was all in English, clearly not the kind you could usually buy at a pharmacy.
This was brought by Sun Wenqu.
Or rather, Sun Wenqu got it from Ma Liang.
After washing a large basket of vegetables and helping Grandma cut them all up, Fang Chi left the kitchen, avoiding the lively crowd of chatting relatives, and went around to the backyard.
Grandpa was standing by the woodpile in the backyard with Xiaozi.
“With such strong wind, don’t stand out here,” Fang Chi walked over to him.
“Your grandma keeps wanting to clear all this stuff out, make space for a fish pond,” Grandpa pointed with his pipe at the stacked firewood and miscellaneous items, “I was thinking once spring comes and it warms up, I’ll clear it and dig a pond.”
“Raise koi?” Fang Chi asked.
“Can koi be eaten?” Grandpa asked back.
“…Those are ornamental fish, the white, golden, and patterned ones,” Fang Chi smiled.
“Oh, those. I know them,” Grandpa thought for a moment, “I didn’t ask your grandma what kind of fish she wants. Maybe she really does want some ornamental fish to look at?”
Fang Chi laughed. “I think that’d be great. Grandpa, we could also plant some flowers and grass in the backyard. No need for flowerpots, just use a few tires filled with soil and stack them. A yard full of flowers would be so beautiful.”
These were words Sun Wenqu had once said to him on the rooftop, he had imagined that scene countless times in his mind.
“What flowers?” Grandpa asked.
“Lily of the valley? And hyacinths,” Fang Chi said, then suddenly felt a little embarrassed, lowering his head and rubbing his nose.
“Wenqu likes flowers and plants quite a bit, huh,” Grandpa glanced at him.
“Mm… but I also… I also like them,” Fang Chi said with little confidence. Growing up, he had never even picked a blade of grass. He couldn’t name any of the wildflowers in the mountains, and now saying he liked flowers sounded fake even to himself.
Grandpa smiled and didn’t say anything.
“You two have had enough of standing in the wind?” Mom stuck her head out from the door. “Come inside, we’ll cook some noodles in a bit.”
“Alright, I’ll go cook the noodles,” Grandpa said, smiling as he turned back inside.
“Grandpa,” Fang Chi called softly behind him, hesitating before asking, “Shuiqu… did he come by?”
“Hmm?” Grandpa turned back.
“That ginseng, it’s imported,” Fang Chi said, “he brought it, didn’t he?”
Grandpa paused, then sighed. “He did.”
At first, Fang Chi had only been guessing, not completely certain. Hearing Grandpa’s answer, he was suddenly overwhelmed by something, whether it was surprise, excitement, or something else, his voice rose uncontrollably: “He came?”
Grandpa turned fully toward him and nodded. “He did. A few days ago.”
“Grandpa,” Fang Chi stepped forward and grabbed his arm, “tell me, what happened? Why did he come! Why would he come?”
Sun Wenqu had been back home for two days now, spending most of his time holed up in his bedroom.
To be honest, the bedroom still felt a bit unfamiliar. After moving into this apartment, it had been decorated exactly to his specifications, but once it was finished, he barely stayed at home. This room was even less familiar to him than the small room at Fang Chi’s grandparents’ house.
On the desk were several ceramic pieces, cups, pen holders, all in a rough, clumsy style, simple and rustic.
These were the earliest “works” Sun Wenqu had made, the few pieces that made many people say that Master Sun Zhengzhi’s son was indeed a natural talent in ceramics.
Sun Wenqu no longer remembered what mindset or thoughts he had when he made them. Over the years, he had never looked back at these pieces, nor examined them closely.
Now, sitting quietly, facing these ceramics, he suddenly found a bit of inspiration.
That original, pure idea he once had, later worn away by time and by the tension with his father.
Resting his fingers against his temple, he tilted his head and stared at the ceramics on the table.
Come to think of it, with his current experience and perspective, these pieces really did have a certain spirit.
Thinking this felt a bit like self-praise, but it was indeed his honest feeling, his thoughts back then were unexpectedly compelling.
He picked up his phone and called Ma Liang. “About the new series, I’ve got some new ideas.”
“What?” Ma Liang was chopping dumpling filling on the other end, loud thudding sounds mixed with chatter and laughter.
“Let’s meet in a couple of days and talk,” Sun Wenqu said. “Do you remember those cr*ppy little things I made before?”
“You mean the set you na– named ‘Beginning’?” Ma Liang asked.
“Liangzi, you really are my brother,” Sun Wenqu clicked his tongue, “I’d already forgotten I even named it that.”
“I can re–remember a lot of things,” Ma Liang laughed, “I still remember when Second Sister’s military training pants split at the seam.”
“Say that in front of her if you dare,” Sun Wenqu laughed.
“Don’t dare,” Ma Liang said.
“Alright, enough. Call me when you’re free, we’ll talk,” Sun Wenqu said.
“Okay.”
Today Ma Liang had gone with his wife to his maternal grandparents’ house for New Year. A big family gathering, very lively. Listening to the laughter and chatter through the phone, Sun Wenqu thought of New Year at Fang Chi’s house.
It was just as lively, laughing, arguing, noisy chaos that made your head ache, but it felt like a proper New Year.
By comparison, he listened to his own house. His father was in the study, his mother and his older and second sister’s families were chatting downstairs in the living room, so quiet it felt like some formal meeting.
The housekeeper would be leaving soon, having already prepared simple cold dishes in the kitchen. Dinner would be delivered from a restaurant.
This New Year, there wasn’t even a hint of everyday warmth.
Refined and cold.
Fang Chi had only called him in the morning, saying the house was packed and so noisy his ears were ringing. Since then, there had been no contact.
Sun Wenqu clicked his tongue. He could picture Fang Chi clearly, feeling unsettled, yet still a bit excited by the festive atmosphere, helping his grandparents busily, occasionally bantering with Hu Ying. As for Fang Hui… Sun Wenqu felt he probably didn’t have the mood to argue with him.
Of course, it was also possible he’d lose his temper and beat Fang Hui up.
Someone knocked on Sun Wenqu’s bedroom door. He responded that there was no lock, but no one came in.
After hesitating, he got up and opened the door, no one was outside.
He sighed and, somewhat unwillingly, went downstairs. The five-person “meeting” had become six; his father had come down and was sitting upright on the sofa.
“Thought you’d only come down when it was time to eat,” Sun Yao said, “are you fully recovered yet?”
“I’m fine, the doctor didn’t even prescribe anything,” Sun Wenqu said, walking down and slumping into a corner of the sofa, propping his legs on the coffee table.
“Hey, I brought you some supplements,” Sun Jiayue pointed at a pile of boxes beside the table, “not sure what exactly, but all for boosting immunity. There’s also stuff for… boosting vitality and kidneys…”
His father frowned and glanced at her. Sun Jiayue shrugged it off with a smile: “Didn’t have any use for it before, now you can make up for it.”
“Mm.” Sun Wenqu smiled and responded.
“No sense of propriety!” Sun Yao said.
“Already pretty restrained. If our family didn’t have me,” Sun Jiayue looked around the room, “people would think something tragic happened to us this New Year…”
“Jiayue!” Mom frowned and smacked her lightly, “when will you fix that mouth of yours?”
“Not fixing it,” Sun Jiayue leaned against her husband, “the one who has to live with me doesn’t mind.”
“I just don’t bother saying anything,” second brother-in-law smiled.
“Lu Cheng, you spoil her too much. No one could control her before, and now that she’s married, still no one can,” Mom sighed.
“It’s fine, I can handle it,” the brother-in-law said with a smile, sipping tea.
“The way they are is fine,” Sun Yao said, “living happily, not worrying about family matters.”
“Leave the annoying job of worrying about family matters to you and eldest brother-in-law,” Sun Jiayue popped a candy into her mouth, “you two are doing just fine staying busy.”
Mom turned to look at Sun Wenqu, who had been silent the whole time. “Wenqu, will you stay home a few more days this time?”
“Depends,” Sun Wenqu said, “I’ve got plans to meet Liangzi in the next couple of days to talk about something.”
“About your studio?” his father asked with slight disdain, though with everyone around for New Year, it wasn’t too obvious.
“Mm.” Sun Wenqu nodded.
“Hey Wenqu, your exhibition last time, I went with your brother-in-law,” Sun Jiayue said, “it was really good, very creative. I saw on the TV feature that your segment had the most coverage.”
“We paid for that,” Sun Wenqu smiled.
“But you still need the skill,” second brother-in-law said, “money alone can’t buy that. TV still needs quality.”
“Exactly, I really liked it anyway. I even told Liangzi that day to make me a set,” Sun Jiayue said.
“You like it,” his father glanced at her, “what do you understand about ceramics? An amateur just watches for the spectacle.”
“When everything is made so that only insiders can understand it,” Sun Wenqu slid farther down, half reclining on the sofa, “then there’s not much room for development.”
“That’s the difference between commodities and art.” His father’s brows knitted together.
“Of course there’s a difference.” Sun Wenqu curled the corner of his mouth. He had promised Fang Chi he wouldn’t clash too hard with his dad. “What Ma Liang and the others want to make are products with artistic value, and art that can be understood by more people. There’s no real conflict there.”
His father stared at him for a long while without moving. Just as he was about to speak again, Sun Yao’s phone rang.
“Hello? Mm, yes,” Sun Yao answered the call. “Bring it in.”
“The food’s here?” Sun Jiayue stood up.
“Mm, it’s at the door. They’re bringing it in now.” Sun Yao smiled. “We can get ready to eat.”
The family’s New Year’s Eve dinner was honestly pretty dull. Earlier, the housekeeper had already set up the dining table, with bowls, chopsticks, and plates all arranged neatly. All they had to do was line up the delivered dishes on the table and it was done.
Compared to the steaming, warm, crowded atmosphere at Fang Chi’s house, everyone squeezed together around the stove while eating…
Sun Wenqu pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. After all that had happened, he wondered whether, the next time he went over for dinner, Grandpa and Grandma would still be as relaxed and comfortable around him as before.
“You’re not even helping? Just sitting there waiting to eat?” His father had somehow walked over without him noticing.
“If someone as useless as me drops the dishes, what then?” Sun Wenqu replied lazily without moving.
“That set of bottles of yours, did you sign the contract already? What are you planning to make them into?” His father sat down beside him.
Sun Wenqu looked at his father in surprise. The words came out extremely stiffly, as if someone were holding a gun to the back of his father’s head.
“There were some modifications, but not many,” Sun Wenqu said. He felt like he sounded just as stiff, as though refusing to answer would somehow make that imaginary gun go off. “Do you… want to take a look?”
His father looked equally surprised. After a while he gave a cold snort. “No interest.”
Sun Wenqu said nothing, staring at the bowls and plates in front of him. If he hadn’t promised Fang Chi, he definitely would’ve kicked his chair back and left by now.
“If you really want me to look, then I’ll look at the photos,” his father said. “But I’m not giving any opinions or suggestions. Those kinds of things, I…”
Sun Wenqu pulled out his phone, opened his photo gallery, and handed it over.
His father snorted again and took the phone.
“Move!” Sun Jiayue shouted from behind him. “Not helping and still blocking the way!”
Sun Wenqu stood up to move aside. Several restaurant staff came in and placed dish after dish onto the table before standing quietly off to the side.
“No need to stay and serve here,” Sun Yao said, handing each of them a red envelope. “I’ll call again when it’s time to clean up.”
Sun Wenqu yawned while looking at the table overflowing with food. “No way we’ll finish this. What a waste.”
“Oh?” Sun Jiayue stared at him in exaggerated shock. “Did I hear that right? My little brother’s worried about wasting food?”
“You become like the people you spend time with,” Sun Yao said with a frown. “Small-minded.”
Sun Wenqu had only promised Fang Chi he wouldn’t fight with his dad. Hearing Sun Yao say that, he raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t it be even better to just flip the whole table over? Real grand and generous.”
“Wenqu.” His mother patted him lightly, signaling with her eyes for him to stop.
“Little waiter, pour the wine!” Sun Jiayue slapped her husband on the shoulder.
“Coming right up.” Second brother-in-law immediately got up, opened the wine, and started pouring everyone a glass. “Dad brought this bottle home ages ago, didn’t he? Smells amazing.”
“It’s been sitting around close to ten years,” his father said. “Everyone’s here this year, so I brought it out.”
“Not really everyone,” Sun Jiayue said, glancing at Sun Wenqu. “It won’t count as everyone until Wenqu stops coming home alone. Honestly, Wenqu, if things are settled, then bring him home already. Don’t worry so much about the rest. At least let us meet him.”
Sun Wenqu glanced at his father. His face was stiff and expressionless, certainly without a smile, but based on his many years of butting heads with him, this meant he wasn’t planning to explode yet.
“You want to meet him?” Sun Wenqu smiled faintly.
“Of course I do,” Sun Jiayue said. “That day at the exhibition, Lu Cheng and I actually wanted to take the chance to see you two together. But we didn’t run into you. Only saw Liangzi. And once I thought about how irritating he is, I didn’t bother going over.”
Sun Wenqu laughed. “If you can’t outtalk him, you can just hit him.”
“Oh please. Maybe before, but now he’s a married man. I’m not going to make myself annoying.” Sun Jiayue curled her lips before steering the topic back again. “Seriously though, when are you bringing him home? Let’s meet him. I’ll come back then too. If anything happens, your second sister’s got your back.”
“What could happen?” their mother said with a frown and a smile.
“Who knows? Just listen to what eldest sister said earlier.” Sun Jiayue clicked her tongue. “And look at Dad’s face right now.”
“What’s wrong with my face?” their father glared at her.
“So beautiful,” Sun Jiayue said with a grin, raising her glass. “Come on, a toast to our beautiful, beautiful family.”
Everyone raised their glasses and took a sip. After setting his glass down, their father glanced at Sun Wenqu. “When are you planning to bring him home?”
“Hm?” Sun Wenqu froze.
“In the next couple days!” Sun Jiayue immediately said. “I’m still home for a few more days anyway.”
“We’ll see,” Sun Wenqu replied, not giving a definite answer. He still didn’t know what Fang Chi’s family situation looked like right now. And since Fang Chi wasn’t talking about it, he couldn’t exactly ask.
His father snorted again and said nothing more, simply picking up some food with his chopsticks.
The New Year’s Eve dinner didn’t last much longer than an ordinary meal. Everyone chatted while eating, and because Father drank very moderately, the younger generation also drank moderately. And when the drinking was moderate, the meal ended moderately too. By the time they returned to the living room after dinner, the Spring Festival Gala was just starting.
Mother brewed a pot of tea, and the whole family sat on the sofas watching television.
After only a few minutes, Sun Jiayue got bored and started discussing with Sun Wenqu about going out for a walk later.
Sun Wenqu really didn’t want to move, but compared to staying home all evening, going out with his second sister and brother-in-law sounded much more interesting.
Just as they were talking, Sun Wenqu’s phone rang.
Without even thinking, he knew it had to be Fang Chi.
“Eating dinner?” Sun Wenqu walked to the side to answer.
“Mm, eating,” Fang Chi said with a laugh. “The loudest, craziest part just passed. What about your place?”
“Finished eating already. Watching TV now,” Sun Wenqu said.
“You already finished?” Fang Chi sounded stunned. “That fast?”
“My family’s always like this.” Sun Wenqu smiled. “Can’t compare to your place. Not nearly as lively.”
“I guess artists are all like that,” Fang Chi chuckled. “You setting off fireworks later?”
“Nope. I might go out with my second sister and brother-in-law later.” Leaning against the window, Sun Wenqu could already hear dense strings of firecrackers outside, though it still wasn’t anywhere near as noisy as Fang Chi’s side.
“My family’s New Year’s more fun, right?” Fang Chi said. “Next year… next year, come over.”
“Okay,” Sun Wenqu said.
There was silence on Fang Chi’s end for a moment. Sun Wenqu could hear Hu Ying calling Fang Chi to eat.
“You should go eat first. Call me again if you get time,” Sun Wenqu said.
“Mm.” Fang Chi answered, but didn’t seem to want to hang up. After a while he quietly said, “Hey, Sun Wenqu… did you…”
“What?” Sun Wenqu asked.
“You… when did you come to my house?” Fang Chi finally asked hesitantly.
Sun Wenqu paused. “Grandpa sold me out?”
“I saw the ginseng slices. Aren’t those the imported ones from Uncle Liangzi’s place?” Fang Chi paused, then lowered his voice even more. “Why did you… come without telling me? When Grandpa told me, I got so startled I could barely speak properly!”
“Because you didn’t want me to come.” Sun Wenqu smiled.
“I… I didn’t not want you to come. I missed you so much I was going crazy.” Fang Chi sighed, then sighed again after a moment. “Man, I feel so embarrassed.”
Sun Wenqu laughed. “What’s embarrassing?”
“You know everything now, don’t you?” Fang Chi said. “Yeah, you definitely know everything. D*mn it, I really didn’t want you finding out. I… look, Grandpa told me at noon today, and I didn’t dare call you after that.”
“Why?” Sun Wenqu asked. “I was even wondering why you were ignoring me today.”
“How could I bear to ignore you? I was just embarrassed, and scared you’d be angry.” Fang Chi asked nervously, “You’re not mad, right?”
“I’ve known for days already. If I were going to get angry, I’d have done it long ago.” Listening to Fang Chi fluster around like this kept making Sun Wenqu want to laugh.
Fang Chi hurriedly said, “I’m telling you, it’s not that I wanted to hide things from you. I was just worried you’d get anxious, so…”
“I know,” Sun Wenqu interrupted him. “I know. I’m not angry. But there’s something I need to say.”
“Say it,” Fang Chi said. “You gonna scold me?”
“What I want to say is…” Sun Wenqu smiled. “Starting today, no matter what happens, we face it together. If you hide things from me again in the future, then I really will get angry.”
