"Gifts?" Lou Cheng's mother put aside her work and looked at him with surprize and suspicion. "Why did you buy us gifts? Have you made a mistake at school? Just tell us, and we won't blame you."
Such misunderstandings amused Lou Cheng and he shrugged off his embarrassment. He passed the gifts over and explained, "No, I bought them for you with my first bit of earned money. The knitted sweater is for you mother and the two thermal underwear are for Dad. Try them to see if they fit you well."
"Your first bit of earned money?" Lou Cheng's mother was confused but soon gave him a big smile. "You're a good boy. You don't have to buy gifts to show you are a caring son since we both know it."
Taking out the knitted sweater, Lou Cheng's father coughed to conceal his excitement. "You are still at school with no steady income. You should save the money for yourself since we don't need anything."
He tightly gripped the sweater while he spoke like that as if preventing it from being taken away by anyone else.
It was somewhat funny and Lou Cheng was greatly moved. "Don't worry. I also have some personal money. Just try them on to see if they fit you well."
On the verge of tears, Lou Cheng's mother began mumbling while checking the size labels. "Why didn't you ask me my size when selecting the clothes? We'd have to wait for a few days to get them exchanged since most stores close during the festival. Where is the invoice? Ay, it is exactly in my size!"
"Ha ha, I've already checked your wardrobe in secret." Lou Cheng admitted.
"Naughty boy, you have become clever." Lou Cheng's mother chided him affectionately.
Having read the size label, Lou Cheng's father lifted his glasses to wipe the corner of his eyes. "Have you joined a work-study program?"
"No. I told you before that I signed up for the school's Martial Arts Club, remember? Then I found out I had talent in martial arts and have been making rapid progress. This winter vacation I joined in a Challenge Tournament and advanced to the knockout rounds, getting several thousand yuan as a reward." Lou Cheng didn't tell them it was actually 15 thousand.
He hadn't meant to hide the truth from his parents, and he had his reasons.
Though since high school his mom and dad didn't care about him saving personal money, though, keeping such a large sum of money would still worry his mother. As an unemployed university student, it would be likely of him to spend all he had in a short time freely. At least in his mom and dad's opinion.
What if his mom suggested saving money for his future wedding, which he definitely couldn't refuse? He hadn't decided to admit that the money was actually used to pursue their future daughter-in-law.
"Martial Arts Competition? It's so dangerous! Why did you do that? Have you been injured?" Lou Cheng's mother interrogated, greatly taken aback.
Lou Cheng posed like a bodybuilder. "Mom, you see, I'm so energetic and strong now! Formal competitions all have high-ranking referees and supervisors, so minor injuries are treated immediately while serious injuries happen infrequently."
"But accidents are inevitable!" his Mom exclaimed still worried.
Lou Cheng smiled and said, "Nothing is absolutely safe. Will you stop taking the bus since there are so many traffic accidents?"
"Shut up, you seer of misfortune!" Mom waved her hands to stop him from saying more.
Dad smiled and took over the topic. "Well, let's stop it. Have you not seen that Cheng has changed very much in this time? He is more outgoing and independent now."
He paused and turned his gaze at Lou Cheng. "You are now an adult and you can be responsible for your choices. We will respect it. But I still have something to say. First, don't abandon your studies. Second, don't easily give it up since you chose it. You need to stick with it however difficult it might be."
"Well, dad, I'll cover my chosen route by all kinds of means even with my knees!" Lou Cheng answered in the popular internet language.
Mom stared at dad and shouted, "Adult? He's still a child who has just entered university!"
"Those who gave birth to a baby at the age of 18 were not scarce when we were young." Dad defended himself in a low voice.
"But you haven't even gotten a girlfriend even at the age of 26!" Mom sneered.
Seeing that his mom and dad had begun sparring, he realized they had no time to care about his competing in martial arts. At this Lou Cheng sighed with relief and helped them with the last step of preparation.
"Hey, stop showing off." Mom said rolling her eyes. "Help me carry these."
Taking the bags, Lou Cheng led the way while heading to the bus station.
New year's eve was coming and it was hard to order a car online in Xiushan, so they had to wait for a taxi or the bus. Things were much simpler when they came back at night—Lou Cheng's parents knew several neighbors driving unlicensed taxi's, who would be willing to pick up the three of them if the price was right.
Lou Cheng's parents and their neighbors had been working in the same factory and were thus quite familiar with each other. This was common in an ordinary civilians' life.
There were nine stops between Lou Cheng's home and his grandparents', and they had to get on a second bus halfway.
His grandparents had sold their old house and bought a recently-built apartment that came with assistive elevators. Lou Cheng's second uncle was also living there to take care of them.
When the elevator stopped on the 16th floor, Lou Cheng knocked at their apartment door.
After a while, a young man in his twenties opened the door and smiled at him. "Cheng, we've been waiting for you. Why are you so late, hasn't your winter vacation already begun?"
Lou Cheng made himself at home and took out a pair of slippers. "Hey hey. There were too many schoolmates inviting me out."
The young man was Lou Yuanwei, Lou Cheng's cousin. He was 1.75 meters with a round face and similar facial features to other members of Lou family. He was a quick minded dutiful son and always took good care of his little brothers and sisters.
Lou Cheng's parents were quite poor when he was in junior high school and they were unable to give him an allowance. Lou Yuanwei often helped him out and was thus regarded as one of the best brothers in China.
There was nothing bad about Lou Yuanwei, his only drawback was that he loved to create unnecessary setbacks for himself. He thought to go to university was boring, so he went straight to job-hunting after graduating from high school. Before long, he resigned and decided to run his own business such as milky tea shop, bakery, online shop, restaurant, etc. But all of his attempts failed within a short time which consumed almost all of his money and subsequently his parent's money as well. Now, he has gone back to work for a former employer.
"You did pretty well in school, didn't you?" Lou Yuanwei said while laughing. He then took out another two pairs of slippers for Lou Cheng's parents. "Come in, my dear uncle and aunt. It's windy outside."
Though Lou Cheng's father was the eldest son, he married late at the age of 27 in order to pursue his studies. So Lou Cheng was 5 years junior to Lou Yuanwei, his second uncle's son.
The moment Lou Cheng stepped into the living room, he heard the mixed sounds coming from the TV and the kitchen. Then a gray-haired man appeared.
"Uncle, are grandma and auntie in the kitchen?" Lou Cheng smiled in greeting.
This was his second uncle, Lou Zhiqiang. The three brothers and sisters in the Lou family were named Zhisheng, Zhiqiang, Zhixian.
"Yeah, they are looking forward to your mother's help." Lou Zhiqiang replied while nodding.
"You're an experienced top chief, and you still need my help?" Lou Cheng's mother sneered.
Lou Zhiqiang was the weird relative she often mentioned.
Lou Zhiqiang used to be a military cook with less education. When he was demobilized, he got married and became a government official's driver in the Health Bureau of Xiushan. Naturally, he should have gotten on well with the official and thus gotten promoted sooner or later like his fellow drivers. But over time, as officials came and went, he remained the car driver.
According to his colleagues, he was very critical and given to using bitter sarcasm. So, he always left a bad impression on every new official and thus missed his many chances to get promoted.
Fortunately, some friends helped him to quit as a driver and he then signed a contract to manage a canteen. As a former military chef he was good at cooking and thus ran the business well with Wang Lili, his hardworking wife in the first several years.
Once, when they were going through a tough time Lou Cheng's parents had asked his second uncle for help, who had refused them with scathing remarks. But Lou Cheng's grandparents believed that their eldest son didn't need much help since he was highly educated and able to make a living all by himself. While it was their second son who needed to be taken care of since he couldn't do well in anything. So, the old couple decided to give all of their inheritance to Lou Cheng's second uncle. This was why Lou Cheng's mother was so angry.
Since rights always came with duties, Lou Zhiqiang and his wife were now in charge of living with the old couple to take care of them.
Hearing what Lou Cheng's mother had said, Lou Zhiqiang felt embarrassed and quickly explained, "There are so many dishes to prepare and cook."
The canteen's business had dropped in recent years so he terminated the contract. But his son was so good at making trouble that the couple had invested almost all of their money into his failed business, which nearly destroyed the middle-aged man and turned his hair gray. With time he gradually quieted down and now seldom criticized others.
Even though she was unwilling to help the disgusting man, Qi Fang eventually went into the kitchen.
"Cheng, I'm going to play games in my room, or they'll start talking about finding a girlfriend for me again." Lou Yuanwei whispered, patting Lou Cheng on the shoulder.
"They'll catch you sooner or later." Lou Cheng couldn't help but joke with him.
He had heard it from his mother that his poor cousin's grandparents and parents decided to find him a wife to control and correct him in hopes that he would really grow up one day.
"I live for that moment, day by day!" Lou Yuanwei answered sadly.
Watching his cousin entering his room, Lou Cheng walked towards the sofa and greeted the old man seated there. "Grandpa."
The energetic gray-haired old man was Lou Debang, Lou Cheng's grandfather who coddled his second son madly. He was quite fond of Lou Cheng and seeing his grandson coming up, the old man smiled and asked, "Have you gotten used to the school life? Come here for some strawberries."
Why should all of you repeat the same question... Lou Cheng complained internally. Externally he told his grandpa something trivial about his school life and then he turned back to greet the middle-aged woman who came out of the kitchen. "Aunt. Where is Xixi?"
"Last I saw she was lying in the guest room. Could you please help me to persuade her to come out? She didn't do well in her studies recently. How I wish she would learn from you!" Lou Zhixian signed helplessly.
As a primary school teacher, she was so busy she couldn't even help her daughter.
"No problem." Lou Cheng agreed. "Where is my uncle-in-law?"
"Jiale asked for sparklers so your uncle-in-law took him to the supermarket." Lou Zhixian said while pointing out the window.
Seven-year-old Ma Jiale was their youngest son, who was nine years junior to their elder daughter Ma Xi.
Standing up, Lou Cheng walked into the guest room and found a girl, around 16, playing on her cell phone while laying on the bed in the dim light.
"Xixi, why don't you greet your second brother?" Lou Cheng smiled at the young rebels.
Ma Xi looked quite cute with her bangs. She pouted at Lou Cheng's words and then complained, "Mom ask you to persuade me into studying hard, right?"
"Okay, I won't say that." Lou Cheng sat on the side of the bed. "So why are you mad?"
He noticed his little cousin was quite unhappy.
Ma Xi was plain looking but full of energy typical of youth. She complained, "I don't want to see them. They all show favoritism to Ma Jiale!"
Lou Cheng laughed and shook his head. "Is that why you got so angry? "
Leaving Ma Xi no chance to answer, Lou Cheng hurriedly continued, "To be honest, though, mom always complains about our grandparents' decision to leave all of their inheritance and house to our second uncle. Ultimately, it doesn't matter to me, in the last year and a half at college I have experienced a lot and I pay even less attention to family affairs."
"I'm healthy, hardworking and talented, so why should I care about those trivial matters? I say broaden your horizons and improve your self-growth, and then you'll know what you really want in life."
And to think that he earned 15 thousand yuan in 10 days!
He was considering a Challenge Tournament for Professional Ninth or Eight Pin since the reward for the champion was usually over one hundred thousand yuan. What if he stepped into the realm of professional martial arts competitions and became a high-ranking mighty one? Would he still care about an apartment in a small city?
"What do you mean by that statement?" Ma Xi was attracted by Lou Cheng's description, but she knew he had other purposes.
She didn't get along well with her father and his relatives because of Ma Jiale. But she always regarded Lou Yuanwei and Lou Cheng as her ideal brothers.
Lou Cheng smiled. "I'm here to tell you that it is useless to get angry. When you have enough experience and a broader horizon as an independent girl, you'll naturally give up the obsession of competing with your little brother. Whoever your parents prefer, you should always love yourself, which is most important."
Ma Xi took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "What you said is quite reasonable... "
"To broaden your horizon and become an independent girl, the best choice for you is to study hard and enter a good college. Then you'll acquire the ability and qualifications necessary to make a living by yourself." Lou Cheng suddenly grinned. "Well, try to study hard!"
Ma Xi was temporarily at a loss but soon raised her voice and complained, "So, you are still talking about my grades!"
"Take my advice or don't, it's up to you." Lou Cheng stood up and slowly left the room.
Watching him leave, Ma Xi thought for a long while and then murmured to herself,
"Study hard..."