The windows of No. 3 in Lane 181 are bright and clean, the curtains have been replaced with crimson velvet, and the door has obviously been cleaned. Hu Taojiang and Hu Taoying, brothers and sisters, were rummaging through new clothes by the sofa, and when they saw Hu Wenkai entering the house, Hu Taoying ran over and took the official bag in his hand, telling him that Aunt Wang Changhui and Aunt Chong Meijuan were helping Carrotta's mother cook Chinese New Year's Eve dinner in the restaurant.

patted Hu Taojiang on the head: "Go make a cup of tea for your Lao Tzu, Taoying, you go upstairs to get some candy and bring Dad's cigar down by the way." ”

The two children walked away excitedly, and Wang Changhui poked his head out of the restaurant: "Brother Wen Kai, it's time to write a couplet, and you want to paste it before dark." Red paper and pen and ink were prepared on the long table. ”

Hu Wenkai habitually grabbed his scalp, in the past, the couplets at home were written by his father, and he never wrote them, even after he got married in Guangzhou, his father mailed the written couplets to him early. Wei Bei, who has studied with Liang Qichao for almost a year, is time to show his hand.

After taking off his coat and washing his hands, he spread out the red paper and thought about it, and wrote down: the colored pen is like a flower to write the glorious years, and the spring breeze is like a cut into a splendid country. The horizontal batch is the splendid country. After writing it, I watched it left and right, up and down for a long time, and the practice of the past year was not in vain, and it was a bit of Liang Qichao's personal biography.

When I was pasting couplets with two children, Wang Changrong and Jiang Qiuming just arrived.

Jiang Qiuming stood in front of the door and began to pat his ass: "The boss is atmospheric, and he has to cut the country at every turn, not to mention that the boss can now compare his words to the previous Qingju." ”

Hu Wenkai stood on the bench and pasted a banner and said with a smile: "Jiang Qiuming will come to eat when he comes, don't fucking be so sour, okay, come into the house and make a call to Lao Shi and ask him to come over for dinner." ”

After sticking the door link, he jumped off the bench and patted the dust on his body, standing in the distance and looking at his masterpiece, Wang Changrong smacked his lips and said, Jiang Qiuming said well, this word has three points, and Liang Qichao is true.

"Brother Changrong, you haven't gotten along yet?"

Wang Changrong's face flushed sharply: "Hu Wenkai, why do you talk like a ruffian, what does it mean to be good?" ”

"Don't get angry, the boss is not small, it's fun to be single. It's time for you to find a partner, and your brother and sister and I will give you a villa. ”

Wang Changrong picked up the bench angrily: "Hu Wenkai, how do you talk and have a fight with my mother, I don't want to talk to you when I go into the house." ”

"Haha, Wang Changrong, you are still shy, a man should consider marriage at this age."

The sun went down and the sky was already dark, Lao Shi was wearing a Chinese-style robe vest and pushed the door in, and Jiang Qiuming squirted out the tea in his mouth with a smile.

Lao Shi spoke Shanghainese: "What is so funny about Jiang Qiuming, I wear a long shirt to follow the local customs." ”

"Lao Shi is not funny when you wear a long shirt, it's that you wear glasses and your expression is funny."

"What's so funny? Seriously, this caftan is much more comfortable to wear than a suit, and I ordered several sets at Wang Xihai's house. Lao Shi lifted the hem of his robe and sat down.

In the center of the table, a large plate of dry-cut venison, braised hooves, white chopped chicken, braised sea cucumber, sweet and sour fish, winter bamboo shoots and duck soup, fried leeks, Songhua eggs, pork ribs and soybeans, and egg dumplings are full of 18 items. Carrotta beckoned everyone to the table and introduced: "Today's dishes all depend on the credit of Wang Changhui and Chong Meijuan, Wang Changhui is the chef, Chong Meijuan is the chef who cuts the plate, and I am a miscellaneous vegetable washer." ”

Wang Changrong sat down and said: "Changhui was at home at the age of fifteen to learn from my mother in the kitchen, my mother said that girls can't marry after they don't learn to be popular, so she is very concerned." ”

Wang Changhui's face turned red: "Brother, you are about to celebrate the New Year, are you going to make me anxious with you?" ”

Carrota hugged Wang Changhui and said with a smile: "What are you afraid of in Wenkai, you should help your sister-in-law cook the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner." ”

Wang Changhui's eyes squinted, and Wang Changrong snorted and said, "Did you hear that?" Beware of me poking out the fact that you have a crush on the girls at Soochow University. ”

Hu Wenkai pressed Wang Changrong, who was blushing to his neck, to the chair and said: "Oh, Wang Changrong didn't say that I was worried about his marriage at the door just now, I didn't expect that this guy already has someone, and if I don't pour him down tonight, I won't vent my hatred." Tao Ying went to turn on the gramophone and put on some soft music to cheer up. ”

The piano music sounded, and Hu Wenkai raised his glass to toast to his resignation from 1921 to welcome 1922. The men drank Moutai and the women drank Latour, Hu Taojiang also put a small glass of Moutai wine in front of him, Hu Taoying held a large glass of Latour wine and kept smashing her mouth and saying that it was delicious. Hu Wenkai snatched the wine glass from her hand and knocked her on the head, saying, "If you drink like this, you will get drunk after a while, and you are not allowed to drink anymore."

"Hu Wenkai, you weren't much better when you were a child, when you were seven or eight years old, you ate at my house and my dad asked you to drink, and you got drunk and lay on Changhui's bed and vomited in the dark. Changhui was so angry that he ignored you for a long time. Wang Changrong finally moved back to the first game.

Hu Wenkai grabbed his head: "Ah, why can't I remember this?" Drink alcohol. ”

Wang Changhui drank a little wine and said dissatisfiedly: "Brother Wen Kai has always been cheating, as long as it is not good for him, he is disappointed." ”

Wang Changrong said fairly: "Wen Kai is really frustrated, the first time I met Governor Wang Shan took me to meet Wen Kai, I wondered why Hu Wenkai didn't know me?" Later, when I tried to beat around the corner, I realized that he really couldn't remember the past. ”

"Whether you are frustrated or not, Evergreen and Changhui, one of you is my brother and the other is my sister, which can't be changed. Carrotta and the two of us toasted a glass of wine. ”

The wine was drunk one by one, and Hu Wenkai's regulations before the banquet were released today, and one person handed out a bottle of Moutai to sweep the snow in front of the door. Hu Taoying still didn't control herself, and not long after she fell asleep drunk, Hu Wenkai carried her to the bedroom bed and settled down.

Lao Yi and Wang Xihai pushed the door in with red faces, and Lao Yi muttered that he didn't dare to drink more at his mother-in-law's house, so he drank less than three taels and was driven out to the boss's house by his mother-in-law and wife.

Wang Xihai explained on the side that Lao Yi was eating Chinese New Year's Eve dinner at home and said that several people on the boss's side must be lively, and the mother-in-law rushed over as soon as she heard that they were both half-eaten. Since Wang Xihai's family and Carrota jointly opened a garment factory in Wujiang, it is a daily Jindou, and naturally only Hu Wenkai is in front of the saddle.

The addition of Lao Yi and Wang Xihai made the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner time longer, and at ten o'clock in the evening, Wang Changrong helped Lao Shi to leave, and said: "Changhui will stay with you, you will never let her stay in a hostel for the New Year." ”

"Can you drive after drinking so much?" Hu Wenkai was a little uneasy.

Lao Yi stood in front of the door and slapped a person running out of the alley, Lao Yi ordered: "Go find two people who can drive and send us away." ”

Lao Yi said to Hu Wenkai proudly: "Boss, there is an iron wall near your house, not only are our people guarding it day and night, but the concession has specially built a police station near you, and Huang Jinrong and others are helping you guard it." ”

After a while, two special service members drove Lao Yi's car and Wang Changrong's car over, and Hu Wenkai asked Carrotta to take a few cigarettes and money and send them over as a New Year's gift to them. The young couple stood in front of the door like a couple in later generations to send a group of partners away.

Sending the visitor away, Carotta twisted her hand around his waist and whispered, "Wen Kai, I think their brother and sister have eaten you." Tonight, the three of us are upstairs on the couch with you and Taojiang. ”

Hu Wenkai grinned: "Wife, I know that I sleep downstairs, and you are not allowed to enter the study." ”

"Hu Wenkai, how many wives do you want in your life, I have seen through you, and you are useless except for sweetness."

"Carrotta, I can solemnly reiterate that I am a model of monogamy, and I despise those who take concubines."

"Okay, don't show loyalty, let's get rid of your sister first." Carrota walked into the room angrily.

Wang Changhui was busy cleaning up the table in the restaurant, and Hu Taojiang was already asleep on the sofa. Seeing Hu Wenkai come in, Wang Changhui said loudly: "Sister-in-law helps make a cup of tea for my brother, I have a job on my hands." ”

After making a cup of tea and handing it to him, Carotta glared at him and whispered, "This is your brother and sister's."

Hu Wenkai ignored Carrotta's provocation and went to the long table with a teacup to continue the plan of the aluminum factory, and Carrotta twisted his ears and went into the restaurant to help Wang Changhui clean up the dishes.

In the middle of the night, Wang Changhui went downstairs to boil water and make tea for Hu Wenkai, sat beside him and said, "Brother Wenkai is still busy in the middle of the night. ”

"Go, go upstairs to the child's house, go with your sister-in-law, don't interfere with me here, I say to you, my sister-in-law and I helped you win a graduate school place in the United States at Harvard, and you go to school in the United States in August."

"If I don't go to the United States, I'm going to stay with you." Wang Changhui took his arm and said.

"Changhui, you just listen to your brother about this, don't interfere with him in the past few years. When you're twenty years old, you've figured it out, and I'll support you. At some point, Carotta was standing around the corner of the stairs in her pink silk pajamas.

Wang Changhui's mind was poked open: "Sister-in-law, I don't know what you said, it's what you said." ”

Carrotta walked over and pulled Wang Changhui upstairs: "Go upstairs and sleep, don't pester your brother, he can't wait for one hour to be used for two hours." ”

A ray of sunshine shone on Hu Wenkai's face on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and when he opened his eyes, Carrotta, Wang Changhui, Tao Ying, and Tao Jiang were wearing new clothes and preparing to explode firecrackers. Wang Changhui came over and put his ear on his hand and said, "Brother Wen Kai, you can sleep too well, your teacher has been waiting for you to go to the New Year, and the phone call has come twice." ”

When he heard this, he immediately jumped up, dressed and said to Taojiang while washing: "Son, go set off firecrackers, did you burn money for your parents yesterday?" ”

"Father, yesterday, my mother arranged for us to burn money at noon, and we also burned incense."

"That's good, I'm afraid that you brothers and sisters have forgotten Ben, hurry up and blow up the whip."

The two children ran out to eat dumplings after the whip, and Hu Wenkai looked very anxious. Before twelve o'clock, he must go to Liang Qichao's house to pay New Year's greetings, this is the rule, if he doesn't go, Liang Qichao will not have a face.

Putting down the bowl in her hand and going upstairs to look for clothes and gifts, Carrotta also rushed upstairs and hurriedly dressed up.

"What did the teacher say on the phone?"

"I said you stayed up late last night and were sleeping, and he asked me not to wake you up, and I went to his house before noon and ate lunch there."

"How much did you give the teacher's gift money a year ago?"

"I gave 10,000 yuan as you said, and the teacher said that he had to receive what you sent. Jiang Qiuming, Wang Changrong, and the teachers they sent were all returned. ”

The two drove to Liang Qichao's house with gifts to pay New Year's greetings, and Liang Qichao stood in front of the door wearing a vest to welcome his students to come to pay New Year's greetings.