On the afternoon of Chinese New Year's Eve, Zhou Caiwei took Baobao and prepared to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy firecrackers to play with.
Just as they reached the vicinity of the harbor, they saw five stylishly dressed young people jumping off a boat.
Instead of avoiding her, those five people directly walked towards her.
This startled Zhou Caiwei, who stood in front of Baobao, warily looking at the three men and two women in front of her, and coldly asked, "Who are you?"
The slightly taller two men were dressed in black suits with a bright red tie tied around their collars, resembling bodyguards of a big shot from Hong Kong movies.
The slightly shorter man was wearing white bell-bottom pants and a white V-neck shirt. Well... he seemed a bit sleazy... Zhou Caiwei thought. Luckily, it wasn't too cold in Hailang Island during the twelfth lunar month; if it were in the north, this little rascal would've been frozen into a fool.
The five of them sandwiched two young women wearing matching red dresses between them. They all had sunglasses perched on their noses, capable of covering half of their faces. Zhou Caiwei vaguely felt that she recognized them and asked again, "Who are you five and where did you come from?"
The five young men and women glanced at each other and laughed in unison, shouting, "Teacher Zhou, it's us!"
After speaking, they took off their frog-shaped sunglasses from their noses.
Zhou Caiwei slapped her thigh, "Oh, it's you guys. If you're back, you're back. Why dress like this and wear big black sunglasses?"
Dawa patted the nonexistent dust off his suit jacket, "Teacher Zhou, you don't understand. This is the fashion nowadays. And wearing frog-shaped sunglasses, do I look handsome or not?"
Zhou Caiwei replied, "Handsome? I think you look like a cricket."
Sanwa stepped forward and struck a pose imitating Fei Xiang, then flicked his short hair, "Teacher Zhou, do I resemble a certain celebrity? Should I sing a segment for you?"
Zhou Caiwei had a blank expression on her face, and her mouth twitched. "No resemblance. I won't listen to your song anymore. Go home and sing it for your parents." After speaking, she hurried the five children towards their homes. "Go home quickly, all of you. Teacher Zhou has a weak heart. I don't want to scare anyone to death."
Erniu said crisply, "Then goodbye, Teacher Zhou."
Before leaving, they gave Baobao a large bag of fruit candies.
Zhou Caiwei opened a pineapple-flavored candy for Baobao to suck on. "Say goodbye to your brothers and sisters." Baobao's cheeks puffed out from holding the candy, and she waved her hand to the five brothers and sisters in a milky voice, "Goodbye, brothers and sisters."
After bidding farewell to Zhou Caiwei and Baobao, Dawa, Erniu, Sanwa, Dahu, and Fang Fang each went back to their own homes.
The final exams were held late this year, so they returned late. They only arrived on Chinese New Year's Eve, and their parents were probably anxiously waiting for them.
When Dawa, Erniu, and Sanwa returned home, Ning Tang and Shen Lie were cooking in the kitchen.
Sanwa shouted, "Dad, Mom, we're back!"
Ning Tang quickly stir-fried the vegetables. "We heard you. We're not deaf, and our ears are still functioning."
Erniu rushed into the house and sniffed. "It smells so good."
"Are you hungry?" Ning Tang asked. "The food is not ready yet. There are some snacks in the fruit box on the coffee table. Have a bite to hold you over until the meal is ready."
Erniu went to the coffee table and saw cashew nuts, longan fruits, fried sazi, sugar triangles, and rice crackers in the fruit box. She took a few pieces of sugar triangles and put them in her mouth. They were crispy, fragrant, and sweet, making a crunchy sound when she bit into them.
Sanwa saw her enjoying the snacks and shouted, "Give me a piece to taste too."
Erniu glanced at him and said, "Do it yourself. Work hard to have plenty."
Sanwa made a funny face at her and said, "If you do it yourself, then do it yourself." After speaking, he peeled a few longan fruits, threw the pits into his mouth, and chewed on the fragrant and sweet flesh. He even thoughtfully handed a handful to Erniu and said, "If you don't care about your little brother, I care about my sister. Here, have some."
Erniu was amused by him and slowly ate the longan fruits.
Shen Lie took a sip of tea and glanced at the clothes on the three children. "Oh, not bad. You're dressed quite stylishly."
Dawa proudly said, "Of course, but it cost quite a bit of money."
Shen Lie raised an eyebrow and continued along the same line of conversation, "How much money did it cost?"
Dawa almost blurted out the actual price but hesitated for a moment and said, "...not, didn't spend much money. They were gifts from someone."
Shen Lie squinted his eyes. "Which friend is so generous?"
Dawa knew he couldn't hide it anymore. The clothes they were wearing were obviously not cheap. They were the kind of clothes seen on TV. He decided to be "honest" and said, "We know the shop owner. They sold it to us at half price, so we didn't spend much money."
He was the shop owner himself, selling and giving away to himself. Hehe, no problem, right?
Indeed, they did buy the goods at half the market price. If calculated based on the purchase price, they didn't spend much money. It was a good deal.
Shen Lie snorted coldly, went upstairs, and brought down a few large packages. He placed them on the table and said, "Shen Dawa, don't tell me that these two packages didn't cost much either."
Dawa glanced at them and realized that the three packages on the table were none other than the ones he had sent back. One package contained cosmetics and skincare products for his mother, another contained clothes he bought when he went to Shanghai, and the largest package contained clothes he bought at wholesale prices. Seeing that they were of good quality, he packed them and sent them back for Ning Tang and Shen Lie to wear. It wasn't just here, but Erniu, Sanwa, Fang Fang, and Dahu also received a lot of clothes.
Dawa looked around nervously and hesitated. "Um...this...this..."
Shen Lie tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Confess honestly. Confession brings leniency, resistance brings severity. It's the Lunar New Year, don't force me to punish you."
Ning Tang brought the dishes out, coincidentally hearing the phrase, "During the Lunar New Year, it's not appropriate to hit children."
Dawa took advantage of the situation and said to Shen Lie, "Dad, did you hear that? Mom is the sensible one."
After the New Year, he would run away. He didn't believe his dad could catch up to Shanghai!
Ning Tang looked at his smug expression, her mouth curved, and added, "If there's a need to hit, it should be after the New Year."
Dawa's triumphant expression froze on his face.
Sanwa gave Dawa a meaningful look and said, "Brother, just confess honestly. I told you, you can't hide it. Our parents are no ordinary people, they're tough."
Shen Lie snorted from his nose. "That's right." Then he realized something was off. "Wait a minute, Third Son, are you involved too?"
Then he looked at Erniu, who looked up at the sky and then down at the ground, avoiding eye contact with him.
Shen Lie couldn't help but laugh angrily. He pointed his index finger at the three of them. "You, all of you, joining forces to cause trouble." He glared at Dawa. "Confess quickly."
Dawa lowered his head and put on a "honest and sincere" appearance. He hesitantly said, "Dad, promise me first that you won't get angry when I tell you."
Shen Lie snorted coldly. "I won't promise you anything. You tell me first, then I'll decide whether to get angry or not."
Dawa blinked his eyes and said, "Actually, actually, I went to set up a stall and sell clothes." He pointed at the packages on the table. "Most of these are clothes I bought with someone."
Shen Lie had already guessed some of it, but hearing it from Dawa confirmed his suspicions. He couldn't help but jump up and exclaimed, "What? You've become a profiteer!"
Dawa shrugged. "What do you mean by profiteer? I'm just a small individual vendor. I've earned a lot of money, and people even call me 'Boss Shen'."
Considering the scale of Dawa's business, he couldn't really be called a boss. People calling him that was just a form of politeness.
When he wasn't running a stall, he used to call others "profiteers" as well, but once he started running his own stall, he didn't like being called that anymore.
Shen Lie asked, "What were you thinking, becoming a profiteer? Is the money we gave you not enough? Do you really have to earn money like this?"
Being a small vendor was not considered respectable these days. Although he earned quite a bit, it was far from having a decent office job. Moreover, Dawa was a university student, even though he didn't attend a top university or major in a prestigious field, he still had a job secured after graduation, shining with a golden light.
When someone outside asked about your education and found out you were a university student, they would show you some respect.
But if you were to say you were a profiteer, regardless of whether they said it out loud or not, they would look down on you.
His dad knew what he wanted to say after becoming a profiteer. Dawa already had a pretty good idea of it, and he had already rehearsed with Dahu once on how to respond. He elongated his voice and said, "Dad, I have my reasons. You don't know, I've put a lot of effort and thought into making money."
Sanwa chimed in, "No brain, no thoughts."
Shen Lie glared at him. "Enough, don't interrupt." Then he turned back to Dawa. "Continue, I want to hear what difficulties you have and what efforts you've made."
Dawa rolled his eyes and continued, "Dad, you said it yourself, I'm already an adult."
Shen Lie replied, "Eighteen, soon to be nineteen after the New Year."
In his father's eyes, he was still a child, not even fully matured.
Dawa clapped his hands and made a crisp sound. "Exactly! I'm already turning nineteen soon. Is it appropriate for me to keep asking for money from home?"
Shen Lie scratched his forehead. "Wait, I didn't understand."
Dawa thought to himself, "That's right, if you don't understand, it's better." He continued, "Dad, think about it. When I went to Shanghai, I saw a lot of nice things. Tin cars, pagers, computers, I wanted all of them."
Before Shen Lie could respond, Dawa continued, "But wanting is one thing, can I ask for money from home?" He added, "That's definitely not possible. Dad, you've already spent a lot of money to support me and Erniu through college."
Shen Lie snorted from his nose. "That sounds like something a human would say."
"So, if I want something, I have to earn the money myself." He clenched his right hand into a fist and pounded his chest. "That's what a real man does."
Shen Lie listened, feeling both right and wrong at the same time. In short, he was getting confused. He reached down and unbuckled the belt around his waist, saying, "Don't argue with me about this. Being a profiteer is just wrong. You're still in school, how can you go and run a stall? Are you still studying or not?"
When Dawa saw his dad reaching for the belt, he trembled and exclaimed, "Dad, that's the belt I gave you!"
Shen Lie looked down, nodded, and said, "I'll use what you gave me to whip you. Isn't that appropriate?"
Appropriate?
Appropriate my foot!
Dawa quickly hid behind the chair and shouted, "Erniu, Sanwa, stop Dad! How can you bear to watch him whip me?" Then he yelled towards the kitchen, "Mom, Dad's going to hit me! Come out and see!"
Erniu and Sanwa stood up, about to say something, but Shen Lie glanced at them and said, "Are you two also volunteering to get beaten?"
At that moment, the two of them became obedient, quickly sitting back down, and gave Dawa a helpless look.
Shen Lie extended his long legs and reached out, grabbing Dawa by the collar and pulling him closer. He said, "Don't accuse me of treating you unfairly. Doing business requires capital, and I don't believe that the 350 yuan I gave you is enough for your stall."