Most people in this world were born to be common, but they were also born to be different. Even a common person’s life was unique in its ups and downs.
To other people, Lao Guo was nobody, like a grain of sand in the desert. Lao Guo never expected to be cared for by others, even his sons and daughter who had neglected their filial duties. But Qin Sheng, a young man who he just knew for a month, gave him the warmth of love and care that he had been lacking.
That was the reason why Lao Guo felt moved and sad about Qin Sheng’s departure. He knew that he could meet with Qin Sheng later on, but there would never be a chance for them to live together.
On his way back, Qin Sheng was also depressed about Lao Guo’s sadness. Lao Guo was not a big shot. He was no more than a common person, but he always kept it real. Qin Sheng never looked down upon Lao Guo for being normal and treated him as a real friend. Besides, he was grateful to Lao Guo for his efforts as his mother’s grave watcher.
“The Chinese New Year is coming. Stop thinking about that and be happy,” Qin Ran, who was driving, touched Qin Sheng’s head and said. She never expected that her younger brother would build such a deep friendship with Lao Guo that they were so sad about their separation.
Qin Sheng took a deep breath and forced a smile. He asked, “Sis, when will we go to Xi’an tomorrow?”
This journey was important. Qin Ran said seriously, “We’ll leave at 8 o’clock in the morning and arrive in Xi’an at 11 o’clock. Father will go with us. After we arrive, we’ll first go to visit Grandfather’s tomb. After that, Father will go back to Beijing. He has some business in the afternoon and in the evening. I’ll stay with you in Xi’an for one day. I know you must have a lot to do. By the way, I also want to express my gratitude to the Lin Family for their efforts in taking care of you.”
Qin Sheng felt moved by his sister’s love and care and began to anticipate their future life. He said, “Sis, that’s very nice of you. If I’d been living with you over the past 20 years, I may have become a child that never grew up.”
“What do you mean?” Qin Ran said, teasing him.
Qin Sheng laughed and said, “Of course I’m expressing my gratitude. If you marry someone one day, I’ll surely feel jealous.”
“You’ve just come back. How can I leave now? Believe me, I’ll never marry until you do,” Qin Ran said honestly. It was true that she had to guarantee that Qin Sheng was on the right track in all aspects, then she could leave the Qin Family without worry. She would never allow others to bully Qin Sheng.
When they entered downtown, Qin Sheng immediately felt the atmosphere of the Spring Festival. The streets were all decorated with colorful lights, big red lanterns, and Chinese knots. Compared with normal, there were fewer cars on the road and the traffic jam had lessened. Most people working here left to go to their hometown for the Spring Festival. For most of them, this was the only chance for them to go home and get together with their family.
Quite a lot of people led such a life of working in distant big cities, away from their hometown, and suffered from loneliness. From generation to generation, young people flocked to Beijing and spared no efforts in their work, hoping that they might be lucky to become a somebody.
People went to and from this city. Some couldn’t bear the tough life here and left, while some were eager to arrive with hope. Though they would live a simple and comfortable life in their hometown, some people were firm in their struggle and strove forward for their dreams with enthusiasm.
Since they left their hometown, there were only two choices ahead—die in the big city or go back home after a successful career.
Qin Sheng never made any comments on other people’s life choices. People should take responsibility for their own choices. But nobody knew whether the choice was right or wrong. Maybe there would be a day when one got old. He would hold his little grandson and look at the old photos, recalling the past and drawing a conclusion about what he had done when he was young.
Qin Sheng and Qin Ran went back to the siheyuan, which had been cleaned and decorated. Gongsun bought a lot of decorations and food for the Spring Festival. All the decorations were finished except for the Spring Festival couplets and the character “福” (happy), which would be decorated on Chinese New Year’s Eve.
Qin Sheng went back to his room, taking a shower and changing his clothes. He had never taken a comfortable shower for a whole month due to the primitive household facilities in Lao Guo’s home.
After he finished the shower, Qin Sheng hadn’t decided what to do in the afternoon, but Qin Ran had waited for him in the sitting room, ready to go out. She was going to take Qin Sheng to get a haircut and buy new clothes and other things for the New Year. Qin Sheng said only kids needed new clothes for the New Year, and he had many new clothes that he hadn’t worn yet. Qin Ran said that since Qin Sheng was always a kid to her, along with the fact that it was the first time that they had celebrated the Spring Festival together after being separated for 20 years, she was eager to do something for her younger brother.
Qin Sheng found no words to argue. He didn’t like window shopping, but he didn’t want to upset his sister. Though unwilling to do so, Qin Sheng still went out with his sister. Gongsun laughed at them over their childish argument, thinking that it would be a particularly lively Spring Festival.
Qin Ran made these preparations not only for this reason. What was more important was that this year’s Spring Festival was of great significance to Qin Sheng. At that time, a lot of guests would come and their father would formally introduce Qin Sheng to everybody, declaring that his son had returned. And their father would take Qin Sheng to visit all their kin, which meant Qin Sheng would inherit all of the Qin Family.
Qin Ran was supposed to focus on this preparation.
Qin Ran took Qin Sheng to go shopping for half a day. When they arrived at the siheyuan, it was 7 o’clock in the evening. They had bought so many things that the back seat and trunk were filled with big and small bags. Gongsun asked many servants to carry the bags, and they went to and fro twice.
In the sitting room, Qin Changan was waiting for Qin Sheng and Qin Ran to have dinner together. He had an invitation to a party tonight. It was held to gather a circle of people at the end of the year. Qin Changan thought that he had to have dinner with his two children since Qin Sheng had stayed at his mother’s tomb for a whole month and just came back to the siheyuan. Nothing was more important than his family. He would go to the party after this family dinner.
“Dad, Uncle Gongsun said you had an invitation tonight.” Qin Ran and Qin Sheng had asked Gongsun about their father’s schedule before they left. Qin Ran was unsatisfied, for their father ignored Qin Sheng. But she understood Qin Changan. Since he was in a high position, he had a lot of relations to maintain. After all, he was a businessman. That was why Qin Ran was surprised when she met Qin Changan at home.
Qin Changan stood up and smiled at them. “It’s not a big deal. Qin Sheng just came back. I have to have dinner with you two.”
Qin Ran walked to their father and held his arm. “Dad, you’ve changed. But you didn’t change for me in all these years. Thanks to my younger brother, I have a good dad now.”
“Ha, you’re unsatisfied with me,” Qin Changan smiled and said, feeling particularly happy. Though Qin Sheng was back, his son was still distant with him. But he harvested his daughter’s care.
Qin Sheng still felt weird to call Qin Changan “Dad”. It was easy for anybody to say this word, but not for Qin Sheng. He had never said this word in his previous life, and there was still a knot of their relationship in his mind.
“It’s an exhausting day, huh?” Qin Changan saw Qin Sheng’s embarrassment, so he greeted his son first.
Qin Sheng felt awkward, but still nodded with a smile. He even didn’t know where to look and how to stand.
Qin Changan came over and touched Qin Sheng’s shoulder. “Nice suit. This must have been chosen by your sister. Don’t stand still. You two must be hungry. Let’s have dinner.”
The three of them then went to the dining room. Gongsun asked the servants to serve the food then took the last seat at the table.
The dinner went on smoothly thanks to Qin Ran, who was good at starting conversations and continued with different topics. She talked about Qin Sheng and Lao Guo’s stories when they lived together at the graveyard, especially how Lao Guo felt sad about Qin Sheng’s departure today and that he even refused to see Qin Sheng off.
When the dinner was almost over, Qin Changan said, “I have some plans later. If you two want to go out, don’t come back too late. Don’t forget that we’re going to Xi’an tomorrow.”
He then looked at Qin Sheng and said, “By the way, Qin Sheng, I asked Gongsun to prepare some gifts for the Lin Family. You can have a look and add something else. I don’t have time to visit them this time and I’ve asked your sister to go instead of me and deliver my apology. I’ll go to visit them next time.”
“OK, I got it.” Qin Changan’s words made Qin Sheng feel warm. He felt Qin Changan’s sincerity to the Lin Family. But he was thinking about something and was not sure how to start the topic. He hesitated a lot and finally said, “There is something…”
But before Qin Sheng could speak it out, Qin Changan waved to stop him and said, “You don’t have to say that. Don’t worry. I know what you’re worried about. I’ve arranged for people to do it.”
Qin Changan’s words totally surprised Qin Sheng, who thought his father was too busy to care about this. He had thought over and over about how to mention this to Qin Changan, and never expected that his father had already had it in mind.
Qin Sheng didn’t know what he could say to express his mix of feelings, and he felt embarrassed to say “thank you” to his father.
Qin Changan continued to say, “This is none of your business. The Lin Family brought you up instead of us. This great kindness deserves my own efforts to pay them back, otherwise your mother and grandfather would be angry with me in heaven.”
Qin Sheng felt too moved to say anything. Qin Ran, who was sitting beside, just lowered her head and smiled. She also knew what Qin Sheng had been thinking about. Since Qin Sheng was considerate in return, how could he forget Old Master Lin’s efforts and support of him?
Qin Changan didn’t want Qin Sheng to feel awkward. He stood up and said, “I’ve eaten enough. I got to go now. You can go on enjoying the meal.”
When Qin Changan left, Qin Ran patted Qin Sheng’s shoulder and said, “Qin Sheng, though he had done something wrong, he was definitely a good father. However, he didn’t know how to express his love sometimes. You’ll know this later.”
“I know.” This time, Qin Sheng nodded firmly.
In the evening, Qin Ran and Qin Sheng both stayed in the siheyuan. Qin Sheng accompanied his sister to watch TV and chat in the sitting room for a while, and then he went to his room to read. He had been thinking about contacting Auntie Wang and Xin Xin, informing them of his journey to Xi’an. But he didn’t do so, for he wanted to give them a surprise. He also wanted to take this chance to meet Hao Lei, who must have been in Xi’an.
Due to the regular daily routine over the past month, Qin Sheng felt sleepy early and went to bed then. He had a sound sleep.
Early in the morning at 6 o’clock, two cars were ready in the yard. All the Qins were going to Xi’an.
