2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 69 New Year’s greetings
The message was sent by Gu Qingqing.

Since the last shoot on New Year's Day, Tan Jincheng and Gu Qingqing haven't seen each other again. During that time, Gu Qingqing did ask Tan Jincheng a few times if he had any translated documents that she could study.

Tan Jincheng selected some contracts that did not involve company secrets and some expired contracts and sent them to Gu Qingqing. Gu Qingqing was very grateful and wanted to treat Tan Jincheng to a meal to express her thanks.

However, Tan Jincheng declined, citing lack of time. Apart from that, the two did not have much contact. Tan Jincheng simply sent a text message saying "Happy New Year" in reply.

Gu Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the reply.

Bored at home in the evening, I was browsing the internet alone in my room when I unknowingly stumbled upon Tan Jincheng's Taobao shop. Looking at the photos I had taken, I inexplicably thought of our last meeting around New Year's Day.

At Starbucks, Tan Jincheng thoughtfully bought himself a cake and patiently explained things about the Taobao shop, leaving a good impression on Gu Qingqing.

During the initial photoshoot, Gu Qingqing posed in various ways under Tan Jincheng's direction, but she was actually quite shy.

The straightforward descriptions and bold words were things Gu Qingqing had never encountered before. Despite this, Gu Qingqing felt no emotion outside of work and was able to maintain a good sense of propriety even after the shoot ended.

Even the photographer, Tan Jincheng, specifically instructed that it must be a female photographer; the young and principled boss gave Gu Qingqing a great sense of security during the shooting process.

Undeniably, Gu Qingqing's invitation after the New Year's Day filming was somewhat driven by self-interest, but it also allowed her to see another side of Tan Jincheng: his meticulousness and patience.

However, this brief four-word reply left Gu Qingqing speechless. How was she supposed to continue the conversation? She still wanted to earn money from Boss Tan next year.

After thinking for a moment, Gu Qingqing sent another text message: "Happy New Year, Boss Tan, how is the New Year celebration in Ningbo? Is the New Year's Eve dinner full of seafood?"

"Um, I'm not from Ningbo. I went back to my hometown for the Spring Festival. But people in Ningbo do eat seafood for their New Year's Eve dinner."

This guy is so dull. Can't he ask me a few questions? How does he do business like this?

"Ah, where is Mr. Tan from? You speak the Ningbo dialect so well, I thought you were from Ningbo."

"That's all for business. I'm from Yicheng, Anhui Province. Don't you go out to play at night, Gu?"

Seemingly sensing Gu Qingqing's resentment, Tan Jincheng finally started asking questions; that's right, only by having back and forth can we keep the conversation going, and we're counting on Boss Tan for our allowance when school starts next year.

Whether it's photographing clothing models or translating English, it's all been a great help to Gu Qingqing. Having already established trust, Gu Qingqing doesn't want to lose such a client.

And so, they chatted for nearly an hour, asking and answering each other's questions. They had gained a certain understanding of each other. The topics between young people are inseparable from entertainment topics such as music and movies.

To Gu Qingqing's surprise, Tan Jincheng, a social figure, actually liked Jay Chou, a "non-mainstream" singer, and didn't show much aversion to online songs.

This is getting interesting. After midnight, Tanjiacun returned to its previous silence, and every house was brightly lit up, both upstairs and downstairs. For the three days from tonight until the second day of the Lunar New Year, all rooms had to be lit up. Tan Jincheng didn't understand what kind of custom this was.

Anyway, it's always been like this since she was little. Only Tan Jincheng was left in the main room to keep watch over the New Year. Little Jinyue had been taken away. Little Jinyue hadn't slept well at all until the early hours of the morning. As soon as the firecrackers stopped, she fell asleep immediately.

Tan Jincheng lit a cigarette and took a comfortable drag.

With the children gone, Tan Jincheng could finally smoke without worry. The biggest benefit of this trip back to the countryside for Tan Jincheng was that Tan Lihua and his wife had come to accept the fact that he smoked.

It seems that once you enter society, many facts become taken for granted.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, after paying respects to his ancestors, Tan Jincheng started to catch up on sleep. There was no need to visit relatives on the first day of the Lunar New Year. In the countryside, people didn't have many entertainment options besides playing mahjong. They would either gather together to chat or play mahjong.

Tan Jincheng also has some childhood friends in the village. Some of them have come to visit him in the past few days, but after not seeing each other for many years, their feelings have faded and they don't have much to talk about.

The second day of the Lunar New Year is the day to visit one's maternal home.

Tan Jincheng's family of four set off early in the morning. It was Tan Jinyue's first formal visit to the family. According to local customs, the first visit of a newborn or a new bride is very important, and the families of the maternal uncles would set off firecrackers to welcome her.

The firecrackers from my hometown are probably the highest form of hospitality. In addition, Tan Jinyue will also receive red envelopes from her maternal grandparents and uncles today. Her aunts and uncles had given her red envelopes before, and today it's her uncles' turn.

With two uncles, one aunt, five maternal uncles, plus grandparents and maternal grandparents, Tan Jinyue had a very fruitful Spring Festival.

Since it was my niece's first official visit today, none of the uncles went back to their maternal homes. They waited at home, and the first place they went was to my youngest uncle's house, where my maternal grandparents live.

With the wedding approaching, my uncle's house has undergone a major transformation since the Mid-Autumn Festival. The house and its surroundings have been repainted, and the furniture has been replaced. However, my uncle's room is not furnished with much, as they are waiting for the dowry to be moved in.

Starting from the youngest uncle's house, we went to wish all the uncles a Happy New Year in order of seniority. Zhang Qingliang happened to be the last one in line, so we had lunch at his house.

This was exactly what Tan Jincheng wanted to do. Besides paying New Year's visits, his biggest task today was to persuade his fourth uncle not to go to the Northeast to work this year.

At noon, we drank Wuliangye liquor brought by Tan Jincheng. It is said that all five of my uncles like to drink, but Tan Lihua is allergic to alcohol. My grandfather and several other uncles also have very low alcohol tolerance. I don't know how they became in-laws in the first place.

Tan Jincheng can drink a little, but his alcohol tolerance is only average, about three ounces. Plus, he was driving today, so he didn't get a chance to drink.

The whole family ate together at noon. Several of the uncles managed to get themselves drunk, and the atmosphere at the table was very lively. They were all discussing how to pick up the bride on Friday. Starting tomorrow, the uncles will be very busy.

Seeing that the two bottles of liquor were empty, the uncles were still not satisfied and wanted to continue drinking. At this time, Tan Jincheng was also a little anxious. He quickly pulled his fourth uncle aside and whispered, "Uncle, drink less. Don't drink too much. I have something to discuss with you later."

(End of this chapter)