Divorced at fifty, I embarked on my path to success.

Sun Yi glanced at him nervously and stammered, "I've already retired. I came here with an acquaintance to look for work. At first, I worked as a security guard, where I could set up a folding bed in the security room."

He paused, swallowed, and said, "After I was fired, I started making a living by collecting recyclables, earning just as much as I did as a security guard."

His aged face was etched with wrinkles as he looked at Sun Chengzhi ingratiatingly: "Don't worry about me. I'm relieved to see how well you're doing."

"No, you're moving tomorrow!" Sun Chengzhi said with a hint of anger, then paused, realizing that tomorrow was the first day of the Lunar New Year. Where were they going to move to?

With a frustrated wave of his hand, he changed his mind: "Stay here for a few days, and I'll give you the money after the New Year. You should hurry back to the neighboring city!"

Sun Yi looked troubled and reluctant: "I'm not going. I don't know many people in the neighboring city. And you're not going back either."

He clenched his chapped fingers and twisted the hem of his shirt: "I saw your mother. Have you two met before?"

Sun Chengzhi didn't tell him that Han Caiyu had been helping him pay off his gambling debts in previous years. He didn't choose gambling because he was willing to fall into depravity, but because he wanted to get rich overnight.

Deep down, he sympathized with his father.

Sun Yi was once a pampered second-generation official. For the first thirty years of his life, he had never suffered and was surrounded by smiling faces. But after his family fell into ruin, he experienced the coldness of human relationships. Coupled with Han Caiyu's divorce from him, his mental world collapsed.

Sun Chengzhi was still young at that time, and he and his father went hungry and lived a life of constant wandering.

Sun Yi left his hometown and worked odd jobs everywhere, barely managing to raise Sun Chengzhi.

Sun Chengzhi disliked his father for being incompetent and was unwilling to follow his father's arrangements to take the college entrance examination. He felt that getting rich through studying was too slow, and he was not cut out for studying.

He made friends with some petty thugs, left his father, and only contacted him occasionally by phone.

When he had money, he would always transfer some to Sun Yi, pretending that he had made a fortune. When he was in debt, he never told his father.

After taking over the Feiyue pollution control project, he transferred 50,000 yuan to Sun Yi, promising to transfer money to his bank card on time in the future.

“Dad, I’ve already told you, I’m capable of supporting you now. Just stay put and don’t do anything. The money I give you every month is enough for you to live on!” Sun Chengzhi said angrily when he saw his father looking like a beggar. “Look at the place you’re living in! Why don’t you go to a hotel for the next couple of days and I’ll buy you a house when we go back to the neighboring city after the New Year.”

As he spoke, he took out his phone and transferred another 20,000 yuan to Sun Yi: "Take this money, go to a hotel and get a good wash, and buy some decent clothes."

He kicked the junk on the ground with disdain: "I don't want any of this!"

Sun Yi was about to say something when Sun Chengzhi interrupted him: "Stop rambling! I'm the boss of a company now, after all. If people knew my dad was living like this, they'd be talking behind my back!"

Having no other choice, Sun Yi followed Sun Chengzhi out the door. Seeing his son's luxury car, his face lit up. He carefully touched the car body, his voice trembling slightly, "This must have cost a lot of money, right?"

“Not much, just over 300,000,” Sun Chengzhi told Sun Yi to sit in the passenger seat. “In the future, your son will buy a car worth over a million. You can wait and enjoy the good life.”

"Oh, oh," Sun Yi said excitedly, tears welling in his eyes, "My son has made something of himself! It's so good, so good!"

To avoid attracting attention, Sun Chengzhi found an ordinary hotel and booked a room.

However, all the clothing stores were closed on New Year's Eve, and there was nowhere to buy clothes. Sun Chengzhi thought for a moment and said, "Go take a shower first and wear the hotel bathrobe. I'll bring you some clothes from home tomorrow."

Sun Yi had no choice but to obey, but when he learned that it cost five hundred a night, he clicked his tongue in distress, as it was almost as much as he earned in a week.

After taking a shower, Sun Chengzhi ordered food and ate with Sun Yi. This was the first New Year's Eve dinner the father and son had eaten together in more than ten years.

Sun Yi ate while wiping away tears, which annoyed Sun Chengzhi. He quickly ate a few bites, stood up, and said, "You should rest well. I'll go back first and bring you clothes tomorrow morning."

Sun Yi stared at him longingly, reluctant to let him leave.

Sun Chengzhi pretended not to see it, and took a deep breath the moment he stepped out of the hotel.

The sound of firecrackers was deafening outside, and the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder. Despite the strict prohibition, many people still disobeyed.

Sun Chengzhi returned home after 10 p.m. As soon as he entered, he saw Mei Zi sitting on the sofa watching the Spring Festival Gala.

"Chengzhi, you're back!" Meizi ran over excitedly, her eyes sparkling and her lips moist and sexy. "Have you eaten?"

Just as Sun Chengzhi was about to speak, he saw Chen Yue come out of the kitchen: "Chengzhi is back? I'm cooking right now. I have sweet and sour pork ribs, steamed mandarin fish, fried spiced pork and ribbonfish, and I've also made dumplings. Sit down and rest for a while, I'll cook dumplings for you right away."

Sun Chengzhi said with a guilty look, "Mom, I'm sorry to trouble you to come and take care of Zizi. I had to go out for a while because of something."

"It's alright, it's alright," Chen Yue said with a smile. "You're in business, there are no holidays, making money is hard work, I understand. Don't worry, I'll come and keep Zizi company if you need anything in the future."

"Thank you, Mom!"

Sun Chengzhi's call of "Mom" made Chen Yue feel completely at ease, and her previous dissatisfaction with Sun Chengzhi vanished. She gave Mei Zi a wink and then happily went into the kitchen to get busy.

"Brother Chengzhi, you won't blame me for calling Mom over, will you?" Meizi looked at him with a wronged expression. "I can't cook anything, and I wanted to eat something sour, so I asked Mom to come over."

"Silly girl, how could I blame you? I'd love for Mom to come over; I only feel at ease with her here." Sun Chengzhi pulled Mei Zi to sit on the sofa, glancing towards the kitchen. "Won't Uncle Zhao have any objections if Mom comes over?"

"Probably not!" Mei Zi laughed indifferently. "We haven't registered our marriage, so why should my mom be able to control me? Besides, my mom came over with New Year's Eve dinner prepared for him."

A dark glint flashed in Sun Chengzhi's eyes, and he smiled.

……

Mei Yusheng's family enjoyed their New Year's Eve dinner amidst laughter and joy.

From dusk onwards, Mei Zichen took Youyou and Juanjuan to put up Spring Festival couplets and set off firecrackers without stopping for a moment.

Su Wei wanted to help Mei Yusheng and Qin Chu, but they politely declined, saying that the two of them were enough and Su Wei couldn't be of much help anyway. So he went to the living room to watch TV and chat with He Qingmin.

Zhou Xia is very skillful and can cut paper snowflakes. She specially bought red and green paper in advance. The scissors flew in her hands, magically producing all kinds of intricate patterns. She cut out five different styles of the character "福" (fortune) alone, which made Qin Zhan exclaim in admiration.

He helped apply double-sided tape to the back of the cut-out pattern and carefully stuck it onto the window. Then he stood back and examined it with great interest.

The air was filled with the aroma of various foods, mixed with the smell of gunpowder from firecrackers, accompanied by children's laughter and Juanjuan's barking, creating a strong festive atmosphere.

Mei Yusheng glanced at the figures in the courtyard with a smile, exchanged a smile with Qin Chu, and felt a peace, tranquility and joy she had never experienced before.

They had their New Year's Eve dinner, Qin Chu took many photos, and finally took a family photo.

Zhou Xia rarely showed a gentle smile.

As the New Year's bell rang, Qin Chu stood on the balcony, held Mei Yusheng's hand, and said softly, "Sister, this is the happiest New Year I've ever had. I hope every year after year will be like today, and that will make me content."

Mei Yusheng smiled faintly: "Yes."

However, life is unpredictable. Years later, when they looked back on this moment, they were filled with emotion.

Mei Zichen, along with Youyou, Su Wei, Zhou Xia, and Qin Zhan, lit firecrackers in the courtyard. Amidst a series of loud and crisp crackling sounds, they welcomed the new year.