Love in the Fast Lane - Chapter 74 - Sunset

It was clear from the start that upon returning this time, the elders of the Tang family would take control, and Mo Zihan took it lightly – really, what else could she do? Should she fight for possession as if it were a sports match? That wouldn’t make sense!

Tang Ning placed two bright red marriage certificates on the bed, which immediately set the Tang family at ease. The grandmother took the certificates and looked at them for a long time before carefully heading to lock them in the cabinet. Tang Ning, half-laughing and half-exasperated, took them back.

Mo Zihan, perched on the bed, chuckled too. This grandmother was amusing. These are our marriage certificates, she thought. It’s one thing for you to take a look, but why would you lock them up? Are you afraid someone will steal them?

After much lively conversation and enjoying the strongly flavored sour soup noodles, the relatives gradually dispersed. The Tang family relatives, even those from farthest away in the city, could easily catch a bus that came every ten minutes or so, allowing them to be home in just over an hour. And most of them lived in the village or nearby villages. Today, they came mainly to see who this person was that Tang Ning, about to turn thirty, had finally decided to marry, and to check the progress of things.

In this traditionally and culturally rich place, this was indeed a major event. With the marriage certificates on display, according to Tang Ning’s cheapskate way of saying, during the Lunar New Year festival, the couple only needed to visit all the relatives to collect several thousand yuan worth of red packets.

With the relatives gone, only the Tang family remained. This included the grandfather and grandmother, Tang Ning’s parents, and his aunt and father’s younger sister’s families.

In the afternoon, Tang Ning’s elder sister, who was married in the city and currently working as a section chief in the government, also came back. Since Tang Ning couldn’t come home each year for the celebrations, his elder sister would return to accompany the elder family members. She was a woman with good temperament and a kind soul. Tang Ning respected her a lot, and Mo Zihan found plenty of common ground with her.

It was then that Mo Zihan realized that Tang Ning’s elder sister, in order to care for the elders, had still not married. For a woman nearing thirty, this was no easy feat, especially when in these parts, rumors and gossip about a woman still unmarried at thirty could sometimes drive a person mad.

When asked about the pressure, Tang Ning’s elder sister smiled lightly and said, “What can others dictate about our lives? Tang Ning is ambitious; as a man, he lives by his pride, and as his elder sister, I of course support him. Now, this lad, his aspirations are sky-high, which is good, but he doesn’t take care of himself well and doesn’t quite understand the ways of the world. Having a family, I believe, will make things better.”

Mo Zihan finally understood why, despite their modest living, the spirit of the Tang family was so high. This family values unity, knowing well that it is the greatest strength. Each member is willing to sacrifice for their loved ones. With such a family, what difficulties could possibly bring them down?

In the evening, Tang Ning’s aunt took her family back to her own home. The Tang family closed the door and gathered around the stove, chatting for most of the night. Since the marriage certificate had been obtained and the couple had been living together for over a year, the Tang family didn’t fuss about it anymore. The room, already tidied up, was decorated just like a bridal chamber.

In the next day and a half, Tang Ning, well-rested, couldn’t let his father continue toiling with the New Year preparations. He drove the family’s small truck back and forth, bringing fresh New Year goods from the city before the ritual offerings.

The ritual offerings were especially significant, not just for the family but for the entire village-it was a matter of great importance. Tang Ning and his father accompanied his grandfather to the ancestral graves, while the women of the house stood at the doorway watching.

After returning from the offerings, as dusk approached, the village was alive with the sound of firecrackers for nearly two hours, only pausing when the red lanterns ascended into the night sky. Tang Ning, holding a cigarette, threw a large string of firecrackers at the front gate, then hurried back to start the New Year’s Eve dinner.

To be honest, Mo Zihan was quite indifferent to the Spring Festival Gala¹, finding it increasingly tacky and filled with insincere greetings and money, much less enjoyable than sitting together and playing cards. However, Tang Ning, for some reason, seemed to relish the gala. Mo Zihan rolled her eyes and swiftly pulled out a stack of change she had prepared from his pocket, quickly taking her place at the mahjong table.

With the grandmother’s help, Mo Zihan won big, laughing until her sides hurt. Tang Ning’s father was quite displeased with the grandmother’s insider assistance and got a good talking to from her.

Tang Ning’s aunt sat on the side, smiling, observing how Mo Zihan celebrated her wins and pouted at her losses. She said, “Xiaohan has a genuine character; she doesn’t put on airs. I’ve seen so many fake faces outside; it’s refreshing to be here where even speaking feels sincere.”

Tang Ning’s elder sister took over the card game from their mother, waving a few bills and laughing, “I’m ready to lose money tonight. With grandma on Xiaohan’s side, she’ll surely dominate. Let me say this upfront: once I lose this money, I’m switching out.”

Mo Zihan laughed, “Of course! I’ve teamed up with grandma, and we’ll split the winnings. How can we not win big? Elder sister, I’ve got my eyes on your wallet!”

Sitting by the stove, Tang Ning checked the time, called a few friends to wish them a happy new year, then ran outside to set off a string of firecrackers. By the time he came back in, it was past midnight.

As for the red packets, there was a cultural twist. Here, unlike Mo Zihan’s hometown, the elders gave the younger ones red packets on Chuxi evening. Meanwhile, the younger ones offered red packets to the elders by secretly placing them under their pillows in the morning.

Mo Zihan received the red packets gladly, then prepared four of her own. Before coming, she had learned about the local customs. Though they planned to start a company, this wasn’t the time to be stingy. Generously, she sat cross-legged on the bed, stuffing money into the red packets, much to Tang Ning the cheapskate’s twitching delight. He kept muttering, “Put in less, put in less, a thousand is enough.”

Mo Zihan rolled her eyes at him, knowing he was secretly pleased.

Then she set aside some smaller red packets, about thirty or fifty in number, each with a hundred inside. She picked out a few larger ones, each with five hundred, intended for Tang Ning’s aunt’s and younger aunt’s children.

Tang Ning sighed, “If only this expense could be saved… Hmm, when we start the New Year visits tomorrow, make sure they don’t give us only a hundred or two, or we won’t leave their house!”

Mo Zihan chuckled, knowing she had to be well-prepared for handing out red packets the following day.

The next day, the weather was still great. Mo Zihan took a breath of the cold, crisp air and, while the grandmother and grandfather were out and about, quietly slipped into the cave dwelling to tuck large red packets under their pillows. Seeing that Tang Ning’s father had also stepped out, she sneaked into the main house and left two more red packets. As she came out, she ran into Tang Ning’s elder sister, who was grinning and holding two red packets of her own, ready to sneak them in as well.

However, getting past the aunt was not so easy. She had woken up particularly early that day and was sitting on the bed post-toilette. Mo Zihan peeked in and was at a loss for how to slip in the red packet.

Ever resourceful, she climbed onto the bed and chatted with the aunt. Taking advantage of a moment when the aunt wasn’t looking, she discreetly slipped a red packet under the pillow. Tang Ning’s elder sister watched with a smile and gave Mo Zihan a thumbs-up from behind.

The following days were a whirlwind, as the two of them darted from one relative’s home to another. With each visit, the stack of red packets in their pockets grew thicker, much to Tang Ning’s delight. Before they knew it, it was already the tenth day of the Lunar New Year.

That morning, Mo Zihan felt a bit under the weather with a cold. She had just finished drinking some cold medicine when Qi Xiaomeng called her. “Mo, what are you up to?”

With a nasal tone, Mo Zihan replied, “I’ve caught a cold. Just took some medicine and am resting. Have you figured out when you’re heading back?”

“Probably after the Lantern Festival,” Qi Xiaomeng said. “Aren’t you planning to head back to your hometown? Friends who stayed have mentioned that Li Ke’s been acting a bit unusual lately.”

When isn’t Li Ke acting unusual?

Mo Zihan didn’t worry too much about it and instead asked how Qi Xiaomeng was doing. Qi Xiaomeng replied, “Nothing much. I’ve changed my phone number at home recently and won’t be using the old one for now. I’ll switch back when I return. How about you?”

Mo Zihan said, “We might have the wedding in the next month or two, but Tang Ning thinks we should wait until Li Ke reveals his intentions and the business is stable before we proceed. What do you think?”

Qi Xiaomeng laughed, “Whether or not you have the wedding, it’s just a formality, mostly for family peace of mind. It’s no big deal. Once you guys get back, make sure to drop by my place, and we’ll head out together.”

As soon as they finished talking, Tang Ning came back inside, looking visibly upset. Mo Zihan’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly asked, “What happened?”

Tang Ning waved his phone, “It was Murong Feng. Something happened with Li Ke. I’m not completely sure about the details, but according to Murong Feng, Li Ke was trying to leverage control of our little company to stir up trouble within Murong Group. It turns out that someone he hired went to our place and tried to break in to find something but got caught by Murong Feng’s people. The authorities questioned them, and Li Ke was caught.”

Although the specifics were unclear, Mo Zihan felt a twinge of sadness upon hearing about Li Ke’s predicament, as he was somewhat of a friend. She was also taken aback by Murong Feng’s cunning; she hadn’t even heard of any connection between him and Li Ke. Yet, Li Ke ended up caught in his net.

“What did Murong Feng say?”

Tang Ning shrugged, “Once the company opens, it will make money. But this venture will only last two or three years at most; it’s not sustainable in the long run. He’s planning to use different design concepts to enrich his company’s design department.”

Mo Zihan softly said, “Two or three years is enough time. I believe, you don’t even need that long. As long as you work hard, nothing in this world can stop you from succeeding.”

The path ahead wouldn’t be easy, but even a glimmer of hope indicates there is light, right?

For Mo Zihan, having a source of income would mean she’d gained happiness and lifelong stability in these two years, and that was already plenty.

In life, how much money is enough? Mo Zihan felt that as long as it was enough to live on, it was sufficient.

And how much happiness does one need in a lifetime? Mo Zihan didn’t know, but the happiness in front of her made her feel very content. However, she also knew that while this happiness was stable now, maintaining it would require ongoing effort. In the future, there would be a lot more she’d need to do. Only by continually solidifying the foundation of happiness could it last a lifetime.

No happiness in the world, no matter how small, can thrive and grow without being tended to.

Mo Zihan believed that Tang Ning felt the same way. He craved stable happiness. There was much he needed to do to ensure their happiness. First, there must be a stable foundation. Could this basic happiness be that far out of reach?

Mo Zihan knew her life’s adventure was just beginning.

Footnote：

1. Spring Festival Gala(春晚): The Spring Festival Gala is a large-scale variety show held by China Central Television on Chinese New Year’s Eve, with significant cultural and unifying importance.