Two days later, on the day before New Year’s Eve, Lu Zheng took the high-speed train back to his hometown.
“You’re back just in time. My friend’s daughter is also back. Get ready, and come with me to have dinner,” Gu Ling said.
“What?” Lu Zheng was stunned.
“I said, come with me to have dinner with friends,” his mum replied calmly.
“No, the sentence before that?”
“Get yourself ready.”
Lu Zheng narrowed his eyes, looking at his mum, who, after drinking lingzhi wine for over a month, seemed years younger, and said helplessly, “The one before that.”
Gu Ling blinked, thought for a moment, and said, “My friend’s daughter is back?”
“So I didn’t mishear,” Lu Zheng nodded. “I’m not going.”
He placed his suitcase in the corner, opened it, and carefully took out four bottles of wine, setting them on the table.
Lu Hui’s eyes lit up. “Lingzhi wine?”
Seeing Lu Zheng nod, he swiftly stashed the bottles away.
Why the rush?
Simple, the effects were obvious.
“Not bad, you get what you pay for,” his dad said with admiration. “This expensive medicinal wine really is something else.”
Lu Zheng smiled, saying, “I bought it from a friend who deals in overseas herbs. Once the medicinal effects of these herbs are fully extracted, there’ll be more. You and Mum keep drinking it, and I guarantee you’ll stay healthy, free of illness, and live long, prosperous lives.”
“I’m fine with living long, but if you want me to be prosperous, go to dinner with me obediently,” Gu Ling said, grabbing Lu Zheng’s ear. “Got it?”
“Mum, I don’t want to go on a blind date.”
“I know you’re settling in Haicheng. My friend’s daughter works in Haicheng too,” Gu Ling said. “Why are you so uninterested in blind dates? Other young men seem quite enthusiastic about them.”
Because other guys don’t have a policewoman girlfriend or a thousand-year peach blossom beauty as a confidante!
In the end, Lu Zheng was dragged by his mum to the dinner.
Fortunately, nothing awkward happened. Lu Zheng politely chatted with his mum’s friend’s daughter, and they didn’t even exchange contact details.
“Sigh,” Gu Ling sighed. “Why don’t you get it, kid?”
Lu Zheng laughed, saying, “I don’t even have a proper job in Haicheng. Do you think she’d be interested in me? But if you said I bought a big flat outright, she’d probably give me a chance to pursue her.”
Gu Ling snorted, saying, “I told them you make money writing programs, bought a two-bedroom flat with a down payment, and are just under some repayment pressure. If she’s not interested in that, I wouldn’t want her in our family anyway.”
Lu Zheng gave a thumbs-up. “Nice one, Mum, clear-headed as ever!”
Gu Ling pursed her lips. “Clear-headed, my foot. In a few days, I’m meeting two more friends. One’s daughter works in Haicheng, the other in Hangzhou.”
Lu Zheng: (꒪⌓꒪)
“Mum, how did I not know you had so many friends?”
“I’m a music teacher and joined all sorts of music and dance events at the education bureau. Is it strange I have lots of friends?”
Lu Zheng shook his head. “Not strange at all!”
“Good, then. Liu Qian’s daughter is back tomorrow, so we’ll continue.”
Lu Zheng: “…”
He barely survived the days before the New Year, only to face a barrage of relatives during the holiday.
Luckily, he didn’t need to hide his earnings from relatives, so most of the talk was praise, with everyone concluding he’d definitely find a girlfriend next year.
Lu Zheng: “…”
I’m not sure if you’re praising me or mocking me.
He had hoped for a high school reunion during the holiday, but while classmates used to gather during university breaks, after graduation, contact dwindled.
It wasn’t surprising. After leaving school and starting work, everyone had their own circles, fewer shared topics, and it wasn’t yet time to reminisce about the past, so communication naturally faded.
But after leaving school, how many true friends did one make at work?
With modern life’s mobility, colleagues might joke and chat, but once someone left the job, they were likely strangers again.
Maybe after a few years of work, your phone is full of contacts, your social media bustling, but you have few people to really talk to.
“What am I lamenting? I don’t even have a job. I’m worse off than them!”
Exhausted from the New Year, once his parents returned to work after the holiday, Lu Zheng hightailed it back to Haicheng.
Back in town, Tong Muxuan organised a small gathering with their three university roommates.
When Lu Zheng first gained the ability to travel between worlds, he hung out with his roommates a few times, even playing murder mystery games with Tong Muxuan. But since Lin Wan’s incident, he was busy on both sides and mostly kept in touch by phone.
This New Year, none brought partners. They griped about work, reminisced about university and work life, then parted ways.
And then…
Lu Zheng dove into the festive atmosphere of the other world.
Celebrating the New Year twice, jealous yet?
Unlike Haicheng’s snowless winters or the light snow back home, Tonglin County was blanketed in white, a stunning silver landscape.
If the modern New Year with family was warm and familiar, the ancient one was relaxed and carefree.
Lu Zheng wore a short robe, carrying a large bamboo basket on his back. Liu Qingyan, dressed simply, joined him as they shopped at the bustling market.
“Top-quality pheasants! Cheap, only a hundred coins!”
“Winter bamboo shoots! Wild greens! Chestnuts!”
“Firecrackers! Loud firecrackers!”
Everything was there: food, clothing, daily goods, poultry, fish, meat, spring couplets, firecrackers, sweets, and toys.
Noticing Liu Qingyan swallow hard at the sight of pheasants, Lu Zheng promptly bought all three from the hunter.
Liu Qingyan blushed, saying, “It’s mainly for Qingquan. She loves them…”
Lu Zheng nodded repeatedly. “Exactly, exactly.”
They passed a chestnut vendor, and Lu Zheng tried one. It was good, so he bought a few pounds.
They also saw air-dried cured meat. Liu Qingyan seemed uninterested, but Lu Zheng liked the flavour and bought a few pounds too.
What? Li Bo already prepared some? A few extra portions won’t go to waste!
They trudged through the market, Lu Zheng’s basket brimming with goods, the three pheasants occasionally squirming.
Liu Qingyan carried plenty too, her face glowing with the satisfaction of shopping.
Back home, Lu Zheng handed the pheasants to an old servant of the Liu family, bid farewell to Liu Qingyan, and returned home with his haul.
The New Year festival was almost here.
