In the evening, the night has just begun to fall, the sky is a shining blue, the moon and stars open their eyes, the sound of firecrackers can be heard in the distance, and the fireworks bloom in the night sky with a bang.
It’s New Year’s Eve.
Su Lan hid in her room and called Zhang Tan. At this moment, her heart felt soft, because it was the first time she learned that Zhang Tan's parents were gone and he was the only one in the family.
On the phone, Zhang Tan comforted her in turn.
After talking on the phone, Su Lan opened the door and went out. She was suddenly startled because her mother was standing in front of the door.
"Susu, who are you talking to on the phone?" Su's mother asked.
Su Su stayed in the room for a long time. Su's father said that his daughter was on the phone. When Su's mother saw that he hadn't come out for a long time, she came out of the kitchen and stood at the door for a while. Although she couldn't hear clearly, she felt that something was wrong.
Su Lan quickly gathered her mood and said: "I'm calling a friend to say New Year greetings. Mom, is the New Year's Eve dinner ready? I'll go to the kitchen to have a look."
Mother Su stopped her, stared at her face suspiciously, and asked: "You have been on the phone with your friend for so long? It must have been an hour."
Su Lan is an actor. Can an actor be seen through by an aunt?
At this critical moment, her acting skills further exploded. She was pure and innocent, and without changing her expression, she said very naturally: "There are so many friends. Some of them I have called before, some of them have called me back, and you see, there are more friends here."
Su Lan handed the phone to Su's mother to see. The caller ID was Yang Zhu.
"Then take it."
Su Lan answered the phone and walked to the kitchen, thinking that she would give Zhu Zhu a big red envelope later. This call was so timely.
At this moment, the Little Red Horse Academy was quiet and dark, and none of the melon boys came. Zhang Tan hoped that none of them would come.
Seeing that the time was almost up, he put on his coat, picked up the gifts and went out, locked the Little Red Horse Academy, and drove to the municipal party committee compound.
The guard at the door glanced at the license plate number, saluted, and let him in smoothly.
This year's New Year's Eve dinner was at his uncle's house.
The car stopped in front of a three-story detached building. As soon as Zhang Tan came out with the gift, he saw a woman coming out of the building. She was well-dressed and elegant. She looked less than 40 years old, but her hair was much whiter.
, when I saw him, there were obvious crow's feet at the corners of his eyes when he smiled.
"Zhang Tan, why did you come here?" the woman complained slightly.
"On the last day, I had a lot of things to do at work, and I didn't get off work until just now." Zhang Tan said, "Come in quickly, ma'am, it's cold outside."
Zhang Tan's aunt, named Qin Huifang, looked up at Zhang Tan and was surprised. As the rumors said, Zhang Tan had changed so much. From the outside, she was completely different from before.
She was happy about his change, thinking that Lao Zhang would be happy too.
Zhang Tan and Qin Huifang entered the house. Qin Huifang shouted in the direction of the kitchen that Zhang Tan was here.
After a while, a girl in her 20s came out and saw Zhang Tan. She looked at him curiously and asked, "Zhang Tan?"
"It's me."
"You have changed so much, what's wrong?"
Zhang Mingxue circled around Zhang Tan and looked at the back of his head.
Zhang Tan asked strangely: "What are you looking at?"
"Let me see your pigtails? Why are they gone? Are they cut? Did you cut them yourself or were you forced to do so? Aren't your pigtails precious?"
"After graduation, it's normal for things to change a bit."
In front of her is Qin Huifang's youngest daughter Zhang Mingxue, who is also Zhang Tan's cousin.
Zhang Mingxue works at a power company in Pujiang. Zhang Tan is 2 years old and is 25 years old this year.
Above her, there is an eldest daughter who is married and lives in Pujiang. The eldest of her two children is already 6 years old.
"It's not that you've changed a little bit, you've become a lot bigger."
Zhang Tan smiled and said nothing more. He was already used to other people's surprise.
Qin Huifang asked Zhang Mingxue to go to the living room to talk to Zhang Tan, and she went to the kitchen to help Lao Zhang cook the New Year's Eve dinner.
As soon as she left, Zhang Mingxue whispered: "Did Tang Yu find you?"
Zhang Tan glanced at her in surprise. She actually knew Tang Yu, and she seemed to know him.
He had heard of Tang Yu's name, and he often contacted him through text messages and phone calls, but he never paid attention to her.
Zhang Tan was very surprised. He had no impression of Tang Yu and didn't have many memories of her in his mind.
Is there some other reason? Zhang Tan thought to himself. He just thought that he could learn some inside information through Zhang Mingxue, but Zhang Mingxue seemed to just ask casually and never mentioned it again.
Zhang Tan's uncle, Zhang Hui, came out, glanced at Zhang Tan, said coolly, "Here you are," and ignored him.
Zhang Tan was used to it, and his uncle was very unfavorable to him because what he had done in the past was completely contrary to Zhang Hui's philosophy.
Zhang Tan did not feel sulky because of Zhang Hui's attitude. His relationship with Zhang Hui was far inferior to that of Qin Huifang.
Qin Huifang served the last braised fish and said, "Zhang Tan, come sit down quickly. We are going to have New Year's Eve dinner. Don't show up. We are your family. When we come here, you will treat it as your own home. Don't be polite." Xiaoxue
, go get the bowls and chopsticks, and bring your dad’s bottle of 30-year-old Big Bear wine, Zhang Tan also drinks, let them both drink tonight.”
"I'll get the dishes and chopsticks."
Zhang Tan was close and went directly to the kitchen to get the dishes and chopsticks.
As for the wine, I didn't refuse, because my uncle Zhang would feel better, but due to the nature of his work, he never dared to drink more. Even when he returned home, he was under the control of his aunt Qin Huifang.
Today is New Year's Eve and conditions are relaxed.
If you can't drink it tonight, there will be no chance to drink it 365 days a year. The bottle of Big Bear wine at home that has been stored for almost three years will be one year older, reaching 34 years.
In the past, Zhang Tan would drink a little with his uncle Zhang Hui. The reason why he only drank a little was because Zhang Hui's drinking capacity could be seen at a glance. If he was not careful, he might drink him down.
But a little is enough.
After drinking this little bit of wine, the uncle who had a bad attitude toward him would immediately change his face from white to red, and become more tolerant and friendly towards him.
After all, he is his own nephew. He has no father and no mother. Who can help him if he doesn't want to help?
Zhang Mingxue went to get the wine and said with a smile: "Mom, it's not 30 years old anymore, it's 33 years old."
She took the wine and struggled for a while but still couldn't open it, so she handed it to Zhang Tan to open.
Zhang Tan first poured a glass for Zhang Hui and said with a smile: "Uncle, your hair has turned a lot gray this year."
Zhang Hui heard this and looked up at him in surprise. This was not something he would say.
But this was a good thing. He nodded, hummed, and looked more relaxed.
Zhang Tan said in his heart at the same time that the official authority has become much stronger.
He asked Qin Huifang: "Auntie, would you like something to drink?"
He remembered that Qin Huifang also drank a little alcohol.
Qin Huifang smiled and said: "No, no, you can drink with your uncle."
"Zhang Tan, pour me some." Zhang Mingxue handed the cup over.
Qin Huifang said: "You are a girl, why do you drink liquor?"
"It's Chinese New Year. I'll drink a little. I still have a certain amount. I won't get drunk if I drink a little. I promise! Besides, I'm at home today and won't go out."
Qin Huifang agreed, and Zhang Tan poured some for her. Zhang Mingxue was very dissatisfied, thinking that he looked down on her for pouring such a small amount for her. In her words, she took a sip and it was gone.
Zhang Tan poured half a cup for her and filled it for himself.
Qin Huifang saw that Lao Zhang still had a bad face, so she took the initiative and said: "Come on, let's raise a toast first, Zhang Tan, Xiaoxue, I wish you a happy new year."