A few words were exchanged before the video call was hung up, the sound of firecrackers was too loud.
As soon as the video call ended, Xie Baolian sent a large red envelope, and Li Haochen was very happy.
At this moment, another red envelope was sent over by Murong Yanran. Upon opening it, it contained 5.20 yuan and a hand covering a mouth in a sly smile.
Li Haochen, of course, had to send back a larger red envelope in return, 13.14 yuan…
The two of them continued to send red envelopes back and forth, playing until they fell asleep without realizing it.
The next day, he was awakened by the crackling sound of firecrackers. He walked out, pushed open the main door, and was greeted by the first ray of the New Year's morning sun, which was very warm.
"Happy New Year!"
Li Haochen gave himself a blessing, smiled slightly, and went in to wash up.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, vegetarian dishes had to be cooked to pay respects, and no meat was allowed. Moreover, the vegetarian dishes cooked today also had specific requirements; the auspicious meanings had to be good. Ingredients included lettuce, fa cai (a type of black moss), choy sum, snow peas with carrots, and bean sprouts, specifically yellow bean sprouts.
Of course, there was one more essential item: arrowhead tubers!
Nine arrowhead tubers were required, selected for their large and plump size, and the long pointed "teeth" at the top must not be removed. They could be used after steaming.
The vegetarian offerings on the first day were much simpler than those on New Year's Eve, consisting of only a few vegetarian dishes, and were completed in less than two hours.
After breakfast, Li Haochen was neatly dressed and first went to pay his respects to his great-uncle Li Shuren, then to his uncle Li Dehai's house. This was a gesture of respect from the younger generation to the elders. In the past, it involved kneeling, but with the liberalization of thought, these customs were abolished.
The first day of the Lunar New Year was quite boring. After the ancestor worship, there was nothing much to do. To experience more lively events, one had to go to the city, where there would be parades and dragon and lion dances in the afternoon.
The liveliest place in the village during the New Year was at the community center, where people of all ages gathered.
Adults played mahjong, pai gow, and other games there, while children darted among them, freely eating candy and snacks. When someone won a big hand in mahjong, they would give out lucky money to the children, not much, perhaps one or five jiao, just for good luck.
Li Haochen also went over and played a couple of rounds of pai gow. Well, his luck wasn't very good, and after losing ten yuan, he stopped playing. It was really just for the New Year's atmosphere. Once the game was over, it was enough. If one became addicted, the year would not be peaceful.
There were many examples of people gambling away their year's efforts during the New Year, and even families being torn apart on such an occasion. Therefore, it was enough to have some fun, but one should not have the idea of striking it rich.
Otherwise, instead of striking it rich, one might lose a large portion of their wealth.
Although he lost ten yuan, he received a lot of red envelopes, hahaha, inevitably, since he was unmarried, he received red envelopes.
Upon returning home, he put the red envelopes away. He couldn't open them now; he had to wait until after the Lantern Festival.
Li Haochen sat in his chair and sent a New Year's greeting to everyone in his contact list. In a short while, his phone kept ringing incessantly.
He knew without looking that these were replies to his greetings. He ignored them, exited WeChat, and then called Liang Qiujin, Chen He, and other close friends to send them New Year's wishes.
The two most important women were left for last. He called them several times, but they didn't answer. He didn't know what they were doing, but he guessed they were busy.
At this moment, Murong Yanran and Xie Baolian were driving at high speed towards Li Haochen's house and couldn't spare time to answer the phone.
Unaware of this, Li Haochen was riding his small electric scooter towards the city's pedestrian street to join the festivities.
Even before reaching the pedestrian street, the surrounding crowds were already terrifying. Li Haochen pushed his electric scooter to the side of the south gate of the commercial city, where it was the only place to store vehicles nearby. You could see bicycles, motorcycles, and electric scooters already parked there.
The old man managing the storage was very shrewd, doubling the prices for storage during the New Year. It cost ten yuan for an electric scooter, but there was no time limit, as long as the number plate wasn't lost. If it was lost, it would cost twenty yuan.
In fact, this old man was just earning a bit of hard-earned money; most of the income was split among a few leaders in the commercial city's management office. Otherwise, how could the side roads of a perfectly good commercial city be allowed to be managed in such a chaotic manner?
Although the fee was quite expensive, it was necessary to store the vehicle, otherwise, you would have to push it all the way home.
After completing the vehicle storage procedures, Li Haochen put away the number plate and walked towards the pedestrian street.
Upon arrival, the scene was truly frightening, with heads as far as the eye could see.
If you wanted to get a good spot to watch the hundred-meter dragon and lion dance performance later, you had to squeeze your way through.
However, one also had to be careful in such crowded places, as pickpockets loved such scenes.
Besides valuables, women also needed to be cautious, especially those wearing short, revealing skirts, who were definitely prime targets for men with impure intentions.
The weather was hot, and the noise was testing everyone's patience. The shops on both sides, except for those selling food and drinks who were overjoyed, wished that those selling shoes, pants, and clothes could close and sleep. The shops were filled with people just coming in to enjoy the air conditioning. With so many people flooding in, businesses had to be extremely vigilant, as opportunistic theft was not unheard of. However, they couldn't drive people away, so the expressions of the salespeople were understandably grim.
Li Haochen squeezed his way in for nearly an hour before finally entering. By this time, he was drenched in sweat and filled with a sense of lingering fear. It was too perverted; a female hooligan had taken a liking to him, and this was in broad daylight. She kept bumping into him from behind, and her hands were all over the place. If his appearance were more appealing, he might not have minded someone giving him a shoulder rub, but the key was…
Alright, let's not mention it. He quickly fled. He had been covering his private parts all the way through the crowd, which showed the extent of the psychological trauma he had endured.
It wasn't time for the performance yet, so Li Haochen walked to a nearby HeyTea shop. There were no seats available, and not even enough space to stand.
He took out his phone and scanned the code to order a cup of milk tea to quench his thirst. Upon seeing the waiting time, he decisively gave up.
Just as he was about to leave, two familiar figures made Li Haochen freeze. He thought he was mistaken, rubbed his eyes, and looked again. Damn, how was this possible?
"Pinliang, Yiting?"
Upon hearing the shouts, the two turned their heads and were also taken aback, then smiled, "Haochen, it's been a long time."
Just then, a table nearby got up. Without bothering to chat, Li Haochen rushed forward and sat down, then called out to the two, "Sit down quickly!"
As soon as the three of them sat down, several couples around them lamented their missed opportunity.
"I say, you two have been keeping a tight lid on things. For the three years of high school, you were recognized as sworn enemies, right… no…"
Li Haochen seemed to have thought of something and looked at the two in surprise, asking, "Could this be a strategy you two devised to secretly pursue each other?"
"As expected of the top scholar, your reaction is so fast, hahaha!"
"You're truly something. This is even more skillful than what Liu Bang played, I'm impressed!"