The next day.
New Year’s Day.
According to their local tradition, there’s no need to go out for New Year’s greetings today. Everyone just stays at home and does their own thing. After rising, Tang Qing wished his parents a Happy New Year and received two New Year’s money envelopes in return. Although it was just two hundred yuan and Tang Qing is now worth several hundred thousand yuan, the significance lies in the elders’ affection and the cheering of the traditional festival, regardless of how much money you have.
Tang Qing did not plan to spend the two hundred yuan but kept it in the box where he keeps all his important things. The box contains precious memories from his childhood; they may not be valuable, but they hold special significance for him. Now, with billions in his ’pocket’, he doesn’t care much about money or valuable items, but more about the meaning behind things. Just like Lin Jiaxue, even if she gives him a dog’s tail grass picked up by the roadside, he would cherish it.
Pretty much at leisure, today Tang Qing went to Lin Jiaxue’s home to watch TV. Mr. and Mrs. Tang, as well as Lin Jiaxue’s parents, went out shopping. But with Lin Jiaxue’s grandparents present, Tang Qing dared not misbehave. All he could do was hold her hand.
But, this cozy scene didn’t last for long...
"Ding ding ding..."
His mobile phone started ringing ceaselessly just twenty minutes after he sat down. It was the old ringtone that Tang Qing had never changed.
As his status has changed, so have the situations he faces. In his past life, he used to call his leaders to wish them a Happy New Year. But in this life, many people are calling him to do the same.
Among others, many of his previous loan customers began to call for greetings. In addition to that, it was the senior executives of Sheng Tang Company. Nearly twenty people took turns calling him, including Liu Qian, Zheng Xiu, and Han Leng. Tang Qing greeted everyone with politeness and warmth.
This embarrassed Tang Qing a bit. He guessed that these people must be busy on New Year’s Day, so they did not call as soon as they woke up. They planned to call two hours later. But they didn’t expect others to take the initiative. As a result, Tang Qing also repeatedly apologized on the phone.
Only now did Tang Qing realize that his status has changed. He is no longer the Pedestrian A from his past life. He is a person of influence. In many people’s eyes, he has become an important person.
However, he didn’t feel any joy at that. As the saying goes, you have to lose some to gain some. Just like now, he and Lin Jiaxue’s cozy moment was interrupted. If he becomes successful in the future, will he ever have any quiet time? He has already embarked on a path of no return. With the system, it is impossible for him to remain ordinary.
As for the others who did not ’dare’ to call, they sent text messages. These were people like the middle-level managers of the company and some employees who knew his phone number. At the last Sheng Tang’s annual meeting, Tang Qing’s phone number was leaked. But no employee dared to call him.
Tang Qing naturally couldn’t answer the phone in the room. Otherwise, he would expose himself. He had to walk around the courtyard while answering. But soon, he reached Tian Long.
Seeing Tang Qing’s busy schedule and his phone ringing non-stop, Lin Jiaxue and others watching TV were taken aback. They were curious about how a student like him could receive so many calls, one after another.
"Why are so many people looking for you, Tangtang?" asked Grandfather Lin after Tang Qing returned for the tenth time.
"Uh, they’re all classmates and friends, as well as some elders I met at my uncle’s place." Tang Qing replied vaguely.
"Oh."
Grandfather Lin was just asking casually. Now that communication has become advanced, it’s not surprising that Tang Qing is receiving many calls.
As for this, Tang Qing could do nothing. He couldn’t send a mass text telling people to stop making calls. Even more people were waiting for him to call, such as the Wang Yan family, the teachers at school, etc. He makes calls where it’s appropriate and sends carefully crafted text messages where it’s not. Each text message is unique, as mass-sending the same text message lacks sincerity.
In this way, Tang Qing watched "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" on TV with Lin Jiaxue while fielding phone calls. The most remarkable thing about this show for him was its theme song, "The Hard-Read Scripture". Initially, he just liked the melody and didn’t understand the lyrics.
Only when he gradually understood the lyrics later did he find it very interesting. Good fortune seems to be only one step away yet is unattainable. He listened to it in his previous life but did not learn it. Mainly, he thought singing in Cantonese felt strange, so just listening was better.
After New Year’s Day.
The next few days were traditional Chinese New Year’s activities---going all over the place eating. However, Tang Qing’s family doesn’t have many relatives. His grandfather has no siblings; all his relatives are from his grandmother’s side. Only one of the grandmother’s two brothers lives nearby. The elder brother does business in a neighboring city. He is busy and usually hosts guests on the sixth day of the New Year. Almost every year, Mr. and Mrs. Tang do not have time to go, so the grandparents take Tang Qing, and they usually stay for two days.
On the third day, Qin Yugang’s family and Tang Qing’s maternal grandparents came for a meal. Since they were already familiar with each other, Lin’s family, who had no relatives leaving today, also joined. This time, they didn’t let Tang Qing help. The women finished all the work. Fortunately, there weren’t too many people, and many of the dishes were already prepared and chilled.