Mo Liu happily introduced Sisi, grandpa, grandma, dad, mom, uncle, aunt, and about ten male and female cousins. Altogether, the Mo Family had nearly twenty members—truly a large family!
Sisi respectfully presented her gifts, merely some Shanghai pastries and two jars of ordinary liquor. For someone of her humble status, these gifts weren’t too extravagant nor too light, just perfect!
The Mo Family was very welcoming, perhaps a bit overly so. Mo Liu’s mother and two aunts even held her hands and kept scrutinizing her, but what was the source of the warmth and satisfaction in these aunts’ eyes?
Sisi felt uneasy inside, feeling that Mo Liu’s family was quite strange!
After the nervous visit, Sisi received fervent instructions from the elderly in the Mo Family:
"Sisi, do visit us often!"
"Sisi, our Ah Liu is timid, please look after him in school!"
"Sisi, don’t bother staying in a hotel; just stay at our house. We have plenty of rooms; let your dad come over and stay too!"
As she stepped out of the Mo Residence, Sisi let out a long sigh—it’s overwhelming when the hosts are too passionately attentive!
"Sisi, my grandma and mom are so enthusiastic because you are the first friend I’ve brought home. Please don’t blame them," explained Mo Liu apologetically.
"How could I? I was just a bit uncomfortable before. Ah Liu, haven’t you made friends before?"
"No, you’re my first friend," Mo Liu stated earnestly,
It seems Mo Liu too has his own story. Sisi had no desire to delve into it; everyone has their past and secrets, likely accompanied by painful wounds. Why uncover them and cause pain and bleeding?
"Let’s be best friends for life then, pinky promise, no changing for a hundred years!"
"Sure, best friends for life!" Mo Liu beamed like a summer flower, extending his slender hand to pinky promise with Sisi, and thus the two friends sealed their intertwined future.
"A Liu, I think everyone in your family is so beautiful!"
It wasn’t just a compliment from Sisi; the Mo Family members indeed all possessed stunning beauty, delicate and exquisite. Even as beautiful as Mo Liu was, he wouldn’t stand out excessively amongst the Mo Family.
"Hehe, my grandpa says it’s because the Mo Family has good genes, so descendants generally turn out to be good-looking."
Logical: Being attractive must be somewhat a requirement for large families. Like royal offspring are generally beautiful, without exceptionally ugly ones, resulting from meticulous selection processes. Even if an emperor like Zhu Yuanzhang of Emperor Taizhong was unattractive, the princesses of the Ming dynasty were all beauties!
"A Liu, who is that especially beautiful aunt sitting next to your grandma? She has such a unique aura, so beautiful!" Sisi exclaimed admiringly.
Although her own self is truly beautiful, compared to that gorgeous lady from the Mo Family she just saw, she felt like an unripe bud, lacking a certain flavor.
The young woman had blossomed fully, at her most beautiful moment, and the fragrance of time settled on her was absolutely captivating. Even the fine crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes added a touch of charm to her.
Mo Liu sighed, "She is my aunt, named Mo Ye, who performs Cantonese opera. My aunt’s experiences are complex and life has been rough, but she’s a genuinely kind person. She even taught me opera when I was a child!"
Mo Liu did not go into detail about his aunt, but the complexity and hardship he mentioned hinted that Mo Ye must have a long and probably not so happy story.
Afterwards, Sisi visited the Mo Residence a couple of times and gradually became accustomed to the warm enthusiasm of the Mo Family. He Xuewen also, upon the persistent insistence of the Mo Family, brought generous gifts during his visit, and the Mo Family couldn’t stop praising the extraordinary poise of He Xuewen and his daughter.
Mo Ye seemed to really like Sisi; it wasn’t very visible the first time they met, but during the subsequent meetings, she always engaged Sisi in long conversations. Mo Ye had a very pleasant voice, like the clear tinkling of a spring – one could only wonder how mesmerizing her opera singing must be!
Mo Ye loved to wear cheongsams, always appearing in an exquisitely beautiful cheongsam, her hair piled up in a bun, looking as if she had stepped out of the Republican Era – a beautiful socialite leaning against a window, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, as if missing an old friend from afar.
Sisi didn’t understand why Mo Ye was so fond of her. Although Mo Liu had several female cousins who were pretty young ladies, it seemed Mo Ye was not particularly fond of these nieces.
Perhaps it was because she herself was particularly endearing? Sisi thought complacently.
This time He Xuewen came to Guangzhou to purchase some electronic products to sell in Beijing and Shanghai. By then, electronic products had developed vigorously; foreign countries had already had several new generations, while the Mainland was still somewhat a blank slate in this field.
There was a street full of electronic products in Guangzhou, all smuggled goods from Hong Kong. At that time, there were plenty of such smuggled goods in Guangzhou, especially electronic products like electronic watches, color TVs, electric fans, microwave ovens, rice cookers, and electric ovens – this street had everything and sources were abundant.
Brother Ji was the biggest smuggler on this street, everyone on the street called him Brother Ji, thus He Xuewen could easily procure goods. He would dispatch the goods from here, and Yang Wenbin would receive them in Beijing. Many of the goods had buyers already, so there was no worry about not being able to sell them.
Nowadays, purchasing items like TVs still required coupons, and every year obtaining a TV coupon was fiercely competitive; the demand far exceeded the supply, with many families having the money ready to buy a TV but not having the coupon.
Therefore, as long as He Xuewen could secure the goods, there was no worry about sales, as there were still quite a few families with surplus funds.
He Xuewen acted swiftly, departing Guangzhou even before Sisi, naturally leaving with many earnest instructions.
To Sisi’s surprise, the one who came to pick her up this time was Qiao Xingbang, wearing an obviously reluctant expression—probably forced by Boss Qiao.
"Hurry up, I still have to go back for a car race!" Qiao Xingbang said brusquely.
"Better watch your attitude, or else give me back that watch!" Sisi was not afraid of him; she demanded the expensive watch she had given away last year.
Qiao Xingbang felt guilty; the watch was already on the wrist of the campus belle. He hadn’t been at a loss either, having dated the campus belle for over half a year, taking all advantages.
"What’s given out can’t be taken back! Don’t you know the rules?"
"My rules depend on the person. If someone talks to me about rules, I follow them; if they don’t, I don’t have to either. Understand?"
"Got it, penny pincher!"
Thanks to Sisi’s reminder, Qiao Xingbang also remembered the bet from last year. His face turned sheepish, and although still bearing an irritating demeanor, his tone had softened quite a bit.