Song Yuzhang: Chapter 127 - Celebrate the New Year
Chapter 127: Celebrate the New Year
On the twenty-fifth, Yu Feiyu set out for his hometown. Before leaving, he gave Song Yuzhang an expensive scarf as a New Year’s gift. Song Yuzhang accepted it with a smile and wore it for two days. Liu Chu kept giggling whenever he looked at him. Song Yuzhang asked what he was laughing at, and Liu Chu replied, “President, that scarf really looks good.”
“You like it?” Song Yuzhang pointed at the coat rack in the office. “It’s yours.”
Liu Chu skipped over happily, took the scarf, and wrapped it around his neck. “President, you don’t seem to like that engineer very much.”
“Oh? Why do you say that?”
“Because you just gave away the gift he gave you to someone else.”
Song Yuzhang smiled at him. “How is that giving it away casually? If you hadn’t asked, I wouldn’t have given it to anyone so easily.”
Liu Chu stopped smiling, and his face flushed a deep red.
Amid Song Yuzhang’s smile, Liu Chu’s voice softened for once. “President, you’re teasing a kid.”
Song Yuzhang folded his hands under his chin, smiling with narrowed eyes. “Kid, come here.”
Liu Chu didn’t dare approach. For the first time, he felt a bit afraid of Song Yuzhang. He obediently put the scarf back on the rack. “President, today’s the last day before the holiday, there’s still a lot of work to finish at the bank. I’ll go get busy first.”
He slipped out of the office in a hurry, nearly crashing straight into Song Qiyuan.
“What’s the rush…”
Baffled, Song Qiyuan looked after Liu Chu’s fleeing figure, shaking his head before walking into the office. “The vault has been sealed, all the red envelopes and New Year gifts have been handed out, and everyone’s gone home.”
“Good.”
Song Yuzhang twisted his pen shut, closed the documents, and patted the folder. “At last, we’ve made it through this year.”
Song Qiyuan smiled gently. “You’ve really worked hard.”
Song Yuzhang smiled back. “We’ve both worked hard.”
Song Qiyuan was indeed a talent; Song Zhenqiao hadn’t misjudged him. Out in the wider world, someone like him would be fiercely sought after.
“Hey,” Song Qiyuan made an awkward motion in the air, “the night after tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. Let’s spend it together.”
“Sure,” Song Yuzhang agreed readily.
Hearing this, Song Qiyuan let out a breath of relief, his face breaking into a smile. “At your place, or mine?”
“Mine. I’ve got more servants. Bring your people over too. For the New Year, we’ll stay together.”
“Good, that’s better. Your place is bigger anyway.”
They settled it. In his happiness, Song Qiyuan sighed. “Eldest Brother’s still in the hospital.”
Song Yuzhang felt no sympathy for Song Jincheng and thought he deserved it, so he said calmly, “Hospital food won’t be too bad even during New Year.”
Since the Song family hadn’t hired many servants after the split, decorating was quite a task. So Song Qiyuan brought his own staff over.
Most of the servants had worked in the Song family for years and knew each other well. After the family split, they had separated, but New Year brought them together again. Naturally, there was endless chatter in this long-overdue reunion, and the once-empty Song residence finally bustled with life.
Though Song Yuzhang was head of the house, he was fairly lax with the details. Song Qiyuan, however, was a natural manager. Once he arrived, he directed everything, and soon the Song residence was filled with lively New Year decorations.
Upstairs, leaning against the window with a cup of hot chocolate, Song Yuzhang watched the busy servants below trimming the lawn, and even he couldn’t help but smile.
“Knock knock—”
“Come in,” Song Yuzhang called out. “No need to knock in the future.”
Song Qiyuan entered, his voice carrying from the doorway, “How could that do? What if it’s not convenient for you to see people?”
Song Yuzhang turned, spreading his arms. He wore pajamas with a light blanket draped over his shoulders. “I’m always convenient.”
“I can’t stand you,” Song Qiyuan said helplessly. “I swear you’re getting more shameless.”
Song Yuzhang blinked, then burst into laughter. After two chuckles, he sipped his hot chocolate. “Hmm, maybe it’s because my desires aren’t satisfied.”
“You? Unsatisfied? Aren’t you all heated up with Xiao Fengxian these days?”
Song Qiyuan sat by the window.
“I always thought Third Brother, you disapproved of me ‘patronizing an actor’ like that.”
“What good is my disapproval? You’re both willing. Besides, even if you didn’t support him, Xiao Fengxian would still be popular.”
“That’s true. But between us, it’s not really what it looks like—same as you and Xiao Yuxian.”
Song Qiyuan nodded. “You just enjoy his performances.”
Song Yuzhang laughed. “Not really. I just think he’s cute.”
Song Qiyuan was left speechless. “Come on, get dressed. We’re going out.”
“Out for what?”
“New clothes, and incense offerings!”
He dragged Song Yuzhang to a tailor’s shop to order two long gowns. “New Year calls for new looks. Master Li, can we have them ready by New Year’s Eve?”
“Yes, don’t worry, Third Young Master. Don’t you trust my craft after all these years?”
“Of course I do.”
Master Li measured Song Yuzhang’s arm with his tape. “Well, well, in my thirty years of tailoring, I’ve never seen such a figure. Truly, not something humans usually have. These arms—longer than a monkey’s.”
Song Qiyuan nearly burst out laughing.
After leaving the shop, Song Yuzhang hooked his arm around Song Qiyuan’s neck. “So you were setting me up for amusement, weren’t you?”
“That’s just how Old Li is.” Song Qiyuan placed his hand on Song Yuzhang’s shoulder, staring straight ahead with mock seriousness. “Hmm, let me feel—yep, long, really long.”
The two brothers, neatly dressed, joked their way down the street. Song Qiyuan laughed, leaping aside, and pointed ahead. “Sweet potatoes! I’ll buy you one.”
The roasted sweet potatoes glistened with honey seeping through their skins, steaming sweet and fragrant when split open, scalding hot in the mouth—but that was the fun of it.
By the roadside was a dessert shop, where Song Qiyuan went in and bought two bottles of ice soda.
“Roasted sweet potatoes, ice soda.” Song Qiyuan took a sip of the soda, very satisfied, and said, “Now this is what I call enjoyment.”
The two of them, dressed to the nines in suits, strolled and snacked along the street, casually sweeping through the stalls. Song Yuzhang carried a bag of roasted chestnuts in his hand, stomach full and heart light.
In the afternoon, they went to Haizhou’s only temple to offer incense. The temple was crowded with people, the air heavy with the fragrance of incense. Feeling moved, Song Qiyuan said, “I wonder how Second Brother is doing over there. I wanted him to come back for New Year, but he says he won’t bother with the mundane world. Ah, and here we are, firmly part of the mundane world.”
“We’ve always been part of the mundane world.” Song Yuzhang replied with a faint smile.
Though the temple was thronged, money could make not only ghosts work but also make the Buddha nod. With a generous donation, Song Qiyuan secured entry into the inner hall for the two of them to burn incense.
The statue of the Buddha bore a merciful smile. Both men knelt down.
The smoke curled like mist, the bell tolls in the temple echoing near and far. Song Qiyuan pressed his palms together, bowing his head slightly. His heartbeat steadied, and he drew in a deep breath, feeling his heart slowly settle in this atmosphere.
Too much had happened this year. He could hardly remember how he had felt when those things happened. He only knew that the world changed constantly, and people within it could only drift along with the current. For now, one step at a time. Reaching this point didn’t seem so bad after all.
Gratefulness filled him, and he bowed deeply.
After knocking his head to the floor, he noticed that Song Yuzhang remained kneeling motionless. Quietly, he whispered, “Bow your head.”
Song Yuzhang raised an eyebrow but followed suit.
When they came out from the incense offering, Song Qiyuan patted his arm. “What did you just ask of the Buddha?”
Song Yuzhang didn’t answer right away. He walked a few steps before finally saying, “I asked the Buddha to bless me with great wealth.”
Song Qiyuan was speechless. “How worldly can you get?”
“Didn’t I already say?” Song Yuzhang flashed him a smile. “I’ve always been worldly.”
In truth, Song Yuzhang had little faith in Buddhism. In fact, he hardly believed in anything. If one were to say he had faith, then it was faith in himself.
On New Year’s Eve, Master Li kept his promise and delivered the new robes to the Song residence.
One was a robe of creamy white, embroidered with plum blossoms in exquisite craftsmanship. Red plum blooms with proud bones, their branches singular and strange. A circle of snowy fur lined the collar. The red and white of the robe complemented each other—festive yet not without dignity. The moment Song Yuzhang put it on, Song Qiyuan showered him with praise, “Not to flatter you, but you look truly handsome in it.”
Since childhood, Song Yuzhang had always been dressed in Western fashion. Xiao Yingtao had insisted on styling him as a modern young master—from sailor suits as a boy to shirts and trousers as he grew older. He had hardly ever worn long robes and mandarin jackets. The soft fur at the collar bunched warmly against his neck, and he found it novel and amusing.
“What about yours, Third Brother?”
“Let me go put it on.”
Song Qiyuan’s robe was reddish-brown with patterns of white-and-gold auspicious clouds. The cut was similar to Song Yuzhang’s, only without fur at the collar.
“Why doesn’t yours have fur?”
“Master Li didn’t add it.”
Song Yuzhang stroked the fur collar twice in silence. “Doesn’t this… look a bit like something a child would wear?”
Song Qiyuan burst out laughing and patted his collar. “Compared to me, you really are still a child.”
He pressed down lightly on his shoulder. “Just be a child for a couple of days and enjoy it.”
After that, Song Qiyuan left, carrying food boxes to the hospital to visit Song Jincheng.
Song Yuzhang sat in the hall for a while before heading into the back kitchen to watch the head chefs at work. The New Year’s Eve dinner was a grand affair. The kitchen tables were packed full. When the servants saw him, they hurried to shoo him out: “Fifth Young Master, you’d better not stay here. The smoke and fire will ruin your clothes. You look so handsome today, don’t let them get dirty. That fur collar soaks up smells worst of all—please, Fifth Young Master, go out, go out…”
Driven out of the kitchen, Song Yuzhang still felt very cheerful, almost as though he really had become a child for a day.
“Fifth Young Master,” a young girl came out of the kitchen, carrying a small plate of pastries for him. “Have a bite first, just to fill your stomach.”
Taking the plate, Song Yuzhang suddenly paused, staring. “You’re… Juan’er?”
Juan’er smiled sweetly. “Fifth Young Master, you still remember me.”
“How are things with Third Brother?”
“Good. Third Young Master is good. Everyone treats us well.”
“And your mother?”
“Mother is outside tying ribbons on the flowers. Do you want me to call her?”
“No need, let her work.”
Juan’er hesitated, bashful, as if she had something to say. Seeing that, Song Yuzhang asked her directly.
“We—we’ve already saved forty yuan,” Juan’er said softly. “By next year’s end, we’ll be able to pay back what we owe you, Fifth Young Master.”
Once she finished, she hurried away, embarrassed, back into the kitchen.
The pastries were sesame cakes, rich with fragrance. Song Yuzhang picked one up, took a small bite, and tasted the sweet, nutty flavor filling his mouth. He lowered his head with a smile, feeling this year’s New Year was turning out quite well.
Song Qiyuan had left at around four in the afternoon. By seven o’clock, he still hadn’t returned. Feeling something was wrong, Song Yuzhang sent someone to the hospital to look for him.
The servant came back with bad news.
“Something’s happened. The Eldest Young Master has disappeared, and Third Young Master has gone out searching.”
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