In the 1990s, people didn't have the habit of going to restaurants or karaoke bars on New Year's Eve. These habits basically started after 2005.
So back then, the Lunar New Year was truly a time when everything returned home, and there wasn't a soul on the streets.
Under these circumstances, the Haiyun Dance Hall naturally closed for the Chinese New Year holiday, just like other shops.
On the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, all staff at the Hongya Dance Hall were given a holiday.
After saying goodbye to all the employees, Liang Liang and Wang Fan hired a Santana taxi to return to Yahe.
The bus was packed with people, and a ticket for two people cost over fifty yuan, with no guarantee of a seat. It would be inhumane to have to stand for more than three hours to get home.
Moreover, both of them bought quite a lot of things.
Why not add another hundred yuan to hire a taxi for a more comfortable ride? It can carry a lot of things and is faster.
They took a taxi at eight in the morning and arrived at Yahe at eleven in the morning.
The taxi continued north to drop off Wang Fan, while Liang Liang made a phone call to Qin Wenju.
Qin Wenju drove over immediately to pick up Liang Liang and take her to her place.
Liang Liang took a black cloth bag out of his satchel and handed it to Qin Wenju.
“I’m not going to your place, I’m in a hurry to go home. Here’s 150,000 in cash, which is half of the Haiyun Dance Hall’s income for the past month.”
In the past month or so, the Haiyun Dance Hall earned about 300,000 yuan, and Liang Liang took half of it.
"Didn't you say the Ocean Shipping Ballroom was yours? Why are you giving me money?" Qin Wenju said unhappily.
"You've invested so much money, why should I give you back your principal? Even if you ask me for it back after you've made your principal, I won't give it to you."
Even though the two are now lovers and Qin Wenju gave him the nightclub for free, Liang Liang can't just pocket all that money. He has to get back the money Qin Wenju invested.
He's not a gigolo.
"Are you stupid?"
"I'm in a hurry to get home, so I won't waste time arguing with you. We can talk about it later. You should hurry up and deposit this money. It's not safe to leave it at home when the banks are closed for the holidays."
"Let me take you home!"
"No need! I'll take a taxi back, it'll only cost twenty yuan."
"Will you come again before the New Year?" Qin Wenju asked, her eyes filled with anticipation.
"I should be able to come at least once. I have to comfort you, otherwise you might not have a good New Year."
Qin Wenju blushed slightly: "How annoying!"
"Alright! A taxi came by, I hailed it and drove off."
"Then I'll wait for you at home!"
Qin Wenju drove away to deposit money at the bank.
Liang Liang then waved down a taxi.
Twenty minutes later, he returned to Liangshui Bay.
The taxi stopped in front of his house, and the driver helped him take his suitcase out of the trunk and carry it into the Liang family's courtyard.
After Liang Liang paid the fare and sent the taxi away, his younger brother Liang Feng and his father had already taken his suitcase into the house.
The suitcases were naturally filled with gifts that Liang Liang brought for her family for the New Year.
This time, Liang Liang mainly brought back clothes and toys; there was no food or drink.
I didn't buy any food or drinks because they take up too much space; I can buy them at Yahe.
Besides clothes, Liang Liang bought her mother a gold bracelet and a gold necklace, which terrified her so much that she didn't know where to hide them.
My father was nothing special except for wearing a complete set of clothes from head to toe.
He hasn't bought cigarettes and alcohol for the New Year yet.
Liang Qiuqiu got an imported CD player, which was much better than those portable CD players with cassette tapes. It had a loud volume, clear sound quality, and good stereo effect. Liang Qiuqiu was so happy that she forgot about her new clothes.
Liang Feng's gift was naturally a game cartridge.
Liang Liang bought him the latest all-in-one game cartridge and promised to buy him a brand new game console by the end of this year.
In his previous life, besides playing music, video games were one of Liang Liang's few hobbies and accompanied him for many years.
He has owned everything from the Famicom to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Mega Drive, and PlayStation series.
He naturally knew that the PS, which had dominated the video game console market for eleven years, would be released at the end of 1994.
Liang Liang will ask someone to buy one for his younger brother in Xianggang.
Of course, he didn't forget his female apprentice among these gifts.
Liang Liang also bought her a portable CD player and five CDs.
Since she was ready to dedicate herself to a music career, she naturally needed good music listening equipment, and a portable music player was also something she needed.
Liang Qiuqiu was so smug that Diudiu ran to Xu Mei's house and told her everything.
Xu Mei came running over, her face flushed.
Have you learned all the skills I taught you?
"I've learned them all!" Xu Mei replied happily.
"Don't brag! I'll test you this afternoon."
"I'm afraid it won't work this afternoon."
"Hmm? Where are you going this afternoon?"
“Brother Liang! My uncles’ family village has formed a folk music band, and I’ve joined it.”
Xu Mei's maternal uncles' family lived in Dapu Village, on the opposite bank of the Yingna River north of Liangshui Bay, about five miles away from Liangshui Bay.
"A folk music band? What's the point of forming one of those?"
"We perform during the Spring Festival, going from village to village for fun! Some villages have already paid us to perform."
Holy crap! It's an open-air venue.
Performing outdoors in the dead of winter...
Liang Liang felt her hands going numb.
What kinds of musical instruments are there?
"There are suona, guzheng, pipa and drum, and my guitar."
It's not surprising to see suona and drums; these two instruments are very common in rural areas. However, guzheng and pipa are much less common.
"Are there people in Dapuzi who can play the guzheng and pipa?"
"Of course there are! They're all young people."
Are there still young people learning this?
"So you've been rehearsing for the performance?"
"We've been rehearsing pop songs! We've rehearsed three songs and several pieces for ensemble."
"There won't be a 'Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix' performance, will there?"
"Huh! How did you know?"
How would I know? You have a suona but can't play "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix," how dare you come out here to scam people out of food and drink!
However, it's quite interesting to play pop songs with traditional Chinese instruments.
"Take me to see it sometime when you have time." Liang Liang became somewhat interested in this folk music band.
“We rehearse every afternoon, why don’t you come with me after lunch?”
How do I get there?
"Let's ride a bicycle! I'll give you a ride!"
Isn't that ridiculous! Riding a bicycle for five or six miles in this cold weather? Liang Liang doesn't think that's a good idea at all.
Qin Wenju has a Volga that's just sitting idle, right? Go drive it back tomorrow.
He has no problem driving; he was an experienced driver in his previous life.
Driving isn't a problem, but I don't have a driver's license.
In this life, he hasn't thought about getting a driver's license yet.
Liangshuiwan Road is located at the intersection of three public roads, so traffic police don't come here. Driving without a driver's license is not a problem, as long as no accidents happen.
"You're going to give me a ride on your bicycle? Forget it! Don't throw me into the ditch. Here! This is your New Year's gift."
Liang Liang handed Xu Mei the portable CD player that he had prepared for her.
The little girl was so happy that snot bubbles came out of her nose, and then she and Liang Qiuqiu ran to the side to study the Walkman.
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