As the deafening crackling of firecrackers ended, the Gu family's New Year's Eve lunch officially began.
On the round table in the east room, twelve dishes were laid out, plate upon plate.
There are stir-fried green beans with pork, cumin lamb, braised meat platter, braised pork knuckle, braised beef, pork ribs stewed with potatoes, braised carp, chicken stewed with mushrooms, pickled cabbage with boiled pork, home-style cold dishes, sweet and sour shredded radish, and tiger salad.
When most workers earned only a few dozen yuan a month, this table of dishes, with its balanced mix of meat and vegetables and delicious aromas and colors, was simply too lavish.
Gu Wei became interested and picked up his camera to take a few photos as a memento.
Because of the joy of the New Year, not only did Gu Wei and Gu Jianguo pour themselves a full glass of baijiu, but Li Guizhi also poured a little less beer, while only Gu Hongjie drank orange soda.
Gu Wei raised his glass with a big smile, "In the new year, I wish Grandpa, Grandma, and Xiao Jie good health, peace, and all the best."
This simple and unpretentious statement is also his heartfelt wish.
Gu Jianguo and the others also raised their glasses and clinked them with Gu Wei's.
"Then the three of us wish you a prosperous new year, with your business booming and that you find a suitable marriage partner soon."
When Gu Jianguo said the last sentence, he emphasized it in particular, and looked at Gu Wei with a meaningful gaze.
Gu Wei almost wanted to facepalm upon hearing this, but he managed to hold back.
He thought to himself, "Grandpa really is obsessed with my partner; he never lets up on that."
He said, without really meaning it, "Okay, I'll try my best."
Gu Jianguo opened his mouth, his expression complex, as if about to speak.
Li Guizhi gently nudged Gu Jianguo's leg under the table, then suggested, "Eat quickly, the food will get cold soon."
Gu Jianguo had no choice but to swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue. "Yes. It won't taste good if it gets cold. Quickly try the braised pork knuckle, it's so tender."
Li Guizhi breathed a sigh of relief.
Actually, after the Lunar New Year, they had already heard some things from Zhao Dajiang.
The relationship between Gu Wei and the female college student was not as Gu Wei claimed; the other party did not reply to his letters.
On the contrary, according to the sister of the waitress at the state-run restaurant, it was Gu Wei who ignored her.
But it was a particularly busy time before the Lunar New Year, and the store in the city was facing a special situation, so no one mentioned it.
In addition, their kinship is still a step below each other, so even if they get along well, they should still be mindful of boundaries.
Now that Gu Wei has made his decision, he must have his own reasons.
Today is the Lunar New Year, so there's no need to bring up that topic.
Gu Wei was hungry after working hard all day and was now attacking the food, so he didn't notice the flirtatious glances exchanged between Gu Jianguo and his wife.
Gu Hongjie was even more focused than him, his mouth dripping with oil as he ate.
The meal lasted from 1:30 pm until after 3 pm.
After cleaning up, the two of them even played cards together.
People came to the house when night fell outside.
It turned out that Hou Yongxian and his group had come with several gifts.
Previously, Gu Jianguo had privately consulted Hou Yongxian about whether he wanted to come over to his home to celebrate the New Year and watch the Spring Festival Gala together.
Hou Yongxian was surprised and touched by the invitation from Gu Wei and his friends. He was moved and grateful, but too embarrassed to agree to spend the New Year together. He only said that he would come to their house to watch TV later.
Looking at the expensive cigarettes, alcohol, and various snacks they were carrying, Gu Wei said with a hint of helplessness, "Grandpa Hou, you're being too polite. You came here to watch TV, but you brought so much stuff."
Gu Jianguo couldn't help but chime in, "Yeah, brother, I knew this wouldn't have happened and I wouldn't have invited you guys."
Hou Yongxian said with a smile, "I know your family has everything, but since it's the New Year, we can't skip the proper etiquette."
Gu Wei and Gu Jianguo exchanged a glance, and without saying anything more, warmly invited them to sit down.
Next, everyone drank tea, ate sunflower seeds and pine nuts, chatted casually, and waited for the show to start.
Gu Hongjie and Lin Hang huddled together, fiddling with their respective commemorative scrolls.
Clearly, besides watching the show, they were even more excited about the prize draw.
Lin Yu had a piece of fruit candy in her mouth and kept glancing at Gu Wei.
She knew that with her own qualifications, she wouldn't catch Gu Wei's eye.
But I couldn't control my heart.
As time went by and they spent more time together, she grew to secretly love him more deeply.
Gu Wei noticed Lin Yu glancing at him frequently. He put down his teacup and, feeling a little strange, looked at her with his eyes, asking what she meant.
Lin Yu's face instantly flushed. Suppressing her panic and shyness, she asked with a smile, "Brother Gu, do you think this year's Spring Festival Gala will be better than last year's?"
Gu Wei smiled with a somewhat subtle expression, "Probably."
In fact, even though he hadn't watched the gala yet, he already knew some of the details by researching.
Huang Yihe, the director of the 1985 Spring Festival Gala, had already directed two galas.
They originally wanted to be innovative, so they moved the performance venue to the Workers' Stadium and had a large number of Hong Kong and Taiwan singers and hosts perform.
Unfortunately, because they took too big a step, they tore their balls.
It was the dead of winter, and the temperature in the capital city dropped to below minus ten degrees Celsius at night. Because the Workers' Stadium was too large, there was no heating, and everyone present could only shiver in the cold wind.
Furthermore, due to inadequate equipment and poor on-site coordination, many mistakes and unexpected situations arose.
Lin Yu felt the opportunity was particularly rare and racked her brains to find topics to talk about.
Gu Wei, however, had little interest in chatting.
Hou Yongxian noticed this interaction between the two and subconsciously frowned.
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