Xiao Hua’s Annual Party

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[TN Note: Takes place right before Extra 6 (The 2017 New Years Special), so definitely after “Ten Years Later”]

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This happened before Black Glasses took us to meet Little Brother Zhang.

On my first day in Beijing, I went to have a drink with Xiao Hua. He had an assistant named Xia Chi Tang. We arrived very late. Fatty found his friend’s rundown dumpling restaurant and Xia Chi Tang bought some stuffed meat buns. We chatted over dumpling soup and beer.

Xiao Hua usually didn’t bring his people when he came to see me, but this Xia Chi Tang had been with him for several years. He worked in the auction company.

It was said that the company was going to hold an annual party, so there were too many things that needed to be figured out. Since we decided to visit Xiao Hua so suddenly without an appointment, he brought Xia Chi Tang along.

As we chatted with each other, Xiao Hua sorted through all the lists that needed to be checked. Xia Chi Tang saw that I had a good relationship with Xiao Hua and invited me and Fatty to attend the annual party.

Xiao Hua’s auction company was a transporter for the family business. After the Sand Sea incident, the company reorganized and introduced a lot of new people.

When Fatty and I thought of all the schemes that would probably take place at the annual party, and how we wanted to remain low-key, we decided to decline.

“Why didn’t you ever think about holding an annual party or something when you were running the business before?” Fatty asked me. “You made your business look miserable.”

All kinds of professions have events every year, but the things they do are different, I said to myself. It’s more convenient to work during the New Year.

And so many people died each year that the head count at the end was undoubtedly miserable. Although they knew what they were getting into, people still had feelings. Those fierce people were also raised by parents, so there was no reason to celebrate.

After working in this business for a long time, I wouldn’t do anything knowing that I might die the next year. I would rarely have such stupid thoughts.

After Xia Chi Tang left, Fatty asked Xiao Hua to be careful around him. Xia Chi Tang was at most 1.7 meters tall, with both sides of his head shaved and hair still on top. He seemed two-faced with the way he looked at people with those small eyes set behind drooping eyelids. At first glance, he looked like a glistening butt crack.

Fatty’s exact words were: Your muscles feel relieved even though your ass is burning. But before the ache of your waist muscles is cured, severe hemorrhoids had already occurred. This basically meant that this kind of person was really useful, but if he was given too much freedom, he would cause serious problems down the line.

Xiao Hua broke off a few garlic cloves for Fatty, but didn’t eat any himself. He just didn’t like the fact that Fatty had garlic oil all over his hands while he was breaking off the cloves

“How long has it been since you sang? If you don’t eat garlic and dumplings during the Beijing winter, you won’t look like a native,” I said.

“There hasn’t been time to sing,” he said. “But I do sing two or three songs every year during the Qingming Festival (1).”

The Hong Family’s descendants had later disappeared, but since Xiao Hua had a special relationship with the old man, he went to visit his grave during that time. “Boss Hua,” Fatty started probing, “I heard that Er Ye passed you a lot of treasures. Did he give you that one thing?”

Xiao Hua squinted at Fatty and then looked at me, “Do you want to see it?”

<Extra: Get an ID Card 2><Table of Contents><An E-Invite from Little Brother Zhang>

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TN Notes:

(1) Also known as “Tomb-Sweeping Day”. Chinese families visit the tombs of their ancestors to clean the gravesites, pray to their ancestors and make ritual offerings. Offerings would typically include traditional food dishes and the burning of joss sticks and joss paper. The holiday recognizes the traditional reverence of one’s ancestors in Chinese culture. More info here.