Chapter 76 Celebrating Chinese New Year
Two days had passed without any conversation.
In the first month of the lunar calendar, on the evening of the thirty-first day, the entire Dragon City was filled with a festive atmosphere. Fireworks had been exploding throughout the city since early afternoon and continued nonstop into the late night.
Around eight o'clock in the evening, the Su family set up a banquet in the courtyard, with the whole family gathered together. Some watched the New Year's program on the local Chinese television while others played cards and chatted in small groups.
Su Tianyu accompanied his uncle and had some drinks and dumplings until late in the evening, when his uncle finally felt a bit tired and retired to his room.
In the courtyard, Su Miaomiao waved her hand like a little girl, beckoning to a younger girl. "Let's go out and light some fireworks, Sixth dog!"
"You guys go ahead. I've had a bit too much to drink," Su Tianyu said, waving his hand with a sour mood.
"Come on, it's Chinese New Year! Let's have some fun and not just sit here thinking about An Qi Qi all the time. If you love her, then be brave and pursue her!" Su Miaomiao took the lazy eldest brother and second brother by the arm, and with a group of children, they left the courtyard.
This year, the uncle had prepared more New Year's goods than usual, including four large boxes of fireworks. A group of twenty-something young men, along with a group of children, happily arranged the fireworks in front of the house.
Su Tianyu stood at the door, smoking a cigarette and looking down.
"Why do you look a bit unhappy today?" Su Tiannan asked casually.
"Ha-ha, I'm not unhappy," Su Tianyu replied softly, fueled by a few sips of alcohol. "I just remembered Da Xiong, on this New Year's Eve, sigh..."
"What do you want with him?" Zhang Hao interjected. "His family doesn't care about him, and we have no connection to him. What help can we offer? It's just fate, on this big day, we don't need to worry about others."
Su Tianyu nodded slowly, not saying anything more.
"Zi la la!"
Not far away, Su Tianbei, fueled by alcohol, lit four or five boxes of fireworks at once and dragged his sister to watch from a distance.
"Swish, swish, swish!"
The sparkling fireworks soared into the night sky, shining brightly and scattering light.
"The fireworks we bought this year are so beautiful!" Su Miaomiao exclaimed with delight as she looked up at the fireworks bursting in the sky, "Let's work hard next year and try to buy a small island for our family to spend the New Year."
As the crowd looked up at the dazzling sky, Da Xiong appeared alone at the entrance of an alley. He was covered in dirt, with his hands in his pockets, staring at Su Sanjie with a faint smile on his face.
When the fireworks were spent, the Su family returned to their yard, laughing and joking. Da Xiong withdrew his gaze from Su Tianyu, wiped his cheek with his wrist, faced the dark night alone, and slowly disappeared.
...
The next day, the first day of the New Year.
Su Tianyu, Su Tiannan, and Su Tianbei drove the family's small truck and went door-to-door, delivering various gifts.
They first went to the homes of Yu Mingyuan and Wang Daolin, then to some of the relationships' families in the management committee, and finally arrived at the Bai family.
"Uncle Bai, Happy New Year!" greeted Su Tianyu and his companions as they entered the Bai family's large courtyard, carrying gifts.
"Ha ha, that's great!" Bai Da Biao stood in the courtyard with his hands behind his back, looking happy to see the Su family: "Hey, Old Su asked you guys to come?"
"Yes, my dad said it's the New Year, so us younger generation should come to see you," Su Tiannan said as he approached with the gifts.
"Come on in and sit inside," Bai Da Biao invited them.
As they walked inside, Bai Hongbo asked Su Tianyu, "I heard Daxiong didn't go home. Where do you think he could have gone?"
"I don't know," Su Tianyu shook his head.
"Ah, that kid is a bit reckless," even the usually sharp-tongued Bai Hongbo was worried about the foolish boy: "He won't be sentenced too heavily, why run away? If he gets caught now, he'll definitely face a harsher punishment."
"True."
"Darn it, good people don't have an easy life!" Bai Hongbo couldn't help but sigh.
At this moment, Su Tianyu and Bai Hongbo both couldn't really understand why Daxiong had to escape from prison, because no one could stand in his shoes and feel everything he had gone through.
In the Bai family's hall, the patriarch sat in his chair, warmly welcoming the guests: "We have guests at home, let's prepare food and drink for later."
"No thanks, Uncle Bai, we're going to the Kong family later," Su Tianan politely declined.
"Ah, there are still so many days in the first month, can't you come another day?" Bai Da Biao insisted: "If you come to visit, you have to have a meal at home!"
Although Bai Da Biao had a sharp tongue and a bad temper, and often argued with Su Zhengcai, he was still relatively warm and hospitable in character.
—---
On the third Day.
It had been three full days since Da Xiong had escaped, and during this time, his life must have been anything but easy. But Tang Baiqing and Old Yang were clearly in an even tougher situation.
It was just after six in the evening.
In the vicinity of Tongjiang Street in Zhanan District, Old Yang, dressed in plain clothes, stood with four police officers beside a garbage dump. He spoke to a duty officer at a nearby construction site, "Do you have surveillance cameras around the construction site?"
"We do. We also have security guards at the front and back doors, as well as guard dogs. Don't worry, Officer. Although we're on holiday, if anyone sneaks in, we'll definitely notice. The management here is very strict," the duty officer replied politely.
Old Yang handed over a photo of Da Xiong, "Take another look. If you see this person, notify us immediately."
"Don't worry, if we see him, we'll call the police," the other person nodded, looking at the photo. "I'll remember him."
"Okay, that's it then."
With that, Old Yang and his team left.
"Yang Ge, it's the Lunar New Year now, and all the police units in every district are on holiday. Even if we issue a wanted notice, nobody's going to be out searching for fugitives in the streets," one of the officers followed behind Old Yang and said, "He's not going home either. Where do you think he's hiding, or has he already left the city? How are we going to catch him?"
"Every checkpoint has been notified, so if he dares to run, it's very likely he'll be caught," Old Yang said as he walked. "This person lacks intelligence, has little experience in counter-surveillance, and most importantly, he doesn't have any money or friends to help him escape. In my judgment, he should be hiding in a familiar place in the Zhana district and won't go far."
"Perhaps," the officer agreed.
"Let's go back first, I'm going to find Tang Baiqing," Old Yang replied wearily, climbing into the car.
Just then, the phone rang.
...
At Liang Feng's house in the outskirts of the district.
"Brother Hei, yes, it's a childhood friend who contacted me. We grew up together and he's very trustworthy," Liang Feng whispered. "Yes, the ransom for the kidnapping in the 5th district is quite high, and the situation in the Sanjiao area is also quite chaotic, so we can make a clean break. If we're going to do it, we have to leave on the 5th day of the Lunar New Year."
On the other end of the phone, the man was silent for a long time before asking, "Where are you now?"
"I'm at home. What's the matter, Brother Hei?"
"At home?" the man suddenly said. "Take a family photo and show it to me."
Liang Feng was stunned.
Chapter 76 Celebrating Chinese New Year
Two days had passed without any conversation.
In the first month of the lunar calendar, on the evening of the thirty-first day, the entire Dragon City was filled with a festive atmosphere. Fireworks had been exploding throughout the city since early afternoon and continued nonstop into the late night.
Around eight o'clock in the evening, the Su family set up a banquet in the courtyard, with the whole family gathered together. Some watched the New Year's program on the local Chinese television while others played cards and chatted in small groups.
Su Tianyu accompanied his uncle and had some drinks and dumplings until late in the evening, when his uncle finally felt a bit tired and retired to his room.
In the courtyard, Su Miaomiao waved her hand like a little girl, beckoning to a younger girl. "Let's go out and light some fireworks, Sixth dog!"
"You guys go ahead. I've had a bit too much to drink," Su Tianyu said, waving his hand with a sour mood.
"Come on, it's Chinese New Year! Let's have some fun and not just sit here thinking about An Qi Qi all the time. If you love her, then be brave and pursue her!" Su Miaomiao took the lazy eldest brother and second brother by the arm, and with a group of children, they left the courtyard.
This year, the uncle had prepared more New Year's goods than usual, including four large boxes of fireworks. A group of twenty-something young men, along with a group of children, happily arranged the fireworks in front of the house.
Su Tianyu stood at the door, smoking a cigarette and looking down.
"Why do you look a bit unhappy today?" Su Tiannan asked casually.
"Ha-ha, I'm not unhappy," Su Tianyu replied softly, fueled by a few sips of alcohol. "I just remembered Da Xiong, on this New Year's Eve, sigh..."
"What do you want with him?" Zhang Hao interjected. "His family doesn't care about him, and we have no connection to him. What help can we offer? It's just fate, on this big day, we don't need to worry about others."
Su Tianyu nodded slowly, not saying anything more.
"Zi la la!"
Not far away, Su Tianbei, fueled by alcohol, lit four or five boxes of fireworks at once and dragged his sister to watch from a distance.
"Swish, swish, swish!"
The sparkling fireworks soared into the night sky, shining brightly and scattering light.
"The fireworks we bought this year are so beautiful!" Su Miaomiao exclaimed with delight as she looked up at the fireworks bursting in the sky, "Let's work hard next year and try to buy a small island for our family to spend the New Year."
As the crowd looked up at the dazzling sky, Da Xiong appeared alone at the entrance of an alley. He was covered in dirt, with his hands in his pockets, staring at Su Sanjie with a faint smile on his face.
When the fireworks were spent, the Su family returned to their yard, laughing and joking. Da Xiong withdrew his gaze from Su Tianyu, wiped his cheek with his wrist, faced the dark night alone, and slowly disappeared.
...
The next day, the first day of the New Year.
Su Tianyu, Su Tiannan, and Su Tianbei drove the family's small truck and went door-to-door, delivering various gifts.
They first went to the homes of Yu Mingyuan and Wang Daolin, then to some of the relationships' families in the management committee, and finally arrived at the Bai family.
"Uncle Bai, Happy New Year!" greeted Su Tianyu and his companions as they entered the Bai family's large courtyard, carrying gifts.
"Ha ha, that's great!" Bai Da Biao stood in the courtyard with his hands behind his back, looking happy to see the Su family: "Hey, Old Su asked you guys to come?"
"Yes, my dad said it's the New Year, so us younger generation should come to see you," Su Tiannan said as he approached with the gifts.
"Come on in and sit inside," Bai Da Biao invited them.
As they walked inside, Bai Hongbo asked Su Tianyu, "I heard Daxiong didn't go home. Where do you think he could have gone?"
"I don't know," Su Tianyu shook his head.
"Ah, that kid is a bit reckless," even the usually sharp-tongued Bai Hongbo was worried about the foolish boy: "He won't be sentenced too heavily, why run away? If he gets caught now, he'll definitely face a harsher punishment."
"True."
"Darn it, good people don't have an easy life!" Bai Hongbo couldn't help but sigh.
At this moment, Su Tianyu and Bai Hongbo both couldn't really understand why Daxiong had to escape from prison, because no one could stand in his shoes and feel everything he had gone through.
In the Bai family's hall, the patriarch sat in his chair, warmly welcoming the guests: "We have guests at home, let's prepare food and drink for later."
"No thanks, Uncle Bai, we're going to the Kong family later," Su Tianan politely declined.
"Ah, there are still so many days in the first month, can't you come another day?" Bai Da Biao insisted: "If you come to visit, you have to have a meal at home!"
Although Bai Da Biao had a sharp tongue and a bad temper, and often argued with Su Zhengcai, he was still relatively warm and hospitable in character.
—---
On the third Day.
It had been three full days since Da Xiong had escaped, and during this time, his life must have been anything but easy. But Tang Baiqing and Old Yang were clearly in an even tougher situation.
It was just after six in the evening.
In the vicinity of Tongjiang Street in Zhanan District, Old Yang, dressed in plain clothes, stood with four police officers beside a garbage dump. He spoke to a duty officer at a nearby construction site, "Do you have surveillance cameras around the construction site?"
"We do. We also have security guards at the front and back doors, as well as guard dogs. Don't worry, Officer. Although we're on holiday, if anyone sneaks in, we'll definitely notice. The management here is very strict," the duty officer replied politely.
Old Yang handed over a photo of Da Xiong, "Take another look. If you see this person, notify us immediately."
"Don't worry, if we see him, we'll call the police," the other person nodded, looking at the photo. "I'll remember him."
"Okay, that's it then."
With that, Old Yang and his team left.
"Yang Ge, it's the Lunar New Year now, and all the police units in every district are on holiday. Even if we issue a wanted notice, nobody's going to be out searching for fugitives in the streets," one of the officers followed behind Old Yang and said, "He's not going home either. Where do you think he's hiding, or has he already left the city? How are we going to catch him?"
"Every checkpoint has been notified, so if he dares to run, it's very likely he'll be caught," Old Yang said as he walked. "This person lacks intelligence, has little experience in counter-surveillance, and most importantly, he doesn't have any money or friends to help him escape. In my judgment, he should be hiding in a familiar place in the Zhana district and won't go far."
"Perhaps," the officer agreed.
"Let's go back first, I'm going to find Tang Baiqing," Old Yang replied wearily, climbing into the car.
Just then, the phone rang.
...
At Liang Feng's house in the outskirts of the district.
"Brother Hei, yes, it's a childhood friend who contacted me. We grew up together and he's very trustworthy," Liang Feng whispered. "Yes, the ransom for the kidnapping in the 5th district is quite high, and the situation in the Sanjiao area is also quite chaotic, so we can make a clean break. If we're going to do it, we have to leave on the 5th day of the Lunar New Year."
On the other end of the phone, the man was silent for a long time before asking, "Where are you now?"
"I'm at home. What's the matter, Brother Hei?"
"At home?" the man suddenly said. "Take a family photo and show it to me."
Liang Feng was stunned.
