bestfiction Chapter 237 Friends Come to Pay New Year's Greetings
Chapter 237 Friends Come to Pay New Year's Greetings
Shen Wancheng and Gu Jinxing stayed up until dawn, then walked back to their own homes to sleep.
New Year's Day.
Early in the morning, Shen Wancheng and Gu Jinxing changed into new clothes and went to the mansion to worship the gods and ancestors.
This is an annual tradition of the Gu family, and Wen Nan and Gu Jinxing had told Shen Wancheng about it in advance.
What's most different from Shen Wancheng's memories of celebrating the New Year is that the Gu family has a tradition of eating vegetarian food on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
Gu Jinxing said this is a custom shared by many centuries-old families in Hong Kong.
The vegetarian dishes were also carefully prepared. Although they were all vegetarian, Shen Wancheng still found them very appetizing when she looked at the table full of food.
The names of the dishes are even more appealing: Vegetarian Delight, Braised Mushrooms with Black Moss, Vegetarian Fish with Auspicious Meanings, Rising Step by Step with Vegetarian Rice Cake, and Golden House with Crispy Fried Vegetarian Rolls.
The vegetarian meal was delicious and visually appealing, and Shen Wancheng ate more than usual.
Since becoming pregnant, the only thing Shen Wancheng couldn't eat was anything greasy; she would vomit as soon as she ate it. However, at this vegetarian meal, she ate quite a few fried vegetable rolls and felt no discomfort afterward.
In the morning, Shen Wancheng and Gu Jinxing paid New Year's greetings to Gu Mingqian, Gu Hengzhi, and Wen Nan and his wife. In the afternoon, they returned to their own home.
There's a custom in Hong Kong that unmarried colleagues should wish their married superiors a Happy New Year.
People from Shen Wancheng and Gu Jinxing's companies all want to come to their door to wish them a Happy New Year.
Shen Wancheng was worried that Li Su and the others would feel uncomfortable at the Gu mansion, so she told Gu Jinxing that they should go back to their own homes.
At 1:30 p.m., Li Su came to pay her New Year's visit.
Li Su brought canned abalone, bird's nest, and some nuts and sweets as New Year's gifts. He didn't bring any particularly expensive gifts, but it was clear that he had prepared them carefully.
Next to arrive was Gu Jinxing's personal assistant, Cheng Ming.
Li Su noticed, intentionally or unintentionally, the New Year's gift Cheng Ming brought. He was relieved to find that his gift was similar to Cheng Ming's.
In previous years, when Li Su worked at the horse farm, the New Year's gifts he brought to his superiors' homes were always discussed and agreed upon by several colleagues. But this year, he was alone, and he couldn't help but worry about not being courteous enough.
Although Li Su had met Cheng Ming before, they had not spoken.
Today, when Cheng Ming came to pay his New Year's visit, Li Su immediately handed Cheng Ming his business card.
Cheng Ming knew that Li Su was the boss's wife's man, but he didn't put on airs and directly exchanged business cards with Li Su.
They chatted for a while before saying goodbye to Shen Wancheng and Gu Jinxing.
Li Su's performance prompted Gu Jinxing to praise Shen Wancheng.
"You've found a good manager. Where did you find him?"
Shen Wancheng raised an eyebrow, and she was also very happy to have found Li Su, a talented person.
"I dug it up at the horse farm."
"It seems the key is still my wife's discerning eye."
Upon hearing the words "my wife," Shen Wancheng curled her lips and glared at Gu Jinxing.
"Happy New Year, sister! Wishing you prosperity!"
Before Shen Yao appeared, Shen Wancheng heard her voice first.
Just as Shen Wancheng stood up, Shen Yao came in by herself, followed by Ye Ningshuang.
"I brought Sister Ningshuang here to wish you a Happy New Year."
Shen Wancheng smiled and responded to Shen Yao, "I also wish our Ayao a happy and prosperous new year, and that everything goes smoothly."
Ye Ningshuang then said to Shen Wancheng, "Wancheng, I wish you a happy new year, and all the best and peace in the coming year."
Happy New Year to you too, may your life be prosperous and successful!
Shen Wancheng was surprised that Ye Ningshuang would come all the way to wish her a Happy New Year, but she was still quite happy.
"Come sit down. What are you two doing together?"
Shen Yao was definitely much more at ease with Shen Wancheng, she said as soon as she sat down.
“Grandpa said the streets of Hong Kong Island would be lively in the afternoon, so we could go out and have fun. You know I don’t know anyone, so what can I do by myself? Just then, Sister Ning Shuang called me to wish me a Happy New Year, so I invited her to come out and have fun with me. She then said she wanted to come to your place first to wish you a Happy New Year.”
After giving the New Year's gift to Shen Wancheng, Ye Ningshuang sat down next to Shen Yao.
“I was thinking that you have helped me so much over the past few months, so I should personally come to wish you a Happy New Year today no matter what.”
Shen Wancheng smiled and said, "You're too kind."
"This is all I have to do. Although there is nothing I can do to help you or repay this kindness right now, I should at least keep it in my heart."
Although Ye Ningshuang had expressed her gratitude to Shen Wancheng and Shen Yao before, she rarely made such a solemn statement.
She knew that friends shouldn't talk too much about gratitude, but she felt she should at least express her gratitude so that if the other person ever needed her help, they would have a better understanding of her situation and be more likely to ask for her assistance.
After Ye Ningshuang finished speaking, she stopped dwelling on the matter and changed the subject.
"The New Year's gift I brought you isn't anything precious; it's just pastries and candies made by my mother. They don't keep for long, so have your family check them to make sure they're safe to eat before you eat them."
Ye Ningshuang didn't really want to bring food to Shen Wancheng at this time, since Shen Wancheng was pregnant.
But she didn't know what else to give, since Shen Wancheng had enough of a status and position.
In the end, it was her mother who said that she would personally prepare some candies and pastries suitable for pregnant women, which would be more reassuring than those bought outside. However, her mother also instructed her to have Shen Wancheng's family check whether she could eat them before she did.
When Shen Wancheng heard Ye Ningshuang say that she made it herself, she immediately opened the New Year's gift.
Ye Ningshuang explained, "I told my mom I was pregnant, and she prepared preserved plums and dried tangerine peel plums to satisfy pregnant women's cravings, as well as ginger candy. The pastries were red date and walnut cake and radish cake."
Shen Wancheng had eaten radish cake for the first time that morning at the Gu family's house. She found it amazing; it didn't taste fried at all, wasn't greasy, and didn't taste like radish. The texture was soft and delicate, and she really liked it.
"I only tried radish cake for the first time this morning, and I really like it."
Shen Yao responded, "Me too. I can't stand the taste of white radish, but I really can't taste any radish in this."
"Here, eat up."
Shen Wancheng took a piece for herself first, and then let Shen Yao and Ye Ningshuang take some.
While eating, Shen Yao asked, "Sister, are you coming out with us later?"
Shen Wancheng thought that although no one would come to wish her a Happy New Year anymore, as Gu Jinxing's wife, it would be better for her to stay at home with him.
"I'll pass, I'm probably not free today."
As Shen Wancheng spoke, she glanced at Gu Jinxing, who was also receiving guests in the other living room.
As they were talking, the maid came up to Shen Wancheng and said...
"Madam, there is a Mr. Li Shaojie outside who has come to wish you a Happy New Year."
Shen Wancheng was taken aback; yet another unexpected guest.
Shen Wancheng immediately got up to greet her.
Shen Yao and Ye Ningshuang followed behind her.
When Li Shaojie saw Shen Wancheng, he first spoke auspicious words.
"Happy New Year, Miss Shen."
"Director Li, Happy New Year! You're too kind. I should be the one wishing you a Happy New Year."
Shen Yao also peeked out and said to Li Shaojie, "Brother Jie, Happy New Year."
Ye Ningshuang then said, "Director Li, Happy New Year."
Clearly, Shen Yao and Li Shaojie were closer.
But Li Shaojie definitely wanted to get closer to Shen Wancheng. He could see that Shen Wancheng's company would definitely become one of the top companies in Hong Kong, and that Shen Wancheng's social status was not limited to being Mrs. Gu.
If Li Shaojie hadn't seen all this, he wouldn't have personally visited Shen Wancheng to wish her a Happy New Year. After all, Shen Wancheng is now the most popular superstar in Hong Kong, and most wealthy people wouldn't do that for him.
Li Shaojie also wished Shen Yao and Ye Ningshuang a Happy New Year, "A Yao, Ningshuang, I also wish you a Happy New Year."
After the group entered the house, Shen Yao and Ye Ningshuang accompanied Shen Wancheng and Li Shaojie for a while. Finally, Shen Yao invited Li Shaojie to go out and play on the street together.
Li Shaojie readily agreed, adding that he was a native of Hong Kong and knew every corner of the island well, and he would definitely make sure Shen Yao had a great time.
Shen Wancheng sighed inwardly, thinking that it was only possible to be in Hong Kong. If it were in mainland China in later years, someone as famous as Li Shaojie in the entertainment industry would never be able to freely stroll around the country.