Chapter 127: Snowfall

[Latest Update] Tomorrow is May 15th, the anniversary celebration of Qidian, the day with the most generous benefits. Besides gift packs and backpacks, the May 15th red envelope frenzy is definitely a must-watch event. How could anyone pass up on grabbing red envelopes? Set your alarms!

Finally discharged from the hospital, I arrived home in the afternoon, rested for a while, then started writing. After so many days without writing, I felt a bit rusty. I’m deeply grateful for the care and support from all my brothers—it truly moves me. Now I can slowly return to telling everyone the story of Old Fish.

Qiu Fengyu was preparing a grand Christmas feast, while Tim took charge of decorating the Christmas tree and putting up festive decorations around the house. The new house was quite large, and it took Tim a long time to finish.

Qiu Fengyu drove specifically to Austin, the capital city of Texas. Although it’s the capital, the city isn’t very large or filled with towering skyscrapers like New York or Los Angeles. Instead, it has the charm of a small town.

He parked in the lot of a fairly large supermarket. It was a Chinese-owned supermarket, with signs in Chinese. Upon entering, there were quite a few people—likely many were shopping for Christmas preparations.

After buying enough food, Qiu Fengyu decided to head back. Just outside the supermarket, a middle-aged Chinese man smiled and waved at him, greeting in Chinese, “Hi, hello! Are you Chinese?”

Qiu Fengyu was taken aback for a moment, then instinctively nodded, “Yes, may I ask… do you need any help?”

“No, no, I just wanted to say hello. I’ve never seen you before,” the man approached. He was short and slim but looked energetic. “I’m the owner of this supermarket. I know many Chinese people nearby—they’re regular customers here.”

Realizing it was a business pitch, Qiu Fengyu smiled, “I don’t live nearby. If you ever go to Abilene, you might run into me. Nice to meet you, Qiu Fengyu.” He set down his bags and shook the man’s hand.

“Bi Jiafu,” the man smiled, releasing his hand and pulling out a business card to hand over.

Qiu Fengyu took the card, nodding, “There seem to be quite a few Chinese here. I’ve seen many inside the supermarket—probably half.”

“They make up nearly half of my customers,” Bi Jiafu nodded. “We’ve established a Chinese mutual aid organization mainly to address various issues faced by Chinese in Austin—family matters, social issues, and more. If you need a lawyer or a loan, we can provide assistance. We even organize marches to defend the legal rights of Chinese residents. Interested in joining?”

“Does the organization have a name?”

“Of course. It’s called the Texas Chinese Mutual Aid Alliance, abbreviated as TCMAA.”

“I like that abbreviation. It reminds me of a Hong Kong celebrity,” Qiu Fengyu laughed.

Bi Jiafu chuckled, “I know who you mean. So, what do you think? Interested? No matter what trouble you face in the future, we can help you handle it. At least you won’t have to fight alone. That’s the advantage. People say Chinese abroad are scattered like loose sand, but I don’t agree. At least here, we are united.”

Qiu Fengyu thought seriously and said, “Actually, I do want to join. I’ve been facing quite a few troubles lately. But… I’ve been considering it for a long time…”

This made Bi Jiafu laugh. That ‘long time’ was probably just the moment Qiu Fengyu had zoned out. He nodded and said, “No matter what trouble you encounter, we can help.”

“My troubles aren’t ordinary—they’re very complicated…”

“There’s no trouble we can’t solve!” Bi Jiafu said confidently, almost ready to pound his chest. “You just need to pay a reasonable annual membership fee.”

“Uh, including dealing with the police?” Qiu Fengyu asked cautiously.

Bi Jiafu froze. What was this about? He carefully asked, “Have you gotten into trouble and caught the attention of the police?” He clarified that they don’t cover that kind of trouble.

“No trouble—if I had, I’d have been caught already,” Qiu Fengyu laughed. “Just asking—if I really got into trouble, could you help me?”

Now Bi Jiafu hesitated, “We can help you find a good lawyer, but all costs must be borne by you. That’s all we can do.”

“That’s good. It’s settled then. I don’t know many lawyers; a good one is hard to find. Maybe one day I’ll get into trouble, get caught by the police, and you can help me find a good lawyer. I’ve decided to join. How much is the membership fee?” Qiu Fengyu said seriously.

Bi Jiafu rubbed his nose, looking embarrassed, chuckling awkwardly. “Well… the annual fee is two thousand dollars, but… let’s think about it first. It’s not urgent; we can keep in touch by phone.”

As he said this, he waved at Qiu Fengyu and turned to leave.

“Wait! I can afford two thousand dollars now, I’ll pay it now!” Qiu Fengyu called after his retreating figure.

“We’ll see… we’ll see!” Bi Jiafu kept walking without looking back, disappearing into the supermarket.

Two thousand dollars a year sounds not too much, but how many Chinese are there? If a hundred join, that’s a sizable sum annually. This guy sure knew how to pitch—it probably fooled many. But in real trouble, it might not help much. In short, it’s just a scheme to collect money.

Qiu Fengyu loaded the groceries into the car and drove back. It was near dusk. From afar, he saw his new house adorned with dazzling Christmas lights. Tim actually had the thoughtfulness for this. As he drove in, a group of children were running and playing in the yard.

After bringing the groceries into the kitchen, Qiu Fengyu looked around but didn’t see Tim. He went to the front yard and asked Nicole, who was running around happily, “Where’s Tim?”

Nicole pointed to the roof. Looking up, Qiu Fengyu saw Tim placing a huge spherical rotating spotlight on the rooftop spire.

“Hey, do you want astronauts to see our house?” Qiu Fengyu shouted up to Tim, tilting his head back. “This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Astronauts? No. Boss, I plan to let Martians see our house,” Tim replied loudly, dead serious. “Then we can leave Earth.”

“I like it,” said Minami Mikura, the chubby-faced little Japanese girl beside them, smiling with squinted eyes and a bit of drool at the corner of her mouth. She blinked and murmured softly.

“I like it too!” Nicole giggled.

“Awesome!” Danny shouted excitedly, waving his arms and dancing.

At that moment, the spherical spotlight suddenly started rotating. Beams of light swept across the ground, causing the children to cheer.

“I want my dad to make one like this!” Danny yelled, “Even cooler than this!”

Soon Tim came down from the roof, holding a remote control and waving it around. “This is all you need. On Christmas night, I promise this will be the coolest sight in all of Abilene,” he said proudly.

“How did these kids get here?”

“They were attracted by this,” Tim smiled. “Today, it’s just kids. On Christmas, the whole city will be watching.”

“When did you become such a show-off?” Qiu Fengyu shook his head. “Suit yourself. By the way… how much did this cost?”

“All this… adds up to six thousand three hundred dollars…”

“Deduct it from your share!”

It was Qiu Fengyu’s first Christmas here. The weather suddenly turned cold, with wind blowing all night, then snow fell. Not just a little—the ground was covered by morning. The Christmas tree Tim had planted in the front yard was also covered in snow, giving the whole scene a festive feel.

“God, this is truly a masterpiece of nature!” Tim shouted excitedly at the window as soon as he woke up. Then he howled and rushed outside, diving into the snowy grass and sliding a long way. Standing up laughing, he soon began shivering, arms crossed.

“Get back inside and put on some clothes!” Qiu Fengyu found his excitement unbelievable. “It’s just snow. You’re crazy.”

“Yes, yes, I’m really going crazy! You know how many times in all these years I’ve seen snow?” Tim shouted excitedly, then came back inside from the snow, realizing he should get dressed warmly.

“How many times?”

“Not once!” Tim laughed again. “This is my first time. Oh my god, I’ve never felt this good. I love this weather!” He dashed into his room to find warmer clothes but realized he didn’t really have any. So he came out wrapped in a blanket.

Not once? Qiu Fengyu thought that was an exaggeration. But Texas weather—especially in Abilene—rarely sees snow. It’s not surprising not to have snow for over a decade. However, Qiu Fengyu wasn’t as excited as Tim. Whether in China or Ukraine, he saw snow almost every year. Especially in Ukraine, the snow there is nothing special.

Just as he was about to find something to clear the snow from the front and back yard paths, he received a video call. He picked it up and saw it was from Alisa. He answered, and a scream came from the other side.

“Oh my god, oh my god, I saw it… it’s real, I wish I could fly over right now!” Alisa shouted excitedly. “Qiu, it really snowed in Abilene. The weather forecast said so, and it actually happened! The camera’s pointing at the snow—I want to see it.”

“Alright, here’s the… snowy view,” Qiu Fengyu said helplessly, shaking his head. “Enjoy it, Alisa. Don’t say it’s your first time seeing snow too.”

“Of course I’ve seen snow, once in Abilene and other places too. But like Los Angeles, Abilene rarely snows. That’s why I’m so happy. God, I really want to go home for Christmas… but I can’t come back now. I’ve found a new job…” Alisa sounded regretful.

“Well, stay there and take care. I’ll send you some photos and videos. Don’t forget to call your parents and brother!” Qiu Fengyu reminded her.

“I know… I’m glad you say that to me, it’s very warm. Goodbye, Qiu. Don’t forget the photos and videos!” Alisa waved at him, then said, “Hey, wait, Lola wants to talk to you.” A chubby girl’s face appeared on the screen.

P.S. Starting May 15th, Qidian will shower red envelopes! From noon at 12 o’clock, every hour there’s a round of red envelope grabs. A big wave of May 15th red packets depends on your luck. Everyone go grab them, and use the Qidian coins you win to continue subscribing to my chapters! (To be continued.)