"If you haven't started your journey yet, then don't come back. Although I was really hoping you could return for the New Year, your safety is more important," his eldest sister said with a touch of regret.

"The weather this year is so abnormal; coming back would mean freezing to death. It's five or six degrees below zero, and we just stay home warming ourselves by the fire every day.

"It's freezing outside, and the snow has piled up thick. In the past, it was rare to see snow even once a year, and sometimes it wouldn't snow at all. This year is cursed; the snow hardly stops. Heavy snow, light snow, then heavy snow again—it never stops for long! If we want to get some vegetables from the garden, we have to dig through a thick layer of snow."

...

After chatting with his eldest sister for a while, Yi Anguo had Fu Huanhuan and her sister Fu Shasha talk to their mother on the phone.

"Oh! We don't have to go back for the New Year! We can celebrate it in Shenzhen!" Fu Huanhuan cheered after hanging up.

"You're that happy about not going home? Don't you want to spend the New Year with your parents at all?" Yi Anguo asked.

"Of course I do! But since we can't go back, there's nothing to be done about it, right?" Huan Huan said with a smile.

"Even if you can't go back, you don't have to look so happy about it," Yi Anguo said.

"It's too cold back home during the New Year. It's more comfortable celebrating here," Huan Huan explained. "Besides, every time I go back, my mom and dad start pushing me to go on blind dates. It's so annoying!"

"Uncle! Please, think of a way to persuade my mom and dad to come live here in Shenzhen. It would be so much better!"

"If you can't persuade them, how could I?" Yi Anguo asked. "Your dad is always quoting that old saying, 'When parents are alive, do not travel far.' How am I supposed to argue with that?"

"Honestly, my dad! It's not like my grandparents only have him as a son. They still have my uncle, right? With my uncle and my cousin around, why would my grandparents object if my parents wanted to move to Shenzhen? Isn't visiting them twice a year and giving them some money enough? Look at all the people who come here to work. How many of them don't have living parents? If everyone thought like my dad, no one would ever leave home to find work."

"Other people are other people, and your dad is your dad. There's nothing wrong with them wanting to work to provide for their families. But is there anything wrong with your dad wanting to stay home and be a filial son to his parents?" Yi Anguo retorted. "If you've got what it takes, go persuade your dad yourself! See if he'll listen to you and move to Shenzhen."

"I never said it was wrong for my dad to take care of his parents at home. And I certainly don't have the ability to persuade him to move to Shenzhen. If I did, I would've done it a long time ago," Huan Huan grumbled.

Yi Anguo actually hoped all of his sisters would move to Shenzhen, but everyone's situation was different, and it wasn't a convenient move for all of them.

Yi Xiaolin's and Yi Xiaoman's families still decided to return to their hometown for the New Year. People with living parents would always find a way to make the trip home. Although Yi Xiaolin's father had passed away, his elderly mother was still alive, so not returning for the entire year was out of the question. Moreover, he had his parents-in-law to consider. They were all getting on in years; each visit could truly be the last. To put it bluntly, you never know if someone who's here for the New Year today will still be around for the next one.

Fu Huanhuan's parents weren't too old, only around fifty, and she herself was still young. Missing the trip home once probably wasn't a huge psychological burden for her. In fact, she likely felt relieved to be free from her parents' constant nagging about blind dates.

As for Yi Xiaoman and his wife, spending the New Year here with their child was nowhere near as comfortable as being at home. Back home, they were pampered by their parents, who served them delicious meals without them having to lift a finger. Their parents were still quite young, only in their forties, and with only one son and one grandson, they doted on them endlessly.

My own parents have passed away, so whether I go home for the New Year or not has become less important. If they were still alive, I would have certainly chosen to go home for the New Year without hesitation. No matter how difficult the journey, I would have embarked on the trip home without a second thought.

Yi Haiyang and his wife also took their child and returned home. Although the journey home during the New Year of 2008 was arduous for many, they still resolutely made the trip. If Yi Anguo had insisted on going home, he certainly could have. Since so many others had managed it, he would have had no problem. However, he felt no urgent desire to rush back.

There were several reasons for this. The first, of course, was the bad weather; it was simply too cold in his hometown. The second was that with his parents gone, going back for the holiday didn't feel as significant anymore.

The main reason, however, was that he couldn't decide which of his women and children to bring with him. Or should he bring all of them? But taking everyone presented another problem. Take Ding Jing, for example. If he brought her and her daughter back, it wouldn't be right to leave Ding Jing's mother alone in Shenzhen for the New Year! Ding Jing would probably never agree to that; she couldn't possibly leave her mother by herself. But bringing Ding Jing's mother along for the New Year seemed troublesome too. If she found out he had so many women and children, how could he possibly explain that? Then there were Chen Ting and her son. Would they even be willing to go back with him? Would Chen Ting's parents also need to come along? If Hu Jing and her two children went back with him, what about Hu Qian? Should she be left alone in Shenzhen, or should she go with her sister to her brother-in-law's home? Li Sisi and her sister Li Shanshan would definitely be going back with him, but what about Chen Ting? Should she be left alone in Shenzhen, or should she go with them? And what would be the excuse? Chen Tingting wasn't aware that her own sister was also her brother-in-law's woman. In short, the relationships were a complete mess!

This was the biggest reason Yi Anguo dreaded going home for the New Year.

Maybe it would be better to skip going back for the New Year altogether and just pick a day after the holidays to visit together? That would probably eliminate all these troubles.

It wasn't just Fu Huanhuan who was pleased about not having to go back. Yi Anguo found that once he confirmed he wasn't returning, he also felt an inexplicable sense of joy and relief.

The Huaxin Integrated Circuit Factory building was completed in just ten months. It was currently in the process of equipment installation and intensive calibration. Many of the engineers had voluntarily given up their family reunions to work overtime in the workshops, pushing to speed up the progress. They were striving to achieve mass production by March, right after the New Year. Another technical team was developing a smartphone, aiming to launch the first prototype of the Huaxin phone after the holiday.

The allure of money was powerful, and Liang Song's ability was beyond question. He had managed to lure a technical team all the way from the United States to develop a smartphone, setting their sights directly on the 3G market.

As the New Year approached, the weather in Shenzhen turned damp and cold. The temperature dropped to around 5 degrees Celsius, with rain falling every day. One shouldn't assume that 5 degrees isn't very cold. After all, people say true cold is in the north, where temperatures plummet to ten or twenty degrees below zero.

But the north has central heating, which Shenzhen lacks. Furthermore, the north experiences a dry cold, while the south has a damp cold. To put it simply, when people from the south spend winter in the north, they often don't find it that cold. On the contrary, they find it quite comfortable. They can wear short sleeves indoors and even break a sweat while making dumplings. When they go out, the cars are heated, and when they get out to go to a supermarket, it's heated too. It doesn't feel cold at all!

However, when people from the north come to the south and encounter rainy days with temperatures around 5 degrees, they often find the cold unbearable and miserable.

Yi Anguo, accompanied by Ding Jing, his assistant Zhou Mengdie, and Yang Hai, brought several carloads of New Year's goods to the Huaxin factory. They were there to extend their holiday greetings to all the engineers and other staff members who were staying behind to work.

Liang Song hadn't returned to Taiwan for the holiday either; he had brought his family to Shenzhen. In fact, many of the engineers from Taiwan had done the same. The supporting Huaxin residential complex for employees had been completed and furnished. Engineers and other technical personnel were already housed there, enjoying very convenient living conditions. The company had even purchased buses to serve as commuter shuttles.

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