To Raise a Soul 33.1

On the second day of the new year, the Yin family visited their relatives.

Qiu Feiqian’s family, the Qius, were an old, merchant family in B City. In the past, they were more prosperous than the Yin family. However, in the last twenty years, they were too conservative and stuck in their old ways of thinking so they were not able to keep up with the effects of policy changes. They did not grab hold of their opportunities and gradually slipped down from the top rung on the ladder of B City’s business circle. Now, they could not compare to the Yin family whose growth continued to improve with time. 

“I have two older brothers and a younger sister. My sister is married and lives in a different country but she’ll be back with her family for the New Year. My two brothers live in B City. Once we’ve arrived, you should greet those that you need to greet*, and if you’re given a red envelope, just accept it. You don’t need to do anything else. We’ll only be there for a short while.”

*Chinese custom. When you meet older relatives, it’s standard practice to  say a greeting to them. So with that line, they would know to do the usual ‘greeting their seniors’.

These were the instructions Qiu Feiqian gave to Yu Zhen as they left the villa.

Yin Le sat in the front passenger seat while Qiu Feiqian sat in the back next to Yu Zhen.

Yu Zhen watched Qiu Feiqian as she spoke. Her mood did not appear to be good and her expression held a hint of unhappiness. She did not have the look of someone bringing their spouse and children to visit the family home. Rather, she looked as if she were going to deal with an unavoidable bit of work. Yu Zhen was puzzled.

Why does it seem like… Qiu Feiqian’s relationship with her family is not very good?

The Qiu family did not separate into smaller branches. There were many more family members in the Qiu family than in the Yin family, and the Qiu family lived in a large mansion. Their garden was very large and they employed guards to watch over the gate. They seemed to care more about appearances than the Yin family.

As their car entered the courtyard, Qiu Feiqian muttered, “They love these stupid practices.” 

She looked at the guards’ thin and inadequate uniforms with disdain.

Yu Zhen followed her line of sight and noticed the security guard standing outside despite it being winter. The guard’s clothes did not look warm. His face and ears were red from the bitter cold and his eyebrows were furrowed. 

The Yin family didn’t have security guards, only housekeepers and drivers. 

Qiu Feiqian was a very considerate boss. As soon as winter arrived, she would adjust the housekeeper and driver’s schedules so they could wake up later in the morning. At the end of the year, she allowed those who wanted to be with their families for the New Year to return home early and she personally booked their tickets for them. 

Although they shared the same surname ‘Qiu’, the guards’ employers did not treat their personnel as well. It was a cold winter day but the guard was not given a thick coat. Although the uniform looked good at a glance, it clearly could not protect against the cold.

[The Qiu family has four children. The first two sons were born from Old Master Qiu’s first wife. Mother and Aunt Qiu Feiting were born to the Old Master Qiu’s second wife. Both wives passed away not long after their children were born. Old Master Qiu is up in his years now and has retreated behind the scenes. The one in charge of the family right now is the oldest Qiu sibling.]

When the cool voice sounded in Yu Zhen’s mind, he turned to look at Yin Yan.

“When we enter the house, follow me closely,” Yin Yan said. At the same time, he took hold of Yu Zhen’s hand. 

At Yin Yan’s words, Qiu Feiqian thought about her crooked brothers. She added, “That’s right, stay close to Yin Yan. If anyone says something unpleasant to you, don’t respond to them and don’t take their words to heart. Actually, you can just scold them back – you don’t need to be considerate. They grew up without learning to say any good words.”

“Humph, when Da Ge had the accident, those uncles didn’t even try to call us… Mom, let’s go after we drop off the gifts. I don’t want to see my cousins. They’re so annoying,” Yin Le complained. He looked at the door of the villa as if it were a great scourge.

Qiu Feiqian’s expression turned unpleasant at his words, but she quickly corrected it. “Your grandfather’s health has been deteriorating these past few years. Although he has done some unsavory things in the past, he’s still your grandfather and he treats you quite well nowadays. Just bear with it for a while, okay?”

“What do you mean ‘quite well’? He smiles and tells us that we’re obedient. How is that enough?… He used to say that Da Ge brings bad luck and will restrain the Qiu family’s feng shui…” Yin Le grumbled. His voice grew quiet as he reached the end of his complaints. Knowing there was no escaping the situation, he held back the pointless complaining.

Yu Zhen obtained a lot of information from those words. Subconsciously, his impression of the Qiu family dropped a notch.

Brothers who are not good to their sister. A grandfather who calls his grandson bad luck. Annoying cousins. All of these people gathered together just spells a recipe for unpleasantness.

Following directions from a guard, Yin Hexiang parked the car in a garage. He removed his seat belt and said, “Alright, it’s only once a year. We’ll stay for a short while and then leave.”

A guard arrived to open the car’s door and everyone tacitly shut up as they got out of the car one by one. Then they opened the trunk of the car to let the guard carry the gifts inside.  

Everyone followed the guard to the villa’s main door. The guard pressed the doorbell and half a minute passed before the door was unlocked…

Yin Le rolled his eyes. From when the car passed the gates until they parked the car and brought along the gifts, a considerable amount of time had passed. He didn’t believe the people in the building were unaware of their arrival. Were the walkie talkies on the guards for decoration only?

Seriously, there’s so much acting every year. It’s so annoying.

The door finally opened and a middle-aged woman with a long face and thin eyebrows appeared. Wearing an unbearably fake smile, she loudly greeted, “So it’s Feiqian. It’s so windy outside. Quick, come in, come in. Don’t let the kids freeze… Huh, who is this?”

Although her words implied otherwise, the woman made no move to let them pass.

Yin Le stared at the woman. Seeing that she continued to block the way and was looking at Yu Zhen with fake curiosity, Yin Le guessed she was planning to ‘unintentionally’ hold them up while they talked about old times. She probably wanted the whole family to stand outside in the cold wind for a while longer. He deliberately sneezed, then loudly exclaimed, “Eldest Aunty, could you let us into the house before we start talking? It’s so windy out here. It wouldn’t be good if I catch a cold and spread it to my cousins.”

“Xiao Le, how can you speak to your Eldest Aunt in such a way?” Yin Hexiang reprimanded insincerely, offering some good old lip service. However, despite his words, he arranged Qiu Feiqian’s scarf, clearly showing that he was worried she would get cold. Finally, he turned to the woman, and politely said, “Sister-in-law, Happy New Year.” 

Although Si Ling didn’t like Qiu Feiqian and she hated that Qiu Feiqian’s life was going well, she decided to let it be for Yin Hexiang’s sake, lest he be offended. She set aside her calculating thoughts and returned the greeting with a smile while moving aside to lead them in. 

From the moment that the Qiu family’s door was opened, Yu Zhen felt some discomfort. After the round of words with hidden knives, they entered the house, Yu Zhen’s discomfort became stronger. He couldn’t help but frown and grab hold of Yin Yan’s hand. 

“Slow down your breathing and calm down.”

Yin Yan returned his grasp, and power circulated from his hand.  

A warm and comforting energy was transmitted through their connected hands. Yu Zhen breathed in sync with the flow of power and the uncomfortable feeling immediately improved.

After they entered the house, the house’s occupants crowded around them. There were two middle-aged men, one tall and one short, as well as a beautiful middle-aged woman. From their greetings, Yu Zhen guessed the two men were Qiu Feiqian’s brothers and the woman was the other sister-in-law.

Qiu Feiqian’s relationship with her brothers did not seem very good as they were very formal and distant in their exchange. 

In contrast, the two Qiu brothers were much warmer in their attitudes towards Yin Hexiang.

“Where are the kids?” Qiu Feiqian asked after taking a seat. 

“They’re still sleeping. It’s still early,” Si Ling, the aunt who opened the door replied. Her words suggested that the family was at fault for arriving too early. 

Qiu Feiqian pretended not to hear her words. Seeing her two brothers try to draw Yin Hexiang away to their study for discussions, Qiu Feiqian said, “Da Ge, Er Ge, is Dad awake? I heard that he had been unwell for a little while not too long ago. Has he seen a doctor? What did the doctor say?”

Qiu Feixiong, the older brother, turned to her and criticized, “So you do know that Dad’s health is not good. Everyone is staying in B City, so why didn’t you visit?”

Yu Zhen was stumped that his first words were to find fault. 

Qiu Feiqian is a guest. And it’s the New Year. Aren’t this older brother’s words a bit too much?

“Xiao Yan was in a car accident in H Province a while back. Feiqian and I stayed there for some time so we didn’t come over for a visit.” Yin Hexiang seized the opportunity to give a fair and reasonable reply which couldn’t be faulted.

Yin Le chimed in, “Mom specifically had someone deliver many tonics for Grandad. How were they? Were the tonics useful? Some of those were even chosen by Da Ge when he was in a hospital bed.”

Silence stilled the air. Yu Zhen had never heard of such an atmosphere for a New Year’s visit in his life. He quietly leaned into Yin Yan.

“Xiao Yan had a car crash? What happened? Was it serious? Aiya, your Second Uncle and I went on a business trip not long ago so we didn’t hear about this,” the wife of the uncle replied. She looked at Yin Yan with a worried look on her face, then she seemed to finally notice Yu Zhen who stood beside him. “This is…”

“My spouse.”

Yin Yan stood up and, with a calm look on his face, introduced his uncles and aunts to Yu Zhen, then beckoned Yu Zhen to address them.

Yu Zhen obediently greeted them and glanced over each person. His gaze stopped on Qiu Feixiong for a short while before he politely smiled and looked away. 

“Spouse?” Qiu Feixiong frowned again. He looked Yu Zhen up and down critically and, in a strange tone, he questioned, “A man?”

“What about Han Ya? Xiao Yan, child, you used to make such a fuss and say that it must be her that you marry,” Si Ling mocked. After she finished her sentence, she abruptly began laughing.

Qiu Feiqian’s expression darkened. She pulled Yu Zhen back to sit beside her and insipidly said, “A great beauty like Han Ya is not someone who Xiao Yan can satisfy. Oh right, didn’t Junwen used to like Han Ya? Since he’s now single after his divorce, would you like me to pull some strings for them?” 

Qiu Junwen, Qiu Feixiong and Si Ling’s eldest son, was thirty years old and twice divorced. He didn’t have a son born from either of his marriages, but he did have an illegitimate son with a young model. In the past, when Yin Yan had been pursuing Han Ya, the man had blindly copied Yin Yan and also pursued Han Ya. He and his second wife filed for divorce over that. He was slapped by his second wife in public, turning him into a laughing stock.

Si Ling’s laughter stopped, and her expression was ugly as she replied, “My family’s Junwen is above a disastrous person who brings misfortune to anyone in contact with them.” 

“That’s right, there are some people who bring misfortune to anyone in contact with them. They’ve even ruined decent women,” Qiu Feiqian returned her words with equal harshness. She didn’t intend to be polite to them after they were unsightly toward Yu Zhen.

As they all shared the surname Qiu, on a typical day, Qiu Feiqian wouldn’t bicker with her family. However, it was the first time that her son had brought his spouse to visit the family home and not only did they not take it seriously, but they even behaved terribly! She couldn’t be blamed for acting rude!

“That’s enough! What is New Year’s turning into?!”

Seeing his wife concede, Qiu Feixiong’s expression also darkened. He called for a housekeeper to organize a few red packets and indicated that one should be given to Yu Zhen.

“There’s no need,” Yin Yan refused. He stood in front of Yu Zhen, though slightly to the side, effectively half-shielding him. “The red packets are too large and our pockets are too shallow. They won’t be able to fit. Continue talking, I’ll bring Yu Zhen and Xiao Le to meet Grandpa.”

With that, he bent down to grab Yu Zhen’s hand, pulling him up. At the same time, he motioned to Yin Le. He didn’t care that Qiu Feixiong hadn’t said anything or that it was awkward. He simply led Yu Zhen and Yin Le to the floor that the old man stayed on.

The housekeeper looked at Yu Zhen, who was getting further and further away, then at Qiu Feixiong. She held the red envelope in her hands but was unsure of what to do. 

“Leave! The tea is cold, bring another pot over.”

Mocked by his juniors in front of others, Qiu Feixiong was embarrassed and his expression darkened. He looked at Qiu Feiqian and was about to criticize her for Yin Yan’s lack of respect when Qiu Feiqian timely stood up and said, “Feiting should be here soon. I’m going to give her a call.”

With his wife and children away, Yin Hexiang played dumb and sipped his cold tea. He nodded and said, “En, the tea really has gone cold. It’s said that you have to attract good omen during the New Year. Da Ge, Er Ge, you’ve both been careless.” 

Mocked again, Qiu Feixiong was full of resentment. He could not scold Yin Hexiang so he forcefully stifled his anger, causing the veins on his forehead to bulge.

“I was careless. Don’t mind it too much, Hexiang. Quick, bring a new pot of tea over,” Qiu Feijun took on the role of a peacemaker and urged the housekeeper. He also hinted to his wife to take Si Ling elsewhere. Then he took the opportunity to steer the topic towards business.

As someone had given him a way out of the situation, Qiu Feiqiong’s expression slowly improved. He also began to discuss business. As the eldest Qiu sibling spoke at great length, some of his business ambition slipped through.