CNY Special 2

This is the second of the three-part story about the flawed and hidden side of CNY. Read the first post first if you haven't before reading this one to understand the story

***

"You look so red today"

It was Leon, my cousin, who is one year older than me

"Of course, Chinese New Year is the perfect excuse for one to dress conspicuously!" I replied while trying to sound like a confident young lady

"Oh yeah..."

Leon walks away towards the kitchen. By the way, he was dressed in a black shirt. Everyone seemed to be talking to someone else while waiting for lunch to be ready

The first day of Chinese New Year has always been the same for me for the last ten years or so. Same food, same gambling activities, same questions asked (I hate this one), same amount of ang bao money and the same kind of discipline I must tell myself to have not to offend anyone

I looked around the living room and decided to approach one of my younger cousins. It is always easier to talk with children

"Hello Bryan! Show jie jie what are you doing"

"This is Bumblebee the Transformer, I want to make it into a car, you can help me?"

"Errr, you try do it on your own lah"

Wrong timing. Then as I was about to enter one of the bedrooms to see what's happening, someone called my name

It was my grandaunt. She took a good look at me from head to toe when I turned around. I knew what was going to happen next

She spoke in Mandarin as everyone knows that my Cantonese is atrocious

"now in sec what ah?"

"errr, JC2 liao"

"wow, so fast already ah?

I thought you just asked the same question last year?

Well, I am sick of all these questions that relatives ask their younger generation. It is because they had really forgotten about it or what? If they had really forgotten about it, then it shows that they were not serious when listening to the answer so why bother to reply them every year?

I decided to kill time by sitting down in the bedroom looking at my younger cousins playing masak-masak. There were two other cousins around my age there too. One was Leon, he was one year older than me while the other was Mandy, same age as me

However, the three of us hardly talk ever since we entered upper secondary. We used to be as crazy and lively as our younger cousins who were masak-ing but things do change. At most, we just greet each other "hello" when we see one another so that our parents won't pester us why we don't talk

"Eh, time for lunch"

Someone's voice flooded the entire house and everyone flooded the dining room

I was waiting for my dad's instruction to where I should sit while he was observing the "situation". In the end, I sat next to him and in front of me was a plate of abalone. Not bad, I thought. At least I don't have to stand up and stretch my hand if I feel like having a few more slices

Then almost everybody except Mandy and I were telling one another to eat as a form of mannerism. I find it lame, or rather very fake

It was a huge dining table with huge plates of food. Same old food because of the same old Chinese New Year traditions

My first uncle broke the ice by starting a conversation. It was in Cantonese but I could understand

"Ah Leng, the soup like a bit too salty already"

My second auntie "played along" and replied "oh I think I placed too much salt in it"

Of course it's salt, or not sugar is it?

It was always fish maw and cabbage soup. But at least it tastes good and I love eating fish maw

The adults together with my grandparents continued talking while the younger ones just ate slowly and listened. I was so engrossed with the abalone until I heard

"Natalie, are you in JC now?"

Oh no, not again

To be continued...