This chapter introduces how they get to know each other.
He met with Manzhen for the first time years ago. Think it carefully, it was 14 years ago. This startles him and makes him feel older. Time flies! That's true especially for those in their middle ages and eight or ten years seemed to happen between one blink, while it's totally different for the youth who may take three or five years as a whole life. He had experienced so much from getting to know Manzhen to breaking up with her. It seems he had experienced his entire life's joys and sadnesses.
Manzhen ever asked him when he fell in love with her. He answered 'for the first time' for sure. He was so intoxicated in his relationship with Manzhen that he was able to believe everything at that time. He was sure to believe it's not a lie. Actually he did not even remember when he saw her for the first time.
Shuhui knew Manzhen first. Both Shuhui and Shiyun majored in engineering in college and Shuhui is Shiyun's best school mate. Shuhui graduated first and worked in that factory. After Shiyun graduated from school, Shuhui introduced him to work as an intern here. Manzhen also worked in the factory and her desk was next to Shuhui's. Shiyun went for Shuhui a few times and he should have seen her but without impressions. Maybe because just left university and was shy to see a woman, he avoided his view on Manzhen purposely.
As an intern, he worked with laborers in the workshop. Just when getting skilled, he was dispatched to another department. The experience is bitter but so valuable which cannot be bought with money. The salary is unbelievably low. But luckily he did not need to raise his original family. His family members did not live in Shanghai so he lived with Shuhui's family.
This is the first Spring Festival which he did not celebrate with his family. In the past he didn't have any good feelings for Spring Festival, because unpleasant things always happen at this time of every year. The whole family were waiting for his father's coming back to worship ancestors and have a reunion dinner whereas his father's second wife just kept him staying late enough to show up. Usually Shiyun's mother did not care about those matter except today －Spring Festival's Eve. A family should at least looks like a whole family. For the ancestors' sake, the head of a household should come back home on time to take charge of everything today.
