"After all, your manor is too far from town. I guess the children won't come all the way there. But if you want to feel the festive atmosphere, you'll need to prepare more. I know money isn't a problem for you anyway."
After explaining the origin of Halloween to Jiang Hai, Cindy Clive smiled and began gathering the supplies. There were quite a few things to prepare for Halloween.
Besides candy, there were other treats, such as toffee apples. These were commonly given out in the past because Halloween coincides with the apple harvest season.
People would stick bamboo sticks into apples, dip them in toffee syrup, and then sprinkle nuts over them, much like the Chinese tradition of making candied haws. According to Cindy Clive, when she was young, every household would give out toffee apples. She wasn't sure when the tradition started, but some adults were known to be rather mischievous.
There were even rumors of pins or blades hidden inside the apples, which could accidentally hurt children eating them.
Americans tend to be very cautious about safety. Decades ago, people warned that freshwater was polluted, so freshwater fish were considered unsafe to eat. Even now, few people eat freshwater fish, especially because species like the Asian carp have sharp thorns. Although many freshwater fish only have one thorn—much like seafood—they still avoid them. This cautiousness is why toffee apples are rarely handed out during festivals nowadays.
Another popular treat is pumpkin pie. Americans especially love pies. This dessert, which originated from Eastern Europe, is quite common on American streets and in fast food restaurants.
However, Jiang Hai personally didn't like pumpkin pie much. To him, it was overly sweet and greasy—he preferred cake instead.
There were pumpkins growing on Jiang Hai's manor land, and they were quite large, so making pies wasn't really his concern. His main goal here was to buy candy and lights.
Jiang Hai, a typical Sagittarius, tends to hesitate when asked to spend a lot of money outright. But if he's told something is cost-effective and cheap, whether useful or not, he'll buy plenty of it.
Since candies were on sale for Halloween, Jiang Hai didn't bother checking if anyone else was buying them. Looking at the candies in front of him, he quickly grabbed handfuls. By the time Cindy Clive returned with a pumpkin lantern, Jiang Hai had already amassed dozens of kilograms of candy—most of the best kinds.
"Oh my God, are you opening a candy store?" Cindy Clive slapped her forehead, half amused, half exasperated. Although she knew Jiang Hai wasn't short of money, this felt like overkill.
"Haha, it's fine. They're cheap now, and after buying them, everyone in the manor can enjoy them. Plus, they're all fresh." Jiang Hai said, a little embarrassed by how much he'd picked up.
The candies he chose were all premium—chocolates like Ferrero Rocher and M&M's (scientifically called mme), candies with chocolate centers, which Jiang Hai remembered a classmate loved back in junior high before they drifted apart. These chocolates, popular in the U.S., were colorful and attractive to children.
Naturally, Jiang Hai only bought the expensive, delicious ones. Now that he thought about it, maybe he'd bought a bit too much.
But more was better in his eyes. Watching Jiang Hai, Cindy Clive couldn't help but laugh.
These candies cost about seventy dollars total—over 400 yuan—and with the pumpkin lanterns and other items, the whole purchase came close to a hundred dollars.
Jiang Hai didn't mind the cost. He simply carried the candy and lanterns and left the store.
"Wow, so many delicious candies! Uncle, are these for Halloween?" Just as Jiang Hai was taking out the candy, a group of children wearing masks ran past.
This commercial street was closed to vehicles. Deliveries came from the alley behind the stores, so it was almost free of bicycles too. Without cars, it was a safe place where adults could let children play freely, even though many foreigners lived here.
One child, with sharp eyes, spotted the candies and quickly removed his Iron Man mask. Jiang Hai didn't understand the reference but smiled as the boy looked at him in surprise.
"Yes, you're welcome to visit us when the time comes." Jiang Hai replied with a smile.
"With all these treats, we definitely will! Uncle, where do you live?" The children's eyes lit up with excitement at the prospect of Halloween candy.
"My home is at the end of that road—Tenglong Manor." Jiang Hai pointed toward the road leading out of town.
"Tenglong Manor?" The children looked puzzled. Clearly, they didn't know much about the manor. Jiang Hai still remained a bit of a mystery in this small town.
"I know! It's the biggest manor here! My dad went there to get replacement parts." Another child, a black boy, raised his hand excitedly.
"Replacement parts? What do you mean?" Jiang Hai was curious.
"I doubt you're running a farm. Your manor probably has fully automatic machines that break down sometimes. The broken parts get replaced, but the government doesn't allow rusty parts to be thrown away. Since they're iron, farmers buy them to resell or refurbish." Cindy Clive chimed in.
Jiang Hai suddenly recalled seeing a pile of rusty scrap metal in his manor's warehouse before buying the cows. At the time, he wondered where it came from. Now he understood—they were replaced rusty parts.
"You're rich, so you just replace parts with new ones. But most farmers aren't that wealthy. They buy discarded parts from big manors like yours, remove the rust, and use them for another two or three years." Cindy Clive smiled knowingly.
"Hehe, Uncle's manor is the Tamron Manor. You're welcome to visit anytime." Jiang Hai rubbed his nose awkwardly. He wasn't someone who had climbed from nothing; rather, he was never really short of money.
He had sold gems for 330 million, bought the manor for 280 million, and still had about 50 million left—a significant sum.
Even after spending all that, he had other sources of income. At present, Jiang Hai still had over a billion yuan in his bank account.
He hadn't struggled through farms like others and didn't know much about their operations. But after hearing Cindy Clive, he didn't mind ignoring it.
Squatting down, he looked at the children gathered before him, grabbed handfuls of candy, and handed them out with a smile.
The children happily accepted the sweets and watched Jiang Hai leave, their faces bright with joy.
Jiang Hai waved goodbye and left the commercial street. He had wanted to treat Cindy Clive to a meal, but she declined, saying she had family plans. Jiang Hai couldn't argue.
He let things be. His current situation with Cindy Clive was something he had thought about—though a little difficult to accept, it was on his mind.
Jiang Hai returned to his car, threw the purchases in the back seat, started the engine, and left town.
Back at the manor, Darlene, Marian, Bernice, and Xiaoya eagerly examined the candy Jiang Hai had brought. They took the pumpkin lanterns and began decorating.
Cindy Clive also told Jiang Hai the story behind the pumpkin lantern, an old Irish tale.
There was a man named Jack in Ireland who was very stingy—so stingy he even tricked the devil. When he died, heaven refused him for his miserliness, and hell refused him for cheating the devil.
Left to wander the earth, he carved out a white radish, placed a candle inside, and used it as a lantern to light his way. Originally, these lanterns were made from white radishes and cabbages.
After Europeans arrived in North America, they found pumpkins to be much better for lanterns, and thus the tradition of pumpkin lanterns was born. Now pumpkin lanterns were common worldwide.
The ones Jiang Hai bought were especially nice—battery-powered, self-illuminating, and switch-operated, no candles needed.
The four girls and Jiang Hai were fascinated. After unpacking the candy, they decorated the manor's perimeter with the lanterns and other festive items. The place truly looked like a celebration.
(To be continued.)