Christmas had arrived once again, much anticipated.
This was Jiang Hai's second Christmas in Winthrop. Compared to his first, this one felt far livelier—not only were there more people around him, but the manor itself was bustling with activity.
December 24th, Christmas Eve, was a holiday celebrated nationwide across the United States, much like the Spring Festival in China. In fact, Christmas and the Spring Festival share a similar cultural significance.
At this time, children usually enjoyed at least two weeks off school, and many working adults had about a week's holiday.
On the 15th, many guests arrived at Jiang Hai's manor, including the two sons of Philemon Turner, who had come the previous year as well. However, unlike last year when both sons came with their wives, this year only the eldest son was accompanied by his wife; the younger son had separated from his spouse. Penelope also visited, but only briefly—to see Burke-Dale on the 1st before leaving. Unlike Philemon's sons, who stayed until the New Year, Penelope's visit was short.
On the 1st, Jiang Hai held a gathering at his villa. It wasn't quite a party—more like an annual meeting. They reviewed the year's progress and looked forward to the next, and of course, handed out year-end bonuses.
Although fish products hadn't yet been sold in large quantities from Jiang Hai's manor, lobsters and other seafood had brought in significant income thanks to the increase in tourism. Over three months, Jiang Hai's income from lobsters alone—not including the town's earnings—reached $1.35 million. Abalone, sea cucumbers, and similar products were also included in this total.
Out of the $1.35 million, Jiang Hai kept $1 million and distributed the remaining $350,000 as bonuses to the fishermen.
Jiang Hai employed five sailors—Edward Anderson, Tommy Charles, Enol Cece, Andrew Christian, and Maren Rupert. Each received $70,000, though taxes would apply, depending on their circumstances.
When the seven envelopes containing checks were handed out, the recipients nearly laughed themselves silly.
This was real money on top of their wages. Despite doing relatively little this year, they had earned nearly $200,000 each—an unimaginable income for fishermen in the past. Many who owned their own boats weren't sure they could make that much annually, especially considering expenses for repairs, hiring crew, and taxes. This was far from pure profit.
They were eagerly looking forward to the upcoming fishing season starting in March, curious about what they might earn then.
Besides the fishermen, Jiang Hai's ranch was his most profitable venture—and naturally, the cowboys there were his top priority.
Jiang Hai's year-end bonuses were calculated based on total income. The fishermen's earnings surpassed $1 million, so he rounded up the figures.
But the numbers from the ranch were staggering. Last year, Jiang Hai sold 12,459 cows, each meticulously recorded.
The average price per cow was $142,550, bringing total revenue to $1,776,030,450—before taxes.
Federal taxes were 38.6%. To Chinese observers, George Bush might be seen as a ruthless American president, but he was quite popular in the U.S. because he reduced taxes by 0.5%. The U.S. had five tax brackets, with the lowest exempt. After Bush Jr. took office in 2002, annual incomes were taxed progressively: some paid 27%, others 30%, and incomes between $50,000 and $130,000 were taxed at 35%. Since Jiang Hai's income exceeded $130,000, he paid the highest rate of 38.6%.
Besides the federal tax, he also paid 2% for social security—whether or not he would use its benefits in the future. There were property taxes and car usage taxes too, though those were smaller amounts. Property tax was about $6 million, and car taxes were a few hundred thousand—too trivial to count precisely.
Massachusetts state tax was 5%, but there was no local tax in his area.
So, come April next year, based on his current annual income, Jiang Hai would owe 45.6% in taxes.
According to figures provided by Moses Adams, that amounted to approximately $809,870,000, plus house taxes, bringing the total to around $815 million. But Jiang Hai wouldn't pay all that.
The federal government encouraged agricultural and sideline production, offering Jiang Hai a 3.5% tax reduction, plus a 1.2% local manor subsidy, a 1.5% local fishery subsidy, a 2% federal financial subsidy, aquaculture feed subsidies, and more. Together, these reduced his effective tax rate by 8.5%.
That meant Jiang Hai's total tax rate was about 37.1%, so he would pay roughly $658.9 million.
Including house and car taxes, the total might approach $700 million—a staggering sum, but relatively manageable.
More than half of that money would go to the federal government, with about 30% returning to the local state.
Massachusetts would receive around 20%, Boston 5%, and Winthrop 5%.
According to Mayor Wallis, Winthrop would likely get over $30 million from Jiang Hai's taxes.
It was no exaggeration to say Jiang Hai supported Winthrop substantially. Next year's $30 million in tax revenue was a big deal—no wonder Mayor Wallis held Jiang Hai in such high regard.
Of course, Jiang Hai couldn't give his cowboys bonuses based on the fishermen's percentage—but he had to reward them.
He had five cowboys—Robbins Garcia, Burke Dahler, Philemon Turner, Harriman Fells, and Bell Lester—whose combined income exceeded $300,000. Today, Jiang Hai gave each between $200,000 and $500,000, a sum previously unheard of.
Robbins Garcia and the others were thrilled. Bell and Harriman were almost ecstatic—especially Bell.
When Bell retired from Delta State and became a cowboy, many ridiculed him. Though no one dared mock him to his face, his reputation in town wasn't good. Only after meeting Jiang Hai did he understand what being a true cowboy meant.
Seeing their father accept a $200,000 check, Philemon Turner's two sons couldn't help but feel jealous.
Unfortunately, there was no other place in the manor for them to get in. They regretted not holding onto Jiang Hai's favor last year—what a failure.
Besides the cowboys and fishermen, Jiang Hai also gave bonuses to others. Though they hadn't produced wine yet, Dulles Gerard and O'Connor Murphy had worked hard this year. Jiang Hai gave them each $50,000, a modest sum they deeply appreciated.
Aphra and the others weren't left out, either—each received $100,000, prompting the women to gather and excitedly plan what to buy.
Women love beauty, especially when it's self-indulgent.
Since that night, something that shouldn't have happened between Jiang Hai and Bernice had occurred. Although Bernice, after recovering, had driven Jiang Hai out of her room and rushed back to her own, she no longer cared about his relationships with Aphra and the others. Aphra and her friends came and went freely and often stayed overnight in Jiang Hai's villa.
Still, every night before Jiang Hai returned to his room, Bernice would find him and have a long "talk."
Aphra and the others didn't comment; they simply didn't care.
As for Xiaoya and Bernice, two wealthy women in the household, Jiang Hai hadn't overlooked them. Their money was their own, but Jiang Hai's gifts were gifts.
Xiaoya was the head chef and had worked hard cooking for a long time. Even if she hadn't gained much credit, her effort was clear.
Bernice was the villa's doctor; whenever someone had a headache or fever, they came to see her.
So Jiang Hai gave each of them a $1 million check.
Bernice and Xiaoya accepted their bonuses without hesitation.
Azarina and Connorson-Peters, Jiang Hai's bodyguards, naturally were rewarded as well.
Azarina received $1 million in year-end bonuses in addition to her salary, and Connorson got the same.
However, Connorson was a bit confused after receiving the money. He wasn't sure what to do with it.
In the past, his finances had been managed by his agent—his buddies—and he was only responsible for boxing.
He came here to repay Jiang Hai's kindness. Now, with this money in hand, he really didn't know what to do.
Usually, he ate, dressed, and lived comfortably at Jiang Hai's place, with everything provided, from sports equipment to clothes for going out. All his daily needs were well taken care of, so he was unsure how to use the money.
The only two in the villa who didn't receive money were Darlene and Marianne. These two young girls—though fifteen, soon to be sixteen—hadn't contributed much. They didn't get money but did receive many gifts.
After distributing the money, Jiang Hai and his friends felt the festive spirit more strongly. On the 23rd, they enjoyed a lively gathering.
On the 24th, early morning, Jiang Hai and his friends went into the forest to cut down a few small trees to serve as Christmas trees. After returning, they decorated them carefully. Thanks to the natural energy in the forest, the trees grew quite fast.
The faster they grew, the sooner they produced seeds, which helped the forest spread quickly.
While cutting trees, Jiang Hai spotted a family of mountain lions but saw no anacondas or crocodiles—perhaps they were hibernating.
Snakes definitely hibernate; Jiang Hai knew that well. But do crocodiles? Well, let's assume so, since he hadn't seen any.
Despite winter, the mountain lions were thriving. The forest was full of turkeys, pheasants, and hares.
As the top predators, they had plenty to eat and nothing to worry about.
After spending the entire day decorating, Christmas Eve finally arrived.
Jiang Hai wouldn't bore anyone with the origins of the Christmas holiday again—he'd explained it last year. After all, he wasn't religious, nor was anyone in his villa.
So on Christmas Eve, they didn't attend mass or anything similar. Instead, they simply ate and drank together as the day passed.
That night, Aphra and the others stayed over in Jiang Hai's villa. Eight people squeezed inside.
The next morning, Christmas Day, Jiang Hai walked under the Christmas tree and saw it was covered with gifts.
Giving and receiving gifts was a key part of European and American Christmas traditions. Jiang Hai gave gifts to everyone and also received gifts himself.
Darlene gave him a pair of gloves she had crocheted herself—rough but full of heart.
Marian gifted him a scarf, and Bernice presented a leather hat reminiscent of the leather hats worn by "Bald Qiang" in a domestic animation—popular in Northeast China many years ago, around the time of Tianwang Gaidihu.
Most gifts were small; frankly, none of them lacked money, so expensive presents weren't necessary.
The most valuable gift Jiang Hai received was from Azarina: an AUG magazine—not the standard five-round version he could buy, but a rare thirty-round magazine. Thirty-round magazines were illegal in the U.S., and on the black market, such a magazine was far more expensive than the gun itself.
Jiang Hai treasured this gift. He went upstairs, grabbed the gun, and fired a few rounds outside.
Then everyone busied themselves preparing for Christmas dinner—their version of a Spring Festival family reunion dinner, and an important occasion. Naturally, Xiaoya, their chef, was in charge.
No one found this unusual, but while cooking, Xiaoya kept stealing glances at Jiang Hai…
(To be continued.)