As Christmas approached, ZAMA Group began to prepare various benefits for its employees.

The benefits of the Horse Group are well-known in New York, and other companies have a maximum of two days off at Christmas, and if the boss is in a good mood, he may also send an extra bag of apples or something, which is considered a Christmas benefit.

The Junma Group is different, the Christmas holiday is as long as a week, if you work overtime, you will be paid twice the salary, each employee also has a variety of benefits to get, apples and everything is not rare, fine wine from Europe and Cuba, and silk from the Qing Empire are the protagonists of this year.

The Americans themselves also make wine, but they don't know whether it is because of the climate or what other reasons, the American wine is really not very good, even the Americans themselves dislike it very much, and the Qing Empire's liquor Americans are not used to drinking, and the production of the Qing Empire's liquor is not enough, so Europe and Cuba have become the main procurement direction of the Junma Group.

Rum is the main source from Cuba, and a little more abundant from Europe, with champagne, red wine, brandy, and even tequila from Mexico all on the Kufma Group's benefit list.

Of course, Cuban rum is the largest purchase, before Christmas, the Stallion Group purchased a total of 20,000 barrels, almost all the remaining rum in Havana this year, along with the famous Havana cigars, which of course only a small number of middle and senior managers can enjoy.

The silk of the Qing Empire has always been a high-end product, under the impact of the Japanese raw silk industry, the silk of the Qing Empire has been greatly impacted in recent years, as long as it can make the Japanese feel awkward, Li Mu is happy to do it, so the Junma Group has never purchased Japanese raw silk products.

Under the influence of the Shoma Group, Japanese people are now very unpopular in the two major cities of the United States, one in the east and one in the west, San Francisco does not allow Japanese naturalization at all, and in New York, even Japanese Americans who have become American citizens are difficult to find a job in New York.

Japan has already brought the case to Washington, but with the mediation of Burnside, Runkel and others, President Grant has not said anything about it.

The United States is a federal country, and the states have a great deal of autonomy, such as New York and California, as long as they do not want to be independent like Texas, the federal government will not interfere in the formulation of state laws, as long as they do not conflict with federal laws.

As a Chinese, in fact, Li Mu is not very interested in Christmas, although Li Mu is nominally the same as Will believes in Catholicism, but in fact, Li Mu is not very willing to commemorate Jesus, with that kung fu, Li Mu might as well prepare for the Chinese traditional Lunar New Year next month, for Chinese Americans, this is the real memorable holiday.

But it doesn't matter, just think of Christmas as a rehearsal for the Lunar New Year.

With this idea, Li Mu no longer cared about the five-meter-high Christmas tree that Ford Benjamin brought over, but put his mind on the thousand red lanterns that were about to be hung in Central Park, Battery Park, and Governors Island.

In the Chinese tradition, red is the most auspicious color, many times, the red lantern is the symbol of the festival, so in the place where the Chinese gather, the red lantern must be indispensable, Li Mu is ready to hang the red lantern all the Chinese gathering places on Christmas Eve, so that New Yorkers can appreciate the way the Chinese celebrate the holiday.

Li Mu's New Year's gifts are not only red lanterns, but also lion and dragon dances, as well as a fireworks display that cost a full 100,000 US dollars, in order to give New Yorkers a grand audio-visual feast, Junma Group specially invited professionals from the Qing Empire to prepare a grand fireworks show, as the beginning of the celebration of the Lunar New Year.

New York is the largest city in the United States, and the way to celebrate Christmas is only to organize 100 Santa Claus to give gifts all over the street, there is no float parade, there is no Christmas dinner, and the legendary turkey is even less and less, for ordinary people, it is a feast to eat a potato roast beef.

Santa Claus is also very snobbish these days, unless the parents make an appointment on the first day, the children don't want to receive gifts on Christmas Eve, those gifts are all bought by the parents themselves, and the price is more expensive than what is sold in the general store.

Before Christmas Eve, the Horse Group organized hundreds of Santa Claus, dressed in uniform red clothes and with a big beard, to deliver the small gifts prepared by the Horse Group to the homes of all the employees of the Horse Group on Christmas night.

A gift may be a small comb or a book, but it means a lot to children and may become the most memorable memory of their growing up.

Approaching Christmas, the workers of the Horse Group are also a few happy and sad, although the welfare of the Horse Group is very good, but there will always be some families who are in trouble for various reasons, Eddie Joy's family is like this.

Eddie Joy is an old employee of the Horse Group, as early as when the Horse Weapons Factory was established, Eddie Joy joined the Horse Weapons Factory as a security officer, although in the Battle of Long Street, Eddie Joy did not have a chance to perform because he did not follow Li Mu's side, but in the four years since joining the Horse Weapons Factory, Eddie Joy has been conscientious and meticulous in his work, and has been awarded by the Horse Weapons Factory many times.

Although the salary given to Eddie Joy by the Horse Group is not low, for Eddie Joy, who has six children to take care of and two elderly people to support, Eddie Joy's salary is still beyond his means, so Eddie Joy is unable to improve his family situation.

On Christmas Eve, Eddie Joy worked until 8 p.m. before returning to his home in Brooklyn, where the family lived in an apartment of less than 15 square meters in Brooklyn County, and the crowding was predictable.

Fortunately, Eddie Joy has a virtuous wife, married for more than ten years, although life is not easy, but Eddie Joy's wife has never complained, which always makes Eddie Joy feel sad, because Eddie Joy feels that his wife and children should have a better life, at least not live in an apartment.

Although life is not rich, but Eddie Joy did not lose hope, the Horse Group in Brooklyn is preparing to build an apartment, Eddie Joy applied for one of them, the house has four rooms, a total of nearly seventy square meters, although it is still not spacious enough for eight people, but compared with the current apartment, Eddie Joy has been very satisfied.

"Hurry up, the kids are waiting for you—" Finally when Eddie Joy came home, Joey's wife was very happy.

Dinner was a sumptuous affair with a shiny roasted turkey in the middle of the table, roasted corn and potato stew, a fruit platter with apples and citrus, and bananas from the Far East, a perk that only the Stallion Group can offer.

Eddie Joy's eldest child is eleven years old and is currently studying at the Horse School with his two younger siblings, and it's Christmas, and the school is out for the holidays, so the children are back home, and the house is very lively.

Eddie is also lazy in naming his children, and Eddie's oldest child is also called Eddie, but at home, Eddie has always called his child "II".

The three children who are studying at the Junma Affiliated School are wearing the uniforms of the Junma Affiliated School, with a cardigan on the upper body, overalls on the bottom, and small leather boots on the feet.

The three younger children were dressed in Eddie Joy's overalls, which were cut to fit well, but the iron-gray color was not suitable for children.

But that's not a problem, in a few years, Eddie Joy's children will be able to go to the school attached to the horses, and they will naturally have uniforms at that time.

"Come on, children, let's pray together, and then begin our dinner—" Eddie Joy put his worries behind and prepared for a warm evening with the children.

"Can I make a wish?" Little Anne, who will start elementary school next year, remembers the Christmas tradition, though it almost never fulfills.

"Of course—" A hint of pain flashed in Eddie Joy's eyes, but he quickly disguised it, "Let me guess, do you want to go to the Horse School next year?" If that's the case, then you don't have to, I can assure you that you will definitely be able to go to school next year. ”

Little Anne is very envious of her brother and sister's uniform, usually her brother and sister are very precious, little Anne wants to touch it and is not allowed to touch it, little Anne has sworn countless times that when she also goes to school, she will definitely share her uniform with her two younger sisters.

"No, I hope we can live in a big house next year so I don't have to listen to Eddie's snoring at night—" Little Annie's wish is simple, but it is not easy to achieve.

"Yes, I promise, we'll have a big house—" Eddie Joy's eyes turned red unconsciously, fortunately the Stallion Group was preparing to build an apartment, otherwise Eddie Joy really didn't know how to comfort little Anne.

Joey's wife had a clear healing smile on her face, and she gently placed her hand on Eddie's hand.

"Is it ready to eat? I can't wait—" Little Eddie looked impatient, but the meaning of digressing was a bit obvious.

"Let's get started—" Eddie clapped his hands, ready to go.

There was a sudden knock at the door.

"I'll come—" Joey's wife quickly got up and wouldn't let Eddie open the door.

"Hello Madame, it's a pleasure to meet you." There was a voice from the door that made Eddie Joy incredulous, this, it seemed to be Reem.