A Different New Year's Eve (Continued)

How many times have I spent Chinese New Year here?

Si Ming couldn't remember clearly. It seemed like a long time had passed, but it also seemed like not much time had gone by. The memory of squatting on the roof and secretly shedding tears on the eve of the first New Year was still vivid in his mind.

What is Xiao Ming thinking about?

Hongdou's voice interrupted Si Ming's melancholy thoughts. He turned his head and glanced at the two graceful beauties, thinking that at least he wouldn't feel lonely and desolate this year, and he had something to care about in this world.

"I'm thinking about how much New Year's goods I need to buy this year."

Hongdou's eyes lit up. "Oh, oh, oh, I almost forgot about something as important as buying New Year's goods!"

Murong Qing hurriedly reminded him, "Don't buy useless things. If you buy them and don't use them, they'll just end up piling up in the warehouse."

"No, I only buy snacks, which I'll end up eating, not putting in storage."

"Then that's even more unacceptable. Eating too many snacks is bad for your health. You don't eat properly to begin with, and with snacks, you'll be even less likely to eat on time. I'll supervise you during the Spring Festival. You're not allowed to miss any of your three meals a day, and the money you spend on New Year's goods can't exceed two hundred yuan."

I object!

"Objection overruled."

Hongdou patted Si Ming on the shoulder and said, "Xiao Ming, you've married a housekeeper."

"There's no way around it; someone has to do this eventually. It's unavoidable."

"Who's the 'housekeeper'? They're asking for it!"

Hongdou giggled, dodging Murong Qing's tap on the head, and then the two began to playfully fight in the snow.

Hongdou's skills were inferior to Murong Qing's, so she quickly used her Internal Cultivation to make up for her shortcomings. Seeing this, Murong Qing was not to Qi Ingestion outdone and activated her Cultivation Body. Thus, the two beautiful girls' playful banter quickly escalated into a fairy battle, leaving behind afterimages in the square. Despite being surrounded by falling snowflakes, they remained untouched by any of them, leaving the passersby who were watching the beauties' playful antics completely astonished.

A young man who had witnessed the whole thing stepped forward and asked Si Ming, "Brother, could you please tell me how you managed to control these two fairies?"

Si Ming glanced at the other person, then pointed upwards and said, "Face."

Then he pointed below and said, "Exceptionally gifted."

The young man suddenly realized, then shook his head in disappointment. "There's no way to learn this."

Si Ming encouraged him, "Then read more books and practice more. What you lack at birth, you can make up for later. Sooner or later you'll win the heart of your beauty."

New Year's Eve, in the orphanage's living room.

Si Ming looked around. Murong Qing, Hongdou, Ying Zhou, Murong Wu, and Yao Bilian were all sitting on the sofa, some playing dominoes, others eating melon seeds, passing the time while waiting for the Spring Festival Gala to begin.

Besides Yu Shuying, who was still in the Barbarian Continent and couldn't be contacted, Liu Qingqing had come over earlier and brought over black-boned chicken stewed by Auntie Liu. Even Lu Mao, whom they hadn't seen for a long time, called from overseas, saying that he was going to have a duel with the Dark Culinary World tonight and couldn't come over, so he could only send a New Year's greeting. Si Ming also quickly wished him to overcome his enemy and become a generation's culinary king.

"Why didn't you come home this year?" Si Ming asked Yao Bilian curiously.

"I'm already married, so of course I don't need to go back to my parents' home."

"Then why don't you go to your new home and stay with your husband?"

"Because my husband is with his man, as a good wife, of course I can't disturb their time together. How about that? Am I considerate enough?"

"... That's really considerate."

On the other side, four people are playing Pai Gow. Pai Gow is a game that looks a lot like mahjong, also known as dominoes, but it is thinner and has a black background. It is often seen in various period dramas and is generally used for gambling.

There are many ways to play Pai Gow, one of which is Mahjong. The game that people are playing is similar to Mahjong, but games like "Pai Gow Stacking" and "Tian Gow" are more gambling-oriented than entertaining.

Of the four, the most skilled at cards was neither Murong Qing, who had a good learning mind, nor Ying Zhou, who looked like a veteran, but Murong Wu, who seemed the most obedient. He always won silently, and although he rarely won big hands, he was able to accumulate small winnings over time.

However, the person who won the most was not Murong Wu, but Hongdou. Although Hongdou was not good at acting and fooling others, her calculation ability was incredibly strong. She could mentally calculate the probability based on the cards played by each person. More importantly, she had a luck that made even the Africa sigh in admiration, and she would occasionally win with a perfect hand or a self-draw.

"Take care of yourself before you worry about others," Yao Bilian said. "Have you prepared any gifts for the woman's elders yet?"

Si Ming retorted, "Where did these elders from the bride's side come from? Hongdou and Murong Qing don't need them. Surely you're not going to give a gift to your brother-in-law, are you?"

"And Qingqing too."

Si Ming slapped his forehead, subconsciously ignoring the fact that he and Liu Qingqing hadn't taken that step yet, and he considered her his girlfriend rather than his wife.

"If I'm going to give Auntie Liu a gift, what should I give her?" Si Ming quickly asked Yao Bilian, who seemed to have a lot of experience.

"She probably hopes to receive a manuscript of your new work the most."

"... Let's try something else. It's too miserable to update and rush to finish a draft during the Lunar New Year. Is there anything that can be bought with money?"

"Then invest in her company. It's already made its first profit and needs funding. Send your royalties over; she'll be very happy. It's good to keep the profits within the family."

Although money wasn't very important to Si Ming, not having money was still a headache, especially since he still had a lot of Si Ming to collect. That's the downside of physical publishing; it's far less immediate than online literature.

"Let's go for something more down-to-earth, the kind that ordinary people like."

Yao Bilian thought for a moment and said, "A house."

"..."

It's definitely something that ordinary people like, but this is way too extravagant for the poor! Housing prices are high in this other world too!

After all, this place treats its population as a strategic resource and uses True Qi as the energy to power industrial machines. Even though the Su State has a large land area, it can only ensure that rural land is worthless, while housing prices in towns remain high. One of the government's preferential policies to promote early marriage is interest-free loans and priority access to low-rent housing, making it difficult for single people to buy houses.

However, when it comes to houses, Si Ming thought he really should buy one. It wasn't right to always live in an orphanage; it was like occupying state assets. Now that he had established a relationship with Murong Qing and Hongdou, he should have a home of his own. No matter how expensive the houses were, the royalties he had earned over the years would be more than enough.

I'm just a little reluctant to part with it.