New Year's Eve.
Jiang Family Old House in Xinxiang.
Jiang Miao and his parents had returned to the old house in Xinxiang a few days earlier.
Lin Shuya had not returned to Guangzhou either. She did not want to see her two brothers, so she had followed Jiang Miao back to the old house for the New Year.
Jiang Miao's father and mother had come back several days in advance and cleaned the old house until it looked brand-new.
Bright red Spring Festival couplets had already been pasted beside the front gate.
Shu Ya and Jiang Miao's mother bustled about in the kitchen. They braised a goose and pork trotters, and made two salt-baked chickens in the pressure cooker.
"A Miao, come get the bowls and chopsticks."
"Okay!"
Before long, the table was covered with dishes.
Shu Ya served the two elders each a bowl of rice, then poured them orange juice. "Here, Dad, Mom, try the Honey Glazed Char Siu I made."
"Shu Ya, you should eat too. Look how thin you've gotten." His mother placed a huge piece of pork trotter into Shu Ya's bowl.
Jiang Miao merely smiled without saying anything.
After they finished their reunion dinner.
In the latter half of the night, his father set off the opening firecrackers.
Crack, crack, crack...
Amid the firecrackers, the old year passed away.
Before they knew it, the first day of the New Year had arrived.
Jiang Miao held Shu Ya in his arms as the two listened to the occasional firecrackers from the village and quietly reminisced about the past.
"Shu Ya, let's get married next year!"
Shu Ya pressed her head against his chest, feeling his warmth. She said casually, "We can just get the marriage certificate. I don't have many relatives on my side, and I've grown distant from my university and high school classmates. I'll probably just invite a few close girlfriends for a meal. I think holding a wedding is too troublesome. Just thinking about it gives me a headache."
"If you don't like crowds, then we'll keep it small. We can hold the wedding banquet directly in the cafeteria at company headquarters. I'll just invite a few close relatives, along with the company employees."
Lin Shuya raised her head, looked into his eyes, and smiled. "I'll listen to you."
Jiang Miao brushed aside her hair and lightly kissed Shu Ya on the forehead. "But we definitely need wedding photos and a wedding dress. One Chinese-style set and one Western-style set. You can pick whichever one you like."
"Mm." Shu Ya leaned against his shoulder again.
Outside the window, the firecracker sounds gradually died down.
In the quiet depths of the night, Jiang Miao unusually slept in.
He did not get up until ten o'clock the next morning.
On the first day of the New Year, young people in the local countryside did not really have anything to do. Matters such as honoring their ancestors were generally handled by the older generation at the Ancestral Hall.
Jiang Miao and Shu Ya casually drank a carton of Pure Milk before preparing to drive the pickup truck to the breeding base.
They had only just stepped outside and taken a few steps when they saw Eighth Aunt, still heavily pregnant, leading her grandson past them from not far away.
Jiang Miao glanced at her, and the Appraisal Panel immediately displayed her condition. He shook his head. Good advice could not save someone determined to die. Then he patted Shu Ya on the back. "Let's go."
"A Miao! Now that you've made it big, you don't recognize people anymore?" Eighth Aunt's foul mouth started up again.
"A Jie has made quite a bit of money these past few years too. I heard he bought an apartment in Jinding Bay. Why doesn't Eighth Aunt go live in Jinding Bay?" Jiang Miao asked with a smile.
"Isn't it being renovated? A Miao, you and A Jie are good brothers too. Could you..."
Jiang Miao smiled. "Eighth Aunt, I know a friend at a bank who handles loans. If A Jie needs one, he can go find him..."
Eighth Aunt repeatedly waved her hands. "Uh... no, no need! I wanted to borrow a little from you. We're family, after all..."
"Eighth Aunt, you misunderstand. I borrowed tens of millions from the bank to run my company too. I see A Jie has made a lot of money these past few years. How about lending me a few hundred thousand to tide me over?" Jiang Miao immediately turned the tables on her.
"Uh!" Eighth Aunt was struck speechless for a moment, then began rambling again. "A Miao! Business isn't easy these days. You need to be careful. Don't lose all your father's savings..."
"Thank you for your concern, Eighth Aunt. I'll be leaving now."
With that, he pulled Shu Ya into the vehicle and drove away.
In the car, Shu Ya asked what he had just been talking about, and Jiang Miao gave her a brief explanation.
After hearing it, Shu Ya smiled and shook her head. "You really saw it coming."
"There are good people in the village, petty people, and also sinister, cunning people. My dad is just too honest. If I don't give him a warning beforehand, who knows how much money he'll end up lending out."
"If it's just borrowing money once or twice for emergencies, that's not a big deal. The problem is that some people will push their luck. They think it's only natural for you to lend them money, while their ability to owe money without repaying it is somehow their own skill."
Jiang Miao lightly turned the steering wheel.
"So don't be too good to people in the countryside, especially those so-called aunts, uncles, and good brothers. If you treat them well, sometimes they won't appreciate it. Instead, they'll think you're easy to bully."
"A Miao, is Eighth Aunt really that seriously ill? But her son should be pretty wealthy, right? Why isn't he getting her treated?" Lin Shuya asked with a frown.
Jiang Miao shook his head. "That A Jie has been no good since he was little. He's a gambling addict. The apartment in Jinding Bay was probably paid for by Eighth Aunt and her husband. All the money he has earned these past years was spent with his drinking buddies."
"I see."
Meanwhile.
His mother, Huang Qiuyue, rode her bicycle to the Ancestral Hall to prepare for the ancestral rites.
Along the way, people she had gotten along with before, as well as those she had not, all greeted her with smiling faces.
Someone probed with a smile, "Qiuyue, your son has made a fortune. You should be enjoying life now."
Huang Qiuyue had not received much education, but she understood the particular shrewdness of middle-aged rural women perfectly well. She immediately followed the script her son had prepared in advance.
"Xiuzhu, where did you hear that? It would be wonderful if my son had really made money. His company borrowed tens of millions, and Dahai and I are worried sick."
"Really?"
Someone said sourly, "Third Aunt, your family made a fortune and yet you never came back to the village. During this year's opera offerings at the communal hall, you should have A Miao sponsor an opera!"
"I'm just a woman. I can't make decisions about sponsoring operas!"
Someone else began promoting her own daughter. "Sister Qiuyue, A Miao and my daughter were classmates, you know. After the New Year, why not set a time for the two young people to have tea together?"
Huang Qiuyue shook her head. "A Hua, my son already has a girlfriend."
As for the eldest uncle's family, who knew some of Jiang Miao's circumstances, his cousin Jiang Yao had already warned his parents not to talk carelessly in the village.
Jiang Yao's mother got along fairly well with Huang Qiuyue. Moreover, her son still depended on Jiang Miao's family for work, so she naturally would not talk recklessly. Instead, she even chimed in to support Huang Qiuyue.
Although everyone suspected that Jiang Miao had made quite a bit of money, they had no solid proof and only guessed that he might have earned a few million.
With the tens of millions in loans Huang Qiuyue mentioned, their envy lessened somewhat.
Over on his father Jiang Dahai's side, he likewise encountered all kinds of "good brothers" and "good neighbors."
Remembering his son's warning, Jiang Dahai was not dazzled by everyone's flattery. Instead, he became even more levelheaded.
One of the village elders, similar to a clan elder, smoked a water pipe and asked with a smile, "Dahai, how many operas do you plan to sponsor this year? Now that your family is making money, sponsoring an opera is something that brings honor to your ancestors. You can't let people look down on you."
Jiang Dahai knew he could not avoid this, so he nodded. "Although A Miao hasn't made much money, we can't disgrace the Jiang family. I'll pay to sponsor one opera."
"Dahai, that's not very generous, is it?" Another elder teased. "How can one opera be enough?"
"Third Uncle, please spare me! I'm saving what little money I have in case my son needs it someday." Jiang Dahai smiled bitterly and waved his hand.
Another short elder asked probing, "By the way, Dahai, is your eel farm still hiring? My second brother's Li Yan worked in logistics at Guotai Frozen Factory, so he has experience in that area."
Jiang Dahai shook his head. "The eel farm doesn't need logistics staff, but we do need a few people to feed the fish."
"Feed fish?" The short elder was immediately disappointed. Clearly, he had no intention of having his nephew do such work.
After chatting for more than half an hour, seeing that they could not get much benefit from Jiang Dahai, these people stopped bringing it up.
After all, they were fellow villagers. Some things could not be taken too far.
All of this had been within Jiang Miao's expectations.
Before returning for the New Year, he had already told his parents what he was thinking and warned them to be careful around the villagers, lest they suffer a major loss.
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