Chapter 125: New Year's (2)

  At noon, the reunion dinner was prepared by the adults and was very sumptuous. Qiu Dad led Qiu Feng to set off firecrackers downstairs, six people, twelve dishes, filled a table, two families sat around the dinner table, raised their glasses, clinked them together, and the New Year's Eve dinner officially began.

  Qiu Baba and Fang Haibo were drinking baijiu, the Wuliangye that Fang Haibo brought back. The remaining four people were all drinking large bottles of champagne, which Qiu Ye had put in the bathtub to sell outside. Since it's New Year's, he asked Qiu Ma to bring a few bottles back for their family to drink.

  Qiu Ye stared at the Wuliangye on the dinner table with shining eyes, and her saliva was flowing out. She heard that the price of Wuliangye is now over ten yuan per bottle, which is too cheap compared to the prices of tens of thousands or even millions in later generations. She thought to herself whether she should store some good wine like this now? Every time she saw something with appreciation potential, she would unconsciously want to hoard it.

  "Come on, Brother Fang, let's have a drink. This year, Xiaofeng and Xiao Ye haven't given you any less trouble, I and their mom are busy with work and business, we don't have time to take care of them, but it's all thanks to you. And this year, you've taken them out twice, no small bother for you." Qiu Dad raised his glass to toast Fang Haibo, Qiu Mom on the side nodded in agreement, these two kids for more than a year now, their parents haven't had much to worry about, it's all been Brother Fang and his family taking care of them, this cup of wine is well deserved.

  "What's the relationship between us, why say these things? The two kids are also mine, I'm taking care of them and teaching them, isn't that what I should be doing? If it's like this, then my wife and I should thank you instead. We've been lonely for so many years, but this year has finally been meaningful and fulfilling. Besides, the kids are all good kids, we don't have to worry about anything, on the contrary, we're happy." Fang Haibo said from his heart despite having drunk wine.

  "It's just that, Xiaoye and Xiaofeng are also our children now. Whatever we do is what should be done. Just these two times going out, I feel more interesting than the many times before. In the future, if there's a chance, I'll take my daughter and son too." Zhao Shuyan said.

  Qiu Ye was delighted after hearing this. She stared at Zhao Shuyan and said, "Auntie, you have to keep your word. If there's another opportunity for a field trip at the university, you must sign up enthusiastically and bring me and my brother along. We'll travel together and try to cover all of China from north to south. Don't worry, Dad and Mom, when you retire, I'll take you on a trip around the country again." Qiu Ye savored her food while dreaming of a wonderful future.

  Her words fooled all the adults present, who thought this girl was really good and very filial.

  Qiu's mother was the most sensible, she gave her daughter a piece of bone and said: "You'd better calm down, you've already gone through all that, how much money would that cost? You have some money now, your tail is raised, isn't it? Don't you think about it, just these two times you went out. How much money did you spend? You work so hard to earn money, why don't you know the pain of spending it?" Qiu's mother started educating her daughter on the importance of saving money and not developing a habit of extravagance.

  "Mom, money is earned to be spent. What's the point of saving it if you can't use it? Besides, haven't you heard that only people who know how to spend money will earn money? If I just earn money without spending it, then there's no motivation to earn more, right, brother?" Although Qiu Ye worked very hard to earn money, she was absolutely not a miser. At least she herself firmly believed that where money should be spent, it must be spent. Just like when she bought jade stones and lottery tickets, and later planned to buy storefronts and houses - all of these were investments that could appreciate in value. So her spending was never reckless, but always targeted.

  "Yes, sister is right, earning money is for spending, otherwise we can't even buy meat, right? But money should still be saved a bit, in case of unexpected needs, right?"

  Qiu Feng finished speaking, and everyone who was seated nodded in agreement, this is still a human language.

  Qiu Ye felt a sense of relief and joy, his brother had finally made some progress, he actually knew how to read the situation now, flattering both sides, what a huge improvement this was.

  Actually, Qiu Feng has learned his lesson and is no longer reckless with money. It was a close call when he almost didn't have enough money to go to Xinjiang last time, so after returning, he gave all the money he had allocated to himself to his sister to help manage it for him. He also told her that if he ever got impulsive and wanted to buy something unnecessary again, she must stop him and make sure he saves his money like a responsible kid. Just now, when their elder relatives gave them four red envelopes, Qiu Feng carefully put them in his pocket and then immediately handed them over to his sister, asking her to save them for him.

  Then everyone gathered around, discussing the topics of how to make money well and how to spend it correctly, starting a heated discussion. Everyone expressed their own opinions, and the New Year's Eve dinner table was filled with joy and harmony.

  At this moment, a knock at the door was heard, and everyone looked at each other with questioning expressions. Who could it be at this time?

  Qiu Feng had a keen eye and immediately put down his chopsticks and ran to open the door.

  The door had just opened when Qiu Jiabao's voice came in, "Brother, I'm here."

  Qiu Jiabao had been to Qiu's house several times before, so he was quite familiar with it.

  "Why aren't you staying at home during the New Year? What are you doing here?" Qiu Feng said, letting Qiu Jiabao in.

  "Big brother, I think of you and big sister." Qiu Jiabao said as he walked in, but seeing that the people at the table didn't react much, his eyes lit up when he saw the dishes on the table. However, after receiving a stern glance from his big sister, he obediently greeted everyone at the table first.

  "Hello, elder male cousin, hello, elder female cousin, hello, second uncle, hello, second aunt, hello, Mr. Fang, hello, Mrs. Fang." This is the order of greeting based on closeness of relationship.

  "Ah, ah, Xiao Bao, why are you coming over at this time? Come quick, come to Erniang's place, there's good food here." Although Qiu Ma didn't have a very good first impression of this child, mainly because of his parents, she couldn't help but think that the child wouldn't be any good either. However, since her own children kept mentioning this cousin in front of her, saying how great he was and what he had done, and after several encounters, she found that this child was indeed different from his parents, so her impression of him gradually improved. She also hoped that her children would have a few close cousins to rely on when they grew up.

  Qiu Jiabao didn't hesitate either, quickly walking up to Qiu's mother and opening his mouth to eat the meatball that Qiu's mother had brought over.

  Qiu Dad was also heartbroken for his nephew, grabbed a handful of sugar from the sugar box next to him and stuffed it into Jia Bao's pocket.

  Qiu Ye couldn't stand her younger cousin coming to her home to freeload, and with a sideways glance at the smiling cousin, she asked: "You're just eating away, didn't you hear your second aunt ask what brought you here?"

  Qiu Jiabao's aunt smiled and quickly swallowed the bun in her mouth, saying: "Second Master, it was Grandma who asked me to come. She said to tell you all to hurry back home, everyone is waiting for you. Of course, Aunt, I also came because of you." Qiu Jiabao's little friend didn't forget to flatter his aunt, hoping she would treat him better in the future.

  Qiu's father raised an eyebrow and asked in a somewhat disbelieving tone, "Did your grandmother send you here?"

  "Hmm." Qiu Jiabao responded with a sound, then stared at Er Dama's chopsticks suspended in mid-air, watching as they hovered for half a day without coming down. He was so hungry that he finally jumped up, opened his mouth and swallowed the meatball floating in the air.

  He jumped up and down, as if he had pressed the play button again. Qiu's mother moved, putting chopsticks directly into Qiu Jiabao's hand, meaning that he liked to eat what he picked himself.

  Qiu's father turned his head to look at his daughter-in-law, the implication of his inquiry was self-evident.

  Qiu Yena is a perceptive child, observing her parents' interactions and understanding their thoughts. Her father was moved by his mother's words, but her mother became angry. For the sake of family harmony, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

  "Jiabao, is the meal at your house ready? Are we just waiting to go back and eat?" Qiu Ye thought that if Qiu Nainai could forget about what happened so quickly, she must have had an ulterior motive. And with San Shu's lazy personality, it was likely because no one would be working during the New Year.

  "Not yet, dinner hasn't been cooked yet." Qiu Jiabao this kid still eats without a care.

  The Qiu family members all raised their eyebrows upon hearing this, and their expressions were surprisingly similar.

  "Do you know why grandma asked us to go back?" Qiu Ye continued to lure the child.

  "I heard my grandma say that she wanted mom to cook, but my mom said she was too tired from work and should call Erniang back to do it, so grandma told me to come call you guys." Qiu Jiabao didn't quite understand the underlying relationships, so he naturally just said what he knew.

  Qiu's mother was so angry that her breathing became heavier, staring at Qiu's father, meaning "look, this is your brother and sister-in-law, only at times like these do you remember me". Qiu's father quickly comforted her by patting the small hand under the table, meaning "I know, I'll handle it, don't get agitated".

  "Jiabao, you go back and tell grandma that we've cut off our relationship, so we won't be going to ask for that money. Let her not wait for us anymore," said Qiu Dad.

  "Oh!" Qiu Jiabao responded listlessly, then suddenly remembered something and didn't even care about the delicious food anymore. He turned his head to ask Qiu Feng, "Big brother, aren't you going either?" Qiu Jiabao's tone was pitiful, he didn't mind if the adults weren't going, but he was still heartbroken that neither of his two older siblings were going.

  Qiu Feng looked at his little brother's pitiful appearance and comforted him, saying: "Alright, alright, we can't go now, when I have time later, I'll come find you to play."

  "Uh-huh, Brother Tang, you said it, you have to keep your word, I'll be waiting for you at home." Qiu Jiabao said and turned back to continue eating.

  Later, Qiu Ye couldn't take it anymore and felt that this wasn't the demeanor of a messenger at all. Later on, he directly chased Qiu Jia Bao back home. Qiu Jia Bao didn't get angry with his little friend either, and after saying goodbye to the people sitting there, he skipped away happily.