Cheng Fei had become more worldly and confident since coming to the city, no longer as timid as before. He brought quite a few things when he visited Fang Pingying’s home, bought clothes for the kids, and brought a lot of fruit, thanking Fang Pingying profusely for helping him find a job in the city. After expressing his gratitude, he took out several red envelopes from his pocket that were originally prepared for Ruirui and Yaoyao. "Sister-in-law, during my last visit, I intended to give these red envelopes to Ruirui and Yaoyao. But as you know, I hardly had any money when I first came to the city and was too embarrassed to say anything. Now, after working for a few months, I’ve saved a little and I feel I must make up for it." Official source is N0velFire.ɴet In reality, Fang Pingying genuinely wanted to help such a relative. After all, they were all part of one big family, and everyone hoped their relatives would do well. Moreover, Fang Pingying hadn’t really done much for Cheng Fei. Since he was a cousin, it wasn’t appropriate for her to be overly involved. She just introduced him to Zeng Weiguo and he handled the rest of his life by himself. Unlike Luo Zhiming, who was not content even after Fang Pingying had taken care of all his living essentials when he first came to work in the provincial city. Fang Pingying, seeing this, smiled and pushed the money back into his hand. "Cheng Fei, we’re all family, so don’t be so formal. Otherwise, we might not even let you come over to our place anymore. Keep the money for yourself. Check on how Second Uncle is doing when you go back. If his condition is still the same as we saw before, you and Yu’er should take him to the county hospital. Don’t listen to your wife’s advice on this anymore." Upon hearing this, Cheng Fei scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said awkwardly, "Sister-in-law, I know. The household’s finances are much better this year. I’ll definitely take Dad to the provincial city for treatment when I get back and won’t let Yu Fen stop me." Yu’er, who was nearby, heard this and rolled her eyes at Cheng Fei, exclaiming, "Big brother, remember what you said. Don’t let all your money be taken by sister-in-law once you get home. At that point, not only will you not be able to take Dad to the provincial city for treatment, you’ll even be expecting Mom and Dad to foot the bill for the New Year." Cheng Fei thought about it and realized it could indeed happen. He decided to take out all the money he had saved over the past few months, about over 100 yuan, and handed it to Yu’er, "Here, this money is my monthly bonus and the extra for the New Year month, totaling over 100 yuan. Yu Fen doesn’t know about it. I only told her I earn sixty yuan a month. I’ll give her the regular salary, and you can keep this amount safe. Help me give it to Mom and Dad later, and when the New Year comes around, I’ll have Yu Fen take out some money for them." Yu’er immediately accepted the money without any hesitation. "Alright, I’ll hold onto this for you. I’ll give it to Mom when I get back. She’d save it for you if there’s no urgent need at home, but Mom and Dad will surely be happy to see this money." Cheng Fei knew his parents wouldn’t waste money and replied with a smile, "Yeah, just make sure they don’t mention it when you get back, you know what kind of person Yu Fen can be..." Before he could finish, Cheng Fei gave an awkward smile, feeling uncomfortable discussing his fear of his wife in front of other family members. Seeing his reaction, Yu’er teased him with a laugh, "Big brother, you’re good in every other way, just a bit too afraid of your wife." Cheng Fei chuckled and playfully swatted Yu’er’s forehead, "You little rascal, who do you think you are schooling?" On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, Yu’er, Cheng Fei, and Luo Honglan set off for home early in the morning. Meanwhile, Li Aihua’s family and Li Yuchun’s family all came to Fang Pingying’s home to prepare for the New Year festivities. Apart from Zhao Longsheng and Luo Zhiyong, who were both military men and had to stick to their posts, everyone else was at home. Perhaps because Fang Pingying’s house wasn’t very big, it seemed extraordinarily lively. Fang Xiu and Fang Ping’an, along with the two children, were playing on the sofa in the living room, while Fang Pingying, Li Yuchun, and Li Aihua were wrapping dumplings in the back living room. Li Aihua, who spent her life studying more than doing household chores, was not very good at it; her dumplings were far inferior to those made by Fang Pingying and Li Yuchun. Fang Pingying teased her, saying, "Mom, how did your family handle the New Year in the past? With dumplings wrapped , could Uncle Zhao even swallow them?" Li Aihua pursed her lips, unconvinced, and said, "What’s not to swallow? In the end, it all looks the same in the stomach." Fang Pingying laughed, "Haha, in that case, don’t bother wrapping them. Just boil the meat and dough together then. It all ends up the same in the stomach." "Stop your nonsense," Li Aihua hit Fang Pingying lightly with a laugh and asked her, "I want to ask you, you didn’t go home for the New Year this time, did your mother-in-law call to scold you?" Fang Pingying thought about Zhou Yunmei and Luo Honglan’s insistence over the phone a few days ago that Luo Zhiyong must come home and said pensively, "I don’t know yet; Honglan and the others haven’t arrived home. Probably once they get there, they might call to scold." Li Aihua’s eyes flickered, and she asked, "They’ll be home tonight, right?" Li Aihua nodded and blinked, saying, "Then I’ll stay at your place a bit longer tonight, and I’ll go back after your mother-in-law finishes the call." Fang Pingying knew Li Aihua was worried Zhou Yunmei might say something about her over the phone and wanted to defend her; she laughed and said, "It’s okay, she can’t really do anything to me; you don’t need to argue with her, it’ll only lead to confusion." Hearing this, Li Yuchun added, "Exactly, Zhou Yunmei is notorious in our village for being troublesome and aggressive. She’s really something. Back when Fang Xiu was at her place, I can’t even count the number of times we’ve clashed." "Yeah, Xiu’er marrying Luo Zhiming was indeed a bad deal—didn’t get to live a good life, and got tormented instead," Li Aihua said, and then glanced at Li Yuchun before asking softly, "Big sister, have you thought about finding someone else for Xiu’er?" "I have, after all, Fang Xiu is still young, not even 23 years old. She can’t stay single for her whole life, but there’s just no suitable person," Li Yuchun said with a concerned look, talking about Fang Xiu, "Xiu’er plans to work hard in the city and settle down there. She doesn’t want to find someone from the countryside, but urban people, who would want a divorcee with a child? And even if she finds someone, we worry that person might not treat the child well. So for the sake of the child, she’s not searching right now." "There’s nothing wrong with remarrying; it’s quite common in the city," Li Aihua didn’t think much of it and encouraged Li Yuchun, "Regarding the child, if Fang Xiu is willing to raise her own, let her. If she’s worried men might not treat her child well, leave the child with you, it would also be less lonely for you two elders." "I’ve said the same, but Xiu’er doesn’t want it," Li Yuchun thought of herself and Fang Ping’an, still young and Fang Ping’an still being able to earn money; her daughter Fang Pingying didn’t need their support, and her wish was to support Fang Xiu until her child was grown. "Right, I was even thinking of introducing Xiu’er to someone..." Li Aihua didn’t finish her sentence when the sound of opening the door came from outside.