When I was young, during the Lunar New Year, every time relatives visited our home, the issue of red envelopes with money always came up.
The children were hesitant, wanting to stash the bright red bills into their packets yet feeling that accepting them directly would leave a bad impression; the adults, on the other hand, held the red envelopes and persisted in stuffing them into the children's arms. Thus, both sides would go back and forth, pushing and pulling like a Tai Chi performance, taking great delight in the exchange.
Zheng Qing felt that he had somehow recaptured that childhood feeling now.
Crystal Granny's gift was rather tricky; the young wizards eyed the beautiful crystal ball, wanting it yet not daring to take it. Crystal Granny, however, insisted on giving this gift, unaffected by the wooden box handed to her by the scholarship student, as if she saw nothing.
