Today is indeed very cold.
As Xu Xiuwen stepped out from the front room into the courtyard, a gust of cold wind made him shiver.
He walked on the stone-paved path to the kitchen.
This morning's breakfast was dumplings.
Ning Jiali had timed it perfectly so that as soon as he finished washing up, the dumplings were ready.
Ning Wanqiu smiled and said, "I put a coin in one of them. Whoever gets it will have their wishes come true next year."
Xu Xiuwen turned to Ning Jiali and said, "You should eat a few more. Maybe if you get the coin, you'll do well on your exams tomorrow."
Ning Jiali laughed and said, "Cousin, don't underestimate me. Even without the coin, I'll do well on my exams."
Her words made Xu Xiuwen, Ning Wanqiu, and their grandmother all laugh.
In the end, it was indeed Ning Jiali who found the coin.
She took the coin out of her mouth and exclaimed excitedly, "Grandma, Auntie, Cousin, I got it! I got it!"
"It looks like Lili will get into a good university tomorrow. When you do, I'll buy you a phone," Ning Wanqiu said.
Xu Xiuwen nodded and added, "If my mom buys you a phone, I'll get you a computer to take to school."
Ning Jiali joyfully shouted, "Thank you, Auntie! Thank you, Cousin! You are the best."
Breakfast ended with laughter and joy.
After eating, Xu Xiuwen started putting up the couplets.
His grandfather had already bought them, but they had a tradition of putting them up on New Year's Eve, so they hadn't been hung yet.
Ning Wanqiu had already prepared the paste.
Xu Xiuwen held the couplets while Ning Jiali carried a bowl of paste.
As the saying goes, "When men and women work together, the work is not tiring."
The two of them pasted couplets and the character for "Fu" on every door from the front gate to the small house in the backyard.
[T/N: The chinese character "Fu" means "Luck" or "Good Fortune".]
His Uncle and Aunt finally arrived just before lunch.
Aunt is a person who only sees money.
Because Xu Xiuwen had lent them money, she not only overlooked the previous incident where she was slapped but also greeted them warmly, something unimaginable before.
Money can indeed make the world go round.
After lunch, more people came to visit.
Close relatives came almost with their children to pay respects.
Ning Wanqiu handed out red envelopes.
His Aunt, being money-hungry, would never give any money.
Before they knew it, evening had arrived.
This was Xu Xiuwen's first New Year since his rebirth, and the atmosphere was much more harmonious than in previous years.
After dinner, Xu Xiuwen went into his room and started making calls and sending messages to wish everyone a Happy New Year.
Of course, he first called Secretary Li and his counselor.
Some might say, with so many people sending greetings, no one would notice if you didn't. But that's a big mistake.
If you send greetings, people may not remember. But if you don't, they might remember it for a long time.
As the saying goes, "A friend in need is a friend indeed."
So, it's always good to wish Secretary Li and the counselor a Happy New Year.
Besides Secretary Li, he also sent greetings to close friends and classmates from university.
Sending messages was a hassle, and replying to them took even more time and effort.
Xu Xiuwen didn't finish replying to everyone until 9 PM.
Finally, he started calling his girlfriends to wish them a Happy New Year.
By the time he was done, it was already 11 PM.
Xu Xiuwen was ready to wash up and go to bed. He went to the kitchen in the backyard, poured some hot water from the thermos, and soaked his feet in a basin.
His grandmother and Ning Wanqiu were still awake, chatting and busy in the kitchen.
His grandmother took 200 yuan out of her pocket and gave it to Xu Xiuwen.
This was her New Year gift to him.
Even though he was earning money now, the New Year gift from his grandmother had special meaning, so he accepted it with a smile.
After soaking his feet, Xu Xiuwen went back to the front room. As he approached the door, he saw a shadow on the floor behind the curtain.
He pulled back the curtain and walked in.
Ning Jiali was standing by the bed.
Seeing him return, she reached out her hands and asked cheerfully, "Cousin, where's my New Year gift?"
Xu Xiuwen swatted her hands away and said, "You're only a year younger than me, and you want a New Year gift from me?"
Ning Jiali, unfazed, smiled and said, "A year younger is still younger. And you're my cousin."
"I don't have any. If you want it, go ask my mom."
Ning Jiali still wasn't upset, "Auntie already gave me a New Year gift. Guess how much she gave?"
"300 or 500?"
In previous years, Ning Wanqiu usually gave 200. She might give a bit more this year.
Ning Jiali shook her head, "Auntie gave me 1,000 yuan."
"My mom really is generous."
He remembered the red envelopes Ning Wanqiu sent out in the afternoon. Although he didn't know how much money was inside, it should be no less than 100 yuan each, totaling nearly 1000 yuan. Plus the red envelope he gave to Ning Jiali, that's another 2000 yuan.
And that's not all, Eldest Aunt's family, Second Aunt's family, and even Youngest Aunt's family will expect red envelopes when they return on the second day of the lunar new year.
Over the course of a year, just in red envelopes for the lunar new year, she has to give out nearly 5000 yuan. Xu Xiuwen couldn't help but marvel at how generous his mom was.
Ning Jiali suddenly fell silent.
Xu Xiuwen felt puzzled and looked over, his face full of confusion.
Ning Jiali's cheeks were rosy, making her look particularly beautiful under the light.
Xu Xiuwen thought to himself: Such a beautiful little cousin, I wonder which guy will end up with her in the future.
Ning Jiali looked up at Xu Xiuwen.
She suddenly called out softly, "Cousin~"
Her voice was soft and sweet, melting hearts.
Xu Xiuwen asked, "What's wrong?"
Ning Jiali's eyes sparkled in the light, exceptionally watery and beautiful.
She asked, "Cousin, is it true that you'll buy me a computer?"
Xu Xiuwen thought it was something serious at first, but when he heard what it was, he smiled.
"Of course, as long as you get into university, I'll buy you one."
Ning Jiali whispered, "But what if I only get into a second or third-tier university?"
Xu Xiuwen reached out and ruffled her hair, speaking indulgently, "Second or third-tier universities are still universities. I'll still buy it for you."
Touched by his words, Ning Jiali's eyes welled up with tears.
Growing up, her mother only cared about money. Whenever she was unhappy, she would scold her as a waste of money.
Grandpa and Dad, because she was a girl, although they didn't say anything too harsh, their usual attitudes made her understand that they actually wanted a grandson or a son.
Grandma was nice to her.
Except for Grandma, her third aunt and cousin were the best to her.
Ning Jiali knew that even if she got into university, her mother wouldn't buy her a computer or a phone.
Comparing all this, how could she not be moved?
With tears in her eyes, Ning Jiali threw herself into Xu Xiuwen's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her head against his chest.
Xu Xiuwen was startled by her action.
He quickly advised, "Lili, let go, it's not appropriate to do this!"
Hearing this, Ning Jiali obediently let go.
She looked up at Xu Xiuwen, tears shimmering in her eyes as she said, "Cousin, you're so kind."
Xu Xiuwen chuckled, "Alright, stop crying, how come I never noticed you were such a crybaby before?"
Ning Jiali wiped away her tears, retorting, "I'm not a crybaby!"
Xu Xiuwen ruffled her hair, "It's getting late, you should go back and sleep."
Ning Jiali nodded, turned, and walked towards the door. After a few steps, she suddenly stopped and said to Xu Xiuwen, "Cousin, close your eyes?"
"Hmm? What are you up to?"
"Oh, just close them."
Xu Xiuwen was very confused but obediently closed his eyes.
A fragrant breeze blew by. The next moment, his left cheek felt moist.
Xu Xiuwen immediately opened his eyes, staring at Ning Jiali in surprise.
Ning Jiali didn't explain.
She gave Xu Xiuwen a shallow smile, waved, and said, "Good night, cousin."
With that, she left the room, happy.
While Ning Jiali left content, Xu Xiuwen sighed!
If Ning Jiali sees him as a brother, it's okay, but if she intends to go astray, that's absolutely unacceptable.
Xu Xiuwen decided to minimize physical contact with Ning Jiali in the future.
Luckily, it was already the second day of the lunar new year, and he would be going home soon.
If his cousin could get into university, the next time they meet would be when she starts school in September.
In the blink of an eye, it was already the third day of the lunar new year.
Early in the morning, Xu Xiuwen and Ning Wanqiu got up, packed their bags, and prepared to go home.
In previous years, when they went back on this day, Ning Wanqiu would at most bring back a bag of rice from home.
But times have changed.
Youngest Aunt gave four old hens, Second Aunt gave a string of salted ribs, and it's said that they had two strings at home but didn't even want to eat them themselves.
Eldest Aunt gave two ducks and two geese.
Even their usually stingy uncle's wife gave a jar of freshly pickled cabbage.
So, as long as the money is there, there's no such thing as a bad relationship in this world.
Before leaving, everyone in the family came out to see them off.
Cousin Ning Jiali's eyes were red.
Under the gaze of relatives, Xu Xiuwen drove away.
On the way home, Xu Xiuwen couldn't help but ask, "Mom, how much red envelope money did you give out this year?"
"The two children of your younger aunt's family each got 500, and the others each got 1,000."
Xu Xiuwen shook his head, "You're really generous, not even stingy when it comes to giving out red envelopes."
Ning Wanqiu sighed, "Their families are not well-off, so I wanted to help a bit. Besides, my son can earn money, so I don't mind this small amount."
"That's true. Now that I can make money, you can just relax and enjoy yourself in the future."
...
Back home, it wasn't even 11 o'clock yet.
Ning Wanqiu began preparing dinner, including killing chickens and ducks.
Xu Xiuwen wanted to help, but Ning Wanqiu felt he was tired from driving and asked him to rest in his room while she handled it herself.
After returning to his room, Xu Xiuwen turned on his computer and logged into QQ.
He glanced at the group chat first, only to find the conversation buzzing!
Xu Xiuwen was now in a total of 10 book club groups, all of them full.
In these 10 book club groups, messages kept flashing.
Xu Xiuwen looked carefully and realized they were discussing the airing of "Boys Over Flowers" on the Jiangsu TV.
He had informed the group about it before the TV series aired.
Every book club member in the group pledged to support the show by watching it.
After the TV series premiered, the book club members were pleasantly surprised to find that the adaptation was highly faithful to the original.
And most importantly, the male lead played by Dada was incredibly handsome.
Originally, there were many fans of Xu Xiuwen's appearance in the group, and now they were even more immersed in his good looks.
Many female book club members were now calling him "husband" instead of just "Dada."
After reading the chat for a while, Xu Xiuwen typed a reply: "This show wasn't produced by a big company, so it might not be as polished. Do you guys like it?"
Xu Xiuwen's comment immediately stirred up the group!
"We love it!"
"So much love!"
"Husband is so handsome!"
...
Praises and approvals flooded in, covering the screen.
Xu Xiuwen typed again: "As long as you like it. I'm planning to release my fourth book soon, a speculative historical novel. I hope you all will support it."
"We'll support it, definitely!"
"I'm the first to support!"
"Can't wait for husband's new work!"
Authors couldn't ask for better fans than these.
Critics who spend all their time bashing authors serve no purpose except to break their spirits.
Xu Xiuwen typed again: "You guys chat, I'm logging off for now."
"Oh, don't go!"
"Husband, don't leave!"
"Husband..."
The screen was filled with "husband."
Facing the pleadings of his female fans, Xu Xiuwen smiled and closed the QQ group.
Some fervent book club members had already gone to the comment sections of Xu Xiuwen's previous novels to advertise his new book.
For a moment, the entire Jinjiang author circle was stirred up.
Authors were worried about being overshadowed by Xu Xiuwen's simultaneous release, while readers were eagerly anticipating it.
Xu Xiuwen didn't disappoint them.
That evening, he posted the first chapter of "Nirvana in Fire," with only 3,000 words.
But the comments in the book club were increasing explosively.
But that's a story for another time.
After closing the QQ group, Xu Xiuwen was about to start writing when he noticed a familiar profile picture flashing in his contacts.
It wasn't an editor or a college classmate.
It was the class monitor from Xu Xiuwen's high school days, He Yu.
Xu Xiuwen opened the chat window and casually glanced at it, "Xu Xiuwen, high school classmates gathering on the eighth day of the new year. Will you come?"
The message was sent the day before New Year's Eve.
Seeing the message from the class monitor, Xu Xiuwen paused.
He remembered there was also a class reunion in his previous life, and it seemed to be on the same day.
Many things had changed since his rebirth.
But the class monitor's gathering was still happening.
He had attended a class reunion in his previous life, so Xu Xiuwen didn't want to go this time.
But he couldn't just ignore the class monitor's invitation either.
Actually, if it were someone else, like the deputy monitor Yang Xiaoxiao inviting him to a class reunion, he definitely wouldn't go.
But He Yu, the class monitor, was a decent person during high school, so after some thought, Xu Xiuwen decided to go. It was just a meal, and he didn't mind spending half a day on it.
Xu Xiuwen replied, "Sure, just let me know the specific time and place, and I'll be there."
After replying to the class monitor, Xu Xiuwen started typing. At 7 o'clock in the evening, he promptly released his new book, updating the first chapter.
By the afternoon, word of mouth spread among book enthusiasts, and many people became aware that Xu Renshan was about to release a new book.
The loyalty of female readers was much higher than that of male readers.
So as soon as the new book was released, a large number of readers flooded in, leaving comments like "It's great, please update more."
It was as if giving tips was free.
On the first night of the book release, Xu Xiuwen received a total of one hundred thousand yuan in tips.
It was truly astonishing.
What Xu Xiuwen didn't know was that after several consecutive bestsellers, the pen name Xu Renshan became famous on the Jinjiang website.
He had become a literary god in the hearts of many readers.
And when a literary god released a new book, countless small authors could only retreat in fear and dare not release their own books at the same time.