Rebooting 60, let's go on a rampage with the orange cat!

Upon seeing this, Mrs. Liu quickly stood up, cheerfully took out a red envelope from her pocket, and waved it, saying, "Huai'an, come, come, take this red envelope."

Fat Orange Dodo also darted past Huai'an like lightning and started playing with the kitten 'Goji Berry'.

Master Liu, whose face had been gloomy, burst out laughing when she saw Huai'an arrive. "Huai'an's here! Come and see your junior apprentice, Liu Chuyang." She then turned to Liu Chuyang and said, "Chuyang, quickly call her 'Little Martial Aunt'!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Chuyang's face showed a look of astonishment. This eight or nine-year-old girl was actually his martial aunt! How could he, at twenty, possibly accept this? He angrily abandoned his horse stance and simply sat down on the ground, sulking, "I won't call you that!"

Everyone smiled. Liu Qingshu smiled and pulled the middle-aged woman over, introducing her: "This is Shi Huai'an, my father's last disciple." Then, he turned to Shi Huai'an and said, "This is your sister-in-law."

Shi Huai'an smiled sincerely and said respectfully, "Sister-in-law, you are so beautiful. Happy New Year!"

"Oh my, you have such a sweet tongue! Here, your sister-in-law has also prepared a red envelope for you. I wish you academic success and all the best in the new year." As she spoke, she took out a small red envelope from her pocket and handed it to Shi Huai'an.

Liu Chuyang teased Huai'an deliberately, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. She winked at her and said, "You're my little aunt, after all. According to custom, elders should give red envelopes to juniors! So, you have to give me a big red envelope on our first meeting!"

Hearing this, Huai'an narrowed one eye and a sly smile appeared on her face. She replied, "Then you have to wish me a Happy New Year first, and say some auspicious words respectfully before I will consider whether or not to give you a red envelope!" She crossed her arms and looked smug, as if waiting for Liu Chuyang's reaction.

Liu Chuyang squinted, a naive smile playing on his lips. He stood up, dusted himself off, bowed to Huai'an, and then, mimicking a child, shook his head and gestured with his finger, saying, "Happy New Year! Happy New Year! Red envelopes are coming your way!"

Seeing his comical appearance, Huai'an couldn't help but laugh. She generously took out a red envelope from her pocket and slapped it into his palm, saying playfully, "Hey~ good nephew, your auntie prepared a red envelope a long time ago! You're a year older now, so be good!"

Everyone could no longer contain themselves and burst into laughter, the sound so loud it seemed to lift the roof off. The master's wife laughed until tears streamed down her face, clutching her stomach and trying to stop the laughter, but to no avail; the master's wife also laughed so hard she couldn't straighten up, and could only lean back in her chair, her face beaming with joy and happiness.

Liu Chuyang picked it up in his hand; it was hard and quite heavy. Curious, he opened it and poured out two copper coins from the red envelope.

He picked up the copper coin, held it up to the sunlight to examine it, and exclaimed "Eh~". Then he changed to a side with the light behind him and examined it carefully. Others, seeing this, also gathered around out of curiosity.

Liu Chuyang unconsciously uttered, "Imperial Song Tongbao?~" He stared wide-eyed at Huai'an and asked, "Kid, where did you get this?"

Master Liu laughed and scolded, "How rude! What kind of child is this? Call her 'Master Aunt'!"

Huai'an laughed and said, "Just call me Huai'an or An'an. I found this on the mountain."

Liu Chuyang chuckled and teased, "You just picked it up randomly? You're so lucky! Look, this copper coin is a Song-Yuan Tongbao with large characters on the right and large characters on the left, minted during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty. The inscriptions are in seal script and regular script, and the reverse is blank. There's also a rare nine-fold seal script version, which is extremely rare and a great treasure among ancient coins. This is very valuable, you know. Now, do you regret giving it to me?"

Everyone looked at Huai'an, who smiled and said, "I heard from my master that Brother Chuyang likes to collect these things, so I specially found them for you." These were antiques she kept in her spatial box; she had plenty of copper coins like these.

Liu Yifu nodded and smiled, "The copper coins in the red envelope symbolize warding off evil, longevity, and wealth. The custom of using copper coins can be traced back to the Han Dynasty, when they were called 'amulet coins' or 'amulet money.' These copper coins were not currency in circulation, but rather ornaments worn by children to bring good fortune and ward off evil. In the Tang Dynasty, there was a custom of 'throwing coins as a game' in the court, which later developed into the custom of distributing money to celebrate the Spring Festival. After the Song and Yuan Dynasties, this custom evolved into the 'suppression of evil' custom of giving money to children on New Year's Eve, mostly in the form of copper coins strung together with red string."

He smiled at Liu Chuyang and said, "My junior aunt still values ​​you, her junior nephew, very much." Everyone laughed again, and his master's wife quickly brought over a bowl of sweet soup with poached eggs. Shi Huai'an ate it without ceremony, as it was customary not to refuse a gift from an elder.

Liu Chuyang felt embarrassed. He hadn't expected his junior aunt to be so generous. He touched the fountain pen in the pocket of his Zhongshan suit, pulled it out, and handed it to Huai'an with a grin, saying, "Huai'an, I just bought this fountain pen in the capital. I haven't used it much. I didn't prepare a gift for our meeting, so please don't laugh at me."

Huai'an took the pen and looked at it. Seeing that his master and the others were all nodding, he played with it in his hand for a while and laughed, "Haha... This pen was used by a college student. I want to go to college in the future. I've really hit the jackpot today, with red envelopes and gifts. Thank you, Brother Chuyang."

Liu Chuyang also happily said, "Yes, I must go to university in the future and see the world. It's a very big place."

After chatting with his master for a long time at his home, Huai'an lingered for a while longer. Just then, a commotion arose outside the door; it turned out that a new group of guests had arrived to wish his master a Happy New Year. Knowing that staying any longer might be inconvenient, Huai'an bid farewell to his master and slowly departed.

When she and Duoduo returned to their front door, they heard bursts of laughter coming from inside. Pushing open the door, they saw their aunt Wu Yue'e sitting with Shi Yaozu on chairs at the living room table. Both of them were wearing faded and slightly worn clothes and were chatting warmly with their parents.

Wu Yue'e looked up and saw Huai'an carrying the chubby orange as she walked in. Her face immediately lit up with a smile, and she greeted her warmly, "Oh my, our Huai'an is finally back! Your uncle, Yaozu, and I have been missing you. Look at this child, she's really blossomed into a beautiful young lady, and she's grown taller and taller all the time. Xiaoyan had been clamoring to come and visit you, but I thought the round-trip train tickets wouldn't be cheap, so I didn't let her come."

Huai'an smiled slightly, revealing a polite but distant smile. He nodded gently to Wu Yue'e and Shi Yaozu and said indifferently, "Happy New Year, Auntie. You two continue chatting. I'm a little tired, so I'll go back to my room first." After saying that, he turned and walked towards his room without waiting for their response.

Seeing this, her mother, Xiuzhi, quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "Oh dear, don't mind her. She just came back from her master's house; she's probably exhausted. Huai'an, go back to your room and rest. I'll call you when dinner is ready." Huai'an responded and quickly went into her room, closing the door behind her. However, she didn't lie down immediately. Instead, she tiptoed behind the door, pressed her ear against it, and secretly listened to the conversation outside. Meanwhile, Duoduo, the chubby orange cat, had already disappeared into her spatial dimension to find something delicious.

Shi Renmei politely pushed the various snacks on the table and said, "You came so early, you haven't eaten anything yet, have a tea egg to fill your stomach first."

Xiuzhi hurriedly said, "I'll cook right away. Yaozu, come and get it, don't be shy."

Wu Yue'e complained, "I have to say, my brother and sister-in-law are really something. They moved into a new house without even telling us to come and warm up. I had to ask around at your old house for ages before I finally got here. This house is really nice, much brighter than the old one. Your lives are getting better and better."

Shi Renmei said apologetically, "It's just a change of public rental housing. It's not like the grand celebrations we had in the countryside when we built our own houses. We didn't make a big fuss about moving, we didn't even set off firecrackers, and we didn't want to bother you with all the back and forth."

Xiuzhi asked with concern, "You just said something was wrong with my second brother? Is it serious?"

Wu Yue'e sighed and said with a worried look, "Alas, it was his carelessness. He couldn't see clearly in the dark at night and fell into a ditch by the roadside while trying to make way for the car in front. The village doctor said that although there was no fracture, it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, so we can't be careless. That's why I asked Xiaoyan to stay home and take care of her father. Yaozu and I have come to wish you a Happy New Year."

Shi Renmei frowned and said, "Oh dear, sister! Why do you have to go through all this trouble? If you're really too busy at home to leave, then don't make this special trip. We're all family, there's no need for so many formalities!"

Wu Yue'e quickly smiled apologetically, "Brother, you can't say that! We still need to show proper etiquette, otherwise people will laugh at us, and I'll feel bad about it myself. Besides, I came here not only to visit you, but also because I had no choice but to ask you for help." As she spoke, a look of embarrassment appeared on her face.

Shi Renmei quickly asked, "What exactly happened? If you have any difficulties, just tell your older brother. We will definitely not stand idly by if we can help."

Wu Yue'e sighed and said slowly, "Brother, don't laugh at me, but our family is really struggling to make ends meet lately. Renli broke his leg in a fall a while ago and still can't work, so he can't earn any work points. And Yaozu is about to start school, and we need money everywhere. As his mother, I really have no other choice, so I've swallowed my pride and come to you for a loan to tide us over."

Xiuzhi frowned after hearing this, but did not refuse directly. After all, he was her husband's family. As usual, she turned to her husband and said, "Old Guan, you decide what to do. I'm going to cook."

Shi Renmei pondered for a moment, then looked at Wu Yue'e and asked, "Just tell me directly, how much do you want to borrow? If it's not a large amount, I can help you as much as I can. However, as you know, my salary isn't high, and my family has a lot of expenses, so I can't help you with too much."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yue'e's eyes darted around, and she quickly glanced at the furnishings in the room: a sewing machine, a radio, and a bicycle. She thought to herself, "My brother always says his salary isn't high, but how much do all these things cost?"

She silently considered the amount before cautiously speaking, "Brother, is a hundred yuan alright? I know it's a lot of money, but it's a lifesaver for our family. Once Renli's leg is healed and he can get back to work, we'll definitely pay you back as soon as possible." She then looked at Shi Renmei and his wife with hopeful eyes.

One hundred yuan was no small sum for Shi Renmei; it was almost equivalent to the wages he would earn in nearly three and a half months of hard work! Faced with such a huge sum, he couldn't help but hesitate.

Meanwhile, he silently estimated the medical expenses and subsequent living costs for his brother's leg injury. In rural areas, one hundred yuan was no small sum. However, Shi Renmei was surprised and displeased that Wu Yue'e was demanding such a large amount.

Seeing Shi Renmei remain silent, Wu Yue'e began to sob. Though her sobs were soft, they were enough to draw the attention of those around her. She gently wiped away her tears while grumbling incessantly, "That good-for-nothing Renli, he never made much money to begin with, and now he's injured himself! How am I supposed to live? It's utterly unlucky, like misfortunes never coming singly! Why is my life so miserable… Waaah…" Suddenly, she broke down, like a flood bursting its banks, and began to sing a heartbreaking, drawn-out song.

Her son, Yaozu, felt extremely embarrassed and wished he could disappear into the ground. His face flushed red as he tried to pull his mother up from the floor, but Wu Yue'e slumped to the ground, looking even more heartbroken: "You're his only older brother, and you're doing so well in the city, living in a bigger house, buying bicycles and sewing machines. Meanwhile, our poor family is eating chaff and wild vegetables, barely able to afford food. We can't live like this anymore. If you don't help us, I might as well just die..."

This act of crying and singing is a unique custom in their rural areas. In some rural areas, when a funeral occurs, people often hire people who are skilled at crying and singing to mourn at the grave. At this moment, during the Spring Festival, which should be a time of joy and peace, Wu Yue'e's crying and wailing is extremely unlucky.

Shi Renmei's face instantly turned extremely ugly. He felt utterly helpless and disgusted with his sister-in-law, who was like a vampire. She was always the kind of person who didn't care about face, would throw tantrums and act shamelessly, and had long been used to manipulating his elder brother's family, who valued appearances.

Shi Renmei was so angry he was about to vomit blood. He slammed his hand on the table, shaking the teacups, and said angrily, "It's the New Year, and all this talk about death and life is so unlucky. Can't you just talk things out properly? You keep throwing tantrums and rolling on the ground. Is this how you behave in front of your son? Do you even have the demeanor of an elder?"

Wu Yue'e was so frightened that she scrambled to her feet, but still acted as if she were immune to all danger, choking back tears as she said, "Brother, I know you have a kind heart, but if you don't help us, who else can we rely on?"

Hearing this from the kitchen, Xiuzhi got so angry that she smashed the pots and pans with a loud bang. No matter how good-tempered she was, she couldn't stand her sister-in-law's family. She stopped cooking and hurried into the bedroom, saying urgently, "I'm not feeling well, I can't cook."