After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

On New Year's Eve, apart from the landlord Jiang, everyone at the table was a woman.

There were no separate tables for men and women; they were simply divided into two tables based on social status.

The elderly couple sat at the head of the table, Lin Yueniang sat to the left of her mother-in-law, and Jiang Xiwen and Jiang Xiyue sat next to their mothers.

The four concubine's daughters ate at the same table as Aunt Pan, which made everyone feel more comfortable while eating.

Jiang Xiaoqi, who was "poisoned" quite severely, was of course in bed rest.

The food was prepared in advance by the kitchen. Wenbin kept it warm in the food containers with hot water, and the food was not cold at all when he walked back from the kitchen.

Jiang Xiaoqi had his two pageboys set out the food, then got out of bed after lifting the covers. Wenbin and Li Mo didn't show any surprise at all.

They simply handed over the bowls and chopsticks as a matter of course, taking care of the young master's meal.

Jiang Wenqing, the father, wasn't so meticulous. Although both were bedridden (because they had been spanked by the landlord Jiang), their treatment was vastly different.

Although Jiang Wenqing had servants bring him food, it wasn't served in individual dishes; instead, a small portion of each dish was randomly placed in a large bowl.

To put it nicely, it's called a "folded basket"; to put it bluntly, it's a hodgepodge.

You'll definitely be full, and the food will certainly taste good, since it's all prepared as part of a banquet. It's just that the presentation is a bit lacking.

However, on Lunar New Year's Eve, many families still can't enjoy a bowl of hot bibimbap like this.

Jiang Wenqing felt inexplicably satisfied, after all, he had lived in a dormitory for a long time for three coins a night, where he ate only coarse grain buns and cold water every day.

Holding a large bowl, I suppressed my bitterness. I picked up my chopsticks and shoveled rice into my mouth.

After the servants cleared away the bowls and chopsticks, he ignored the burning pain in his buttocks and took out the holiday gifts that his son had sent.

Last year, I received a jade pendant from my son. No matter how difficult things were for me, I never thought of taking it to a pawnshop to pay off the debt!

I wonder what my son will give me this year; I'm kind of looking forward to it.

Jiang Wenqing turned to the side and took out a small bag from the bedding. He unwrapped the cloth covering it, revealing a small, exquisitely crafted brocade box inside.

Gently open the brass clasp and lift the lid...

Gold, gold! Gold leaves!

And silver beads! So many!

His first thought was to ask his son for help in the future!

Then he wouldn't have to suffer so much outside, and his son definitely wouldn't beat him up without warning like his father did...

There are quite a few gold leaves, more than thirty, or to be precise, thirty-eight.

The number of silver beads increased significantly, to at least a hundred.

Although each piece isn't very large, it adds up to quite a lot.

Each gold leaf costs about one mace, and there are thirty-eight leaves in total, which adds up to three taels and eight mace of gold. That's equivalent to thirty-eight taels of silver!

Each silver bead costs about five qian (approximately 15 grams), so a hundred of them would be fifty taels (approximately 25 grams)! His son gave him gold and silver worth eighty-eight taels!

Wow, that's really extravagant! Oh no, that number is really auspicious! Hehe~ So filial! Haha~

Even his own father, Landlord Jiang, had never given him so much money to spend. When he went to the county school, he would only take a few taels of silver from home at most.

Most of the time, he carried a string of copper coins with him. What did his father say again?

Oh, copper coins are more convenient to use, saving him the trouble of going to someone to exchange them.

Back then, my classmates often tricked me into paying the bills, and I never managed to save a single penny.

After being expelled from the county school, his father cut off his monthly allowance, providing him with enough food and clothing but not a single copper coin.

Jiang Wenqing held the brocade box, his heart filled with joy.

Oh dear, it's been so long since I've seen my son. Why did you only send people over with gifts but not come to see your father yourself?

Jiang Xiaoqi: I can't watch any of this! My "addicted" persona can't collapse!

With this gold and silver, we can not only redeem the folding fan, but also have a considerable amount left over. We must hide it carefully and not let our father take it!

Jiang Wenqing was unaware that his father, Landlord Jiang, had already sent six burly bodyguards with the silver to a brothel.

Oh, of course, it was to redeem Jiang Wenqing's folding fan.

After the fan was brought back, Landlord Jiang verified that it belonged to Jiang Wenqing and then had it set on fire.

Anything from such a filthy place should be burned clean, thus eliminating any chance for people to bring it up again.

Looking at the folding fan reduced to ashes, Landlord Jiang's hands itched again; that was worth two taels of silver!

What if I still want to beat that unfilial son up?!

Jiang Changqing received a New Year's gift from Jiang Xiaoqi, and of course, everyone else did too.

Lin Yueniang and her daughter had received a complete set of jewelry long ago, but it was not appropriate to wear it now, and they still wore the usual style during the New Year.

However, all three women, mother and daughters, wore pearl necklaces, making them look quite wealthy.

Aunt Pan received the same gold leaves and silver beads this year, but fewer than Jiang Wenqing's, with only eighteen gold leaves and thirty silver beads.

However, it adds up to thirty-three taels. Her monthly allowance is only two taels, so this is equivalent to more than a year's worth of her monthly allowance.

In addition to the same amount of gold leaves and silver beads as Aunt Pan, Jiang Xiaoqi also gave each of her half-sisters a pair of pearl hairpins.

Hairpins made of pearls and millet beads are not particularly valuable, but they are novel and rare, after all, Changshou County is not located by the sea.

In a coastal city, this might not seem like much; some people even grind poorly shaped pearls into powder and sell them.

But it's different inland; jewelry made from organic gemstones like pearls and coral is very rare.

Several girls received the beaded hairpins and couldn't wait to put them on. Since they didn't have bronze mirrors, they looked at each other's hairpins, since the styles were all very similar.

Just like last year when I first wore the red coral earrings my younger brother gave me.

They still wear the red coral earrings that their younger brother gave them last year, and they cherish them on a regular basis, only taking them out to wear for a few days during holidays.

They were children, and each of them only received five hundred coins a month. They couldn't afford to buy any pretty jewelry.

With food and drink provided at home, and if one were to be frugal throughout the year, one could manage to save a little money, but even then, one wouldn't be willing to spend a few taels of silver to make jewelry.

Now that I have some savings from my younger brother, I can consider going to a jewelry store to order a silver bracelet or a pair of silver pendants.

Jiang Xiaoqi gave his grandparents 68 gold leaves and 188 silver beads each.

One person would pay 162 taels, and two people would pay 324 taels, but that's not the biggest part.

Inside the brocade box, there were also 1,000 taels of silver notes for each of them.

Jiang Xiaoqi did not appear at the family dinner on New Year's Eve, and of course, he was also lying in bed on New Year's Day.

Of course, I didn't know how everyone reacted after receiving the gifts, but from the kitchen sending people back and forth to deliver tonics and sweet soups, I knew that everyone was very satisfied with the gifts.

Of course, all these nourishing sweet soups ended up in Wenbin and Li Mo's stomachs...