In the Jiang family, with both elders and young children present, they did not stay up until midnight for the New Year’s Eve celebration because it was too late for everyone to go home conveniently.

Around nine o’clock, Grandfather Jiang began to feel a bit tired, so he took out the red envelopes and started distributing them to the younger generation.

Cen Hua’ian was the first to kneel and bow, receiving the red envelope with both hands and smiling at Grandfather Jiang, “Thank you, Great-Grandpa!”

Zhang Lu and the other children quickly followed suit, kneeling and saying, “Thank you, Great-Grandpa!”

Everyone else was waiting for Grandfather Jiang to finish distributing the envelopes and get ready to give some to the children.

At this moment, Jiang Zhida took out a wad of money, sat on the sofa, and waved it with one hand, “Come on, let me hear who can recite the most beautiful New Year’s wishes. One wish, one envelope!”

Cen Hua’ian’s eyes immediately lit up at the sight of the money.

Without waiting for the other children to react, he stood in front of Jiang Zhida and began, “Wishing Uncle everything goes well, an abundance of wealth, smooth sailing, peace and joy…”

He recited one wish, and Jiang Zhida counted out one envelope.

Soon, the wad of money in Jiang Zhida’s hand became smaller and smaller, while the pile of red envelopes for Cen Hua’ian grew larger and larger.

Cen Hua’ian continued without pausing or repeating any of the wishes.

Zhang Lu and the other children watched in increasing astonishment and anxiety as Cen Hua’ian went through nearly all the New Year’s wishes they had prepared.

Jiang Zhida, on the other hand, was delighted, enjoying every wish Cen Hua’ian recited, thinking about how he wished for wealth and smooth sailing in the future!

Chuxia, feeling embarrassed, covered her face, thinking, “Oh no, Cen Hua’ian’s little money-grubber nature is showing. When did he accumulate so many auspicious phrases?”

Cen Zhengnian looked at Cen Hua’ian with a smile, pride in his eyes, while the other adults were equally amazed.

Jiang Zhiguan quietly asked Chuxia, “How did you get An’an to learn this? He’s only ten years old!”

So many unique and auspicious phrases—adults would struggle to come up with that many.

Chuxia shook her head, “I never forced him to study.”

All this knowledge is self-taught because he’s interested.

Jiang Zhiyi, overhearing, exclaimed in disbelief, “An’an is amazing! I don’t even remember what I did at ten years old, let alone studying.”

Jiang Zhiguan shared this sentiment.

When the money in Jiang Zhida’s hand was all accounted for, Cen Hua’ian finally stopped and looked at Jiang Zhida with a smile, saying, “Uncle, I’ll stop here for now.”

Cen Hua’ian could have continued, but Zhang Lu kept tugging at his sleeve.

If he kept going, the other children would really run out of things to say.

Jiang Zhida looked at the money he had prepared for Cen Hua’ian and then at his empty hand, a bit stunned.

He had prepared not just a few but dozens of big red envelopes.

He thought that even the most talented children wouldn’t be able to use them all, but Cen Hua’an alone had taken all the red envelopes.

Despite this, Jiang Zhida was very pleased.

After all, New Year’s is about joy, and he gave all the money on the table to Cen Hua’an. “Alright, all of this is yours!”

Cen Hua’ian took the money, and his internal ledger was buzzing with excitement.

His savings were going to increase significantly.

At this moment, Cen Hua’ian was like a little wealth god, greedily gathering money into his arms.

“It’s mine, it’s mine!”

Only at times like this did Cen Hua’ian seem completely like a child, making people unable to help but smile.

“Mom, so much New Year’s money!” Cen Hua’ian ran to Chuxia and showed her the money.

Chuxia’s smile grew wider, and she ruffled his hair, “Yes, it’s a lot. When we get home, I’ll help you open a savings account at the bank.”

Cen Hua’ian nodded, a smile stretching across his face as he thought about his growing savings.

Meanwhile, Jiang Zhida took out another wad of money.

Zhang Lu quickly went to him and tried to come up with New Year’s wishes that Cen Hua’ian hadn’t already mentioned.

However, she knew fewer phrases compared to Cen Hua’ian, and after he had said so many, she only managed to get five red envelopes.

After Zhang Lu finished, Jiang Weixian, who hadn’t thought of anything, rushed to Jiang Zhida and started, “Uncle… Uncle…”

After struggling for a while without coming up with any wishes, he burst into tears, “Uncle, I can’t remember. Everything I know has already been said by my older siblings!”

Jiang Weixian sounded very aggrieved.

He knew a few wishes but didn’t get the chance to say them before his older siblings.

Cen Huaize and Cen Huaixin, like him, stood in front of Jiang Zhida but couldn’t come up with any auspicious phrases.

In the end, they received only one red envelope, just like Jiang Weixi, who hadn’t been to school yet.

Xiwang looked at the money in Cen Huaize and Cen Huaixin’s hands and then at the large amount Cen Hua’an had received, feeling frustrated that her children hadn’t reacted quickly enough or performed well enough!

“Next time, when it’s your turn to say wishes, you two need to be faster,” Xiwang whispered to her children.

Cen Huaize scratched his head, “But Mom, even if I run first, I wouldn’t know what to say.”

He was focused on playing at school and never studied much, so he didn’t know many of those formal-sounding auspicious phrases.

Cen Huaixin was slightly better; she studied at school but didn’t pay much attention, so her learning wasn’t very good.

She had more confidence than Cen Huaize and nodded firmly, “Okay!”

Cen Zhengshi(Cen’s Father) and Jiang Shengnan didn’t think much of Cen Huaize and Cen Huaixin’s inability to recite wishes, especially since An’an had already said so many.

However, their gaze remained on Cen Hua’ian, their eyes full of pride, and Jiang Shengnan’s smile never faded.

The other children received the same amount of money, and once the distribution was over, Jiang Zhishu and Jiang Zhida drove everyone home.

Chuxia, Cen Hua’an, and Cen Zhengnian lived the farthest from Grandfather Jiang’s house, so Jiang Zhida was the last to drop them off.

On the way, Jiang Zhida couldn’t hold back and talked to Chuxia and Cen Zhengnian about their recent land bidding.

“You wouldn’t believe how many companies were bidding, even the famous Meng family from Xiangjiang came. The land was so large that it was divided into several plots. Neither Qian Ran nor I went for the biggest plots but chose one that we were confident we could secure. Even then, it was very risky.”

Jiang Zhida paused, building up suspense, as all three of them focused their attention on him. “And then?”

Jiang Zhida raised his eyebrows, a look of pride on his face. “Of course, we won the bid! But it was really close. At first, Xiaoran said we should only use the loan and our earnings, not your money. But I said, since we’re bidding, we should go all in. If we failed, it would just mean our strength wasn’t enough, and we wouldn’t regret it. In the end, with the added funds, we just edged out the highest bidder and secured the land!”

Jiang Zhida spoke with a tone of relief, knowing that if they had hesitated even a bit when writing down the bidding amount, they would have lost the land.

But winning the bid was just the first step.

Next, they needed to figure out how to build the factory on the land and… there was still a shortage of money!

Chuxia thought for a moment and said, “You could continue to take out loans; having the land makes it easier to get loans. Once the factory is built and orders come in, the funds will gradually flow back, and you can pay off the bank loans then.”

Jiang Zhida shook his head, “We considered loans, but the pressure is too great. I’m planning to talk to my older brother to see if I can persuade him to invest. Xiaoran will handle the factory, and I’ll go to Haishi and other cities to open new markets and see if we can get orders.”

Before the factory is built, they could start with a small workshop to handle small orders, and once the factory is established, they could then focus on larger orders.

Chuxia considered this and said, “That works too. It would indeed be less pressure, but it will be more labor-intensive.”

The two of them discussed the general direction of their business, leaving the specific details to Jiang Zhida and Qian Ran to handle.

Chuxia wasn’t able to help with that.

Cen Huai’an listened attentively to their conversation, leaning on the back of his chair, his eyes fixed on Jiang Zhida.

Cen Zhengnian did not participate in their discussion; his gaze was solely on Chuxia, watching her serious expression with such tenderness that it seemed like it might overflow from his eyes.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, while Cen Zhengnian’s research institute was also on holiday, he took Chuxia and An An to pay New Year’s greetings to his teacher, Yan Hemen.

Then they visited a few friendly colleagues from the institute.

Ye Xingxiu had finally gotten married last year.

His spouse was one of the girls from the matchmaking photos his mother had sent him.

That girl was very brave.

After Ye Xingxiu had initially rejected her, she came back with his photo and insisted on knowing why he hadn’t liked her.

Since the girl had traveled a long distance, Ye Xingxiu couldn’t just ignore her.

Over time, they got to know each other better, went through a series of events, developed feelings, and ended up getting married.

Chuxia had observed their various entanglements while at the family compound, and she knew that their coming together hadn’t been easy.

When Ye Xingxiu and his wife came to Chuxia’s house, Chuxia and Cen Zhengnian had just returned from paying New Year’s greetings.

The newlyweds were still in the sweet early days of their marriage, and a single glance at each other conveyed their mutual affection.

Ye Xingxiu, holding his wife, smiled smugly at Cen Zhengnian, feeling proud that he now had a wife too and no longer had to envy Cen Zhengnian!

Cen Zhengnian completely ignored his provocation, not paying any attention to his actions.

He poured a cup of water for them and placed it in front of them, then turned to Cen Huai’an: “An An, go wish Uncle and Auntie a Happy New Year.”

Cen Huai’an immediately stood in front of Ye Xingxiu and his wife, bowing and extending his hands to wish them well.

Ye Xingxiu touched his nose, signaling his wife to give Cen Huai’an a red envelope.

He hadn’t brought any money; all his money was managed by his wife now.

Cen Huai’an received quite a few red envelopes that day.

Chuxia kept her promise and took him to open a savings account, depositing all the money he had saved over the years into it.

Cen Huai’an looked at the amount in the savings book, and his joy was uncontrollable.