Aunt Wang listened to her husband’s confident tone, as if he had known their son’s feelings all along.
“Xiao Gu is so smart. Why do you think she wouldn’t notice?”

Uncle Lin replied, “Your son might be maturing too early, but Xiao Gu hasn’t even started thinking about these things.”

How can you expect someone who hasn’t even considered romantic feelings to notice anything?

Hearing this, Aunt Wang felt even more sympathy for her son. She could already imagine the heartbreak he might face in the future.

“Oh, by the way, that Li guy next door hasn’t opened his shop for days. I was planning to go confront him for hitting our son. How dare he bully our family like we don’t have anyone to stand up for us!”

The mere mention of this made her furious. She and her husband had gone back to their hometown for a few days, and when they returned and found out about the incident, she immediately dragged him over to confront their neighbor. But the shop hadn’t opened since then—he was actually hiding!
Two people nearing a hundred years old combined, yet they had the audacity to bully two kids. It was shameless. And to think she used to give him discounts on dumplings just because they were on the same street. She couldn’t believe he didn’t choke on them.

Uncle Lin chuckled. “Forget about it. I heard from Lao Wu at the market last night that that Li guy broke his arm a few nights ago, and then he got struck by lightning! He’s still in the town hospital, and it looks like he won’t be getting out for at least a month.”

“He got struck by lightning!?”

Aunt Wang’s voice was so loud that it made Gu Xingzhao and Lin Ting, who were sitting in the living room, freeze and look over.

Her husband’s words nearly made Aunt Wang burst out laughing. “Serves him right! Even heaven couldn’t stand it.”

Getting struck by lightning on a clear day—if that isn’t karma, what is?

…

On New Year’s Eve, Gu Xingzhao was invited by Chief Lu to his home for the New Year’s Eve dinner. Chief Lu was the chef and had also invited the officers who were on duty and couldn’t go home for the holiday.

The two young officers who had visited Gu Xingzhao’s supermarket that day were there as well—one was named Du Zi, and the taller one was named He Zhang.

When the two saw Gu Xingzhao, they were a bit embarrassed.

But soon enough, as everyone started chatting and having fun, the conversation naturally turned to that day’s incident, and they all laughed about it.

He Zhang said, “It was really strange—first he suddenly fell and broke his arm, then he got struck by lightning.”

Gu Xingzhao laughed. “Maybe when someone’s having bad luck, even drinking water can make them choke.”

Du Zi, however, glanced at Gu Xingzhao a couple of times. He recalled that during the incident, Gu Xingzhao had mentioned something about being struck by lightning… Could she have jinxed him?

In the kitchen, Chief Lu suddenly started coughing. Someone quickly went over to help him. “Chief Lu, you’ve been coughing for over six months now. You should really go see a doctor.”

Chief Lu waved them off. “It’s just an old ailment, nothing serious.”

But when he opened his hand, there was blood in his palm, which scared Sister Li.

“You’re coughing up blood! You need to go to the hospital immediately…”

“It’s nothing, just from coughing too much. It’s the New Year, and it’s rare for Xiao Gu to join us for dinner. Don’t let her know—it’ll just make her worry.”

“I know my body. It’s nothing serious. I’ll go to the hospital later to get some medicine.”

Sister Li wanted to say more, but Chief Lu was adamant, so she didn’t press the issue.

The New Year’s Eve dinner was plentiful, with most of the dishes being Gu Xingzhao’s favorites. Chief Lu kept placing food in her bowl. “Eat more. I can tell you haven’t been eating properly at home. You’ve lost so much weight.”

Her bowl was piled high with food, and Gu Xingzhao couldn’t help but laugh. “You should eat too, don’t just focus on me.”

Du Zi and He Zhang, listening to this, glanced at Gu Xingzhao a few more times. They thought, Maybe Chief Lu’s eyesight isn’t so great—she doesn’t look like she’s lost weight at all.

That night, after the New Year’s Eve dinner, everyone left Chief Lu’s home.

By the time Gu Xingzhao returned home, it was almost 8 PM. She hurriedly took out the dumplings she had stored in the refrigerator and boiled them, following Aunt Wang’s instructions.

Nearly 200 dumplings seemed like a lot, but with over 20 people, each person would only get six or seven.

Meanwhile, in the past, the exiled group had finally arrived at Laiyuan Town. They were lodging there and had been given cotton coats by the local government, which were prepared for those exiled to the northern regions. Although not very thick, they were certainly more comfortable than the thin prison garments they had been wearing.

But even with the new clothing, they still only had hard, coarse cakes to eat at night.

Some wanted to eat something better for the New Year’s Eve, so they offered the few valuable items they had left to the guards. In exchange, they managed to get a few bowls of hot porridge, which made everyone else envious.

In the freezing weather, who wouldn’t want a warm meal?

Lu Qing pulled out the last two pairs of earrings he had, debating whether to trade them for some hot porridge for everyone… After all, it was New Year’s.

The women of the Song family also saw this and kept their eyes on the earrings. It was freezing cold, and they also wanted some hot porridge, but these were the last valuable items they had. If they were given away, they would be gone forever.

At this time of year, the family would normally be at home, draped in fox fur, enjoying a New Year’s Eve dinner. Now, they were out in the cold, hungry and miserable.

The more they thought about the past, the worse they felt, and they couldn’t help but worry about what the future held.

Lu Qingsong clenched his hand tightly. Forget it—it’s New Year’s, so let the children have a good meal.

Just then, Gu Xingzhao arrived, bringing hot dumplings. She noticed that the prisoners were being guarded in the same way they had been in the village, with the guards busy drinking, doors locked, and no one paying attention to the prisoners.

She brought disposable bowls, chopsticks, and instant noodles so that the Lu family could have a proper meal tonight.

She placed a large pot of dumplings on the ground, along with a box of instant noodles. Gu Xingzhao was panting from the effort. The system’s mall had a one-click delivery function, but it cost money, and she was too frugal for that.

Why spend money when you can do it yourself? Gu Xingzhao prided herself on having plenty of energy!

She stood there, hands on her hips, sweating from the effort, and looked at the room full of Lu family members, along with some of the Liu family members and even Princess Shunyu.

Lu Xingyao, who had the keenest sense of smell, sniffed the air. He thought he caught a whiff of food!

His eyes lit up—could it be his charming and mighty ancestor again?

He looked around but saw no food.

Gu Xingzhao smiled, waiting for more people to catch the scent, thinking: Come on, my disciples, come greet your ancestor.

Soon, the others in the room began to smell it too, looking around until even Lu Qing caught a whiff.

Only then did Gu Xingzhao reveal the food in the corner. The first to spot it was Lu Xingyao—a large pot full of steaming dumplings.

He rubbed his eyes furiously—it was real!

The other Lu family members saw it too, as the large pot was hard to miss. They quickly surrounded it, trying to keep it hidden from the Liu family.

Lu Qing was utterly stunned…

Gu Xingzhao said, “It’s New Year’s Eve, so I brought you some food to celebrate.”

Her tone was calm, but to Lu Qing, it was like heavenly music.

Providing help in times of need always touches people more than adding to their abundance. With his eyes red, Lu Qing didn’t know where Gu Xingzhao was, but he knelt in the direction of the door, using his cane to support himself, and bowed deeply, tears streaming down his face.

The other family members followed suit, kneeling in reverence and gratitude…