Chapter 78.1

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, early in the morning, Li Xiao took An An out to clear the snow. The villa was located on higher ground, and the snowfall had been substantial. There was a thick layer of snow piled up at the entrance, making it slippery. Li Xiao not only took a broom to sweep the snow himself but also had his daughter join him.

The two of them cleaned the snow off the small paths in the yard, the steps under the eaves, and the snow on the road outside the door. After working hard all morning, An An’s face was flushed from the cold when they returned.

There weren’t many people at home this year. The little aunt had not come back, and the nanny had also gone home. Only the three of them were there, making it feel much quieter than in previous years.

Jiang Rou went to the kitchen to reheat the dishes from the previous night and then made a pot of chicken soup dumplings and noodles.

As soon as An An walked in, she reported to Jiang Rou, saying angrily, “Mommy, Daddy is so mean. He made me do the cleaning while he was just standing aside, being lazy.”

Li Xiao, who was walking behind, heard this and laughed. He took off his hat and brushed the snow off his shoulders. “When did I slack off? I was the one who cleared the snow on the road outside.”

An An was not easily fooled. “That was just a small area. I cleared all the snow in the yard.”

Li Xiao remained silent, cleared his throat, and without any sense of guilt for being unfair, said solemnly, “Dad is getting old, so naturally, I can’t match your efficiency.”

An An was so annoyed that she went to find her mother. “Mom, look at him.”

Jiang Rou glanced at Li Xiao with resignation. “You’re such a grown man, and yet you’re so unfair to your child. Alright, everyone wash your hands and get ready for dinner.”

An An skipped to the table, saw the dishes she liked and happily went to the kitchen to serve herself some noodles.

In the morning, Zhou Jian came to pay a New Year visit. He hadn’t gone back this year because he couldn’t get a ticket. The train station was completely blocked, and he left quite late, just in time for the crowds. It seemed the trains had stopped running, so he had to stay overnight with Zhou Hong, trying to squeeze out of the city.

Wang Yan and her family had already gone back to their hometown. Wang Yan took their younger son, Zhou Chen, with her, while she and Mother Zhou could only take one child. With the trains crowded during the New Year, they didn’t dare to bring both children along. The younger son couldn’t be separated from his mother, so Zhou Hong stayed behind to return with Zhou Jian a few days later.

However, those few extra days meant they wouldn’t be able to return after all. This year, Zhou Jian and Zhou Hong spent the New Year there. Last night, Li Xiao had planned to invite Zhou Jian and his son over for a meal, but Zhou Jian didn’t come. Instead, he took his son out to see a movie, have a Western meal, and visit an amusement park.

The amusement park was closed for the New Year, and it was unclear what fun things there were inside.

An An, acting like an adult, brought food and drinks to Zhou Jian, who looked enviously at her. He said to Li Xiao, “It’s better to have a daughter. My two sons together aren’t as thoughtful as An An.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Hong came running with his friends, shouting, “Dad, Uncle Li Xiao—”

In the neighborhood, there were quite a few residents, and some of the children were around Zhou Hong’s age. As they played, they became familiar with each other. There were also two mixed-race children who seemed to have come back from abroad for the New Year.

A few of the children ran in from outside, holding sparrows in their hands and clamoring to have them roasted.

Zhou Hong asked Zhou Jian for a lighter.

Without thinking much, Zhou Jian pulled a lighter from his pocket and handed it to his son.

As soon as Zhou Hong received the lighter, he turned and ran outside.

An An, feeling reluctant, chased after them, calling out, “Are you really going to eat them? Can you not eat them? We have chicken and duck at home. Can we not eat sparrows?”

Zhou Hong was very fond of An An, treating her almost like a real sister. Seeing her plead, he scratched his head and hesitated, saying, “Alright then.”

He then let go of the sparrows he was holding.

However, some of the other kids were not pleased. “Who are you? Why should we listen to you?”

An An turned her head to look at her father inside the house.

Li Xiao did not intervene. He glanced over and then turned back to continue his conversation with Zhou Jian.

Zhou Hong tried to calm his sister. “I’ll talk to them.”

He turned to persuade his friends. Two of them let go of the sparrows they were holding, but most of them ignored him. A boy insisted, “I want to eat them.”

He continued running outside.

An An saw them leaving and quickly said, “Wait for me a moment. I’ll get something to trade with you.”

She ran back inside, fetched a large box of snacks, and came out holding it. “If you let go of the sparrows, I’ll give you all of this.”

A few of the children who took the snacks released the sparrows, but some looked at the snacks and then at the sparrows and didn’t trade.

Worried that An An would insist, one of the boys turned and ran out of the yard, shouting, “Girls are such a hassle.”

An An walked back into the house, feeling dejected.

Zhou Jian stayed for a while before leaving, and before he left, he gave An An a large red envelope.

An An, holding the snacks and feeling wronged, sat down next to her father and couldn’t help but ask, “Dad, why didn’t you help me just now?”

Li Xiao glanced at her and said calmly, “Your mother and I are your family, so we usually try to respect your wishes. If we think it’s reasonable, we will listen. But others are different. They are not related to you, so why should they listen to you?”

“You feel sorry for the sparrows, but they don’t see it that way. To them, sparrows are no different from chickens and ducks.”

“You need to learn to respect other people’s opinions. You can make these demands of yourself, but you can’t force others to follow them. There are people who eat dog meat and rabbit meat—are you going to try to stop all of them?”

“When I was young and poor, I ate sparrows and rabbits. What will you do then?”

An An listened in silence, puffing out her cheeks.

Jiang Rou came out of the kitchen and overheard the conversation.

She and Li Xiao had previously agreed to present a unified front when teaching their child. Even if they had disagreements, they wouldn’t show them in front of An An.

Holding a plate of washed strawberries and dates, Jiang Rou asked, “Has Zhou Jian left?”

Li Xiao nodded. “He had other matters to attend to.”

Jiang Rou sat down on the sofa, placed the plate on the coffee table, and picked up the remote control to watch TV.

An An turned to Li Xiao and asked, “Dad, isn’t there another way?”

Li Xiao raised an eyebrow and said, “Alright, let me teach you a bit more. Actually, your approach was good, but you didn’t do it correctly. You offered snacks that you like, but not everyone loves snacks as much as you do. They might already have similar snacks at home, so they didn’t listen to you. To achieve your goal, you need to offer something they like.”

“What are things that they like?”

Li Xiao shrugged. “How would I know? I haven’t played with them before.”

An An furrowed her brows, seeming to fall into deep thought. After a moment, as if an idea had suddenly struck her, her eyes brightened. “Brother Zhou Hong plays with them. He must know. I should ask Brother Zhou Hong.”

Li Xiao smiled. “Not too dumb.”

An An hurriedly ran out.

Once An An left, Li Xiao immediately lay down, resting his head on Jiang Rou’s lap, and opened his mouth, signaling that she should feed him.

Jiang Rou chuckled and fed him a strawberry.

Li Xiao looked at the television and said, “Our daughter is great in every way, but she’s too soft-hearted.”

Jiang Rou fed him a date and said, “What’s wrong with that? Everyone has their own temperament. You’re still young. Even if she doesn’t like doing business when she grows up, you can always teach our granddaughter.”

Li Xiao thought for a moment and smiled. “True. I think Lele is quite a good kid.”

“……”

Jiang Rou had only been joking, but she didn’t expect him to take it seriously. She gave him a push. “What are you thinking? They’re still so young. People change a lot as they grow up. Don’t think too much about it.”

“Besides, Lele is currently abroad and might not come back.”

Boss You’s health had deteriorated again, so he had temporarily moved abroad for treatment, and Lele had gone with him.

Perhaps in the previous life, Boss You had been so focused on finding his son that he had neglected other things. This life, without those issues, had led to the old problems he accumulated in his youth all flaring up.

On the day they parted last year, An An had secretly cried.

“Why not come back? Their family’s business is here. They can’t leave, so they’ll be back in a few years.”

At noon, Lele called.

An An, who hadn’t found Zhou Hong and the others and had returned feeling sad, told Lele about the situation when he called her.

Lele quickly comforted An An over the phone, telling her not to be sad and saying she would send her some good things.

After hanging up, An An decided to send something to Lele in return.

She cheerfully ran upstairs to her room and rummaged through her belongings. After a long while, she came down with a handful of items, including notebooks, comic books, and her beloved white rabbit plush toy.

Finally, she took out the spare change she had been saving for a long time and handed it to her father, asking Li Xiao to help her buy a toy for a boy to send to Lele.

Her father had just given her a lesson earlier, saying that gifts should be what the recipient likes, not what the giver likes.

Li Xiao shook the jingling coin jar, feeling a bit jealous. “Why aren’t you this generous with your own father?”

An An smiled at him, trying to please him. “I’m generous with you too. I’ll keep saving and buy you a gift for your birthday.”

“That’s better.”

However, An An later found out that although her father did buy a toy for a boy, it was something meant for a two- or three-year-old, like a small car and building blocks, whereas Lele was actually a year older than her.

Lele sent her pictures and said he liked them very much.

The items didn’t seem worth much, and when An An asked her father for the remaining money, Li Xiao looked innocent. “I bought the more expensive ones and even paid a bit extra myself. Do you think postage is free?”

An An looked at him with a mix of belief and doubt, suspecting he might be lying but having no evidence. She decided she would ask her mother for help in the future.

Her father was unreliable.

An An’s school announced a one-week delay in classes because a teacher’s hometown was in another province and couldn’t return immediately.