After celebrating the New Year, they gathered together, chatting and laughing, until the village children ran in, giggling and lively, to offer their New Year’s greetings.

That was when they finally got up.

“Dear aunties, Grandma Ye, we’re here to wish you a Happy New Year! Wishing you prosperity and happiness!”

A group of children, the oldest no more than eight or nine years old and the youngest barely over a year, totaling more than a dozen, entered the house and knelt down to pay their respects.

Shen Qingwan quickly went over to help them up.

“Alright, alright, Auntie has received your blessings. Now, stand properly, and I’ll give you your lucky money.”

As she spoke, Shen Qingwan pulled out a large handful of red envelopes from her pocket and distributed one to each child.

Meanwhile, Zhou Huiniang and Ye Minglan gave them generous handfuls of candy.

The children, delighted with their red envelopes and sweets, thanked them and ran off happily.

One group after another followed. Almost all the children in the village came by to wish Shen Qingwan and Ye Minglan a happy New Year.

Shen Qingwan had prepared plenty of red envelopes, ensuring that everyone who came to pay their respects received one.

Later, when Shen Qingwan saw the young wives and sisters-in-law from the village coming to pay their respects as well, she couldn’t help but laugh.

She had been planning to visit the village elders to offer her own greetings, but now it seemed these young women had joined in on the excitement too.

Just as she wondered if it would be appropriate for them to kneel and pay respects, she was caught off guard when they all knelt before Ye Minglan instead.

“Auntie, Happy New Year! May you have many more joyful days ahead!”

“Wishing Auntie more beauty and youthfulness in the coming year!”

“May Auntie be blessed with good health and a long life!”

“Auntie, Happy New Year!”

“Wishing Auntie all the best and smooth sailing in everything!”

Hearing these heartfelt blessings, Ye Minglan couldn’t stop smiling. “Good, good, quickly get up! Wanwan, bring over the lucky money I prepared!”

Overjoyed, Ye Minglan had Shen Qingwan fetch a handful of red envelopes. She then personally handed one to each of them. After receiving their red envelopes, the women laughed and took their leave.

Thankfully, the men of the village hadn’t joined in; otherwise, Shen Qingwan’s supply of red envelopes might have run out.

Once no more visitors came, Shen Qingwan, Zhou Huiniang, and a group of village women set off to visit the village chief and a few elders to pay their respects.

The men of the village formed their own group, while the women gathered in small groups of three to five, going house to house offering New Year’s greetings. By the time they completed the round, the sun was rising.

Yawning, Shen Qingwan went back home to catch up on sleep, and the others, equally exhausted, also returned to their homes to rest.

Meanwhile, when the children who had received lucky money returned home, their parents confiscated it. Most of them had only a few copper coins in their pockets—some collecting ten or so, while others had twenty or thirty.

However, the only red envelope came from Shen Qingwan.

“Who gave you this red envelope?” Chen Zhaodi asked her children, Goudan and Erniu.

“It was Auntie,” Erniu replied. “We went to wish her a Happy New Year, and she gave each of us a red envelope.”

Chen Zhaodi exchanged a glance with her husband and immediately opened the red envelope.

The moment she saw the thick silver leaf inside—at least one tael in weight—she was stunned.

“This… This is a whole tael of silver!”

Generally, when children paid New Year’s visits, elders would only give a small copper coin for good luck.

No one expected Shen Qingwan to be so generous.

Her husband, Lu Dashan, was unsurprised. “Wenzhao’s wife is essentially distributing silver to the village. Nearly every child in the village went to pay their respects today, and it looks like she gave each one a red envelope. While it seems like a gift for the children, it’s actually a gift to the entire village. She’s showing gratitude for all the help the village has given her. The village has treated her sincerely, and she naturally wants to give back.

“If it weren’t for Wenzhao’s wife, we wouldn’t be living as well as we are today. That’s why we should continue to do our best for her. If she prospers, our whole village will prosper too.”

Though Lu Dashan was a simple man, even he understood this principle.

The other villagers also realized it when their children returned home with silver leaves.

They felt deep gratitude and admiration for Shen Qingwan’s generosity.

After all, nearly a hundred children had visited that day, not to mention the women.

The total amount of silver she gave out was no small sum.

Even the young wives who had gone to pay their respects hadn’t expected to receive such large red envelopes. They had assumed it would just be a few copper coins.

They had only gone for fun, to join in the lively atmosphere, not expecting a big reward. Now that they had received such generous gifts, they actually felt a little embarrassed.

But Shen Qingwan had already prepared those red envelopes and had no hesitation in handing them out. To her, she would have been willing to give lucky money to the entire village.

A few silver leaves meant little to her.

..

On the first day of the New Year, Shen Qingwan slept through the morning and only got up in the afternoon to check on the smoked meats.

By the second day, the grain store reopened for business.

Shen Qingwan went along, but as soon as they opened the doors, they found themselves completely surrounded.

At first, she thought people were just eager to buy grain and instructed Lu Youfu and the others to start selling.

However, to her surprise, the crowd didn’t immediately rush forward to make purchases. Instead, they knelt down in front of her.

At the forefront, a few women wrapped in winter clothes, holding their children, spoke first.

“Happy New Year, Mistress Shen! We are here to wish you well!”

“We’ve come to offer our New Year’s greetings. If it weren’t for your grain and winter clothing, many of us would have starved or frozen to death. Now that the New Year has arrived, we don’t have much to give in return, so we can only kneel and offer our respects.”

“That’s right! Mistress Shen, Happy New Year!”

“May you live a long and prosperous life!”

“May you be blessed with good health and happiness!”

“Happy New Year, Mistress Shen!”

The chorus of voices rang out as thousands of refugees knelt before her, offering their gratitude. From the elderly to the smallest children, they all bowed deeply.

Shen Qingwan felt deeply moved. Overwhelmed with emotion, she quickly stepped forward and helped up a few elderly individuals.

“Thank you all for your kindness. I also hope that in the new year, everyone will have enough to eat and wear and enjoy good health. As today is our first day back in business, we won’t be selling grain today—only giving it away. Every person who comes to the store today will receive one jin of grain as my New Year’s gift to you all.”

Shen Qingwan had always been a sentimental person. Seeing the sincerity of these people, she knew she couldn’t simply stand by without giving back.

And so, the New Year began with generosity and gratitude, strengthening the bonds between Shen Qingwan and the villagers even further.