"You know what, your father may have many shortcomings, but he also has his good points. Once he promises something, he'll generally keep his word. So you can rest assured on that. However, I thought he would make up for the past years when he wasn't at home and fulfill his promise to give your parents two taels of silver and rice every year. I thought this time he would pay four taels of silver as expenses for a year. But unexpectedly, your parents didn't even mention it." Zeng Rui Xiang said, thinking to himself that if it were him, his mother would have made a big fuss about it. Thinking this, his heart felt even more downcast.

  Shen's family understood Zeng Rui-xiang's mind. To be honest, Shen was very surprised that her husband could do this today. It wasn't that she didn't want to part with the dozen or so taels of silver, but rather that every year the silver would go out and not even get a word of thanks in return. When their children got married, they wouldn't even splurge on a single table of betrothal dinner, and all the extra silver was spent on Chunyu instead. Who could be happy about this?

  "Right, tomorrow everyone will be working on the family tree, let's all go over there early to help out," said Zeng Rui Xiang.

  Zi Fu hurriedly agreed, no matter what. Today was indeed a good day for Zi Fu and the others. The whole family gathered around the fire pit, playing and laughing together. However, it also proved true that "some families are joyful while others worry". The old house on the other side seemed especially quiet on this New Year's Eve.

  Tian's family was complaining that the old master did not stop Zeng Rui-xiang, nor did he ask for pocket money. The old master was blaming Tian's family for treating his son and daughter-in-law harshly every day. Zhou's family was complaining that Zeng Rui-qing should not have agreed to it so easily, with Er-er's temper, a few soft words could coax him well, why did he have to spend this money, there would be many places where Zi-quan would spend money in the future. Zeng Rui-qing was thinking, wasn't it all for Zi-quan? The two couples were whispering in their rooms until midnight passed.

  Because of Zeng Ruiqing's return, Zeng Ruixiang took the kids to the old house early again. After a night of discussion and consideration, everyone's emotions had settled down. Tian Shi and Zhou Shi also seemed to have accepted reality. This was somewhat unexpected for Zi Qing and others, at least they thought Tian Shi and Zhou Shi couldn't be so calm. Forget it, thinking too much is useless, let's just take things one step at a time.

  After the ancestor worship, all the men went to the ancestral hall to have dinner with their relatives. The women stayed at home to clean up after the ceremony. Shen's wife took Zi Qing and the others back home first. Unexpectedly, after dinner, Old Master proposed going to his youngest son's house to play a few rounds of mahjong. Zhou's wife had always loved playing cards, so when she heard about this, she got excited and came along too.

  Everyone in the old house has come to see Zi Qing. They were all startled, thinking that something unexpected had happened again last night. Not only Zi Qing, but also Shen Shi and Zi Fu's expressions showed they thought so too.

  It's said that the old man is going to play mahjong. Subsequently, he sat down first and handed over a copper plate to Zifeng. Ziren and Ziyang accompanied him. After watching for a while, Zhou Shi also learned how to play and wanted to join in. Zilong gave up his seat to her. Ziqing watched Zhou Shi play on the side. Shen Shi brought out a basket of oranges, cut them up, and handed them out to everyone to help digest the greasiness. Ziquan ate one and still wanted more. Shen Shi didn't dare let the child eat too much, fearing it would upset his stomach. Ziquan was not satisfied, stamping his feet and making a fuss. Shen Shi put aside five or six oranges and coaxed the child, saying that he could take them home to eat later.

  Zhou was busy arranging the cards and said: "This child is like this, he must eat his fill of what he loves to eat, otherwise he will make a fuss. At home, how can we have such conditions?"

  Tian suddenly asked Zeng Ruiqing and Zeng Ruixiang, "Older brother, second brother, your father will be sixty this spring, how to celebrate? Take advantage of today when everyone is present, you two brothers discuss it."

  Zi Qing was taken aback, it turned out that today was still well-prepared and not just a simple game of mahjong. As expected, looking so calm, unlike the usual behavior of Tian Shi.

  "I still say it doesn't matter, the key is what Chunyu and them think, we two brothers are just in charge of food, let's talk about it when everyone gathers together during the Chinese New Year." Zeng Ruiqing said.

  Tian heard this, his face sank, and after a while, he sat down beside Zi Qing and said: "Granddaughter, your grandfather is sixty years old this year. Your several aunts have no conditions, you make a good dress for him, and prepare a reward bag. Your several aunts are in charge of the longevity peach."

  Zi Qing felt a bit embarrassed, firstly because she had too many needlework tasks and couldn't spare the time, secondly, it just occurred to her that she was a granddaughter after all. Just as Zi Qing was about to speak, Shen Shi said: "Mother, Zi Qing has already started working on her wedding dress for the new year, and there are also four seasonal clothes for her and Kang Ping, not to mention the unfinished embroidery of a single screen fan, where would she have the time to do this? Moreover, it's not like unmarried granddaughters usually do these things, aren't there three more aunts?"

  "Yes, Auntie, I don't have time to make dumplings either." Zi Qing said.

  Tian Shi's eyes widened, just about to speak, when Lao Ye Zi heard what his daughter said and frowned, saying: "What is this old woman babbling about again? I've told you so many times, don't worry about things that aren't your concern. It seems like I raised three daughters in vain, they can't even wear a new set of clothes for the Lunar New Year, and now my unmarried granddaughter is spending money on rewards? They're not afraid of losing face, but I am! How many 60th birthdays do you think I'll have in this lifetime? If it's like this, then it's better not to celebrate at all. They're not really struggling to make ends meet, every family has enough food and clothing, Xia Yu and Chun Yu are doing alright too, why bother with this?"

  Tian Shi listened and felt a bit embarrassed, Zi Qing said: "Grandfather, I'm just a younger generation, Grandfather's birthday is also supposed to be celebrated with some expenses, how about...I'll pay my respects..."

  "Filial piety isn't about this, I'm not lacking in food or clothing now. In the past, every year's silver and seasonal clothes, your parents didn't miss a day sending them to us. Now, although it's said that following you, Big Uncle, the silver is less, but it's enough for us to eat and drink. As for me, living happily for a few more years is what's truly important. If you really want to show filial piety towards me, just give Grandpa some pocket money to play mahjong, that's all I need." Old Master didn't wait for Zi Qing to finish speaking before interrupting.

  Lin Kangping hurriedly took a string of cash from his residence and brought it over. The old man smiled with narrowed eyes, saying: "My grandson-in-law is indeed clever, this will be enough for me to have fun for several years."

  Zhou's eyes turned red and he said, "Dad, the reward can't be less than a string of coins. It seems that Dad is still good at calculating, speaking so nicely but with more money."

  Zi Qing and Lin Kangping listened, but it wasn't the case. Ginger is still spicy after all. After saying a few good words, they handed over the money themselves.

  "What's going on here? How is this a calculation? This is the filial piety of my grandson-in-law, I'm an old man who can't even borrow the prestige of my daughter, let alone borrow the prestige of my granddaughter!" The old man shouted.

  Tian said, "You've had a drink and started talking nonsense again. If Chunyu and the others found out, wouldn't they be even more heartbroken? What's this about not being able to borrow money? Don't you think about it, if they had that kind of spare cash, wouldn't they use it on their own father instead? They don't have that kind of spare cash, so where do you expect them to go and find it?"

  "Stop farting, I won't talk to you anymore. It's useless to explain for a lifetime. Don't interrupt me when I'm playing cards, second row." As soon as the old man played his card, Zhou Shi Xi hurriedly said: "Hu le, hu le, it's still a clear suit! Give money, give money!" The angry old man quickly pushed Tian Shi away from him.

  That night, Zeng Rui-xiang and Zi-fu kept losing money and didn't get any cards. The old man was a bit older and not as cunning as Zhou Shi, so the three families all lost while only her family won. Zhou Shi looked at the big pile of copper coins in front of her and was truly delighted.

  On the second day of the New Year, Ziqing stayed at home to help Shen's family entertain three aunts. Since it was only once every two years, Shen didn't have much resistance. The old man and Chunyu and Qiuyu arrived first, Lin Kangping went to pick up Xiayu's family, Zeng Ruiqing and Zhou's family said they would go to their maternal home first. Ziqing brought her son over, which was a surprise to everyone, especially Zhou, who saw Ziqing and her son and almost grabbed all the good dishes on the table and put them in their bowls, with a speed comparable to that of several cats.

  After dinner, several children took out small firecrackers and played in the yard. Zeng Ruiqing said: "Today everyone is here, and Father and Mother are also here. Let's discuss the 60th birthday of Father in the spring. I'm the eldest, so I'll take charge. According to the rules, the wine table will be my responsibility and that of the second brother. You three sisters see how to divide it?"

  "What's the point of dividing it, what to buy and what to do, how much silver was spent, in the end, we three sisters will share it equally." Xiaoyu said, seeing Chunyu remaining silent.

  "This isn't just a simple matter, what kind of fabric to use for clothes, shoes, the pouches used for gifts, how many copper coins to give, and what kind of longevity peaches to make, all these have their own rules. If we don't do it right, there will be a big difference between inside and outside. We've never done this before, let's ask Second Aunt how she did it when she was giving gifts to her mother-in-law." Autumn Jade said.

  "This can't be compared, Er Sao's family is wealthy, everything is the best, we can't compare, just jewelry alone is worth a lot?" Chun Yu said.

  "Father doesn't wear accessories, just clothes and shoes and socks, what's the difference?" Autumn Jade looked dissatisfied with Spring Jade's words and glared at her.

  Shen's family saw them so calculating, secretly amused, but also did not respond.

  "Look at you three, your father has three precious daughters, and the most important ones are also you three. Your father said that day, whoever spends the silver should spend it? You three must discuss it well, your father said one thing, if you want to play mahjong with pocket money, Kang Ping immediately took out a string of coins, which is much more pleasant than you." Zhou Shi smiled and said to Chunyu and others, how can they all have a few points of watching the excitement.

  Shen's family listened silently, but the corners of their mouths curled up slightly. Autumn Jade quickly said: "If not, I'll make Father's clothes, Second Sister will make shoes, Elder Sister will make a purse, and we'll split the reward money equally among the three families. As for the longevity peaches, each of us can make our own, and it won't make much difference if we use white flour."

  "How much does it cost?" Chunyu asked.

  "I had prepared a hundred, our family may not need that many, the chef in the kitchen is sixty cents per person, and the younger ones at home are six cents per person. You count the number of people in each household and then make some extra." said Shen Shi.

  Chun Yu was anxious as soon as she heard it, and hurriedly said: "One lotus bag can be sold for several wen, my family will lose a lot, I alone can't afford it, let's just average the lotus bags."

  "Everything is fine, your family's Guiying and Guihua are idle, can't they help you with this? All these years, you really haven't suffered any losses, nor have you thought about how much your parents have helped you. You can say such things without shame, aren't you afraid of hurting Father's feelings? I want to make clothes, Second Sister's body isn't well either, just because your family has many people, it's decided like this." Qiu Yu said.