When Jiang Tao and Little Cotton Jacket arrived at his parents' house, they overheard the two bickering.
"The cigarettes and liquor your son gave you—what's there to show off about?!"
"A pack of cigarettes costs tens of yuan, and you go around the village handing them out like candy. Look at how smug you are!"
"Smug? Am I smug? What's wrong with giving out a cigarette or two? Stop nagging all day long with your petty attitude!"
"Petty? Yeah, I'm petty! If you were as rich as Li Ka-shing, would I even care about this?!"
"Go look in the mirror. If I were Li Ka-shing, would I have married you?!"
"Fine, fine, fine! Jiang Wen, you think you're so great now? If we can make it work, we'll make it work. If not, let's get a divorce!"
"Divorce? Let's do it! Come on! Whoever backs out is a coward!"
"Grandpa, Grandma, please don't get divorced! If you do, my daddy won't have a mom and dad anymore."
Little Jiang Xue, hearing her grandparents talk about divorce, immediately panicked.
Several kids in her class had parents who were divorced, and they always seemed so pitiful.
She didn't want her daddy to become one of those pitiful kids.
"Mom, Dad, let's hold off on the divorce talk. The civil affairs office is closed for the New Year anyway."
Jiang Tao didn't take the old couple's words too seriously and tried to smooth things over with a cheeky grin.
This old couple had been married for over forty years. If they meant every word they said, they would've divorced eight hundred times by now.
Seeing Jiang Tao and their precious granddaughter walk in, the old couple glared at each other and temporarily called a truce.
"Xue Xue's here! Grandma's little darling, come on, let's go to your auntie's room to grab some chocolate."
"Yay!"
The moment Jiang Xue heard there was chocolate, her sadness vanished. She grabbed her grandma's hand and skipped off to raid her auntie's stash.
"Dad, come on, be a bigger man. It's the New Year—don't stoop to Mom's level."
Jiang Tao pulled out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket, took one for himself, and handed the whole pack to Old Jiang.
"Hmph."
Old Jiang was quite receptive to advice. He grunted in acknowledgment, signaling his agreement.
Was it so wrong to want to show off his son a little?
The father and son stood in the courtyard, smoking and chatting idly for a bit. Meanwhile, Mom came out of the third sibling's room with Jiang Xue, who was carrying a huge haul of snacks.
Jiang Tao couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. "Did you clean out your auntie's entire snack stash?"
"The third one's an old maid already, and she's still eating kids' snacks all day long. No sense of being an adult!"
"All the girls her age in the village have already had their second kid, and she doesn't even have a boyfriend! Doesn't that make you anxious?"
"Second, she listens to you the most. You need to talk some sense into her, get her to settle down."
"Everyone's back for the New Year—have her go on a few dates. Who knows, she might find someone she likes!"
"With blind dates, you've got to go on a bunch to find the right one, don't you think?"
"Ahem, alright, alright, I'll talk to her, I'll talk…"
Jiang Tao gave a perfunctory chuckle. He had no intention of bringing this up with the third sibling.
Marriage was a big deal, and it should respect the person's own wishes.
People should get married when *they* want to, not when others think they *should*.
After some casual chatter, Jiang Tao mentioned that Xu Li had invited them over to help with something, and the old couple happily agreed.
At noon, Jiang Tao also invited his two nephews over for lunch.
His sister-in-law was busy making money, and even Xu Li's phone call couldn't get her to come, so they didn't push further.
Still, it was a bit heartbreaking to think of her working so hard while pregnant.
Jiang Tao quietly vowed that if he got any opportunities in the future, he'd make sure to give his大哥 (eldest brother) and sister-in-law a hand.
After all, they were blood-related siblings.
Lunch stretched from noon until past one in the afternoon.
Jiang Tao, his dad, and his eldest nephew, Jiang Shijie, polished off a bottle of Maotai together.
The amount was just enough to get them slightly buzzed—perfect, not too much, not too little.
After the meal, Wang Xiaobai thanked Jiang Tao profusely for his hospitality before driving off with his sister, Wang Xiaohong, and Xu Sha.
"Honey~ It's our first year in the new house. How about we buy some fireworks to set off?"
After seeing everyone off, Xu Li sidled up to Old Jiang, who was sitting on the living room sofa watching TV. She hugged his arm tightly and cooed in a sweet voice.
A few days ago, when Jiang Tao wasn't back yet, his dad had given Xu Li dozens of huge firecrackers, thick as water pipes.
Those things went off like grenades—loud as heck but not much to look at.
Xu Li preferred the dazzling beauty of fireworks and the romantic vibe they brought.
"Alright, let's buy some! This year, we'll get a ton so my wife can enjoy them to her heart's content."
Jiang Tao grinned and nodded, happy to indulge his wife's small request.
In previous years, he'd buy maybe five or six fireworks, set them off for the noise, and call it a day to keep things lively.
He'd always say it was enough to have the spirit of the occasion, but honestly, he was just reluctant to spend the money.
A small firework cost几十块 (tens of yuan), a bigger one could be a hundred or even a few hundred.
Spending days' worth of wages just for a fleeting burst of light and sound? Who wouldn't feel the pinch?
But this year, with hundreds of thousands in his pocket and goods in the yard that could earn him millions more, buying some fireworks to celebrate felt like popping champagne early!
Even though Ping County had a clear ban on fireworks and firecrackers this year, it didn't seem like anyone took it seriously.
In the days leading up to the New Year, the *boom-boom-boom* of firecrackers hadn't stopped.
Patrol cars roamed the villages daily, but no one had been caught.
"You're the best, honey~ *Mwah, mwah!* You're the handsomest, most amazing husband in the world~"
Xu Li, overjoyed, cupped Jiang Tao's face and planted several loud kisses on his lips.
The feeling of being pampered by her beloved husband, day or night, made Xu Li feel like the happiest woman in the world.
"Let's go buy those fireworks~ Is your cousin still selling them this year?"
Jiang Tao gave Xu Li's perky, bouncy backside a playful smack, and the two got up from the sofa together.
"Yep, he's still selling!"
"My brother makes over a hundred thousand a year from this. No way he'd give that up!"
"Let's buy from him—it won't be too expensive."
The couple hit it off and prepared to head out.
Jiang Bing and Jiang Xue, hearing they were going to buy fireworks, got excited and insisted on coming along.
"Daddy, I want to go! I want to go~"
"Second Bro! Second Bro! I want to set off Gatlings! I want ten of them!"
Jiang Bing grabbed Jiang Tao's arm, more excited about fireworks than her little niece, Jiang Xue.
Jiang Tao laughed. "Set off a hundred for all I care. Buy them yourself."
"No way, Second Bro~ My dearest Second Bro~ You're the handsomest, most amazing Second Bro in the world~"
Jiang Bing mimicked Xu Li's cutesy act, but it was like a clumsy imitation, giving Jiang Tao goosebumps.
"Auntie, shame on you! Grandma says you're an old maid, and you're still acting cute with my daddy~"
Jiang Xue bounced around in front of Jiang Bing, making faces.
"Pfft, what does a little kid like you know? This is my dear Second Bro~ Right, Second Bro?"
"Nope."
"Second Bro, you've changed! You don't love me anymore! *Wahhh!* You're not my Second Bro—you've been body-snatched!"
"Body-snatched, my foot. You've been reading too many novels!"
The group headed out, laughing and teasing. Xu Li drove, Jiang Tao took the passenger seat, and Jiang Bing and Jiang Xue, the big and small clowns, sat in the back.
Amid the noisy chatter from the back seat, the Mercedes GLS headed toward town.
---
Xu Li's cousin, Xu Jiantao, ran a mid-sized supermarket in town, earning about 300,000 yuan a year.
On top of that, he made an extra hundred thousand or so by secretly selling fireworks during the New Year.
That kind of income was considered high among their relatives and friends.
The supermarket wasn't far from Jiang Family Village—less than a ten-minute drive.
Xu Li pulled the car up to the back entrance, where several other vehicles were already parked.
Probably other people here to buy fireworks.
Due to the firecracker ban, buying and selling fireworks felt like an underground deal.
Jiang Tao and the others walked to the back door and entered the yard through a half-open blue iron gate.
In the backyard, a hefty man—easily over 200 pounds—was tallying goods and settling accounts with a few customers.
"Lili's here! Pick whatever you like, I'll be done here soon."
"When did Jiang Tao get back from Beijing? When are you heading back?"
Xu Jiantao saw his cousin and her family, including the kids, and greeted them with a cheerful smile.
The customers in the yard, both men and women, were likely couples or partners who had come together to buy fireworks.
When Xu Li walked in, everyone—men and women alike—couldn't help but steal a few extra glances.
At 1.72 meters tall, with a stunning face that outshone even TV celebrities, Xu Li's presence instantly overshadowed every woman there.
The men's gazes toward Jiang Tao were filled with envy.
How could the gap between wives be *this* big?!
Even if you added up the looks of all the women there, they still wouldn't match Xu Li.
Feeling the crowd's envious stares, Old Jiang felt a sense of accomplishment, his emotional satisfaction maxed out.
"Go pick what you like."
With Jiang Tao's command, Xu Li, Jiang Bing, and Jiang Xue each grabbed a box and started selecting fireworks.
By the time the other customers had paid and left, the three had finished picking.
Their combined haul filled an entire box!
Fireworks were a high-margin business, but the costs weren't small either.
Xu Jiantao didn't pretend to give them away for free—he just sold them at cost, no profit.
Otherwise, his wife, the "Lioness of Hedong," would nag him from New Year's Eve to the fifteenth.
The box of fireworks came to 3,000 yuan.
Jiang Tao didn't haggle over the price and paid via a quick scan. He and Xu Jiantao carried the box out to load it into the car.
Outside, Xu Jiantao saw the sleek, black Mercedes GLS Xu Li had driven—classy and high-end.
His expression was identical to that of his second uncle, Jiang Tao's father-in-law, Xu Wencheng.
With Xu Jiantao's means, he could afford a Mercedes GLS, but he couldn't bring himself to buy one!
After all, he was tied to the supermarket like a workhorse, barely leaving a few times a year.
An expensive car like that would just sit in the garage collecting dust—what was the point?
He'd rather put the money in the bank to earn interest.
Xu Jiantao looked at Jiang Tao, shocked. "Jiang Tao, is this your new car? How much did it cost to get it on the road?"
"A bit over a million."
Jiang Tao's expression was casual, almost dismissive.
After all, he hadn't paid for the car himself. Without the sting of watching a million disappear from his account, he didn't feel the pinch.
"Over a million! You're killing it, Jiang Tao! That's some guts!!!"
Xu Jiantao's gaze shifted to Jiang Tao, and he suddenly noticed something.
The Jiang Tao standing before him was different from the one in his memory.
Whether it was his demeanor or the way he carried himself, he no longer seemed like the poor, struggling farmer Xu Jiantao remembered.
There was a calm confidence about him.
Running a supermarket, Xu Jiantao dealt with all sorts of people daily and had a knack for reading them.
The aura Jiang Tao exuded—this steady self-assurance—was similar to that of the wealthy bosses who often shopped at his store.
Wasn't Jiang Tao's brother-in-law just a truck driver in Beijing?
How did he suddenly…
In that moment, Xu Jiantao felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity with this brother-in-law he'd known for over six years.
Or rather, seeing Jiang Tao in person this time shattered the outdated image he'd had of him.
Xu Jiantao chuckled and teased, "Looks like you've been doing pretty well in Beijing these past couple of years, huh? Driving a big Benz now."
"If my supermarket goes under someday, I'll come work for you."
"Haha, don't tease me, bro. You're making hundreds of thousands a year with your supermarket. I'm just scraping by in Beijing—I can't compare to you."
"No way, you're doing better than me. A million-yuan luxury car? I've got to bum a ride off you sometime."
"Haha, no problem, anytime you want a ride, just say the word!"
The two chatted as they loaded the fireworks into the trunk and closed it.
Xu Li chatted with Xu Jiantao for a bit, asking about their uncle and aunt's recent situation, before saying goodbye.
By the time the group returned home, it was past 7 p.m.
Night had fallen, and the village was alive with the *boom-boom* of firecrackers echoing back and forth.
Fireworks soared into the sky with a *whoosh*, painting the dark night with bursts of vibrant color.
Jiang Tao had spent 3,000 yuan on fireworks this time, determined to let everyone have a blast.
Why enjoy it alone when you can share the fun?
He called his大哥's two nephews to join them.
The whole group set off fireworks with cheers and laughter, having the time of their lives.
The New Year's vibe? It was *on*!
*Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh~*
*Crackle-crackle~*
*Sizzle-sizzle-sizzle~*
The thousands of yuan worth of fireworks were gone in less than half an hour.
All that was left was a pile of cardboard shells even a scrap collector wouldn't bother with.
In the past, that would've been half a month's wages for Jiang Tao—he'd never have been so reckless.
Back home, the tradition of staying up all night on New Year's Eve was still alive.
After the fireworks, 大哥 Jiang He still hadn't gotten off work.
So Jiang Tao took his two nephews to visit uncles and aunties around the village.
News of him driving back a Mercedes had already spread through the whole village.
Jiang Tao had become the hot topic of Jiang Family Village this year.
No matter whose house he visited, the conversation always circled back to the Mercedes and praise for him.
It's no exaggeration to say that the compliments Jiang Tao received that night surpassed all the praise he'd gotten in his previous thirty years combined.
The admiration, envy, and accolades made Jiang Tao feel a bit floaty.
This feeling of being acknowledged and respected? He'd never experienced it before.
He didn't get home until after 11 p.m.
Xu Li, her daughter, and Jiang Bing—who was clinging to their house like sticky candy—were still in the living room, munching on nuts and watching the Spring Festival Gala, waiting to ring in the New Year together.
When the clock struck midnight, Jiang Tao officially said goodbye to his thirties and turned one year older.
After ringing in the New Year, Jiang Bing went home, and Xu Li took Jiang Xue to bathe.
Jiang Tao reclined on the sofa and opened the interface of his intelligence system.
Today was the first day of the Lunar New Year.