After a hearty lunch,
Jiang Bing drove her two nephews and Jiang Xue to the movie theater to watch a film.
Jiang Tao and Xu Li, who hadn't slept all night, didn't join them.
After lunch, the two stayed home to catch up on sleep.
*Ring ring ring—*
At 5 p.m., Jiang Tao's phone, placed on the bedside table, rang.
"Honey, it's the rideshare driver, Xiao Zheng," Xu Li said.
Awoken by the phone's ringtone, Xu Li glanced at the caller ID and gently shook Jiang Tao's shoulder.
*Ring ring ring—*
"Who is it?" Jiang Tao mumbled, still half-asleep.
Back in his twenties, he could stay up all night playing mahjong with his buddies during Chinese New Year.
But after getting married, having kids, and growing older, he found it harder and harder to pull all-nighters.
Last night, he stayed up until six in the morning. Even after napping for over six hours today, he still felt groggy and drained.
"The rideshare driver, Xiao Zheng," Xu Li repeated.
"Oh…" Jiang Tao replied, still a bit confused. It took him a few seconds to recall that this was the driver they'd arranged for Old Sun!
"It's probably my master arriving!" Jiang Tao exclaimed, suddenly alert. He swiped to answer the call.
"Hello, Brother Jiang…" Sure enough, the driver's voice came through. He had already arrived at the village entrance.
While directing the driver to drive along the main street of Jiang Family Village, Jiang Tao and Xu Li hurriedly got dressed and out of bed.
Once ready, they quickly walked out to meet Old Sun.
As they stepped out of the alley, they spotted the Beijing-licensed BAIC electric car.
The driver was smoking by the car, while Old Sun, dressed in a Zhongshan suit with a mink coat draped over it, stood nearby.
His stylish outfit was quite eye-catching in the village!
"Master! You're here!" Jiang Tao rushed forward, grabbing Sun Xiaobao's hand and giving him a meaningful look.
"I'm here, my apprentice. So this is your hometown? Hmm, the feng shui here is quite good. No wonder it produced a rare genius like you," Sun Xiaobao said, scanning the surroundings. His words sounded convincing enough.
But…
When Jiang Tao heard Old Sun call him a "once-in-a-millennium genius," he nearly burst out laughing.
*Come on, old man, tone it down a bit! Don't exaggerate so much!*
"Master, let me introduce you. This is my wife, Xu Li."
"Lili, this is my master, the renowned Sun Xiaobao, Master Sun, known in Beijing as the All-Knowing."
In this mutual flattery, Jiang Tao elevated Sun Xiaobao's status.
"Hello, Master. Welcome to our Jiang Family Village," Xu Li said, completely taken in by their seamless performance.
At this point, she fully believed in their roles.
During a heart-to-heart talk with Jiang Tao in bed earlier, he had credited his recent successes—like trading tangerines and Xu Li winning the lottery with her friend—to Master Sun Xiaobao's "calculations."
These real, verifiable events had convinced Xu Li of Sun Xiaobao's profound expertise.
As a result, she looked at Sun Xiaobao with increasing awe, his image growing larger in her mind.
While they were talking, Jiang Tao's parents, alerted by his call, came out to greet Sun Xiaobao.
At the same time, the village's "intelligence team" noticed the commotion and gathered around, curiously whispering about Sun Xiaobao's relationship with Jiang Tao and his family.
"Buddy, I'll settle the fare now. You can head home," Jiang Tao said to the driver, sending him the agreed-upon 1,000 yuan via WeChat and tossing him an unopened pack of Huazi cigarettes. "Thanks for the trouble during the New Year. Here's a pack for the road."
"Thanks, Brother Jiang. Sir, where should I unload your stuff?" the rideshare driver asked Sun Xiaobao after receiving the payment.
"Just unload it here. We'll take it home ourselves later. Thanks, young man," Sun Xiaobao replied with a cheerful smile, then turned to the puzzled Jiang Tao to explain, "My apprentice, it's my first time visiting your hometown and meeting your wife and parents. Plus, it's the New Year, so I couldn't come empty-handed. I brought a few small gifts."
*Click!* The driver opened the trunk, revealing boxes of liquor and a bulging instant noodle box stuffed with Huazi cigarettes, barely able to close.
"Good lord, the trunk is full of Maotai! Is all this for Old Jiang's family?"
"So many bottles of Maotai! How much is that worth?"
"Jiang Wen's second son must've met a big shot in Beijing!"
"Look at that mink coat he's wearing. That's high-class—probably six or seven thousand yuan!"
"From what Jiang Tao said, they're master and apprentice? What does he teach, and what's he learning?"
"Who knows, but it's gotta be something good. Otherwise, how could Jiang Wen's second son come back for the New Year driving a Mercedes?"
The moment the trunk opened, the crowd of onlookers buzzed with excitement and astonishment at the sight of the goods.
Some even considered calling their sons over to kowtow and beg Sun Xiaobao to take them as apprentices!
This master clearly had an air of otherworldly grace—an absolute sage!
Jiang Tao and his family were equally shocked by the contents of the trunk.
They hadn't expected Sun Xiaobao to bring so many extravagant gifts!
"Master, you're too kind. One or two boxes would've been enough. You didn't need to bring so much," Jiang Tao said, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sight of several boxes of Maotai. At current market prices, one box of Maotai was worth about 17,000 yuan! Six boxes would be over 100,000 yuan, and the box of Huazi cigarettes was worth tens of thousands more. Sun Xiaobao's gifts were truly extravagant!
Jiang Tao had invited Old Sun to visit his hometown for fun, not for these lavish gifts.
Of course, since Old Sun had gone to the trouble of bringing them, the gesture was more about sentiment than the gifts themselves.
Jiang Tao didn't refuse outright, just politely demurred a couple of times before accepting everything.
He called his older brother's two sons to help carry the liquor.
When Jiang Shijie and Jiang Shaojie saw the six boxes of Maotai on the ground, they were thrilled. And that huge box of Huazi? The brothers couldn't help but think their second uncle was *the man*! None of the other kids in the village had ever seen so much Maotai and Huazi!
"Let's go, Master. Let's head home. Too many gossipers around here," Jiang Tao said.
"Yes, yes, Master, please. Our house is this way," Jiang Wen added, leading the way.
He, too, fully accepted Sun Xiaobao's identity, treating him as an honored guest from afar.
Under the astonished and envious gazes of the village's intelligence team, the group carried the six boxes of Maotai and the huge box of Huazi toward Jiang Tao's parents' house.
The spot where Sun Xiaobao got out of the car was less than 100 meters from their home.
They chatted as they walked, arriving in just two minutes.
Jiang Tao first showed Sun Xiaobao to his room, asking if he needed anything else.
To welcome him, the house's heating was turned up several degrees higher than usual, making it as cozy as centralized heating in the city.
"I'm satisfied, very satisfied! You've gone to too much trouble, Little Jiang," Sun Xiaobao said, reverting to calling Jiang Tao "Little Jiang" when no one else was around.
Jiang Tao smiled. "As long as you're happy, Master, stay as long as you like. My wife and I plan to head back to Beijing after the fifteenth of the first lunar month. We'll take you back with us then."
"Oh, that's… isn't that too much trouble for your parents?" Sun Xiaobao had thought he was just visiting for a couple of days, not expecting Jiang Tao to suggest a longer stay.
Jiang Tao laughed. "Trouble? My parents are very hospitable. Forget ten days or half a month—even if you stayed for a year or two, it'd be no problem."
"Heh…" Sun Xiaobao gave a bitter smile, knowing he didn't have that much time left.
After checking the room, they returned to the living room to chat with everyone.
That evening, Jiang Wen personally cooked several signature dishes to welcome Sun Xiaobao.
Sun Xiaobao and Jiang Wen, being around the same age, hit it off, reminiscing about old times with great enthusiasm.
Feeling the warmth and welcome from Jiang Tao's family, Sun Xiaobao was overwhelmed with emotion, nearly tearing up.
In his sixty-six years, he had never experienced such a lively New Year!
After eating and drinking, it was past 9 p.m.
Jiang Tao's family of three stayed at his parents' house, chatting until 10:30 p.m. before leaving.
Since Sun Xiaobao was staying at their parents' house, Jiang Bing, as hoped, moved into Jiang Tao's house to share a room with her little niece, Jiang Xue.
The aunt and niece had been playing together constantly these past few days, growing much closer. Jiang Xue was thrilled to share a room with her aunt.
When it was time to shower, Jiang Bing playfully suggested drawing lots to decide the order.
Unsurprisingly, as the one who proposed it, she ended up going last!
That night—
Despite their restraint, Jiang Tao and Xu Li couldn't help making some sounds that weren't exactly kid-friendly.
Jiang Bing, in the small guest room, waited and waited, eventually getting so bored she pulled out her phone and started a timer.
After exactly 69 minutes and 19 seconds, the noises from next door finally stopped.
"Wow, is Second Brother *that* intense?" Jiang Bing muttered. "He's practically a leading man in a little movie."
Rolling her eyes, she turned off the timer, set her phone on the bedside table, and closed her eyes to sleep.
*Creak, creak, creak—*
Just as she shut her eyes, faint creaking started again. Jiang Bing instantly collapsed in exasperation.
*What did I do to deserve this?! Why am I, an innocent maiden, suffering through this?!*
Unable to sleep, Jiang Bing sighed and quietly opened her phone's built-in browser.
She clicked "My Bookmarks," and… the little movie began!
…
At 1:43 a.m.,
Old Jiang looked at Xu Li, fast asleep in his arms.
With a thought, he opened the Daily Intelligence System to check the latest updates.
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Dear readers,
If you happen to notice any errors, typos, or inconsistencies in the text, please don't hesitate to leave a comment. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help me improve the story. Together, we can make it as polished and enjoyable as possible!
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