After settling the old cow, Jiang Tao headed straight back home.
When he arrived, he saw two beauties, one big and one small, already dressed and ready. Xu Li was sitting on the living room sofa, braiding the hair of Jiang Xue, who was perched on a small stool.
"Honey, where did you rush off to in such a hurry?" Xu Li looked up at Jiang Tao curiously as he returned.
Jiang Tao grinned. "Just went to buy a cow. In a couple of days, when we have time, we'll slaughter it and eat some beef."
"Huh? You bought… a cow?" Xu Li's beautiful eyes blinked at him, thinking he was joking.
"Yep, the kind that goes *moo~~*." Jiang Tao mimicked the cow's sound, making Jiang Xue, who was sitting on the stool, giggle uncontrollably.
"Daddy's the old cow~ Then Mommy's Princess Iron Fan, and I'm Red Boy!" Jiang Xue clapped her hands, playfully casting herself as the second-generation demon.
Xu Li shot Jiang Tao a look and laughed delicately. "You're over thirty and still so childish. Why on earth would you buy a cow for no reason? Planning to farm at home?"
Jiang Tao smiled mysteriously. "Once you're done braiding Xue's hair, I'll tell you a little secret."
"What secret?" Xu Li asked as she snapped an Ultraman hair clip onto Jiang Xue's head. She stood up from the sofa.
"Come on, let's talk inside." Jiang Tao took a few steps forward, grabbed Xu Li's hand, and led her to their master bedroom. Once inside, he shut the door with a *bang*.
"What's this secret, honey? Why so secretive?" Xu Li looked at him, her curiosity fully piqued.
Jiang Tao lowered his voice. "This is something only heaven, earth, you, me, and your little brother can know. No one else can find out. Not even our parents—it's best not to tell them. If it slips out, it could cause unnecessary trouble."
"Mm-hmm! Don't worry, honey~ My lips are sealed. I won't say a word!" Xu Li mimed zipping her lips, her quirky and playful demeanor utterly adorable.
Using "adorable" to describe a 31-year-old woman might not seem fitting, but no better word captured Xu Li's natural liveliness and cheer. Even during Jiang Tao's toughest times, she always faced life with optimism and positivity, never adding pressure to his burdens.
"There'll come a day when the bitterness ends, and sweetness begins!" Xu Li often said. Her upbeat spirit was like a bright beam of light, illuminating Jiang Tao's darkest, most trying days.
Having weathered hardships together, Jiang Tao now cherished sharing his joys with her, wanting to bring her more happiness.
On the way back from the cattle farm, he'd already been thinking about how to tell Xu Li. Something this big couldn't be kept a secret.
"Your brother called me earlier. He thinks one of the cows at their farm might have a natural bezoar inside it."
"Do you know what a natural bezoar is?"
"Nope." Xu Li's big, clear eyes stared at him confidently.
"Uh, a natural bezoar is…" Jiang Tao paused, then decided against explaining. "You don't need to know too much. Just know it's super expensive. One jin (half a kilo) can sell for six or seven hundred thousand!"
He figured it was easier to just tell his silly wife the price.
"Is that sixty thousand, seventy thousand, or a hundred thousand?" Xu Li blinked her big eyes at him, her gaze pure and innocent.
Jiang Tao laughed, half-exasperated. "Not sixty or seventy or a hundred thousand—it's six or seven *hundred* thousand! Six to seven hundred thousand, over 700,000. Clear now?"
"One jin is 700,000? Then… a cow's gotta weigh at least 200—no, at least 300 jin, right? Honey, are we about to become billionaires?!" Xu Li did the math, her excitement bubbling as she grabbed Jiang Tao's arm.
"Uh…" Jiang Tao looked at his wife, speechless. People say pregnancy makes you silly for three years, but how was his wife still this goofy after six years?
"Three hundred jin is the cow, not the bezoar. If a cow has 1,000 grams of bezoar, that's already a lot. Three hundred jin? You're dreaming of money!" Jiang Tao chuckled, pinching Xu Li's fair, perky nose to wake her from her billionaire fantasies.
"Oh, just that little? Well, that's still okay, I guess." Xu Li sniffled, not too disappointed.
"Honey, do you think our recent streak of good luck has something to do with this lucky stone?" Xu Li asked, lifting her arm to show Jiang Tao the river stone bracelet she wore. She'd skillfully woven the small, nail-sized round stone into a bracelet to carry with her.
Jiang Tao's stone was similarly woven into a pendant he kept in his pocket daily.
"Very possible. Keep wearing it—it'll bring you more good luck." Jiang Tao smiled, playing along. He knew the exact effects of the "river stone" and had tested it many times.
"Come on, didn't your mom tell us to head over early? Let's get going." Jiang Tao gave Xu Li's round, bouncy backside a playful smack before heading toward the door.
"You have the nerve to talk? My mom's already called three times to hurry us up!" Xu Li shot him a flirty eye-roll, quickly catching up and smacking his backside in return. She wasn't one to let him get away with anything.
When Jiang Bing came out of the bathroom and saw the couple playfully bickering, she shook her head. *Seriously, you two are thirty-one years old after the New Year. How are you still so immature?*
"Second Bro, some of the money from the Ultraman hair clips came through. Should I transfer it to your WeChat or Alipay?" Jiang Bing said, pulling out her phone to make the transfer, completely missing her brother's murderous glare.
This kid was bringing up money in front of his wife—how was he supposed to stash any pocket money now?
Xu Li, thrilled, asked, "How much came through, Third Sis?"
Jiang Bing answered honestly, "A little over 60,000."
"Honey~~" Xu Li turned to Jiang Tao, her voice so sweet it gave Jiang Bing goosebumps. No man could resist that sugary "honey" from her sister-in-law.
Jiang Tao, wincing, said, "Transfer it to your sister-in-law."
"Hehe, my husband's the best~ The handsomest husband in the world~ *Mwah!*" Xu Li hugged his arm and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"You two are gonna make me sick!" Jiang Bing, force-fed a mouthful of their lovey-dovey antics, rolled her eyes at them.
Living at her second brother's place was warm and comfortable, with the added perk of never going hungry—thanks to all the "dog food" (PDA) they dished out. Jiang Bing couldn't fathom how, after so many years of marriage, they were still so disgustingly sweet. Was this what love looked like?
Where was *her* love?
"Little Bing, send 30,000 to my Alipay and 30,000 to your brother's. Thanks!" Xu Li said with a grin, generously splitting the money with Jiang Tao.
"Alright." Jiang Bing transferred 30,000 to each of their accounts.
With that, Jiang Tao's cash reserves were back to just over 30,000. He didn't care much about the hair clip money. Even if Jiang Bing gave it all to Xu Li, he wouldn't mind. After all, money not only gave a man confidence but also provided a woman with security and happiness. Giving Xu Li more money to make her feel secure and happy was what Jiang Tao, as a husband, wanted to do.
He loved pampering his wife.
Sure, his cash was low at the moment, but that didn't mean he was broke. The Feitian Pig Popcorn Bucket funds hadn't even started rolling in yet. Once they went on sale, he'd rake in a fortune. Plus, the jar of Yuan Datou coins he'd brought home yesterday was worth nearly 300,000. And then there was the cow he bought this morning. Old Jiang's little vault was plenty deep!
The hair clip money was just pocket change for his wife.
After the transfer, Jiang Tao took his two beauties—one big, one small—out the door. Xu Li settled into her designated front passenger seat, while Jiang Tao lifted their "little cotton jacket" into the back of their Mercedes GLS, a large SUV that was a bit too big for Jiang Xue's short legs to climb into easily.
Once everyone was buckled in, Jiang Tao started the car and headed toward Ping County.
"Honey, did you see yesterday's trending topic on Douyin?" Xu Li asked from her seat, scrolling through her phone. "Someone won 400,000 from a scratch-off ticket! Talk about luck!"
"Maybe it's just their fate to strike it rich," Jiang Tao replied with a smile while driving. He didn't mention that he'd once won 20,000 from a scratch-off himself—his little stash of pocket money.
"Honey, honey, look! That lottery shop we went to before is open. Let's go try our luck!" Xu Li's eyes lit up as she spotted the shop where she'd once helped Jiang Tao buy tickets.
"Sure, let's give it a shot." Jiang Tao didn't want to dampen her enthusiasm, so he turned the steering wheel toward the lottery shop's parking lot. He also wondered if he could trigger another piece of lottery-related intel. If the system came through with a first-prize win, wouldn't that save him years of struggle?
They parked, and the family of three entered the shop. Behind the counter sat a woman in her fifties, dressed in a black down jacket, engrossed in a short drama on her phone.
"Tian Mingrong, you're just a nanny we hired!"
"Look at yourself in the mirror! An old maid like you daring to seduce my son? Have you no shame?"
"Mom, Rong and I are truly in love! Please speak to her with respect."
"Young Master, don't say that. We're not right for each other. You'll find someone better."
"No! I'll love only you in this lifetime. No one can tear us apart!"
The cheesy dialogue blaring from the phone was cringe-worthy, but the woman was watching intently, even wiping tears from her eyes. She paused the video when she noticed the family enter and looked up at them.
"Miss, do you have any unopened scratch-off tickets? We'll take a whole book," Jiang Tao said, holding Jiang Xue's hand as they approached the counter.
"Oh, yes, yes! I got a big batch in before the New Year. Take a look and pick one." Tian Mingrong's face lit up at the prospect of selling a whole book. She opened a drawer and pulled out a variety of scratch-offs—5-yuan, 10-yuan, 20-yuan, all different types.
Jiang Tao chose his usual "Tenfold Luck" tickets. A full pack contained 50 tickets for 500 yuan. After scanning the payment, he split the pack into three portions: 17 tickets each for himself and Xu Li, and 16 for Jiang Xue.
Let the scratching begin!
In the end, Jiang Tao won 320 yuan, Xu Li won 350 yuan, and Jiang Xue got 100 yuan. The river stone's value kept proving itself! They spent 500 yuan and won 770 yuan—a net profit of 270 yuan. That was a solid haul. Typically, a whole book might yield 350 yuan in prizes, with a loss of about 100 yuan being the norm. After all, scratch-offs were designed to make money, not lose it.
After cashing out, the family left the shop happily.
"Hehe, honey, if we had luck like this every day, wouldn't that be great? We could earn 270 yuan daily! That'd cover our food and living expenses!" Xu Li said, grinning like a little money-lover as they got back in the car.
"Not a bad idea. You could give it a try," Jiang Tao replied with a smile, not wanting to burst her bubble. A million-yuan scratch-off batch was set with a 100,000-yuan prize pool. No matter how lucky you were, the rules capped your wins.
They arrived at Xu Li's parents' house at 10:30 AM, half an hour later than usual. "Grandma, Grandpa, Happy New Year! Wishing you prosperity—where's my red envelope?" Jiang Xue burst in, giving her grandparents New Year's greetings and scoring two thick red envelopes, even bigger than the ones from her paternal grandparents.
Her maternal grandparents were well-off, and with Jiang Xue as their only granddaughter, they were generous. Each gave her a 1,000-yuan red envelope, though the money ultimately went to Xu Li for Jiang Xue's kindergarten fees and living expenses.
"Huh, where's Shasha?" Xu Li noticed her sister was missing after the initial excitement.
Du Yongmei replied, "She got called out by Wang Xiaohong early this morning. She'll probably be back soon."
*Click.* Speak of the devil—Xu Shasha walked in, carrying a large black plastic bag. She went straight to Jiang Tao and handed it to him. "Here."
"Thanks, Shasha." Jiang Tao took the bag with a smile, thanking his sister-in-law. Though she could be a bit rude to him, he wasn't petty enough to hold it against a young girl.
"Honey, what did you buy now?" Xu Li peered into the bag and pulled out a box of Doutian cards. "Oh, aren't these the cards Bing and Xue love? You bought so many!"
Jiang Tao grinned. "Yeah, since Xue and the others like them, I got a bunch so they can have fun."
"Daddy, Daddy, you're the best dad in the world! Let's open the cards!" Jiang Xue's face lit up as she dragged Jiang Tao to the coffee table to start opening packs.
"You're going to spoil our daughter rotten," Xu Li said, shaking her head with a smile but not saying more. The money was already spent—might as well let them have fun. It was the New Year; no need to be a buzzkill.
"Mom, need any help?" Xu Li turned to the kitchen to assist her parents with cooking.
Xu Shasha slipped back to her room, doing who-knows-what, leaving Jiang Tao and Jiang Xue in the living room to open cards.
Jiang Tao quickly spotted a card pack glowing with a faint golden light in his vision. He discreetly slipped it into his pocket. Jiang Xue, engrossed in her card-opening fun, didn't notice her dad's sneaky move.
"The old cow and the signed card are both in hand—perfect!" In just one morning, Jiang Tao had secured both items mentioned in the intel, feeling a wave of relief.
Lunch was a lavish feast with sixteen dishes served one after another. The spread was so impressive that Xu Shasha, watching from the side, was visibly envious. *This is the treatment a biological daughter gets!*
His mother-in-law's cooking was, as always, top-notch, rivaling restaurant chefs. Jiang Tao shared a bottle of Maotai with his father-in-law, and the meal's atmosphere was warm and harmonious. After eating and chatting until past 4 PM, the family of three said their goodbyes and left.
They got home around 5 PM. Jiang Xue continued opening card packs on the sofa, while Xu Li lounged on Jiang Tao's lap, watching TV, completely relaxed.
Seeing the moment was right, Jiang Tao quietly pulled the Doutian card pack he'd hidden at his in-laws' from his back pocket and started opening it. The system was as reliable as ever, never disappointing. Sure enough, the pack contained a cartoon Ao Bing BP card with a signature—Director Dumpling's autograph! The signature's artistic flair made it a bit hard to read, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that it was the director's handwritten signature!
"Hey, honey, look at this!" Jiang Tao played dumb, waving the signed card in front of Xu Li.
"Huh? What's that?" Xu Li froze, then shot up from the sofa, snatching the card from his hand. When she saw Director Dumpling's signature, her breathing quickened with excitement.