90: New Year's Gifts

It took nearly an hour to organize several large bags of things, and dinner was already being set in the dining room.

Jiang Fuyue and Yan Zhuoyan got up one after another to wash their hands for dinner, while Yan Zhuohua dawdled, unwilling to move. Yan Qinghe naturally had to wait for him, so he didn't leave either.

Seeing the other two disappear from sight, Yan Zhuohua cautiously began to rummage through Yan Qinghe's pockets.

"What are you doing?" Not only did Yan Qinghe not stop him, but he also cooperatively raised his arms.

Yan Zhuohua searched for a long while, almost leaning completely into Yan Qinghe's embrace.

"Found it!" Yan Zhuohua pulled a bag of candies from the other pocket and opened it joyfully. "They're all my favorite flavors!"

Yan Qinghe smiled helplessly and reached out to snatch the bag from his hand.

"What are you doing! Give it back!" Caught off guard and successfully ambushed, Yan Zhuohua didn't dare speak loudly for fear of being heard by his mother, so he could only question him in a low voice.

"I promised Mom that I wouldn't let you eat too many." Yan Qinghe pulled out a green apple-flavored gummy, the same kind they had tried together that day. "Only this one for today."

He placed the solitary candy in Yan Zhuohua's hand, then got up to wash his hands for dinner.

Behind him, Yan Zhuohua resentfully tore open the wrapper and popped the candy into his mouth.

"Stingy!"

Dinner passed in its usual lively fashion.

Before it ended, Jiang Fuyue called out to Yan Zhuohua, who was preparing to leave with Yan Qinghe.

"Zhuohua, wake up early these next two days and help me prepare the New Year's gifts for each household."

Preparing New Year's gifts was an extremely meticulous and difficult task. Not only did one have to consider the closeness of relationships and different social statuses, but also the family members of each household and their respective preferences. Thinking of suitable gifts, finding them in the storage room, or going out to purchase necessary items—simply put, it could drive a person crazy.

This task hadn't been Yan Zhuohua's responsibility before; at most, he would write a few Spring Couplets or paint a few lively Ink Wash Paintings at the request of his elders to serve as part of the gifts. He hadn't expected this job to be handed over to him now.

"I understand." Although the thought of it scared him, he obediently agreed.

Before bed that night, Yan Zhuohua habitually lay in Yan Qinghe's arms, scrolling through his phone while chatting with him.

"I had planned to spend a few happy nights with you, but I didn't expect you'd have to get up early even on your break," Yan Qinghe said with some emotion as he watched him happily browsing social media platform.

"Do you realize now that you shouldn't have bought so many 'necessities'?" Yan Zhuohua had been quite conflicted about tomorrow's task, but hearing Yan Qinghe say this, he suddenly became happy.

There was actually such a benefit?

"You look very happy?" Yan Qinghe's voice was flat, but it always gave off a frightening feeling.

"Not very happy, just a little bit," Yan Zhuohua said with a slight air of reserve.

Yan Qinghe revealed his true colors, his voice sounding dangerous as he said, "Do you think if I deal with you now, you'll dare to stand Mom up tomorrow and sleep all morning, or will you be forced to drag yourself out of bed to work?"

Yan Zhuohua was struck with panic and hurriedly looked up to plant a kiss on Yan Qinghe's lips.

"I was wrong, Hubby, spare me this once."

Yan Qinghe returned the kiss with satisfaction for a long time before letting him go, still wanting more.

"I'll spare you this once."

Having been let off the hook, Yan Zhuohua got up on time the next day and went to the living room to receive his assignments.

Jiang Fuyue meticulously explained the precautions for gift-giving bit by bit, and also gave him a rundown of each family's situation.

Which was to say, gossip.

Because the gossip parts were truly quite engaging, Yan Zhuohua didn't feel very tired; instead, he listened with great interest.

"How come I never noticed you were such a gossip before?" Jiang Fuyue had thought he would be impatient, but she hadn't expected him to be so interested!

"Isn't it because I've spent so much time with Uncle? I've been infected by him."

Jiang Fuyue thought for a moment and knew he was referring to Yan Muxuan. Then it wasn't strange at all.

"Never mind," Jiang Fuyue stopped dwelling on it, "as long as you can remember it, there's no harm in listening to it as gossip."

Yan Zhuohua nodded happily and continued listening to his mother tell stories about the various families.

While he listened, he casually flipped through the materials on the table.

Liang Yushan?

Yan Zhuohua spotted a familiar name. He pulled out that file and took a brief look; it really was one of his grandfather's old comrades-in-arms.

"Mom, what's the deal with this person?" Yan Zhuohua handed the file over.

"Liang Yushan? Why are you interested in him?" Jiang Fuyue took the file. "He was just an ordinary soldier under your grandfather when he first entered the Military Camp. It's just that over the years, those familiar faces have passed away one by one, so our family gives them more gifts out of respect for him being one of the few ordinary comrades of your grandfather still alive."

"So our family isn't close to him?"

"Of course not. It's not to say he was just an ordinary soldier, but mainly that he and your grandfather didn't actually speak much. They had no real interaction and almost no relationship; he's just benefiting from having lived a long time."

Oh, it was like a concubine in the imperial harem grinding her way from a low rank to Imperial Noble Consort based solely on seniority—it all depended on living long.

Jiang Fuyue looked over the file again and found nothing wrong. "Is something wrong with him?"

"It's nothing, just that at last week's annual meeting, he somehow got into the venue and said some unpleasant things, which got him a good scolding from Second Brother and Elder Sister."

Yan Zhuohua was slyly lodging a complaint.

Even though she knew her son was tattling, Jiang Fuyue was very cooperative. After all, how could a mere acquaintance of a deceased relative compare to her own child?

Without even asking for details, Jiang Fuyue threw the file directly into the trash can.

"Then there's no need to arrange a New Year's gift for him anymore." Jiang Fuyue took the opportunity to teach him: "If someone doesn't please you and isn't particularly important, there's no need to give them face. Even if they are important, if you don't want to, you don't have to; there are few people our family can't afford to offend."

"As the mistress of the house, you must maintain your dignity. While you shouldn't be rude, you must also uphold your own reputation. Even if you slight some people, they won't dare say anything. Be more decisive, don't be overcautious, and don't let people walk all over you."

"Also, this tells you that from the New Year's gifts others send, you can see part of their strength as well as their attitude toward you."

Yan Zhuohua took the lesson to heart and nodded seriously. "I'll remember that." In the face of strength, morality was sometimes not very useful.

By the end of the morning, they had only basically sorted out the order of the gifts and the details that might change annually. Writing out the specific gift lists for each family would take another afternoon.

After a busy day, Yan Zhuohua finally submitted a gift list that satisfied Jiang Fuyue before dinner.

"Good, we'll go with this." Jiang Fuyue flipped through the list and nodded. "Prepare the items according to this tomorrow morning, and send them out in order in the afternoon. New Year's gifts must arrive before the New Year."

"It seems a few items are insufficient," Yan Zhuohua pointed out.

"It's fine. Tomorrow morning, have Qinghe and the others go out for another shopping trip and get everything organized before they're sent out." Jiang Fuyue replied while finishing her review of the list. "For what's missing, stay busy for a bit longer tonight and write a few Spring Couplets to add to the gifts for these families."

"Okay." Yan Zhuohua agreed readily; after all, he had written them many times before and was familiar with it. He could also write their own family's couplets tonight to avoid being busy later.