Mrs. Lin stuffed the red envelope into Lin Xiang’s jacket pocket and dragged her out the door.
Uncle Lin had been waiting at the door for quite a while, growing impatient in the cold wind; finally, they came out.
"Brother, let’s go."
"Oh, alright." Uncle Lin’s eyes kept darting towards the basket Lin Xiang was carrying, guessing what goodies might be inside.
Uncle Lin’s house was some distance from Lin Xiang’s, with one in the west and one in the south, basically needing to walk through most of the Li Hua Team.
After about ten minutes of walking, they finally arrived at Uncle Lin’s house.
The family must have planned it; as soon as they saw Lin Xiang and Mrs. Lin, they enthusiastically gathered around to greet them.
Lin Xiang didn’t recognize any of them.
Except for Aunt Lin.
"Oh, you shouldn’t have brought anything, it’s too polite."
Lin Xiang: "Aunt, you’re right, it’s too formal. Then I’ll just take it back later."
Aunt Lin’s smile froze, and Mrs. Lin quickly smoothed things over, "Sister-in-law, she’s just joking with you. It’s New Year’s, who comes empty-handed? This is just a little token from her, please take it."
"Alright then, I’ll take it." Afraid that Lin Xiang would really take it back, Aunt Lin almost snatched the basket away.
When Lin Xiang and Mrs. Lin entered, they saw a line of children in the main room, all eagerly looking at Lin Xiang.
"Hello, Great Aunt, hello, Aunt (or Auntie)."
The children had obviously been taught in advance, greeting in unison, their tender voices coupled with delicate skin, so cute that one would want to pinch their cheeks.
Lin Xiang did exactly that, pinching the youngest little girl’s face.
The skin was really tender.
She didn’t even use any strength, and the little girl’s cheeks already had two finger marks.
"Does Auntie like Liu Liu’s face?" the little girl asked in a tender voice.
Lin Xiang stretched out her mischievous hand and pinched again, "It’s alright."
"Then Auntie can give the business to my mom..."
"Liu Liu!"
The little girl’s words were interrupted by a gasp, and a plump woman rushed over, hugging Liu Liu and covering her mouth, smiling apologetically at Lin Xiang, "Kids don’t know any better; don’t take what she said to heart."
Lin Xiang returned with a smile, "Liu Liu’s words were interrupted by Cousin, I didn’t hear them clearly."
"That’s good then. Aunt, Lin Xiang, you both sit down, I’ll go help my mom in the kitchen."
Lin Xiang helped Mrs. Lin sit down on a chair, and as soon as they sat, someone brought them tea.
"Qiu Hua, stop fussing, take a break and sit down."
"No worries, Aunt, you and Lin Xiang are here for the first time today; we must host you properly."
Lin Xiang pouted.
After more than ten years of no contact, they’re eager to invite them over for dinner just because they need something from them this year.
Their calculations were almost written on their faces!
Even though Liu Liu was still young and couldn’t speak clearly, Lin Xiang vaguely heard the word "business."
She speculated that Uncle Lin’s purpose for reaching out this time must be related to the spicy powder business.
Mrs. Lin and Lin Xiang had been sitting for only a while when a group of children surrounded them, continuously offering well-wishes.
Mrs. Lin clearly didn’t expect such treatment when returning home, and she was all smiles.
Lin Xiang found it a bit too much, so she took out the red envelope and stuffed it into Mrs. Lin’s hand, "Mom, they’re all here for the New Year’s money. You should hand it out."
"Lin Xiang, you give it to them."
The New Year’s money was prepared by Lin Xiang, and Mrs. Lin also wanted Lin Xiang to build good relationships with her cousins and cousins-in-law. So she stuffed the red envelope into her pocket before they left.
Lin Xiang shook her head, "You’re the elder; you should give it."
Mrs. Lin had no choice and had to personally hand out the red envelopes to the six children.
The oldest boy received the red envelope, and without even bothering with formalities, opened it right in front of Mrs. Lin and Lin Xiang.
"Two yuan? Great Aunt, how come you’re so stingy, giving us only two yuan for New Year’s money?"
Mrs. Lin’s smile turned into confusion, "Two yuan... is very little?"
Before Lin Xiang went to the town to work at a Western restaurant, their entire family savings barely amounted to over two yuan, all saved by Lin Yun’s work in town.
Although each red envelope today contained only two yuan, adding up to twelve yuan, it was a significant amount for many families.
This child actually thought it was too little?
"My grandma said, Aunt Lin Xiang made quite a lot of money, surely today she would give us a big red envelope. But two yuan isn’t a big red envelope at all!"
"Isn’t two yuan a lot? Then tell me, how much did you expect?"
"At least a large banknote, right?"
Lin Xiang kept smiling, "You’re right; it’s our first meeting, my mistake for not thinking it through. How about this, you return the envelopes to me first, I’ll exchange them and give them back to you, how about that?"
With Lin Xiang’s kind smile and tone, the children didn’t suspect anything and handed their envelopes back to her.
Lin Xiang directly put them into her pocket.
Zhao Tiezhu was stunned, "Auntie, didn’t you say you’d exchange them and give them back to us?"
"Have you ever seen anyone carrying sixty yuan on them for no reason?"
"Oh, okay, then we’ll go home with you, and you can give them to us after you wrap them up."
Mrs. Lin was already looking displeased by now.
Sixty yuan?
Her entire house was built for less than ninety yuan!
The savings at home were already mostly used up; this child wanted a large banknote, and with six children, that would be sixty yuan, equivalent to two rooms. She longed for family affection but wasn’t a pushover either?
"My family doesn’t have that kind of money; if you really want a large banknote, ask your own grandparents and parents."
Bravo!
Lin Xiang wanted to applaud Mrs. Lin.
She was really afraid Mrs. Lin would take a loss again.
Anyway, she didn’t plan to spend money, and with Mrs. Lin not being a pushover, everyone was happy.
Zhao Tiezhu was only eight after all, and he immediately started crying upon hearing this.
The boy’s voice was loud, and everyone in the kitchen rushed out after hearing it.
"What happened, what happened, Tiezhu, tell grandma who bullied you, grandma will sort them out for you!"
Zhao Tiezhu’s chubby little hand pointed straight at Lin Xiang.
Lin Xiang kept her smile, "Aunt Lin, were you really sincere about inviting my mother back today, or were you just looking for a pushover?"
"My mom cherishes family ties, so she dug through cabinets to come up with twelve yuan for six children’s New Year’s money, and your grandson asks for a large banknote as soon as he opens his mouth. I said my family doesn’t have the money, and he starts crying, what’s the meaning of this?"