Mu Jingzhe and Shao Dong were too busy with their careers, so they didn’t notice the little ones’ acts of revenge.

  Before the new year, everyone was busy shopping. Mu Jingzhe and Shao Dong were too busy to pay attention to these things.

  Before the new year, everyone would buy all the things they couldn’t bear to buy in the past year. They would buy clothes and hair ornaments for their children, as well as snacks and fruits that they usually couldn’t afford to eat. They would also need to visit their relatives.

  This led to Mu Jingzhe’s two businesses becoming extremely popular. Needless to say, the accumulated stock of hair ornaments was cleared out a few days before the new year, and everyone even had to work overtime.

  At the same time, the toilet paper and sanitary pads made at the paper factory sold well.

  The best-selling items, however, were fruit cans, fruit juice, and walnut juice. Due to the opportune timing and the fact that the products were cheap and good, they sold really well in the entire county. They were even sold elsewhere in the province. They were really a hit.

  At the same time, Mu Han and the scavenger team, who had been wandering outside for a few months, gradually returned.

  Although they had been working the dirtiest and toughest jobs outside, they came back in the most presentable clothes and shoes. They cleaned up nicely and even brought home gifts for their families, looking quite glamorous.

  They had really made money and had just come back home. Of the ten families, eight planned to start building new houses after the new year, and some even planned to buy bicycles.

  In just a few months, they had made money that they might not have been able to make in a few years otherwise.

  Before the new year, the most-discussed topic in the village was these scavenger teams. Mu Han was one of them. He was the most low-profile among them, but everyone knew that he earned the most, while they were just small fries.

  Everyone praised Mu Han, but he was very humble. “I’m nothing. I’m just an errand boy.”

  The truly brilliant one was Shao Dong. Shao Dong was the brain of the operation. Without Shao Dong, he wouldn’t have thought so far ahead.

  Before the new year, Great Eastern Village was extremely lively. Everyone was busy going to the scavenger team’s houses for a visit to ask around for opportunities, and the scavenger team would go to Mu Han’s house.

  \r \r \r

  This year was the new year Mu Teng and his family would be celebrating after their share of the family assets was carved out. They’d originally thought that it would be cold and cheerless, but in fact, it was even livelier in their home than where Old Lady Mu and the rest lived. Everyone came and went with their New Year’s gifts.

  Old Lady Mu hadn’t expected the grandchildren she’d once looked down upon to be so promising. Upon seeing how lively their place was and how cold and cheerless her side was, in addition to the fact that Mu Xue hadn’t managed to find a wealthy husband, she was extremely vexed.

  However, Third Brother and his wife kept trying to get closer to Mu Teng and his wife. There was some resentment in their words. Back then, they’d insisted on staying together because they trusted Mu Xue. Why was their family still like this?

  Mu Xue’s engagement had been broken off, and her wealthy in-laws were gone. On the other hand, Mu Han and the others had made a lot of money. If they had carved out their share of the family assets as well back then, they might have been able to earn money with Mu Han now.

  He wanted to say a few nice words to coax Mu Han into bringing him, his third uncle, along to earn big money, but Mu Han was no longer the person he used to be a few months ago. He still remembered the way his third uncle had kicked him while he was down, and he dismissed him with a fake smile and a few casual words.

  Then, he brought his New Year’s gift and carefully went to wish his older sister a happy new year. Of course, he also went to wish Shao Dong, his nephew-cum-boss, a happy new year.

  The people who went out to scavenge with Mu Han knew that although he was incredible, a large part of this success was a result of Shao Dong’s capabilities. All of them followed suit.

  Mu Jingzhe’s place became the liveliest in the entire village. On the night of the Chinese New Year’s Eve, a lot of families sent over plenty of delicious food. There was so much food that the dining table was almost full.

  The five kids looked at the sumptuous dining table and felt filled with emotions.

  In just one year, their lives had already changed drastically. They remembered being scolded for eating two pieces of chicken last year, but this year, things had changed completely.

  In the past, during the New Year, Zhao Lan would always kill a chicken. The chicken leg and chicken wings would always go to Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ, never Dong, Xi, Nan, Bei, and Zhong. At most, they would get a portion of the chicken head. However, it would only be theirs after the most delicious chicken crown on the chicken head was bitten off by Shao Fu. The five of them would each eat a portion of the remaining chicken head.

  If Zhao Lan was in a better mood, they would get some bones without much meat. If she was in a bad mood, it would be difficult to even get a bowl of chicken soup.

  All the children in the village looked forward to the New Year, but they had never done so before. This was because the New Year used to be no different to them.

  This year, they finally understood why other children always looked forward to the New Year—because it truly was a blissful and lively occasion.

  Mommy had bought red paper and asked them to write couplets and paste them on the door. She’d also bought lanterns. The house, which was red and flourishing, had a strong Chinese New Year vibe.

  After dinner, Mommy read them a story while accompanying them as they Shousui-ed[1]. They felt that the air was filled with the smell of happiness.

  Knowing that the purpose of this custom was to bless their parents with longevity, the children widened their eyes, wanting to properly Shousui for Mu Jingzhe.

  Mu Jingzhe had known about this custom for a long time. However, she didn’t have parents before, so she didn’t need to Shousui. Now that she had Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng, regardless of whether their relationship was real or fake, she would properly Shousui for them during every Chinese New Year.

  Mu Jingzhe Shousui-ed for Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng, while the five children Shousui-ed for Mu Jingzhe. Other than Xiao Wu, who didn’t think too much about it, the other four kids Shousui-ed for Mu Jingzhe while silently discussing with the heavens. They were Shousui-ing for their mother and not their father. They hoped that their blessings wouldn’t be diluted and all their blessings would be given to their mother.

  Shao Qihai, who was hundreds of kilometers away, tried his best but couldn’t make it back before the New Year. However, at last, the last two escapees were found.

  The New Year had a special meaning. Everyone, regardless of their status, wanted to go back to their hometown for Chinese New Year.

  The same applied to those two people. They couldn’t help but go home for the New Year, so Shao Qihai and the others finally found a chance.

  After Shao Qihai and Jiang Feng confirmed the identity of the culprits, they assisted the police with the final arrest at long last.

  Finally, all the culprits were arrested and brought to justice. For some reason, though, Shao Qihai felt a chill down his spine.

  After coming out of the suspect’s house, which was filled with a strong festive vibe, Shao Qihai looked in the direction of his house and apologized to Mu Jingzhe and his five kids in his heart.

  He had tried his best to go back before the New Year, but he hadn’t made it back in the end.

  Elsewhere, Mu Jingzhe, Shao Qiyang, and the kids waited until midnight to welcome the first day of the New Year. Just after midnight, Mu Jingzhe started to cook the dumplings that she had prepared.

  “Come, come and eat.” After the dumplings were cooked, Mu Jingzhe picked up the dumplings for them with a pair of chopsticks. “Pay attention when you eat. Don’t use too much strength lest your teeth break. Whoever bites the coin will have good luck for the next year.”

  In the past, life had been average, and there hadn’t been many chances to eat dumplings. Even if there was money to make dumplings, they weren’t so particular about it. The five children aside, this was also the first time Shao Qiyang had celebrated the New Year like this.

  Upon hearing Mu Jingzhe’s words, they were excited and expectant as they carefully bit down.

  “Ah, Mommy, I bit it!”

  “That’s great. Our Little Bei is going to be lucky this year.”

  “Mommy, I bit it too!” Shao Xi, Shao Nan, Shao Dong, Xiao Wu, even Shao Qiyang, all found themselves biting a coin one after another.

  Initially, only one dumpling was supposed to contain a coin, but Mu Jingzhe felt that it would be better if everyone had good luck, so she’d made a few dumplings with a coin in them. When she saw them bite a coin, she congratulated each of them.

  [1] A Chinese New Year’s custom that has people stay up late on the New Year’s Eve so that their parents will be blessed with longevity