After a sumptuous lunch.
Jiang Bing drove two nephews and Jiang Xue to the cinema to watch a movie.
Jiang Tao and Xu Li didnât sleep at all last night, so they didnât go along.
After lunch, the two of them went home to catch up on sleep.
Ring ring ringâ
At 5 p.m., Jiang Taoâs phone on the bedside table rang.
"Honey, itâs the ride-share driver Xiao Zheng."
Xu Li was woken up by the phoneâs ring, glanced at the displayed contact name, then gently shook his shoulder.
Ring ring ringâ
"Who?"
Jiang Tao woke up groggily and asked again.
Back in his twenties, he used to play mahjong all night with his buddies when he went home for Chinese New Year.
Since getting married and having children, and as heâs gotten older, he canât stay up late anymore.
Last night he stayed up until after six in the morning, and even though he got more than six hours of sporadic sleep today, he still felt quite lethargic.
"Ride-share driver Xiao Zheng."
"Oh..."
Jiang Tao was confused when he first heard the name, but it took him a few seconds to remember thatâs the driver he arranged for Old Sun!
"I guess my mentor has arrived!"
Jiang Tao exclaimed in surprise and finally swiped his finger to answer the call.
"Hey Brother Jiang..."
Indeed, on the other end of the call was the driverâs voice, saying heâd arrived at the village entrance.
While instructing the driver over the phone to drive the car along the main street of Jiang Family Manor into the village,
Jiang Tao and Xu Li dressed and got up together.
After they were dressed neatly, the two walked quickly out the door to welcome Old Sun.
Outside the gate, stepping out of the alley, they saw the Beijing-plated BAIC electric car.
The driver was smoking in front of the car.
Wearing a Zhongshan suit inside and a mink coat outside, Old Sun also stood by the car.
His modern attire was quite striking in the village!
"Master! Youâve come!"
Jiang Tao quickly walked up, grabbed Sun Xiaobaoâs hand, and kept giving him winks.
"Yes, my disciple, is this your hometown? Hmm, the feng shui here is quite good, no wonder it produced a rare genius like you."
Sun Xiaobao glanced around as he spoke, sounding quite convincing.
Just...
When Jiang Tao heard Old Sun praise him as a "once-in-a-millennium" genius, he almost couldnât hold it together.
Come on, letâs not exaggerate this much!
"Master, let me introduce you, this is my wife, Xu Li."
"Lili, this is my master, known as Sun Xiaobao, the all-knowing master of Beijing."
Reciprocal flattery is a thing, so Jiang Tao elevated Sun Xiaobaoâs status.
"Hello Master, welcome to our Jiang Family Manor."
Xu Li was completely taken in by the duoâs flawless performance.
At this moment, she had no doubts about their identities.
Previously, while Jiang Tao and Xu Li were having a heart-to-heart under the covers, Jiang Tao credited Sun Xiaobaoâs calculations for inspiring the sugar mandarin oranges business and advising Xu Liâs best friend on the lottery among other things.
Each of these events had actually happened, repeatedly confirming the profound skills of Jiang Taoâs mentor, Sun Xiaobao.
Hence, Xu Liâs gaze at Sun Xiaobao became more reverent, and his image grew more grand in her mind.
While they were speaking, Jiang Taoâs parents, who received his call, also came out to welcome Sun Xiaobao.
Meanwhile, the villageâs intelligence squad, seeing the situation, curiously gathered around.
Everyone whispered among themselves, discussing Sun Xiaobaoâs relationship with Jiang Tao and his family.
"Bro, Iâll settle your fare first. You can head home."
"Sorry for the trouble during the New Yearâs, hereâs a pack of cigarettes for the road."
While speaking, Jiang Tao sent the driver the agreed-upon 1000 yuan fare via WeChat and gave him an unopened pack of Huazi cigarettes.
"Thank you, Brother Jiang. Sir, where would you like your stuff unloaded from the car?"
The ride-share driver, after receiving the fare from Jiang Tao, looked at Sun Xiaobao and asked.
"Just unload it here. Weâll move it home ourselves later. Thanks, young man."
Sun Xiaobao cheerfully said to the driver, then turned to Jiang Tao, who looked puzzled, to explain:
"Disciple, this is my first time visiting your hometown and meeting your wife and parents."
"Also, considering itâs a big New Yearâs occasion, I couldnât come empty-handed."
"So, Iâve brought you some small gifts."
Clack!
The ride-share driver opened the trunk, revealing boxes of liquor and a case of instant noodles packed so full with Huazi cigarettes that it wouldnât close.
"Wow, the trunk is full of Moutai! Could this all be for Old Jiangâs family?"
"So much Moutai, how much would all that cost!"
"Jiang Wenâs second son must have met an important figure in Beijing!"
"Did you see the mink coat on himâit looks so high-end, it must cost six or seven thousand yuan!"
"I heard from Jiang Tao that theyâre in a mentor-mentee relationship. What are they teaching and learning?"
"Who knows, but they must be learning good stuff, otherwise, how would Jiang Wenâs second son come home in a big Benz this year?"
The moment the trunk was opened, the onlookers around were buzzing with conversation, each astonished by the contents.
Some people even wanted to go home and call their sons over to bow and become disciples of Sun Xiaobao!
This master, with just one look, seemed otherworldly, full of an ethereal aura, definitely a sage!
When Jiang Tao and his group saw the items in the trunk, they were equally astonished!
They hadnât expected that Sun Xiaobao would bring so many, such valuable gifts this time!
"Master, youâre too kind, just a box or two wouldâve been enough, you didnât have to bring so much."
Seeing the few boxes of Maozi brought by Sun Xiaobao, Jiang Tao felt a bit overwhelmed with surprise.
At the current market price, a box of Maozi costs about 17,000!
Six boxes are over 100,000 yuan!
That box of Huazi is also worth several thousand!
Sun Xiaobaoâs present this time is truly too generous!
Jiang Tao invited Old Sun over not because of these things.
Of course, Old Sun brought them from afar, making the sentiment behind the gifts even more valuable.
Jiang Tao didnât refuse repeatedly.
He just exchanged a few polite words with Old Sun before accepting everything straightforwardly.
Jiang Tao made a call to invite his two nephews from his elder brotherâs house to come and help carry the wine together.
Jiang Shijie and Jiang Shaojie, upon seeing six boxes of Maotai on the ground, were instantly thrilled!
Seeing a big box of Huazi as well, the two brothers couldnât help but mentally cheer for Uncle Jiang!
The other kids in the village have never seen so much Maozi and Huazi!
"Letâs go, Master, letâs head home first. Itâs noisy here, weâll chat more at home."
"Yes, yes, Master, please, our home is this way."
Jiang Wen quickly turned around to lead the way.
He had fully accepted Sun Xiaobaoâs identity, treating him as an honored guest from afar.
The group walked towards the direction of the parentsâ home with six boxes of Maotai and a large box of Huazi, under the surprised and envious gazes of the Jiang Family Manor intelligence team members.
The spot where Sun Xiaobao got out of the car is less than 100 meters straight from the parentsâ house.
Chatting as they walked, they reached home in just 2 minutes.
Jiang Tao first took Old Sun to see the room, asking if there was anything else he needed.
To welcome Old Sun, the heating in the house was turned up several degrees warmer than usual today.
The warmth inside wasnât much different than the central heating outside.
"Very satisfied, very satisfied! Youâve gone to so much trouble, Xiao Jiang."
When no one else was around, Sun Xiaobao reverted to calling Jiang Tao Xiao Jiang.
Jiang Tao laughed: "If youâre satisfied, then make yourself at home.
My wife and I plan to return to Beijing after the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, and we can take you back then."
"This, this might not be good, Xiao Jiang, would it be too much trouble for your parents?"
Sun Xiaobao thought he was just visiting for a couple of days, not realizing Jiang Tao intended for him to stay longer.
Jiang Tao laughed heartily and said:
"Thereâs nothing troubling about it, my parents are very hospitable. Staying ten days or half a month is no problem, even if you stayed here for a year or so, it wouldnât be an issue."
"Hehe..."
Sun Xiaobao gave a bitter smile, he didnât have that much time left.
After checking the room, the two returned to the living room to chat with everyone else.
In the evening, Jiang Wen cooked several of his special dishes to welcome Sun Xiaobao.
Sun Xiaobao and Jiang Wen were of similar age, and when they talked about the old days, they really hit it off.
Feeling the warmth and welcome of Jiang Taoâs family, Sun Xiaobao couldnât help but feel a surge of emotion, almost moved to tears.
In his sixty-six years, heâs never had such a lively New Year before!
After eating and drinking, it was already past 9 PM.
Jiang Tao and his family chatted at his parentsâ house until around 10:30 PM before leaving.
Since Sun Xiaobao was arranged to stay at the parentsâ house, as a trade-off, Jiang Bing was more than happy to move into Jiang Taoâs house, sharing a room with her young niece Jiang Xue.
Aunt and niece had been playing wildly every day, and their relationship had improved, Jiang Xue was also happy to sleep with her aunt.
While bathing, Jiang Bing loudly suggested drawing lots to decide the order.
As expected, she, the organizer, ended up going last!
At nightâ
Jiang Tao and Xu Li, despite trying very hard, couldnât help but make some inappropriate noises.
Sleeping in the small guest room, Jiang Bing kept waiting and waiting, even getting so bored that she pulled out her phone and started the stopwatch on it.
Finally, after 69 minutes and 19 seconds, the noise next door stopped.
"Oh my, is my second brother really that vigorous..."
"Almost like the male leads in those little movies."
Jiang Bing pouted, turned off the stopwatch on her phone, placed it on the bedside table, and closed her eyes to sleep.
Creak, creak, creakâ
Just as she closed her eyes, a faint creaking sound started again, leaving Jiang Bing speechless.
Oh dear!
Why did I, an untouched young lady, have to suffer this!
Unable to sleep, Jiang Bing sighed, quietly unlocked the browser on her phone.
Clicked "My" "Bookmark Favorites", and started a little movie!
...
At 1:43 AM.
Old Jiang looked at Xu Li, who was already asleep in his arms.
He had a thought and opened the Daily Intelligence System to check the latest intelligence for today.