Back in the modern era.
Su Ning used to hate the New Year. When she was little, she would be bossed around all day, busy from the moment she opened her eyes until late at night, serving tea and water to her so-called family members who were playing cards.
It got a bit better when she grew up.
But there was still no New Year's joy to speak of. She would eat takeout alone for her New Year's Eve dinner, scrolling through videos to stay awake and see the new year in. The only perk was not having to give out red envelopes.
However, it was different in the Republican era.
Su Ning slept in and woke up feeling refreshed. She then found it quite novel that, during what should have been the busiest time, she actually did not have to do anything at all.
Take the New Year's Eve dinner, for example.
Various time-honored restaurants and eateries in Beiping competed to send over their best signature dishes with the most auspicious meanings, and these were even free of charge.
They all basically used the same speech:
"We have been blessed with Miss Su's patronage in the past. The New Year is the perfect time to show our respect, please do not decline." After saying this, as if afraid she would not accept, they simply cupped their hands in a salute and left.
Su Ning took a sip of tea and said helplessly:
"Do they not know that even if they send it, there is a high chance I will not eat it?" The situation was so tense that she had not eaten outside food for a long time.
Any food that entered her mouth.
Was watched by dedicated personnel, from the ingredients to the cooking process, and finally when it was served, someone had to taste it first. Such extreme caution was secretly mocked by many:
—Did she really think of herself as the emperor?
"They naturally know."
Lin Sen had someone clear the dishes away and said softly:
"But rules are rules. Whether you eat it or not, they still have to send it."
Su Ning thought of the modern era, where service industries like banks and insurance companies would also send gifts to major clients at the end of the year. It was just replaced by restaurants in the Republican era.
It sounded ridiculous.
But thinking carefully about it.
Among the four great sins of a prodigal son—eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling—eating and drinking ranked first. In an era of insufficient productivity, some people really would squander their entire family fortune just to satisfy their appetite.
...
New Year's Eve should be spent with family.
Su Ning was no exception. It was not until the afternoon that the Su family members popped out from some unknown corner, completely lacking the awkwardness of hiding away.
When they appeared, they were dressed in new clothes, looking bright and glamorous.
"You are here."
"Yes, cousin, I missed you so much."
Su Zhenzhu nodded before her father and brother could. Today she was wearing a currently popular Western-style dress. The puffy skirt made her look like a little cupcake when she nodded.
"Did you miss me?"
To this, Su Ning jokingly shook her head. The next second, a reward notification actually popped up in her mind... She almost thought the system was malfunctioning.
"Even if you make a mistake, this system will not make a mistake!"
The Heartless Rich System instantly bristled, its tone sharp: "Please understand this, host: although Su Zhenzhu is a villain, her heart is also made of flesh. She has feelings too. What is wrong with caring about someone she values?"
"You broke her heart!"
Su Ning raised an eyebrow and looked up to observe Su Zhenzhu. Sure enough, the young girl's face was still full of a bright smile, but if one looked closely, her eyes were slightly lonely.
What should she do if she suddenly felt a pang in her conscience?
"Did you not eat well outside? Why do you seem a bit thinner?"
A simple sentence, yet it sounded like heavenly music, making Su Zhenzhu's eyes instantly light up. She ran to Su Ning's side like a little bird and carefully linked her arm.
Chirping away:
"Really? I thought I got fatter. Lately, I have just been eating and sleeping every day. I feel like I have gained weight on my stomach... Oh, right."
She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Su Ning.
"Cousin, look."
As she reached out to take it, Su Ning actually had a rough idea of what it was—sure enough, it was a page full of English. It was not long, but there were no grammatical or vocabulary errors.
It did not look at all like it was written by a beginner.
"Well written."
Su Ning nodded, folded it, and made a gesture to hand it to Lin Sen: "Have someone mail it directly abroad. Mr. Anderson has waited long enough."
"Ah, no."
"Why?"
"Hahaha, Zhenzhu, I told you, your little tricks cannot fool your cousin." Half-Immortal Su came over to explain. It turned out that although this letter was in Su Zhenzhu's handwriting, and she knew those words.
It was actually written by Shang Wenyun for her to use as a reference.
It was pretty much what Su Ning had thought.
It was true that Su Zhenzhu was smart and talented, but there was no way she could learn to this level in a month. She chuckled and flicked the young girl's forehead:
"Are you going to try this again next time?"
Seeing her shake her head, Su Ning's heart stirred. She had used this excuse to learn English back then. Now that she had learned almost enough, it made it inconvenient for the Su family to contact Anderson.
This was indeed a problem.
Her foreign background also needed the endorsement of a genuine foreigner.
But there was no need to rush, take it step by step.
...
After the minor interlude.
They sat around a bubbling little copper pot, chatting warmly for a while. As the night deepened, Half-Immortal Su pretentiously stroked his non-existent beard.
He brought up a fortune he had told for Su Ning that morning.
"Eldest niece, guess how the divination turned out?"
Without waiting for Su Ning to answer, he slapped the table and said with a beaming face:
"An absolutely top-tier fortune! The Vermilion Bird soaring, the Azure Dragon coiling around the beams. I have been telling fortunes for half my life, and I have not seen this kind of reading more than three times."
As he spoke, he even held up three fingers and waved them.
"Oh, what is so good about it?" Su Ning asked with a smile. To the others, it seemed she was just doing this out of respect for an elder—otherwise, would she really believe the fortune-telling skills of Half-Immortal Su, whose street stall could not even get a customer for three days straight?
Actually, she really did believe it.
The system chuckled.
The laughter was filled with the superiority of being the only sober one while everyone else was drunk.
Encouraged by this, Half-Immortal Su really got into it: "This reading means that your fortune is booming, eldest niece. From now on, you will turn bad luck into good, and find fortune in adversity... In short, it is incredibly good."
The room grew quiet.
The Su siblings did not think much of it and were just about to speak up to expose their father's bluff, when they saw Su Ning stand up and earnestly offer a toast to Half-Immortal Su:
"Then I will borrow your auspicious words, Uncle."
This good luck... she accepted it!
