Chi Wu pursed his lips. When had he ever said anything else with a "harrumph" while Cheng Ying was cooking for him?

My heart was pleased. I was serving my future wife; I couldn't be bothered to argue with you.

After the meal, Cheng Ying cut Chi Wu's hair. Not to mention, Chi Wu had excellent hair quality, which Cheng Ying believed was related to her spatial water.

Looking across the entire school, besides herself, only Chi Wu had good hair.

Once the short, choppy haircut was done, the young man Chi Wu stood there, looking incredibly handsome.

Don't let the simple straight-legged trousers fool you. A half-length military greatcoat. On his feet, a pair of snow boots the elderly Mrs. Chi bought for her grandson.

Dressed like that, he was unparalleled in the village.

Because of his new hairstyle, Chi Wu didn't even wear a hat when he went out.

In Cheng Ying's eyes, the boy was deliberately showing off. She grabbed him and jammed the hat onto his head. "Stop showing off. If you catch a cold, I won't wait on you later."

With that, the two drove out, also calling Ming Zi and a few others to visit relatives together.

Visiting the maternal aunt wasn't just their immediate family's business.

Besides, his own First and Second Aunts-in-law didn't object either.

Cheng Ying mainly wanted to tell her maternal aunt that Grandma was doing very well, and that when she moved back to her maternal home, her aunt shouldn't worry about not seeing her own mother.

It was also to give her maternal aunt their address, so she could visit if she missed Grandma.

Cheng Shengxia felt a swirl of emotions for her niece. "Yingzi, your Grandma is counting on you. I'm too far away; your maternal aunt can't visit her often. You must not upset your Grandma, okay?"

Cheng Ying aired the grievances right in front of her maternal aunt. "Don't worry, I definitely won't upset Grandma. I will find the exact kind of man my Grandma wants me to find."

Cheng Shengxia's face darkened and she smacked her niece a few times. How old was she, to be provoked by her niece over this matter? She clearly deserved a lesson.

Chi Wu felt a pang of sympathy. The maternal aunt’s striking power was truly heavy. "Serves you right for being sharp-tongued."

But he still rubbed Cheng Ying's shoulder a few times.

Cheng Ming observed their interaction without a word. Yingzi and Chi Wu's bond had been strong since childhood, closer than with him and his brothers. Still, it was an eyesore. He walked over. "It's true, how dare you bring up the maternal aunt's dark history? You deserve a beating."

Then he subtly pulled Cheng Ying away.

Cheng Ying felt like there was no place for honest people to walk in this world; it was a classic case of "you can do it, but you can't say it."

Chi Wu watched Cheng Ming intervene but said nothing, just raised an eyebrow. Then he turned and went out to pack things.

Cheng Ying brought many things to her maternal aunt, and her aunt gave Cheng Ying plenty to take back too.

For instance, the padded clothes made for their own old lady—there were two sets. And the bedding—the quilts and the pads—all stuffed with good cotton by the maternal aunt.

The maternal aunt’s family was living comfortably now. The cousins on her mother's side had all found husbands and moved out.

Only the widowed mother-in-law remained. She had seen how well her brothers' wives were living and had gone to live with her brother's wife.

The family of three lived contentedly. The only discontent was probably that the maternal aunt hadn't been able to conceive a son.

It seemed the maternal uncle-in-law held no resentment. He knew his wife's inability to have more children was due to complications from something in the past. Having one daughter made him content enough.

Cheng Ying had to admit, her maternal aunt was lucky to have met a grateful man.

Carrying the large bags of things her maternal aunt gave for the old lady, Cheng Ying took the unlucky kids, including Cheng Ming, back home.

Seeing that Cheng Ying could drive herself, Cheng Ming and the others were full of envy.

Cheng Ying said, "Study hard, and you can all drive in the future. If you can't get out of our village, you'll be driving tractors, but you can still afford a good car. The road surface in our village can barely handle it."

This realistic statement was more effective than saying anything else. For the sake of driving, it was more motivating than anything else. Men generally liked that sort of thing, and their village roads were indeed not very suitable for driving.

Upon arriving back in the village, watching Dun'er and his brother get out of the car, Cheng Ming mumbled hesitantly, "Yingzi, don't tell them these things are from our maternal aunt, okay?"

Cheng Ying nodded. "Actually, this is for Grandma. I'm just getting the spillover. If you figure that out, you can handle Dun'er and his brother yourself. I won't say anything."

Cheng Ming was grateful to have such an understanding little sister. "Yingzi, my mom wasn't like this before; don't take it to heart."

Cheng Ying nodded. "She's going through menopause; I understand. Alright, I'm leaving now."

Cheng Ming scratched his head. What was menopause? He didn't understand. Was she consoling him?

But thinking about his own difficult mother, he decided against it. Just maintaining a distant but polite relationship with the maternal aunt's family these past few years was hard enough.

He must not let this small matter ruin kinship ties.

If he compared his mother to Second Aunt, Second Aunt was better. As long as there was something to gain, Second Aunt generally didn't get angry with people.

His own mother didn't. She wanted face, wanted to benefit, yet couldn't bring herself to humble herself. She would hold a grudge, making it impossible to visit relatives later.

If Second Aunt was shameless, then his own mother... let's not even talk about it. In short, in terms of social standing in the village, with Second Aunt at the bottom, his mother wasn't the absolute worst.

As long as his mother didn't cause trouble while Yingzi and the others were home, that was all Cheng Ming asked for.

Cheng Ying deeply understood Cheng Ming. Who didn't have two troublesome relatives? But Cheng Ming had a mother.

She truly wondered how those two brothers would manage when they looked for wives. Such a mother-in-law would be hard to serve.

In the afternoon, Chi Wu and Cheng Ying basically toured half the village, paying early New Year's calls house by house.

They needed to get familiar with people so that if something came up in the future, everyone would at least recognize their faces, making things easier to handle.

On the evening of the 29th, Cheng Ying and Chi Wu set off fireworks for nearly half the night.

Cheng Ying said, "There won't be anyone home for the actual New Year, so let's celebrate early."

Many people stood outside in the cold wind watching the spectacle. Their consensus: they were rich. Only the wealthy could afford to mess around with this stuff.

Never mind the pazhiji sound; it was all burning money.

"Cheng Family's great simpleton has struck it rich. Fools have foolish luck."

The words that Old Mrs. Cheng was enjoying life outside with her granddaughter weren't entirely baseless. After all, the carpentry masters who followed Cheng Ying in the city often visited their home, and word spread.

Chi Wu and Cheng Ying had originally planned to visit the masters themselves. After this publicity, the craftsmen from ten miles around didn't need visiting. For the next few days, as long as the couple was home, people came calling.

They all wanted to establish connections with Cheng Ying to follow her to the city to work.

Cheng Ying thought to herself, "People blessed with fortune don't need to run around." After inquiring throughout the surrounding villages, she only selected the honest and sincere ones to stay.

Everything was settled. Those willing to go could start work after the fifth day of the New Year. This matter was basically wrapped up.

On the morning of the 30th—a very early morning—Cheng Ying and Chi Wu got up.

They took incense and firecrackers and drove to the mountain plot.

Chi Wu set off the firecrackers while Cheng Ying offered respects to her father. She knelt on the ground and kowtowed four solid times. "Don't worry, Grandma is fine, and I am fine too. Your wife, my mother, is also happy. If you see that I'm doing well, bless me to make a fortune. I support the old lady, and I'm continuing the bloodline for you. Since Grandma can't come, you don't need to worry about her. You live well down there too. If you want a wife, find another one; don't worry about my mother. Our family doesn't lack money; do as you please."

These words were mumbled out by Cheng Ying. The things occupying her mind slipped out. Her father, in this young girl's body—she hoped he’d find a second spring.

The paper money Cheng Ying burned for her father was stacked high; they truly didn't lack money.

If she hadn't been afraid of being called frivolous, Cheng Ying would have wanted to get him a couple of real bundles.

She occupied someone else's daughter's body; she needed to show some acknowledgment, right?

To avoid being labeled a lunatic, Cheng Ying bought extra paper money to show her filial piety.

Chi Wu refilled the soil on the grave. He sweated profusely. Villagers had a custom: the larger the grave mound, the better the family's fortune. This couldn't be taken lightly.

After tidying up the grave site, the two bid farewell to Second Uncle and went to the ancestral graveyard.

Even if the Old Lady didn't mention it, she certainly hoped they would go burn some paper for her husband. Cheng Ying understood that her grandmother cared deeply about this.

When Cheng Ying arrived, Cheng Ming and the others had just gotten there.

Cheng Ying knelt before the old man's grave, talking only about the Old Lady's affairs, then kowtowed and left.

She didn't even pay respects to the ancestors.

This displeased the group of grown men nearby. Paying respects at the graves during the New Year had its customs; one couldn't forget the ancestors. When burning paper for a relative, one should naturally burn some for the ancestors too.

Cheng Ying seemed to only acknowledge the old man and not the ancestors.

She hadn't come to add to the grave mounds; she had come to upset people. This behavior was too arrogant and inconsiderate.

However, they couldn't deny that since she arrived, the graveyard of the Cheng family old man was indeed much livelier.

She brought her own firecrackers, and the ones Cheng Ming and the others had taken away a few days prior were also brought along. They could only sigh—who could blame her for being capable now?

Human connections had grown thin. Forgetting the ancestors—so be it.

Chi Wu: "Are you serious?"

Cheng Ying: "I just want to disgust them. Although they didn't move my father's grave initially, later I felt he must be quite lonely over there by himself. It always bothered me a little. I can't exactly do anything to them, but I can certainly annoy people. People are dead, what difference does it make where they are buried? They have to insist on these fussy customs. Stinking customs."

Chi Wu looked at Cheng Ying. No one understood this person's pettiness better than he did. And she was stingy about money. Never mind how generously she appeared to spend now; that was because she had money. If it really came down to it, Cheng Ying would be heartbroken enough to vomit blood.

She looked demure and quite obedient. Who knew what she was like in private?

Most people couldn't adapt to this person's discrepancy between outward appearance and inner reality. This person knew how to act.

Chi Wu: "Did you bring dry rations? I assume Maternal Aunt also prepared some. Let's hurry up; the sun won't have risen by the time we get to the township."

Cheng Ying: "What? Even if we get home, we'll have to wait until after noon. We can't have lunch with Grandma?"

Chi Wu: "We observe the tradition of dumplings for the New Year. Don't worry."

Cheng Ying laughed. "To this day, I still think that being able to eat dumplings every day is happiness. How did we survive those years? Just thinking about it makes my mouth taste bitter."

Chi Wu: "Yeah, back then you were sallow and thin, looking nowhere near as spirited as you do now."

Cheng Ying: "You were no better! Running nose, face covered in dark dirt, yellow wisps of hair making you look like a refugee. I only bothered to look at you if you weren't dripping snot."

The two turned their faces away. Revealing old secrets like that was a bit much; these weren't pleasant memories.

Chi Wu: "Fine, let's stop talking about it."

Cheng Ying: "Harrumph. I won't stoop to your level. I wonder how Xiao Ye is doing. Surely he hasn't been crying for days?"

Chi Wu: "Alright. If he was making a huge fuss, Uncle would have sent him over to you already; it's not that far."