"Xiaolan, don’t just stand there, come help choose a New Year’s gift."

Arriving in front of the Imperial Capital department store, Ah Qing looked curiously at Xiaolan, who was zoning out on her shoulder, waved her hand in front of his eyes and said:

"What are you thinking about? You’re so absorbed! I even rubbed my cheek against you, but you didn’t respond."

"Huh? I was just thinking about whether anyone will come to our house for New Year this year."

Ansheng came back to his senses, blocking out the list of random golden wish ideas popping into his mind.

"Probably no one will come with gifts, right? All those friends you know are in Chang’an..."

Ah Qing thought for a moment and waved her hand indifferently, indicating that the little fox need not worry at all.

Even if someone comes for New Year, the house has enough return gifts for visitors.

"Moreover, the New Year is still a while away! Now help decide the New Year’s gift for Uncle." Ah Qing said a bit troubled: "If we were in Xia Dong, we could choose to bring pastries and Four Gift Sets, but here in the Imperial Capital, we don’t have such items..."

The Four Gift Sets Ah Qing mentioned, before and after the festival, refer to sweet pastries, candied kumquats, lucky tangerines, and gifts that form phonetic puns like "fortune" and "prosper".

You prepare the Four Gift Sets, and add some premium dried seafood to visit the elders.

But the common gifts in Xia Dong Region are hard to find here in the Imperial Capital, and the price of some dried seafoods makes Ah Qing’s heart skip a beat.

"Hmm... when it comes to gifts, depends on your budget, right? The expensive ones around a thousand, cheap ones just need two hundred bucks, and later you can even grab thirty to fifty thousand from your uncle’s pocket."

Ansheng with a pondering look asked Ah Qing.

"Hmm?"

As soon as the little fox spoke, not only Ah Qing was stunned, but even Momo and Tang You, who were originally about to shop separately, stopped in their tracks and looked at Huhu in surprise.

"Tell us about the two hundred one first. I’m not stingy with money, just purely curious..." Momo leaned in, full of gossip, asking the little fox.

"Hire a blonde for a hundred bucks to accompany. At that moment, no one cares about gifts; the whole family will be thinking about how to beat the blonde to death." Ansheng said matter-of-factly:

"Of course, with me here, you don’t need to spend a hundred bucks. I charge eighty, I’ll operate the elevator myself, knock on the door, and yell ’Old Deng’ whenever I see someone."

"Six..." Momo was speechless. Indeed, bringing a blonde to visit elders; who cares about the brought gifts? The fight begins directly!

Those thirty to fifty thousand might be for medical compensation?

"Want to try?" Ansheng curiously looked at Momo, who was asking about the practical operation.

"Nope, I’m afraid my dad and uncles will bury the corpse under the courtyard trees. In my family’s living room, there’s really an Azure Dragon Crescent Blade, ninety percent of blondes can’t withstand that blade." Momo waved her hand.

"Naughty Huhu, trying to trick me into getting beaten again!"

Ah Qing rolled her eyes, naturally hearing the teasing tone in Huhu’s voice, "thumped" her head twice on the little fox’s cheek.

"Just joking!" Ansheng shrugged: "Later I’ll buy some tea at the tea shop, also some exquisite accessories or cosmetics for your aunt."

"I’ll handle bargaining for tea. Under a thousand I can bargain down the whole tea shop, even if my nose and tea-tasting tongue grow for nothing..."

Ansheng said confidently, selling tea, if not watered down and diluted a bit, how could you buy a villa?

"No need, no need..." Ah Qing anxiously prevented the little fox, afraid he’d stir trouble again.

When the little fox buys tea and bargains, he never discusses prices; he directly states: Do you know you’re breaking the law? Today if you don’t give me a discount of five thousand, I’ll report you to the consumer council.

Following the little fox to buy tea, Ah Qing worried about being accused of extortion and taken by security to "have tea."

"Um... sister, can Huhu be touched? Will it bite?"

Walking down the street of the department store with a white fox on her shoulder, Ah Qing was the most eye-catching person.

A little girl shyly spoke, stars shining in her eyes as she looked at Huhu, asking Ah Qing.

"No, it will bite..." Ansheng turned back and smiled at the little girl.

"Oh, okay!" The little girl nodded slightly, disappointed, turned away and suddenly froze.

"Eh??" The little girl turned sharply, eyes wide at Master Fuli, exclaiming: "Oh no——"

Ah Qing, startled inside, quickly took Huhu and fled into the depths of the department store.

"Naughty Xiaolan, why scare the child!"

"I didn’t scare her. I was just objectively stating a fact to her, Huhu does enjoy biting to express affection." Ansheng shrugged.

"She asked me, so I answered truthfully; not every Huhu is friendly like me."

Ah Qing gave a big eye roll hearing this.

...

Two hours later, the group shopping separately in the department store gathered together with large bags at the parking lot.

Time reached five-thirty.

Everyone headed straight to Uncle’s house, having already agreed when in school to have dinner at Uncle’s place tonight.

Uncle has a house in the Imperial Capital, but due to work commuting reasons, he stays at the Miyun District teacher’s apartment.

"Uncle, we’ve arrived at the entrance!"

Reaching Uncle’s residential area, Ah Qing called Uncle with her phone, Uncle communicated with the gate’s security, and the guard let the car pass.

"You’ve all arrived? Come on in!"

Wearing a deep blue apron, Uncle greeted Ah Qing and company at the elevator entrance and invited them inside.

"Eh? Where’s Aunt? Why haven’t I seen her?" Ah Qing grinned, carrying gifts inside, glanced around the room’s setup and curiously asked Uncle.

The setup was very simple, as simple as a model room in a sales office, everything arranged neatly, lacking a sense of lived-in atmosphere, seemingly uninhabited for a long time.

"Aunt? Not sure, at her side of the family, I guess." Uncle poked his head out from the kitchen: "I tell you, when you go home, don’t talk nonsense, your uncle is still single."

"Huh!?" Ah Qing was taken aback, full of bewilderment, raised her hand to indicate about a height of 1.8 meters and then another of about 1.7 meters to Uncle.

Where did my 1.84 long-legged Aunt go, and the Aunt after remarriage with a Doggy?

"The former was a Security Bureau Forest Ranger, the latter sent by Old Lu to protect me..."

"If you like Aunt Li, when Labor Day comes around, I might ask if she’s married; if not, I’ll request her to accompany me to visit relatives."

Uncle said easily: "You know our family customs; someone like me...no, even someone your age, if going home without a partner for New Year, nine out of ten gets suspected of being gay or possessed."

"I don’t want Big Brother to make me drink two bowls of talisman water..." Uncle joked with Ah Qing:

"Rather than worry about your Uncle, you might worry about getting grilled by relatives during New Year."

Ah Qing hearing this, showed a horrified expression:

"No.....No way? That’s so scary..."