"Little Zhang is going home for the New Year!" After packing his things for the family—vegetables, fish, shrimp, crabs, and the like—filling three large baskets, Zhang Guodong closed the shop and prepared to go home for the New Year. Before he could even load them onto the car, someone called out to him from behind. He looked up and saw it was Aunt Mei, a resident of the provincial TV station's family compound, a regular customer.

"Yes, I'd like to wish you a Happy New Year in advance. This shop will reopen after the eighth day of the Lunar New Year!" Zhang Guodong said with a smile.

Mei Lan laughed and said, "It's time to go back and have a good New Year. Xiao Zhang, is there any fish left? I'm a little late today, and my daughter was craving fish!"

Eating vegetables is fine, but those who eat fish have taken a liking to Green Treasure Pavilion's products. It's said that regular consumption brings energy and is like a supplement, especially beneficial for the elderly.

Before leaving, the husband insisted on bringing back fish from Green Treasure Pavilion to cook a fish meal for his daughter to replenish her nutrition. It was a bit expensive, but there were still quite a few people who could afford it.

"Well, everything's sold out—" Zhang Guodong said apologetically.

Mei Lan looked regretful. If all else failed, she would have to go to the market and buy those farmed fish that cost seven or eight yuan a pound. Seeing the old lady's expression, Zhang Guodong's heart softened, and he said, "How about this? I have a wild blackfish that I was planning to take home. You can have it!"

A gentleman does not take what others cherish. Mei Lan had a good impression of the young Zhang Guodong and quickly said, "How can this be? I'll go to the market and buy one!"

"It's alright, wait a moment, I'll go get it right away!" Zhang Guodong opened the shop door again, went upstairs, and soon returned carrying a large water bag containing a large black fish struggling violently.

"Wow, it's so big! Xiao Zhang, thank you so much! How much does it cost?" Mei Lan looked at the big black fish and couldn't stop smiling.

"No need for money, this fish isn't for sale. It's for our own consumption, and it's a New Year's gift for you!" Zhang Guodong said politely with a smile. "Wishing you a prosperous New Year!"

He thought to himself, "If this black carp were to be sold, wouldn't it cost twenty or thirty yuan?" 'Green Treasure Pavilion' is indeed expensive, but they have limited stock. Take it or leave it.

After saying that, Zhang Guodong strode towards the bread, got in, drove off, and sped away.

Mei Lan watched Zhang Guodong leave, feeling very satisfied. There aren't many polite and humble young people like him these days.

Lunar New Year's Eve, daytime.

Zhang Guozheng and his girlfriend Huang Yi traveled from Sichuan to Xi'an. It was the end of the year, peak travel season, and even plane tickets were sold out a week in advance. Train tickets were also extremely scarce, and they eventually bought two tickets from scalpers at a high price. Upon returning, they didn't rest; instead, Zhang Guodong, Zhang Guohao, Zhang Zhengrong, and Ye Cuihua's family went on a shopping spree. They bought decorations and computers—most of which were on sale at the end of the year. Although good quality items were still expensive, Ye Cuihua felt the pinch looking at the price tags, but Zhang Guodong bought anyway: "This is our first decent New Year since moving, so we're not afraid to spend more money. Money spent will come back!"

After shopping, the family went to the New Year's goods street, which is a designated place for the sale of fireworks and firecrackers by the government.

Firecrackers and fireworks are essential for the Chinese New Year. Children and adults alike crowded the firecracker and fireworks stalls, making it impossible to move. Business was booming, and in the end, they bought a whole box full of all kinds of fireworks and firecrackers. In previous years, who would have dared to spend thousands of yuan on firecrackers and fireworks? Seeing his son taking out the money without a second thought, Zhang Zhengrong smiled and didn't stop him.

This resulted in complaints from Ye Cuihua: "You're so extravagant! Getting married and taking a wife requires money!"

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat.

After browsing the New Year's goods street, the whole family went to Renrenle Shopping Plaza to buy some food and clothing for the New Year.

The shopping plaza was packed with people, incredibly crowded, and the festive atmosphere was exceptionally lively. People seemed suddenly unafraid of the near-freezing temperatures, their faces beaming with warm and joyful smiles.

Buying bright red stickers for good luck and blessings, even bundles of bright red celebratory candies became bestsellers. The merchants' promotional tactics were truly impressive! However, the Zhang family mainly bought cigarettes and alcohol at the shopping mall; they hardly bought any vegetables, meat, or seafood.

In Ye Cuihua's words, "Son, this task is assigned to you, since our family has a vegetable seller!"

Everyone burst into laughter, and Zhang Guodong chuckled and scratched his head. They'd brought home quite a bit of vegetables, fish, and wild game; enough to last until the Lantern Festival.

Zhang Guozheng, the eldest brother, his future sister-in-law Huang Yi, Zhang Zhengrong, and his third brother laughed so hard they were breathless, while Zhang Guodong could only nod speechlessly. However, he did indeed intend to eat the vegetables he grew and the aquatic products he raised himself; how could any similar byproducts from outside compare to what he sold?

Here, only Zhang Guozheng, the eldest brother in Sichuan, and his wife Huang Yi were unaware of how popular and delicious their second brother Zhang Guodong's by-products were. Otherwise, they would have been astonished.

Zhang Guozheng had actually heard his mother, Ye Cuihua, talk about it on the phone, but the size of the vegetable business, even if it was just a small shop, was predictable.

With the improvement of people's living standards, more and more people are accepting concepts such as nutrition, green and natural, and color, aroma and taste, so the market for these concepts is booming.

The problem is that, due to the limited supply of goods, although the market is very large, the supply is far less than the demand, so people can understand and accept the high prices.

As I left the shopping mall, I could hear the constant crackling sounds; the atmosphere of the Lunar New Year was very strong, unlike the quiet countryside.

After everyone loaded the New Year's goods back into the car, they realized that Zhang Guodong's bread was already stuffed full, and the others had to take a taxi home.

Back at the telecommunications staff quarters, red banners and couplets were hung at the entrance, and the colorful lights had been put up long ago.

"Happy Chinese New Year!" Just as Zhang Guodong's bread was about to enter the residential area, a security guard greeted him with a smile.

These security guards couldn't go home for the Chinese New Year. Although the community provided them with triple pay and other holidays, it still couldn't make up for their disappointment.

Zhang Guodong smiled and said, "Happy New Year!"

Remembering that he had more than twenty 100-yuan red envelopes sealed in his pocket, he immediately took out five red envelopes and handed them over: "For good luck, one red envelope for each of you. Thank you all for your hard work!"

The security guard was stunned to receive a red envelope, then excitedly accepted it and thanked them profusely. In previous years, the residents of this compound had never been so polite, let alone given a red envelope.

There are five security guards on duty in the security room to ensure the safety of the telecommunications staff quarters during the Spring Festival.

After Zhang Guodong and his family nodded and went inside with smiles, the other four people who followed behind exclaimed in surprise, "Zhu Zi, this family is so kind, they actually gave red envelopes! Hey, look how many red envelopes they gave!"

The person behind said, "It's not much, is it? One is five portions, so twenty or thirty yuan is the most you can get. These days, people are all about the token! You must have a stack of red envelopes on you, right?"

"One hundred!" The red envelope was opened, revealing a bright red one hundred-yuan bill that was almost blinding. "It's not fake, is it?"

But how could this money be fake?

Five identical letters.

"This family is nice!" All five nodded in agreement.

Back home, after moving all her things upstairs, Ye Cuihua couldn't hold back her question any longer: "Guodong, how much of a red envelope did you give them? And why?"

Zhang Guodong chuckled and said, "It's not much, just a hundred yuan per envelope. Mom, think about it, spending a little money to win people's hearts will make things more convenient in the neighborhood, right? Here, I have more than twenty envelopes. Give one to whoever you like!"

Twenty or thirty letters would amount to two or three thousand yuan, which is about a month's salary for an average person.

Now that Zhang Guodong has some money, he handles small matters with exceptional skill; a little money can buy people's hearts. And it puts him in a good mood—why not?

Zhang Zhengrong nodded and said, "Guodong did the right thing. He's on duty for the safety of the community during the Spring Festival. He can't even enjoy the holiday properly. Put yourself in his shoes!"

Ye Cuihua, with a stack of red envelopes in her pocket, rolled her eyes at the father and son, then happily turned around to sort the New Year's goods. She was in charge of the red envelopes: "I'll finish these red envelopes myself! Xiaoyi, you have red envelopes too, I sealed them long ago, two for me and your uncle!"

Both letters cost a thousand. In addition, Zhang Guodong and his third brother Zhang Guohao, in order to make way for the two elders, had just bought her a fine jade pendant, which also cost over a thousand.

"Thank you, Auntie and Uncle!" Huang Yi sweetly accepted the red envelope. They weren't engaged yet, so she could only call them Auntie and Uncle, but the engagement should be soon.

With the Zhang family's living conditions improving, this arrangement needs to be put on the agenda. The eldest brother, Zhang Guozheng, is now twenty-nine years old, considered an older single man. Men can wait, but women cannot. Huang Yi, who is two years younger than Zhang Guozheng, is also twenty-seven, and the Huang family has urged the two of them to get married more than once.

The father and his three sons were all present, and Ye Cuihua (the mother) was putting her newfound knowledge to use.

On this trip, I also bought a desktop computer with a 19-inch LCD monitor. It's supposedly the latest model, and the computer's configuration is quite good: 2GB of RAM, a dual-core Core processor, a 250GB hard drive, a dedicated sound card and graphics card, and an original Intel motherboard. Zhang Guodong's 'Green Treasure Shop' also has two computers: a desktop on the first floor, which also has an LCD monitor, and a laptop that Zhang Guodong carries with him. Both are connected to the internet.

The third brother, Zhang Guohao, was the most excited when the machine was taken out.

However, he was a novice when it came to assembling computers. His older brother, Zhang Guozheng, had taken computer courses, and Zhang Guodong had also assembled computers a few times, but that was back in college.

The computer was placed in a corner of the living room, next to a water dispenser and two cherry trees. However, the cherry trees looked half-dead in the living room. When Zhang Guodong saw the cherry trees, he thought, "I'll find an opportunity to water them with some Peach Blossom Water, and I guarantee they'll be thriving." Then another thought struck him: "Someday I'll try planting the cherry trees in Peach Blossom Garden. Maybe they'll flower and bear fruit. There isn't a single fruit tree in Peach Blossom Garden."

After the machine was installed, I connected it to the internet via telephone line.

Broadband in the telecommunications staff quarters is free, and there are ports in every room. However, the data allowance is only 1MB, which is gigabit speed. If you want more data, you have to subscribe to a 2MB or 4MB plan.

"The boot speed is really fast!" As soon as the system was set up, Zhang Guohao opened a webpage and downloaded a chat tool while using 360 Security Guard to install system patches. He exclaimed in amazement.

In Hebei, it's a small workshop without computers, but you need to go outside to access the internet normally.

"First, install the system patches, then download and install a firewall and antivirus software!" said Zhang Guozheng, the eldest brother, from the side.

At this moment, Ye Cuihua and Huang Yi were tidying up their things in Shana, while Zhang Guozheng took out a bottle of ten-year-old Moutai, took out a small cup to sip the wine, and watched the TV news. The news was full of reports about the New Year atmosphere, and the whole country was in a state of joy.

The wine was brought by Fatty; few people in his family drink it, so it ended up being all his. This time, Zhang Guodong brought back six cases: one case of white Moutai, also aged five years; one case of red Great Wall wine; three cases of Budweiser beer; and one case of fresh orange juice.

We have all the drinks we need at home.

After tidying up the New Year's goods, Zhang Guodong was kicked out by Ye Cuihua, leaving him both amused and exasperated.

Dahei and Erhei are two Tibetan mastiffs, extremely precious breeds, and Ye Cuihua was quite worried about leaving them in the shop. Then there's Lao Qing and Si Xiao Qing; together, the six little guys often try to please Ye Cuihua, making the old lady extremely happy, and she no longer cares whether Lao Qing and Si Xiao Qing are actually blue wolves.

Only the old and young are "resting and recuperating," and nowadays they are "unfathomable." They spend most of their time eating and sleeping, and they have no interest in ordinary little things.

However, Zhang Guodong knew that the spiritual energy emanating from Lao Qing's body was gradually becoming denser, and the occasional glint of divine light in his eyes showed that this guy was getting stronger and stronger.

Helpless, Zhang Guodong went back and wandered around for a while, then took Dahei, Erhei, and Sixiaoqing to Taoyuan.

Writing couplets, worshipping the God of Wealth, eating New Year's Eve dinner, and watching the Spring Festival Gala are things that everyone has to do. After midnight during the Spring Festival Gala, the whole city is filled with the sounds of fireworks and firecrackers, followed by a constant stream of phone calls and text messages wishing everyone a Happy New Year.

Zhang Guodong received brief New Year's greetings from Fatty and Li Yun via phone, and then received New Year's greetings via text message from some old customers, which he replied to one by one.

What surprised Zhang Guodong the most was that he received a New Year's greeting text message from Xiang Chunyan.

This woman hasn't been in contact for quite some time; it's like she's disappeared.

P.S.: This is the first day of the urban fantasy recommendation campaign. Here's the first update, around 4,000 words long. I'm calling for votes so this book can get on the urban fantasy recommendation list. Thank you.

Also, here's a data update. From midnight to almost 9 AM, the number of favorites increased by an estimated 120, which isn't much. I'm shamelessly asking for more favorites, hoping to break 500 today, though I don't know if that's possible. For those of you who haven't favorited yet, please click the "favorite" button if you like this book!

Finally, thank you to 'Zhang Tianshui' for the generous donation, which has given this book its first apprentice-level fan! Thank you. And thank you to 'ppgg1' for the donation as well. Tiandao, keep up the good work! Everyone, keep showering us with donations, haha! Let's see who our first 'disciple' level fan is!