Amidst everyone's laughter and merriment, the melody of "Unforgettable Tonight" came from the television, signaling the end of the countdown and the official arrival of the first day of the Lunar New Year in the Year of the Rat.

Li Guizhi and Xu Feng gave each of the children a generous red envelope.

The others happily accepted the red envelopes.

Dafu supported his drunk father with one hand and shook his other hand quickly, saying, "Auntie, I'm so old now, it's not appropriate for me to take New Year's money."

The two women ignored him and stuffed the red envelopes directly into his pocket.

Li Guizhi said with a smile, "In our eyes, you are all children. Let's talk about it again when you have your own children!"

Dafu nodded and didn't refuse anymore. He asked Zhong Yuan to open his bag, which contained two red envelopes.

One was given to Jiang Xiaoli, and the other to Xiao Muyu.

Zhong Yuan pulled out two red envelopes from somewhere and gave them to the two of them.

Zong Jiayu was not left out either.

When she got home that evening, Jiang Xiaoli opened the red envelope with a greedy look on her face, gathered the money together, and prepared to count it.

Suddenly, she spotted a stack of folded white paper among a pile of blue hundred-yuan bills.

She unfolded the paper, which was printed with densely packed small characters. After reading it, she was stunned.

Zong Jiayu actually applied for a patent for hyperlink analysis technology using her name!

She picked up the phone and dialed him.

The call was answered quickly, and Zong Jia's voice was filled with laughter, "I knew Little Pear wouldn't let the red envelope stay overnight."

Jiang Xiaoli asked directly, "Can the name be changed when applying for a patent?"

Zong Jiayu replied, "The entire process takes a year and a half. If we stop halfway, others might take advantage of the situation."

She was speechless. "Is your brain filled with glue? Do you know how valuable this patent is?"

The person on the other end of the phone chuckled twice, "Little Pear, can you keep it safe for me?"

Jiang Xiaoli was silent for a few seconds, then couldn't help but laugh and scold, "You're such a love-struck fool!"

Zong Jia readily accepted, "Little Pear, you're all I can think about right now."

The two fell asleep while chatting on the phone. When she was woken up by Li Guizhi on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, her phone had already run out of battery and was turned off.

She rubbed her eyes. "I really need to have a serious talk with Uncle Xiao today. We don't need to go so early. We need to calm down..."

Seeing that she was awake, Li Guizhi threw the blanket she had just pulled back aside and said, "Then you'll have to get up before you talk to him."

After a quick wash and a simple breakfast, their group drove three cars together to Wolong Temple.

They arrived at the street where Wolong Temple was located at just 6 o'clock, but it was a bustling place in the quiet city.

A queue had already formed at the entrance of Wolong Temple. Xiao Jincheng slapped his forehead in frustration, "I shouldn't have drunk alcohol last night! I should have just stayed up and come to be the first to offer incense!"

Jiang Xiaoli, standing behind him, challenged him, saying, "Uncle Xiao, everyone who's in front thinks the same way."

Xiao Jincheng choked, then said, "At least we can be ranked a bit higher!"

Jiang Xiaoli didn't argue with him.

After queuing for a while, they entered Wolong Temple. Xiao Jincheng lit three sticks of incense and knelt down in the main hall to pray for good health for his family, academic success for his children, and a thriving career for himself in the new year.

Jiang Xiaoli was rather low-key, only offering incense, but she also knelt and prayed devoutly in the main hall, silently fulfilling her vow and making a wish.

She now has a great fascination with ghosts and gods. The end of science is metaphysics; otherwise, how can her rebirth be explained?

Influenced by her, Zong Jia also followed her example and bowed.

If we're talking about who's been the most enthusiastic person to offer incense this year, it has to be Xiao Muyu.

She knelt in the Manjushri Hall for a long time, praying that the Bodhisattva would bless her to succeed in this year's college entrance examination.

Jiang Xiaoli was waiting outside the hall. When she saw her get up, she staggered, clearly because she had gone numb from kneeling.

When Xiao Muyu came out, she put her arm around her shoulder and said, "Don't worry, you'll definitely pass the exam this year, I promise!"

Xiao Muyu smiled and nodded, "Then I'll trust the top scorer in the college entrance exam this once!"

When they returned home, Dafu brought his father, who had just woken up from a hangover, to their door.

Mr. Fu said apologetically, "I'm so sorry about last night. I haven't been this happy in a long time, and I accidentally drank too much."

Li Guizhi and Xu Feng both smiled and told him not to worry about it.

The group chatted for a few more minutes, and then Fu's father took Dafu to offer New Year's greetings to people. It was then that Jiang Xiaoli remembered something she had forgotten.

She pulled Zong Jia aside and told him about his father, Zong Ze.

He remained calm and simply said, "It has nothing to do with us. I'll cooperate with the investigation if necessary."

Jiang Xiaoli's gossip radar went off, and Zhong Yuan's signal matched hers. The two communicated the entire process instantly with their eyes.

Immediately afterwards, Zhong Yuan got up and said he was going home to catch up on sleep, then made a hasty retreat, while Jiang Xiaoli continued chatting with everyone at home.

Before lunchtime, Zhong Yuan returned to Jiang Xiaoli in shock, "Xiaoli, is there any test now that can determine if someone is a biological father or son? Why don't you take Brother Zong to get checked? I really don't think they're related by blood!"

Jiang Xiaoli was extremely curious, "What exactly happened?!"

Zhong Yuan took a sip of water and, seeing that Xiao Jincheng was chatting with Zong Jia and had no time to pay attention to them, whispered.

"It was bribery! He took people's money but didn't do a good job for them. When they came to him for help, he embezzled public funds to cover the losses."

Jiang Xiaoli's pupils dilated in shock. She asked, "Has this already spread?"

Zhong Yuan nodded. "Pretty much. Zong Ze has already been taken away at the age of twenty-nine."

This time, Jiang Xiaoli didn't hesitate any longer. She went to the living room and interrupted Xiao Jincheng and Zong Jiayu's conversation.

Zong Jia had already seen her and Zhong Yuan huddled together chatting. He smiled and asked, "Are you willing to tell us your little secret with Da Yuan?"

Jiang Xiaoli patted him on the shoulder, "Actually, we were talking about your business."

Zong Jia raised his eyelids slightly. "Do you know what he did wrong?"

She told him everything she knew about Zongze.

Zong Jiayu was silent for a moment, then sneered, "That's good."

Xiao Jincheng was somewhat surprised. "Xiao Zong, are you out of your mind with anger?"

Zong Jiayu shook Jiang Xiaoli's hand. "It's alright. Everyone has to be responsible for their own actions. He brought it on himself, so he can't blame anyone else."

Jiang Xiaoli nodded. "That's true. Anyway, you didn't plan to go into politics, so it's not your fault that you have a father who's eager to go to jail to sing 'Tears Behind Bars'."

Xiao Jincheng was surprised that the two of them were so in agreement. He secretly clicked his tongue in amazement. These two kids were really capable of putting the greater good before family!

He had just started searching his mind for someone who could help Zong Jia, but now it seems he doesn't need to.

He stood up and greeted them, "Let's go, time to eat."

At the dinner table, Zhong Yuan kept winking at Jiang Xiaoli, wanting to know what would happen next.

Zong Jia smiled helplessly, "You two don't need to bother with the secret codes. He is him and I am me. Everyone is equal before the law."

Zhong Yuan silently gave him a thumbs up.