After dinner, Xia Baozhu returned to the Leng family home. The main room was bustling with activity, so she went straight to her room.

When Leng Minghui announced his plans to get a divorce at the New Year's Eve dinner, it brought great joy to the whole family, as if they had finally gotten their revenge.

They drank and set off fireworks and firecrackers all night long.

After midnight, Leng Mingguang was about to set off one more time when Xia Baozhu's room door opened.

"Are you never going to stop?"

"What's wrong with setting off firecrackers during the Chinese New Year?" Leng Mingguang retorted, sticking his neck out.

Xia Baozhu threw the wooden stick in her hand, aiming precisely at his face. Leng Mingguang reacted quickly, immediately covering his head. The stick hit his hand, raising a large bump.

Leng Mingguang didn't dare to say anything harsh and simply went back into the house with his arms crossed.

He realized that even if this woman divorced his brother, she could still beat him up whenever she wanted.

Once she leaves and moves out, he'll definitely make her pay!

Leng Minghui stood at the entrance of the main room watching Xia Baozhu return to her room without saying a word.

His perceived neglect had no effect on her at all.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Xia Baozhu first went to Professor Deng's house to offer her New Year's greetings. Because there were many people offering greetings, she left after saying a few words.

Qian Zhitong ran out to see her off.

"Tongtong, you've become more sensible after the New Year. Call me Uncle, and Uncle will give you lucky money."

A familiar, nonchalant tone drifted over as Sun Xingyan appeared on the path in the family compound, accompanied by several young people of similar age.

"Uncle Sun, Uncle Niu, Uncle Shui, Uncle Feng, Happy New Year." Qian Zhitong respectfully clasped his hands in greeting, his dark eyes fixed on Sun Xingyan and the others.

"Happy New Year, take this and buy some candy." Sun Xingyan took out a dollar and gave it to him.

Others weren't as generous as him; they only gave him a penny or two.

If every child in the compound gives out New Year's money, less than half of that month's salary and subsidies would be gone.

"Sister Xia, when your shop opens, I want to go and drink pudding milk tea." Qian Zhitong happily calculated her New Year's money.

"Okay, we'll open tomorrow. Welcome to our store." Xia Baozhu smiled.

"So eager to make money?" Sun Xingyan asked doubtfully. Doesn't she visit relatives?

"Anyway, there's nothing to do." This single sentence contained a lot of meaning, and Sun Xingyan felt an indescribable sense of helplessness within it.

"Happy New Year." Xia Baozhu wished Sun Xingyan and the others a Happy New Year before leaving. She was going to visit Aunt Song's house to offer her New Year's greetings.

"Xingyan, isn't this the owner of the fried chicken shop?" Shui Luoyang nudged Sun Xingyan.

"Yes, didn't you often buy chicken feet the other day?"

"She wears a hat and mask all the time; I wouldn't recognize her if she changed her outfit."

"Xingyan, have you seen what she looks like? Is she pretty? Her voice is quite nice," Niu Yiming said with a grin.

"You bookworm, you're the most unserious one. You even know how to identify shapes by sound." Feng Jingnian slapped Niu Yiming hard on the back.

"Alright, enough about you guys who are either master's degree holders or teachers, you can't even speak properly. So what if she's married and looks good? Stop gossiping behind her back like long-tongued women," Sun Xingyan said impatiently.

"Everyone talks about others behind their backs; we're all the same." Shui Luoyang pushed up his glasses. "I remember when you were in school, you would follow those girls around every day, and we couldn't stop you no matter what we did."

"Luoyang, you ignored Xingyan's words." Niu Yiming chuckled. "Didn't you hear what he said? So what if she's married? What does that prove?"

“That means she’s really good-looking,” Feng Jingnian continued. “But Xingyan’s tone is off. I think he might have feelings for the landlady. You guys should think back to his tone of voice again.”

"You've overlooked a crucial point. Just now, the proprietress mentioned that the business opens tomorrow. What kind of day is tomorrow for a married woman?" Niu Yiming said.

"What day is it?" Feng Jingnian couldn't remember for a moment, because he wasn't married yet.

"Going back to my parents' home on the second day of the Lunar New Year."

"Isn't it the third day of the Lunar New Year? My sister is coming back on the third day of the Lunar New Year."

"Regardless of the specific day, this indicates that the boss's wife either has a bad relationship with her partner or with her family. Of course, it's also possible that there's no one left in her family."

"So Xingyan's opportunity has arrived?"

"Get lost! You're the one who's always thinking about married women." Sun Xingyan kicked Niu Yiming first, then chased after the other two to beat them up.

"Look, he's getting angry. He wasn't like this before," Shui Luoyang said, laughing as he ran.

"Let's go to the fried chicken shop together tomorrow."

Sun Xingyan beat each of the three men up, and was then beaten up by the three men together, thus erasing the slight tremor in his heart.

As he said, there are countless beautiful women in the world, and plenty of young women. He would never fall for a married woman.

Just like female celebrities who enjoy watching videotapes, it's simply a matter of appreciation.

He helped her because he was kind-hearted and felt that it wasn't easy for a woman to run a shop.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Xia Baozhu had only been at the door for a short while when she noticed several people acting suspiciously. She recognized them as Sun Xingyan's friends, whom she had met the day before.

"Hello, ma'am, do you have chicken wraps now?" Niu Yiming asked first.

"This needs to be fried fresh, so you'll have to wait a while."

"Okay, no problem."

"Give me a chicken wrap too, and a red bean milk tea," Shui Luoyang immediately followed.

"I want a fried chicken and a bubble tea."

"We've just opened, so we don't have tapioca pearls or red bean paste yet. It will take some time to make them. How about sago pudding?"

Xia Baozhu didn't tell San Gou about the business opening, since he needed to visit relatives and hadn't prepared many things for the shop, so Xia Baozhu had to do it all by herself. Therefore, she didn't prepare anything that was too troublesome.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!