Chapter Fifty-Five: My Cheap Uncle

The first day of the Lunar New Year is the first day of the new year, and according to the plan, I was to visit Lin Jian's family to offer New Year's greetings.

But she had been kept up by Jiang Chuan until midnight the night before, and was woken up by the sound of firecrackers outside her window just as dawn broke. Two consecutive days of getting up early and going to bed late had severely disrupted her biological clock, making her look like a female ghost whose yang energy had been drained by the scholar.

She had to dig out her cosmetics and carefully conceal her bluish dark circles in front of the mirror. Then, she put on the bright red embroidered cotton-padded jacket that Lin Min had prepared, which finally made her look a bit healthier.

Lin Yu tied her hair into two cute pigtails in front of the mirror, carefully examined herself in front of the full-length mirror at the corner of the stairs for a long time, and then went downstairs satisfied.

Just a quarter past eight o'clock, the lively sounds of the Spring Festival Gala replay came from the TV downstairs. Jiang Chuan was leaning against the balcony feeding the fish, still wearing the same pajamas from last night, looking more at ease than Lin Yu, the native.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up. In the morning light, her face was refreshingly charming. The moment their eyes met, she gave him a bright, cheerful smile.

"You're so energetic!" Lin Yu walked over to him, picked a strawberry that Lin Min had planted from the flower rack on the balcony, rubbed it haphazardly in his palm a couple of times, and then stuffed it into his mouth.

Jiang Chuan pondered the deeper meaning in Lin Yu's words, which sounded like sarcasm and complaint. He couldn't help but reach out and grab the end of her swaying braid, chuckling softly, "Thanks to you!"

Lin Yu slapped Jiang Chuan's hand away and was about to warn him not to bother her again tonight when she caught a glimpse of Lin Min coming out of the bedroom downstairs, holding two bulging red envelopes in her hands.

Lin Yu's eyes lit up at the sight of the red envelope, and she pushed Jiang Chuan aside as she rushed over. "Happy New Year, Mother! May Your Majesty grant you good fortune! You are the smartest, most beautiful, and kindest mother in the world!"

Auspicious words poured out like a machine gun, making Lin Min laugh heartily. Lin Yu seized the opportunity to grab both red envelopes for himself, but Lin Min slapped his hand. "Greedy rascal! This one is yours!"

Lin Min handed her one of the red envelopes and then waved it behind her. "This one is for Xiao Jiang!"

Lin Yu cried out and reached out to snatch it. "Why give him a red envelope when we're not even related? I'll keep it for him!"

"How rude!" Lin Min lightly tapped Lin Yu on the head with a red envelope, then turned and waved to Jiang Chuan. "Little Jiang, come here! New Year, new beginnings, wishing you good luck, don't complain that Auntie didn't give you enough!"

Jiang Chuan calmly finished sprinkling the last handful of fish food, closed the fish tank lid, clapped his hands, smiled, and walked over, unceremoniously accepting the red envelope from Lin Min. "Thank you, Uncle and Auntie, Happy New Year!"

Lin Yu was rolling her eyes when she caught a glimpse of Jiang Chuan's slender fingers, holding a bulging red envelope and presenting it to her. He had pulled the envelope from his pants pocket, as if he had prepared it beforehand.

"Happy New Year, Banban!" He said with a smile in his voice, tapping the red envelope lightly twice with his fingertips.

Lin Yu glanced at the thickness of the red envelope, his eyes lighting up, but he still maintained his composure, slowly reaching out to accept it, displaying a smug and self-serving attitude.

"Then I wish Attorney Jiang a prosperous New Year." She tilted her head, pouted, and gave him a perfunctory bow. Her two pigtails swayed back and forth on her head, making her look like a lucky girl in a New Year's painting, which was quite cute.

"Hey, you child..." Lin Min was about to stop him when Lin Yu nimbly turned around and stuffed both red envelopes into his cotton-padded coat pocket. "Xiao Jiang, what are you doing? Don't spoil her too much. This child likes to take advantage of you and is about to bully you!"

Jiang Chuan's eyes sparkled with a smile. "Auntie, I think it's a good idea. It's not much money, so let's save it to buy snacks for Banban!"

These words sounded strangely familiar. Lin Yu suddenly remembered that she had used the same words to coax the neighbor's child yesterday. Goodness, did Jiang Chuan treat her like a three-year-old too?

Lin Min glanced at the wall clock and urged, "Alright, alright, it's getting late. Banban, you should go to your dad's house to wish him a Happy New Year! It's impolite to be late. Let me know if you're coming back tonight!" As she spoke, she turned and walked towards the kitchen, helping Liu Wenbin tidy up the sauerkraut jar that had been pickling for half a year on the balcony.

Lin Yu pouted in dissatisfaction, watched Lin Min walk away, and then leaned close to Jiang Chuan's ear to ask, "Why did you send me a red envelope? You're not my elder!"

Jiang Chuan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, looking at her with a half-smile.

Lin Yu had now basically figured out that once he put on this expression, he was bound to say something that would make her blush and her heart race. Just as she was about to warn him, Jiang Chuan leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Really? But you called me 'brother' last night!"

Lin Yu suffered another setback. In a panic, he grabbed a watering can and ran to the balcony, almost destroying the flower by drowning Lin Min's clivia, which she had been raising for seven or eight years, turning it into a hydroponic plant.

Unsurprisingly, all three red envelopes ended up in Lin Yu's pocket. Jiang Chuan went upstairs to change his clothes, while Lin Yu waited for him downstairs, chatting with Lin Min while leaning against the kitchen door frame.

As Lin Min was chatting, she suddenly slapped her forehead. "Look at my memory!" she said, then pulled an unopened tube of scar removal cream from her pants pocket and handed it to Lin Yu. "Give this to Xiao Jiang later. It's such a beautiful child; it's a pity to have scars on him."

"Oh my god, he's a grown man! Why is he being so fussy?" Lin Yu said with a hint of disgust, but he still took the ointment and stuffed it into his pocket.

Lin Min leaned closer to her daughter and whispered, "I've been wanting to ask you two since yesterday, what's going on?"

Lin Yu thought to himself that he couldn't tell his mother everything about their complicated relationship. He just blinked and said half-jokingly, "Didn't you realize that your daughter is so charming? Wherever she goes, suitors follow! They can't be shaken off."

"You're such a chatterbox!" Lin Min turned to look at Liu Wenbin, who was busily working behind her, then glanced at the stairwell, and said in a low voice, "Xiao Jiang seems steady, and your mother and Uncle Liu both like him. But people are complicated, so keep your eyes open and observe more!"

Lin Min suddenly choked up at this point and sighed. "Don't be like before, Mom always remembers that thing you brought home last time..."

Lin Yu suddenly hugged Lin Min tightly, cutting her off, and buried his face in his mother's neck like he did when he was a child. "Mom, stop talking!"

Her voice was muffled; she didn't want to hear Chen Guang's name at such a warm moment, and she didn't want Lin Min to worry again and again because of her.

"That's ancient history, she's already married!" Her head gently nuzzled against Lin Min, her breath carrying a familiar and comforting fragrance. Lin Yu felt that this was probably the scent of maternal love that only he could smell.

When she looked up again, she concealed her worries and winked playfully. "Besides, the men who want to date me could line up from my doorstep to the subway station. You can just wait to choose your son-in-law, don't worry about it!"

Lin Min frowned and placed her hand on her daughter's back. As long as her daughter remained unsettled, no amount of talking could put her at ease. But she also understood that her daughter was no longer the little girl who cried her eyes out for love.

Lin Yu has grown up, and all I can do as her mother is to provide her with a safe haven where she can temporarily let down her guard during these moments.

......

It was nearly nine o'clock when they arrived at Lin Jian's house. Lin Jian knew that Lin Yu was used to sleeping in, so he didn't urge him. Lin Yu had informed him beforehand that he would be bringing a friend. As soon as they entered, Lin Yu gave his father a brief introduction of Jiang Chuan.

"Dad, this is my friend from Shanghai, she's here for a trip!"

Lin Yu's hometown is near the border, and every winter many tourists come to admire the snow. But the young man standing behind Lin Yu kept his gaze fixed on his daughter, and his expression was clearly not one of interest in the snow scenery.

When Lin Jianguo handed over the two red envelopes he had prepared in advance, his gaze lingered briefly on Jiang Chuan, and he gave him a polite smile. Jiang Chuan accepted them with both hands, thanked him, and then stuffed the red envelopes into Lin Yu's backpack.

"Go sit in the living room for a while, dinner will be ready soon." After saying that, Lin Jianguo turned around and went back to the kitchen, his attitude towards Jiang Chuan indifferent.

Lin Yu had long been accustomed to his father's taciturn nature. He usually spent his days fiddling with his camera or drinking, rarely inquiring about Lin Yu's life.

The three-bedroom apartment that Lin Jianguo now lives in was exchanged for an old house allocated by the Environmental Protection Bureau a few years ago.

Although the original family compound held many childhood memories for Lin Yu, considering his elderly mother's advanced age and increasingly weak legs, he decided to sell the old house, supplement his savings, and exchange it for this new home with an elevator.

The living room was filled with joy as Lin Yu's sister came to pay her New Year's visit and was snuggling on the sofa with her three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, watching cartoons.

The little girl giggled with amusement. Beside her, her grandmother, sitting in a wheelchair, sorted beans, her wrinkled fingers deftly separating kidney beans and red beans into different porcelain bowls.

There are three siblings in the Lin family this generation. Lin Jianguo is the eldest, Lin Anbang is the second, and Lin Huijia is the youngest. Lin Anbang and his wife run a pork shop on Erdao Street, and the business is quite successful.

They have a daughter, Lin Jing, who is Lin Yu's only cousin. She is three years older than Lin Yu and now lives in Beijing with her husband. They have a lively and lovely daughter.

Lin Huijia, the younger sister, is an outlier outside the social order. As one of the earliest Taobao shop owners who came to Beijing, she relied on her indomitable spirit to carve out her own niche in the e-commerce wave.

A few years ago, having achieved financial freedom, she changed her name to Lin Zhu, reportedly after spending a large sum of money to have a master calculate that it would greatly benefit her business.

When she was young, she was blinded by love and became pregnant out of wedlock. After being abandoned by her boyfriend, she gave birth to a son on her own and named him Lin Kang.

This older brother, unexpectedly becoming the eldest grandchild in the Lin family due to his aunt's early pregnancy, inherited his mother's wandering genes, providing art consulting work for tech elites in New York and rarely contacting his family.

Upon seeing Lin Yu, her little niece Qiqi excitedly rushed over, her chubby little hands tightly hugging her legs. She looked up at Lin Yu with her delicate, rosy face, calling out in a sweet, soft voice, "Auntie, Auntie, you're finally here! Let's play together!"

Qiqi inherited her older sister's good genes; her eyes are round and bright, and she looks innocent and cute like a fawn, which is very endearing.

She peeked half her head out from between Lin Yu's legs, looking at Jiang Chuan behind her with a mixture of curiosity and shyness, and whispered, "Happy New Year, Uncle-in-law!"

Jiang Chuan was in a great mood. He magically pulled a red envelope from his pocket and gently placed it in Qiqi's palm. He smiled and patted her little head, which was covered with hairpins.

"Qiqi is so good, this is your New Year's money from your aunt and uncle!" Lin Yu secretly pinched his arm, warning him not to take advantage of the situation, but he grabbed it back.

"Mommy! My uncle gave me a red envelope!" Qiqi ran towards her mother, holding up the red envelope. Lin Jing picked up his daughter and walked towards them, his gaze lingering on their clasped hands for a moment before he asked with a smile, "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Lin Yu hurriedly withdrew her hand and stuffed the prepared gift into Qiqi's hands. "This is my friend from Shanghai. She's here for tourism and doesn't know anyone here, so she's staying with my mom for the next few days." Her ears flushed, making her explanation seem somewhat like an attempt to cover something up.

Kiki, clutching her gift, stubbornly tilted her head back. "Auntie's wrong!" she pointed her little finger at Jiang Chuan, her face earnest. "Only couples can hold hands! Don't underestimate me just because I'm little; I know everything!"

The little girl puffed out her chest, insisting that this handsome uncle was her long-lost aunt's husband.

Lin Jing couldn't help but chuckle and pinched her daughter's chubby cheeks. "Yes, yes, our Qiqi is the smartest. Come and see what good things your auntie brought you!"

Kiki tore open the gift wrapping, and when she saw the sparkly Elsa princess dress, she shouted excitedly and started pulling at her own clothes, eager to change right then and there. Her older sister had to squat down and help her remove the product tag.

Hearing the noise, the hard-of-hearing grandmother realized that her beloved grandson had returned. Overwhelmed with emotion, she trembled and spilled the beans she was holding onto the floor. She tried to get up shakily, almost falling off her wheelchair, but Lin Yu quickly stepped forward to help her.

Jiang Chuan crouched down to help pick up the scattered beans. Qi Qi had already put her princess dress over her sweater and was twirling around in the middle of the living room, letting the skirt fly high.

For a moment, the living room was in chaos, which caused Lin Yu to miss the opportunity to explain the matter of his cheap uncle.