Chapter 96: No matter how much you give a child, it's never too much.
After the New Year's Eve dinner, everyone sat around in the living room eating nuts and chatting.
Dan's mother is now telling Dan Si about embarrassing things that happened when he was a child.
"Grandma, can you please stop bringing up the time you wore skirts when you were little?" Dan Si asked with a hint of helplessness. This was a topic of conversation almost every year.
Every year on Lunar New Year's Eve, it will be taken out and put on display.
The two dogs lying on the carpet seemed to be giving him strange looks, and Dan Si wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground.
"You little rascal, you won't let people talk about you!" Mother Dan said with a playful laugh.
Watching the grandmother and granddaughter bickering, Gu Zhaodi felt that this was what a warm family should look like.
Unlike Gu Jia, whose New Year celebrations are sometimes accompanied by arguments and comparisons.
The girl glanced at the man sitting next to her, sipping tea, and a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. "Grandma, I'd like to know what interesting stories Uncle Dan had when he was a child."
As soon as he finished speaking, Dan Anwen paused in his elegant tea-drinking motion, glanced at the mischievous girl with a cryptic smile playing on his lips.
When it comes to this, Dan's mother has a lot to say. Although Dan Anwen looked mature beyond his years when he was young, he always had some embarrassing moments when he was young and didn't know any better.
Dan Si and Dan Shu also perked up their ears, admiring Zhao Zhao's courage to ask, while also wanting to know about their usually calm and collected uncle's embarrassing past.
This is a rare opportunity to see my uncle make a fool of himself; it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
"When I was little..." The mother had only begun to speak when the man interrupted her in a nonchalant tone, "Mom, it's time to go out and set off fireworks."
Mother Dan glanced at the time; setting off fireworks within half an hour after dinner had always been a tradition in the Dan family.
"Okay, let's go out and set off fireworks." Mother Dan didn't continue the previous topic, but got up and went out the door.
The remaining children looked regretful, as they had almost heard embarrassing stories from the man's childhood.
Dan Anwen walked beside the girl, his tone ambiguous, "Little girl, you've been very naughty today!"
"Hehe." Gu Zhaodi practically skipped out the door, her face full of smiles.
The man behind her could only watch her helplessly, his face full of doting affection.
"Zhao Zhao, play with this." Dan Shu handed a handful of sparklers to the girl.
These small fireworks were bought by Danshu and Dansi at the supermarket a few days ago. Even the oldest teenagers can't escape the festive atmosphere of fireworks during the Chinese New Year.
Gu Zhaodi glanced at the handful of sparklers in her hand and was slightly stunned.
Things I cried and fussed for as a child that I couldn't get are now within my reach.
"Does the little one want to light it now?" Dan Anwen asked, looking down as he held the gold-rimmed lighter.
The girl snapped out of her daze, a barely perceptible smile playing on her lips. "Yes."
As the sparkler burns, a dazzling light flashes in the darkness, so close it seems within reach. Sparks ignite and then extinguish, entering an endless cycle.
The flickering firelight reflected on the girl's delicate face. The man lowered his eyes and stared intently at her pretty face. Her innocent and romantic smile seemed to be etched into his mind, lingering there.
"Uncle Dan, here's one for you." Gu Zhaodi handed the man a lit firework.
She gently waved the half-burnt sparkler, her bright smile more dazzling than fireworks.
Dan Anwen ignored the nearly burnt-out sparkler in his hand, his dark, deep eyes fixed on the girl's figure, and he remained lost in thought for a long time.
"Dan Si, your fireworks almost bounced onto my clothes," Dan Shu said, her voice slightly annoyed.
Dan Si's long legs took a single stride away from Dan Shu and ran towards Dan's mother, while Dan Shu chased after him.
"Zhao Zhao, come quick and help me stop him!" Dan Shu was obviously no match for Dan Si, and in her exasperation, she called out to the girl.
Gu Zhaodi was about to run over when Dan Anwen grabbed her clothes and said gently, "Be careful when you're playing, don't let the fireworks hit you."
"I understand," the girl replied without turning her head, eager to help Dan Shu.
The man was very uneasy, and his gaze followed the girl almost the entire night.
After an hour of merriment, the temperature dropped lower and lower in the evening. Although the biting cold wind could not defeat the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival, it was difficult for people to resist its presence.
The group of people, their faces flushed from the wind, went inside the villa, nestled on the sofa, watched the Spring Festival Gala, chatted, and waited for the clock to strike twelve.
Perhaps the girl had been playing all night and her excitement hadn't subsided, because even when it was her usual bedtime, she wasn't sleepy at all and stayed up with the adults to welcome the New Year.
When the time came, Dan's mother and father took out New Year's money and handed it to the three children.
In the Dan family, unmarried girls receive New Year's money from their elders, while boys are expected to give New Year's money to younger generations after they turn eighteen.
"Thank you, Grandpa and Grandma." Gu Zhaodi looked at the two red envelopes in her palm, which were obviously larger than those of Dan Si and Dan Shu, and a feeling of bitterness welled up in her heart.
Grandma Li Cuifen of the Gu family felt that even ten yuan was too much for New Year's money, while Grandpa and Grandma Dan felt that such love was still too little.
"You received fewer red envelopes than Dan Si and Dan Shu for over a decade, so your grandparents gave you the biggest one. It's a little small, but it's still a blessing," Dan's mother explained with a smile.
The girl waved her hand, her eyes slightly reddening, "It's too much, this blessing is overflowing."
The mother could sense the girl's emotional fluctuations and understood the source of her bittersweet feelings, so she gently patted the back of her delicate hand.
"Uncle, congratulations on your fortune!" Dan Si was already beaming with joy. Perhaps because he was about to turn 18 and wouldn't be able to get red envelopes anymore, the red envelopes given by Dan Si's parents this year were bigger than in previous years.
But who would complain about having too much lucky money? She immediately fawned over the man like a lackey, her former carefree and lazy demeanor gone forever.
Gu Zhaodi discovered that Dan Si was completely different at home and at school. At school, he was a cold and charismatic school bully, but at home, he was a pitiful boy who was constantly being teased.
Dan Anwen didn't keep Dan Si in suspense any longer. He took out a bulging red envelope from beside him and gave it to Dan Si, saying, "Take it."
Upon seeing this, Dan Si immediately accepted it. Although he didn't know why the New Year's money was only a few yuan transferred last year, this year's New Year's money was just as thick as in previous years.
After Dan Shu received his New Year's money, it was the girl's turn.
Gu Zhaodi smiled and wished the man a Happy New Year, "Uncle Dan, I wish you all the best."
Dan Anwen smiled slightly and handed over the red envelope in his hand, saying, "Happy New Year, little one."
Just as Dan Si finished opening the red envelope in his hand and was marveling at how generous his uncle was this year, he caught a glimpse of the lightly deflated red envelope in the girl's hand.
Dan Si asked directly, "Zhao Zhao, why is your red envelope so empty?"
This sentence drew everyone's attention to the light red envelope in the girl's hand, which was on a completely different level compared to the bulging red envelopes of Dan Si and Dan Shu.
“Anwen…” Dan’s mother frowned and was about to say something when Dan’s father stopped her.
The father knew his son well; he usually spoiled him rotten, so why would he be stingy with a little bit of New Year's money on such an important holiday?
Dan Anwen remained completely calm, a smile still playing on her lips, her doting gaze almost melting anyone's heart. "Little one, open it and take a look."
Gu Zhaodi didn't really care how much New Year's money Uncle Dan gave her, but since everyone was looking at the red envelope in her hand, she had no choice but to open it.
What came into view was completely unexpected, and the girl even felt it was a little too hot to handle.
"A bank card?" Dan Si rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Even the usually composed and dignified Dan Shu was slightly surprised, her eyes revealing a look of astonishment.
"There's also last year's New Year's money in here." The man's brown eyes stared at the surprised girl, his tone indifferent.
Last year, the child only received 100 yuan of his New Year's money. He deposited the rest of the money, along with this year's New Year's money, into his card.
To be honest, the girl felt the bank card in her palm was burning hot. She still clearly remembered how many zeros were added to the end of her New Year's money last year.
Gu Zhaodi swallowed hard and stared at the man. "Uncle Dan, this is too much."
Dan An smiled faintly, her doting tone instantly giving those around her goosebumps, "Giving a child any amount is never too much."
If he weren't worried about scaring the children, he actually considered making up for all the New Year's money she had received over the past ten years, but he had to give up the idea considering her financial capacity.
Dan Si and Dan Shu whispered to each other, "Uncle is really extravagant."
Dan Shu silently responded in her heart: This is nothing compared to what's to come. In the future, Uncle's entire fortune might be Zhao Zhao's. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
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