The next day, the 29th of the lunar year, Manman went out very early in the morning.
Although it's more convenient to buy things now, every family still needs to buy a lot of New Year's goods.
The Li family is large, and this year Li Xiu and Zhao Na are all coming to celebrate the New Year, so they need to buy even more things.
The old man had Li Mancang and Li Mantun dragged them out early in the morning to buy paper money for the deceased, so that the ancestors could have a prosperous New Year. After he passed away, they could live a good life.
“Dad, we’re both over seventy, almost eighty,” Li Mancang said with a bitter smile.
"What? Just because you're old doesn't mean you don't have ancestors anymore? I'm almost a hundred, and I'm even more worried about my father now. Stop talking nonsense and get up. Mantun, bring all your unfilial sons here. If you don't use them now, when will you?" The old man poked Li Mantun with his cane.
Li Mantun knew that resistance was useless. As his father got older, he increased their allowance every year, fearing they would suffer poverty if they went down the mountain.
The second and third sons drove out to buy New Year's goods and came back. Looking at the yard full of yellow paper, everything went black.
"I still have to go to the mall," the third brother muttered to himself as he put the things in the room.
"I still need to go to the grocery store; buying these snacks isn't enough for the kids," the second child grumbled.
The old man, his eyelids drooping, said, "The paper money for burning in your two families has been divided. Starting this year, everyone should do their part to show filial piety."
The second son glanced at the yard. His three sons were kneeling in front of a small hill, working hard. Suddenly, the second son straightened his back. He had three sons, three strong laborers. Why would he hide? He would just stay inside and drink tea.
The third brother looked at the lonely pile of snow, Tuan Tuan stood in front of it with a frown, seemingly lost in thought, while Yuan Yuan rolled snowballs on the ground.
"Sir, my portion is a bit large."
"When you were making money, why didn't you complain about having too much? Your ancestors must have blessed you with the most hard work. The one-child policy even allowed you to have three children at once. You should burn more money," the old man said, glancing sideways at his youngest son.
The third brother's eyes darted around. "Grandpa, let me send some big bills to our ancestors. The RMB has gone through several versions already, and maybe even copper coins aren't in circulation anymore. You think you've sent a lot of money? What if our ancestors are still fleeing famine down there?"
The old man swung his cane at us, "Bullshit! Your great-grandfather even appeared in my dream, saying our family is now the richest in the entire underworld. Even Little Black and Little White have to treat your great-grandfather with utmost respect!"
Third brother... what the heck are Little Black and Little White?
"Grandpa, haven't you seen how people are burning TVs, villas, and cars for their ancestors these days? We need to keep up with the times and not let our ancestors be envious of what others have, right?"
The old man smacked his lips, thinking it made sense. "Alright, burn some. If it works, your great-grandfather can give me feedback."
Third brother... could you give me another good review?
"Then I won't bother with these in the yard, sir. After all, I bought a big-ticket item."
“That won’t do. Buying big items is an extra gesture of your kindness, while the ones for the courtyard are just basic living expenses,” the old man objected.
The second brother chuckled, saying, "This is a classic case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead."
"No, sir, how about we burn some large bills and send them over to see how the great-grandfather reacts? What if they're circulating large bills?" The third brother blinked.
"What big ticket?" The old man was quite interested, after all, it was for adding to his good life.
The third brother smiled and took out a brand new hundred-yuan bill from his pocket.
Second brother: "What, you have so much money you're going to burn cash?"
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