Chen Cheng looked at the two large tables filled with dozens of dishes and sighed inwardly, thinking it was quite impressive.

There were eight cold dishes: sliced boiled lamb, spiced beef, smashed cucumber salad, a platter of cured meats, jellyfish salad, "Gold and Jade Filling the Hall" (bamboo shoots and soybeans), "Abundance and Celebration" (lake grass carp), and "Ruyi Vegetables" (seasoned soybean sprouts).

There were twelve hot dishes: head dish, radish stewed with pork ribs, cured meat stewed with bamboo shoots, whitebait with eggs, Dongpo pork, steamed leopard coral grouper, braised chicken with chestnuts, sizzling eel shreds, celery with shredded pork, and vegetable hearts.

The crucian carp that Chen Cheng and his brother caught in the afternoon didn't make the cut for the table and were dumped into the pond in the backyard.

Seafood: abalone, sea cucumber, lobster, and king crab.

Drinks: Moutai, Mengzhilan, 10-year Lafite, freshly squeezed orange juice, soda, and so on.

The Lafite was taken by Chen Cheng from the wine cellar.

The Moutai and Mengzhilan were brought back by Chen Liang from Nanyue.

That's the strange thing about our countrymen; they love to bring things home from thousands of miles away even when they can be bought locally.

There were over twenty people, filling exactly two tables.

Once the banquet officially started, Chen Cheng raised his glass to thank the "chef" who cooked the meal.

He said a few polite, formal words.

Then, it was time for eating, drinking, and clinking glasses.

After over an hour, Chen Zhong was already tipsy.

He was the only elder male head of the family here, so everyone who raised a glass had to toast him.

Not to mention him, even Chen Cheng was feeling tipsy.

These cousins, especially Chen Liang and Wen Yongfei, were extremely diligent in raising their glasses.

Except for Chen Songtao and his wife, everyone else at the table knew who held the real authority.

By nearly nine o'clock, everyone left the table.

They watched the Spring Festival Gala for a while, but found it boring.

So they started playing mahjong. With so many people, they managed to set up two tables.

Li Na, Chen Min, Chen Li, and Zuo Pei were at one table, while Chen Cheng, Chen Liang, Jiang Jianjun, and Wen Yongfei were at the other.

After Chen Cheng sat down, his phone wouldn't stop ringing with calls and video chats, so eventually, Chen Cheng just turned it off.

Zhu Zhe watched from the side, chuckling to herself while reporting the situation in the group chat.

The women in the group chat were verbally attacking Chen Cheng.

Near midnight, Chen Songtao took a few children outside to the courtyard to set off fireworks.

The people at the mahjong tables didn't even move.

After setting off the fireworks, Chen Yixuan led the little kids in a line to pay their New Year's respects to their uncles, Aunts, and the like.

That rascal Chen Yixuan was clever; he didn't start with his grandmother.

Instead, he started with his Aunt Chen Min, and both Chen Min and Jiang Jianjun fished out a red envelope for the kid.

Then came Chen Li, Wen Yongfei, Chen Songtao, and Zhang Yao.

He even called Zhu Zhe, Li Na, and Xiao Ye "Aunt."

The three women were a bit embarrassed, but since he had already called them that, red envelopes were naturally expected.

They had prepared for it on the way; the three women had prepared a large red envelope for each child, with ten thousand in each.

Even the red envelope paper was specially bought in a red cloth style.

When it was Chen Cheng's turn, the chubby kid Chen Yixuan held his hands together in front of him, waving them as he said:

"Uncle, Happy New Year! I wish you business that soars like a dragon across the four seas, wealth that surges like a river from all directions, great luck, and continuous success!"

Chen Cheng's eyes widened, and he asked with a laugh, "Who taught you that?"

A look of embarrassment immediately appeared on Chen Yixuan's chubby face, and he turned to look at his mother, "See? I told you this doesn't sound like something I would say."

"Hahahaha~"

This remark immediately cracked everyone up.

Zuo Pei wasn't embarrassed at all; she tilted her chin toward Chen Cheng and asked, "Little brother, doesn't it sound good?"

Chen Cheng laughed and said, "It sounds good, it sounds good."

He casually counted out eight stacks of cash and handed them to Chen Yixuan, "Take it. You'll have to hand it over anyway, so just enjoy it for now."

Chen Yixuan, who had been staring at the stack of red bills with shining eyes, looked embarrassed again upon hearing Chen Cheng's words.

"Hahaha~" Everyone was amused by him.

The kid wasn't shy; he recovered in two or three seconds, smiled, and shouted with his neck stiffened, "Anyway, tonight it belongs to me!"

After saying that, he took the stack of his favorite red bills with both hands and bowed to Chen Cheng, "Thank you, Uncle."

The next one was Chen Min's son, and Chen Cheng gave him eight stacks as well.

Then it was the turn of the little cutie Li Wanrou, who chirped in a milky voice, "Uncle, Happy New Year."

Chen Cheng handed her an unopened bundle directly, which the Little Girl found a bit difficult to hold.

Behind her was Chen Liang's daughter, named Chen Xinran, who was a year younger than Li Wanrou.

Chen Cheng gave her a bundle as well.

After giving it, he didn't forget to tease Chen Min, "Sister Min, why don't you have another daughter? The red envelopes are larger."

Everyone realized the meaning behind Chen Cheng's way of giving red envelopes.

Raise boys frugally, raise girls lavishly.

For New Year's money, eight stacks for boys, a bundle for girls.

Chen Min beamed, lifting her chin, "I won't fall for your trap."

"It's so hard to raise a child these days."

Chen Cheng smiled and said nothing.

Then it was the turn of the youngest, Chen Jiahao, who was so young he couldn't even speak clearly.

Chen Cheng gave him eight stacks as usual.

Although Chen Cheng gave a lot, it wasn't an unheard-of amount in Sunan. Chen Liang and the others were surprised, but not shocked.

Of course, on certain social media platforms, it might not even reach the average level of the three provinces in the lower reaches of the Longjiang River.

After handing out the red envelopes, Chen Cheng immediately paid his New Year's respects to Tang Ping and Liu Rong.

Chen Zhong had already fallen asleep in the room next to the living room; he had drunk too much.

Tang Ping and Liu Rong each fished out a red envelope for Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng felt it and noticed it was quite thick.

Tang Ping had originally only packed one thousand, but Chen Liang told her to add five thousand more.

Liu Rong had originally only packed eight hundred, but after Chen Zhong scolded her, she increased it to five thousand.

They hadn't prepared so much for Li Na, Zhu Zhe, and Xiao Ye, but who knew Chen Cheng would bring three back?

In the morning, when Chen Cheng and the others went to visit the graves, Chen Zhong had his son-in-law go to the bank to withdraw money before they left.

The two families had agreed that the three women would each receive eighteen thousand.

After the red envelopes were handed out, Chen Songtao and his wife, along with Tang Ping, took the children back to the house in the village.

Chen Songtao and his wife had to go to the hospital for their shift tomorrow.

They were only able to come back for the New Year because Chen Zhong specifically emphasized their return, which allowed them to take leave.

Chen Liang and the others were busy until after one o'clock before the New Year's calls finally stopped.

Those playing mahjong returned to the table to stay up for the New Year.

Zhu Zhe and Xiao Ye went to sleep in the master bedroom upstairs.

They played until after three o'clock, when the women couldn't stay awake anymore and went to sleep.

It was just in time for a halftime break.

Jiang Jianjun went to the bathroom, and Chen Liang followed him out.

Only then did Chen Cheng turn on his phone. Seeing seven or eight missed calls from Aks, he raised an eyebrow.

He switched to his email, and seeing it, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, "It's here."