Chapter 51: Celebrating the New Year

Deaf Granny also shook her head helplessly, a slight smile lingering at the corners of her mouth, yet tinged with a sense of resignation.

Meanwhile, He Yuzhu's expression gradually grew gloomy amidst the merriment, resembling dark clouds shrouding a clear sky.

With a sunken voice, he tried to steer the atmosphere back on track, "Alright, alright, children, get up quickly. Grandma is going to give you your New Year money right now."

But that child, Stick, was extremely clever. Upon hearing Deaf Granny's words, although a trace of joy flickered across his face, his body remained entirely motionless, as if nailed to the floor.

His dark, glossy eyes darted around, occasionally glancing sideways at the others in the room, as though communicating some kind of message through his gaze.

The others seemed to catch something from Stick's expression and spoke up one after another.

"First Uncle and First Aunt have also prepared red envelopes for you," First Uncle said with a smile, his tone full of warmth.

"Since Aunt Yushui dotes on you so much, how could she possibly leave out your red envelopes?" He Yushui said as she walked over to Stick, gently pinching his cheek. Her tender words were like a spring breeze sweeping across a lake, warming everyone's heart.

Just as He Yushui bent down, preparing to lift Stick up from the ground, He Yuzhu's completely devoid-of-warmth words struck like a winter gust, suddenly ringing in their ears: "They can kneel for as long as they want. Anyway, I am not giving the three of you any red envelopes."

As soon as these words fell, the atmosphere in the entire room froze instantly, and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees.

The smile on He Yushui's face stiffened. She turned to look at He Yuzhu, let out two dry laughs, and tried to ease the tension, "Brother, today is New Year's Eve. Let's not make the children unhappy."

However, He Yuzhu acted as if he hadn't heard. His gaze, sharp as a blade, pierced straight through to He Yushui.

He curved his lips in a sarcastic sneer and asked, "Oh? So if someone deliberately makes me unhappy, I can only endure it in silence? Is that what you mean?"

He Yushui was left completely speechless by He Yuzhu's retort. She opened her mouth, but not a single word came out.

Seeing this, He Yuzhu ignored the three kneeling children of the Jia family altogether. He sat firmly in his chair, picked up his chopsticks, and began to devour the delicacies on the table with gusto, as if nothing had happened at all.

Deaf Granny watched this scene with a whirlpool of mixed emotions in her heart.

First, she looked at He Yuzhu, then at Stick and his siblings, the corners of her mouth turning downward involuntarily.

In the end, she pulled an old handkerchief from her pocket, carefully unfolded it, took out thirty cents, and handed it to Stick and his siblings.

"Children, this is Grandma's New Year money for you," Deaf Granny's voice was gentle and kind.

However, Stick acted as though he hadn't heard Deaf Granny at all. Instead, he eagerly looked toward First Uncle, First Aunt, and He Yushui, continuing to demand red envelopes, "First Uncle, First Aunt, and Aunt Yushui, where are your red envelopes?"

Stick's words made the corners of He Yuzhu's mouth twitch involuntarily, and a churn of nausea rose in his stomach, as if something was churning inside.

Seeing this, First Uncle and He Yushui could only shake their heads helplessly, each taking out some more money and handing it to Stick and his siblings before finally managing to send them away.

The five of them sat back down around the round table to continue their New Year's Eve dinner, but the atmosphere was vastly different from before, heavy with an indescribable awkwardness.

Deaf Granny tried hard to find some topics to liven up the mood, but whenever her gaze met He Yuzhu's gloomy, water-like face, the words invariably choked in her throat.

He Yuzhu's expression was frighteningly dark, resembling the sky right before a storm—heavy with gathering clouds that made people dare not look him in the eye.

"Children being mischievous is quite normal. Since it's New Year's, let's not make too much of a fuss," He Yushui tried to pacify He Yuzhu with these words, hoping to ease the tense atmosphere.

However, her good intentions seemed to have no effect; instead, they made the scene even more awkward.

He Yuzhu merely shot her a cold glance and said nothing more.

First Uncle and First Aunt, a couple who were never good with words, chose silence this time.

They silently picked up their rice bowls and lowered their heads to eat, as if trying to escape the dispute through this method.

As for Deaf Granny, she appeared exceptionally calm. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy this quiet atmosphere, chewing her food slowly while observing everything around her.

The New Year's Eve dinner, which should have been bustling with life, had now turned extraordinarily desolate.

The room was so quiet that the only sounds were chopsticks clinking against bowls and the noise of people chewing their food.

This oppressive atmosphere made everyone feel somewhat uneasy.

Just then, a sudden burst of reprimand shattered the tranquility.

"Qin Huairu! Get out here right now and see what that brat in your family is up to!" Third Uncle stood at the entrance of the Jia family home, his face flushed red with anger, shouting loudly.

"If this child isn't strictly disciplined, what will become of him in the future!" Third Uncle continued. "How can New Year greetings turn into kneeling before neighbors and refusing to leave unless money is given? What kind of behavior is this?!"

"Qin Huairu, get out here right now. We need to have a proper discussion about this!" Third Uncle's words immediately drew the attention of the surrounding people.

Before long, his surroundings were crowded with residents of the courtyard, all of whom began discussing the matter animatedly.

However, Third Uncle failed to summon Qin Huairu out; instead, he managed to draw out Mrs. Jia.

As soon as she opened the door, Mrs. Jia pointed aggressively at Third Uncle and snapped, "What do you mean by this? Coming to our doorstep to hurl abuse on New Year's Eve? Do you think there are no men in our family to bully?"

Hearing this, Third Uncle hurriedly explained, "Mrs. Jia, don't talk nonsense! I didn't come here to pick a fight.

Just a moment ago, your Stick took advantage of my absence to sneak into my house and swindle thirty cents from me!"

As soon as Third Uncle's words dropped, the surrounding crowd erupted into a tumult.

Everyone began to discuss Stick's behavior, some expressing anger, others showing helplessness.

Although He Yuzhu said nothing on the surface, his heart was far from calm.

He hadn't expected Stick to pull such a stunt tonight.

In fact, Stick hadn't just swindled thirty cents from Third Uncle's house tonight.

He had practically gone to every single household in the courtyard, using the exact same trick to demand New Year money.

By He Yuzhu's estimation, the money Stick had raked in tonight was almost enough to match half a month of Qin Huairu's salary.

When the commotion raised by Third Uncle reached their ears, He Yuzhu, First Uncle, and the others all rushed out of the house.

None of them could have imagined that Stick would resort to such shameless behavior.