Chapter 271: Looking at Gifts

"Yes, the pavilions are generally for individuals or small family gatherings, while the courtyards are the choice for somewhat larger family gatherings. A portion of the buildings is where our staff stay."

Service here is available twenty-four hours a day; they all work in shifts and stay in the dormitory at night.

"Then won't they be unable to see the plum blossoms?"

"We provide vases, and guests may also enter the plum grove to admire them."

The flower arrangements in the vases are all freshly cut and arranged on the spot by hired floral arrangers. But there are always some guests who are not quite satisfied. Therefore, for guests who reserve a courtyard, they also offer an additional activity of entering the plum garden. As long as the guests are willing to spend money, they can pick flowers on the spot and arrange them on the spot. Reserving an entire courtyard is already a grand gesture. If the guests still want to willfully throw money at them and let them fleece—ahem, earn money, they would half-reluctantly comply and let the guests have their way. The boss would never cross anyone but would never cross money.

Before coming over, the attendant had been instructed by the supervisor that this family were the boss's friends and also shareholders here. Fleeing money from their own people—the attendant was afraid she would be fired tomorrow. So she added, "The plum blossoms we give are actually all very beautiful; it's just that some guests with higher aesthetic standards might find them unattractive."

As long as the guests weren't deliberately picking faults or showing off, they could all accept the plum blossoms they gave.

Su Yu took a walk around the third floor, taking in the scenery from all directions, before returning to the second floor.

"Mama, take off clothes!"

"Okay!"

Ji Yan took off Su Yu's outer coat and continued playing mahjong.

The attendant had been sent away. Su Xi held a cup of tea and sat on the sofa to one side, looking at the scenery outside the window.

Su Yu went over. "Uncle, why aren't you playing mahjong?"

"Bad luck."

He had played five rounds and lost five rounds. Su Xi believed he had no affinity with mahjong.

"Oh!"

【If only Uncle were playing mahjong with someone he doesn't get along with, I could go over with him, then let Wulongcha look at their cards, and I'd secretly help Uncle. We'd be invincible at the table!】

Su Xi was a little tempted, but not much.

Ji Tianlin was very tempted, but got kicked.

As soon as Xu Mingyue heard Su Yu's inner thoughts, she knew what Ji Tianlin was thinking and gave the fun-loving but terrible-at-cooking Ji Tianlin a fierce kick.

His level of skill was well-known to everyone. Did he want to expose Su Yu's abnormality?

Su Yi stayed as quiet as a chicken, keeping his presence as low as possible, terrified that Su Yu would remember him and use him as a test subject.

Yang Zhichun and Ji Yan only treated this thing as a pastime and had no particular thoughts about it.

……

On the second day of the new year, Su Yu finished washing up and went to the dining room to eat.

"Grandma, Grandpa, good morning!"

"Good morning, baby!"

"Good morning, Xiao Yu!"

Xu Mingyue had just finished breakfast. Seeing Su Yu come bouncing over, she suddenly couldn't bear to leave. She lifted her onto a chair and watched her eat.

After eating until she was half full, Su Yu tilted her head and looked at Xu Mingyue. "Grandma, why are you so early today?"

"Grandma is going back to the Xu family today to wish Mama and Papa a happy new year!"

"I want to go too! I even picked out gifts for Great-grandma, Great-grandpa, and the uncles, aunties, older brothers, older sisters, little brothers, and little sisters!"

"Really? Later, will baby take me to see them, okay?"

"Okay!"

Su Yu quickly finished eating and took Xu Mingyue over to see the gifts she had picked out. Ji Tianlin had nothing to do, so he followed along as well.

Xu Mingyue had Ji Tianlin record this scene to show her parents. What the child picked might not be entirely appropriate, but it was still a gesture of thoughtfulness.

Su Yu pointed to a colorful spring landscape painting that the steward had brought out. "This is for Great-grandpa!"

Su Yu then pointed to a Go set beside it. "Uncle Steward said this Go set feels warm to the touch, so it can be for Great-grandma!"

Su Yu remembered that Gu Yang really liked playing Go.

Closing the case holding the Go set, Su Yu opened another large case that was divided into two halves. "The peanuts are for the uncles and older brothers—wishing the uncles and older brothers good things happening in the new year! The ruyi are for the aunties and older sisters—wishing the aunties and older sisters that all things go as they wish in the new year!"

The peanuts and ruyi were all small and cute, finely carved and very exquisite. They were placed inside little sachet pouches. Xu Mingyue had an eye for jewelry and could tell at a glance that these were all pure gold.

This was truly too extravagant!

If Su Yu gave one set and Ji Yan also gave one set, would the Su Family have objections?

Su Yu didn't know what Xu Mingyue was agonizing over. She closed this case and opened the large case for the little brothers and little sisters. "The gifts for the little brothers and little sisters are all pearls—wishing the little brothers and little sisters that in the new year, they shine like pearls!"

Unlike the antique-style sachet pouches that held the gold peanuts and gold ruyi, the pouches holding the pearls were shaped like cute cartoon apples. Through the red-tinted transparent edges of the pouches, they could see a lustrous, beautiful white pearl resting quietly on velvet.

"Baby, these gifts are too valuable!"

"But this is Mama's first year coming home, for family!"

Su Yu knew they were valuable, but Ji Yan had been disconnected from the Xu family for over twenty years and hadn't grown up there. Moreover, Ji Yan's identity as a female celebrity had little connection to the Xu family. Su Yu hoped to firmly tie Ji Yan to the great tree of the Xu family. Therefore, she thought of giving gifts. Valuable gifts would give everyone the feeling that Ji Yan valued them.

The Xu family had very good family values. If they genuinely accepted Ji Yan, they would protect her as one of their own. To Su Yu, this kind of protection was more important than money.

Xu Mingyue's lips trembled, and she didn't dare accept.

Ji Tianlin put down the phone he had been recording with and put his arm around Xu Mingyue, silently comforting her.

They had also received gifts from Su Yu yesterday. Xu Mingyue's was a bracelet made of warm jade, and Ji Tianlin's was a pair of jade cufflinks.

"Grandma, why are you crying?"

"Grandma's fine, Grandma is just too moved!"

Su Yu ran upstairs and knocked on Ji Yan's door. "Mama, Grandma is crying!"

Su Yi hurriedly opened the door and let Ji Yan go down. A somewhat flustered Su Yu also ran upstairs to find Su Xi.

"Uncle, Grandma is crying."

Su Xi, wearing pajamas, looked at Su Yu, whose hands and feet were still not quite coordinated. "Why is she crying?"

"I don't know!"

【I just told her about the gifts for Great-grandma, Great-grandpa, the uncles, aunties, older brothers, older sisters, and little brothers and little sisters, and she started crying!】

Su Yu also wanted to go comfort someone, but somehow her first reaction was to look for Mom, then for her elder uncle.

Su Xi is not good at comforting people, "Go find your great‑grandmother."

"Alright!"

Su Yu keeps climbing the stairs, "Great‑grandmother, great‑grandmother, Grandma is crying!"

Yang Zhichun, neatly dressed, opened the door, "Alright, great‑grandmother is here."

Yang Zhichun pressed the elevator button and went down; Su Yu returned to the third floor and squatted at Su Xi's room door like a little mushroom.

【Host, why aren't you going down?】

【I don't know, feeling weird inside.】

At this moment Su Yu seemed split into two selves: one little self feeling an indescribably complex mood, the other little self calmly calculating how to get Mom to blend into the Xu family's big household as quickly as possible!

Su Xi opened the door, saw the mushroom, and casually scooped it up, "Have you had breakfast?"

"I have!"

"Hmm, when you go to the Xu family, you must obediently stay with the adults and not leave with strangers."

Visiting the Xu family on the second day of the New Year doesn't guarantee they're members of the Xu family. There are always immature people who misuse their status to wander around the Xu household, and Su Xi worries about Su Yu's safety.

"Elder uncle, aren't you going?"

"I'm not going; I'm going with your great‑grandmother to the Su family's gathering."

Most of the Su Clan's assets are held by Su Xi, with a smaller portion currently under Yang Zhichun's and Ji Yan's names. A tiny fraction of the holdings is earmarked for orphan support within the clan and is listed under the Su Clan's fund. Among the Su Clan members, outstanding merchants are few, but clan members who work in other fields also have top performers. Su Xi covets the resources they hold, while those clan members covet the money Su Xi provides. The shared surname and thin blood ties bind them. Every second day of the New Year, the Su Clan holds a gathering where everyone exchanges news and resources.

"The Su family's gathering? Are Mom, Dad, and I not going?"

"You don't need to go."

The second day of the New Year is the time set after Su Xi took power. Only Yang Zhichun and he are at home. When the second day passes, Yang Zhichun can still chat with the daughters‑in‑law who married into the Su family, and that is the least lonely time of her year.

But this year is different; Yang Zhichun went over there to watch the excitement and can now return to share the affairs of both families with Xu Mingyue.

"Alright!"

【Wulongcha, can you follow my elder uncle? I always feel there aren't many good people in the Su family!】

After Su Yu returned to the Su family, she saw few people visiting, let alone bringing gifts. She had received a huge pile of gifts at the Xu family!

【Sure!】

Wulongcha, having seen the Xu family's warm, increasingly enthusiastic gatherings, had never witnessed the Su family's more calculating meetings, and found it very interesting.

【Thank you!】

【You're welcome!】

Su Xi patted Su Yu's big head, "Do you still want to eat anything?"

"No, I don't want to; I'm not hungry!"

【Going to the Xu family will definitely have lots of delicious food!】

Xu Mingyue, already coaxed by Ji Yan and Yang Zhichun, heard that heartfelt line and her tears fell again in a rush.

Su Yu, unaware of the living‑room situation, sat in her own chair and stared at Su Xi eating breakfast.

【Elder uncle always eats bread? Hmm, the coffee was switched to milk, not bad, not bad!】

Su Xi: "… Bringing Su Yu down might have been a mistake."

"So you plan to wear this outfit to visit?"

Su Yu raised her hand, "It's cute!"

Su Yu wore a bear‑themed overalls with a big red apple pocket in the center; she chose it so adults could quickly stuff red envelopes into it!

"Not festive enough! The color scheme is a bit tacky!"

Su Yu looks cute, and she looks cute in this outfit, but Su Xi doesn't want to be nagged by Su Yu and looks for any fault.

"Then I'll go up and change it!"

Su Yu thought, "【I seem to have too few clothes with big pockets!】"

Su Yu rummaged through her own clothes in her mind, went upstairs and searched her wardrobe.

Su Yi exhaled, sat at the dining table, "Big brother, why does she want a big pocket?"

"To put red envelopes in."

Su Yi frowned slightly, "Can't we just keep them for ourselves?"

"Thanks for the votes, darlings~"

"This chapter is three thousand words~"