Unknowingly, Nuo Xiaoxi fell asleep.

After being busy all day, and again busy for so long at night, she was naturally a bit exhausted. So, she quickly fell asleep, unknowingly drifting into slumber, lying in Lin Chuan's arms, letting out light snores.

On the Spring Festival Gala, the countdown to the new year began. Everyone stood up and started shouting the countdown with the last few chimes of the clock on Chinese New Year's Eve. Everyone was incredibly lively, appearing extremely excited and exhilarated.

Then, the bell of the new year rang, fireworks started on the TV, bursting magnificently, symbolizing a prosperous start to the new year.

Lin Chuan looked down at Nuo Xiaoxi in his arms and softly said, "Happy New Year, girl."

At this moment, Lin Chuan's phone kept ringing. Everyone knew Lin Chuan used a non-smartphone, so they all chose to send text messages to wish Lin Chuan a happy new year. The messages came surging like waves, and alongside the messages, phone calls started coming in too.

"Brother Chuan." Zhou Kai was the first to call, excitedly asking, "Am I the first to get through?"

"Yes!" Lin Chuan nodded.

"Happy New Year, happy new year." Zhou Kai excitedly said, "I timed my call to wish you a happy new year. Today I told my dad about going abroad after the new year, he was silent for a long time, then finally said to follow you and make sure not to embarrass the Changlin Factory descendants."

"Haha." Lin Chuan laughed heartily.

"Alright, I won't take up any more time for other brothers to call." Zhou Kai excitedly hung up the phone.

Indeed, the phones kept ringing throughout the night. Brothers called one after another, until the phone ran out of battery. Lin Chuan glanced at the time, he had been taking calls for over an hour. Continuously, without any breaks, as soon as one call ended, another one would come in, leaving him no time to pause. Meanwhile, in his arms, Nuo Xiaoxi remained asleep.

After the phone died, Lin Chuan set it down and then carried Nuo Xiaoxi to the bedroom to sleep.

............

The next morning.

When Lin Chuan woke up, Nuo Xiaoxi was already up. The first morning of the new year was almost entirely spent in the sound of firecrackers. Various celebratory firecrackers went off one after another, crackling and echoing loudly. It made people almost unable to stop. Last night, the two of them slept soundly. If not for needing to make breakfast, Nuo Xiaoxi wouldn't have wanted to get up, wishing she could just lean on Lin Chuan's chest and sleep.

"Brother Lin, you're awake?" Nuo Xiaoxi giggled, "Let's have breakfast."

"Mm." Lin Chuan nodded and said, "On the first day of the new year, where are you going later?"

"I agreed with my classmates to go visit Teacher's house for the new year." Nuo Xiaoxi said.

"Alright." Lin Chuan nodded, and said, "Then I'll head out later, I won't be back for lunch."

Nuo Xiaoxi nodded, she wasn't planning on coming back for lunch either; on the first day of the new year, classmates gather to eat, sing, have fun, and celebrate in various ways. And when the men gather, naturally, there are gambling, bullfighting, and all kinds of games.

After breakfast, around eight-thirty, many brothers from the Jvyi Gang came to visit in person. Each one stuffed a red envelope into Nuo Xiaoxi's arms, and the envelopes were substantial. Each envelope contained ten bright red bills. After more than a dozen brothers, Nuo Xiaoxi ended up receiving over ten thousand.

"That's too much." Nuo Xiaoxi's face turned red with anxiety, she wanted to return the red envelopes, but none of the brothers would accept it. Nuo Xiaoxi could only look at Lin Chuan and say, "Brother Lin, look…"

"It's everyone's heartfelt wish, just accept it." Lin Chuan smiled and said, "Consider it your tuition."

"Oh!" Nuo Xiaoxi carefully put the dozen or so red envelopes into her bag.

But, no sooner had this group left, another group arrived. Each brought another round of red envelopes. Nuo Xiaoxi's bag was soon filled with red envelopes.

Lin Chuan hurriedly took Nuo Xiaoxi away. Today, Nuo Xiaoxi was to meet classmates at the intersection of Huai Mountain South Road. They planned to visit their teacher's house for new year's greetings. Lin Chuan dropped Nuo Xiaoxi at the intersection.

At the intersection, many classmates were already waiting. When they saw Nuo Xiaoxi arriving, they immediately went up to her.

"Xiao Xi." A girl squeezed out from the crowd.

"Ah, Xiuxiu." Nuo Xiaoxi quickly rushed up to her.

In high school, the two were very close, even sitting at the same desk. After going to university, they went their separate ways to different places. Among the six or seven students present, even Fat Tiger was there. This guy had been severely beaten by Lin Chuan for bullying Nuo Xiaoxi in the past. He failed his college entrance exams and ended up in a third-rate college, where he continued to behave in a delinquent manner, mixing in society with others. There, collecting protection fees at school, and committing extortion outside the school.

When Fat Tiger saw Nuo Xiaoxi, he couldn't help but say, "Didn't expect that in half a year, you've become even more beautiful."

"Huzi, don't overthink it," a male classmate laughed, "Nuo Xiaoxi is the princess of the Sichuan University Group now."

"Princess, my foot," Fat Tiger pursed his lips, snorted lightly, then said, "Isn't she just a rich person's toy? If I had money, I'd keep a few pretty women too. It's just a pity I don't have money. I can't even afford to keep a pretty girlfriend at school; it costs thousands a month."

"Wow, how much does your family give you a month?" the male classmate asked in surprise, astonished that keeping a girlfriend could cost thousands per month. He only had a 1,500 yuan allowance each month, and the thought of Fat Tiger spending so much just on a girlfriend was painful to hear.

"Haha, how could I rely on my family's money for that?" Fat Tiger laughed disdainfully, "I earn ten thousand a month on my own hustling outside, otherwise how would a pretty girl hang out with me?"

"Tsk tsk, that's impressive," the male classmate looked at Fat Tiger with envy and then said, "I never expected you'd be able to make over ten thousand yuan a month even while at school. Really impressive."

"This is nothing," Fat Tiger chuckled, "Some people do way better than me, earning tens of thousands a month."

Soon, Fat Tiger became the object of envy for many.

At that moment, Xiuxiu exclaimed in surprise, "Xiao Xi, why is your bag so full? What did you pack in there?"

"Just some red envelopes given by some big brothers when I went out," Nuo Xiaoxi said awkwardly.

"Oh my god, even red envelopes can fill your bag to the brim?" Xiuxiu was stunned and said in disbelief, "Hurry up, let me see."

Before Nuo Xiaoxi could stop her, Xiuxiu had already unzipped Nuo Xiaoxi's bag, and red envelopes spilled out immediately, with five or six falling to the ground. Xiuxiu hurried to pick them up for Nuo Xiaoxi. Opening one, she exclaimed, "A thousand yuan! Could every one of them be this much?"

"Stop looking," Nuo Xiaoxi quickly snatched it back.

As they struggled, the bag flipped onto the ground. Dozens of red envelopes tumbled out, each one stuffed full, dazzling everyone present. The crowd was left in awe, their eyes wide with amazement.

In this day and age, getting a thousand yuan red envelope meant you were wealthy; getting ten thousand yuan meant you were loaded. Someone like Nuo Xiaoxi, who could get dozens, each with over a thousand yuan, was truly loaded.

Embarrassed, Xiuxiu quickly stuffed the red envelopes back into the bag, apologizing, "Sorry, I... I didn't know this would happen. I'm sorry, Xiao Xi."

"It's okay," Nuo Xiaoxi shook her head and said, "I'll have to pay these red envelopes back later."

"How will you pay them back?" Xiuxiu asked curiously, "None of these envelopes have names, and you don't know who they're from, do you?"

"That..." Nuo Xiaoxi was indeed puzzled.

Xiuxiu laughed and said, "I think you should just keep them. If they've given them to you, they probably don't expect you to return them. You might as well use them for tuition or start-up funds in the future."

"Alright, let's hurry to Teacher Wu's place to pay our New Year's respects," Nuo Xiaoxi laughed.

"Let's go," everyone nodded.

The sight of all those thick red envelopes was truly eye-opening for the crowd. Who would have thought this girl, Nuo Xiaoxi, could receive so many red envelopes? No one quite understood how she managed it or why people would give her such generous ones. That small handbag she carried contained at least tens of thousands in cash, making everyone's mouth water.

All the while, Fat Tiger kept glaring at the handbag in Nuo Xiaoxi's hand. After a long time, he suddenly pulled out his phone, sent a message to an old buddy, and then smirked mischievously. Leisurely, he followed everyone to the teacher's place to offer New Year greetings.

............

On the first day of the new year, Lin Chuan drove to Tang Yumeng's home.

Unfortunately, as the city secretary, even on the first day of the new year, Tang Yumeng was still busy outside. Accompanying her on her errands was the Jiangbei City TV station. The TV station reporters followed Tang Yumeng around Jiangbei City's nursing homes, chatting with the elderly and washing their feet. Although it seemed a bit like a publicity stunt, at least she was taking action, which was better than those who just gossiped behind her back.

Lin Chuan was turned away at Tang Yumeng's home.

As he exited the City Committee's compound, the security guard at the gate greeted him with a smile, "Lin Chuan, Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year," Lin Chuan nodded.

"You here to see Secretary Tang?" The security, already aware of the relationship between Lin Chuan and Tang Yumeng, asked casually.

"Yes," Lin Chuan handed the guard a cigarette and asked, "Has Secretary Tang not returned yet?"

"She never came back," the guard laughed, "Since the 28th, Secretary Tang hasn't been back in the evenings. So, if you're looking for her now, you probably won't find her. Haven't you been watching TV lately? Secretary Tang's been tirelessly working among the people. She's our good secretary, admired and loved by all. Lately, Secretary Tang has been the most popular figure in Jiangbei City. The media's buzzing, and people keep discussing her. Rumor has it, starting next year, Secretary Tang will implement a new policy, reportedly providing additional subsidies for lonely elderly folks. Whether it will be implemented is uncertain, but at least it offers people hope, right?"

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