Before he knew it, the New Year was about to arrive.

This year, Lin Feng was heading back to Meicheng to celebrate, as well as to open another branch of his store. An Lan, on the other hand, would be celebrating in Modu. Doted on by her mother, she was still an adorable baby at heart.

Lin Dashan and his wife had cleaned the entire villa and were now just waiting for their son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren to return. Moreover, they had filled the fridge with meat and vegetables and laid out several extra quilts to make sure the house was warm.

"Let's go. Time to pick up the grandkids from the airport."

Upon arriving at the airport, Zhou Cuilan looked around, her face full of eager expectation.

Lin Dashan smiled. "Didn't we just see them during the long holiday this year?"

Zhou Cuilan shot him a wordless glare. "You don't know a thing. Don't talk to me, you're annoying."

Other couples grew more loving with age, but they only seemed to grow more disdainful of each other. This was especially true for Zhou Cuilan, who found fault with her husband at every turn and constantly snapped at him.

"They're here, they're here! Fourth Treasure, Third Treasure, Second Treasure... First Treasure!"

The children were already in the first grade and had been through a lot. Second Treasure and Third Treasure, in particular, were more experienced now, and with their calm personalities, they walked at the back. Up ahead, First Treasure and Fourth Treasure were like two racers, shouting for their grandpa and grandma nonstop as they ran.

Just like the Calabash Brothers!

Lin Dashan was overjoyed. "Well, look at you all! You've gotten so big!"

Zhou Cuilan picked up Second Treasure. "My dear, when I hold you, you're almost as tall as Grandma!"

"Indeed, they've grown quite a bit!" Lin Dashan said with a smile.

Just as they were speaking, Third Treasure finally came over. When it came to her aura, Third Treasure was the most outstanding of the bunch.

Hmm, maybe it has something to do with her artistic side?

Lin Dashan tried to take the bags from Lin Feng.

"Dad, I've got it," Lin Feng said with a smile.

Lin Dashan nodded, also smiling. "Alright, you carry them!"

Unconsciously, he realized his son was now a full-grown adult. Lin Feng also realized that as his four children grew up, his parents had aged considerably. Lin Dashan's temples were now gray, and his back was noticeably more stooped. Zhou Cuilan had a few more wrinkles on her face, too.

In the car, Lin Dashan mentioned that Lin Jie and his classmate wouldn't arrive until the evening.

Fourth Treasure, who loved playing with Lin Jie the most, cheered, "Yay, yay!"

First Treasure sighed. "I wonder if he'll bring us any gifts!"

Lin Feng laughed. "Of course he will. He never forgets you guys. Even when he's not staying here with Grandpa and Grandma, he always mails your presents."

The two boys chuckled. Boys will be boys, so it was natural that First Treasure and Fourth Treasure had the best relationship with Lin Jie. Even though Lin Jie was a university student, he was still as playful as ever. Whenever he came back, he would play all sorts of games with the kids. In video chats, he'd talk endlessly with them, making them incredibly happy. Whenever they returned to Meicheng, he was the one the kids missed the most, putting even their grandparents on the back burner. Every New Year, the children would call Lin Jie to ask if he was coming back. That's why for the past two years, Lin Jie made sure to return whenever Lin Feng's family did.

Back at home, Lin Feng saw that everything had been tidied up perfectly.

"Thanks, Mom. And you too, Dad!"

"What's there to thank us for? We're family!" Zhou Cuilan said with a smile.

While Zhang Yuxi went to put their things away, Lin Feng started cooking. "When will Lin Jie get here?"

"A little after eight."

"Then have him come over here. We'll all have dinner together as a family."

"Sounds good."

The kids played with their grandparents, telling them all about what they had seen and heard. In return, they were showered with all sorts of lavish praises from the two elders, like "My grandchild is the best," "My grandchild is the smartest," and "You're the cutest!"

Upstairs, the two princesses had one room, and the two boys had another. Zhang Yuxi sorted and put away their clothes and arranged all their toys nicely. As Lin Feng cooked, he listened to the joyous laughter of his parents and children, an involuntary smile spreading across his face.

At eight-thirty, Lin Jie arrived with a backpack on and dragging a small suitcase. As soon as he walked through the door, the children swarmed him.

"Did you bring us any gifts?" First Treasure asked.

"Any toys?" Second Treasure asked.

"Did you bring us any good snacks?" Fourth Treasure asked.

Third Treasure stood at the back and asked with concern, "Are you tired?"

"Not tired at all!" Lin Jie said with a grin. Then, pointing at the other three, he laughed. "And here I thought you all missed me! The first thing you ask about is food and toys!"

"No, no! We missed you the most, Uncle Jie! I missed you the most!" Second Treasure quickly declared.

"That's right!" Fourth Treasure piped up. "And if you brought yummy snacks, then I miss you even more, Uncle Jie!"

First Treasure scrambled to copy them, but not being as quick-witted, he could only manage, "Me too!"

Lin Jie hugged Third Treasure. "As for gifts... of course I have some. Come on, let's head inside."

The three little 'huskies' all worked together to push the suitcase.

Back in the living room, Lin Jie took off his coat and called out loudly, "Bro, when's dinner?"

"Another five minutes!" came Lin Feng's reply from the kitchen. "You guys can go wash your hands."

The children couldn't wait, urging Lin Jie to open the suitcase immediately.

"Hold on, hold on, you're all so impatient!"

The suitcase was filled with nothing but gifts and toys for the children.

"This one is for Fourth Treasure, this one for Second Treasure, this for Third Treasure... These are all snacks, plus some small toys. You can divide them among yourselves. Don't fight, okay? There's plenty to go around for everybody."

Thrilled with their new toys, the kids scampered to the kitchen to show them off to Lin Feng and Zhang Yuxi.

"Dad, Mom, look! It's the Bumblebee Uncle Jie bought me! Isn't it cool?"

"Mom, Dad, this is my princess tiara! Isn't it pretty?"

The meal was ready, but the four little ones were crowded in the kitchen. After the couple finally managed to deal with them, Lin Feng announced, "Alright, it's time to eat! Everyone's hungry!"

"You can play with your toys after dinner. For now, all of you go wash your hands!"

At dinnertime, the adults sat at the main table while the kids ate at their own little one.

"What do you plan to do after graduation?" Lin Feng asked Lin Jie.

Lin Jie pursed his lips. "I want to start a business."

Lin Feng was, of course, fully supportive of his younger brother. "If you're short on funds, just let me know."

Lin Jie smiled. "Thanks in advance, Bro. But it shouldn't be a big problem. I've earned quite a bit from part-time jobs over the last few years."

Back when he was still in school, Lin Jie had used his New Year's gift money to make the down payment on an apartment. Lin Dashan and his wife had covered the mortgage payments while he was in high school, but once Lin Jie got settled in at university, he started earning his own money to pay it off. In the past few years, he had finished paying off the loan and had taken possession of the property. Still young, he was planning to start a business in Jingcheng with Chen Miaomiao and Meng Liang. Consequently, he wanted to do some simple renovations on his apartment in Meicheng and then rent it out. Lin Dashan and his wife had been busy handling that for him recently. After the New Year, the apartment would be ready to rent, providing Lin Jie with another source of income.

"What are you planning to do? Open an educational institution?" Lin Feng asked.

Lin Jie shook his head. "No, we plan to set up an animation design company to do post-production editing, special effects, and things like that. The animation industry has been booming lately; it has a lot of potential."

Lin Feng said, "Oh," and then mentioned SP.

To his surprise, Lin Jie already knew about it. "Hey, you're the one who invested in that, Bro? Chen Miaomiao and I both downloaded it. We think it's great!"

Lin Feng smiled. "Personally, I think you guys should consider interning at SP for a while before starting your own business. They're all very impressive over there!"

Lin Feng had actually looked into it himself when he had some free time. Tony, Qin Xiaoan, and Ming Guang were all top-notch, with an iron grip on the technical side of things.

Lin Jie had no objections. "Sounds good. After the New Year, the four of us will go check out SP."

After all, having an inside track was much better than just charging ahead blindly.

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