Chapter 174: Chapter 162: New Year’s Day

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Xiao Man was startled awake by a shrill ringing. She opened her eyes and stared speechlessly at an alarm clock on her bedside table. Mr. Tang had placed it there last night before she went to sleep. He’d explained that since she liked to lock her door and her bed was too far from it, he was afraid they wouldn’t be able to wake her. The alarm was meant to get her up to set off firecrackers.

’Set off firecrackers! She was a little girl, for goodness’ sake. She had no interest in that!’

She had just silenced the alarm clock when a knock sounded at the door. Outside, a jumble of several voices could be heard—it was the boys from the Gu family.

"Zheng San Niu! Get up!" That was Gu Shaozheng.

"Zheng San Niu, Happy New Year! Get up, let’s go set off some fireworks!" That was the polite Gu Shaoqin.

"Niu Niu, your big brother is here." That was Zheng Shaojin.

"Zheng San Niu, get up and look at my new clothes!"

’Gu Shaoling was here too!’

"Tang Manman! It’s the first day of the New Year, you can’t sleep in! The alarm already went off, so get up!"

Tang Qingshan’s last sentence successfully caught the children’s attention, and they all started talking at once. "Why is she being called Tang Manman now? Who’s just making up names?"

"Uncle Tang, is she really your daughter?"

"Mr. Tang, she has a proper name! It’s Mo Xiaoman. Shaolian said we shouldn’t just tell anyone, so I haven’t even told you!"

"Hahaha! Tang Manman, what a funny name!" came Gu Shaoling’s crisp laughter.

Xiao Man: ...

She rolled out of bed and went into the en-suite bathroom to quickly wash up and braid her hair. Once she was dressed, she checked her reflection in the vanity mirror. She was wearing a pink, thick, woolen midi coat with elegant, wavy-edged buttons and pretty, lace-trimmed cuffs, paired with black leather boots. ’Yep, looks good!’

When she opened the door and walked out, everyone’s eyes lit up. But then, Xiao Man and Gu Shaoling cried out at the same time: "Oh my god! How can there be so few clothing styles in a huge city like Beijing? We’re wearing the same outfit again!"

Gu Shaoling’s version of the coat was bright red, and it looked just as good on her. Her hair was meticulously styled and tied with a red bow, making her look festive and beautiful.

This time, Tang Qingshan was dumbfounded too. He had only given Xiao Zhang some rough measurements and specified the quality and price range; he hadn’t paid close attention to the actual styles she’d bought. ’They’re just clothes for a little girl,’ he thought. ’As long as they fit well and look pretty, that’s all that matters!’

He never expected the two girls to end up with the same clothes again. Yesterday, Xiao Man had been the first to wear the outfit, but today, Gu Shaoling had run out in it first!

Gu Shaoling pouted and frowned. "Tang Manman, I let you have it once. I won’t do it a second time!"

Xiao Man shrugged. "I’ll change. But you should understand, this isn’t a matter of me ’letting you’."

"Then what is it?"

"It’s for the sake of peace and harmony. Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, and it wouldn’t be good if someone started crying!"

With that, Xiao Man retreated into her room and closed the door. She took out a purple, floral-print, cotton-padded jacket and put it on.

Tang Qingshan felt a mix of amusement and heartache. ’Do girls these days have so many rules? My little girl is just too sensible. She looked her absolute best in that outfit, yet she was still willing to take it off!’

Gu Shaoling, however, was delighted by Xiao Man’s forbearance and concession. She happily linked arms with her, laughing and joking, completely forgetting that she had nearly hated her to death just yesterday.

The group went downstairs to give New Year’s greetings to Grandpa Tang and Grandma Tang, who were waiting in the living room. Each of them received a red envelope, plus a handful of candy.

Tang Qingshan also handed out red envelopes.

Grandma Tang glanced at the outfit Gu Shaoling was wearing, then pulled Xiao Man aside. "Aunt Xiao Zhang bought you several outfits yesterday, and Grandma saw all of them," she said. "There was one just like Shaoling’s, and it was very pretty. They said it’s the newest style in the department stores this year. Only a hundred were made, and people were scrambling to buy them. Xiao Zhang had to rush to find a manager just to get one. Why aren’t you wearing it? Look how beautiful Shaoling looks!"

As Xiao Man was wondering how to answer, Tang Qingshan, who was nearby, explained Gu Shaoling’s ’rule’ about clothes. Grandma Tang was highly displeased. "That’s a bad habit she picked up from being spoiled by her Granny Gu! By that logic, if she wears an outfit, does that mean no one else who paid for the same one can wear it? Go out on the street and see who would bother to yield and hide from her! My dear granddaughter, what do we live for? You’re still young. You should put yourself first and do whatever makes you happy. Don’t overthink it! When you shouldn’t back down, you absolutely must not! Understand?"

Grandpa Tang cleared his throat, pulled Xiao Man over, and stuffed another red envelope into her hand. "Your grandma’s words... just listen to half of them! Now, listen to Grandpa! On any other day, it wouldn’t matter, but for today, you did the right thing. This is called being considerate and understanding the bigger picture—the true mark of a well-bred young lady! As a reward from Grandpa, here’s another red envelope, an extra-thick one!"

Xiao Man squeezed the red envelope and smiled. "Grandpa, it really is thicker than the last one!"

"Of course. The last one was the standard issue for everyone. This one was prepared specially for my dear granddaughter!"

"Then why did you say it was a ’reward’? You tricked me!"

Grandpa Tang: ...

Tang Qingshan chuckled. "Father, that trick of yours might work on Xuanxuan and Hao Hao, but my little girl doesn’t fall for such things!"

Grandma Tang’s eyes crinkled with laughter. ’So our granddaughter is a little money-lover after all. Wonderful!’

After collecting the red envelopes from her family, Xiao Man followed the Gu family children into the courtyard and set off a few strings of firecrackers. They also burned through all the fireworks that Gu Shaoqin had brought and that Tang Qingshan had bought. By the time they were done, the sky was gradually brightening. Then, the Gu children pulled Xiao Man along with them to go out and make New Year’s visits.

The Gu and Tang Families had been friends for generations, and their relationship was stable and harmonious. Their circles of friends and relatives were largely the same, so Grandpa Tang and Grandma Tang were comfortable letting Xiao Man go along. They simply instructed her that if anyone asked, she was to say she was Tang Qingshan’s daughter.

After a tour around the city, Xiao Man had received so many red envelopes she could barely hold them all, so Zheng Shaojin helped her carry them.

She also overheard a fair bit of gossip. She wasn’t an ordinary child who would be so absorbed in playing and collecting red envelopes that she paid no mind to anything else. She took in all the hushed conversations between the men and women:

"Qingshan’s illegitimate daughter? Good heavens, you can know a person’s face but not their heart. And I always thought he was such an upstanding gentleman!"

"No way, I think she must be Qingyun’s!"

"I think she’s Qingyun’s too. Qingshan wouldn’t do something like that!"

"Why couldn’t Qingshan have a daughter out of wedlock? Look at those guys who’ve returned to the city—how many of them have clean hands? They can marry a woman in the countryside with just a small banquet, no marriage certificate required, understand? Just because the child has a household registration, that doesn’t make them legitimate?"

A wave of sadness washed over Xiao Man. ’Sigh! I’d much rather be Mr. Tang’s illegitimate daughter,’ she thought. ’That would be so much better than being the legitimate child of Tang Qingyun and Wu Xiaowen!’

After they finished their New Year’s visits to the circle of family friends, Xiao Man went directly with them to the Gu Mansion. They had agreed yesterday that the two families would have a meal together at the Gu Mansion today. Grandpa Tang, Grandma Tang, and Mr. Tang would all be coming.

After giving New Year’s greetings to Grandpa Gu, Granny Gu, and several other elders, Xiao Man collected several more large red envelopes.

The Gu family’s third uncle grabbed a handful of White Rabbit Creamy Candies for her and said with a smile, "I got to try the Wancheng candy you gave Shaoqin, and it was delicious! This White Rabbit candy can’t compare, but it’s what we have. Please take it. And next time you visit, bring some more of that Wancheng candy, will you?"

Xiao Man nodded. Third Aunt Gu chided him playfully, "Is that any way for an uncle to talk? What kind of things are you saying!"

She handed Xiao Man a square box and said with a smile, "A New Year’s gift! It’s just a little something from your third aunt. There’s a small box inside, and that’s from Shaoqin!"

Seeing that it was a hard cardboard box, Xiao Man thanked her and accepted it.

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