Riding the wind of rebirth

There are even funnier, more straightforward modern examples than the transmission of the Capricorn legend.

The day before Christmas in the West is called Christmas Eve. In recent years, it has become very popular to celebrate "Western holidays," so Christmas has also become popular in China.

Then, based on the pronunciation of the character "平" (ping) in the Chinese translation of Christmas Eve, the Chinese created a "Chinese subculture" of eating or giving apples on Christmas Eve.

It's not surprising that people follow local customs when they're in a new place. What's surprising is that, with China's growing influence, this custom has somehow been passed back to the West decades later. This has led foreigners, who didn't originally have the custom of eating apples on Christmas Eve, to start eating apples on the eve of Christmas, believing that they have auspicious meanings. This is both magical and funny.

Therefore, Zhouzhi also redesigned two brand new, easy-to-read and easy-to-remember names for minicos and Clover COS, namely "Meeco" and "Seeco". These two names, which are obviously another "British transliteration" of the names saved after users' wonderful naming, will undoubtedly return to the West, just like the custom of eating apples on Christmas Eve.

What's funny is that Anxin's cousin also understands the current Chinese people's pursuit of "foreign goods" and has added a "Meeco" series to the biometric lock anti-theft door developed by Jinan Group, which gives people a "high-end" feeling just from the name.

However, both the doors and the attendance system are currently quite expensive. Jinan Meeco security doors have added biometric sampling modules, electronic control modules, and core computing modules, which increases the cost of a single door by seven or eight thousand yuan, and the selling price increases by ten or twenty thousand yuan. If it is a high-end version like a bank vault, which requires even higher reliability, the price will be forty or fifty thousand yuan higher.

However, nowadays, customers with such needs don't mind spending an extra ten or twenty thousand dollars, and financial institutions are even more willing to invest in new vault insurance methods costing forty or fifty thousand dollars, so the market is selling very well, especially in overseas markets.

After finishing his conversation with his cousin Anxin, Zhou Zhi realized that Li Laosan's driver hadn't headed towards Chengdu. Looking out the window at the street scene, he exclaimed, "Huh? Why are we in Jingyang now?"

"Aren't you just talking nonsense?" Li Laosan said, "Shouldn't you pay your respects to your father-in-law and mother-in-law before returning to Sichuan?"

"Tiedan is going back too," Xu Anxin said. "Grandpa and Grandma miss him terribly."

"Is Tie Dan being looked after by your parents, Anxin cousin?" Mai Xiaomiao was delighted; she could play with the adorable Tie Dan again.

"You should call them Third Aunt and Uncle." Zhou Zhi taught Mai Xiaomiao how to address them: "You should have said so earlier! I came here without bringing anything, how could I possibly accept that!"

“Speaking of which, the handmade fishing rod you gave my dad last time was absolutely adored by him,” Xu Anxin said with a smile. “Later, when my brother went to Japan for an industrial exchange conference, he saw a similar rod there and was shocked by the price. Guess how much it cost?”

"Wagan is a famous handicraft of the island nation and an intangible cultural heritage. If it is a master-level craft, it would be worth more than 100,000 RMB."

"Exactly! A fishing rod can be exchanged for a car or a house! That's terrifying! Hey? You know the price of handmade fishing rods in Japan?"

"Of course I know, but fishing rods from Jiachuan aren't as expensive as those from Hegan. I just don't know if the master craftsman is still around. This skill, like the Jiachuan firework, might be almost lost." Zhou Zhi sighed, "But it shouldn't scare Cousin Anran, right? What kind of rod can't he afford now?"

“I can afford to buy it, but if I dare to buy it for the old man, I’ll be asking for a scolding.” Xu Anxin laughed. “But there’s one good thing about bringing this news back: the old man used to like to use the rod you gave him when he went fishing, but ever since he learned about the price of handmade rods from Japan, he’s put it away. He only takes it out to maintain and admire it when he has nothing to do, and he can’t bear to take it to the park to show off anymore.”

"What does the old man use to fish now?"

“Naturally, it’s the carbon fiber fishing rod that my son-in-law gave him before, which he doesn’t really care for!” Xu Anxin chuckled. “In Le Shui’s words, the old man downgraded his own consumption!” As they spoke, the car arrived at the entrance of the family compound of the Labor Bureau of Jingyang City. The security guard saw Xu Anxin in the back seat and immediately let them through. The Xu siblings’ influence in Jingyang now far surpasses that of the old man who retired from the position of director of the Municipal Labor Bureau.

The Labor Bureau's dormitory, which exceeded the permitted area, had been criticized in a previous notice. However, with the rise of the Jinan Group, such criticisms have diminished considerably. In fact, another saying has become popular: "What kind of house can't the Xu family afford?" The old man did this purely to provide more benefits for the bureau's cadres, not for his own personal gain.

Zhou Zhi scoffed inwardly at this statement. The old man had been honest and upright all his life, and his last act before retirement seemed to be for the benefit of his children and grandchildren. His biggest thought at the time was probably to let his cousin Anxin live with him in the future, so that when she got married, her son-in-law would move in, and when he had grandchildren, they would all be well-off.

After all, Anxin's future was uncertain at the time, and it was likely to be bleak. What future could a young female worker in the lathe team who couldn't lift a finger, had poor skills, and was careless have?

However, all sorts of follow-up issues were considered, the only one that wasn't taken into account was that even though they had a big house, their cousin Anxin ran away.

Anxin's cousin got out of the car and opened the door first, then directed Li Laosan to drive the car into the parking space. Someone inside heard the noise and came out: "Oh! My niece and nephew-in-law are back!"

"Second cousin, where are my parents? And Tiedan?" Cousin Anxin asked.

"Who is this?" Zhou Zhi didn't quite recognize the cousin from the Xu family's side.

“This is my second cousin. You went to her house with me when you were little. It’s the house under the big banyan tree by the Hongshui River.”

"Oh my, this is a pork knuckle! It's gotten so big!" My second cousin laughed. "You don't remember me, but do you remember my family's big stone water vat?"

Zhou Zhi repeatedly cupped his hands in greeting: "Greetings, Second Cousin. It's been so many years, I didn't recognize you at first glance. Let's leave the matter of what happened back then behind..."

"Don't keep quiet about it!" Mai Xiaomiao became interested: "Second Aunt, what did Zhouzi do to your family's big stone water tank back then?"

"Actually, it's nothing." My second cousin laughed as she recalled what happened back then: "Anxin brought him to our house to play. It was hot, and there was a big water vat made of stone behind our house. He crawled into it to soak. When I bought a watermelon and was about to put it in the cool water, suddenly there was a naked baby in the vat. That scared me half to death."

"Hahahaha..." Mai Xiaomiao had seen those big water vats in the countryside before, and imagining the scene back then, she couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Zhou Zhi was very embarrassed: "Back then, there was no running water in the river in town. I didn't know how hard it was for the adults to carry water. I was so naughty that the water in the vat got dirty. I'm really ashamed."

"Later, Anxin beat him up." Second Aunt laughed, "Actually, I think it's Anxin's fault for not taking good care of her younger brother. She got beaten up for nothing."

"Second cousin, you're so sexist!" Xu Anxin protested. "He made a mistake and then blamed me?! He deserves to be beaten!" (End of Chapter)