I've been reborn, I'm definitely going to become an internet celebrity!

Chapter 129 [Winter Solstice]

The old house where my grandparents lived, which had been abandoned, was now bustling with activity.

A large round table was set up in the center of the main room, and it was filled with food: three bowls of winter solstice dumplings, some red and some white, three kinds of sacrificial animals, five kinds of fruit, rice, as well as memorial tablets, tea, and paper money.

Candles and incense sticks were placed in the incense burner, and wisps of smoke rose upwards.

But the most important thing is the ever-burning lamp that has been placed next to the local deity's altar for many years.

He said it "never disappeared," but Liu Zhuohao didn't know whether it actually disappeared or not.

Anyway, the candles and incense for each ancestral worship ceremony are all lit by this lamp, and that's enough.

"Grandparents, great-grandparents, your dutiful descendants have prepared offerings of meat, fruit, sweet dumplings, and tea to honor you. May all ancestors return to their places to receive these offerings and bless your family with peace and safety."

My uncle stood in front of the offering table, lit incense, and muttered something in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, as if he were talking to his ancestors, or as if he were talking to himself.

After he finished reading, he stepped back and stood to the side.

Next came his father, mother, cousin, aunt, and Liu Zhuohao himself, who took turns bowing in worship.

When it was his turn, he knelt down, kowtowed three times, and muttered a few words.

He only said things like "happy family" and "peaceful life," and dared not say more, for fear that his ancestors would find him annoying.

After offering incense, the family waits for the ancestors to "enjoy" the food.

—Actually, it's just waiting for those incense sticks to burn out.

Since they had nothing better to do, the eldest aunt spoke first, speaking in Mandarin, as she couldn't speak the Chaoshan dialect.

"If that brat hadn't explained things to us recently, we wouldn't have known he actually borrowed money from Xiao Hao." She glanced at her cousin, her tone slightly reproachful, "How could he, as the older brother, borrow money from his younger brother? It's outrageous!"

The mother quickly chimed in, also in Mandarin, though with a slight accent from their hometown: "The child was just worried about you."

"It wasn't easy for you to support his education. Now that he's finally working, he can't help the family. Instead, he has to send money home. He can't bring himself to do that."

"Zhuoyue is a promising kid, that's a good thing."

She paused, then added, "Besides, he's already paid it all back."

"Now he's even a lawyer, he's really made something of himself."

"What future do you have? You're just earning a fixed salary." Auntie said modestly, but her eyes glanced at Liu Zhuohao. "Unlike your Xiaohao, who has already opened a shop and become a boss."

She turned to him with a smile: "Xiao Hao, when is your shop opening? Your uncle and I will send you a bouquet of flowers."

Liu Zhuohao replied with a smile, "Once the business opens, I'll definitely find a place to set up a few tables and invite you all over for a get-together."

.

He spoke eloquently, but he was actually a little worried.

Of course, the two people in front of me aren't the ones who are worried.

My uncle and aunt, like my cousin, are respectable people.

They value reciprocation gifts highly; if you give them one pound, they'd love to give you two pounds in return.

In his past life, when he visited them in the mountain city, he brought tea and wine. Later, when the hot pot restaurant opened, the two of them brought tea and wine as well, but double the amount.

The same goes for red envelopes. At weddings, even though he wasn't married himself, he remembered that according to the local custom, the return gift for the wedding gift was doubled.

In short, we always reciprocate and never let anyone suffer a loss.

A decent person at least knows how to act with discretion.

If you refuse something, they won't keep bothering you.

But some relatives are not.

Even if I refuse, they will still come looking for me, or even try to find opportunities elsewhere.

"Ugh, I'm so worried."

The mother had changed the subject, lowering her voice considerably, "My brother and sister-in-law keep asking me for advice on how to help my nephew find a job."

My aunt asked, "So what did you say?"

"I told them Xiaohao's business is just starting out, how can we arrange work for him? We've refused several times, but they just won't budge." The mother sighed, lowering her voice even further. "That kid of theirs, incompetent, lazy and good-for-nothing!"

"Won't Xiaohao be able to manage all this on his own? It would be better if he had a few older brothers to help him out." Aunt hesitated. "Isn't this how it is in Chaoshan? When you're out working, you call on a few relatives or brothers to help out."

"They...they're useless," the mother sighed. "My nephew likes to gamble!"

"Gambling?" Aunt's expression changed instantly. "That's not a good thing, it definitely can't be done—"

The two women huddled together and started whispering to each other.

Although they are sisters-in-law, they live far apart and rarely contact each other. But now that they have met, they are closer than blood sisters, without any comparisons or barriers.

On the other side, the uncle and father sat drinking tea.

"How have you been feeling lately?" the uncle asked.

"It's nothing." The father took a sip of his tea. "Xiao Hao took us for a check-up a while ago, and all the indicators are quite stable."

"Hmm." The uncle nodded. "By the way, how many years have you been paying social security?"

"It's still early, but I recently heard it's going to be postponed. I don't know if it's true or not; they keep changing their minds."

The two brothers talked about health, social security, medical insurance, and other social issues.

Unlike the mundane family gossip over there, the topics here are all serious.

The incense was still burning. Wisps of smoke curled upwards, carrying a hint of sandalwood.

The mother and aunt were whispering in front of the offering table, while the father and uncle sat down at the tea table to drink tea. Logically, Liu Zhuohao, who was next to them, should have been chatting with his cousin as well.

However, neither of them spoke; instead, they each wore an earphone and were watching a video on their phones.

"A dream collaboration!"

"My favorite content creator has gotten together with another favorite content creator! (Just kidding!)"

"Who! Who is this! Who's here!"

"I wonder if they'll do a dance on the spot later? It'll be quite awkward with so many people around."

"So who is this guest? Is he/she famous?"

The barrage of comments floated by densely, completely obscuring the screen.

My cousin unchecked the bottom barrage option in the barrage settings, clearing some of the barrage.

Song Yinxuan appears in the frame, standing beside a night market stall. The lights shine on her, and a strand of her hair is blown by the night breeze.

My cousin chuckled and nudged Liu Zhuohao with his shoulder.

"She's quite pretty." He lowered his voice and leaned closer. "Girlfriend?"

"You're crazy. Why are you reacting the same way as Ah Wei and the others? Just because you know a girl doesn't mean she's your girlfriend, right?" Liu Zhuohao glanced at his cousin. "But what about you? How old are you?"

"After finishing your master's degree and becoming a lawyer, you must be at least 26 years old this year, right?"

"You're not getting any younger, it's time to get married. Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?"

Just like triggering a keyword, words kept popping out of his mouth.

My cousin, who had been chuckling, suddenly froze, awkwardly touched his nose, and replied, "No, no rush."

Liu Zhuohao said calmly, "You have to try. Go on a blind date when it's about time. With your qualifications, you'll definitely be fine."

My cousin was furious and punched himself in the shoulder.

"That's enough, is that something you should be saying at your age?"

He said.

Liu Zhuohao laughed but didn't reply.

He'd heard those same excuses so many times in his past life!

I can recite it backwards perfectly!

Without saying another word, they turned their attention to the video, from chicken skewers to chicken wings to hamburgers —

Each ingredient is prepared meticulously, captured in close-up shots, and the sizzling sound of oil filling the headphones—it smells delicious.

My cousin's Adam's apple bobbed.

"You've become such a good cook now," he turned to look at Liu Zhuohao, "Want to show off your skills later?"

Liu Zhuohao pursed his lips and gestured with his chin toward the offering table.

The table was laden with sacrificial animals and fruits, including chicken, duck, fish, and meat.

"So much food, are you still going to cook it?" he said. "Let's finish the offerings first, so as not to waste them."

His cousin followed his gaze, swallowed hard, and said nothing more.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the video.

Their gazes were drawn back to each other.

Rows and rows of "High Energy Ahead" messages floated across the screen, densely packed and obscuring the entire view.

Liu Zhuohao frowned and lowered the density of the bullet comments a bit.

The filming had already ended, but the camera was still on.

Liu Zhuohao's voice came through the phone: "Try to let everyone have a small taste."

As soon as he finished speaking, the previously muted audio from the scene was suddenly released.

A sudden burst of loud voices filled the entire video.

"Long live Boss Liu!"

"Give me one!"

"Does everyone have one?"

All sorts of sounds mingled together, and some people shouted until their throats were hoarse.

Several voices stood out particularly loudly, as if they had been deliberately highlighted in post-production, standing out starkly in the midst of the noise.

"Here you go, bro. You've worked hard. Here's the first one for you, be careful it's hot."

"Ah Wei, please send this out."

"Let's share as much as possible, so that everyone can have a piece. It's not about being full, but about having a sense of participation!"

The footage is from a first-person perspective. Liu Zhuohao sees his hand reaching out from behind the camera, holding a plastic cup with bamboo skewers stuck in it, steaming hot.

One staff member after another came over, took the cup, and walked out.

At first, they were just eating, but then someone started interacting with the onlookers, sharing food with each other.

More and more people gathered, but it didn't become chaotic.

Several figures in uniforms flashed across the camera's view—urban management officers and community service workers. They were eating, but also helping to maintain order.

The trend of comments on the bullet screen has changed.

"What an amazing atmosphere!"

"group photo!"

"Front row group photo!"

"Fire tongs to Liu Ming!"

A series of "group photos" scrolled by, completely overshadowing the "high energy ahead" warning.

My cousin was so engrossed in watching that he couldn't help but ask, "The atmosphere at the end was absolutely amazing. Did you come up with that on a whim, or was it planned in advance?"

Liu Zhuohao didn't answer, but just scrolled down to the comments section.

"I really want to be there! The atmosphere is amazing!"

"If you didn't know better, you'd think it was a concert."

"This is the power of a collective portrait!"

He read through them one by one, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Have you made arrangements?

Of course, arrangements were made. These kinds of live events can't be done without prior preparation, especially with a large number of people. Sudden, unpredictable thoughts can easily lead to mistakes.

So this last scene was actually something Liu Zhuohao and his team had planned long ago. They came up with the idea in front of the camera right before filming ended, and used it as a closing scene.

Otherwise, if they clearly weren't planning to set up a stall, how could they possibly have stocked up on so many steaks?

It must have been prepared well in advance, knowing that this would happen.

The video was still playing in my headphones.

The scene freezes on the last moment: a crowd gathered together, some taking photos with their phones, others laughing and distributing items, the night market lights illuminating everyone's faces.

Finally, the video ended as the crowd slowly dispersed, with Liu Zhuohao taking a group photo with Song Yinxuan, the stall owners, and the photography team.

He had already seen the final product once at the photographer's shop, and he was certain that the result wasn't as stunning as he'd hoped.

But it was different for his cousin. Liu Zhuohao looked at his self-portrait, his expression shifting from a smile when he first watched the video to a blank stare later on, his feelings somewhat complicated.

"You have a great group of friends."

He spoke softly, seemingly envious of this kind of work environment.

A proper workplace is definitely not like that.

The legal profession, in particular, is more serious and competitive.

Liu Zhuohao opened his mouth, intending to say something like, "When my company grows bigger and stronger in the future, I'll invite you to be my legal counsel," but the words circled in his mouth and he swallowed them back.

Does he have this idea?

There must be.

Perhaps she even said something similar when she met her cousin before.

But for his cousin at the time, this statement was probably just bragging. After all, back then, he was just running a small stall and didn't have much capital to prove his point.

But it's different now.

Liu Zhuohao was certain that his words carried weight and made his cousin believe him.

That gave my cousin another way out.

Having this backup plan versus not having it makes a significant difference to a person.

At least in his past life, Liu Zhuohao was certain that his cousin didn't have this backup plan.

However, he still became the legal counsel for a nationally renowned food brand.

It's like someone traveling back to the Three Kingdoms period, finding a young Zhuge Liang, taking him under their wing and nurturing him. The result might not be the Zhuge Liang of history.

Liu Zhuohao hopes to meet at the top.

"Happy winter solstice."

As his phone beeped, Liu Zhuohao received a message on QQ.

It was sent by Song Yinxuan.

"Happy Winter Solstice, the video data is good."

He replied, thought for a moment, and then sent her a screenshot of the backend data.

"I know! I've gained followers, almost five hundred in just a short while!"

Song Yinxuan's excitement was evident in her writing.

"I've already filmed the video for the beef balls, Boss Liu. What do you think, should I post it now?"

She sent me a message.

Liu Zhuohao hesitated for a moment, then typed a reply: "Sure, it's perfect timing to use our collaboration video to drive some traffic and see if we can get you more followers."

Song Yinxuan: "Shall I send you a copy first?"

Liu Zhuohao did not refuse and accepted the video she sent.

Before I could even look at it, a phone call came in. It was Chen Min calling, saying the same things as before, like "Happy Winter Solstice," and then asking if I had posted another video, since I had more orders today.

Once connected, the phone kept ringing.

Happy Winter Solstice! Sure, let's go out and have some fun sometime.

"Um—she's probably not my girlfriend, just a colleague. You'll see when you watch the video."

"Tonight? Okay, I'll see how things go tonight, maybe we can go over for dinner together—"

Zhuang Zicong and Cai Jiahao called one after another, followed by Huang Weixiong and others, then some high school classmates. Huang Haili also called to ask who the girl in the video was.

Liu Zhuohao had absolutely no connection with her in this life, so naturally she had no obligation to explain herself. Gradually, without realizing it, more and more people began to care about him.

It's just a little bit—

"What a hassle."

He couldn't help but mutter to himself.