A Maid's Survival Story in a Noble Family Mansion? Rich Landlords Are More Appealing.

Grandma Chen was the first to stand up. She took out several small packets that she had prepared in advance and carefully sealed with red paper from her bosom. She walked to her grandchildren and distributed them one by one.

"This is money to ward off evil spirits. Take it all and remember to put it under your pillow when you go to sleep tonight."

The children received the red envelopes, still warm from Grandma Chen's body, their faces flushed with excitement, and their clear voices rang out, "Thank you, Grandma!"

Then, Grandma Chen walked up to Chen Wanxing and put the last one into her hand. "Wanxing, this is yours, take it, it's for good luck."

Chen Wanxing was taken aback and quickly refused, "Grandma, I'm so old, how can I accept New Year's money? It's me who should be showing respect to you."

A few days ago, Chen Wanxing also gave Grandma Chen a tael of silver, thinking it was a way of showing filial piety to the old lady, but Grandma Chen refused to accept it.

"Silly girl, you're still a child since you're not married. Besides, this is your first New Year since you came home, so you should take this money to ward off evil spirits. It will keep the evil spirits away and bring you peace and good fortune for the rest of the year. Take it and don't be polite with your grandma."

In fact, when the family divided the property last time, Grandma Chen had already clearly divided up all the cash and personal money she had, and now she had almost no spare money left.

The old man hadn't even thought about giving the younger generation money to ward off evil spirits during the Lunar New Year, but Chen's mother, being observant, reminded Chen's father privately:

"Go and get some money for Mother. Last time we divided the family property, Mother gave all her private savings to Wanxing. She probably doesn't have any money left. Mother is an elder, and if she really needs money, she might be embarrassed to ask. I think Mother should have some money so she can keep it for herself."

Upon hearing this, Chen's father realized that he, as the eldest son, had not thought things through. He found a quiet moment and secretly called over his second and third uncles to tell them about the matter.

Uncle Chen the Second and Uncle Chen the Third had no objections after hearing this. Grandma Chen had divided the family property fairly, without favoring either branch of the family, and they both thought it was good.

"What elder brother says is right, that's how it should be. Mother has worked hard all her life, she should keep some money for spending money."

So the three brothers each went back to their rooms and took two hundred coins, making a total of six hundred coins. They then respectfully handed it over to Grandma Chen when she was alone in the room.

Grandma Chen initially refused, waving her hands repeatedly at her three sons in the house, saying, "What do I, an old woman, need to spend? I've given it all to you. You can all live your lives well."

But in the end, she couldn't resist her three sons' insistence, so she sighed and accepted the bag, stroking it with her eyes slightly reddening, and whispered, "You've all been so kind."

As soon as the money for warding off evil spirits was distributed, Dongmei and Qingsui, along with the remaining three children, cheered and pushed their way out of the main room like foals finally freed from their reins. They blended into the gradually thickening night outside and the sporadic sounds of firecrackers. In an instant, only Chen Youcong, nestled in his mother's arms and still sleepy-eyed, remained. Without the children's laughter and noise, the main room suddenly felt much emptier.

After finishing dinner, Chen's father busied himself in the main room. He finally finished preparing the yellow paper and, by the flickering candlelight, went to the entrance of the main room, the kitchen, and the front door to burn the prepared yellow paper. Only then was the New Year's Eve ritual completely completed.

The wisps of smoke, carrying the distinctive smell of paper ash, were quickly dispersed by the night breeze.

At this moment, Uncle Chen, from behind some pile of firewood, huffed and puffed as he carried in an extremely thick old tree stump with cracked bark, which looked very durable for burning.

"We'll be staying up all night for a while, and the courtyard will be quiet. Let's light a big bonfire; it'll keep us warm and lively."

As he spoke, he deftly chopped the wooden stake into several large pieces with an axe and carefully set them up on the cleared snow in the center of the yard.

Uncle Chen brought over a tinderbox and placed it under the stack of firewood. The blazing flames rose up, dispelling the surrounding chill and illuminating the center of the courtyard.

"This is good! It brings good fortune!" Everyone moved stools and folding stools, and Grandma Chen was also helped to gather around the fire. Hui Niang brought over a pot of boiling hot tea and poured a bowl for everyone. Holding the hot tea in their hands, their bodies were warmed by the fire, and even their breaths carried a sense of satisfaction.

Chen Wanxing suddenly remembered something and stood up, saying, "Everyone, please sit down first. I'll go get something." She turned and went into the main room, and soon came out carrying several oil paper packages of various sizes.

These were the things she bought when she took her younger siblings to the county town last time. Her original intention was to bring them back for her family to eat, but these things were too precious for farming families. Who would be willing to buy them to eat normally?

So apart from the fact that Chen Wanxing opened a package and shared it with everyone when it was first brought back, the rest were left untouched on the cabinet in the main room.

Chen Wanxing laid out the oil paper on the stone slab, carefully arranged the pastries, and said, "These pastries I bought last time, I haven't seen you eat them since I brought them back. They must have gone bad if they've been left out for too long. We'll have a long New Year's Eve vigil, so let's have them as snacks. Everyone, have a taste."

As she spoke, she picked up a piece of rice cake, broke it in half, fed one half directly to Grandma Chen, and handed the other half to Chen's mother, saying with a smile, "Grandma, try this, it's not very sweet, and it's very soft. We bought it for our own family to eat, otherwise it would be a waste. Mom, you should eat some too."

Grandma Chen and Chen's mother looked at the rice cake that Chen Wanxing handed them, and finally took it. They took a bite, chewed it carefully, and nodded: "Hmm, it's soft, and the rice flavor is just right."

Seeing that everyone was still a bit reserved, Chen Wanxing couldn't help but smile. He pushed the oil paper package further into the center of the fire, and the sweet aroma of the pastries wafted out.

Her gaze swept over everyone, a relaxed smile playing on her lips, her tone tinged with a touch of playful intimacy: "Dad, Second Uncle, Third Uncle, Second Aunt, Third Aunt, the pastries are meant to be eaten. Wouldn't it be a waste if they went bad? Besides..."

She paused deliberately, blinked, and said, "Do you expect me, as your junior, to hand them to you one by one, feeding you like I'm feeding my grandmother, or 'serving' you like I would someone in a noble household? That would be too formal. Help yourselves, and you'll have plenty to eat. Hurry up, whoever wants some can take some."

Her half-joking, half-serious words made everyone chuckle. Grandma Chen was the first to laugh out loud, pointing at Chen Wanxing and saying to her son and daughter-in-law, "Listen to this, listen to this girl, she's really quick-witted. She just fed Grandma a piece of pastry, and she's already making a fuss about it and teasing us."

"Alright, alright, take it yourself, take it all yourself. If you don't help, you'll look like an old-fashioned person waiting for your granddaughter to serve you." As she spoke, she reached out and took the jujube paste pastry that was closest to her.

With the old lady taking the lead, the atmosphere immediately became lively, and the time spent staying up late on New Year's Eve flowed slowly by the bonfire, accompanied by the aroma of pastries.

As the night deepened, the coarse wood in the fire was still burning brightly, but drowsiness began to creep in. Once midnight passed, New Year's Eve was over, and the vigil was over. Chen Wanxing yawned and went back to his room.

She was so sleepy that her eyelids started to droop when she washed up.

As soon as she finished tidying up, she couldn't wait to crawl into bed. She carefully tucked the three red envelopes she had received that day from Grandma Chen, her father, and her mother under her pillow, and soon drifted off to sleep.