After the family finished tidying up the items for worshipping the gods and were about to have a meal, some children came to pay New Year's greetings. They said, "I wish Grandma Zeng good health and Uncle Liu to become the richest person in the city next year." Zeng Wenxiu took some candies and stuffed a handful into each child's hand. Liu Heping gave each child a red envelope. He asked the children who told them to say those words. The children said, "My father told me. He said you are the richest person in the town. He said you are really wealthy and that if I said some nice words to you, I could get a big red envelope." After saying that, they ran out with several other children, preparing to go to the next house. Before going to the next house, everyone opened the red envelopes to see how much money the "richest person" had given. As a result, they saw a brand-new 10-yuan Renminbi note. The several children thought that the family of the richest person was truly wealthy. Even if they visited the whole village, they couldn't get one yuan in total. Liu Heping gave each child 10 yuan. The several children didn't want to go to other houses anymore. They quickly went back to inform their elder brothers and sisters to come and get the red envelopes, probably thinking that if they came late, there would be none left. Just when the family was halfway through their meal, a large group of children arrived. Liu Heping took a look and found that almost all the children in the whole village seemed to have come. There was no choice but to ask his mother to distribute candies to the children while Liu Heping himself gave out red envelopes. Xiaojiu didn't even raise his eyes. He just focused on his meal and didn't offer any help at all. By the time his mother and elder brother had dealt with the children, Xiaojiu was already full. Xiaojiu could only wait until the two of them had finished eating. Next, it was Liu Heping's turn to take his younger brother to pay New Year's greetings to several uncles' families. This was a necessary etiquette every year. In the previous two years, Xiaojiu went by himself. Since Liu Heping was back this year, both brothers had to go, while their mother stayed at home to entertain others. Because Xiaojiu's family had made a fortune this year, the treatment they received at their uncles' houses was different. The amount of money in the red envelopes changed from 20 cents to 2 yuan. The male cousins in several uncles' families were also much more enthusiastic. They didn't look at Xiaojiu like a beggar as they used to and didn't show the same degree of disdain for him. People in this world are mostly alike. When one is wealthy, even in the mountains, there will be people who care. When one is poor, even in the busy city, no one will pay attention. Xiaojiu, at a young age, already understood this, so he really didn't like going to his uncles' houses. However, there was no way. Zeng Wenxiu forced Xiaojiu to pay New Year's greetings to his uncles, saying that even if they were in the wrong, they were still his father's brothers, and he should at least show some respect on the surface. Don't let the villagers gossip and say that they didn't understand etiquette and didn't even go to their relatives' houses to pay New Year's greetings. Xiaojiu was only more enthusiastic towards the family of his third aunt because his third aunt was extremely kind. Whenever there was something good, she would give it to Xiaojiu to eat, unlike the other aunts who disliked him. Moreover, his mother said that when his father passed away, they didn't even have the money to buy a coffin. It was his third aunt who took out the money to buy a coffin for his father's burial. She often taught the two brothers to remember the kindness in the future and not to forget those who were good to them. For the other uncles' families, they only prepared a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of wine. But for the family of their third aunt, they carried a large number of packages of things. These were considered as gifts to show their respect to their third aunt, who was like a half-mother to them. Xiaojiu used to often have meals at his third aunt's house after school. In the past, Zeng Wenxiu often went out to do some small businesses and didn't have time to take care of Xiaojiu, so she left Xiaojiu at his third aunt's house. His third aunt treated Xiaojiu like her own son because there were only the two elderly people in her family. His third aunt had only one son and one daughter. Her son was teaching in another city, and her daughter had already gotten married. So there were only the two old people left at home. Seeing that Xiaojiu was pitiful without a father since he was a child, they treated this little nephew as their own son. Xiaojiu didn't have the money or the ability to show his respect in the past. Now that he had money, he definitely wanted to show his filial piety wholeheartedly. Besides bringing a large number of gifts, Xiaojiu also asked his elder brother to prepare 20,000 yuan, which was intended to be the money to show respect to the two elderly people in the name of his elder brother. The third aunt was very happy to see the two brothers come. She accepted the gifts, but she firmly refused to take the money. She said, "Ask Liu Heping to be more sensible in the future. Don't always make your mother angry. Take the money back and show your filial piety to your mother." "I've received your kind intention. Your elder male cousin takes care of me, and I don't lack money to spend." Xiaojiu saw that this wouldn't work. He took 10,000 yuan from his elder brother's hand and put it into his third aunt's hand, saying, "This money is borrowed from my elder brother, and I will pay him back later." Xiaojiu said, "This is my way of showing respect to you. And my elder brother has plenty of money and doesn't care about this little amount. If you don't accept my elder brother's money, you must accept mine. I've had the most meals at your place, and you are like a half-mother to me. You should accept my respect." The third aunt happily hugged Xiaojiu and kissed him. She never expected that at the age of six, Xiaojiu could speak so rationally. He also knew how to show his respect to her, and all her love for him over the years hadn't been in vain. The third aunt said yes and accepted his respect. In fact, she planned to return the money to Xiaojiu's mother later. After all, the child had good intentions, and she couldn't break his heart. The two brothers sat in their third aunt's house for a while and chatted with the two elderly people. Their male cousin was spending the Spring Festival at his mother-in-law's house this year and would only come back the next day. So there were only the two elderly people left at home, and it was a bit deserted. Originally, the third aunt wanted to keep the two brothers for a meal, but Liu Heping refused, saying that there were still several uncles' houses they hadn't visited and that they also needed to pay New Year's greetings to the villagers. Seeing this, the two elderly people of the third aunt's family didn't try to keep the two brothers anymore. They asked the two brothers to come over for a meal together when their male cousin came back the next day if they had time. When the two brothers returned home, the house was already full of people. They were all villagers who came to pay New Year's greetings. They greeted everyone, distributed a round of cigarettes, and asked everyone to take a seat and wait for them to come back to play cards. They said that they still needed to pay New Year's greetings to several uncles. Everyone said, "It's okay. You go and deal with it first." Liu Heping went into the room to get several gifts and then set off with his younger brother again. This time, they didn't stay long. They just went to sit for a while, greeted them, and left after putting down the gifts. The two brothers knew that these uncles and male cousins weren't worth dealing with. Not only did they not offer help when there was something wrong, but they also gossiped secretly, looked down on their family, and were not as kind as an outsider. What about Liu Heping's several friends since childhood? They fought together, spent money together when they had it, and helped each other when there was something to do. They were much more useful than these uncles and male cousins. They really didn't know what these uncles and male cousins were thinking. People always say that when it comes to fighting tigers, it's best to have brothers by your side. Uncles and male cousins are supposed to be the closest relatives. But when there is something wrong, they just stand by and watch the joke. Otherwise, Xiaojiu's family wouldn't have had such a difficult life. So the two brothers didn't think much of these uncles. They would rather not have any contact with them and even skip the New Year's greetings. Just hearing these uncles and aunts talk made them want to vomit. They even said, "Last time, you hired so many people to carry the fish tank and paid such high wages. Why didn't you ask your uncles and brothers to help?" They said, "Remember to take care of your own people in the future. Don't let outsiders earn the money." Liu Heping and Xiaojiu sneered in their hearts when they heard this. If you were reliable, a sow could climb a tree. It was just that they were jealous now that their family had made a fortune. The two brothers really couldn't stand it anymore and quickly took their leave. Otherwise, the more unsightly these people's attitudes became, the more likely the two brothers would have a falling-out on the spot. The two brothers would rather throw the money into the river than give it to these uncles and male cousins. These people were all ungrateful wretches. Their father had helped them so much back then. As a result, when he died, these people didn't contribute a single cent. They even said some harsh words, which made Zeng Wenxiu faint on the spot. It was only because their third aunt couldn't bear to see it that she took out her private savings to help with the funeral arrangements. Maybe in the end, the whole village made fun of them. The two brothers didn't want to come, but they were still forced by their mother. She said, "They can be ungrateful and unreasonable, but we shouldn't follow their example. As long as you show your feelings as nephews, no one in the village will dare to gossip." Although Zeng Wenxiu hadn't studied for many years, she was reasonable and understanding. She taught her two sons to perform the etiquette of being human in a way that no one could find fault with. Otherwise, the villagers would say that their family looked down on their relatives because they had become wealthy.
