On the morning of the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, when Lu Changfu got up, he found Chen Lili already busy in the kitchen.
She was wearing simple home clothes, her hair tied neatly into a ponytail, and she was stir-frying something at the stove.
Hearing footsteps, she turned around. Her face no longer had the lifeless numbness from yesterday. Instead, she wore a faint, almost professional smile.
“Good morning. Breakfast will be ready soon.” Her voice was calm, and she no longer avoided his gaze. “I made porridge today, two stir-fried dishes, your favorite pickled radish, and some beef…”
Lu Changfu raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by her change.
It seemed yesterday’s “lesson” had indeed worked.
He nodded. “Mm. Thanks for your hard work.”
In the dining room, Peng Jiali and Lu Jianguo were already seated.
Song Liyuan also came downstairs, yawning. When she saw Chen Lili busy in the kitchen, she curled her lips but said nothing.
“Mom, Dad, I’m planning to visit Grandpa and Grandma today, as well as Uncle and Auntie,” Lu Changfu said while drinking his porridge. “New Year is almost here. It’s time to pay them a visit.”
Peng Jiali’s eyes lit up.
“That’s good! Your grandfather will definitely be happy!”
She paused and lowered her voice.
“But… your grandmother…”
“I know.” Lu Changfu interrupted her. “I’ll only prepare something for Grandpa. As for Grandma… forget it.”
Peng Jiali sighed and said nothing more.
It was well known that Lu Changfu’s grandmother favored her younger son’s family. Ever since he was young, she had disliked Lu Jianguo, her eldest son, and as a result, she had also been cold toward Lu Changfu, her eldest grandson.
When Lu Changfu was little and visited his grandparents’ house, his grandmother never gave him snacks or pocket money the way she did for his younger cousin, Lu Jinyong.
He remembered all of it clearly.
“Changfu,” Lu Jianguo said, putting down his chopsticks, “your uncle’s family… isn’t doing very well right now. That boy Jinyong is hopeless. He got married, had two children, and now the whole family depends on his parents. Your uncle works himself to the bone at construction sites, and almost everything he earns in a year goes toward supporting them.”
Lu Changfu nodded.
“I know. I prepared some things for Uncle too.”
After breakfast, Lu Changfu took the gifts he had prepared in advance from the trunk of the car—two cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes, a box of fruit, a box of milk, and two bottles of decent liquor.
These were for his grandfather and uncle.
As for his grandmother, he had only prepared some ordinary pastries, just enough to go through the motions.
“I’ll go with you.”
Song Liyuan came over and linked her arm through his.
“No need. Stay home and keep Mom company.”
Lu Changfu shook his head.
“Chen Lili will come with me and help carry the things.”
Chen Lili froze for a moment, but quickly understood. She silently went to change her clothes.
…
The two families lived quite close to each other, only about a five-minute walk apart.
Lu Changfu brought Chen Lili to his uncle’s house.
It was a three-story building, considerably less impressive than Lu Changfu’s villa.
His grandparents lived on the first floor, while his uncle’s family occupied the second and third floors.
Hearing the voices, his uncle, Lu Jianye, was the first to come out. He wore a simple, honest smile.
“Changfu’s here! Come in, come in!”
“Uncle.”
Lu Changfu smiled as he greeted him and handed over the gifts he had brought.
“New Year is almost here, so I came to see you and Grandpa.”
Seeing the expensive cigarettes and liquor, Lu Jianye repeatedly waved his hands.
“This… this is too expensive! You don’t earn money easily. Keep these for yourself!”
“It’s fine, Uncle. I’m doing pretty well now.”
Lu Changfu insisted on putting the gifts into his hands.
“These are for you and Grandpa.”
After entering the house, they saw Grandpa Lu Futeng sitting in the living room watching television.
When he saw his grandson, he happily stood up.
“Changfu is here!”
“Grandpa!”
Lu Changfu quickly walked over and helped the old man sit down. Then he took out a red envelope he had prepared in advance.
“I brought you some pocket money. You can use it to play cards during the New Year.”
Lu Futeng took the red envelope and felt its thickness. He was surprised.
“That’s so much?”
He opened it and saw one thousand yuan.
“No, no, that’s too much! Keep it for yourself!”
“Grandpa, please take it.”
Lu Changfu held down the old man’s hand when he tried to return it.
“I make quite a bit of money writing novels now. This isn’t much… You’ve worked hard your whole life. It’s time for you to enjoy yourself.”
Lu Futeng’s eyes became slightly moist. He patted his grandson’s hand.
“Good boy. Good boy…”
Beside them, Grandma Li Guihua’s expression darkened.
Her eyes stared directly at the red envelope before shifting to the expensive gifts on the floor. When she realized that none of them had been specifically prepared for her, the corners of her mouth drooped even further.
“Grandma.”
Lu Changfu politely called out to her. He took the box of ordinary pastries from Chen Lili and handed it to her.
“These are for you.”
Li Guihua accepted them without even putting on a smile.
“That’s it? Your grandpa gets one thousand yuan, while I get one lousy box of pastries?”
The atmosphere in the living room instantly froze.
Lu Futeng angrily slapped the table.
“What are you talking about? Changfu came all this way to see us and brought so many things, and you’re still complaining about this and that!”
“I’m complaining?”
Li Guihua shrieked.
“Since when have you ever been fair? All these years, when have you ever treated me fairly? And you have the nerve to lecture me…”
Seeing that they were about to start arguing, Lu Jianye quickly tried to mediate.
“Mom, please say a little less… Changfu came here with good intentions. Whatever he brings is a sign of his affection…”
As they were arguing, footsteps came from the stairs.
It was Lu Jinyong and his wife coming downstairs.
Lu Jinyong was two years younger than Lu Changfu, but he was already married with children. He was a typical freeloader who did nothing all day and depended on his father, who worked for a living, to support him.
His wife, Wang Li, was just as lazy. They left their two children for their grandmother to take care of while she spent her days playing video games or cards.
“Oh, Brother Changfu is here!”
Lu Jinyong walked over with a grin, but his eyes were fixed on the expensive cigarettes and liquor.
“You brought so many good things!”
Lu Changfu nodded indifferently.
“Mm. They’re for Grandpa and Uncle.”
He deliberately emphasized who they belonged to, preventing his cousin from taking them for himself.
Lu Jinyong curled his lips, clearly unhappy, but said nothing.
His wife, Wang Li, however, immediately walked over and began rummaging through the gifts.
“Why isn’t there any baby formula for the kids…?” she muttered.
Chen Lili stood to one side, watching all the different personalities of this family unfold before her. She felt a complicated mix of emotions.
She hadn’t expected someone like Lu Changfu, whom she had regarded as a “nouveau riche,” to be so… ordinary when it came to his family.
Especially the way he treated his grandfather with filial devotion. It seemed genuine rather than something he was pretending to do for some ulterior motive.
Just then, a system notification suddenly rang inside Lu Changfu’s mind.
[Ding! The host’s act of filial devotion toward a direct elder relative—his grandfather—has been detected. The “Filial Piety Reward” mechanism has been triggered!]
[Cash Gift: 1,000 yuan. Eightfold return: 8,000 yuan has been deposited into the host’s account!]
[Physical Gifts: 2 cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes. Eightfold return: 16 cartons have been stored in the system space!]
[Fruit, beverages, and other gifts have also been returned eightfold and stored in the system space!]
[Note: The filial piety return multiplier is positively correlated with the host’s relationship with the elder, the host’s sincerity, and the elder’s level of emotional gratitude. The maximum return can reach tenfold!]
Lu Changfu’s pupils contracted.
His heart filled with wild joy.
He had never expected that giving his grandfather money and gifts could trigger such a “profit-making” mechanism!
This was much faster than receiving the monthly one hundred thousand yuan allowance!