Chapter 440 Preparing for the New Year

They come in round-topped and square double-layered styles, with the lids secured with wooden horn buckles and finally fixed with a strip of red velvet cloth. They're festive, attractive, easy to carry, and definitely presentable.

Bai Nuo had discussed all of this with Fang Meng a month ago. Fang Meng was good at these things, but he listened to his partner and did exactly what he was told without any delay.

"Baby, should we go directly to Xidan, Wangfujing, or Dongsi for these things? It depends on where you want to shop."

That's the good thing about being back in Beijing. There are several large shopping malls and department stores, so you don't have to worry about not finding what you want to buy. They even have things from the port city, it's just that the prices are a bit higher.

However, money has never been a problem for Bai Nuo and Fang Meng. The money and tickets sent by the Zhou family alone are enough, not to mention that Zhu Kaixuan gave the two children a thick stack of money and tickets after returning from the chief of staff's house last night. They couldn't refuse them.

Bai Nuo is too lazy to calculate how much money she has now, since the little system records every single transaction, and her small ledger is full of entries.

After finishing her meal, Bai Nuo picked up the shopping list and looked at it carefully again. She pointed to things on the list as she spoke to Fang Meng.

"From here to here, I don't think we need to make a special trip to buy these things. I already have most of these things, so there's no need to spend the money. Let's save where we can. In a few years, we'll have plenty of places to spend money."

I always feel like I'm some kind of traitor, since we already have plenty of these things at home. But we still have to buy cigarettes, alcohol, and tea. I don't have any cigarettes or tea at this time of year, and we have to keep the alcohol for ourselves.

By the way, my maternal grandparents and maternal grandparents have a few very close old friends in Beijing. We can't buy their wine from outside sources; it would seem perfunctory and very impolite. Let's go back to the old house and pick out a few bottles of good vintage wine from the cellar to send over.”

Fang Meng's eyes were blank, and he nodded subconsciously: "Okay, I'll listen to you. See if you need to use good tea. There are a lot of old teas that our grandfather and uncle used to collect at the Zhou family's old house. I've seen them give one or two of them out as gifts during the New Year in the past."

“That’s what I think too. I remember Grandpa Zhou had a special cabinet for storing old tea. The top shelf was for giving as gifts, but the others weren’t allowed. If the old man came back, he would cry.”

The two old men in the family, one is fond of collecting various famous wines, and the other is fond of collecting various old teas. I don't watch them drink them, they just like them. There's nothing I can do about it. The two old ladies in the family also like to spoil them, and no one can say anything about it.

"By the way, I had Ah Tong gather up all the tickets that are about to expire at home. Let's use these first so they don't go to waste."

Before returning to Beijing, Bai Nuo and Fang Meng entrusted their cousin to sell all the receipts from Liaoning Province, keeping only some that were not limited by region and had a long shelf life.

Later, Zhu Kaixuan gave Bai Nuo a large box of receipts, and Fang Meng also brought back a bunch. Both of them had their own allowances and salaries, and the receipts they received each month were enough, so they hadn't had a chance to use the ones their elders had given them.

Bai Nuo had bought quite a few things recently, so she hurriedly asked the little system to find the receipts that were about to expire at home.

She's much less attached to food now, and she's hardly possessive of it anymore, unlike when her brain was just fully recovered.

However, ever since Bai Nuo gained a concept of money and receipts, coupled with the fact that Aunt Cui'e would often lecture him, he has become very cautious about spending money. He is not stingy with his own people, but he will never spend a penny more than necessary, and he firmly believes that waste is shameful!

Fang Meng had no objection, nor dared to have one, and nodded repeatedly. However, he suddenly thought of something and looked at Bai Nuo in surprise.

"What? Little Nose Ga has finally woken up?"

Bai Nuo pursed his lips speechlessly, and was about to speak when a small figure appeared out of thin air with flapping wings, let out a howl, and pounced on Fang Meng's head.

"Aaaaaah, you little brat, you big stinker, I'll fight you to the death today!" The little system, which used to tremble with fear at the mere sight of Fang Meng approaching, now dares to pounce on the man's head and go crazy.

Fang Meng stood up calmly, stared at the head full of small noses, picked up the bowl and chopsticks on the table, turned around and walked towards the kitchen, making a swearing sound as he walked. That sharp tongue of his was perfect for being a mute groom!

“You’re already a little nose, aren’t you? Tell me, aren’t you little?”

"Look at your little paws, you can't even grab a handful of my hair."

"What are you going to do in the future? Your sister and I have been trying to find you a wife, but we can't. The only thing that can compare to a small doll is the one you buy at the Friendship Store. How about you say a few nice words to me and we'll buy you one since it's almost Chinese New Year?"

"Hey, listen to me. You don't understand how good it is for us to have wives. Life is wonderful when you have a wife."

"Forget it, you're hopeless in this life. You'll have to rely on me and your sister to support you."

"I'm talking to you, you're single, poor thing, your bed is so cold, and you're crying your eyes out."

Bai Nuo watched helplessly as the two were engaged in a one-sided verbal battle in the kitchen. He shook his head, went upstairs to tidy up, and then took a few empty baskets from the small cubicle and put them in the car.

The two of them went out today to run some personal errands. They parked Fang Meng's military jeep in the parking space in front of their house and drove Bai Nuo's sedan out the door.

"Oh, right, Bao'er. There's a market in Wangfujing in a couple of days, want to go check it out?" Fang Meng said, glancing quickly at the girl in the passenger seat as he drove.

The little girl got into the car and was immediately snuggled into the arms of that little snout, whimpering. It hadn't paid any attention to her for several minutes.

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