CHAPTER 467: 219. NEW YEAR IN IWATE PREFECTURE: NEW YEAR’S SURPRISE (END)

On the first day of the New Year, Jiutiao Meijie rose earlier than usual.

As she descended the stairs and entered the living room, Dubian Che was telling Little Lian about his high school life in Tokyo.

"...the football flew across the entire Goda field, the cameras couldn’t even keep up!" he said, holding an orange and making an exaggerated parabolic gesture.

"Ohh—" Little Lian’s mouth hung open, her little head following the movement of the orange in Dubian Che’s hand.

"And when it finally landed!" He stuffed the orange into Little Lian’s hands, "Everyone was shouting ’Dubian! Dubian!’, and from that moment on, your brother here was the strongest high schooler in the whole Island Country."

Little Lian stared dumbfounded at the orange cradled in her hands.

"Meijie, you’re up." Dubian Che noticed Jiutiao Meijie walking in.

"Yeah." Jiutiao Meijie took her seat on her special cushion.

Little Lian snapped back to reality, propped herself up on the table, and with her tiny body, bowed neatly to Jiutiao Meijie:

"I’ve come to pay my New Year’s respects. Happy New Year, Meijie."

"Mhm, Happy New Year," Jiutiao Meijie nodded in response.

She noticed Little Lian’s New Year’s money envelope in front of her (to be precise, it was a white envelope) and gestured towards Dubian Che with an open hand.

Dubian Che handed her the half-eaten orange in his hand, the flesh still clinging to the peel, which had fresh green leaves on it.

"I was asking you for money," Jiutiao Meijie said, not amused.

Of course, she didn’t give the orange back to Dubian Che.

"Money? New Year’s money?" Dubian Che asked.

"I want to give Little Lian New Year’s money."

"Yeah!" Little Lian would have had her antenna hair stand on end if she had any.

"How much?" Dubian Che asked as he took out his wallet.

"A million yen."

"A-a a million!" Little Lian struck a defensive pose, as if she’d been hit by a powerful shockwave—reminiscent of the expressions and movements of background characters when a Super Saiyan transforms.

"Where would I get that much cash!" Dubian Che said helplessly.

"How much do you have?"

Dubian Che counted his meager wallet: "Only fifty-three thousand yen."

"Then fifty thousand."

Ignoring Jiutiao Meijie’s grossly exaggerated sense of money, Dubian Che pulled out a one-thousand-yen note and, lacking a red envelope, handed it directly to Little Lian.

"Little Lian, this is the New Year’s money from Meijie," he said.

Startled, Little Lian stepped back, "Can I, can I really accept this? This is a thousand yen, Che!"

"Of course!"

It took several seconds and numerous glances with Dubian Che before she was certain it really was okay to accept.

When Little Lian carefully took the thousand-yen note, her eyes, full of childhood innocence, shimmered with moisture.

"I’m, I’m moved." She hugged the thousand yen to her chest, "Moved by this thousand yen."

"A thousand yen?" Jiutiao Meijie frowned, looking at Dubian Che who had taken liberties, "Not even ten thousand yen?"

"Meijie, this place is different from Tokyo," Dubian Che put away his wallet, "Here in Misezawa Village, New Year’s money is all in coins, and a thousand yen is already several years’ worth."

The highest coin denomination, five hundred yen, was enough to buy a bagful of snacks at the village store in Misezawa.

For a child, or even for an adult living in Misezawa Village, the amounts given as New Year’s money in Tokyo were unimaginable.

And as for the New Year’s money casually mentioned by Queen Jiutiao—one million yen, most people living in Tokyo’s "Chiyoda District" or "Harbor District" probably wouldn’t dare to imagine it, right?

"Meijie’s up?" Dubian Zhi entered with boiled New Year’s rice cakes, "Happy New Year!"

Jiutiao Meijie stood up and bowed gracefully to Dubian Zhi:

"Mother, Happy New Year."

Dubian Zhi was startled, then smiled happily and repeated, "Happy New Year!"

Dubian Che, sitting leisurely by the stove with hands propped up behind him, watched the scene.

"Meijie, here’s your New Year’s money." Dubian Zhi took a white red envelope from her apron pocket.

"Thank you, mother." Jiutiao Meijie bowed again and accepted it with both hands.

Placing down the rice cakes, Dubian Zhi noticed Little Lian clutching the thousand yen.

"Little Lian, what’s that?" she asked.

"It’s New Year’s money from Meijie!" Little Lian replied.

"Is that so? Did you say thank you to Meijie?"

"Yes!" Little Lian’s body jolted, "I forgot!"

Then she quickly positioned her feet together and bowed deferentially to Jiutiao Meijie:

"Meijie, I’m really grateful, I’ll always remember your kindness."

"..."

She spoke in the Iwate Prefecture dialect, even using polite language quite well, though the phrasing was not very auspicious.

There was an awkward silence until Kiyono Lin entered the living room carrying boiled rice cakes.

As the five of them ate breakfast, Dubian Che asked, "Mom, where’s Dad?"

"Still sleeping in."

After breakfast, the five sat chatting, listening to Dubian Che continue to boast about his rosy high school life.

On the TV, there was a New Year’s program that seemed to think making some noise was enough.

"Sorry, sorry, I overslept," Dubian Hengxiong said, a bit embarrassed as he walked in.

"Uncle (Father), Happy New Year," the two young ladies and the young girl said in unison.

"Happy New Year, Happy New Year."

As Dubian Hengxiong sat down to eat the rice cake, the default ringtone of a phone rang out.

Jiutiao Meijie took out her phone and answered the call.

Little Lian eyed the unfamiliar cellphone model.

After Jiutiao Meijie put down the phone, Dubian Che asked, "What’s up?"

He recognized that the voice on the other end of the phone was the robot Shizuru.

"My purchase has arrived," Jiutiao Meijie said, then stood up with an air of inviolability, "Father, could I trouble you to come outside for a moment?"

"Ah, okay," said Dubian Hengxiong, wiping his mouth, "Do you need help moving something?"

"No." Jiutiao Meijie walked towards the exit, "I bought you a car."

"..."

Dubian Zhi gasped in surprise, her hand covering her mouth.