Li Xiang actually woke up around the same time as Jiang Cai’Er, opening his door to set off firecrackers at about three in the morning. He lit a massive 200,000-shot firecracker roll and a case of 88-shot display shells—these were called "Beckoning Wealth and Inviting Fortune" and had a larger caliber than yesterday’s (2.0-inch straight-tube).

For private use at home, you could only set off these small-caliber types, as they came with their own cardboard tubes. The larger ones—six-inch, eight-inch, or ten-inch—were big, round individual shells that required special mortars to launch and needed to be handled by professionals.

Li Xiang, of course, also liked Jiang Cai’Er’s social media post. ’A girl who’s grinding through practice problems at four or five in the morning on the first day of the New Year is the most beautiful!’

In the countryside, with no other resources, all you could do was compete on diligence.

In fact, Jiang Cai’Er’s classmates ought to thank her. In the Gaokao a year and a half later, many of them achieved their best scores ever, and that was inseparable from Jiang Cai’Er leading the competitive grind.

They were competing against students from all over the country, not just against Jiang Cai’Er. But because of her leadership, every one of them performed better than they had in their "past lives."

After dawn, Li Xiang grabbed some red envelopes, a few packs of cigarettes, and a bag of chocolate candies. He went door-to-door throughout the village to offer New Year’s greetings, handing cigarettes to the men and chocolates to the women and children, all exchanging wishes for a happy new year. And every child who wasn’t yet an adult received an extra red envelope.

He didn’t put much inside; each one only contained 18 yuan, just for good luck.

For the village kids, this was actually a huge amount, and they were thrilled. A larger sum would have been worse; if he’d given them 50 or 100 yuan, their parents would have confiscated it immediately. But 18 yuan, hehe, the kids could spend that themselves—buy a snack at the little shop, or get some small fireworks or pop-its to play with.

When he got to Jiang Cai’Er’s house, she of course got one too. Li Xiang had prepared a special, larger one for her with 666 yuan inside. He gave it to her secretly, telling her not to mention it to her parents.

She couldn’t take her phone to school, so cash was best. She could use it to buy things she needed there. Although her father, Jiang Jianguo, also gave her an allowance, Li Xiang figured it probably wasn’t very much.

"Brother, there was something I wanted to ask you at the feast this afternoon, but since you’re here now, could you help me figure it out?" Jiang Cai’Er whispered, explaining her situation.

"Let me take a look." Li Xiang took her hand. Jiang Cai’Er was a little shy and nervous, but she didn’t pull away.

Li Xiang’s Spiritual Power slowly seeped into Jiang Cai’Er’s body. It circulated once through her meridians, giving him a complete understanding of her Cultivation status.

Jiang Cai’Er’s heart began to race. ’This feeling is so strange and wonderful,’ she thought.

The Breathing Technique she practiced actually came from the same source as Li Xiang’s. However, this Breathing Technique was very strange. The resulting Spiritual Power varied slightly depending on a person’s comprehension and constitution. Most importantly, no one knew what Superpower it would awaken. From what Li Xiang understood, it might be random, or it might follow some profound internal law that he hadn’t yet figured out.

"Don’t worry. Come to my house tomorrow or the day after, and I’ll give you something good to replenish yourself." Li Xiang knew at once what was wrong: her Cultivation had stalled because there were no Extraordinary Particles in the air. He figured that if he gave her some Spiritual Medicine to consume and she spent some time on Refinement, she should be able to break through.

"Mhm." Jiang Cai’Er nodded obediently. She knew that her brother was hiding many things from her, but since he wasn’t telling her now, it must be because it wasn’t convenient. In that case, she wouldn’t ask. She figured that when the time was right, he would surely tell her.

"This is a secret between us. Don’t tell anyone else," Li Xiang reminded her.

"I’m not that stupid!" Jiang Cai’Er’s eyes crinkled with a smile as she pouted her red lips.

For lunch on the first day of the New Year, the villagers mostly ate leftovers from the previous night’s feast, but the afternoon was a different story.

「Around one in the afternoon」

A large crowd gathered at the entrance of the ancestral hall on the east side of the village. Li Jinyu arrived with people carrying loads of ingredients, while others helped set up stoves, light fires, and start cooking. This year’s "Dīng Wine Feast" was scheduled for the afternoon of the first day of the New Year.

This was because everyone would be busy visiting relatives on the second, third, and fourth days of the New Year. By the fifth day, many of the young people who worked elsewhere would already need to start heading back.

The ancestral hall was old and dilapidated, but there was a wide, open space in front of it where the annual "Dīng Wine Feast" was held. At the same time, sacrificial rites were held inside the hall to worship the ancestors of Li Family Village.

Jiang Cai’Er and her family came as well. Although they didn’t participate in the ancestral worship, as members of the same village, they were still eligible to join the "Dīng Wine Feast".

In the past, the "Dīng Wine Feast" was a banquet for the adult males of the village, aged sixteen and older. But as times changed, the tradition evolved to include everyone—men and women, young and old—so they could all share a meal and strengthen their bonds.

To quote the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection, "all the worthy have gathered, and both old and young are assembled."

Today, they were preparing a standard "Nine Platter Feast," featuring mainly steamed dishes: steamed pork with rice flour, steamed soft-shell turtle, steamed chicken, steamed duck, steamed rabbit, and so on. For a large-scale banquet like this, steamed dishes were convenient to make in large quantities.

The character "dǒu" (斗) means "large" in the Sichuan Province dialect. For example, the phrase "dǒudǎn" (斗胆) means "bold," as in "having courage as large as a bucket."

As mentioned before, many places serve an "Eight Platter Feast" (a homophone for "get rich") or a "Ten Platter Feast" (implying perfection). Even numbers are generally considered auspicious, but in some parts of Sichuan Province, the "Eight Platter Feast" and "Ten Platter Feast" are actually taboo.

This is because when holding a large banquet, beggars would often come to ask for food. They wouldn’t just beg for free; they would also perform a talent, like singing "Lianhualuo" (Lotus Flower Clapper Tales). In ancient times, if you didn’t have a talent, how could you have the nerve to beg for food or crash someone’s feast? Clapper-talk and fish-drums were common instruments used by beggars back then, and are also a form of folk performance art.