Standing on the second-floor walkway, Ouyang Meihua saw her family's vast group from afar.
Since her younger brother and sister had graciously condescended to attend Yan Yan's wedding, Ouyang Meihua, with her husband, personally went downstairs to greet them.
"Old Dad, Mom, younger brother, younger sister, little brother, you're here?"
Ouyang Meihua's eyes didn't register the younger relatives who had once bullied her son.
Those relatives, who were over ten years older than Yan Yan, had ganged up to bully him when he was just a few years old and went to the Ouyang family to learn martial arts. They were shameless.
Ouyang Rende and Ouyang Renxin had long forgotten about bullying their younger cousin. Seeing that their aunt had overlooked them, the two of them called out:
"Aunt, Uncle-in-law."
"Eh! Eh!"
The honest man, Li Liguo, responded.
"Mm."
Ouyang Meihua just echoed with a soft hum and then led her family upstairs.
More villagers stood in the walkway. Today was the first time the Ouyang family had visited Li Liguo's home. Looking at their clothes and demeanor, they seemed like respectable people from the county town. One wondered if their gift would be equally respectable.
At the gift-recording desk, Ouyang's father produced a stack of neatly bundled new bills.
Hundred-yuan notes bundled by the bank.
The 'gift receiver,' Tian Jing, bent down, retrieved a money counting machine from under the desk, tore off the paper band on the money, and expertly fed the bills into the machine. With a whirring sound, she counted out 100 bills.
She casually took a rubber band from the pin box on the desk, fastened the money, and then shouted:
"Ouyang's Father, ten thousand."
Lin Silai picked up his pen to record.
Tian Jing looked behind Ouyang's father: "Next!"
Ouyang Feng looked at the money counting machine and placed a red envelope on the desk: "One thousand."
You say one thousand, and it's one thousand?
Tian Jing opened the red envelope and fed a few bills into the money counting machine. The machine stuttered after counting four bills.
Tian Jing pulled out the jammed bill. The money counter counted three more bills before jamming again.
Tian Jing pulled out this second jammed bill, and the last one was counted smoothly.
Tian Jing looked at the two jammed bills and then at Ouyang Meihua.
The villagers behind the desk were stunned. They had handled quite a bit of money themselves and always watched the cashier count it with a money counting machine.
Later, because they received so much money, the village bought several more money counting machines for the villagers to use themselves...
The jammed bills were either glued together or counterfeit.
The two bills in Captain Tian's hand were brand new.
Was this her biological brother?
No wonder Ouyang Meihua rarely visited her parents' home except on the second day of the Lunar New Year.
Ouyang Meihua's face darkened. One thousand yuan had two counterfeit bills. What was he trying to do?
Everyone in the Ouyang family looked at Ouyang Feng.
Ouyang Feng looked innocently: "What's wrong?"
Ouyang Meihua reached out to Tian Jing, and Tian Jing handed her the two counterfeit bills.
Ouyang Meihua glanced down and then said to Lin Silai: "Ouyang Feng, eight hundred."
She then returned the two counterfeit bills to Ouyang Feng: "Younger brother, take these two hundred yuan and buy your Rende some candy."
The 40-year-old Ouyang Rende "..."
Ouyang Feng didn't want to take them, but seeing his father's dark face, he had no choice but to accept.
Tian Jing waved to the Ouyang family behind: "Next!"
Ouyang Rende took a step back: "Second Aunt, you go first."
Ouyang Lanhua glanced at her eldest brother and eldest nephew, then took the red envelope her husband had just handed her: "Two thousand."
Tian Jing opened the red envelope, fed the bills into the money counting machine, and with a whirring sound, counted 20 bills. She picked up the money from the machine and smilingly asked for her second sister's name.
Then she announced loudly: "Ouyang Lanhua, two thousand."
The villagers also breathed a sigh of relief for Ouyang Meihua; at least this sister was decent.
Ouyang Meihua's expression also eased considerably. She saw her brother-in-law secretly give his sister a red envelope. Regardless, her brother-in-law was still a considerate person. It wasn't in vain that she used to beat him up whenever she had the chance.
Ouyang Feng's face soured; his sister and brother-in-law were cheating him!
Qian Jinjun ignored his brother-in-law's expression and motioned for his daughter and son behind him to take out their red envelopes.
The Qian siblings, by the thickness of their red envelopes, knew how much was inside, but they placed their envelopes down and remained silent, as the money would be counted anyway.
Each of the three red envelopes contained one thousand yuan. Tian Jing asked for their names, announced the amounts, and Lin Silai recorded them in the ledger.
Ouyang Lanhua clenched her fist. Five thousand yuan was gone for one banquet.
Qian Jinjun lightly tugged at his wife's sleeve, yielding the stage to his eldest nephew and his siblings.
When Ouyang Rende stepped back, hearing that his second aunt's family had given two thousand, he knew he couldn't use the red envelope he had prepared.
Let alone his father's one-thousand-yuan envelope having fake bills, his and his brother's two-hundred-yuan envelopes also had fake bills.
When giving gifts in the county town, didn't people politely thank guests and ask them to be seated upon receiving a red envelope?
Only this strange village not only took the money out of the red envelopes but also brought out a money counting machine.
Therefore, he could only brace himself and ask his uncle for money.
Ouyang Lei played with the bank card in his hand: "I only brought this."
"Little Uncle~"
Ouyang Rende pleaded: "We'll lose face, and Aunt and you will lose face too. Please help us."
"Fine!"
Ouyang Lei nodded: "Pledge something for collateral."
Ouyang Rende took off his watch.
Ouyang Lei shook his head.
Ouyang Rende felt all over himself, but there was nothing left to pledge.
Ouyang Lei reminded him: "ID card, driver's license."
A driver's license was useful. If they encountered a traffic police check, not having a driver's license would be disastrous. So, Ouyang Rende used his ID card as collateral and borrowed one thousand yuan from his uncle.
Ouyang Renxin saw this and quickly told his wife next to him to pledge her ID card and borrow one thousand yuan from their uncle.
Ouyang Liyun, who had been silent all along, used her son's ID card as collateral and also borrowed one thousand yuan from her uncle.
Ouyang Lei, holding the three ID cards, looked at the three children from his eldest brother's family and smiled meaningfully.
After the three siblings' one thousand yuan were recorded, Ouyang Lei walked to Tian Jing with his bank card: "Field Master, one hundred thousand."
Field Master Tian bent down and took out another machine necessary for receiving money from under the desk: "Password?"
Ouyang Lei smiled: "Six zeros."
Tian Jing glanced at the balance on the POS machine and announced loudly: "Ouyang Lei, one hundred thousand."
The villagers rejoiced for Ouyang Meihua; at least there was a true relative.
Although Ouyang Feng and Ouyang Lanhua already knew their younger brother had prepared a hundred thousand yuan as a gift, hearing the amount announced made them feel so pained they wanted to vomit blood.
All the cash in their households combined might not even amount to a hundred thousand, yet their younger brother had given it away so casually.
Their eldest sister wasn't short of money; they were the ones who needed money. Why couldn't their younger brother help them out?
"Dinner is served!"
The host, Chen Suozhu, shouted loudly, and the villagers went into their respective rooms to take their seats.
Ouyang Lei took out his phone and dialed: "Hello? President Wei, I want to apply for a loan. Huh? No need, no need, I'm applying for a small loan."
"I have three ID cards here. Can each be used to process one thousand? The limit is five hundred yuan to ten thousand yuan?"
"Okay, okay, I'll come over this afternoon. You don't have to wait for me; I'll handle it at the counter."
Ouyang Rende "..."
The richer people are, the stingier they become. It's only one thousand yuan, as if he couldn't afford to repay it.
Besides, he wasn't spending the money himself; it was being used for his aunt.
Ouyang Renxin "..."
He thought his uncle would feel a bit embarrassed using his niece's ID card. He'd wait a while, find an excuse to get the ID card back, and that would be that. Who knew his uncle not only had the nerve but also the nerve to use it to apply for a loan.
Ouyang Liyun "..."
She knew it; her eldest brother and little brother couldn't outsmart her little uncle.
Ouyang Meihua pulled her father into the room: "Don't worry about them. They're adults now; you can't control them."
Sigh!
Ouyang's father sighed inwardly. A doting mother spoils her children. When he disciplined his children, his wife protected them; when he disciplined his wife, his eldest daughter protected her...
However, he said, "Alright, alright, we won't worry about them. Let's be seated. Is it Yuan Family cuisine today?"
"Definitely."
Ouyang Meihua smiled: "Thanks to Field Master Tian, I always get the best treatment."
"Mm-hmm," Ouyang's father nodded. "It's all thanks to your little brother."
"That's right."
Ouyang Meihua's smile was radiant: "Without my little brother, I wouldn't be who I am today."
Ouyang's mother looked at her husband and eldest daughter's retreating backs, then back at her eldest son and youngest daughter's appearances, and sighed inwardly. If her eldest son and youngest daughter had learned martial arts, would things be different?