Chapter 1139 - 1136: Does It Make Sense for the Three of Them to Team Up?

"Ah Qing!"

"Old Chen is here to recruit villagers and parade them around...," Ansheng glanced at Old Chen, smirked, and walked from the slope in front of the door into the yard, calling out towards the house.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Ah Qing, who was sneaking some lychee meat, suddenly widened her eyes in surprise and muttered to herself while looking outside:

"I'm just sneaking a bite in the kitchen, is it really necessary to parade me around for such a minor thing?"

Ah Qing, with a murmuring expression, grabbed two meatballs made from pork and water chestnuts, shaped like lychees, and quickly walked from the living room to the yard.

"Village Chief..."

Ah Qing called to Old Chen while tossing a piece of lychee meat to the little fox, keeping one for herself.

"Awoo—"

Seeing the food coming its way, Ansheng opened his mouth, quickly gobbling it up and started chewing.

"I just heard from the little fox, you said..." Ah Qing invited Old Chen inside as she looked at him with a peculiar expression, ready to inquire about the parading event.

"Don't listen to Master Fuli's nonsense..." Old Chen rolled his eyes and, after sitting inside, truthfully explained the event the village was organizing.

Upon hearing that he had his own part in it, Yu Zhenghong excitedly agreed to join the parade team.

Ah Qing, giving it some thought, also agreed. The parade was held annually, and with Old Chen's explanation, Ah Qing immediately understood the purpose and what needed to be done.

The flag-bearing team... being part of it was basically the village's highest recognition for a young person.

In previous years, Ah Qing had always followed the team, carrying a flower basket to distribute QQ candies.

In a literal sense, she carried a flower basket to hand out Wangzai QQ candies to surrounding tourists and villagers.

Candy symbolizes sweetness and blessing, so distributing it was akin to spreading good wishes, which was part of the events.

"Oh, right, since it's a grand clash between over a dozen villages, what about this year's donations..."

After discussing the main topics, Yu Zhenghong suddenly rubbed his hands with a sly look and asked Old Chen.

"This year? This year no one needs to donate. The leftover funds from Chen Nian's repair of the ancestral hall and Fox Immortal Temple combined with the fifty thousand donated by the Young Master and other various small donations total up to about two million..."

"There are enough fireworks to last from the first to the tenth of the lunar new year." Old Chen said to Yu Zhenghong.

"Damn!" Yu Zhenghong exclaimed upon hearing this, grumbling with resentment, "Every day, can't they give poor folks like us a chance, this display of wealth..."

Donations made during the New Year are listed in red and posted on the ancestral hall.

After receiving donations, Old Chen would post a breakdown, showing expenses like the parade costs, fireworks and cleaning during New Year, all covered by these funds.

If there was any surplus, it would be saved in the communal account for the next collective village activity or public facility repairs.

Every household contributed a hundred or two; the village managed the entertainment during New Year, maintaining a lively atmosphere, and most villagers were happy to donate. After all, it was just a small amount, and having one's name posted in the ancestral hall was a great honor, offering high value for the cost.

But such a high-value opportunity to show off could not be easily taken by someone else.

Typically, village tycoons would be early at the village committee, claiming the spots for themselves.

"It's not about the money; I'm showing relatives and friends back home the fireworks I funded with the money I earned." They'd cheer during New Year's together.

"Don't make a big deal out of having my name in the hall, I brought a bucket of gold paint, just use it as you please."

"Still chatting? Village Chief, have a bowl of soup..." Chen Peipei came out of the kitchen carrying a stack of bowls and chopsticks, inviting everyone in the living room to sit down and prepare for dinner.

"No, no, I'm..." Old Chen quickly downed his tea and was about to say goodbye and head home.

But before he could finish, Ansheng hit his knee with a stick, pushing him towards the dining table with a light-hearted murmur, "You see, always in a hurry..."

"Hiss..." Old Chen gasped, eyes widened at Master Fuli.

"Pfft..." Ah Qing suppressed her laughter, heading to the kitchen to bring out the dishes one by one.

...

As the reunion night approached.

Ansheng's daily patrolling range, which was once as far-reaching as Master Fuli flying across the globe, quickly shrank to a single city district.

In the mornings, he went with Ah Qing to the Security Bureau for classes, had lunch and returned home for an afternoon nap, then visited Lin Ying's family in the afternoon, played with the first Nine-tailed Fox Lady under his command, and took Ah Qing or Lin Ying out for a walk in the evening, visiting friends and relatives.

The meals at the Homeless House were top-notch, with roast lamb ingredients directly sourced from their place of origin by Tang You.

In addition, Momo made efforts, bringing over black-brown geese along with roast goose chefs and lychee wood from the neighboring province.

Even Lingren intended to make an effort, flamboyantly saying, "Master Fuli, come eat mangmang."

Though Ansheng didn't know what "mangmang" meant, he quickly replied, "Not eating, too spicy," almost giving Lingren an internal injury from holding back a laugh, stomping her feet in frustration...

After the Little New Year, they paid respects to the Kitchen God.

Time moved to the 27th, on the eve of the reunion night.

"Eek... Ah Qing, I'll V you 50, take those little cousins out to set off fireworks, alright..."

Ansheng lounged on the sofa in a thunderous pose, a fox paw patting his belly, looking exasperatedly at the little cousins chasing a black cockroach around the house with a slipper.

Despite being in primary school and having gained some intelligence, they were at the age when they were a nuisance.

They exclaimed, "Wow! Little Fuli, mi-mi~."

Ansheng nearly lost his composure.

"Haha... they really like you, don't they?" Sitting on the sofa making tea, Ah Qing smiled at the little fox, saying, "Since you want to go out, shall we go shopping later?"

"Just in time, Sister Lingling starts her vacation today, and she said she'll treat us to dinner and we'll go to a bar tonight."

"Go to a bar?"

Ansheng, slightly surprised, glanced at Ah Qing, murmuring, "Can you handle alcohol? Better not get drunk and start grooming me; beware, or I might scratch you!"

"Who's drinking? We're going to watch a show, the Third Crown Prince, Immortal Master Erlang, and the Great Saint are DJing together."

Ah Qing leaned onto the little fox's lap, showing the WeChat chat interface where a bar poster image was sent by Qiu Lingling two minutes earlier.

A young man cosplaying as Nezha was pictured with a headset pressed to one side, his hand poised over a DJ console. Beside him was someone cosplaying as Erlang God and another as Sun Wukong, both raising prop weapons as if dancing.

"?"

Upon seeing the poster's content, Ansheng, full of questions, looked at Ah Qing and commented, "Although, but..."

"Can it really be reasonable for these three immortals to come together? Or really, won't the bar's business be cursed?"

Ansheng looked at Ah Qing with lines of disbelief. The Great Saint, Erlang God, and Third Crown Prince, in various video recreations, were like one hundred jins of weight with ninety-nine jins of rebellion.

The fame of the Fire-tipped Spear from the Third Crown Prince had almost equalled the Fangtian Halberd of Lu Bu.

These were top-grade magic artifacts aimed at opposing fathers.

"How could their business be bad? The Sun Wukong faith in Xia Dong has an ancient origin; the Third Crown Prince is revered both here and across the shore, as one of the figures from which Erlang God originated comes from our Xia Dong's Guan Kou Town..." Ah Qing looked at the little fox questioningly, puzzled by his comment.

The Great Saint, Immortal Master Erlang, and the Third Crown Prince had considerable following in Xia Dong.

Having such a theme at a bar alongside the tag of all-night blessings and exorcisms, how could their business suffer?

"Alright! What you mentioned is outside my knowledge area..." Ansheng commented puzzledly.

"Tonight, Sister Lingling is treating us!"

Ah Qing laughed mischievously, tapping Huhu's nose.