Chapter 1179 - 1176: No Meat Allowed, or We'll Lose Our Jobs

"How could Xia Dong lose in terms of setting off fireworks? What's going on with Yu Yu's family over there?"

Ah Qing looked at the little fox with shock, completely unable to comprehend what Huhu was talking about.

Not even mentioning the city-sponsored fireworks display, in Ah Qing's humble opinion, their family's fireworks expenditure was almost over twenty thousand, and that's just from one household.

During the New Year period, except for areas where fireworks are banned, Ah Qing didn't see any place where firecrackers stopped.

Starting from New Year's Eve to the twenty-ninth of the first lunar month, even the mice in the house couldn't stand the torment, and would flee overnight with their family to a banned area just to get some sleep.

Yu Yu's family set off fireworks in an even more intense manner than the Xia Dong region.

To be honest, Ah Qing couldn't quite imagine what an awe-inspiring spectacle it must be.

Wouldn't it be like pulling all the tanks out of Steel Park, pointing their barrels to the sky, then inviting Northern Industry's mortars and anti-aircraft guns out as well?

"When it comes to the loudness and heat, we can't compare..." Ansheng said teasingly, but stopped halfway, opting instead to sip on his cola with a calm demeanor.

Just as Ah Qing mentioned earlier, the shooting range is on the left, the cemetery on the right, after shooting on the left, they burn on the right, and when the ashes are scattered in the cemetery, they can notify the family to pay and feast.

The shooting range and cemetery in Northern are now working extra hard from now on.

"Naughty Xiaolan..."

Seeing Huhu start to pretend he's a stone statue, then look at himself comically, Ah Qing rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Sister Lin, we're heading home first, I'll bring the little fox over later..."

Ah Qing checked the time, picked up the little fox to go back for the family dinner, and bade farewell to Lin Ying.

"Take care on the road..." Lin Ying, dressed in casual attire, smiled warmly as she said goodbye to Master Fuli and Ah Qing, standing up to escort them to the villa's door.

On the way home, Ansheng glanced at Ah Qing and said, "Remember to call Lingren after dinner tonight. Just tell her that the spiritual particles Ansheng dispersed earlier are beginning to lose effect, and remind her to stay safe."

Momo and Tang You have both reported failures of Blessed Fox Transformation by now.

We can assume that Lingren's situation might be the same, except her simple family background means she hasn't encountered a scenario requiring spiritualization, and thus, hasn't noticed.

"Okay, I'll notify in the group later and explain spiritualization to Lingren..."

Ah Qing nodded slightly as they returned home, first placing the little fox on the offering table, lighting three sticks of sandalwood incense and offering a prayer.

The ancestral home was lively, Ah Qing's grandparents passed away early, so Old Deng and his siblings usually had family dinner together during festivals.

Though the second uncle can't make it back this year, the third uncle, as well as the aunt's family, brought three kids along, offsetting the absence of one uncle with no impact on the festive spirit.

Ansheng sat at the main table, and Aunt Yu Jingwen immediately poured tea for the little fox, then with a mysterious expression, said to Huhu, "Xiaolan! Aunt will send you five hundred on WeChat later, take Ah Qing out, and don't come back before midnight, okay?"

"What?" Ansheng looked at Yu Jingwen confusedly.

"It's nothing much, you know how sis-in-law's luck with cards is bad. When she loses, she resorts to invoking divine possession. It's best to take Ah Qing out to maintain family harmony."

Yu Jingwen whispered sotto voce, griping about Chen Peipei.

In the family, with the little fox around, there's really no mood for card games.

Last Mid-Autumn Festival and during these return days, Yu Jingwen tried breaking these superstitions.

But as it turns out, the mystique truly is mysterious, defying scientific explanations.

"Alright then!"

Ansheng chuckled upon hearing, nodded in agreement with the aunt's proposal.

"That's settled!" Yu Jingwen beamed with joy, transferring money to Ah Qing on WeChat, reminding her to buy a couple of extra icy milk teas when she takes the little fox out.

"Crack—bang—"

As fireworks and firecrackers boomed, the family dinner commenced, and the kids sat at the children's table, bowls filled with chicken and goose legs, not a trace of vegetables in sight.

"..."

Holding his bowl, the little cousin paused with an expression of hesitance, looking at the giant cockroach the size of a slipper sitting beside him and the thigh-thick Shu Xiaobai:

"Hey, do you think...what they say on short videos, that animals aren't allowed to become smart after the founding of the nation, is still reliable?"

The older cousin glanced at Fox Xiaobai, perched on a chair, fiddling with the TV remote, endlessly changing channels as though searching for virtual pickles, and spoke complexly:

"Do you remember the announcement at Fox Immortal Temple?"

"Fox Immortal Temple's announcement?" The little cousin paused, frowning as he recalled:

"I think it said you can't bring meat into the temple, or it will attract rats, right?"

"Yes, but there's a small line below, saying rats will run into the Library Pavilion to read ancient texts, practice magic techniques, transforming and replacing the Daoist to rule the world."

"And it even cites an example, saying in the 90s a rat did just that, and afterward, sailing the big seas with Mazu, took four turtles as disciples."

The older cousin picked at his food, sighed, patted the little cousin's shoulder, solemnly advising, "Just watch the symbols on those short videos for entertainment..."

Little cousin: "..."

So...do we believe or not? I feel like these smart animals are practically riding on my face.

The older cousin joked, sure it's a bit outrageous, yet not entirely incorrect.

The overseer of Fox Immortal Temple, Succubus Clara, genuinely worried about the rat calamity in the temple, fearing the rats' daily absorption of Master Fuli's spiritual aura may suddenly result in collective spiritualization, replacing her position as overseer...

If they ascend, she might be out of a job?

This isn't impossible, with Shu Xiaobai at Master Fuli's place being a typical example.

Such capable rats arose from daily devout worshiping of Master Fuli, right?

As a believer, Clara holds the view of trusting a little bit in these superstitious matters.

...

When the family meal ended, the adults gathered around the TV to watch Xia Dong's local Spring Festival gala.

The kids snatched their red envelopes and dashed outside to wander off in style.

"Huh? Ah Qing, come out quickly..."

Everything was as usual, the family was happy and harmonious, but Yu Zhenghong suddenly paused, turning nervously toward the bathroom, calling out tensely.

"Uh? Is something up, Dad..." changing clothes in the bathroom, preparing to go out, Ah Qing hurriedly buttoned her collar, peeking her head out with a puzzled look.

"Do you think the master is unhappy about something?"

Yu Zhenghong gestured towards Ah Qing's bedroom door left ajar, revealing the little fox perched on the desk, using its paw to yank at a white laptop's power cord.

Master Fuli pulled out the power supply and deftly tossed it into the bookbag on the chair, in one motion stashing the desk's earphones and mouse inside.

From the look of it, he seemed ready to go.

Yu Zhenghong nervously asked.

"Oh, you mean the little fox! It's nothing, he said the firecracker noise is too loud, so he's packing up his stuff to find a quiet spot outside to play games later."

Ah Qing glanced at her dad, her eyes drifting as she fibbed a bit.

The little fox was packing things to take Ah Qing along to Sister Lin's house to celebrate the festival together.

"???"

Yu Zhenghong paused, instinctively sweeping his gaze over the home's glass window area.

Although Jiule was a coastal city, it rarely encountered a super typhoon because such storms hitting Jiule would inevitably weaken due to the mountain ranges across the strait.

Hence, low-level homes just needed slightly thicker normal tempered glass for window sills.

Only some high-rise residents opted for laminated glass or insulated glass.

"Hey? Is this the remodeling company? What's your price for broken bridge aluminum windows?"