The residential area they live in is a relocation neighborhood, but the supporting facilities are relatively well-equipped. They reside on the tenth floor of a thirty-three-story elevator building. Standing on the tenth floor, one can actually see the hustle and bustle of the city, because it’s a street-facing apartment. Even if no firecrackers are set off, the neon lights of the city still illuminate the whole metropolis brightly.

Usually, the meals the children have at school aren’t satisfactory, but most of the time they have dinner at their employer’s home now. Their family also provides them with some grains and oil, so really, not much is spent on living expenses. Though she does try to be conscientious at their home, the elderly couple sometimes willingly gives Wen Han shrimp, meat, and other good foods. This gesture moves her greatly.

Zhang Qian’s family should be considered a scholarly home. The elderly couple are retired professors. Zhang Qian is a renowned commercial lawyer locally, and Cai Yuan is an accomplished head nurse at the Provincial People’s Hospital. Such families indeed have money. However, no matter how she calculates, they shouldn’t be able to afford the more than thirty thousand yuan per square meter villa in the West District. This house alone costs at least 12 million yuan, doesn’t it?

The West District is considered a lower consumption area in this city, with an average house price of 13,000 to 14,000 yuan. Moreover, because all the relocated households have been moved back in recent years, there are plenty of houses. Otherwise, how could she afford to rent this 49-square-meter accommodation at a thousand yuan?

Although it’s said to be forty-nine square meters, high levels have large communal areas, and the actual space is only twenty-something square meters. The design is not very reasonable, wasting a lot of area. It always seems that these relocation houses aren’t built as meticulously as commercial residences, and the contrast is too stark. Such a house should never be bought, no matter how cheap, it isn’t worth it.

Even if the elderly couple has a pension, can they add up to twenty thousand yuan? Cai Yuan’s salary is high, tens of thousands monthly, but their earnings are the result of hard work. Nurses work tirelessly, running up and down daily. Even for a head nurse, there is no leisure, so it’s hard for them to gain weight.

The biggest variable might be Zhang Qian. As a victorious General on the commercial battlefield, maybe she’s underestimated the value of lawyers?

It’s been said, hasn’t it? The consultancy fees for good lawyers are charged by the minute.

Thinking about it this way, it’s not unreasonable for them to afford a villa.

In contrast, wanting to study education and earn several thousand yuan monthly, isn’t that too lacking in ambition? Is it merely for the three-month holiday every year?

It seems she needs to consider seriously the professional field she’s applying for. Since humanities are already decided, choosing a major demands caution and more caution.

——

Even with just two people, none of the necessary steps for celebrating the New Year were skipped. They made dumplings, buns, fried cakes, balls, sausages, and other Northern New Year snacks, doing them all without exception. Each time making enough for three or four meals, with space to store it, they wouldn’t feel tired of it. The child watched beside her while she was busy, the atmosphere between mother and son was exceptionally good. As long as Mom is around, even the air can be sweet.

Wen Han’s birthday is December 22, which means he is just three years old. If it weren’t for flipping through the household registration booklet, this sensible child would have her believe he was already four. She wouldn’t have thought he’s only just three. Is it an angel sent by heaven to save this mother, being so understanding?

In Qi Qi’s view, the mother and child’s New Year is just New Year’s Eve because people visit relatives on the first day, but as for them, where do they have relatives to visit?

On New Year’s Eve, she used Alipay to transfer five hundred yuan each to Cai Yuan’s two children, as her heartfelt gesture.

Cai Yuan transferred 666 yuan to her child as New Year’s money. Seeing this amount, she sighed with relief. Her main concern was that the other side would give too much, creating excessive pressure for herself. Now seeing the three sixes, the pressure wasn’t so great after all, especially since the twenty-thousand year-end bonus was really too much for her.

What surprised her should be the situation with her parents; they still managed to send her two hundred yuan in red envelopes.

"Wishing my grandson health and happiness."

In the family group chat, parents also sent red envelopes, but she didn’t rush to grab them. Her younger brother and sister-in-law @ mentioned her, wishing her a happy New Year. Having had no contact for half a year, the sudden excitement during the New Year made her somewhat unaccustomed.

But she couldn’t not accept them, after all, these were red envelopes from elders. She accepted them and expressed her gratitude.

Her brother transferred five hundred yuan as New Year’s money for her child, and she transferred back one thousand yuan to her brother. Aside from exchanging New Year greetings, there wasn’t much else said.