School Beauty's Invincible Martial Expert

Xiao Han also joined the team posting New Year couplets. His next-door neighbor saw him and laughed, "Xiao Han, heard you made it to the city level in the Chinese chess competition?"

"Hehe..." Xiao Han chuckled and said, "Yeah, thanks to those seniors who gave me a break. That's why I've been able to progress so smoothly!"

"Cut the crap," Uncle Wang from next door waved his hand and said, "Those old foxes, each of them wishes they could strangle you. Who would give way to you? Who wouldn't want to take home that prize money of a hundred thousand yuan? Right?"

"That's true!" Xiao Han nodded his head in agreement.

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At this moment, Uncle Wang came over with a bowl of paste for the couplets, smiling ear to ear, and asked, "Xiao Han, tell me... how confident are you about winning that prize money of a hundred thousand yuan?"

"Not very confident!" Xiao Han shook his head with a look of distress, "There are too many experts in the city, I reckon I have no hope."

"That's not a problem," Uncle Wang hurriedly shook his head and said, "If you can't get first place, second place has a prize of fifty thousand, right? And even the third place has twenty thousand!"

"Uh... seems like it," Xiao Han nodded.

"That..." Uncle Wang chuckled slyly and asked, "If you get the prize money, could you lend Uncle Wang a few thousand yuan?"

"What's wrong?" Xiao Han inquired. "Uncle Wang, are you in some sort of trouble?"

"You bet!" Uncle Wang sighed and said, "The university tuition for my daughter, the high school fees for my son. The jobs for both me and their mother are unstable. Sigh, this family, it's tough!"

"I see!" Upon hearing this, Xiao Han immediately nodded and said, "Once I get the money, I'll lend it to you."

"Great, great, that's wonderful," Uncle Wang beamed with joy as he heard this. He quickly said, "Look at you, lad, you've got the couplet upside down. Don't you know there's a right way up for couplets? Hurry up and switch it, use my paste. My paste works better."

With Uncle Wang's help, the couplet was quickly peeled off and then properly reapplied.

Xiao Han watched Uncle Wang's retreating figure, limping. Uncle Wang had broken his leg working as a plasterer back in the day, and afterwards, he couldn't do any heavy work anymore, only odd jobs. He had an older daughter and a younger son, his daughter was in university, and his son about half the age of Xiao Han. The two families were quite close.

However, Uncle Wang's son did not go to the same high school as Xiao Han. He failed to secure a spot at Linjiang No.1 Middle School and ended up at Linjiang No. 4 Middle School.

Therefore, as time passed, their relationship grew more distant. Nonetheless, Uncle Wang's family was still friendly. They would often come over to help out.

Xiao Han really wanted to help their family, but he couldn't make it too obvious, or he would have trouble justifying it to himself. He could only hope to win the first place at the city's Chinese chess competition after the New Year, then take home the hundred thousand yuan prize money. That way, he could surprise his mother with the money.

Mother Xiao was also taking a rare break; it was New Year's Eve, and she was cleaning the house.

"Xiao Han!" Suddenly, a voice came from outside.

"Big Fatty?" Xiao Han was taken aback.

Mother Xiao also saw Li Dapang coming, carrying quite a few items, so she hurriedly put down what she was doing and went to greet him, "Big Fatty, you're here too?"

"Hehe, and it's not just me," Li Dapang grinned.

Following him, Yang Lu and another male colleague also arrived at the door, laden with many items.

The sight startled Mother Xiao, who asked awkwardly, "What's all this...?"

"Hello Auntie!" Yang Lu quickly set down what she was carrying, then warmly shook Mother Xiao's hand, saying, "I'm Xiao Han's supervisor, manager of Hanmen Technology. My name is Yang Lu, Auntie, you can call me Xiao Yang."

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare!" Mother Xiao hurriedly shook her head and said, "Manager Yang, what is this all about...?"

"During the winter break, Xiao Han worked for our company and performed exceptionally well. He also helped us out big time," Yang Lu said with a beaming smile, "So, our boss decided to give Xiao Han a bonus. All these things are for you to celebrate the New Year."

A big bag of rice, a large barrel of olive oil, New Year snacks... various New Year goods were being sent to Xiao's family as if money was no object.

Outside, Uncle Wang and a bunch of neighbors, as well as some factory workers, watched curiously.

"Xiao Han's boss has come to visit him?"

"And brought so many things too?"

"What a nice boss!" A neighbor gave a thumbs up. The idea of a boss visiting an employee and bringing gifts was simply too enviable. At least the factory workers had never seen anything like it. They immediately felt that such a boss was extremely warm-hearted.

Uncle Wang laughed and said, "Impressive, this just goes to show that Xiao Han is a very talented person, otherwise why would the boss bother to visit him and bring so many things?"

"That's true," the crowd quickly understood.

"Little Han has been sensible and practical since he was a boy. After all, he is a child from a poor family who's had to take on responsibilities early!"

The neighbors were never stingy with their praise for Xiao Han.

After a brief hesitation, Mother Xiao promptly welcomed everyone with enthusiasm, "Come in, come in, it's cold outside."

Yang Lu hurriedly declined, "Auntie, there's no need; we're about to leave. Also, the leader specifically told me to give Xiao Han a red envelope as a reward for his performance. We hope that after he graduates, he can continue to work at our company."

"Ah?" Mother Xiao was taken aback.

Yang Lu stuffed a large red envelope into Mother Xiao's hand.

Li Dapang and the others placed what they were holding in the Xiao's family living room. Then, they turned and followed Yang Lu out one by one. Mother Xiao was still in shock, completely unable to wake from the lively atmosphere that had just been there.

"Xiao Han, go... go and give the red envelope back to them," Mother Xiao hastily said.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Mom, if it's a reward from the leader for me, why should I give it back?" Xiao Han quickly said.

"But..." Mother Xiao held the red envelope, hesitating.

"Take it," Uncle Wang from next door chuckled and said, "That's the company's bonus; there's no reason to refuse it, right? Didn't they say so? Xiao Han has created a lot of performance for the company. That means it's rightfully his."

Upon hearing this, Mother Xiao immediately felt relieved. Since it was earned, she thought, let's accept it. It would be wrong not to appreciate their kindness.

The crowd of onlookers began to move closer.

"Big Sister Xiao, you really have a great son."

"That's right, Xiao Han has been sensible since he was young, and he's earning money for the family even before graduating from high school."

"I've heard that Xiao Han's grades are very good now."

A bunch of people crowded around. Overflowing with enthusiasm, Mother Xiao said, "Come in and sit down, everyone. I'll get you something to eat."

After saying that, Mother Xiao turned around and brought out a big bag of candy. Those were supposed to be treats for the New Year, but now they were being used to welcome the neighbors. Seeing this, everyone became even happier. They grabbed handfuls of candy, and the big bag was quickly divided up.

"What's this?" an elderly auntie pointed at a big bag of fruit on the ground.

"Wow, these are snake fruits!" another auntie exclaimed, "Snake fruits are more than twenty bucks a pound. This bag... must be worth several hundred!"

When the crowd heard this, they all gasped in amazement.

They had heard of snake fruits before, but nobody had ever tasted them. They only knew that the fruit was quite special, supposedly with a high nutritional value. But because it was so expensive, they never dared to buy or even look at it. And now, suddenly, they discovered it in Xiao Han's house.

"Ah..." Hearing this, Mother Xiao's face lit up with a smile, "If you... if you want to eat, just take some."

"Then... I'll help myself," upon hearing this, the elderly auntie stepped forward and tore open the bag. Snake fruits rolled out one after another. She quickly grabbed three and said with a smile, "I... I'll take two for my grandson to eat."

"I'll take two as well," another auntie, quick with her hands, snatched up two fruits.

"I want some too..."

Seeing this, the group of people could not hold back. A scuffle broke out among them, reminiscent of bandits. The more than thirty pounds of snake fruit was swiftly snatched up by these people, leaving only the torn bag behind.

Xiao Han couldn't stand by any longer, frowning, he said, "Fellow villagers, we need to continue cleaning our house. Would you... like to help?"

"I'm going to take the snake fruits to my grandson first, then I'll come back and help." The auntie holding three snake fruits heard this and quickly took off running.

"I need to go home and put up the spring couplets."

"Oh my, how could I forget that there's a chicken stewing at home."

The group of people dispersed in a commotion.

Watching them go, Xiao Han's expression grew stern, "What kind of people are they?"

"Xiao Han, don't talk like that. We're all from the same factory," Mother Xiao said, frowning, "Remember when you were sick? People from the factory donated money and helped us out, don't you remember?"

"I remember!" Xiao Han nodded and said, "I still have the list of people who donated, but they definitely weren't among them. Old Liu, and Auntie Zhang from the Residents' Committee... they are the real kind-hearted people!"

Xiao Han had always remembered.

"Right, you should take some of this stuff to them later," Mother Xiao pointed at the fruits on the ground, along with the rice and oil.

"Mom, this stuff was sent by the company, let's keep it," Xiao Han said with a smile, "I'll buy some for Old Liu and Auntie Zhang later."

"That works!" Mother Xiao nodded. She couldn't wait to open the envelope in her hand. Inside, there was a stack of hundred-yuan bills. After counting it, she found there was as much as ten thousand yuan. She exclaimed, "This much money? Your...

your leaders are too generous, aren't they?"

"Actually, it's not that much," Xiao Han said with a grin, "I've created hundreds of thousands in profit for the company. A ten-thousand-yuan bonus even seems a bit meager."