**Chapter 92: Senior Brother Gets Convinced**
1583 Words
With New Year‘s Eve approaching, Qionghua Restaurant had closed for the holidays.
On the last few days that the town’s shops were still open, Jiang Tingyun planned to take the Qionghua Restaurant crew out for a big shopping trip.
They already had all the preserved meats and cured goods for the New Year. This trip was mainly to buy everyone some new clothes.
Jin Feifan wasn‘t too keen. “Boss, I have plenty of clothes. They’re all fine. I don‘t want to buy new ones.”
But Jiang Tingyun wouldn’t budge. “You have to buy new clothes for the New Year! And your long underwear has a huge hole in it. That needs replacing.”
Upon hearing this, Jin Feifan‘s face changed dramatically. He jumped back several steps.
“Crap! Boss, have you been watching me change? How do you know something so private?”
“...”
Zhu Lili rolled her eyes, looking extremely unimpressed. “Who would want to watch you? Isn’t it just that green pair with the hole?”
“What! How do you know too?” Jin Feifan‘s eyes went wide.
Liu Yanghe patted him on the shoulder. “Xiao Jin, don’t overthink it. The day the popcorn machine exploded, your pants split open. We all saw. Your boxers had Doraemon on them, hehe.”
“...”
Jiang Tingyun shook her head helplessly. This kid really was something else.
She was about to lead everyone out when Liu Yanghe clasped his hands in a Xuanmen salute.
“Sect Master Jiang, thank you for everything during this time. I won‘t be joining you. My family has been calling me back. I’m taking the high-speed train back to Shuiguang Sect today.”
Jiang Tingyun was taken aback. She hadn‘t expected Liu Yanghe to leave so suddenly — she’d thought he still had a couple more days.
She quickly returned the salute and said, “Why such a rush? We didn‘t even get to give you a proper farewell. We should be thanking you. You’ve been a huge help since you arrived.”
Liu Yanghe gave a mischievous wink. “I was going to cultivate anyway. We helped each other.”
He wasn‘t stupid. Of course he knew that Qionghua Restaurant was using him as a self-service dishwashing robot. But he enjoyed playing around with this group too.
Jiang Tingyun felt a swell of emotion. “We’ll see you off.”
They walked Liu Yanghe all the way to the bus that would take him out of the scenic area. The Qionghua Restaurant group waved goodbye reluctantly.
“Teacher Liu! Come back when you have time! Qionghua Restaurant‘s doors are always open for you.”
Liu Yanghe poked his head out the window, beaming. “Will do! Maybe I’ll come right after the New Year! See you, everyone!”
---
After seeing Liu Yanghe off, Jiang Tingyun led everyone into town.
She remembered a big clothing store called Haoyouduo (a budget retail chain) across from the town‘s vegetable market. It had everything — clothes for men, women, and children. Boots, hats, gloves, insulated long underwear — you name it.
A place like that was so convenient. You could get everyone everything they needed in one trip.
Even before she quit her job, Jiang Tingyun had never been some glamorous city girl. Most of the time she was a mess. Throw on a white coat, and no one could see what she was wearing underneath anyway.
And when things got busy, she didn’t have the mental space to think about outfits. She‘d just grab whatever was handy. Very unkempt.
So switching to a rural market like Haoyouduo didn’t bother her one bit.
The rest of the Qionghua Restaurant group cared even less.
Zhu Lili had a cute face, but she rotated between the same few plain, ordinary outfits year after year. She didn‘t fuss over her appearance much.
Jin Feifan, Pei Jingmo, Uncle Liu — these guys cared even less. All very simple and unpretentious.
When they walked into the store, they saw that there were more customers than usual. A big speaker was blasting music at full volume.
One moment it was “New Year! New Year! New Year!” and the next it was “Congratulations on your fortune, congratulations on your splendor!” The place was thick with New Year’s atmosphere.
“Pick out what you need,” Jiang Tingyun said. “Cotton jackets, down coats, sweaters, long underwear — get them all. Unless you want to freeze when it snows.”
She didn‘t even try anything on. With zero concern for fashion, she grabbed a cotton jacket, two sweaters, and two pairs of pants. Done.
Everyone else picked out their things quickly too. Only Pei Jingmo stood there looking a bit lost.
Zhu Lili leaned close to Jiang Tingyun’s ear. “Senior Brother doesn‘t go shopping much. The old sect master always used to get his clothes. He probably doesn’t know how to choose.”
Her voice was very soft, and the music was loud, but Pei Jingmo — all the way over in the men‘s section — immediately turned his head, as if he’d heard her.
Zhu Lili jumped. “Scared me to death. Senior Brother‘s ears are too sharp. Good thing I wasn’t saying anything bad.”
Jiang Tingyun quickly led Zhu Lili over. “Xiao Pei, take a look. What do you need? We‘ll help you pick out a couple of things.”
“Black is fine,” Pei Jingmo said gruffly.
Uncle Liu strongly disagreed. “Why always black? You’re good-looking, Xiao Pei. You should wear brighter colors. And next year is your zodiac year. You need to wear red.”
Without caring about Pei Jingmo‘s extremely resistant expression, he grabbed several sets of bright red long underwear and threw them into the basket.
“...I don’t want that!”
“You really need to wear red in your zodiac year. It keeps you safe and turns bad luck away.” Uncle Liu droned on. “Red is a very important color. It drives away evil spirits and protects you. If you wear red, your luck will improve...”
Uncle Liu kept rambling without stopping.
Aside from his terrifying cooking, Uncle Liu‘s deadliest skill was his nagging.
Pei Jingmo’s face was as cold as water, but in the end, he didn‘t resist. Because he knew that if he refused, Uncle Liu would talk for a whole day and night until his head hurt.
Jiang Tingyun quickly cut Uncle Liu off.
“How about this — wear red underneath. For the outer layer, he can still pick black. Black doesn’t show dirt!”
She sized up Pei Jingmo‘s figure. He still looked about fourteen or fifteen, just a little taller than her.
She went over to the sportswear section, picked out a good-looking black down jacket, and grabbed a few thick hoodies and sweatpants in smaller sizes.
“Not sure if the sizes are right. Xiao Pei, go try them on.”
When Pei Jingmo walked out in his new clothes,
Even the middle-aged salesladies crowded around, gasping in admiration.
“Oh my, this young man! He’s so handsome!”
“Those clothes suit him perfectly. He looks so sharp. I‘d say he looks even better than those stars on TV.”
The clothes had all come from the adult section, so they were a little big. But the loose, oversized style surprisingly suited Pei Jingmo well.
With his usual short buzz cut, he looked incredibly cool. You’d never guess these were discounted goods from a rural market. He looked like he was wearing some trendy celebrity streetwear brand.
Jiang Tingyun nodded approvingly. Her senior disciple looked great!
“We‘ll take these! Checkout!”
---
But when Jiang Tingyun tried to pay, everyone stopped her.
“Let me pay!”
“No, I’ll cover it.”
Even Pei Jingmo pulled out a plastic bag from his pocket — inside were dozens of crumpled bills in tens and fifties. Who knew how long he‘d been saving them.
Jiang Tingyun put on her sect master authority. “I’m the sect master. I‘ll pay. Qionghua Restaurant had good profits this year. I haven’t been paying you salaries, just living expenses. Let me cover daily expenses like this.”
“But you do the most work, Boss!” Jin Feifan couldn‘t help speaking up. “I made some extra money this year. Let me pay.”
Zhu Lili was quick. She dashed to the register and scanned the QR code to pay.
“I got it! I made a little bit from my short videos this year. Let me have this chance.”
Jiang Tingyun couldn’t help smiling. “Fine. On New Year‘s Eve dinner, I’ll give you all red envelopes!”
---
**Note on “Zodiac Year”:** In Chinese culture, one‘s *benming nian* is the year that matches their zodiac sign (the same animal as the year they were born). It is traditionally considered an unlucky year, and wearing red is believed to ward off misfortune. Uncle Liu’s insistence on red underwear stems from this belief.
- Writer
