"Xiaolan, come here! It's payday!"
When Yu Zhenghong returned after the meeting, Yu Xueqing transferred one thousand yuan in cash from her parents through WeChat, and called out to the floor above.
Under the watchful eyes of her parents, Mo Yiqing, and the audience in the livestream, Yu Xueqing, with a solemn expression, divided Ansheng's salary in half, giving him five hundred as an additional meal allowance for the next month, and saved the other five hundred in a jar.
[Ding! Please abide by the livestream regulations; do not showcase large sums of cash in front of the livestream, as you have violated the guidelines, now.....]
As Yu Xueqing settled accounts with the little fox, suddenly, on the screen of the livestream, an AI review violation notice appeared, and the stream was banned again.
However, this time, before the notice displayed penalties like disconnection or banning, the violation notice on the screen withdrew itself.
Yu Xueqing looked dumbfounded at the livestream, then at the jar in her hand.
"So... can I or can't I show it?"
[You can show! But only a little, otherwise it might be suspected as flaunting wealth.]
On the livestream's public screen, the top supporter, Mr. Su, left a comment along with two sports cars.
Soon after, two more sports cars flashed across the screen.
[The little fox is too cute, the kid is so skinny it doesn't even register weight on a scale, buy him something to eat! I'm worried if he starves, he'll start gnawing on people.]
Mr. Su's comment floated slowly across the public screen along with the car rewards.
Seeing the top supporter's extravagant reward, a question mark popped up over Yu Xueqing's head.
This top supporter is quite an oddball in her livestream.
Whenever she livestreams, there are bound to be two sports cars, and without asking for any WeChat or QQ accounts, the only request is to give the little fox some good food!
Top supporter is a fox enthusiast... hmm.
Ah Qing brought the little fox for the livestream, and like usual, they inadvertently triggered some strange disconnect warning.
But this time, the livestream was solid as a rock. No matter how many disconnect notices popped up, the livestream stayed online without showing a black screen of disconnection, as if it had taken a double dose of sildenafil.
It seemed like some powerful entity was exerting force behind the scenes.
Ansheng thought for a moment, glanced at Mr. Su's ID, and felt that Su Qiyuan and Bai Tao might have done something.
Yu Xueqing, with a bizarre expression, looked at the small fox in the livestream waving its big tail and chatting boastfully with the audience.
"I have a feeling... today's livestream is a bit off."
......
Since Yu Zhenghong and Chen Peipei stayed at the old house, Ansheng didn't go out shopping, and Mo Yiqing didn't go to the second floor to enjoy beauty alone. Ansheng, Ah Qing, and Mo Yiqing all went to sleep early.
At three thirty in the morning.
There was a knock on the door outside Yu Xueqing's room, waking the two people and one fox inside.
Ah Qing, experienced, spoke out: "Coming!"
Ansheng also got up from bed as if it were routine, only Mo Yiqing remained somewhat dazed.
"Momo, get up quickly! We need to offer incense, if we're late, we'll have to calculate geometric distributions."
Yu Xueqing got up from bed and hurriedly pulled the not-yet-fully-awake Mo Yiqing.
Moments after the knocking ceased, the sounds of firecrackers suddenly echoed through the streets and alleys, with flames and smoke rising in the village, forming layers of thin mist.
Yu Xueqing covered her ear with one hand and covered Xiaolan's ears with the other.
Yu Zhenghong also lit the hanging firecrackers in the courtyard.
The firecracker explosions and white smoke spread into the downstairs premises.
"Peipei, Ah Qing, hurry up, I'm going over to the ancestral hall to gather first!"
After setting off the firecrackers, Yu Zhenghong ran straight towards the ancestral hall without looking back, eager to grab the first incense spot.
"So, what's going on?" Mo Yiqing asked, yawning widely, turning to Ah Qing with inquiry.
"Hmm... it's a bit hard to explain, you can roughly understand it as a unique KPI assessment in Changxi, the first to arrive at the ancestral hall can join in the deity invitation."
Yu Xueqing pondered as she spoke, but Chen Peipei interjected: "It's not that mystical; beyond welcoming the gods, the main draw is appearing before village elders and affluent locals, which might be handy in future matters."
"You guys should put on your shoes and set off too. Although we don't need to rush, it's still uncomfortable to be late."
"Aren't you participating?" Mo Yiqing thought for a moment, curiously looking at Ah Qing: "For such an event, all local villagers should be able to participate, right?"
Hearing this, Yu Xueqing's expression froze, politely waving her hand: "....Though women can participate, we usually don't, or rather, we should only participate after the deity welcoming concludes."
"Squeezing in, the latte foam would get shattered."
"Latte foam?"
Hailing from Zen City, Mo Yiqing's region had customs similar to Xiadong's, yet she hadn't witnessed such divine welcoming events, hence puzzled by Ah Qing's mention of shattered latte foam.
"The deity welcoming isn't much to look at; the crux is the grand clash of patriarchs from each village."
The little fox winked at Mo Yiqing, making playful sounds.
Soon, Mo Yiqing understood why Ah Qing said deity welcoming wasn't suitable for women.
Throughout the village, strapping young lads clad in uniform garments stood in the ancestral hall, hosting the authentic deity statue onto the palanquin, with eight people bearing the hundreds-of-kilos divine statue, bathed in firecracker light, swiftly traversing the streets through mist-like smoke.
"Master Fox is ascending the palanquin! There's no time to explain the situation now."
Being hugged by Ah Qing, Ansheng leisurely made his way to the ancestral hall with everyone.
However, Ansheng hadn't even gotten the chance to sip a hot soup prepared in the village's feast.
Old Chen hurried over, said a couple of things to Chen Peipei and Ah Qing, and hastily carried Ansheng away.
With Yu Xueqing wearing a perplexed expression, Old Chen tossed the little fox onto a palanquin directly, then, including Yu Zhenghong, the villagers hoisted the fox and dashed off.
"Whew... just made it."
Old Chen wiped the sweat off his brow, sighing in relief.
"Village Chief?"
Yu Xueqing gazed at Old Chen, her face full of question marks.
"Haha...." Old Chen chuckled awkwardly: "Remember those naughty kids earlier? Back then, because Master Fox contributed to the report, he sat at the deity platform. I thought it'd end there."
"But the village elders said Master Fox's merits and spirituality shouldn't stop there, he ought to be worshiped as a deity."
If it were any other animal, Old Chen would surely sneer and refute it outright.
But when it comes to Master Fox, Old Chen couldn't muster the same confidence to refute, feeling less assured in his heart.
After all... other animals might be spirited, merely a bit smarter and more understanding.
But Master Fox is a genuine three-tailed fox; its three fluffy tails were so startling that Old Chen even dreamed of the terrifying scene of Master Fox holding a Gatling gun, riding on people's heads shouting "giddy-up" in his sleep.
Due to Old Chen's lukewarm refutation, the village elders decided on this matter.
"This can't be! They'll start fighting in a moment!" Yu Xueqing exclaimed in shock, handing her phone and keys to her mom, quickly chasing after to escort her own little fox, to prevent it from being catapulted skyward when colliding with other village deity welcoming teams.
"I'll go have a look too!"
Mo Yiqing raised her phone, ready to record today's events to share with her friends.
......
"Giddy-up! Charge over!"
Sitting in the chair, gripping the armrest, Ansheng squealed with joy.
"It's okay if we lose the bump! Master Fox has a stick in his hand! I'll provide external support! Make sure under the stick out pops grandchildren, scatter the outsiders!"