The World Online

After finishing the discussion about the evaluation, Ouyang Shuo did not slack around and instead made a trip to the market.

Do not look at him being so confident in front of Yingyu, in truth, he had not prepared the new year gifts for the 3 directors. As the gifts were rewards for the 3 important directors, not only couldn’t it be shabby, it also had to have class and taste.

Fan Zhongyan and Tian Wen Jing were both still okay as they were traditional civil servants and giving them the four literary treasures were suitable. The four literary treasures in China were non-woven paper, emblem ink, lake pen and Duan Yan ink slabs.

A set of these four literary treasures would naturally be expensive. The highest grade was worth several thousand golds and wasn’t something that a small lord could afford. Even the most ordinary set would cost 20 gold coins. Ouyang Shuo gritted his teeth and spent 40 gold coins on two sets.

The key gift was the one that he prepared for Yingyu. This lady had the most qualifications out of the three directors and was also his sworn sister, so naturally, his gift couldn’t be shabby.

A gift for girls would be jewelry, jade, makeup etc a few limited types. He took into account the fact that he was her brother so he couldn’t give her anything too private. In the end, Ouyang Shuo chose a light and delicate jade which was crafted from white jade, representing prosperity. Definitely, he wouldn’t forget about that little brat Qing‘er, getting a piece of jade for her and spending a total of 30 gold coins.

After he returned to the manor, General Shi and Lin Yi were waiting for him in his office, giving him a very bad feeling.

Sure enough, before he could even sit down, General Shi said out loud,”Hehe, we heard that sire had prepared year-end rewards for the civil servants, will you be giving out rewards to the warriors in the army?”

Even the usually quiet and calm Lin Yi nodded his head profusely, showing that the army had reached a consensus on this topic. Ouyang Shuo slapped his forehead, he knew that he definitely could not escape this. Luckily he had prepared for this situation and teasingly said, “Not bad, you guys know how to take the initiative. Say, what rewards do you all want?”

General Shi laughed in embarrassment, saying, “I know that the last mission to exterminate the raiders camp wasn’t done successfully and made sire disappointed. I will not ask for any rewards for myself, only some monetary reward mainly for the soldiers.”

Lin Yi followed suit, “That incident, I am also to blame, so I don’t dare to request a reward from sire.”

Ouyang Shuo nodded, “Not bad, you all have some self-knowledge. How about this, the 10 current sergeants and the secretary of Military Intelligence Division get 1 gold coin each. The soldiers from the cavalry and Military Intelligence Division all get 10 silver. Those soldiers from the new units get 1 silver each. Are you happy?”

General Shi and Lin Yi upon hearing his words, nodded their heads happily. This was already considered a huge reward, they did not dare to use up more of Ouyang Shuo’s time and left the manor excitedly, wanting to spread the good news back at the army camp.

Ouyang Shuo calculated that this reward cost him 120 gold coins. One would never know how valuable money is until he himself is in charge of it. To be a good salary paying boss wasn’t an easy thing.

He went to the adjacent room and called for Yingyu, passing 50 gold coins to her and instructing her to give red envelopes according to the reward standards.

After settling the matter of the rewards, it was already 6 PM, Ouyang Shuo got offline.

——————-

In real life, it was already New Year’s Eve. Every house had already started hanging lanterns and pasting couplets. The lazy bug Bing Er had also woken up early to bug her brother to hang up the lanterns that they had bought the day before.

Every new year, the siblings would have an unenjoyable time. According to Chinese customs, every festivity was to enhance relations and every New Year’s Eve dinner was to represent the unity of a family.

Every New Year’s Eve, the little brat would especially miss her parents. After finishing every dinner, she would just lie in her brother’s arms and not speak for the entire night, making anyone who saw it heartbroken.

As the years gone by, this longing for her parents became less and less. Hiding the feelings deep down, the past two years, Bing Er started to be like other kids and show happiness.

This year, Ouyang Shuo could not see anything strange about the little brat, making him feel pleased.

After having lunch, Ouyang Shuo started to get busy for the New Year’s Eve dinner. Yesterday, they brought large amounts of seafood, dried products. Some dishes, especially the stewed dishes needed to be prepared in advance. According to Chinese custom, the New Year’s Eve dinner could be early but not late. In the villages, many people start preparing for the dinner straight after they finished lunch.

Bing’er entered the kitchen from time to time, saying she wanted to help her brother. But how could Ouyang Shuo be at ease when the little brat was going to create more problems by touching and looking around.

Ouyang Shuo had no choice but to chase her out of the kitchen, he smiled and said, “Baby, it’s going to be New Year’s Eve soon. Go take a bath and change into the traditional dress we bought yesterday. You just dress up beautifully, the kitchen is in good hands.”

Only then did Bing’er unwillingly leave the kitchen, saying like a small adult,” Then I’ll leave this place to brother.”

At 6 PM, dinner was started. Ouyang Shuo made a table filled with dishes. There were the traditional braised carp, stewed chicken, seafood, and abalone. Although it seemed like a waste, it added to the festive feeling, making it worth it.

Before starting dinner, the sibling started by praying at their parents’ altar. Looking at Bing’er wearing a cute Tang suit, kneeling in front of it. Ouyang Shuo calmly said, “Dad and mom, you can rest easy, Bing’er is growing healthily and becoming more sensible and cute.”

After finishing the meal, Bing’er received a call from Sun Xiaoyue. She showed her new dress vainly. Seeing the two girls deep in conversation, Ouyang Shuo did not interrupt and instead walked into his room, like previous years, he prepared the red envelope and new gifts for Bing’er. This year, he brought her a special gift.

On the surface, it was a circular ball, like the Pokeball from Pokemon. In truth, it was a high-end AI pet which retailed for one million credits. Such an expensive pet, only a brother like Ouyang Shuo could bear to give.

Such an expensive price naturally had its specialty. The pet came in many different types and it had long ago went past the usual cat or dog pets. Various movies, cartoons and even pets from games could be made into real-life pets through biological printing technology.

The smart pet that Ouyang Shuo brought was made by a company known as ILAX and was a limited edition, the only one in the world.

As a high-end AI pet, not only could it follow its master in real life, but also appear in various virtual reality games. To ensure game balance, these type of pets had no attack power and was just an ornamental pet.

Ouyang Shuo didn’t have any thoughts, he just wanted to find a partner for Bing’er. In a year, this pet could follow and stick around her in <Earth Online>, it was naturally perfect.

After returning to the hall, Xiaoyue and Bing’er were almost done talking. After all, it was New Year’s Eve, various greetings were incessant so there was no chance to talk for too long. Ouyang Shuo was clear about that so he said a few simple sentences to Sun Xiaoyue before hanging up the phone.

Bing’er consciously walked toward her brother, raising her hand and giggling,”I wish you good fortune, give me your red envelope!”

Ouyang Shuo rubbed her head, passing her a red envelope and saying,”I prepared a special gift for you!”

Bing’er took over the red packet and asked curiously,” What gift?”

“Dang, dang, dang, dang~” Ouyang Shuo took out the summoning ball and placed it in front of Bing‘er.

The little brat took over the ball and asked curiously,” What is this brother, a little ball?”

“Use your finger and press on the red button and you will find out.”

Bing’er curiously pressed down onto the red button. Instantly, an elegant mechanical voice resounded,” Successfully gave life to smart pet, locked to owner, summoning ball activated!”

Looking at the summoning ball open slowly, a small fist-sized butterfly fairy flew out, landing on her hand, saying clearly,” Hello master!”

Barbie Mariposa, the butterfly fairy looked exactly the same as it did in the movies, unable to see any man-made elements. It looked exactly like a real biological creature, cute and special. Furthermore, to fit with Bing’er’s age, Ouyang Shuo specifically chose a baby model when he ordered it. Hence, the more accurate way of calling was butterfly fairy baby.

Seeing such a small magical life form, Bing’er was delighted. She laughed,” Brother, is this your gift for me? Bing’er loves it!”

“Yeah, this butterfly fairy baby can follow Bing’er. Take care of her well. Bing’er quick, give her a name!” Ouyang Shuo smiled as he said.

“En! Let’s call it Xue’er, it can be a pair together with Bing’er.” One couldn’t tell that the little brat had such a talent at naming things.

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap