Early the next morning, Si Tu Zhang, who had been stood up the previous night, personally came to Xiao Nanzhu’s door to give him a good scolding. Xiao Nanzhu, still dazed and not fully awake, crawled out of bed to open the door, but before he could say anything, the gesticulating Mr. Si Tu had already shut him down completely.

“I called you eighty-something times yesterday!! Couldn’t you have answered just once?! I thought you had carbon monoxide poisoning at home!! And then you finally reply with ‘overslept’!! Bah!!! As if anyone would believe that!!”

His voice was somewhat distorted with anger as Si Tu Zhang chirped and croaked, criticizing the man wrapped in a military coat and wearing old cotton slippers before him. His expression showed considerable disappointment in his friend. Meanwhile, Xiao Nanzhu leaned expressionlessly against the sofa, pretending not to hear, displaying an attitude of ‘a dead pig fears no boiling water,’ which made Si Tu Zhang even more angry.

“Ah, so what do you want now? Looking down on the job I found for you, right? Listen, Xiao Nanzhu, can you stop being so willful? You’re almost thirty, not thirteen! Before, you could do whatever you wanted because you were young, but now…”

Si Tu Zhang stopped himself before finishing. He felt that his words were hurting their friendship, so he showed a rare expression of embarrassment. Xiao Nanzhu, who hadn’t been listening carefully to what he was saying, thought he had finally finished when he stopped shouting. So, after slowly yawning, this man who hadn’t slept well for two nights frowned and spoke sluggishly:

“Hey, listen, I found a job, so stop worrying about me, okay? Umm, I was wrong about yesterday, I apologize, alright? Is there another dinner tonight? I’ll definitely come, okay?”

Lounging lazily like a dingy gray stray cat curled up on the sofa and feeling drowsy, Xiao Nanzhu was now somewhat grateful that he had already resolved his employment issue. Otherwise, just being nagged by his childhood friend Si Tu Zhang would probably drive him crazy. When Si Tu Zhang heard that he had found a job, he was immediately taken aback and almost ran to sit down beside Xiao Nanzhu. He raised his arm excitedly and shook Xiao Nanzhu’s seemingly boneless body:

“Wow! Really?! What kind of job? You found it these past few days? Where did you find a job during the New Year? You’re not becoming someone’s monthly caretaker, are you? Is it a good position? Oh my, our Ah Nan has really grown up and can find a job by himself now, hahaha…”

Almost rolling his eyes with annoyance at Si Tu Zhang’s antics, Xiao Nanzhu managed to temporarily conceal the details of his new job without revealing exactly what it was. In the short term, he didn’t want acquaintances to know what he was doing. After all, this so-called “almanac master” didn’t sound like a legitimate profession no matter how you looked at it. So even to Si Tu Zhang, he just said he’d tell him after the New Year, adding that they haven’t decided whether to hire him yet.

This attitude left Si Tu Zhang with no room to ask more, but at least Xiao Nanzhu didn’t seem as depressed as before. He was naturally happy about this from the bottom of his heart. Additionally, the fact that Xiao Nanzhu was now actively willing to join his social circle full of old clients who got oil massages and foot rubs made Si Tu Zhang somewhat incredulous.

“You… you really want to come? Now that you’ve resolved your job situation, there’s no need to force yourself. Aren’t you not a drinker? Though there are a few guys getting together for dinner tonight, and that insurance guy, Brother Cao, will be there too…”

“Just consider that I’m coming for a free meal. After all, I have nowhere else to eat by myself.”

Casually saying this, Xiao Nanzhu’s face showed no seriousness, but he had some ideas of his own. Last night, lying in bed, he had been thinking about how to develop a personal business as an almanac master. After much thought, he felt it was a profession that would struggle to establish itself in modern society. After all, this sort of supernatural stuff might fool the elderly, but expecting ordinary people to take it seriously was certainly impossible. However, since he had already agreed to it, it would be meaningless to go back on his word. After pondering for a moment, he had actually come up with an idea.

He had heard Si Tu Zhang mention that insurance guy who always got the “full package” many times. Reportedly, he was a salesman for a large insurance company, so he must have many clients. Generally, people who buy insurance are afraid of accidents, so those prone to accidents would definitely buy insurance just in case. The almanac master had the ability to predict fortunes and misfortunes, to change luck and bring blessings. If he could start with these insurance clients, he might be able to open up a market for his conservative old profession. Then, those buying car insurance could be told which days were unsuitable for travel, and those buying accident insurance could be checked for which days disaster might strike. Although the insurance money might not be obtainable, who doesn’t hope for good health and everything going smoothly? Once his reputation was established, he naturally wouldn’t worry about people not seeking him out.

Si Tu Zhang, sitting beside him, naturally had no idea what Xiao Nanzhu was thinking. He just thought Xiao Nanzhu really wanted a free meal and simply agreed.

“Alright, but don’t stand me up this time. Yulan Restaurant’s clay pot lamb and hairy crab pot—I’ll specially order them for you, okay?”

“Remember to pick the big ones… I want female crabs.”

After this shameless remark earned him a dead-fish stare from Si Tu Zhang through his sunglasses, Xiao Nanzhu smiled with the corner of his mouth. Just as he stood up to go to the bathroom to wash up, Si Tu Zhang waved his hand saying he would leave first and headed straight for the door. But as he approached the door, he took out a set of still-steaming jianbing (Chinese pancakes) from his small bag and pointed at them, saying to Xiao Nanzhu:

“Eat them quickly while they’re hot. They’ll get cold soon. I’m off now.”

Si Tu Zhang had been good to him since they were little, and Xiao Nanzhu was used to it. If this guy hadn’t been so straight, perhaps when they were fifteen or sixteen, Xiao Nanzhu would have pinned him down in a small hotel and taken care of things. But such matters ultimately come down to fate. In his many years in the military, Xiao Nanzhu had seen young soldiers rubbing against his leg, calling him brother, desperately trying to seduce him, but some things just never progressed to that point. Accustomed to being alone, Xiao Nanzhu couldn’t promise anything to anyone. Now back in a familiar place, he didn’t want others to know about his preferences. Just as Xiao Nanzhu was thinking these random thoughts while brushing his teeth, his ears perked up, instantly sensing some rustling sounds from outside.

“Hey, you’re here? Have you had breakfast yet?”

Poking his head out of the bathroom to look at the young man who had just landed from the almanac, Twenty-five also pressed his lips together and looked up at him when he heard Xiao Nanzhu speaking to him. He was a young man whose appearance and dress were somewhat similar to Twenty-fourth’s, but his temperament was vastly different. If Twenty-fourth had the lively and vibrant appearance of a youth, this child had “difficult to get along with” written all over his face. But Xiao Nanzhu understood that people who looked like they had such personalities were often, in fact, quite shy and timid at their core. Just last night, Twenty-fourth had specifically told Xiao Nanzhu about his relationship with Twenty-fifth.

“My relationship with Twenty-fifth, how should I put it? It can actually be fully interpreted with one song!”

“Oh? What song?”

“Ah~~ah~~ Twenty-fifth~~ you are one day~~ more than Twenty-fourth~~~ ah~~~~ ah~~~ Twenty-fourth~~~ you are one day~~ less than Twenty-fifth~~~”

“…”

Pushing aside Twenty-fourth’s hypnotic and brainwashing singing voice in his mind, Xiao Nanzhu walked out of the bathroom in his slippers and casually took out another cigarette. During this process, Twenty-fifth sat obediently on the living room sofa, waiting for him to instruct what to do. Xiao Nanzhu immediately noticed his nervousness and anxiety, which made him smile.

“Don’t be nervous. I’m the one who’s just starting work today. You should take care of me.”

As he walked past the sofa, he patted Twenty-fifth’s lowered head. Twenty-fifth raised his head like a startled cat when Xiao Nanzhu touched him, his round eyes widening.

“What are you doing?! Don’t… don’t touch my head!!”

His reaction made Xiao Nanzhu smile even more mischievously. However, understanding that cats shouldn’t be teased too much—it’s no longer fun when they get too agitated—he didn’t continue to provoke Twenty-fifth. He just went to the kitchen, put the breakfast Si Tu Zhang had brought him back into the microwave to heat it for one minute, then reheated the century egg and lean meat porridge he had cooked in the morning, and also fried two soft-boiled eggs.

Twenty-fifth, sitting in the living room, hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, and when he smelled the aroma wafting from the kitchen, he instinctively straightened his back. According to the rules, apart from fire offerings, these calendar spirits didn’t need to eat any grains. But Twenty-fifth happened to be a glutton who couldn’t move when he saw delicious food. In the past, Xiao Nanzhu’s grandmother was a good cook, so whenever it was his workday and he came out to work, Twenty-fifth would appear much happier than usual. Now that Xiao Nanzhu, who had inherited his grandmother’s cooking skills, had appeared, the hungry-for-several-years Twenty-fifth was so moved that his heart began to race. He carefully looked towards the kitchen door, wiped the non-existent saliva from the corner of his mouth, and then somewhat embarrassedly said in a small voice to Xiao Nanzhu, who was frying eggs:

“Um, can I have… have two soft-boiled eggs? #^_^#”