"Greeting cards, fairy lights, ornaments, candy, dried fruit, toys… phew. Since when did Christmas become this much trouble?"
Sitting in the passenger seat of Robbins Garcia's F750, Jiang Hai frowned as he looked at the long shopping list in his hand.
Honestly, he hadn't expected to buy so many things.
In his memory, Christmas used to be simple—say "Merry Christmas," put up a tree, maybe share a meal, and that was it.
"Haha, that was years ago, when it was just a few of us," Robbins Garcia said with a laugh as he drove. "By the way, boss, have you prepared gifts for the ladies at home yet?"
"Sigh… yeah. Took me forever just to figure those out," Jiang Hai replied seriously, pursing his lips.
Money wasn't the issue. Even though most of his cash had recently gone into stocks, buying gifts was still nothing.
The real problem was that the girls didn't want luxury bags or watches or jewelry. They already had more than enough of that.
What they wanted was sentiment.
And sentiment… was the most troublesome thing to prepare.
"I really miss two years ago," Jiang Hai muttered, rubbing his temples. "Just a few of us guys going into the woods, chopping down a tree, hunting a turkey, grilling meat over a fire. That felt like Christmas. Now we've got this whole production line. Headache…"
He had always been lazy by nature. His brain was sharp, sure—but if he didn't use it, it might as well be an expensive computer collecting dust.
The more he thought, the more tired he felt.
"Haha, you think this is troublesome?" Philim Turner called out from the back seat. "Wait until you've got kids. Then you'll know what 'real trouble' means."
Jiang Hai rolled his eyes.
Philim wasn't wrong.
These days, quite a few people on the estate had families—Philim, the fishermen, Tommy Charles, Enrique Cecilia, Andrew Christian…
Once you had a family, Christmas wasn't just a holiday. It became a full-scale operation: decorations, food, gifts, activities.
Which was exactly why Robbins and Philim had dragged him out today—to help buy supplies.
Of course, some of the newer workers planned to go home for the holidays.
The cowboys had it easy lately. Winter meant snow everywhere, so their daily routine was simple: let the cattle out for a bit of fresh air, clean the barns, feed hay, and call it a day.
The fishermen, meanwhile, were rushing to stockpile catches before their eleven-day break.
Jiang Hai had already approved the estate holiday—from December 25th through January 4th.
Still, just like previous years, most people wouldn't take the full vacation.
Some had nowhere else to go.
Robbins, Philim, and Harris would stay.
Bell lived in town, so he could come and go freely.
Burke might have his daughter visit, but he'd remain on the estate.
Several of the new cowboys were local too, so going home wasn't much of an issue.
As for the fishermen, Edward Anderson and the Turner family always spent Christmas together. Tommy Charles had gone home last year, but things hadn't gone well, so he was staying this time. Andrew Christian's home was far away—if he left, he might not come back—so he decided to stay too.
Some people simply didn't have families anymore.
Thinking about it, Jiang Hai realized that quite a few of them would be spending the holidays together at the manor.
It felt… oddly warm.
Just then, the truck slowed to a stop.
"We're here," Robbins said.
Jiang Hai looked up.
Instead of the familiar store in town, they had parked in front of a slightly old-fashioned shop on the outskirts: Annie's Candy and Toy Shop.
He frowned.
"This isn't the place we usually go to, right?"
"Uh… yeah… we're buying here," Robbins said, his face turning faintly red.
"He didn't just come here for candy," Philim added with a grin.
Robbins shot him a glare.
"The shops in town are too expensive," he muttered. "This place is cheaper."
Jiang Hai raised an eyebrow.
Cheaper?
Robbins earned $2,500 a week—$130,000 a year—plus profit sharing. This year alone, the ranch's cattle sales had brought everyone million-dollar bonuses.
And now he was talking about saving money on candy?
Yeah… right.
Clearly, that wasn't the real reason.
Suppressing a smirk, Jiang Hai got out of the truck.
The moment he stepped inside, Jiang Hai felt like he had entered a kindergarten.
The store was surprisingly spacious—about two hundred square meters.
Half of it displayed candy and toys.
The other half… was basically a children's playground.
Rocking horses, slides, ball pits—everything you could imagine.
Kids were running everywhere, laughing and playing. Some were toddlers, others already in elementary school. Parents followed behind with snacks and toys in their hands.
It was lively and warm.
Honestly, it didn't even feel like a shop—it felt more like a small community center.
The prices weren't bad either. Snacks looked clean and safe, and toys were reasonably priced.
No wonder families liked this place.
"Welcome—oh! It's you again, Uncle!"
A girl in a cartoon costume ran over to greet them. But halfway through, she recognized Robbins and immediately changed tone.
"Mom! Uncle Robbins is here!"
A woman in her forties came out from behind the counter.
She resembled the girl a lot. Though age had left a few lines on her face, she still looked attractive and carried herself with a warm, gentle air.
The moment she saw Robbins, her smile brightened.
And Robbins, who was usually so confident, suddenly didn't know where to put his hands.
Jiang Hai and Philim exchanged a look.
Both of them instantly understood.
Ah.
So that's why they came here.
"Hi, Annie," Robbins said awkwardly. "This is Philim—you've met him. And this is my boss, Jiang Hai."
"Hello, gentlemen," Annie said with a friendly smile. "Since you're Robbins' friends, I'll give you fifteen percent off. What can I get for you?"
"Oh wow, a discount?" Jiang Hai teased, grinning. "So we have to mention Robbins' name to get the special treatment, huh?"
Robbins coughed, embarrassed.
"Alright, alright, we're just joking," Jiang Hai said warmly. "We're here to buy some Christmas supplies."
Watching Robbins' flustered expression, Jiang Hai couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
Looks like their ranch manager wasn't just good at raising cattle.
He'd finally found himself a little springtime too.
(To be continued.)