Chapter 46 (Selling Popcorn)
The thirteenth day of the first lunar month
It was just the time of night when the main streets of Kyoto were already bustling with activity.
They are so crowded that if you look down from above, you can't see the ground.
"The city... is so prosperous!" Zhao Qi was dazzled by the sight, his eyes fixed on it.
A man passing by scoffed, "Another bumpkin!"
"You——" Zhao Qi was extremely angry and was about to argue with the other party.
The young man beside Zhao Qi held him back and soothed him, "Let's not argue with them. Winning first place in the provincial examination isn't something everyone can achieve. Judging from the guy's appearance, we'll definitely meet him in the examination hall someday. Let's teach him a lesson."
Zhao Qi, looking rather grim, took two deep breaths, calmed himself down, and said apologetically, "Brother Jin Zhao (Zi) is right. I was impulsive, but it's true that Kyoto is truly prosperous, far more so than my hometown."
The young man, Xue Jiahe, looked around and said with a smile, "It's just that there are a few more stalls."
Zhao Qi looked around, seeing stalls lined up next to each other. He nodded, "It's really a lot."
There were many people selling lanterns, and even more selling food, especially these foods that were so delicious, he had never tasted them before!
Fried chicken legs, fried chicken wings, fried chicken cutlets, braised chicken feet...
I can’t watch it anymore, my mouth is watering!
As the two were talking, a carriage slowly came over, attracting everyone's attention.
On the day of the Lantern Festival, Kyoto prohibits horse-drawn carriages from approaching this street, except for those holding official positions. Therefore, a horse-drawn carriage is particularly eye-catching!
The people around spontaneously gave way, and then the carriage passed by them, leaving a pleasant sweet fragrance, and stopped at an empty space in the bustling area in front. Dozens of guards around it were protecting the carriage tightly, and it looked quite imposing.
"Who is this?" Zhao Qi asked.
When he turned around, he saw the young man next to him staring at the carriage, as if he didn't hear his question.
Zhao Qi was speechless and pushed his friend.
Xue Jiahe came back to his senses, coughed lightly, and said, "This is the Xiao family's carriage."
Speaking of the Xiao family in Kyoto, there is no need for much introduction, everyone knows them.
As expected, Zhao Qi was immediately delighted: "Xiao family? The Xiao family I know? I heard from my grandfather that decades ago, the Great Zhou was not as powerful as it is today. We were always bullied and the people were living in poverty. It was not until the Xiao family army repelled the enemy that we were able to live peacefully as farmers..."
"Of course." Xue Jiahe still stared at that side.
Zhao Qi was overjoyed: "Ah, my greatest wish in this life is to meet the Xiao family in the court. When that happens, I will definitely tell him that it is thanks to him that I am where I am today..."
As he spoke, he realized that the person next to him was gone.
Xue Jiahe had already walked forward without even looking back.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Zhao Qi smiled helplessly and followed.
At this time, the carriage stopped and the guards stood next to each other facing outwards, leaving only a space the size of a door exposed. Then they took out a large table with several things in oil paper bags and a ceramic jar on it.
Finally, they took out a banner and hung it on the carriage for everyone to see: [Selling popcorn, give away free popcorn if you answer the riddle correctly]
This was the same situation as many other stall owners around, and people around were not surprised. The only thing they found strange was probably that this carriage was so luxurious, and yet it was doing business?
And what is popcorn?
When everyone was wondering, a servant opened one of the oil paper bags, pulled open the bag and showed everyone what was inside. Zhao Qi stretched his neck to take a look and found that the thing was round, but the surface was uneven, and it was orange yellow. It had a sweet smell from a distance.
At this time, the attendant said, "This is popcorn, specially given to you for free. One spoonful per person. If you answer the riddle correctly, you will get a free portion. If you get it wrong, you will have to pay for it yourself. Ten cents per portion!"
As he spoke, he scooped a spoonful with it. The spoon wasn't particularly big, just an ordinary soup spoon, with only three or four on it. Then he raised it slightly and asked, "Who wants to try it?"
"I!"
“Me, me, me!”
The people who had already gathered around raised their hands.
The attendants distributed the food one by one, giving each person a spoonful. Zhao Qi was jealous and also reached out to grab some.
Just to his last spoonful.
The people who had eaten it earlier were already rushing to buy it: "It's delicious! Is it really only ten cents? I want to buy it!"
"I want one too!"
It is still the Chinese New Year and the Lantern Festival, the last New Year carnival. Everyone has prepared a lot of money for novel and delicious things. Most people are willing to spend money, and looking at the oil paper bags on the table, the quantity must be quite large.
But unfortunately, no one in the carriage intended to make money, so someone immediately came to maintain order and tell them the rules.
Meanwhile, Zhao Qi excitedly shared with Xue Jiahe, "This is all food in Kyoto that I've never tasted before. It's totally worth it!"
"I haven't eaten it either..." Xue Jiahe smiled and picked up one to taste.
After eating one, he immediately understood. No wonder it was called popcorn. It was sweet and crispy, with a crackling sound, but empty inside. It looked like he had eaten something, but it felt like he had eaten nothing.
But the delicious sweet taste was still in his mouth, making him want to eat more.
Zhao Qi had also tasted it, but he wasn't too disappointed. Instead, his eyes sparkled. "Isn't this just the corn in our village that gets dried and pops when heated? It's quite sweet though. Kyoto people really enjoy it, adding sugar. We can't. I wonder who came up with this? It's quite interesting."
"It's a girl." Xue Jiahe said with a smile.
"Hmm?" Zhao Qi looked strange: "Do you know him?"
Xue Jiahe nodded reservedly: "She is a girl from the Xiao family. Unfortunately, I don't know her name. I only know that her name contains the character 'Shu'. She is very skillful. The braised food and fried chicken just now were all made by her, as well as many other dishes..."
Zhao Qi envied: "If I could marry this girl, it would be worth it even if I became a fat man in the future!"
Suddenly he felt a little cold around him. He turned his head and saw that Xue Jiahe had stopped talking.
He reacted quickly: "Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue, Brother Jinzhao, it seems like they're having a lively time answering questions over there, why don't we join in the fun? I wonder if Miss Xiao is here..."
On the other side of the carriage.
The stall owner draws the questions for the quiz, reads them out, and asks the person to answer them. This is to increase the interaction between the children and others.
It happened to be Ah Heng's turn to draw a question. He reached into the jar, pulled out a small slip of paper, unfolded it, and spoke in his tender little voice, "Question: Connecting in all directions."
The guest thought for a moment and said, "That makes perfect sense!"
Ah Heng smiled and nodded: "You're right, here you go." He took an oil-paper bag from the carriage and handed it over.
It is handed over to the guest by the waiter.
The guest was obviously very happy. Free things always make people happy. He said, "Thank you very much, young master. I hope to see you again in the future."
Ah Heng had never communicated with strangers before, but was treated so kindly. Her face turned red at these words, and she smiled shyly.
When they made way for Wan'er to smoke, they were all reluctant to leave.
So fun!
Yan Qiushu watched from the side and thought that what she did was really great. She didn't like doing business, but she still liked this way of playing by losing money to increase fun. However, she didn't have the capital before, so she didn't play it much.
Now I can let loose a little.
Most of the puzzles were simple, with only a few being truly complex. Wan'er happened to be unlucky and had picked one: "I admire Zhuangzi, who left the world behind and dreamt of being a butterfly when he fell asleep." After reading it, the girl said, "Please answer the second line!"
The person answering the question stared at it for a long time, but couldn't figure it out. Reluctantly, he took out ten coins and said, "I'll pay."
Wan'er was very disappointed and looked at the person behind him.
But the man avoided her gaze.
This question is really difficult.
At this moment, a young voice appeared: "I learn poetry from Gao Shi, and even in my old age I still sing like a phoenix."
Wan'er's eyes lit up and she looked at Yan Qiushu, as if asking a question.
Yan Qiushu was still hesitating. She didn't know whether this kind of poem was a good match or not. She was about to ask Xiao Pingsong, but she found that the person who matched this line was an acquaintance, so she nodded decisively.
Wan'er took a portion of popcorn and said with a smile, "Here you go."
"Thank you." Xue Jiahe took it with a smile, and without waiting any longer, he took it and moved away.
This made Zhao Qi wonder: "Why don't you say a few more words?"
The young man blushed slightly and shook his head, "Miss Xiao and I are not familiar with each other. What else can we say at this time?"
Zhao Qi nodded: "That's right..."
The two watched for a while, and figuring that these people wouldn't go out to play for a while, they left.
Yan Qiushu didn't notice, she was enjoying this game.
The children exchanged one after another and gave out popcorns one after another until they were all sold out, and they made a hundred coins!
Children have limited energy. Although they have a lot of energy, they will get tired after using it. After the last popcorn was given out, Wan'er fell asleep leaning on Yan Qiushu. Dongdong and Aheng were also very tired and groaned. Xiao Pingsong was better. As an older brother, he still remembered to support his two younger brothers.
Yan Qiushu lowered her voice and said, "Shall we go back first?"
"Well, let's go back." Xiao Pingsong nodded.
With an order, the carriage left.
The two people who were walking away not far away vaguely saw the carriage leaving. Their faces changed slightly, and they walked towards this side anxiously, as if they wanted to catch up with the carriage.
But there were too many people and they walked slowly. Before they could catch up, they reached the corner when Xue Jiahe was suddenly patted on the shoulder.
The two of them were startled and came back to their senses. Xue Jiahe said, "Mu Sheng, it's you. Didn't I tell you to go play by yourself?"
Mu Sheng was his personal servant, but he was given a holiday. Unexpectedly, the kid came to see him again.
But Mu Sheng's expression was not right: "Sir, something has happened, please go back quickly."
Xue Jiahe was startled, and then a cold wind blew, and he calmed down completely and looked at the person next to him.
Zhao Qi said, "We've been walking around for so long, and I'm tired. I'll go back and rest. Brother Jin Zhao, you can go home."
Xue Jiahe nodded, apologized, and left quickly.
At the same time, Yan Qiushu also took a carriage and returned to the Xiao family.
As soon as they entered the Xiao family, a group of people came to greet them.
Mainly to pick up Ah Heng.
When they arrived at Madam Xiao's yard, Xiao Huaiqi and his wife were also there. The three people in charge looked serious, but when they saw Ah Heng, their expressions all improved a little.
Xiao Huaiqi waved his hand and called Ah Heng to his side. He then looked at Yan Qiushu and asked, "Did anything special happen during this stall setting up?"
"No." Yan Qiushu shook her head. Seeing that their complexions hadn't completely improved, she asked, "What's wrong?"
Xie Qingyun whispered, "Something happened in the palace!"
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