Yunling's words were a rejection. Lu Yinghuai concealed his slight disappointment, while Pei Lin's brows furrowed with smugness. Whenever he was pleased, he could always say something useful.
"I think we should go out to a restaurant for New Year's Eve. It will save us the trouble of cooking ourselves and we can also enjoy the festivities."
"fine."
Yunling thought that there was nothing wrong with not having to move her hands herself, so she naturally agreed.
Seeing Yun Ling agree, Pei Lin immediately became talkative, chattering on and on.
"I think we should book a restaurant soon, preferably on the fifth floor, so we can have a panoramic view of the scenery both in the distance and below, and we can also hear the firecrackers from the capital city more clearly..."
The chatter in the carriage stopped in front of Jianlong Temple. The group went inside, ate some porridge, donated money for lamp oil, and then headed home, in accordance with the Laba Festival custom.
On the way back, the snowflakes grew heavier. Yunling lifted the curtain to look at the snow and saw a meat stall. She exclaimed in surprise:
"Hey, there's meat."
Upon hearing Yunling's cry, Gangzi immediately snatched the reins from Zifu's hand and pulled the carriage to a stop.
"Boss, want to buy it?"
"We're having hot pot tonight, so let's buy some meat."
Gangzi jumped off the deck, came to the window, looked up at Yunling and asked:
"Boss, should we buy a whole piece, have him slice it thinly, or buy shredded meat or minced meat?"
Yunling then looked at Tangling, who thought for a moment and suggested:
"Why don't you see if he sells meatballs? If not, buy ground meat and add some chopped shiitake mushrooms to make shiitake mushroom meatballs."
"good."
Gangzi responded and squeezed towards the stall. Yunling saw that the meat stall was indeed crowded with people, including the old and the young, men and women, as well as monks, nuns and Taoist priests. These people surrounded the stall like an iron barrel.
There were three to five people working at the meat counter at the same time. Listening to the customers' shouts, they chopped the meat into thick pieces, thin slices, long shreds, and minced meat, all in response to the customers' requests.
Yunling was captivated by this down-to-earth atmosphere and watched intently, not even noticing when Gangzi bought it or what it was.
The carriage continued forward, and Yunling soon saw a fishmonger pushing a cart selling fish. This time, before she could speak, Gangzi stopped the carriage first and turned around to ask:
"Boss, want some fish?"
"Yes, of course! Cut the fish into slices and put them in the pot; they'll be so tender and fresh."
Yunling, used to being in the carriage, went straight to the fishmonger after getting off. The fish swimming in the wooden tub swam even more vigorously when they saw Yunling coming. The fishmonger chuckled:
"Young master, you should have some fish. These are freshly caught fish from out of town today. They're very cheap. A two- or three-pound fish is only a little over two hundred coins. It's better than anything else you can eat."
Yunling noticed that the fish looked very lively, and thinking that a two- or three-pound fish would only be enough for two or three people, she said:
"Brother, give me three good ones, just this size will do."
Okay.
The fishmonger responded and pulled a thin willow branch from his waist. With a snap and a thread, the branch pierced through the fish's gills, and the fish was strung together.
There were three fish in total. After Yunling paid the coins, Gangzi took the fish from her. Tang Ling then suggested:
“Brother, there’s a small market ahead. Why don’t we walk there and see what we need to buy, and then buy it all at once? It’s better than taking a carriage and stopping all the time.”
Tang Ling also had her own selfish motives. Sitting in the carriage was like being fried in a pan, so unbearable that she wished she could sit outside. However, she was also afraid that Yun Ling would face fierce competition inside. She was truly torn between two options.
Yunling felt that since she had gotten off the carriage, she might as well walk around, so she wanted to explain the situation to Lu Yinghuai and Pei Lin.
At this moment, the two, who were arguing fiercely and about to fight, immediately reverted to their normal selves when they saw Yunling lift the felt curtain and reveal her small head.
“Hey, the market is just ahead. I was thinking we should just walk over and buy everything we need. Why don’t you guys go and book the restaurant we mentioned earlier? It’ll be easier if we split up.”
Lu Yinghuai immediately spoke up.
"But the snow is so heavy, it's hard to walk, and if you get covered in snow, you're more likely to catch a cold."
"I'll just hold the umbrella."
Yunling was immediately drawn to the umbrella lying nearby and picked it up without hesitation.
But Lu Yinghuai panicked. When Yun Ling picked up the umbrella, he felt as if he had done something wrong, his heart pounding wildly. He quickly raised the felt curtain to take the umbrella back, but Pei Lin mistook it for him chasing after Yun Ling and pulled him back.
"Hey, what are you doing? We've already agreed to book a restaurant, and you still want to go to the market. I told you a long time ago, if it's not yours, don't keep thinking about it, or you'll end up with nothing."
Lu Yinghuai's mind was entirely on Yun Ling, constantly wondering what her expression and thoughts would be after she opened the umbrella, so he naturally couldn't listen to Pei Lin's words.
Yunling, caught off guard, directly opened the twenty-four-ribbed oil-paper umbrella, and the picture of a beautiful woman taking a nap at the bottom of the umbrella instantly entered her eyes.
Her first thought was that the person was her. Upon closer inspection, she couldn't help but recall the day she went to the Lu family's trading company. She had fallen asleep on a recliner because she was too tired. The painting showed a recliner, a window, and wind chimes under the eaves.
Moreover, the painting ends with four characters: “Yunling, very good.”
It's her, it really is her!
Yunling hurriedly closed the umbrella, her heart pounding. Her mind was blank, but she didn't dislike the feeling. She didn't know why she felt that unexpected joy mixed with surprise, it was just... just...
"Boss, why aren't you using an umbrella?"
"The umbrella... the umbrella... the umbrella is broken."
"Is it broken? Let me see."
Yunling quickly moved the umbrella away, feeling guilty, and said:
"No need to look, just return it like this, so as not to be wrongly accused of breaking it later."
Gangzi thought it made sense; no one could be wronged except his boss, so he let Yunling do as she pleased.
"Hey, this guy's selling vegetables again. He just sold leek sprouts this morning, and now he's selling lettuce. Should we buy some?"
"Let's buy some lettuce and a couple more pieces of meat. That should be enough. I don't know if they like to eat liver or offal."
"Let's buy some too. Anyway, the boss likes to eat it, so it doesn't matter if they eat it or not."
"..."
Yunling couldn't hear what they were saying. She only saw that they had bought lettuce, some venison, mutton, and some offal, chicken and duck intestines.
Tang Ling also bought newly released peach charms with gold foil, a portrait of Zhong Kui, several red envelopes, some auspicious window decorations, two catties of oranges, three catties of dried persimmons, and a basket of raspberries, and that was it.
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