Chapter 36: Love Street, Hate Shi Yun An Huai Preface: Shi Yun said...
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Arriving at the outskirts of Sancun Market, Uncle Guo led them around and finally came to a place similar to a folk square.
At the entrance to the square stood a simple sign, with cinnabar depicting the legend of the Love Festival.
Shi Yun noticed and briefly introduced two sentences:
"It is said that a long time ago, a fairy in heaven accidentally left her veil here. It was picked up by a farmer, and the two fell in love. Later, the heavenly court learned about it, deprived the fairy of her magic power, and moved mountains and set up dangers to stop the two..."
Uncle Guo took over the conversation. He was obviously more familiar with how to tell the story in a more appealing way.
"Later, the farmer climbed over mountains and ridges for more than ten years and finally reached the other side of the mountain, but was ruthlessly told that the fairy had returned to heaven. He persevered and climbed to the top of the highest mountain with a stick, kneeling for seven days and nights, and moved the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother ordered the fairy to cover her face with a veil on the tenth day of August every year, when all things are in full bloom, so that she can meet her lover briefly."
Uncle Guo was in a good mood when talking about this matter: "In order to commemorate the masked fairy and the farmer, future generations set up August 10th of each year as the Love Festival. Young people who meet the age requirements need to wear masks when entering the night market. If they are attracted to each other, they can throw a red string to the tree in front of the goddess of love, hoping for a happy, smooth, safe and healthy future."
Uncle Guo clasped his hands together devoutly and gazed at the stone statue of the Goddess of Love in the distance.
An Huaixu followed his line of sight. The stone statue of the Goddess of Love was not very delicate, but with her drooping eyebrows, kind face, red gauze, and willow branch in her hand, she looked full of divinity.
The Goddess of Love stands under a century-old tree, protecting the people walking on the path behind her.
Compared to the market, there are more faces here, some carrying baskets or bags, busy at the stalls on both sides of the road, preparing for the upcoming Love Festival.
In the distance is life, and in the near distance, the green leaves and red ropes swaying in the wind represent our unchanging faith.
Shi Yun whispered to An Huaixu, "If you find someone you like in the future, you can also throw the red string up there. The higher it hangs, the more the Lady of Love will recognize you!"
An Huaixu did not answer, not only because he was not in the mood to think about these things at the moment, but also because his love had nothing to do with others.
Uncle Guo remembered something: "Hey Xiaoshi, I thought you are almost old enough, don't you have any ideas for this year's Love Festival?"
Shi Yun was caught off guard when the topic turned to himself and was stunned for a moment.
He didn't often talk about his relationship, so it was a little unnatural to say: "Uncle Guo, you know, I don't have time..."
Uncle Guo said, "You just know how to fool people with this sentence. Hey, you know, in the past few years, under the Love Tree, the prayer board with the words 'May the one I love be well' has your name on it!"
Shi Yun’s face turned even redder.
An Huaixu frowned, and he didn't even notice that his voice had dropped a few notes: "What is that?"
Uncle Guo: "It's the girls in the village who are of the right age who do this. If they say they like someone but don't dare to confess, they can hang a sign of that person in front of the Lady of Love. If the Lady of Love sees it, maybe one day they will get what they want."
An Huaixu snorted.
If you don't even have the courage to confess, it's best to let go of the idea.
He glanced at Shi Yun and thought unhappily, it's ok that she was attractive when she was young, but now she's grown up, she's still so attractive...
Shi Yun noticed that An Huaixu was not in a good mood and thought that he was just tired, so he quickly changed the subject, bowed to the Goddess of Love, and walked onto the path.
Uncle Guo had a rare opportunity and was unwilling to let it go.
Shi Yun was at a loss and pulled An Huaixu for help.
An Huaixu was still angry and ignored Shi Yun.
He shifted his attention and looked around. It looked good from a distance, but when he looked closer, he didn't expect that there was actually a 'mystery' inside.
Colorful lanterns were hung all around, giving it a gray and tacky feel. On the wall, bright red mixed with fluorescent yellow and blue, there was a sentence written on it: 'Everyone is welcome to the Love Festival.'
Although the font is strong and powerful and looks very good, the bad thing is that there is a cyber-style "No Littering" sign next to it, which makes the whole wall look messy.
The decorations of the stalls are unable to highlight the selling points of the goods. They just blindly pursue festive atmosphere and ignore the festival itself. Not only does it lack the feeling of a traditional temple fair, it also drags down the surrounding scenery, making people feel visually fatigued after just one round of walking around, and they can't help but want to look up at the sky.
But I didn't expect that when I looked up, I saw that the paper umbrella that had been hung on the roof at some point in time had a hole in it and was about to fall down, making me look even more pitiful.
An Huaixu glared at the umbrella and finally decided to look at the ground.
The three of them walked to the end and saw a house that was neither big nor small. If it weren't for the sign "Sancun Town Government" next to it, An Huaixu almost thought it was someone's home.
Perhaps the people in the house had already seen them, because as soon as they entered the yard, a man in formal attire came out.
"Teacher An, Teacher Shi, Lao Guo, I've been waiting for you for a long time!"
"Mayor Cui!" Shi Yun seemed to like this man very much, and greeted him with bright eyes: "How is your health recently?"
"Don't worry, I'm fine, your Uncle Cui! When your father comes back, your uncle will treat you to a meal!"
"I'll let you taste my cooking skills when the time comes!"
Mayor Cui had a simple smile on his face, but was a little reserved in front of the camera. He praised Shi Yun with his eyes and asked them to go into the house.
Besides them, there was another person in the room. He looked to be no more than 40 or 50 years old, but his hair was already gray and his figure was a little hunched. He was sitting alone in the corner smoking a cigarette. When he saw them come in, he looked up at them in a nonchalant manner and then quickly lowered his eyes.
Mayor Cui introduced: "This is Lao Qu, from Anhao Village."
The three villages are Fugui Village, Anhao Village and Hemei Village where Uncle Guo lives.
Shi Yun saw that Uncle Qu had inexplicably calmed down and greeted him politely, "Uncle Qu."
Lao Qu hummed, stood up and walked to the table: "If you have anything to say, say it quickly, I'll have more to say when I get back!"
Lao Qu's dialect was slightly different from that of Fugui Village, and he spoke very fast, so it took An Huaixu a while to understand.
Mayor Cui smiled and asked them to sit down.
Shi Yun took the teapot and poured each of them a glass of water.
Mayor Cui: "In previous years, everyone would come together to discuss how to hold the Love Festival. Do you have any different opinions this year?"
Lao Qu: "It's good as it is now, there's no need to change anything. If you ask me, just do it as usual and make some mess like Senmo!"
Uncle Guo disagreed and turned to Mayor Cui and said, "This festival is becoming less and less innovative. Let's do something innovative this year, just like the Internet!"
Old Qu snorted, "Isn't it the same every year? Just do it the same way as before!"
Uncle Guo got angry when he heard what Old Qu said: "Hey, you old antique, in previous years when I was young, we suggested lantern riddles, lion dances, and iron flower making, which were so nice, but now there is none of these things!"
When Lao Qu talked about this, he was even more angry: "Isn't it so cold?! Some people think they know everything after studying abroad for a year or two. Don't bring back the bad habits from abroad!"
Seeing that the atmosphere was tense, Shi Yun tried to mediate with a smile.
Old Qu turned his back and swung his hands, muttering a few words in his hometown dialect in a fierce voice.
An Huaixu saw that Lao Qu was not targeting the new or the old, but he just didn't like Shi Yun very much.
Shi Yun sighed helplessly, as if he was used to it. After a few seconds, he told his plan as usual.
"Guessing lantern riddles is a very good interactive activity. It can not only deepen the relationship between people, but also improve the surrounding atmosphere. Our village chief and I agree that it is necessary to keep it."
Mayor Cui nodded, stopped Lao Qu with his eyes, and turned to ask Uncle Guo.
Uncle Guo didn't have any objections: "Replace the old lanterns, so as not to leave a bad impression on Lady Love."
Mayor Cui chatted with him for a few words around the lanterns, and suddenly remembered something. He handed over a card and looked up to ask An Huaixu: "This is the first time Teacher An has come to our place. I wonder what your impression of us is?"
An Huaixu unfolded it and found that it was a task card:
[A letter for help: The reputation of the Love Night Market has been declining rapidly recently. Please find out the reason for Mayor Cui and help him get out of this predicament.]
An Huaixu originally thought that he was just a spectator, but he didn't expect a mission to come. He had to say:
"Hang the colorful lanterns on the roadside to make them look nicer. Cover up the words 'No Dumping' on the wall to highlight the main subject. Throw the broken umbrella in the air back where it came from. Everything must be in harmonious color, and - Shi Yun is right."
He spoke this series of words so quickly that Mayor Cui was confused. After he came to his senses, he quickly wrote them down on paper.
Old Qu glanced at An Huaixu and said nothing.
Uncle Guo was happy: "Your suggestion is good! Mayor, I think we should just do as Teacher An said!"
Shi Yun looked at An Huaixu with gratitude.
An Huaixu handed the card to Mayor Cui and asked him to stamp it with "Mission Completed" first.
He noticed Shi Yun's gaze and dodged unnaturally: "Don't look at me like that."
No matter how Shi Yun thought about the words "You're right", he felt warm inside.
He retracted his gaze and raised the corners of his lips: "I just didn't expect that you would observe so carefully."
Just like that, Mayor Cui made a few concluding remarks, and retained the new ideas proposed by Shi Yun two years ago, and called out to Old Qu to find someone to pack up.
Uncle Guo sent Shi Yun and An Huaixu to the village entrance and waved goodbye.
Shi Yun breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally it's done, I can go back and report to Uncle Shan!"
An Huaixu: "Why doesn't Uncle Qu like you?"
Shi Yun was not too surprised and smiled bitterly: "I knew you would definitely see it."
He recalled: "It's nothing, actually. A few years ago, Uncle Qu's daughter didn't come home after school and was playing in the mountains. She got injured accidentally. After this incident, Uncle Qu hated our kindergarten."
An Huai's preface is clear.
Shi Yun sighed: "It is our fault for not supervising her properly, so we need to take corresponding responsibilities. Although the little girl is well now, Uncle Qu still won't let her go to school. I have visited her many times, but all of them are..."
An Huaixu could hear the disappointment in his tone: "It's okay, I'll go with you when I have time."
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