Chapter 98 I love the five-colored water ball so much, I love you so much
On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, Atao got up early to dress up everyone and the animals in the family in "Dragon Boat Festival style outfits".
It started with the children in the family. Each child was given a "Five Poisons Robe"—a pale yellow bib embroidered with centipedes, snakes, scorpions, geckos, and toads. It was very fancy, but children in the Song Dynasty had to wear it every Dragon Boat Festival, and almost every child had one.
Xiangjie and Chen Chuan were not yet old enough to feel shy, but they obediently put them on under Atao's watchful eyes. Only Jige looked at the yellow undergarment stuffed into his arms with a face full of resistance.
"Wear it inside for good luck, and no one will see it!" Atao glared at him with her phoenix eyes and blocked Jige's doorway without allowing any refusal. "Change into it right now, and you're not allowed to go out without it."
Ji Ge'er had no choice but to awkwardly close the doors and windows and draw the curtains, and then hesitantly put on the undergarment.
When he opened the door with a sullen expression, Atao wouldn't let him in. Under Atao's questioning gaze, he could only resign himself to his fate and lift the corner of his clothes to let her see the pale yellow ribbon hanging down from his inner garment.
"That's more like it." Atao was satisfied and turned around to catch cats, dogs, donkeys, and oxen all over the yard, wanting to hang red spirit talismans on them.
Ge, the charlatan who often comes to eat soup noodles in West Alley, brought over quite a few. They were all drawn by himself—he used cinnabar to draw Zhong Kui's image on green rattan paper, and then drew incomprehensible talismans on the back, and pressed the Three Pure Ones seal on it.
Ge the fortune teller was all smiles. He delivered the talismans and then bought a lot of fish noodles before leaving—he had made several strings of cash just from selling talismans these past few days.
He also sent over several images of the Celestial Master to ward off evil spirits and protect the home, instructing that they be pasted on the door.
Tang Er, with a bowl of paste in his mouth and the corner of the portrait in his hands, was tiptoeing towards the door to stick it on.
After running breathlessly, Atao finally caught the Qilin that was leaping across the rooftops. Holding the cat, she went over to check how well it was pasted: "It's crooked, it's crooked, move it a little to the left."
Then she sat down under the tree, first tying a Five Poisons Cloak to the meowing Qilin, and then attaching a Crimson Spirit Talisman to the cloak.
Lei Ting, Shiyi Lang, and Shier Niang were dressed the same, except that Shiyi Lang wore a toad hat. Since only Shiyi Lang was used to wearing a hat, Lei Ting and Qilin would try every means to scratch it off with their claws whenever they put one on. Shier Niang was the same; she always shook her head when she wore a hat, and last time she even twisted her neck, pitifully becoming a crooked-necked cow, and had to be taken to Wen Shiqi Niang's veterinary clinic for two days of acupuncture before she recovered.
With the three chickens and Zhuifeng all gone to the duck farm to guard the house, Atao could only entrust the little clothes she had made for them to Aunt Li to take with her.
After Zhui Feng went to the duck farm, he was like a fish in water. Every day, he would chase the ducks with his tongue lolling out, often forcing them to spread their wings and jump into the pond to escape. Aunt Li said that many ducks had their muscles torn out from Zhui Feng's chasing.
The little white rooster was also happy because there were many old hens in the duck farm, and he was the only rooster. Every day as soon as the sun went down, he would happily crawl into the hens' nest, but soon he would be fiercely pecked out by the hens.
After dressing up the animals, Xiangjie, Chenchuan, and Jige were also washed and dressed. Atao first called Xiangjie over and styled her hair into double buns, then wrapped them with green ribbons dyed with mugwort. Fresh mugwort branches were inserted at the base of the buns, with two five-poison coins strung on them with the leaf tips pointing downwards, and tied tightly in a knot. Chenchuan and Jige wore mugwort tiger turbans, with the tassels dyed with mugwort juice and small bells tied to the ends. Five-colored silk threads and mugwort branches were wrapped around the sides of the turbans.
When Aunt Nian brought Yu, she couldn't escape A Tao's torment.
Yu was the most obedient. She sat there and let Atao dress her up without complaining. She even opened her mouth wide and yawned.
Aunt Nian leaned against the door, watching her daughter's hair tied into two round buns on either side of her head, adorned with bright red silk ribbons. She smiled and drove the Shen family's oxcart to the Yujie Fast Food Restaurant. The number of people ordering group meals today had increased rather than decreased, and she still had to deliver meals.
Aunt Nian and Ding Wushi didn't complain much; good business at the shop was a good thing! They were just afraid that business would suddenly decline, which would make them uneasy. On the contrary, Madam Shen seemed to feel very guilty, and because they couldn't rest during the Dragon Boat Festival, she paid them three times their daily wage today, saying it was "triple pay during festivals."
Twelve Sister was put on a cart and led away by Aunt Nian. Atao continued to use realgar wine and cinnabar to draw a "king" on everyone's forehead.
When Ji Ge'er's rebellion failed, Xie Qi brought Yan Shu over, and Ji Ge'er was listlessly feeding a donkey with the "king" character on his forehead.
"Yanshu! I haven't seen you for days, come here quickly!"
When Atao saw Yanshu, her eyes lit up, and she immediately pulled him over to dress him up as well.
Because Xie's father came in a hurry and wanted to "visit incognito," he did not bring any attendants with him. Yan Shu was assigned to Xie's father's service. These past few days, he had been accompanying Xie's father to purchase the necessary items for the six rites. The boy was so busy that he was exhausted, leaving early and returning late. When I saw him now, I noticed that he had dark circles under his eyes and had lost a lot of weight.
Upon closer inspection, it seemed he had lost two more teeth, and his mouth trembled as he asked, "Sister Tao, what are you doing?"
“My lady said yesterday that she wanted to go see the dragon boat races. Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, and we must wear mugwort to ward off the five poisonous creatures when we go out. So I’m putting a turban on you now!” A-Tao said with a smile as she combed Yan Shu’s hair, while secretly glancing at Xie Qi.
Ninth Brother clearly knew he was going to watch the dragon boat races, and he was already dressed up—he wasn't wearing a crown, but his hair was tied up in a high bun with two long, colorful silk ribbons that hung down his back. He wore a blue gauze jacket with a river and sea wave pattern, and the inner lining was white silk cloth with silver thread embroidery of the five poisonous creatures. The exquisite embroidery was faintly visible in the sunlight, and a hollow mugwort ball hung from his waist.
Atao, with her sharp eyes, immediately noticed something amiss: Why did the silk ribbon on Ninth Brother's head look a bit like the one Madam had woven the other day? Madam Shen wasn't good at needlework or embroidery; even her five-colored silk braids were rather loose, making her easily recognizable.
However, she didn't say anything, but simply looked away and smiled knowingly.
When Shen Miao came out after combing her hair, she couldn't stop smiling—her wife had styled her hair in a fashionable crooked bun, with a small peach wood calamus sword inserted under the white jade hairpin, and a longevity thread made of five-colored silk hanging from the tip of the sword, the same style as the one on Ninth Brother's head.
This must have been secretly given to Ninth Brother by his wife yesterday when they were cooking zongzi in the kitchen!
Shen Miao was also dressed in the color of mugwort today. She wore a cross-collar magpie tail short shirt and a madder-colored cotton skirt. She had a five-colored silk thread woven into a net-like waistband with bells, five poison coins, peach pits, sachets and so on. Although she had a lot of things hanging on her waist, A Tao still saw the exact same mugwort ball at a glance.
Her smile grew even brighter.
It seems... yesterday, the lady gave Ninth Brother the five-colored silk she had woven herself, and Ninth Brother returned this mugwort ball, right?
Atao was satisfied and handed the remaining two Crimson Spirit Talismans to Tang Er and Fuxing, saying, "You can wear them yourselves."
She hummed a little tune and went back into her room to get ready.
After silently brushing her teeth and washing her face, Shen Miao noticed the silk ribbon on Xie Qi's head and couldn't help but smile.
Xie Qi saw Shen Miao smile, and his ears felt hot again. He lowered his head and walked in. He first bent down and rubbed the Qilin that was rubbing against his leg. When he picked up the cat and held it in his arms, the colorful silk threads fell to his shoulder and then down to his chest.
The mugwort ball tied around his waist kept swaying.
Today, Xie Qi's belt was tied tightly and neatly, so from his shoulders and chest down, the originally wide and broad lines suddenly folded inward.
Shen Miao stared at Xie Qi's tightly bound waist and suddenly remembered last night in the kitchen when the two of them were discussing "frivolous" things amidst the steamy atmosphere. She vaguely remembered clinging to his waist.
She quickly immersed her face in the water; the well water was icy cold, and her mind went completely blank from the cold.
She looked up again, wiped her face with a handkerchief, and returned to her usual self, smiling as she rolled up her sleeves: "Shall we have five-colored water dumplings for breakfast today? After we finish eating, let's close the shop and go out to watch the dragon boat races together. Aunt Gu said she's reserved good spots for us at the tea stall by the river, so we can all go and cheer on Second Brother Gu and Uncle Gu. Both of them have been conscripted by the neighborhood head and will be racing today."
Xiangjie immediately said, "Then I'll go to Liu Douhua's house and borrow a cymbal! When we start shouting, we definitely won't lose!"
He then turned and ran away.
Chen Chuan chased after him, saying, "How about we get another drum? Abao's family has a hand drum!"
"Huh?" Yan Shu looked around and quickly adjusted his turban, not wanting to be left behind: "Wait for me."
The children rushed out of the yard noisily, and soon after, the sound of them knocking on Liu Douhua's door could be heard again. Xie Qi sat down on the porch, unconsciously rubbing Qilin's chubby face, his eyes following Chen Miao as he turned and went into the kitchen.
The Qilin's face was squeezed so tightly that its teeth were bared, and then stretched into a pancake shape.
"Meow!" It pawed at Xie Qi's arm in a panic.
Xie Qi snapped out of his daze and looked at Qilin's chubby face, which he had ruffled, and quickly stroked its fur apologetically: "Sorry, sorry, I was just... I was distracted. Did I hurt you?" After stroking its fur, he quickly picked it up and kissed its forehead.
The Qilin stopped barking. But it still managed to squeeze out of Xie Qi's arms, then nimbly leaped onto his shoulder, wiggled its bottom, and jumped onto his head.
It perched on his head with its rear end facing forward, stretching out its paws to tug at the silk ribbon hanging down behind his head.
Atao, having put on her mugwort and applied rouge, came out, only to find Ninth Brother alone in the courtyard. She asked, "Why didn't Master Xie come over?"
“My father went back to Chenzhou early this morning to receive the betrothal gifts.”
Atao exclaimed with delight, "That's wonderful! After that, does it mean we just need to have someone calculate the wedding date and that's considered an engagement?"
"Hmm." Xie Qi's ears twitched slightly. He lowered his eyes and began to rub the large tail of the Qilin that had landed in front of him.
"I was wondering why the sparrows were chirping so much today, it turns out it's a sign of this happy event! That's wonderful, now that you're engaged..." A-Tao didn't finish her sentence, but the smug smile on her face betrayed her thoughts: Oh dear, from now on, my wife and Ninth Brother won't have to hide their affections from everyone anymore! How wonderful, then she'll be able to watch to her heart's content soon!
Besides, once the engagement is complete, how far away can the wedding be? She's already planned to eavesdrop outside the door on their wedding night...
Ah Tao hummed a tune happily and went to the front of the shop to look after the goods.
Xie Qi was unaware that A Tao had already thought of over a dozen names for his and Madam Shen's child. He was simply playing with the cat's tail while gazing longingly at the kitchen. He did want to go in and help with the fire, but Madam Shen had complained yesterday that he wasn't as good at it as You Yu, saying that he had almost boiled the water in the earthenware jar dry.
And... he was also a little hesitant to go in.
Yesterday, he sat on a small stool in front of the stove, and his legs went numb. It took him a long time to get up.
But... he also wanted to stay by Madam Shen's side, even if it was just sitting there, not saying a word, and not being "frivolous".
No… I can’t think about frivolous things! How can I be frivolous every day!
Xie Qi despised himself, but his heart felt like it was being gnawed by ants. He had no choice but to use both hands to press the Qilin's tail against his increasingly hot face.
Shen Miao calmly walked into the kitchen.
But as she stepped over the threshold, she saw the stool in front of the stove. She looked away uncomfortably, then noticed the leftover braised pork dumplings from yesterday, strung together and hanging under the window. The aroma of the dumplings was strong, and the fragrance seemed to pull her back to yesterday evening.
She unconsciously swallowed.
I really don't know what they're so nervous about.
She took a deep breath, cleared her mind of distractions, and focused on kneading the dough to make five-colored water balls.
This is actually a cold noodle dish that was a special feature of the Dragon Boat Festival during the Song Dynasty. It's not too difficult, but making five different colors of noodles is a bit troublesome.
Prepare colored juices in advance using mugwort, carrots, millet, and black beans: shred carrots, wrap them in gauze, and squeeze out the orange-red juice; wash spinach, blanch it, add water, and then pound it in a red mortar to extract green juice; cook millet until soft, and scoop out the yellow rice water from the top; soak black beans, then blend them into soy milk and extract the black juice. The last white color is the original color of the wheat flour.
Next, divide the flour into five portions, add the juice to each portion, then add salt and oil and knead into dough. After resting, roll the dough into thin noodles. The soup base for the water dumplings is plum soup. Add water and boil plums, red dates, hawthorn, dried tangerine peel, and monk fruit together until the soup turns a clear, cool, and golden-yellow color. After cooling, add honey.
I made this plum soup yesterday, sealed it well, and let it cool in a shady place overnight. Now it's perfectly chilled.
Then, the cooked five-colored noodles, after being rinsed in cold water, were neatly shaped and placed in a white porcelain bowl chilled with well water, and then poured into the chilled plum soup.
The soup base is crystal clear and slightly yellow, with colorful noodles floating inside. A washed hollyhock is placed on top of the soup. It tastes sweet and sour, refreshing, and nourishing, like eating an ice bowl.
This way of eating seems to have been rarely seen in later generations, but the custom of eating sweet noodles during the Dragon Boat Festival still exists at this time [Note]. Moreover, there are some considerations in traditional Chinese medicine regarding eating this during the Dragon Boat Festival. In the warm and humid spring, it is easy to generate damp heat and phlegm. Eating a bowl of five-colored sweet noodles is both festive and therapeutic.
This plum soup is actually quite delicious even without noodles. Chen Miao found it particularly soothing to drink and that it also aided digestion.
From then on, the shop decided to add this type of spring soup to its menu, and asked Mei San Niang to make it and send it over.
Shen Miao finished making the five-colored water balls in one go. As she was adding flowers on them, she suddenly heard Xiang Jie'er ask Xie Qi in the courtyard, "Ninth Brother, why didn't you take me running today?"
Ninth Brother stammered, "My legs haven't been feeling well these past few days, I'll run again tomorrow."
Xiangjie asked with concern, "What happened to your leg? Did you fall? Sprained it?"
Ninth Brother stammered several times before finally answering: "Um...almost..."
Shen Miao's face immediately turned red.
Yesterday, the kitchen window was bathed in the honey-colored glow of the setting sun. It was so hot inside that a thin layer of sweat seeped through Xie Qi's dark brows. Behind him was dusk, and in front of him was the flickering fire in the stove. The two lights, one in front and one behind, enveloped him in a hazy orange-gold hue.
He leaned toward her through the fog.
Shen Miao didn't flinch, but stared at him intently.
Look at the shimmering golden edge cast on the right side of his high, straight nose, and see how the afterglow streaming in from behind makes the small mole on his neck exceptionally clear.
Outside, Ji-ge and Xiang-jie were drinking freshly brewed plum soup. Someone was fighting with whom for the plums in the soup, and the two siblings were chasing each other around the yard, shouting and yelling, their porcelain bowls and spoons clattering together.
Xie Qi subconsciously held his breath, and after a long pause, he slowly came over.
They drew closer, their breaths mingling, and Shen Miao's eyelashes touched his cheekbone. Suddenly, the firewood in the stove next to them burned out, startling Xie Qi, who was already nervous and inexperienced, so much so that his nose bumped into her face.
He covered his nose and stepped back, looking extremely embarrassed.
"And you even said you learned it!" Shen Miao was both angry and amused. She couldn't help but turn her head to suppress her laughter, but the more she tried to hold it in, the more she wanted to laugh, and finally she let it out.
Xie Qi seemed annoyed by her laughter.
The next moment, Shen Miao's head was pressed down by a hand that was so nervous it was wet with sweat. She was forced to turn her head, and this time Xie Qi finally pressed his lips against hers.
He embraced her, his warm lips as soft as delicate satin.
Shen Miao didn't close her eyes or look away. She quietly watched the shadow cast by his raven-feather-like eyelashes under his eyes, and the flush on his cheeks.
But her heart felt like sugar being slowly melted over a low flame.
After kissing her lips, he pulled away and tentatively brushed his nose against her flushed cheek. He cupped her face in his hands, opened his eyes, and looked at her.
The firelight cast an amber glow on their eyes. His eyelashes fluttered as he gazed intently at her, as if confirming her feelings.
Shen Miao simply raised her hand and tucked the stray hairs from his cheek behind his ear.
The second time, he didn't just test her; he firmly touched her slightly cool lips with his own, and in the instant he closed his eyes, he captured her upper lip in his mouth.
Their lips parted slightly, their breaths quickened, and their tongues touched lightly. In the shadow cast by the firelight on the ground, the two had become one tightly bound together.
The aroma of burning pine wood in the stove mingled with the scent of bamboo leaves. Smelling the food, Chen Miao closed her eyes peacefully and tilted her chin slightly in agreement.
The last sliver of orange-red seeping through the window crack suddenly dimmed, while the white steam constantly billowing out from the gaps in the steamer grew increasingly thick.
Xie Qi's palm, which cradled the back of her head, was burning hot. After a long, deep kiss, their noses touched, and their still-breathing breaths mingled together.
Afterwards, Shen Miao also felt a little dizzy.
All she remembered was that he kissed her again and again, like a child, his kisses filled with an uncontainable joy and excitement.
"Ah Miao," he would call her name against her lips.
Sometimes he would gaze at her tenderly and infatuatedly, his eyes, warm and moist from the fire and steam, seeming as if they were about to drip water.
As dusk finally swallowed the last rays of light, a spark from the stove illuminated their bodies pressed tightly together. When they separated, the firelight almost dyed Xie Qi's taut, reddened jawline and Shen Miao's moist lips a warm, dancing gold.
"I really..."
I like you so much.
"I like you so much, I like you so much."
In the hazy, dim light, he whispered repeatedly in her ear, expressing the love he couldn't suppress. But as he spoke, he would become like a clingy puppy, nuzzling her nose and gently biting her lips.
He was so passionate, his heart was burning, and his palms and lips seemed to be on fire. Even Shen Miao couldn't stay calm and couldn't resist responding to him. She gradually let herself go and completely drowned in his kiss.
Thinking back on it today still makes me blush.
Shen Miao silently scooped up another ladle of water to wash her face.
After that, the copper coins in the earthenware jar stopped ringing, and the rice dumplings were cooked. Shen Miao and Xie Qi had been sitting silently on the stool for a long time, and she finally had an excuse to stand up and check how the rice dumplings were cooking.
Xie Qi nodded quietly, but didn't move.
It was only natural and expected.
His legs went numb.
Recalling this, and listening to his conversation with Xiang Jie'er, Shen Miao realized that Ninth Brother's legs were probably still numb... Shen Miao suppressed a laugh, calmed himself down, and took the five-colored rice dumplings out. He also cut up a few different kinds of cooked rice dumplings to eat with them.
Yesterday, my aunts and I made jujube zongzi, red bean zongzi, plain zongzi, and alkaline water zongzi together at her house. Shenmiao traded some of them with meat zongzi. Now we have both sweet and savory zongzi at home, so we can eat whichever we want.
Each person was given a bowl of five-colored rice dumplings. The dumplings were all quite large, and one was enough to satisfy everyone according to their taste.
Xiangjie didn't really like the five-colored rice dumplings. After finishing her plum soup, she ate the rice dumpling with gusto. She and Chen Chuan were staunch supporters of meat rice dumplings in the family, but Jige'er had a lukewarm reaction to her cooking for the first time. He preferred the plain rice dumplings wrapped by Aunt Gu, which he would dip in white sugar and eat in one go.
As always, Yan Shu loved to eat everything. He ate a saliva-flavored rice dumpling dipped in honey and a meat-filled rice dumpling. After finishing, he said to Shen Miao with delight, "Madam Shen, this is the first time I've ever eaten a savory rice dumpling. I didn't expect it to be so delicious. The filling is so rich. I'm so satisfied."
Shen Miao then rubbed his head and said, "Come over if you want to eat. I've cooked quite a lot."
I remember in my past life, my family would make so many zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) at once that we couldn't finish them all in one Dragon Boat Festival. We'd freeze them and cook them every few days, which would last us a long time. However, in the south, zongzi are a common sight at breakfast stalls all year round; they've become a breakfast staple, unlike mooncakes which only appear once a year. They're quite common to eat even outside of the Dragon Boat Festival.
After breakfast, we had to hurry to see the dragon boat races, otherwise it would be so crowded that we wouldn't be able to get across the bridge.
Aunt Gu had been waiting at the tea stall by the river for a long time.
The willows along the banks of the Bian River rippled like green waves in the warm breeze. Chen Miao, carrying a bag full of snacks, led a large group of people out on their way.
As soon as they reached the entrance of the riverside teahouse, Xiangjie spotted Liu Douhua inside. The children excitedly rushed in, and Fuxing and Tang Er quickly followed. The teahouse was packed with people, and they couldn't let their children get lost.
Atao quickly went inside. She saw the dwarf Yabao vaguely in the crowd and wanted to take the opportunity to ask him if he had any message from her mother.
Shen Miao and Xie Qi were left alone at the very end again.
As they entered, they were jostled and bumped into each other, being swept forward by the flow of people.
Shen Miao hesitated for a moment, wanting to hold Xie Qi's hand. She stretched out her fingers, but before she could do so, Xie Qi suddenly grabbed them first.
She suddenly looked up at him.
He didn't look at her, but kept looking ahead, protecting her as they squeezed through the crowd with an air of righteous indignation.
Shen Miao smiled and bent her fingers to squeeze his.
The two walked to the illegally constructed terrace of the tea stall, where they could see the dragon boats almost up close.
Aunt Gu was already surrounded by children and neighbors from the alley. Just as Shen Miao and Xie Qi were about to head there, they heard urgent calls from behind, accompanied by the clinking of keys: "Madam Shen, Madam Shen! Wait! Wait!"
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