Chapter 12 Rice Flower Fish, do you feel like we're getting married? ...
In a humble restaurant, Fang Qingzhuo and Luo Shu sat face to face at a folding wooden table casually placed at the door.
While waiting for the noodles, Fang Qingzhuo picked and chose in the chopstick basket, and finally twisted out a pair of disposable chopsticks: "When the camera is repaired, you can take your materials and I will find my inspiration. Anyway, it's convenient to go anywhere in the city, whether it's by taxi or public transportation."
His attempt to draw a clear line was immediately opposed by Luo Shu: "No."
He didn't even bother to raise his eyelids and said without negotiation, "You have to accept it even if you don't want it."
Luo Shu sat upright. "I got up early in the morning and followed you everywhere to get here. I don't know anyone, and all my plans have been disrupted. I don't care. I'll go wherever you go."
She raised three fingers and promised, "I swear I won't be a burden to you. You can charge me for food and lodging."
The diners at several nearby tables pricked up their ears, their eyes lingering over the two of them as if they were watching a late-night soap opera about elopement. Several of the men shook their heads and sighed, as if to say, "Brother, don't be ungrateful for what you have."
Under her guidance of a few short lines, Fang Qingzhuo successfully transformed from a scumbag to a gigolo. He stroked his forehead and squeezed out through gritted teeth: "If you can't speak, don't speak."
The shop owner brought two bowls of steaming hot noodle soup and said, "Mutton noodles are ready."
Luo Shu took her family bucket with braised eggs and chicken legs and blew on the hot air: "It smells so good, thank you, boss."
The proprietress looked at the innocent girl, and when she looked at Fang Qingzhuo, there was obviously a hint of emotion on Bai Xia's face.
The table was low, and Fang Qingzhuo had to bend down as much as possible to eat a mouthful of hot noodles. Luo Shu rolled up her sleeves, tied up one side of her hair, and slurped down a noodle. Her hair kept sliding down as she ate, affecting her eating speed. As she tied her hair, she generously praised him in a drawling tone: "Fang Qingzhuo, you are amazing. The food in any random restaurant is so delicious."
Luo Shu gathered her long hair and tied it into a low bun with a few rubber bands, then turned on her phone camera and took a picture with satisfaction.
Fang Qingzhuo took this scene in and said, "Stop flattering me. Let's get going after we finish eating." He continued to eat his noodles.
This was a sign of his willingness to let her go, and Luo Shu nodded repeatedly, fearing he would regret it. She imitated Fang Qingzhuo, scooping a small spoonful of chili oil into the bowl and devouring it quickly. Looking up, she saw Fang Qingzhuo eating his noodles at the same pace as hers. After the third time they lowered their heads in unison, she couldn't help but ask, "Fang Qingzhuo, do you feel like we're getting married?"
Fang Qingzhuo opened his eyes wide in disbelief, his face flushed instantly at her outrageous words. He almost spit out the food he had half eaten. He took out a piece of cheap tissue paper and wiped his lips.
"Shut up."
"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll leave now."
Luo Shu immediately pursed her lips and kept silent.
The surroundings were once again filled with whispers, vaguely accompanied by negative words such as fierce, cruel, and violent.
Very good, he has been criticized for no reason again, and he has been labeled as a domestic violence man again.
After twenty years of eating, this was the only meal Fang Qingzhuo ate that made him receive the cold shoulder.
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The mountain road was winding, with a bump every ten meters and a bend every fifty meters. A normal person would have given up on such a road, but Luo Shu, who was not prone to motion sickness, was enthusiastically holding her camera and taking pictures at Fang Qingzhuo who was driving. If you didn't know better, you would have thought she was taking pictures of some important person.
The sound of shutter clicks echoed endlessly, and Fang Qingzhuo grew tired of being photographed. "If you dare to post a single one behind my back, I'll sue you for violating my portrait rights."
Luo Shu pouted and turned the camera around to take pictures of the scenery outside the window.
There are terraces along the way, crickets are singing passionately one after another, a scarecrow stands in the middle of the rice field with arms outstretched to respond, heavy golden rice ears sway in the wind, farmers with joy of the harvest on their faces cheer, and off-road vehicles are chasing the wind between the ridges, all of them are wandering in this autumn harvest picture, which is unique.
Luo Shu suddenly realized that for some people, autumn is not synonymous with sadness and bleakness.
Since ancient times, people have felt sad and lonely when autumn comes. I say that autumn is better than spring. Well, our ancestors were strict in their anti-emo selection.
She suddenly calmed down, and the whole carriage was silent. Fang Qingzhuo couldn't help but take a curious look at her. She was lying on the window sill with her arms under her head. The hairstyle she had when she ate noodles was ruined. The loose hair on her forehead was messy and stuck to her face in the wind, and her bun was hanging loosely on the back of her neck.
After making sure that she wasn't throwing a tantrum, he withdrew his lingering gaze, which he hadn't even noticed.
Before coming, Fang Qingzhuo made an appointment with a local Nuo opera inheritor. After entering the mountains, he couldn't get through on the phone, so he had to drive around according to the map on his mobile phone. Since he couldn't drive into the village entrance, he took Luo Shu to check the house numbers from house to house.
Fang Qingzhuo was looking for something on this side, while Luo Shu was distracted on the other side. They saw a little girl, about 5 years old, with pigtails and wearing a coarse cloth dress with lace on the side collar, sitting on the doorstep of her house and playing with stones.
"Little sister, what's your name?"
The little girl looked up in response, revealing her big, sparkling eyes: "Yaya."
"You look so beautiful in this dress!"
"You're beautiful too."
"Fang Qingzhuo, she praised me for being beautiful." Luo Shu raised the corner of her mouth.
Fang Qingzhuo came over to pour cold water on this little bit of talent: "Don't act like a human trafficker."
She glanced at the blue house number on the door, then immediately squatted down and took out a photo. "Little sister, tell your brother he lives here?"
"Dad lives here."
Fang Qingzhuo felt relieved for only two seconds.
Yaya added, "But Dad and Mom went to work."
"Brother, I have an appointment with Dad to visit, so can you take me to see Dad?"
Yaya blinked, and recalled the adults' advice not to leave home, and became very hesitant.
Seeing this, Luo Shu took out some candy from her pocket that even children couldn't resist and said, "Sister, here are some candies."
He looks more like a human trafficker, Fang Qingzhuo thought.
With Yaya's guidance, the two finally found the Master Tang Fang Qingzhuo had mentioned. Seeing her parents, Yaya let go of Luo Shu's hand and stumbled over. In the rice fields, where three generations lived together, the primitive pedal threshers rumbled, and the faint sound of rice fish splashing in the mud could be heard.
Fang Qingzhuo stated his purpose.
Tang Kanghai, with his typical farmer's appearance, wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "I'm really sorry, I can't get away during the busy farming season."
At this point, Fang Qingzhuo had no choice but to give up his original plan of going back and visiting again tomorrow. He wanted to invite Luo Shu to leave with him, but she ran to the fields to catch fish and even shouted to invite him to join them.
He pulled a handful of hair. This guy was really good at finding things to do for himself.
Holding back his impatience, he quickly stepped forward to catch the person. He saw Luo Shu hunched over the water outlet, waiting intently for the fish to fall into his trap.
He picked up a piece of dogtail grass and put it next to her ear to tease her: "Can you please stop making things worse?"
At this time, Master Tang smiled and said to them that they could take one back if they liked. Fang Qingzhuo declined, saying that he just wanted to have some fun. Grandma Tang, who was holding a bundle of straw, thought he was being polite, so she kindly persuaded him that this was an authentic rice fish that had been raised from the fry stage to the size of an arm, and they must take one or two back to try it.
Luo Shu tried to pull Fang Qingzhao's sleeve, but he swiftly dodged the dirty hand that was stained with muddy water: "If you have something to say, just say it. Don't touch me."
"Look, they only have Master Tang as their laborer, and he can't finish harvesting the whole area even after dark." She felt sympathy for him. "We're all here, and you need help, so any help would be appreciated..."
"You are a man of high moral character, so you should stay and help..." Fang Qingzhuo said halfway, looking at the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren working hard but finding joy in hardship, and he couldn't figure out his own thoughts and compromised.
Yaya's mother was harvesting rice, Fang Qingzhuo was helping to carry it, Master Tang was threshing the rice, and grandma was cleaning up after removing the straw from the millet. Luo Shu was despised by Fang Qingzhuo for wasting food and was sent away to fish in troubled waters with little Yaya. The division of labor was clear, and in the blink of an eye the sky darkened and slowly lost its original color.
After being busy from day to night for the whole afternoon, Master Tang warmly invited them to have dinner and entertain them for their help.
When dinner started, the host brought out another bowl of fried fish. Grandma Tang cooked it herself and put a piece into Luo Shu's bowl.
Luo Shu shook her head: "Grandma, I really can't eat anymore."
As soon as she finished speaking, Fang Qingzhuo saw her picking out the fish bones and putting some into her mouth. Her pupils suddenly lit up, and then her face was full of satisfaction. She shook her head and danced with joy.
Then, Gou Fugui would not forget to break off the crispy and tender part on the outside and share it with him.
"Try it, it's delicious."
Fang Qingzhuo refused instinctively, but before he could say anything, the fish meat was already forced into his mouth.
There were maybe four or five seconds when Fang Qingzhuo didn't move at all, and her fingertips inevitably touched his teeth. Didn't she feel it?
Grandma Tang held the sleepy little girl Yaya, who had been playing all afternoon, on her lap: "No need to share, there's plenty of fish."
Afraid that Fang Qingzhuo would feel embarrassed to pick up a piece and put it into his bowl where he had already put down his chopsticks, he mumbled a bunch of incomprehensible local dialect.
Fang Qingzhuo and Luo Shu were both confused when Master Tang and his wife happened to come back with some wine.
After waiting for a long time, a guest who came here because of his reputation came and learned the reason why Fang Qingzhuo was studying Nuo opera. Master Tang, who usually had no drinking companion, was in a good mood and opened a jar of homemade white wine to entertain Fang Qingzhuo.
Actually, Fang Qingzhuo wanted to add a psychic among the protagonists of the game. By chance, he found out about this intangible cultural heritage. Since ancient times, the artists who performed Nuo opera were also called psychics who could communicate with ghosts and gods, so this trip came into being.
Mother Tang took away the sleeping little Yaya. After listening to the old mother's words, Master Tang patted Fang Qingzhuo's shoulder and translated them.
"Grandma means that you look steady, but you're actually quite taciturn. I'm praising you for not complaining and for doing more than you say. You're a good kid."
As soon as Master Tang finished speaking, Luo Shu frantically glanced at Fang Qingzhuo for his reaction. He lowered his gaze unnaturally, his expression, usually impassive despite the imminent danger, now showing a rare hint of shyness.
She had never seen him act like such a little boy before, so she approached him curiously: "Are you shy?"
His thoughts were exposed, and Fang Qingzhuo turned his face away proudly without saying a word.
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