Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Qujiang Watching the Dragon Boat Race The Dragon Boat Race Takes the Lead...
Duan Zhiwei was strolling slowly along a row of green weeping willows by the river when he suddenly felt someone following him. He turned around and saw that it was the young lady who was selling white drinks just now.
The young lady looked still young, still at the age of playing with kites and nine-rings. She had a round face, short and thick eyebrows, and eyes as big and bright as two purple grapes. She followed Duan Zhiwei all the way, and when she saw her turn around, she lowered her head and rubbed her hands in panic.
Duan Zhiwei thought she was very cute, like the little cat he used to keep at home, so he walked over, half squatted, and asked with a smile: "What's the matter?"
The young lady hesitated for a while, then suddenly clasped her hands together and bowed solemnly to Duan Zhiwei, saying, "Madam, you sold all the food in less than one morning, and the sand balls were soft, sticky and sweet, the best sand balls I have ever eaten." She took a deep breath, mustered up her courage and said, "I hope you can accept me as your apprentice."
Duan Zhiwei was stunned. He didn't expect that he would gain fans after just one trip. However, the restaurant is not yet completed. He even needs to borrow money from the temple. He also has an A Pan and needs to hire more people. He is really worried that he won't be able to pay their wages.
The young lady saw Duan Zhiwei hesitate, her face flushed with anxiety, and she said, "My name is Pu Tao, my family has always made a living by selling white drinks, but the white drinks are ordinary, and I can't sell much all day, not enough to earn the money for my grandmother's medicine. Today, thanks to you, I sold out in just half a day. Please teach me how to run the business, and I don't need to be paid."
Duan Zhiwei was naturally eager to be a free employee, but not paying her was tantamount to oppression. Duan Zhiwei felt that she loved money too much, but she was not so conscienceless. Seeing that Pu Tao was young, spoke sincerely, and had a kind personality, and that her small hands were covered with calluses from work, she really could not say no, so she had to bite the bullet and agree.
Pu Tao was very happy to see Duan Zhiwei agreed. Duan Zhiwei told her the location of Duan's shop. Pu Tao said "Thank you, Madam Duan" and then left happily.
Duan Zhiwei was still immersed in the good news of having an employee fall from the sky when he was called back by cheers from afar.
At the head pavilion, there were already children dressed in colorful clothes playing in the water, performing a lively show of a boy worshipping Guanyin and pointing at the rising sun. The performance was very vivid and exciting, winning bursts of cheers.
The tourists who were fighting for grass on the shore stopped fighting, and the people who were shaking for money stopped shaking, and they all crowded to the bank of Qujiang River. Duan Zhiwei was not tall enough to squeeze in, so he circled the edge of Qujiang several times before he found a gap between a few ladies and squeezed in.
Unexpectedly, he was immediately stared at.
Duan Zhiwei was embarrassed to find that among those gorgeously dressed ladies was Du Yourong, who had bought all the lotus cakes from her at Nanyan Temple that day.
Du Yourong failed to recognize her, but a young lady from a noble family doesn't necessarily need to speak to express what she wants to say.
She only needed to look at the wrinkles on Duan Zhiwei's emerald skirt caused by work, and then glance at the worthless hollow leaf-veined hairpin on Duan Zhiwei's head to clearly express the meaning of "you country bumpkin".
Duan Zhiwei had no choice but to move aside quietly.
Following the rhythm of the drummers, the starter, wearing a hemp robe and a hat, first bowed and sang a deep song, then waved the five-colored flag in his hand. The dragon boats recognized the color of the flag and circled back to the court. The tourists on the bank of Qujiang River did not dare to speak much, and the atmosphere seemed to be on the verge of breaking out.
When the last horn sounded, thousands of dragon boats shuttled across the river like flying arrows. The flag of the Jinwu Guard was a unicorn outlined in gold thread, which was particularly noticeable among the other boats.
Yuan Shenji was the leader of the Jinwu Guard. Today, he was not wearing a scarlet robe or a bright armor. He was just waving a short oar with his bare chest. Veins on his arms were bulging and beads of sweat were dripping from his forehead.
The Yulin Army's fleet began to exert its strength and was approaching rapidly. When the two ships were fighting fiercely, the drummer immediately swung his drumsticks vigorously, and the sound of the drum was as loud as thunder.
Duan Zhiwei was inexplicably a little anxious, perhaps because there were acquaintances on the boat. Duan Zhiwei really hoped that Yuan Shenji's team would win, and even had malicious hopes that the Yulin Army's boat would suddenly capsize or something.
Du Yourong, who was standing beside her, tightened her handkerchief anxiously, and hurriedly pulled the maid next to her and said, "What should I do with Yun Que? I am a little afraid to look at her."
As the race was drawing to a close, tourists along the Qujiang Lake held their breath. The Jinwu Guard formation was still in the lead, and the dozen or so people on the dragon boats maintained a high-intensity paddling rhythm.
When passing by the pavilion where Duan Zhiwei was standing, Duan Zhiwei waved to the dragon boat. Perhaps it was her illusion, she felt that Yuan Shenji was busy.
Glanced over here.
In the end, the Jinwu Guard's ship won the first place among the dragon boat races with a small margin.
The dragon head of the emperor's dragon boat is made of pure gold, shining brightly in the sun. It is currently docked in Qujiang and has not yet returned to the palace. The saint wants to reward the team that wins the first place from it.
Duan Zhiwei watched the grand Dragon Boat Festival in Chang'an with great satisfaction. Seeing that it was not late yet, he went to the stall to drink a bowl of black plum juice.
She walked slowly back along the bank of Qujiang River, enjoying the evening scenery, and stopped in front of a stone wall.
The air was filled with the scent of realgar wine. Tourists were returning home with their friends. At this moment, the dusk was rich in color. Yuan Shenji stood under the willow tree.
He folded his arms as if waiting for someone, looked up and saw her, striding towards him.
"Congratulations, Captain, for taking the first place." Duan Zhiwei bowed slightly, lowered his head and took out the remaining rice dumplings and sand balls from the food box: "Captain, you have worked hard today, would you like some snacks?"
After thinking for a while, he smiled and added: "But of course it can't compare to the honey and giant slaves given by the saint.
Yuan Shenji's usually cold face was tinged with tenderness by the setting sun. He looked down at her while holding today's lucky longevity thread and said softly, "Okay."
The customs of the people in this dynasty were open-minded, and there were many men and women traveling together along the Qujiang River. Now the two of them were sitting in the pavilion, and Yuan Shenji casually opened a rice dumpling and ate it in one bite.
Unfortunately, he chose the one wrapped with bayberry. The sour taste of bayberry first spread on the tip of his tongue, making Yuan Shenji frown.
Duan Zhiwei beside him clapped his hands and laughed, "I'm afraid the captain will eat the one wrapped in bayberry."
With the idea of increasing the fun of eating zongzi, Duan Zhiwei deliberately put only a small amount of sugar when pickling the bayberries, and everyone who ate the bayberry zongzi frowned.
However, precisely because the fillings of the Nine-son Zongzi are different, the number of diners who buy it has increased unexpectedly. They all say they want to take it back for their relatives and friends to try and see who is the unlucky person who gets to eat the bayberry.
Yuan Shenji chewed a few more bites, and the sweetness of the sour bayberry spread and intertwined with the sourness, and the taste began to become wonderful.
Duan Zhiwei's laughter was boisterous beside him, and with delicious food at hand, Yuan Shenji's mood improved. He remembered that when his mother was still alive when he was a child, she would make some rice dumplings for him during the Dragon Boat Festival, take him to the riverside to watch the dragon boat race, smear realgar wine on him, and weave a longevity rope for him.
Yuan Shenji looked down at the longevity rope given by the saint, as if afraid of disturbing her, and asked softly: "Madam Duan, can you help me put on this longevity rope?"
The longevity rope is made of five-colored silk. It is said that one thread wrapped around the arm means three lives, and the five colors together mean a hundred years of life.
Duan Zhi smiled abruptly. After all, she was not a real ancient person and did not know the significance of the longevity rope. However, she was a little disturbed by the strange atmosphere that suddenly appeared around her. After thinking about it, she took the longevity rope under his burning gaze.
It is worthy of being a rope given by a saint. The five bright colors shine beautifully in the dusk light.
Yuan Shenji stretched out an arm, Duan Zhiwei calmed himself and gently tied the longevity rope to him.
His arms were thick and strong, with firm muscle lines. There were several scabbed scars on his hands, which made Duan Zhiwei frown.
Seeing her like this, Yuan Shenji hid his hand without leaving a trace and asked, "But the scar on your hand scared you, madam?"
"No, no." Duan Zhiwei looked up at him, his face showing a calm and admiring expression: "The scars on the captain's hands are all medals of honor left on the battlefield. What's so scary about that?"
She smiled warmly: "The battlefield is dangerous, swords have no eyes, wearing this rope, I wish the captain will always be safe and sound."
Yuan Shenji hadn't received such heartwarming care for a long time. He looked at Duan Zhiwei solemnly and thanked her: "Thank you for your blessing, Madam Duan. I will definitely live up to your expectations."
The Dragon Boat Festival was a very pleasant one. When Duan Zhiwei drove his donkey cart back home, Aunt Duan had already drunk at least three bowls of calamus wine and mugwort wine in the tavern. She was carried back home by A Pan, feeling groggy and lying there soundly asleep.
Duan Zhiwei ordered two bowls of shrimp wontons and asked Ah Pan to eat with him. As usual, Ah Pan was not talkative. He just buried his head in the shadows and finished eating the wontons. Then he stood up and cleaned up the dishes.
But Duan Zhiwei stopped her and took out a sachet from her small bag.
The sachet was bought by the Qujiang River. Although not as exquisite as the ones in the big store in Dongshi, it was dyed with some green and had a simple butterfly embroidered on it, and there was a faint herbal scent lingering around.
Duan Zhiwei tied the sachet to A Pan's collar, nodded with satisfaction and said, "Dragon Boat Festival marks the beginning of summer, when the body is humid, hot and toxic, and all kinds of diseases can easily invade the body. Wearing a sachet of fragrant herbs will keep you from being harmed by the five insects."
Ah Pan had just been forced by Aunt Duan to wear a colorful copper coin during the day, and in the evening she received a Dragon Boat Festival sachet from Duan Zhiwei. She looked very touched, but after all, she had not communicated with anyone for a long time, so she just held the sachet tightly, whispered a mosquito-like thank you, and hurried back to her room;
Duan Zhiwei stood up and stretched, preparing to boil some hot water to wipe his body, when suddenly a heavy rain started outside the window. The Duan family's restaurant was simple, with only a small broken rammed earth window. Duan Zhiwei had to pick up a piece of wood to block the window, and then thunder and lightning struck the sky.
However, Duan Zhiwei had been tired all day, and no matter how loud the thunder was, it could not wake her up from her sleepiness. She lowered her head to blow out the small old earthenware lamp on the table, and soon fell asleep on the bed.
The whole Chang'an fell into an eerie silence under the curfew and heavy rain, except for one place.
Pingkangfang is located in the fifth block of the third street in the East District. It is bustling every night, with bright lights illuminating the entire block like daytime. Even though it's raining like a waterfall tonight, it can't stop the dignitaries from flocking in their carriages.
Yuchunlou is the first southern opera house in Pingkangfang and has always had the best business, with laughter, singing and dancing everywhere. The singing girl Mudan played a few pieces of pipa music tonight and drank a few more glasses of wine. She felt a splitting headache and wanted to go back to her room to ask the maid to comb her hair, but was stopped by the brothel owner.
Treating the top lady, the madam of Yuchunlou was quite polite and just coaxed her, "The Wei family is a wealthy family, and Mr. Wei is generous. You just need to sit with them for a while and play a few songs, and you will get the gold foil."
Mudan was not very happy about it, and the madam then said sternly: "Since you don't want to, then let Shaoyao go. Use the gold foil you earn to make her a moth-catching gold and silver beaded hairpin."
Mudan and Shaoyao were the ones who didn't get along with each other the most. When they heard this, they immediately agreed and went upstairs with their pipa in their arms.
She was obviously drunk and staggered into the room where the wealthy businessman Wei Fu was. The room was scented with expensive frankincense. Mudan looked around but didn't see Wei Yin. She felt like she was being fooled, so she dropped her pipa and was about to leave.
The strong wind blew through the straight-edge window and made the candlelight flicker, but Mudan saw a black shadow swaying left and right on the wall. She suspected that she was dazzled, so she rubbed her eyes and found that the black shadow was still there, so she looked up.
Wei Fu, who had just been spending money and enjoying the beauty downstairs, was now hanging on the beam. His body was swaying from side to side due to his stiffness. His face was as pale as paper, his tongue was sticking out long and blood red, and his eyes were wide open, staring at Mudan with his empty eyes.
The shrill screams instantly cut through the dark sky of Pingkangfang.
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