Just two days after distributing the New Year pig, it is the most important Laba Festival before the New Year.
People drink Laba porridge during the Laba Festival. The city has its own way of celebrating. Employees who eat state-funded food have benefits provided by their units, while in the countryside, there will be opera troupes setting up stages to perform, making the celebration lively before the New Year.
The opera troupe doesn't cost much, and if the villagers can give them a full meal, that would be fine.
On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, men and women in the village gathered together and had a lively time.
During every lively festival, the village has traditional folk song performances. After harvesting the last wave of crops this winter, the brigade was unusually generous and allocated a pound of soybean oil and a pound of shelled peanuts from the treasury as the first-class reward.
In this traditional mountain village, singing folk songs is an activity that is rare in its openness and inclusiveness.
Even before the show started, some educated youth were eager to try and sang a few songs for the generous reward. The strong and powerful voices of northern men singing the lingering southern ditties made the audience laugh.
"Don't laugh, don't laugh. I just learned it. It sounds better when I sing the Xintianyou of our Northwest. Wait - I'll sing it for you."
"It's great to have you, brother.
Although you are poor, you have high aspirations.
It's really good to fuck a girl,
Walking is like floating on water..."
Young couples and engaged couples in Yejia Village would go up to sing a few lines. Uncle Ye blushed and pulled Du Xiaohe to sing a song.
Uncle Ye has a profound aura. His voice doesn’t sound pleasant when he speaks normally, but once he opens his mouth, he shocks people. His singing is passionate and unrestrained, and he won a lot of applause.
In her previous life, Ye Qingshui was in the audience, listening to others singing folk songs with envy. She looked at Xie Tingyu cautiously for a long time.
I hope he can go up and sing, even if... it’s not a love song, it would be good too.
But it didn't.
He was like a dull piece of wood, motionless and indifferent to such "bad customs" in the countryside.
Ye Qingshui accidentally heard Xie Tingyu singing. His singing voice was very beautiful, his breathing was steady and his vocal range was wide.
Xie Tingyu stood beside Ye Qingshui, waved his hand in front of her eyes, and asked her: "Shui'er, what are you daydreaming about?"
He pulled her braids and said with a smile, "You can still daydream at a time like this, isn't the song good?"
Ye Qingshui shook her head. She met Xie Tingyu's eyes that seemed to be insightful and stammered:
"It's the same every year. It's boring. I'll just go back and make porridge."
Xie Tingyu's dark eyes flickered slightly, as if he was thinking about something.
After a while…
Mother Ye patted her daughter's shoulder and said, "Shuiya, look! Xiao Xie has gone up."
Ye Qingshui lowered her head, the noisy sounds around her ears drowned out Ye Ma's voice. She walked through the bustling crowd as if she was oblivious to it.
But suddenly the lively crowd became excited and exclaimed.
There was a moment of tranquility.
The deep and mellow male voice slowly spreads in my ears, romantic and warm, with a wide range.
"The garden was quiet at night,
Only the leaves rustle,
What a beautiful night it is."
Under the scorching sun, on the quiet and deserted mountain road, the mountain flowers were in full bloom. Xie Tingyu picked up the harmonica and played this exotic little tune silently and happily. Hearing this familiar tune, Ye Qingshui couldn't help but stop. She turned her head in surprise and looked at the stage.
Their eyes finally met, and the man smiled, revealing his white teeth, and continued singing:
"What a charming evening
My sweetheart sat next to me.
Watching me silently
I want to tell you
But it's embarrassing
I want to tell you
I don't know how to say
So many words remain in my heart. "
The tune is lively and cheerful, and the male voice is really nice and magnetic. The pleasant singing passes through the ears, and there is a warm feeling like an electric shock, which makes people's scalp slightly numb, but the heart feels like it is soaked in honey.
His singing was clear, the melody was beautiful, and the lyrics were recited clearly. It was no longer that silent tune without words.
After Xie Tingyu finished singing, there was warm applause from the audience.
All the young girls in the village, whether married or not, blushed after hearing this. They couldn't help but cover their faces, and were extremely envious of his partner.
Xie Zhiqing sings really well.
The girl blushed and her heart beat fast after hearing this, and she didn't even dare to look him in the eye.
"Ye Qingshui, did you hear that?" Zhou Tingting squeezed through the crowd and shook Ye Qingshui's hand.
It took Ye Qingshui a long time to let out an "ah", with the ending tone rising slightly in doubt.
Zhou Tingting held her face and said, "This is a Soviet love song."
"I didn't expect that someone as serious as Xie Zhiqing would go up there and sing a love song."
"Shui Ya, it's not easy for Xie Zhiqing to sing this song——"
Ye Qingshui frowned tightly.
She struggled to recall something quickly.
She interrupted Zhou Tingting and said, "Let me be quiet for a while."
Ye Qingshui walked out of the crowd and was blown by the cold wind, and the heat on his face disappeared.
She seemed to remember the first time she heard Xie Tingyu sing. Decades had passed and even her memory had become very vague, but she still remembered his spirited eyes when he sang, and the sunlight falling on him, which looked very beautiful.
Ye Qingshui felt that he must have behaved very ugly at that time, and he stared at him stupidly without blinking.
She remembered clearly the embarrassment and discomfort she felt when Xie Tingyu caught her.
At that time, Xie Tingyu seemed to be singing:
"The garden was quiet at night,
There was only the rustling of leaves.”
What would it mean if he really sang this song at that time?
Unable to remember, Ye Qingshui pounded his head in distress.
When she heard Xie Tingyu singing on the stage, the vivid impression of him completely replaced the vague memories of her previous life. She couldn't remember what song Xie Tingyu was singing at that time.
Ye Qingshui sighed, thinking it was useless to think too much.
But this did not hinder Zhou Tingting's elation. After a while, she whispered in Ye Qingshui's ear:
"You don't know, I just saw He Fang's face turn green."
"I finally understand. She must have liked Xie Zhiqing before, so she targeted us like that. When Xie Zhiqing sang for you, I felt so relieved."
"Shui Ya, are you listening or not..." Zhou Tingting snorted and patted her.
Ye Qingshui raised his head and smiled, his clear eyes reflected the sunlight, his brows were relaxed, as pure as a clear spring in the mountains.
Zhou Tingting closed her mouth and suddenly felt that it didn't matter whether she listened to this kind of thing or not.
Now it is clear who is hot-headed. It doesn't matter if there are more He Fangs.
Zhou Tingting smacked her lips and took out three kilograms of food coupons from her bosom.
She clasped her hands together and begged Ye Qingshui, "Can you let me have these few meals before the New Year at your house?"
After eating a "pig-killing meal" at Ye's house, Zhou Tingting lost her appetite every day, and even couldn't stand the food in the canteen for educated youths. Taking advantage of the surplus food after the end of the year, Zhou Tingting just wanted to treat herself.
Ye Qingshui only took one pound of food coupons, "Okay, it's okay, just come on."
Uncle Ye and Du Xiaohe’s wedding was held before the New Year.
The wedding banquet was not grand, with only five tables of wine, and relatives, neighbors, and respected elders in the village were invited. The amount of wine and food was about the same as the groundbreaking dinner when the house was built. There were only two meat dishes, and the people who came to the banquet were full of food, and they went home satisfied.
Du Xiaohe didn't have a red wedding dress to wear, but a relatively clean and decent outfit, while Ye Xiaoshu wore a green military uniform, looking very energetic. Toasting at each table, the smiles on their lips could not be suppressed at all. The newlyweds, the girl was pretty and the boy was handsome, looked a perfect match.
There is no better looking newcomer.
The villagers of Yejia Village kept talking, and the sweet words came out of their mouths as if they were free.
Xie Tingyu followed Uncle Ye in toasting around, and after working for most of the day they finally accomplished their mission. Then they sat down in the empty seat next to Ye Qingshui and started to eat the food and wine.
When Xie Tingyu saw his uncle and aunt happily toasting to their elders, he recalled the hasty wedding he and Ye Qingshui had half a year ago and couldn't help feeling regretful.
Xie Tingyu had a deep impression of his wedding with Ye Qingshui. She had a thick layer of white powder on her face, and when she smiled she looked like a clown. She was dressed in a rustic way. He had no interest in getting married at that time, and the clothes he wore were just a random set he pulled out of his closet.
He saw the proud and high-spirited smile on Uncle Ye's face, and couldn't help feeling jealous. He couldn't help but push Ye Qingshui.
"Shui'er, let's go back to the capital and hold another one some other day?"
Ye Qingshui did not answer him, but lowered his head and ate silently.
Xie Tingyu blocked a circle of wine for Uncle Ye, and the words in his mouth were like singing a score, bursting out one by one, and no one could stop him:
"Shui'er will wear a red wedding dress, and I'll wear a green military uniform. We'll also go to a photo studio to take a photo together. Shui'er is so pretty, and she changes every day. When we get older, we can take out the photos and show them to our children."
"We have to hold a wedding banquet... Shui'er, my family won't allow it. I am the only son of the Xie family now, a single child. When the time comes, whatever kind of wedding you want, whatever method you want, is fine."
"I'll pick the moon from the sky for you."
Ye Qingshui couldn't bear to listen any longer. The villagers who were eating the wedding banquet with her were all looking at them with smiles. Ye Qingshui covered his mouth with her hand, wishing she could sew it up with a needle.
She didn't even eat the food, called for a helper, and the two of them worked together to help the man back to the room.
Ye Qingshui wrung out the hot towel and threw it on his face, her eyebrows raised: "Get up and wipe your face before going to sleep."
"You reek of alcohol."
Xie Tingyu got up and washed his face obediently like a child. Not only that, he also changed his clothes. He refused to go to bed without changing his clothes.
Ye Qingshui was like a maid in an old landlord's house, looking for clothes for him.
After Xie Tingyu changed his clothes, he fell asleep quietly on the bed. After drinking, his face was slightly red, and the corners of his eyes were also red. He had an extremely romantic and charming posture. When his dark eyes opened, his pupils were moist, as if they contained deep affection.
Xie Tingyu said: "Shui'er, I still want to wash my feet. Wash my feet..."
Ye Qingshui ignored him, closed the door, and went out to greet the guests.
…
When Xie Tingyu woke up again, it was already midnight.
His head felt heavy, and he sat up suddenly, feeling a bit drunk and dizzy. He slowly turned on the light, feeling a little hungry.
Ye Qingshui was also awakened by his startled movements.
She said sleepily, "There's still some porridge in the woodshed. Heat it up before you eat."
As soon as she turned her head, she met Xie Tingyu's tangled and complicated eyes.
"Did you hear what I said? Why don't you move?"
Xie Tingyu's face turned red and blue, and he looked strange. He hummed and ahed and said perfunctorily: "I heard it."
Just as Ye Qingshui finished speaking, a strange sound came from next door.
She seemed to suddenly understand, and her face flushed.
Xie Tingyu raised his eyebrows. Under the dim light, there was still a hint of attractive light red in the corners of his eyes, and his eyes were covered with a layer of moist light.
"Why are you so shy, Shui'er, um..."
"Do you want to try it too?"
The author has something to say:
Brother Yu: Continue?
Pingshengjun rubbed his calloused thumb
No, no, I’ll continue tomorrow.
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