Okay, I'm mentally challenged. How could he have realized something that I hadn't even realized myself? It's already surprising that he was able to protect me in time.
"Let's stop playing, let's go home."
I shrank back, intending to leave.
After taking a couple of steps, they found Wen Heng standing there motionless, scratching his head and looking dazed, as if he were thinking about something.
I crouched down, reached out and pinched a small snowball, tossing it onto Wen Heng's shoulder. He looked at me with a puzzled expression.
I raised my voice: "Go home!"
He finally managed a soft "oh" and began to move slowly and hesitantly.
Why do people with such long legs walk so slowly?
If I weren't afraid that those brats would come back and bully him again, I probably would have run home by myself long ago.
I quickly retreated to Wen Heng's side, took his slightly warm hand, and started running.
"Hiss... It's so cold, let's go home."
"oh……"
As the year draws to a close, the Zhou couple planned to carry medicinal herbs to the market to exchange them for some money to buy New Year's goods, but they also took Wenheng and me with them.
The streets and alleys of Xishan Town are bustling with people, a lively and bustling scene.
We went to a pharmacy called "Chang Sheng Tang" and went around to the back door, because this was the place where various pharmaceutical merchants delivered their goods.
Perhaps because the end of the year is approaching, there are quite a few people waiting at the door to exchange their medicinal herbs for money.
Old Man Zhou saw through Wen Heng and me, whose eyes were wandering as we gazed at the dazzling market, and gave me two copper coins.
They told us not to wander around, but to stroll around this street first, and to come find us later after they exchanged the money.
The street wasn't very big and you could see the end of it at a glance, so they were confident we wouldn't get lost. They took the baskets full of herbs from our backs and went into the pharmacy.
Wenheng and I gazed with great interest at the various novelties and mouthwatering snacks.
After wandering around, the two copper coins in my hand only bought two strings of bright red candied hawthorns, but I was very satisfied and had an indescribable joy when I ate them.
Street vendors, taking advantage of the festive atmosphere, enthusiastically shouted and hawked their wares to attract customers.
Whether you buy or not, they enthusiastically shout at the top of their lungs: "Fragrant and sweet jujube cake, ladies, have a free sample..."
"Free trial of a great and beautiful blush... How about you give it a try, girl?"
I dragged Wenheng along and we sampled the delicious street food from one stall to another without any hesitation.
They went from store to store, trying out and experimenting with those novel gadgets.
Wen Heng, on the other hand, became like an obedient rabbit that I could manipulate at will, turning into my walking tool.
I would either tuck a hairpin into her hair, or apply a full face of blush as red as a monkey's bottom, or apply a full face of bright red lipstick.
The stall owner rubbed his eyes incredulously, thinking he was seeing things, and muttered to himself, "I've always seen men choosing and buying things for their beloved women. How come there's a young lady choosing and buying things for her husband?"
But being a merchant, the shopkeeper was quite tactful, smiling and flattering Wen Heng: "Young master, it seems your young lady is quite satisfied with these rouge and face powders. Why not buy them and take them home? Perhaps she'll be even happier."
Wen Heng probably didn't understand what the vendor meant by "buy," and could only blink blankly at the rouge in my hand without making any move to pay, leaving the vendor anxious and helpless.
I looked up at Wen Heng's bewildered expression, and forced a smile, though my stomach was a little sore.
After having a great time, seeing that the two elders had not yet come looking for us, I had no choice but to take Wenheng into the pharmacy to search for the Zhou couple.
Upon entering, I saw them counting herbs in a basket with a round-faced, comical-looking old man with a goatee and a full head of silver hair.
When Grandma Zhou saw us, she was first surprised to see Wen Heng's makeup, which I had applied in a rather strange way, and then she smiled and took out a handkerchief to wipe it off for him.
Unexpectedly, the more she wiped, the more smudged it became, which made Old Mrs. Zhou unable to help but cover her mouth and laugh out loud: "Our Zhou Lang does look a bit like a young lady."
The pharmacy owner, who had finished counting the herbs, came over upon hearing the noise. He stroked his beard and looked at Wen Heng and me strangely. He smiled and asked Old Man Zhou, "Old Zhou, who are these two...?"
With a touch of pride, Old Man Zhou replied heartily, "My son and his new wife, Ah Hua Zhou Lang, come and pay your respects to Mr. Yuan."
Mr. Yuan, who has a round face, is indeed round, I muttered to myself with amusement.
But having never bowed to strangers before, I blinked, somewhat confused, wondering whether I should bow or kneel.
I only remember reading in a book that you could receive money for kneeling and bowing to elders during the New Year.
Thinking of this, I immediately did not hesitate and "thumped" down.
He knelt down on both knees and thumped repeatedly at Mr. Yuan.
He kowtowed three times, his forehead turning red from the force.
Wen Heng, on the other hand, cooperated by imitating my posture and awkwardly kowtowed three times.
Everyone was initially stunned by our kneeling ceremony, and then burst into laughter.
Old Man Zhou also smiled and smoothed things over: "My son, Mr. Yuan, knows this, and my new wife is just a country girl, please excuse me..."
Mr. Yuan stroked his beard, nodded meaningfully, and then bent down to help us up.
Then, as expected, he took out a small, shiny silver ingot from his sleeve and tried to put it into my hand.
My eyes lit up as I stared at the somewhat dazzling silver ingot in his hand, about to reach out and take it.
Old Man Zhou was startled and hurriedly pushed the silver back from Mr. Yuan's hand: "No, no, this is too much. These herbs are not worth this much money."
"The medicinal herbs you gave me were all pre-made products, which saved me a lot of trouble. It's only right."
"That's not worth that much money... If you keep doing this, how am I supposed to come back to you to exchange herbs next time?"
The two politely went back and forth in a roundabout manner.
Mr. Yuan smiled knowingly: "We've known each other for so many years, I'll get angry if you refuse. Besides, the rest is money for your son and bride's wedding and New Year's lucky money. I hope you can tell me the good news of having a grandson next time we meet."
The two exchanged pleasantries and shoved each other for a while. Since it was money for me and Wen Heng, it was not appropriate to refuse any longer, so Old Man Zhou finally accepted the money from him.
But I stared at the small silver ingot in Old Man Zhou's hand, which was not even as big as the copper coin he had given me. Was he really being so polite?
But when we carried home the countless bags of New Year's goods that the two elders had bought for Wenheng and me with that small ingot of silver, I realized that I had underestimated it.
It turns out that a few taels of silver can be worth more than ten thousand copper coins, which is the cost of half a year's hard work for ordinary people like us.
Looking at the bags of mouthwatering local snacks and New Year's goods I brought home, I suddenly found Mr. Yuan, who was usually so generous and round like a ball, to be incredibly adorable.
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