In the blink of an eye, it's that time of year again – the Spring Festival.
Gu Yaoniang has been in Shuojing for almost two years.
This was Gu Pingsheng's first Spring Festival after arriving in Shuojing.
It was already the end of the lunar year, and all the shops had closed their accounts one after another, including the Gu family business.
From an accounting perspective, this is a rare period of leisure in the year.
All the goods purchased by each company were delivered before the end of the year.
On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Gu family business gave all its employees an early holiday so they could go home and reunite with their families.
The head steward and the managers and accountants of each shop all went to Jinyulou.
The Gu family has a tradition of gathering all the top executives of their businesses at Jinyulou Restaurant on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month as a reward for everyone's hard work throughout the year.
On this day, not only the managers of the Gu family business will be invited, but also their business partners with whom they have frequent dealings.
The streets were already filled with the festive atmosphere of the New Year. Gu Yaoniang was in high spirits and did not take a carriage. Instead, she walked slowly down the street toward Jinyulou.
Gu Xingzhi had no interest in standing in the cold wind on the street, so he rode the Jade Horse to the Golden Jade Pavilion first.
Gu Pingsheng, on the other hand, was spending his first festival in Shuojing City and was full of curiosity about everything. He walked slowly with Gu Yaoniang.
With the Spring Festival approaching, every household, regardless of wealth or poverty, is preparing for the New Year.
The city of Shuojing was bustling with activity. Colorful lanterns hung high and red ribbons fluttered in the breeze, creating a scene like a beautifully painted scroll.
On the 29th day of the Lunar New Year, large businesses closed their accounts, but business did not stop, and many shops remained open.
During the Spring Festival, the government relaxed its control over street vendors. In addition to the original locations where stalls could be set up on Le Bao Street, many New Year's goods markets were added, allowing merchants and individuals to set up small stalls on the street to sell small items or food.
The streets were still bustling with people.
Pedestrians thronged the streets, some with their families, others in small groups, all laughing and chatting, celebrating the festival. Shops displayed a dazzling array of goods, all prepared for the New Year. The cries of vendors rose and fell, mingling with the distant sounds of gongs and drums, creating a vibrant and lively atmosphere.
As Gu Yaoniang walked along the street, she felt the liveliness and joy. Despite the extremely noisy and bustling street scene, she felt inexplicably peaceful.
Gu Pingsheng has now passed the county-level imperial examination and is focused on preparing for the autumn examination next year. He is very relaxed and curious about everything.
"Sister! What's that?"
Gu Pingsheng pointed to a small stall in front of him and asked.
"Is this the sugar-blowing artist you mentioned before?"
Gu Pingsheng asked himself the question and answered it himself, taking two steps at a time, and walked to the stall surrounded by people.
The stall is small, no more than the width of an adult's arm span.
The sugar figurine maker is skilled and virtuous. Holding a long tube, using sugar as the material, she blows and kneads, and sugar figurines of various shapes and sizes come to life before your eyes.
There are adorable children, majestic warriors, and all sorts of cute little animals, all of which are lifelike.
Gu Pingsheng had seen sugar sculptors and sugar blowers before, but he had never seen anyone make them so lifelike before, which was quite novel.
Gu Yaoniang had seen the craftsman's skills last year, and she was still amazed when she saw them again: "Yes! I don't know where this craftsman usually is. He only comes out to set up a stall during the few days of the Lunar New Year."
Gu Pingsheng then understood why he hadn't seen him before.
He approached the stall and saw that the sugar figurines displayed by the master on the haystack in front of the stall were made by blowing air himself. If someone came to buy one, he would let the buyer blow air into it, and the master would then shape the sugar figurine according to the customer's desired shape.
In comparison, this was much cleaner than the sugar figurine makers I had seen before who always blew the air themselves.
Gu Pingsheng watched with great interest as the craftsman made several sugar figurines. Bitao covered her mouth and chuckled, "Young Master is already a scholar, but he still looks like a child."
Gu Yaoniang smiled as she looked at the young man's tall and straight figure, but did not step forward.
The sugar figurine maker noticed Gu Pingsheng and asked, "Young Master, would you like to have a sugar figurine made? My family's craftsmanship is passed down through generations; I guarantee I can make whatever you want!"
Gu Pingsheng was clearly very interested, but he didn't want his master to make it; he wanted to make one himself.
He asked, "Could I do it myself?"
The master craftsman was taken aback, then stroked his beard and laughed heartily: "Young master, making sugar figurines is no easy feat! This skill has been honed since childhood to reach this level. Have you ever learned it before?"
Although he asked the question, he clearly did not believe that Gu Pingsheng could make a sugar figurine.
Gu Pingsheng honestly replied, "No."
He understood the sugar maker's refusal, and instead of persisting, he continued to stare longingly at the blowing tube and sugar block in the sugar maker's hand.
The sugar figurine maker felt uncomfortable under his gaze and, feeling somewhat sorry for him, asked, "Do you really want to make one?"
Gu Pingsheng nodded.
The sugar figurine maker thought for a moment and then said, "Alright! Why don't you give it a try?"
Gu Pingsheng's eyes lit up, but the sugar figurine maker quickly added, "It's a deal! Even if you make it yourself, you still have to pay!"
Gu Pingsheng had already taken the air inflator from his master and was playing with it in his hands. Gu Yaoniang smiled and said, "Of course!"
She had only seen the sugar figurine maker from afar last year and had never gotten close. Now that she was standing closer, she found the man to be quite familiar.
After thinking about it for a while, he couldn't recall where he had seen this person before, so he stopped thinking about it.
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