Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the few days of the year without a curfew.
As a result, there were many more pedestrians and vendors on the streets than on a normal night.
The river lanterns that caught the eye of the beautiful woman were quite unique.
It is indeed very unique, standing out from the crowd of exquisite river lanterns.
It's just unique, not gorgeous or exquisitely crafted.
Because those river lanterns were lifelike ingots, yet for some reason, they shone with golden light.
Gu Yaoniang walked closer to take a look and saw that the gold ingot was outlined with fine gold powder, making it appear golden and dazzling.
Plain paper ingots can seem somewhat unlucky. But the addition of gold powder and auspicious cloud patterns avoids this ominous association.
When the stall owner saw Yao Niang come over, he fawned over her and asked eagerly, "Does Madam like it?"
Without waiting for Yao Niang's reply, he picked up a gold ingot lantern and eagerly handed it to Gu Yao Niang, gesturing for her to examine it closely: "My lady, look what this is?"
Following his finger, Gu Yaoniang carefully examined the densely packed auspicious patterns. Suddenly, she realized that the cloud patterns, though seemingly combined, actually formed the four characters "日进斗金" (meaning "earning a fortune every day").
She was very surprised, and took the river lantern to examine it carefully.
The stall owner was extremely pleased with himself. Seeing that he had caught her attention, he picked up another river lantern and handed it to Yao Niang, saying, "Please take a look, my lady."
Yao Niang looked at the river lantern in his hand again, and Bi Zhu, also curious, looked over as well, and couldn't help but let out a soft "Ah!"
The river lantern was also decorated with auspicious cloud patterns painted all over with gold powder, but the words on it read "Wealthy and rolling in money."
Gu Yaoniang couldn't help but laugh: "You're quite an interesting person. Are there any other characters?"
The stall owner replied, "And also, abundant wealth and prosperity."
Gu Yaoniang teased, "So you don't have anyone who's 'rich enough to rival a country'?"
The stall owner, however, was somewhat nervous: "No, no, ma'am! Be careful what you say!"
He raised his hands in prayer and bowed towards the direction of the imperial city before turning to Yaoniang and saying, "Young lady, be careful what you say! Being richer than a country is unlucky!"
Bizhu and Yaoniang both burst out laughing.
The stall owner was annoyed by their laughter and reached out to snatch the gold ingot lantern from Gu Yaoniang's hand, saying, "If you're not going to buy it, madam, you should leave now."
"I want to make a fortune every day and have abundant wealth."
Gu Yaoniang didn't return it to him. Instead, she reached out her hand, gesturing for him to give her a gold ingot symbolizing abundant wealth.
The stall owner first blankly answered "okay," then seemed to realize what was happening, and with a beaming smile, he took a new ingot-shaped river lantern and handed it to Yao Niang.
He then stretched out his hand with a broad smile, palm up, towards Yao Niang: "Thank you, two taels of silver."
"What?"
"How many?"
Gu Yaoniang and Bizhu exclaimed in unison.
"So expensive? Why don't you just rob me?" Bizhu glared angrily at the stall owner. "Ordinary river lanterns, even the more exquisite ones, only cost a hundred or two coins. How can you sell them for so much?"
He then turned to Yao Niang and said, "My lady, how about we just give up?"
The stall owner was displeased by her words: "Expensive? How so? I use only the finest gold powder from the banks of the Liujin River, and the finest and most precious wolf hair brushes. You little girl, don't talk nonsense if you don't know!"
Bizhu listened to the stall owner's words and felt that they sounded somewhat familiar.
Gu Yaoniang found it amusing and said meaningfully, "Sir, you have excellent eloquence."
It's exactly the same story I told myself when I sold golden ham pastries. Only, they dared to ask for much more.
The stall owner, whether failing to grasp the implied meaning in Yao Niang's words or feigning ignorance, simply chuckled and asked, "Madam, would you like to keep this river lantern?"
"Of course."
Gu Yaoniang held a lamp in each hand, so she didn't have any free hands. She simply gestured to Bizhu to pay.
Bizhu stamped her foot, but still reluctantly took out the silver and handed it to the stall owner.
The stall owner smiled broadly and uttered auspicious words as he saw them off.
Bizhu was somewhat sullen, still feeling the pinch of the two taels of silver she had just spent. Yaoniang, however, wore a cheerful expression and handed Bizhu a gold ingot lantern: "Here, have one!"
Bizhu was somewhat surprised: "There's one for me too?"
Yao Niang smiled sweetly: "Of course! We business people, if we really want to pray for good fortune, we must choose lamps with such auspicious meanings!"
The joy of receiving the river lantern outweighed the heartache of spending the money, and a smile appeared on Bizhu's face.
The two women continued walking forward, and Bizhu said softly, "This servant just feels it's not worth it."
But she still had a smile on her face, clearly showing that she felt sorry for the lamp, but also liked it.
Yao Niang walked straight ahead without looking at Bi Zhu, and said, "His prices are expensive, but they're not really. I've really learned something from him. From now on, as long as Jin Yu Lou understands the customers' needs and pleases them, even if we feel a little reluctant to spend money, the customers will still be happy."
"Bizhu, don't you think he looks somewhat like me?"
Bizhu suddenly realized where the vague sense of familiarity she had felt earlier came from. But she still whispered, "My wife is nowhere near as cunning as him."
Gu Yaoniang smiled and said nothing more.
After such a short delay, by the time they reached the riverbank near the imperial city, the crowds had already dispersed downstream.
Some people, holding the blessed lanterns that had flowed from the palace, were filled with joy and gratitude as they excitedly kowtowed towards the direction of the imperial city.
Many people who failed to catch the blessed lanterns from the palace headed downstream, carrying their own small river lanterns, and placed them down in suitable spots.
She was afraid that some fool might mistake her river lantern for a blessing lantern from the palace and retrieve it, thus thwarting her wishes.
Gu Yaoniang was somewhat stunned that the crowd had dispersed so quickly: "So fast, it's all gone?"
Bizhu smiled and said, "Many people want the palace's blessed lanterns; it's the same every year. Why don't you find a spot to release the river lanterns, my lady?"
Gu Yaoniang nodded and was about to lift her leg when she saw another river lantern slowly drifting over from upstream on the river surface, which had already darkened.
This river lantern is different from ordinary river lanterns, but it is not a palace-made blessing lantern either. It looks rather familiar.
As they drifted closer, Gu Yaoniang couldn't help but chuckle, nudging Bizhu beside her with her elbow and saying with a smile, "You see, I'm not the only one willing to spend money on it."
Bizhu saw it too and couldn't help but chuckle: "There are actually people in the world as wealthy and powerful as you, madam."
The river lanterns that were slowly drifting on the river were neither flower lanterns nor palace lanterns. A warm yellow glow shone through the paper, and the intricate patterns on the paper were faintly visible.
It was exactly the same as the lanterns held by Yao Niang and the other woman—a gold ingot lantern.
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