Chapter 175: Being Followed
As the New Year's bells echoed in the night sky, the dawn of the first day of the new year quietly descended, and the whole world seemed to be gently covered by a layer of brand new red silk. Red lanterns were hung high in front of every household, and couplets were posted on the door lintels, with the words filled with good wishes for the new year.
The children were wearing brand new clothes, their pockets were filled with New Year's money given by their elders, their faces were filled with innocent smiles, they were chasing and playing in groups of three or five in the yard, bursts of laughter could be heard from time to time.
On both sides of the street, firecracker debris and red paper scraps intertwined into a brilliant color, and the air was filled with the faint smell of gunpowder and the aroma of food. It was the warm memory left by the New Year’s Eve dinner and the beginning of hope for the new year.
Occasionally, there are early risers, some carrying gift bags, some carrying New Year's goods on their shoulders, walking hurriedly but with smiles on their faces, heading towards the homes of relatives and friends, delivering the first blessings of the New Year.
In the following days, the custom of paying New Year's greetings became more and more popular. On the second and third days of the New Year, people began to visit relatives and friends. At each house, the host would warmly serve hot tea and various exquisite cakes. The guests and hosts talked and laughed happily, and the atmosphere was warm and harmonious. The children were busy showing off their new toys or comparing who had the most New Year's money. The innocent happiness infected everyone.
Because Wen Miao was an orphan and Ran Yu had no relatives at home, they all stayed in the Wen family's old house.
On the third and fourth days of the Lunar New Year, the market gradually becomes lively, with all kinds of New Year stalls full of fresh fruits and vegetables, exquisite cakes, red decorations and auspicious ornaments, attracting people to stop and buy. Merchants shout one after another, customers bargain, and the atmosphere is very lively. Everyone's face is filled with love for life and longing for the future.
"Why don't you guys go out for a walk too!" Shui Ran said with a smile when she saw that they were getting bored staying at home.
"Mom..." Wen Shuzhou said with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Shuzhou, I know what you mean and what you want to say. I'm going to have tea with my sisters, and your father has his own things to do, so he doesn't need you to accompany him!" Shui Ran said with a bright smile.
"Okay." Wen Shuzhou relented.
"Ah Miao, let's go."
"Okay." Wen Miao said with a smile.
Wen Qingzhou and Ran Yu looked at their backs with envy. They also wanted to go out for a stroll, but their identities were so low that they would be surrounded by people. It was difficult! Fortunately, their friends still cared about them and invited them to go to the hot spring villa to soak in the hot springs.
"Great!" Wen Qingzhou's grievances were swept away and he said with a smile on his face.
"Are you happy?" Ran Yu quietly squeezed Wen Qingzhou's hand.
"Well, let's go. Ayu, let's go too!" Wen Qingzhou was a little impatient.
"This child is still so jumpy!" Shui Ran shook her head slightly.
"Children and grandchildren have their own blessings, so don't worry too much." Wen Tingzhu held Shui Ran's hand and said softly.
"No, he has Ran Yu!" Shui Ran said with a smile.
In a blink of an eye, it was the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, commonly known as "Po Wu", which means that many taboos during the Spring Festival can be broken. On this day, many places still have the custom of eating dumplings, which means welcoming the God of Wealth and praying for good fortune in the new year. So the Wen family followed the local customs and started making dumplings early in the morning.
Shui Ran was the general conductor of this dumpling feast. She skillfully rolled the dough into long strips and cut them into small even pieces with a knife. Each cut was accompanied by a slight "tapping" sound, full of rhythm. Wen Tingzhu was busy preparing the stuffing. He chopped the fresh pork, cabbage and green onion into small pieces, added appropriate seasonings, and stirred with chopsticks until the stuffing was bright in color and fragrant.
"I didn't expect my uncle and aunt would do this!" Ran Yu said in surprise.
In fact, not only he, Wen Miao was also quite surprised, but who stipulated that wealthy people don't cook for themselves? They were the ones who had a stereotype!
Wen Qingzhou joined in excitedly, his hands covered with flour, and he was happy to press the small doses. Wen Shuzhou tried to roll the dough into thin dumpling skins. Although the shapes were different at first, some looked like the moon, some looked like clouds, but later he gradually found the feeling, and the dumpling skins became more and more round. Wen Miao and Ran Yu were responsible for wrapping the stuffing. Wen Miao had done it before and was familiar with it, while Ran Yu carefully scooped a spoonful of stuffing and put it in the middle of the skin, then folded it in half and pinched the edges. Every movement seemed so serious and cute. Occasionally, because too much stuffing was put in, the dumplings were wrapped round and bulging, and some of them broke.
"Ayu, look at you..." Wen Qingzhou couldn't help but said with disdain.
"I'll cook this for you!" Ran Yu deliberately wrapped the broken dumpling with a whole skin and placed the ugly dumpling next to Wen Qingzhou.
"No way." Wen Qingzhou curled his lips.
In the kitchen, steam was rising, and water was boiling in the big pot, ready for the batches of dumplings made by the people. As the first batch of dumplings was put into the pot, bubbles immediately appeared on the water surface, and the dumplings floated up and down in the water, as if they were dancing happily. After a while, the steaming dumplings were taken out, put on a plate, and served on the table.
"The dumplings are here, Mom and Dad, you try them first!" Wen Qingzhou put a dumpling in front of his parents' eyes.
"Ah Miao, this is your dipping sauce!" Wen Shuzhou handed a small bowl to the child.
"good."
"Stop watching and just eat!" Wen Tingzhu said with a smile on his face.
"Come and eat."
“The lotus dumplings are delicious.”
“Shepherd’s purse is good too.”
“Pork and green onions smell delicious!”
Everyone sat together, chatting with each other, happily tasting the dumplings they made by themselves. The sense of satisfaction was indescribable at the moment. After all, every bite was the taste of home and the transmission of love.
Outside the window, the sound of firecrackers rang out one after another. The liveliness inside and the joy outside the window complemented each other, together weaving each other's best memories of the Spring Festival.
On the seventh and eighth days of the first lunar month, Wen Qingzhou and Ran Yu had announcements, Wen Shuzhou went to work, and Wen Miao took Wangwang and Huihui back to the villa.
Soon, the Lantern Festival arrived. As night fell, a bright moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the earth and the joy in people's hearts. In the streets and alleys, exquisite lanterns were lit up in various shapes, including traditional dragons and phoenixes, modern cartoon characters, and lantern puzzles with profound meanings, which attracted people to watch and guess the answers, and they were very happy.
People, old and young, strolled in the sea of lights, enjoying the company and joy that is hard to come by. There was a long queue of people lining up at a stall selling Yuanxiao (Chinese lanterns).
"Do you want to eat?" Wen Shuzhou asked in a low voice.
"No." Wen Miao didn't like Yuanxiao very much, so he picked up two sugar figures from the stall next door and stuffed one of them into Wen Shuzhou's hand.
The most anticipated thing is the fireworks feast on Lantern Festival night. With a loud bang, colorful fireworks bloomed in the night sky, like a dreamy picture scroll, decorating the night sky particularly brightly.
“How beautiful!”
"Wow, look, it looks like a fan!"
“The waterfall fireworks are so beautiful!”
"Ladder to Heaven, Ladder to Heaven..."
People in the crowd were exclaiming in amazement. At this moment, every firework bloomed, as if telling of the beautiful expectations for the future, and also indicating that everyone will continue to move forward with hope and dreams in the new year. As the last firework lamp went out, the new year slowly came to an end in this warmth and sweetness.
"Disperse, let's go!"
The crowd dispersed and surged in all directions. Wen Shuzhou failed to catch the child and was scattered to the side. When he stabilized himself and looked back, he found that the child was gone.
"A Miao, A Miao..." Wen Shuzhou called out anxiously several times, called Yan Feng, and turned on the cell phone location at the same time.
After he couldn't find the child last time, Wen Shuzhou discussed with the child and decided to install the latest positioning system in each other's mobile phones.
The night was as dark as ink. The neon lights on both sides of the street flickered with a mysterious glow, stretching the shadows of passers-by into long ones. Wen Miao, who realized that he had lost contact with Wen Shuzhou, quickly calmed down, turned on the positioning system, and walked through the crowd at a fast pace, intending to find Wen Shuzhou's location and report his safety in time.
In order to take a shortcut, Wen Miao turned into a relatively quiet alley. At this moment, Wen Miao inadvertently caught an unusual detail from the corner of his eye - a figure looming at a corner not far away. Wen Miao thought it was someone like him and didn't pay much attention, but every time he quickened his pace, the figure seemed to adjust its speed accordingly, always keeping a distance from him.
"Is it my illusion?" Wen Miao's heartbeat accelerated involuntarily, and he began to realize that he might be being followed.
Wen Miao tried to stay calm, pretending to be calm on the surface, but inwardly she was calculating countermeasures as fast as a drumbeat. There happened to be a convenience store at the intersection, and Wen Miao turned in quickly, pretending to pick out the goods and calling Wen Shuzhou, while observing the situation outside with her peripheral vision. Sure enough, the figure wandered around the store for a few circles, and finally did not follow in, but did not leave either.
"Don't move there, I'll come find you!" Wen Shuzhou said anxiously on the other end of the phone.
"Yeah, I know." Ever since he had family and friends and was living a stable life, Wen Miao suddenly realized that he valued his life very much.
Wen Miao's abnormal behavior attracted the attention of the clerk. After understanding the situation, the clerk immediately showed a high degree of vigilance and quickly called the police. Soon, the sirens of the police car broke the silence of the night, and the arrival of the police finally made Wen Miao feel relieved.
"Officer Tang!" Wen Miao didn't expect that the person coming was Tang Jue. Isn't this a coincidence!
"Where's the stalker? He won't run away, will he?"
"Wen Miao? Why are you here? Are you being followed? The person ran away, is everything okay?" Tang Jue said with a deep look in his eyes.
"Could it be that incident..."
Author's gossip: Please subscribe, please subscribe, please subscribe, please subscribe, please subscribe, please subscribe, please subscribe, please subscribe and support!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!