Chapter 101 Snow and Full Moon Festival: Pasting Window Decorations
When he and Lanxiu got married last time, everyone said that the double happiness symbol they put up was especially beautiful.
With the full moon festival approaching, Yu Yan promised to teach everyone how to cut paper snowflakes.
"Let me make this clear first, I only know how to cut the simplest cuts, so please don't look down on me after you learn them."
"No, no, that won't happen."
Yu Yan folded up the red paper and demonstrated by cutting out a piece with scissors.
Once opened, the flower shapes are layered, making it very beautiful.
The sub-beastmen present were all skillful and got the hang of it after watching it once.
Yin Qing said, "I learned a new pattern in the workshop, let's see if I can cut it out."
When this was mentioned, Yu Yan asked, "Judging by the time, even the furthest sub-orcs should have returned to their tribe by now."
Xin Yu said, "Yes, but the news hasn't come back yet. The nearby tribes have all sent word that the people have arrived."
Xue Fei asked, "Yu Yan, they've finished their studies and gone back. Whether they come back next year or not is entirely up to them. If none of them come back, do we still need to recruit people?"
Yu Yan: "Next year, let's see how many tribes will want to trade fabric with us. If there are many, we'll continue to recruit people."
Xin Yu: "Anyway, I heard from Tan Nian and the others that they have food, lodging and supplies, and they are very happy to live with everyone. They will definitely come again next year."
Yin Qing also said confidently, "Even if other tribes learn to weave, they won't be able to weave better than us all at once. If it were me, I would trade with our tribe."
Yu Yan smiled and thought to herself: Could this be considered the earliest form of "brand effect"?
While chatting, everyone's hands were busy cutting out many beautiful and delicate paper-cut window decorations.
Seeing that Yu Yan had some animal hides and wood beside her, Jin Xia asked curiously, "Yu Yan, what are those for?"
Yu Yan: "I want to try making musical instruments."
"A musical instrument?" Everyone looked puzzled. "What is that?"
"It can be understood as a tool for producing musical sounds."
"Wow!" The crowd erupted in excitement, demanding, "How did you do that?"
What kind of sound did it make?
"Like when we sing?"
Cutting paper snowflakes and making musical instruments are both ways to pass the time, so Yu Yan didn't hesitate and led everyone to make a "drum".
He had all sorts of good leather and wood, and all the tools he needed.
With everyone's combined efforts, they made a round, majestic drum.
Yu Yan found two wooden sticks to use as drumsticks and started banging them.
This was incredibly tempting for the sub-beastmen who loved singing and dancing.
Their eyes lit up, and they exclaimed in delight, "What a bright voice!"
"It sounds so good!"
Yu Yan changed the rhythm and played a stirring drumbeat.
"Beast God, my chest is trembling! I'm so excited!"
"I love this instrument so much! Yu Yan, can I play it too?"
"I want to make drums too!"
Yu Yan handed the drum and drumsticks to everyone, and they immediately started playing.
The sound of the drums attracted even more people.
After discovering that the drums sounded good and were fun to play, they all loved them.
Many people's first drumbeats sounded very beautiful.
The drumbeats were so loud that Yin Qing, entangled with Yu Yan, asked in a high-pitched voice, "Besides a drum, what other musical instruments can be made?"
Yu Yan covered one ear and said loudly, "There are so many kinds of drums! The shape of the drum body is different, and the sound it makes is also different."
Yin Qing was so happy she jumped up, "Okay, Yu Yan, hurry up and teach us how to make it!"
"Okay! I didn't bring enough materials..."
Many people turned and ran, saying, "I'm going back to get it now!"
Xin Yu said dreamily, "Let's find a group of people to play drums during the Full Moon Festival, it will be so lively!"
Yu Yan: It seems I have no choice but to find a good partner like Gong, haha.
Winter was dull, and everyone was worried about having nothing to do when the "drum" appeared, causing a sensation throughout the village.
More and more people gathered, and Yu Yan led them to make many drums.
They made majestic drums, waist drums, and large drums... and even rattle drums! The little ones had a blast playing with them.
The sound of drums alone can be monotonous.
Yu Yan wants to guide everyone in making zithers and flutes.
He had seen these instruments before, but he didn't know how to play them.
For example, when it comes to the flute, he doesn't know how to do it when it comes to setting the holes.
He described it to the people in the tribe, and after thinking about it, they said, "Let's give it a try. Anyway, we have plenty of materials, and we can always redo it if necessary."
Yu Yan nodded: "Okay."
There was nothing he could participate in, so he just watched silently from the sidelines.
Then, he was stunned.
In the Beast World, everyone is relying entirely on their talent to audition and calibrate!
The key is that they only tried a few times before achieving the perfect sound they wanted! Their drilling became increasingly precise, leaving no room for argument!
After the flute was finished, Yinqing took the lead and played a tune.
The clear and melodious music lingered in the room for a long time.
Everyone stared intently at the flute in his hand.
After Yin Qing finished playing, he held the flute and gave Yu Yan a bright smile: "How was it?"
Yu Yan clapped her hands in admiration and said, "It sounds wonderful."
Yin Qing's nimble fingers twirled the flute once and handed it to Yu Yan: "Why don't you try it too?"
Yu Yan, with a confidence she didn't know where it came from, took the flute, wiped it, and played it with a serious air—
"Pfft."
All that came out was an awkward, breathy sound.
He paused, then, unwilling to give up, blew a few more times.
"Pfft." "Pfft." "Pfft."
Yu Yan blushed slightly and put down the flute.
Even after all this, no one thought it was his fault. Instead, they said, "Is the flute broken? Come on, let me take a look."
Xuefei took the flute and played the first note. After a few more tries, she easily produced a beautiful melody.
After that, Xin Yu, Jin Xia, and several other beastmen tried blowing it.
Very good, they can all make a sound, but Yu Yan cannot.
It wasn't until Yu Yan said "That's enough" without saying a word that they burst into laughter in understanding.
Yu Yan: He shouldn't have made any musical instruments; he brought shame upon himself.
Okay, just kidding. He doesn't have a "musical talent" himself, but he's happy to enjoy everyone's performance.
Before the full moon festival, he led everyone to make many musical instruments, and the whole tribe was immersed in the joy of playing them.
People from nearby Mingyuan, Shenhu, and Qingqing tribes all came to "learn from their experience."
The peninsula tribes gave them a new batch of musical instruments. I heard that they worked through the night to finish them, which caused parents with young children to complain to their respective tribal chiefs that their children would dance whenever they heard music and wouldn't sleep properly.
When the news reached Yu Yan's ears, he laughed so hard he fell into Lan Xiu's arms.
On the day of the full moon festival, Yu Yan woke up in Lan Xiu's arms early in the morning and smelled an unusual scent.
He opened the window and looked up at the sky. It was foggy, the sun was nowhere to be seen, and the temperature was warmer than before.
After washing up, he ran to Feng Gui to ask for confirmation: "Father, is it going to snow?"
Feng Gui smiled and replied, "Yes."
Yu Yan said happily, "A timely snowfall promises a bumper harvest!"
Feng Gui had never heard this phrase before, but he easily understood its meaning and praised, "That's well said."
Yu Yan: "Let's put up the paper-cut window decorations and hang up the lanterns before it snows, shall we?"
"Alright, I'll have your father go and fetch the glue."
"You and Father will put up our house decorations, and Lanxiu and I will put up ours!"
After mixing the glue, Yu Yan grabbed a stack of paper-cut window decorations and ran excitedly towards her home.
In the tribe, more and more people got up, smoke billowed from the chimneys, and joyful voices could be heard from time to time.
Seeing that Yu Yan was running fast, Lan Xiu went forward to meet him.
"Slow down."
Yu Yan smiled, exhaling white steam from her mouth.
"Come on, let's put up paper-cut window decorations, and then we'll go make dumplings!"
Some of the original double happiness window decorations had fallen off, so the two of them re-pasted the New Year window decorations in their original positions.
Yu Yan felt a surge of warmth in her heart, so she didn't wear gloves and didn't feel cold.
Lanxiu persuaded him twice to come inside, and he put it up by himself.
"It's okay, it'll be finished soon." Yu Yan's eyes curved into crescent moons with laughter.
It turns out that having a partner makes even the simplest little things so enjoyable.
After the lanterns were hung, snowflakes began to fall softly from the sky.
Soon, the snow fell heavier and heavier, like goose feathers, dancing in the wind.
The sky and the earth were dyed white by the vast snow.
The peninsula tribes live by the sea, so winters aren't too cold; this is the first snowfall of the year.
Yu Yan was stunned and stood in the snow, reaching out to catch the snowflakes with her hands.
He turned his head to look for Lan Xiu, a happy smile on his face: "Lan Xiu, it's snowing!"
Lan Xiu smiled and said gently, "Let's go inside and take a look."
Yu Yan refused: "It's not cold, let's play a little longer."
Lan Xiu shook his head helplessly, went inside to get him a cotton coat, gloves, and a hat, and personally helped him put them on.
Yu Yan stood obediently without moving, letting him do as he pleased, her eyes sparkling when she smiled.
Lan Xiu adjusted his hat and kissed his lips: "All done."
Yu Yan smiled, looked up and kissed him.
"Let's go, let's go play in the snow."
The snow was falling heavily, and soon a layer of snow had accumulated in the yard.
Yu Yan and Lan Xiu swept the snow into a pile with brooms.
Seeing that the snow was a little wet, Yu Yan pulled Lan Xiu to build a snowman.
Neither of them were skilled enough; the pile they made didn't even resemble a human figure.
Yu Yan looked at the ugly snowman and said, "This is you."
"..." Lan Xiu raised an eyebrow. "How did you figure that out?"
"They all have two eyes and one nose."
“…Then you have one too.” Lan Xiu laughed. “I would have said it was you.”
“It’s you.”
No, it's you.
The two of them went back and forth like that for a while, and finally burst out laughing.
When they returned to the house, soaking wet, and saw Feng Gui and Rui Hua already making dumplings, Yu Yan realized what he had forgotten.
"Haha," he chuckled dryly, "We were just shoveling snow, and you've already wrapped it up? Let me wash my hands, then we'll wrap it up together."
Feng Gui didn't expose him, and said with a smile, "It's just for dinner. Your father and I can prepare it soon. You can go and play with everyone in the tribe."
Yu Yan could already hear the sounds of a snowball fight outside.
However, he held back and waited until the family finished making dumplings before pulling Lanxiu out to join the "battle".
As the snowball fight progressed, it turned into a "snow wrestling match." Yu Yan watched the group of fluffy creatures pecking at each other and laughed so hard she slapped her thigh.
"Bang!" Someone threw a snowball at him.
Yu Yan turned her head and rolled up her sleeves: "Alright, you ambushed me, huh? Take this!"
When I went back, my clothes were wet again, so I changed them.
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