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Every family is busy steaming cakes on Double Ninth Festival, and every household smells the fragrance of chrysanthemums soaked in wine.
On the Double Ninth Festival, the government office was closed, and the aroma of Double Ninth Festival cakes wafted from the office at dawn.
Chongyang Cake, also known as Support Cake, comes in two flavors: savory and sweet. The savory version is stuffed with meat, while the sweet version is stuffed with dates and chestnuts. The cook made half each, mixed it with chrysanthemum wine and preserved fruit, and wrapped it into a festive gift, which she then had the servants distribute to the yamen officials on duty.
Soon after, neighbors, new friends and subordinates, as well as ordinary people, came to give holiday gifts.
Not only Du Hui, but also the runners from the yamen, the servants in the dormitory, and Shan Bo all went out to help greet the guests. It was not until the hour of Si that the crowd gradually dwindled.
Du Huiben made an appointment with a friend to go out climbing. When his friend came to his house and saw that he was busy, he went into the government office to wait.
As soon as he entered the inner court, he saw two people tending to some flowers and plants beside a pavilion. He took a few glances and found that one of them looked familiar, so he couldn't help but move forward to find out what was going on.
"Young friend Lou?"
Lou Yunchun looked up when he heard that. He was surprised to see that it was the tourist who had helped him cross the river that day. "Why are you here, sir?"
"I was just about to ask you, why are you here?" The tourist looked over and saw a woman wearing a dogwood hat, her whole body filled with autumn colors, and a bright smile. He asked, "Is this the woman you were looking for when you crossed the river that day?"
Lou Yunchun nodded generously, then introduced: "Her name is Xu Jiang."
Then he said to Xu Jiang, "This is the kind-hearted person who helped me cross the river that day..." He didn't know the kind-hearted person's name yet.
Meeting is fate, reunion is friendship. The tourist introduced himself: "My surname is Chen, and my given name is Que."
Lou Yunchun bowed to him, "Mr. Shen."
The word "wife" was pasted on Xu Jiang's face, turning into two red clouds. She stepped forward and bowed, "Junior Xu Jiang, greets Mr. Shen. I wish him a happy and healthy Double Ninth Festival."
Seeing that she seemed to be having some difficulty moving, Shen Que hurriedly asked her to excuse herself, "Madam Xu, what's wrong with your foot..."
Lou Yunchun stepped forward and supported Xu Jiang, "He was accidentally injured when the bridge collapsed."
Shen Que stared at his legs again, "What about you?"
Lou Yunchun replied: "An old injury relapsed."
Shen Que glanced back and forth at the two of them and said with a smile: "It's really a match made in heaven, a perfect match, a perfect match."
Xu Jiang smiled shyly, then asked, "Sir, are you here to wait for Mr. Du to go hiking together?"
Shen Que was surprised and asked, "How did you know?"
"Those who sent the festival gifts are all from the outer courts, and Mr. Du also mentioned that he would go out with Mr. Shen to explore ancient sites, so this junior has this guess."
"It's Minghui."
"Thank you, sir."
Shen Que saw several pots of golden chrysanthemums in full bloom at Lou Yunchun's feet, so he asked, "Are you planting chrysanthemums?"
Xu Jiang said, "The chrysanthemums they sent us just happened to be a few extra pots. We saw that the few we originally planted here were blooming sparsely, so we wanted to plant a few more to make the place look more festive."
Chen Que looked at the two sickly faces, then at the shallow pit on the ground, and rolled up his sleeves and said, "Let me do it."
Lou Yunchun said, "Here are guests, we shouldn't let them take action."
"It's even worse to let the patient do it." Shen Que had already stepped forward and picked up the hoe. "Besides, I'm idle anyway, so I might as well do something festive and elegant."
Seeing that he had already swung the hoe, Lou Yunchun and Xu Jiang followed his lead.
Xu Jiang tugged at Lou Yunchun's sleeve, and Lou Yunchun stepped forward to help pick up the rotten roots and handed over Xinfang. Xu Jiang then asked Liu Mei to bring up some wine and food.
After the flowers were planted, Chen Que went to get a bucket of water. He first watered them to help them take root, and then sprinkled water on the flowers. In the blink of an eye, the originally desolate and pitiful corner became lively.
Xu Jiang praised: "You serve her very well."
But Shen Que said: "No matter how good it is, it can't be better than the wild chrysanthemums growing wildly all over the mountains."
"That's natural." At this time of year, the wild chrysanthemums on the mountain are in full bloom, and their traces can be seen everywhere.
Thinking of wild chrysanthemums, Xu Jiang remembered the tea she bought from the old lady in the boat shop, and then asked Liu Mei to make another pot of wild chrysanthemum tea.
After a while, Liu Mei and the cook came up with Chongyang cake, chrysanthemum wine, wild chrysanthemum tea, dried fruits, candied fruits and other snacks and placed them in the garden not far away.
After Lou Yunchun and Chen Que washed their hands with the remaining water in the bucket, they invited each other into the pavilion. Liu Mei followed closely behind, supporting Xu Jiang.
The guests sat down first. Lou Yunchun waited for Xu Jiang to come over and helped her sit down before he sat down himself.
Shen Que felt familiar with his demeanor, and a person popped up in his mind. Then, thinking about it again, he realized that they had the same surname. He couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Who is Lou Jing to you?"
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