Xu Jiang felt around her body and took out an old handkerchief, which she wanted to burn as well. Lou Yunchun held her down, took the handkerchief away, stood up, and threw it into the fire.
He looked at the handkerchief that was licked by the flames and prayed devoutly: May the gods bless Ajiang and bring him peace and prosperity every year without encountering any disasters.
Xu Jiang looked at him standing in the crowd, before the fire, with his eyes bowed in prayer. Her heart was like a dough that had just risen, with a soft dent poked in it, and the dent was filled with warm light.
When Lou Yunchun turned back, Xu Jiang's eyes sparkled and she extended her hand towards him.
Lou Yunchun's eyebrows flew up, and he gently held her and said softly: "The village banquet is about to begin, let's go."
Xu Jiang nodded, then was pulled up by him and walked with him towards the place where the aroma of wine and food wafted.
The village banquet was also held at the fire site. The villagers brought their own dining tables and arranged them in a circle around the fire. If there were no chairs, they would use straw bales as seats. Then they would set out their homemade wine and food and invite everyone to eat.
Xu Jiang and Lou Yunchun were pulled over by the two sisters-in-law to sit down, and their hands were stuffed with bowls and chopsticks. They kept thanking them.
Zeng Zhui was also carried over by a group of men, and before he could even sit down, a bowl of wine was poured into his mouth. Zhong Lu, needless to say, was being toasted with bowl after bowl of wine.
Before Xu Jiang and Lou Yunchun had finished watching the excitement, two bowls of wine were handed to them. The two sisters-in-law who invited them to sit were staring at them with smiles.
The man next to Xu Jiang urged, "Sister, come and try the wax wine brewed at home. It tastes delicious."
The man next to Lou Yunchun also said, "Brother, have a bowl too. I'm not just boasting as a farmer, but the wine brewed from our grain is the most fragrant and mellow."
The two men couldn't refuse, so they drank all the wine in front of them.
As the wine enters my throat, there is only one word that comes to mind: spicy.
No wonder Lou Yunchun said the wine brewed by the villagers was strong. This bowl of wine almost made his eyes blur. Xu Jiang quickly picked up the food in front of him with chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth.
After the smell of alcohol subsided, she realized that what she was eating was stewed meat with dried radish. The dried radish had a slightly sweet aftertaste and its aroma was far superior to that of fresh radish, especially after absorbing the broth of the stewed meat, the taste became even mellower.
Xu Jiang couldn't help but take another piece and praised it, "It smells good."
The sister-in-law was delighted when she heard this, "I made this dish too. If you like it, please eat more."
"Okay." Xu Jiang originally wanted to let Lou Yunchun next to him have a taste as well, but when he turned around, he saw that his eyes were staring straight ahead. He cried out in his heart, "Oh no!" This guy was probably going to be drunk again.
She hurriedly stopped the second drink handed to her by the sister-in-law next to him, "Good sister-in-law, he can't drink it. He can't drink well."
The sister-in-law was surprised and said, "He just drank one bowl."
Xu Jiang waved her hand in front of Lou Yunchun's eyes, but he remained motionless. "Look, you've become stupid."
The sister-in-law stared at him, "You look so handsome, but how come you can't drink so much?"
Xu Jiang laughed and said, "That must be because the wine my sister-in-law brewed is too fragrant and strong. Come, give me a bowl to try."
"Oh, that's such a sweet thing to say. Come, come, sit here with your sister-in-law, let's have a good drink." As the sister-in-law said this, she pulled Xu Jiang over and pushed Lou Yunchun aside.
Another sister-in-law couldn't stand it anymore and scolded her with a smile: "You shrew, why are you still trying to steal someone else's life?"
Xu Jiang hurriedly said, "Two sisters-in-law, let's drink together and have some fun."
"Okay, come on, let's clink bowls first."
The three of them, with Lou Yunchun in the middle, began to drink enthusiastically. In between drinks, Xu Jiang fed Lou Yunchun some soup and vegetables. The two sisters-in-law were experienced people and could see that it was happening, so they told many jokes, which made Xu Jiang blush.
After eating and drinking to their heart's content, the villagers began to wrap up.
After Lou Yunchun sobered up from the drunkenness, he became a little more sober. Seeing that the banquet was over, he covered his face and sighed silently.
Xu Jiang found it amusing and asked, "Would you like another bowl?"
Lou Yunchun knew that she was teasing him, and gave her a helpless yet tolerant look, which made her laugh out loud.
The two men stood up and asked the villagers to clean up. Then they went to check on Zhong Lu and Zeng Zhui, who were already drunk and unconscious. The village chief wanted to let them rest at his home, but Lou Yunchun persuaded them not to. Firstly, Zhong Lu had to go to the government office the next day, and secondly, if Zeng Zhui didn't go back, he was afraid Du Hui would again pursue him. So it was better to send them both back.
The village chief did not try to keep them, but found a few strong men to carry the two men back to the village and put them in Zhong Lu's carriage.
Fortunately, Zhong Lu's groom hadn't drunk, so Lou Yunchun had him take Zhong Lu home and then take Zeng Zhui and the donkey to Du Hui's house. He and Xu Jiang then wandered around the village again, buying some local specialties and wine from the villagers before heading back to the city.
A villager brought over their donkey and horse, pointed at Xu Jiang's donkey and said with a laugh, "This donkey is incredible! It won't eat the grass I feed it, but instead it plucked and ate all the radishes I've hung to dry. It really knows what it's doing."
Upon hearing this, Xu Jiang hurriedly apologized for her stupid donkey and took out money as compensation, but was repeatedly rejected by the villager, so she finally had to give up.
"People eat it, donkeys eat it, too. If it doesn't rot in the ground, it's not considered waste. Besides, it's not worth much in our village. If you want to eat it, just cook it. We have plenty of radishes at home."
The villagers laughed again as they spoke, "Seeing that it loved to eat, my son even pulled some from the neighbor's house to feed it, but it was very rare."
Xu Jiang led the donkey over and slapped it hard on the butt. The donkey shook, but it was not afraid of the beating because it was full.
Lou Yunchun clasped his fists towards the villagers and said, "I'm sorry to have caused trouble for you, big brother."
The villagers waved their hands and smiled as they walked them out of the archway, "Come back when you have time."
The two waved goodbye to him.
On the way, Xu Jiang kept complaining about her donkey. Lou Yunchun listened to her nagging with a smile, and found it more pleasant than the sound of stringed instruments.
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