Chapter 282 Feelings of Returning to Childhood
"Of course I would. I was just too busy with farm work to do these delicate tasks."
Song Chunxue handed him the small sachet she had sewn, saying, "This is for you. I embroidered it rather poorly, so I bought one for you on the street. You can wear it on your waist like your classmate."
Sanwa held various sachets in his hands, saying, "I want the ones my mother makes. Why spend money to buy them? The ones my mother makes are very beautiful."
As he spoke, he happily hung it around his waist.
"Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival. The teacher will take us to the top of Dongshan Mountain to build a high mound of earth. I've never seen one before. I heard that we'll also light firecrackers. We have to go before dawn. Mother, do you want to come with us?"
"No, why would I go and join in the fun? I still need to make flower-shaped flatbread this morning."
Sanwa laughed and said, "Then you can go with the Taoist priest. He's going to the mountain to pray for blessings and offer incense. Mother is now practically a Taoist priest herself, so she can go and broaden her horizons."
"Mom, is it okay to eat the jelly?"
Seeing the cold jelly noodles drying on the cutting board, Sanwa's mouth watered.
It's incredibly hot today; all three kids are sweating.
"It's ready to eat, cut it yourself."
Song Chunxue put away the sachet she had sewn. "What are we having for dinner?"
"We have both jelly and sweet fermented rice, what else do you want to make, Mother?" Sanwa cut the translucent jelly into thin strips and put them in a bowl. "You and the Taoist priest eat, I'll eat some sweet fermented rice later and then go play with my classmates."
How did Sanwa find playmates so quickly?
Song Chunxue took out twenty copper coins from her pocket. "Then go and have fun. Don't be stingy with your classmates. If they give you something to eat, you should buy it back. It's about reciprocity."
"Mom, I still have money."
"Keep yours and spend it slowly, this is for you."
Sanwa couldn't help but sigh, "My mother is so generous these days."
"Why hasn't the Taoist priest returned yet? Is his clinic opening tomorrow?"
"Yes, we'll open tomorrow."
“Then I’ll go with my classmates tomorrow and show them the way.” At this point, Sanwa leaned closer to her. “Mom, one of my classmates knows you can draw lucky charms. He asked if I can buy one for ten coins?”
"Yes, your classmate only pays ten coins, but other businessmen pay one hundred coins per note."
Sanwa's eyes lit up immediately, "Is it really that profitable? Mother, can you teach me?"
"Study hard and don't think about making money. You can think about it when you're done studying."
Sanwa scratched his head. "Oh, I understand."
In the evening, the Taoist priest returned from outside.
He took off his outer shirt and walked straight to the kitchen. "Junior brother, do you have any fermented bean curd? It's so hot."
“Yes, it’s stir-fried with chives, just cooled down. I’ll scoop you a bowl.” Song Chunxue muttered, “I didn’t believe people before that the county was hotter than the countryside, but now I do.”
"It's cooler up in the mountains. I'm going to stay up in the mountains in a few days. It's too hot in the plains."
As he spoke, the Taoist priest gulped down two bowls of liquid.
The aroma was enhanced by the stir-frying, and Song Chunxue even sprinkled chopped daylily flowers on top, making it a truly delicious and visually appealing dish.
"Is everything prepared for the clinic? Have you bought the firecrackers?"
"I've bought it, I've bought it. We can open tomorrow at noon. Junior brother, come with me to the mountain in the morning to offer incense to the ancestral master, is that alright?"
Song Chunxue nodded, "Of course, I just made myself a dark blue Taoist robe a few days ago, but I haven't worn it yet."
Before going to bed, she tied colorful ropes to everyone's hands and feet, and the Taoist priest's refusal was useless.
...
The next day was the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
Song Chunxue got up very early, and went to knock on Sanwa's door as soon as the rooster crowed.
Sanwa wanted to go up the mountain. Although he was sleepy, he jumped out of bed without delay.
He had been herding sheep for so many years, but he had never gone out with so many people before, let alone celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival.
He had heard that in other villages, adults would take their children to the mountaintop to burn incense and light fires during the Dragon Boat Festival when he was studying in the countryside, but he had never seen it with his own eyes.
He changed into the new clothes his mother had made for him, quickly washed his face, ate a few bites of sweet fermented rice with a flatbread, and then rushed out the door.
The Taoist priest, wearing the clothes made by Song Chunxue, slowly washed his face and drank tea.
Seeing that Song Chunxue was still making guokui (a type of flatbread), he couldn't help but join in.
“This pot is so big, you can make three at once.” With that, the Taoist priest placed a large white flatbread on the side of the pot, put the lid on, and sat on a stool to tend the fire. “Go change your clothes, I’ll watch over these flatbreads.”
Song Chunxue was surprised by his swift and decisive movements.
"Yeah, I'm just trying to make one pancake per pot, but my senior brother is much smarter."
The Taoist priest bent down and stuffed a handful of straw into the stove, poking it a few times with a fire poker. "I'm clumsy, there's nothing I can do."
"..."
Song Chunxue hurriedly changed her clothes, applied a little ointment to her face, and then remembered that she had fed the chickens and the donkey, but hadn't fed the two dogs yet.
The two dogs were nudging her legs.
After she fed the dog and combed her hair, just as she was about to leave, she remembered that she needed to bring her purse.
The Taoist priest stood at the door, one hand on the door knocker and one foot outside, watching Song Chunxue run around like a spinning top.
"Slow down, take it one step at a time. It's okay if you're a little late. Our ancestral master isn't just eating our incense today, so why are you in such a hurry?"
Song Chunxue finally finished tidying up, and when she turned around, she saw that the kitchen door was not closed.
The two dogs have grown up, and if the kitchen door isn't closed properly, they'll probably cause a huge ruckus when they come back.
She ran quickly to the kitchen door. "So many years have passed and very few people have stood at the door waiting for me to come out. Do you think I'm not nervous?"
The Taoist priest sighed helplessly, "I'm not cursing you, why are you running away?"
"Alright, alright, let's go." Locking the gate, Song Chunxue was overjoyed, feeling as if she had returned to her childhood and went to the mountain with her sisters to make a fire.
Looking up, she saw willow branches hanging at the gate of Sister Tian's house diagonally across the street.
"I forgot, I forgot to put willow branches at the door."
In the past, when we lived in the countryside, the first thing we did when we got up on Dragon Boat Festival was to go outside and pick willow branches. Today, I was too busy circling around the stove.
"It's alright, we can hang it up after we come down the mountain," the Taoist priest said with a helpless smile. "Why is it like a war, junior brother, during a festival?"
Song Chunxue patted her clothes and said, "I'm so happy. I've never had such a leisurely Dragon Boat Festival in my life."
She looked up at the Taoist priest, cupped her hands in greeting, and smiled, "Senior brother, wishing you a peaceful and healthy Dragon Boat Festival."
The Taoist priest flicked his whisk, cupped his hands in return, and said, "Junior brother, wishing you a peaceful and healthy Dragon Boat Festival."
Hearing her senior brother say this, Song Chunxue felt even more joyful; she loved this kind of ritual.
At that moment, she seemed to forget her age and appearance, forget everything else, and like a seven or eight-year-old child, she only knew that going up the mountain to celebrate the festival was an exciting thing.
She quickened her pace, "Senior brother, hurry up!"
"Sigh, I thought you were doing quite well in your cultivation just a few days ago, but you've reverted to your old ways after just one Dragon Boat Festival. I didn't expect you to be so playful, junior brother."
The Taoist priest had to quicken his pace, as if a dog was chasing him, and soon he arrived at Xianyun Temple, halfway up the eastern mountain.
"Our two senior uncles have arrived. We are waiting for you to offer incense and pray for blessings together."
Inside the Taoist temple, there was a young disciple, behind whom stood a young woman holding a baby a few months old, and next to her stood a little girl of about five years old.
“I didn’t tell you last time. This is the gatekeeper disciple of this temple, named Wang Shouming. He will also be a junior doctor at our clinic. This is his wife and children. We will be dealing with each other often in the future.”
Wang Shouming cupped his hands to Song Chunxue and said, "Greetings, Martial Uncle. I didn't expect you to be so young. I've heard you're very skilled at drawing wealth-attracting talismans. May I ask if you could give me a couple?"
P.S.: I've rambled on about too much romance, so I'm going to speed things up now. That's why I'm writing about the Dragon Boat Festival in advance. Wishing everyone a happy and healthy Dragon Boat Festival!
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