Old Man Lin didn't come back until noon.
At that time, Qiongzhi had already helped to finish painting most of the puppet. Old Man Lin came over to take a few looks, nodded, praised him for his good painting, and then went to get him some food.
Food should be prepared in advance, placed on a small iron rack in a wooden barrel in the yard's well, and then hung in the well, so that the food will not spoil easily.
The food tastes icy cold and you can clearly feel the food passing through your throat and then into your stomach.
Qiongzhi didn't eat much.
In the afternoon, Old Man Lin was busy with him, so he took the opportunity to talk to him and mentioned the two puppets in the morning.
"I don't think you brought the puppet back?"
Old Man Lin, holding an unlit cigarette in his mouth, said, "How can we possibly do well in one morning?"
Qiongzhi nodded and asked him, "How does a dancing puppet dance?"
"Do you see this frame inside?" Old Man Lin pulled the puppet's clothes apart to show him the wooden frame inside. "When the time comes, the person will crawl inside and carry this wooden frame."
I see.
While Qiongzhi was diligently drawing puppets, something big happened quietly to Wang Yang and Zhang Yuan. Many viewers left their live broadcast rooms at once, and some of them rushed to other live broadcast rooms to tip off the audience. Unfortunately, the hosts in the game could not see the barrage.
The work lasted until evening, when the sun set. Old Man Lin sent everyone away after Qiongzhi finished her dinner, and Qiongzhi had to walk back by herself.
When he returned, Aunt Lin was still in the kitchen. She was responsible for making the cakes for tomorrow's ceremony. During the day, girls and women from other families came to help, but at night she was the only one who was busy with the final part.
"You're back?" Aunt Lin poked her head out of the kitchen upon hearing the noise outside. Seeing Qiongzhi, she turned around with a smile and took out a small plate of cold cakes. "These are the cakes I made today, but they don't look good enough to give to the Mountain God. If you don't mind, take them and share them with your friends."
The pastries on the plate are of different colors, but they are all light in color, very fresh and beautiful.
Qiongzhi wanted to refuse, but Aunt Lin had already stuffed the plate into his hand. Just then, Zhong Le and Wu Zheng came into the room one after another. Qiongzhi looked at them and said, "Would you like some cakes?"
Zhong Le had gone to help weave colored rope today. After a day of twisting the thread, her hands were aching and even stained. Wu Zheng, on the other hand, had been assigned to help process cowhide. His arms were also sore after a day, and he just wanted to rest. So they both shook their heads and declined the plate of cakes.
After they went into the house, Qiongzhi sat down alone in the living room, put the cakes on the table, and waited for Wang Yang and Zhang Yuan to come back.
Even when the insects started chirping outside, the person still hadn't returned, and Qiongzhi's brows grew deeper and deeper.
"Why are you still sitting here?" Aunt Lin walked out of the kitchen with her waist hunched. She must have just finished making the pastries that were needed. She looked visibly tired.
"Two friends haven't come back yet." Qiongzhi said, and stood up, feeling a little anxious.
"Oh my, maybe he fell into a pit when it got dark?" Aunt Lin clapped her hands, her face showing worry: "Should I call a few people to look for him?"
"Thank you for your help." Qiongzhi nodded, went to knock on Zhong Le and Wu Zheng's door, and told them the news that Wang Yang and Zhang Yuan had not returned.
"Has something happened?" Zhong Le looked outside the house. Through the window, he could see that it was pitch black outside. The darkness was like a monster with its mouth wide open, swallowing everything.
Aunt Lin had already changed her shoes and was about to go out with her portable oil lamp, but she didn't expect the door to be pushed open from the outside.
"Ouch!" She was startled, then she let out a sigh when she saw who was pushing the door. "Why are you two guys back so late? Your friends are worried sick."
The people who came back were Wang Yang and Zhang Yuan. They apologized to Aunt Lin sheepishly, went into the house and greeted the other three people, saying, "That bamboo thing was so difficult to get. We've been working on it until just now. They invited us to eat, but we declined because it was too late and hurried back."
The two men really looked exhausted, their hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to their foreheads, and their hands were dirty.
Qiongzhi glanced at them for a few seconds and said, "Go wash your hands. There are still some cakes left for you to eat."
Wang Yang and Zhang Yuan wiped the sweat off their foreheads and nodded. They went to the bathroom one after another to wash their faces and hands, and then sat on the chairs to eat cakes.
"It's delicious, not too sweet." Zhang Yuan gave a thumbs up, and Aunt Lin smiled so hard that her teeth were visible.
The two of them were eating cakes and laughing happily. Zhong Le, who was watching from the side, always felt that the scene made people feel a little uncomfortable, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Try some too," Aunt Lin handed her two pieces of cake and gestured for her and Wu Zheng to share them. "Don't waste it."
Being interrupted like this, Zhong Le's uncomfortable feeling was suppressed. She took the pastry and handed a piece to Wu Zheng. Seeing that Wang Yang and Zhang Yuan were fine after eating it, she also ate it in small bites.
The whole plate of pastries was divided among the four people.
Late at night, the group returned to the house. Wang Yang and Zhang Yuan entered and began to talk about what they had done today, how their hands ached from cutting bamboo, and how they had to carry it back home...
They complained to Qiongzhi, who was sitting on the bed listening to them. He felt a little annoyed by the constant chatter, so he subconsciously put his hand in his pocket and stroked the triangular talisman, and immediately calmed down.
[Family, help me, I don’t dare to look back.]
Why can't they see the comments? Why?
[I hope I can’t see it either, so I won’t be so scared…]
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