Chapter 102 Riddles
After seeing Madam Song off.
Jiang Ling looked at Xiao Ran: "Xiao Ran, come with me, so we can look out for each other."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran smiled and said, "Okay, Sister Jiang, Xiao Ran will definitely protect you and be your best guard!"
Jiang Ling locked the shop door, tidied her clothes and hair, and took some money with her.
When I came out again, the sun had already set.
I wanted to invite Xiao Ran's family to ride in the carriage, but they insisted on refusing, refusing to go with me no matter what.
So we had no choice but to let them be.
Xiao Ran sat in the carriage for a while, then went out to learn how to drive the horse-drawn carriage from Lao Liu.
The carriage wound its way through the bustling streets and finally came to a stop in front of a brightly lit restaurant.
Jiang Ling lifted the curtain and saw that the street was wide, the streetlights were on, and the crowds were shoulder to shoulder, making it very lively.
Jiang Ling and Xiao Ran got out of the car.
Before me stood a restaurant called Mulou Restaurant, its decor new and exuding elegance. The building was tall, with upturned eaves, and carriages and horses crowded the entrance.
The building was bustling with activity, while outside, cars and horses were constantly passing by. Various large lanterns in front of the door illuminated the large area in front of the door as bright as day.
Xiao Ran looked around curiously, a hint of doubt creeping into her mind. "In previous years, the most lively lantern festival in town wasn't on this street; it was always on the widest street in the town center, East Third Street. Why has it been moved here this year?"
"Isn't this good?" Jiang Ling asked.
"It's not that it's bad, it's just that this street is rather deserted,"
Upon hearing this, the rickshaw driver, Old Liu, chuckled and explained, "Young man, you may not know this, but I heard that most of the expenses for this year's lantern festival were invested by the Mulou Restaurant. The Mulou Restaurant only opened this year, and in order to increase customer traffic and brand awareness, the center of the lantern festival was chosen to be on this street."
Jiang Ling immediately understood that the owner of the Mulou Restaurant had invested a lot of money in this lantern festival in order to increase its popularity.
Naturally, the most exciting event should be held right in front of one's own doorstep.
The square in front of the building was already occupied by all kinds of vendors and crowds of people. Laughter, shouts, and acrobatic performances blended together, creating a strong festive atmosphere.
"Then let's stroll around here," Jiang Ling said to Xiao Ran with a smile.
Xiao Ran nodded immediately, her eyes already drawn to the dazzling array of goods.
"Then I'll trouble you to wait here, sir," Jiang Ling said, turning to Old Liu.
"Alright, you two go ahead and have fun. This old man will stay here and keep watch. I won't go far."
Zhao Yin and his wife, along with Xiao Qi, arrived by oxcart, so their journey was relatively slow. Moreover, the oxcart could only be parked outside, and it would take them quite some time to walk in.
We won't wait for them.
The two merged into the bustling crowd. The stalls on both sides of the street were dazzling.
The lantern vendors were the most eye-catching, their stalls filled with lotus lanterns, rabbit lanterns, revolving lanterns, palace lanterns...
Many children held their parents' hands, pointing at their favorite lanterns and refusing to move.
It's a holiday, so of course we have to be appropriate for the occasion.
Jiang Ling bought two lotus lanterns, and she and Xiao Ran each carried one as they walked down the street.
They had only walked a few steps when cheers came from afar.
"well!"
"Show us another fire-breathing act!"
"Let's jump through the fire ring!"
Immediately following was the sound of various copper coins being struck on the ground.
It turned out to be a street performer's stall not far away.
Jiang Ling was quite eager to see some ancient acrobatic performances, but unfortunately, the place was too popular, with crowds packed in layers.
Jiang Ling and Xiao Ran couldn't squeeze in even if they tried. They had no choice but to give up.
After walking around for most of the way, I got a little hungry, so I found a small stall and prepared to get something to eat.
The area was filled with all sorts of stalls, selling freshly baked sesame cakes, sprinkled with a thick layer of sesame seeds and roasted until fragrant;
There are steaming hot flatbreads topped with thick meat broth, which look very appetizing.
There were also vendors carrying straw targets, which were covered with bright red and shiny candied hawthorns, weaving between the various stalls;
In the distance, vendors were pushing carts and hawking sugarcane juice and rice wine, their sweet aromas wafting through the air.
This was the first time she had truly experienced how lively ancient lantern festivals could be.
Jiang Ling ordered two flatbreads, two bowls of steamed buns, and also bought two strings of candied hawthorns from a passing vendor.
"Come on, let's eat our fill. We'll go watch the lantern riddle guessing game later."
"Okay." Xiao Ran was dazzled by the sights, her face flushed with excitement.
Not far away, at a tea stall, a storyteller was banging his gavel and recounting tales of the past dynasty with great enthusiasm, while the old and young men around him listened intently, occasionally bursting into cheers.
After eating and drinking their fill, Jiang Ling and Xiao Ran carried lotus lanterns and walked along with the crowd.
Ahead was the center of the street, surrounded by layers of scholars, literati, and curious commoners, who were looking at the small slips of paper on the lanterns, nodding their heads and pondering.
Each lantern has a red paper hanging down from it, with a riddle written on it. If you guess the riddle correctly, you can take down the red paper and exchange it with the stall owner for a small gift prepared inside the lantern.
"Sister Jiang, I can't recognize all these characters..."
Xiao Ran watched with envy. He didn't know many characters, and he really envied these people who could speak eloquently and fluently.
Jiang Ling smiled and said softly, "It's alright, it's good to watch the excitement."
Her gaze swept over the riddles, most of which were common word puzzles and object puzzles. Coming from the information explosion era, her thinking was often more unconventional than that of the locals.
She reached out and took the red paper from the three nearest lanterns, handing them to Xiao Ran. She then whispered the answers to his riddles in his ear.
"Go ahead and exchange your gift with the stall owner."
Xiao Ran's eyes sparkled as she held the three slips of paper, nodded, and went upstairs.
Before long, he returned carrying an adorable clay doll, a well-made calligraphy brush, and a small piece of ink.
Jiang Ling took the clay doll: "Here, you can keep the pen and ink for writing."
"Thank you, Sister Jiang!"
The two girls who had been standing nearby suddenly spoke up, "Miss, look, it's this clay doll!"
Jiang Ling didn't care. If she turned around at that moment, she would see a face filled with anger and jealousy.
The revelation of three mysteries at once indeed attracted the stall owner's attention.
I thought Xiao Ran was the reincarnation of the God of Literature, but after listening to him stumble over the answer, I realized that he couldn't even recognize all the characters.
He put a lot of effort into collecting the riddles on his stall; it would be quite an achievement for an ordinary person to guess even one or two correctly.
This completely piqued his curiosity; who could answer all three correctly at once?
He then followed Xiao Ran's footsteps all the way here.
He was right; the real person was someone else entirely. It turned out to be a girl of seventeen or eighteen.
Judging from her clothes and overall demeanor, she seemed like a young lady from a wealthy family.
Jiang Ling originally just intended to join in the fun. She recognized most of these answers, and having modern knowledge was undoubtedly cheating in this game.
Not wanting to disturb others' enjoyment, she strolled around for a bit and then prepared to go somewhere else.
But after taking only a few steps, an old man blocked his way.
The old innkeeper stepped forward, cupped his hands, and smiled, "This young lady has quite the talent! I admire her. I wonder if you would be interested in participating in the lantern riddle contest on that stage over there? It's hosted by the Mulou Restaurant, and if you can win first place, there's a prize of one or two taels of gold!"
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