Chapter 97 Eating Mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival
Jiang Ling got up very early.
She was still a little dazed when she went downstairs and saw the shop was completely intact.
The fire from last night is still playing in my mind, but now it feels as blurry as a dream.
As soon as I opened the wooden door of the grocery store, the familiar hustle and bustle outside rushed in.
Golden sunlight streamed into the open space in front of the door, neither too cold nor too dry—it was the perfect time of autumn.
The villagers still lined up, their baskets filled with fresh vegetables and freshly picked fruits, waiting to exchange them for some copper coins to add a festive atmosphere to their homes.
"Good morning, Miss Jiang!"
Good morning, Sister Jiang!
The villagers passing by greeted him cheerfully. Everyone's face was beaming with smiles.
The air seemed to be filled with the festive atmosphere unique to holidays.
Under the dense shade of the old locust tree, Xiao Ran was chatting away with a few friends.
Xiao Ran was chatting animatedly with several friends of similar age. He had already changed into new clothes, which his mother had hurriedly made using the two thick pieces of fabric given to him by Jiang Ling.
The new clothes fit him perfectly, and the navy blue fabric was smooth, making the little guy look much more energetic. At first glance, he even looked a bit like the young master of a wealthy family in the village.
These days, when farming families make new clothes for their children, they always make them too big, because children grow quickly, and the clothes are big and loose so that they can wear them for a longer period of time. Otherwise, altering them would be wasteful of fabric and time.
However, the clothes were too big and loose when worn, and since they were made of coarse linen, they inevitably looked shabby from a distance.
Zhao Yin's wife used to do the same thing.
But things are different now. Xiao Ran works at Miss Jiang's shop and earns a tael of silver a month.
These two pieces of fine fabric were specially given to me by Miss Jiang, clearly so that the child could dress more presentably.
Zhao Yin's wife gritted her teeth, stitching more and more tightly, measuring again and again, making sure every piece was a perfect fit.
With that kind of status, she'd be happy to change it even once a month!
Her peers couldn't help but cast envious glances at her.
You should know that they might not even get two new clothes a whole year.
Moreover, the material of Xiao Ran's clothes is obviously expensive; many farmers could never afford such a garment in their entire lives.
But they just watched; no one dared to step forward and cause trouble.
They had never been to school and couldn't even write their own names, so they dared not hope to work in a grocery store.
As soon as the shop opened, Xiao Ran immediately greeted her friends and ran over with a bright smile on her face, "Sister Jiang, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!"
"Wishing you a happy Mid-Autumn Festival, Xiao Ran!" Jiang Ling replied with a smile, glancing at his new clothes.
"Great, you look very energetic today."
Xiao Ran smiled and said, "The fabric that Sister Jiang sent is thick and beautiful. Mother told me to thank Sister Jiang."
"We're all family, no need to thank me," Jiang Ling said, glancing at the children under the shade of the tree.
They all had empty baskets on their backs, clearly having just finished selling vegetables.
"Are those your friends?"
Xiao Ran followed Jiang Ling's gaze and looked back. "Yes, they all grew up with me since they were little."
"It's a festival today, so invite your friends over. Tell them that Sister Jiang is treating them to mooncakes."
"Great!" Xiao Ran's eyes lit up, and she immediately turned around and ran back to tell them the good news.
Last night, after closing the wooden door, Jiang Ling opened the iron gate. Considering that the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, she specially went to the supermarket and bought two whole boxes of mooncakes, with all kinds of flavors.
Before long, a group of children, not quite grown up, timidly gathered at the entrance of the grocery store.
Most of them were between eight or nine and twelve or thirteen years old, dressed in faded or even patched coarse cloth clothes, their faces tanned and shy, typical of peasant children. They stood curiously and reservedly gathered at the entrance of the general store.
They shouted in different ways:
"Sister Jiang, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!"
"Hello, Sister Jiang..."
Jiang Ling responded with a smile, "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone! Don't crowd at the door, come in a bit. Come on, let Sister Jiang treat you to mooncakes!"
As she spoke, she turned around and laboriously carried a large cardboard box out from behind the counter and placed it on the open ground by the door.
The cardboard box contained individually wrapped, golden-yellow mooncakes, each bigger than the palm of your hand!
Most of them had eaten Sister Jiang's food before; these golden pastries looked delicious at first glance.
The children's eyes widened instantly, their gazes falling on the mooncakes, yet they dared not get too close.
"Come on, line up, one for each of you, everyone gets one!" Jiang Ling picked up a mooncake and called out.
Xiao Ran helped maintain order, acting like a little manager: "Line up, line up, don't push! Sister Jiang said there's enough for everyone!"
The children, excited yet a little flustered, formed a crooked little line, craning their necks and looking expectantly at the mooncakes in Jiang Ling's hands.
Jiang Ling began distributing the items.
When each child received the heavy, beautifully packaged mooncake, it was as if they had received a precious treasure. They held it carefully in their little hands, their faces beaming with joy, and they thanked them in clear, crisp voices.
"Thank you, Sister Jiang!"
"You're welcome, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!" Jiang Ling said with a smile.
Soon, more than half of the box of mooncakes had been given away.
The villagers queuing to sell vegetables watched this heartwarming scene with smiles on their faces, their eyes full of goodwill.
Jiang Ling looked at the half-full box of mooncakes still in her hand, straightened up, and called out to the villagers in line:
"Fellow villagers, I don't have much to give as a gift today, but please take one of these mooncakes home to try and celebrate the festival. I wish you all a happy Mid-Autumn Festival and a sweet and wonderful life!"
Actually, the mooncakes here were originally meant for them.
The villagers were stunned when they heard this; they were no longer children, nor were they at the age where they craved pastries.
"Oh dear! I can't accept this!"
"Miss Jiang, you're too kind!"
"These mooncakes look so precious, I can't accept them!"
Everyone declined, but the longing in their eyes was undeniable.
These days, sugar, oil, rice, and flour are all precious commodities.
If you're a farmer, you can still grit your teeth and eat a meal or two of wheat flour during the autumn harvest.
Sugar is not a necessity of life, and its price is not affordable for ordinary families.
I only buy candy during the Chinese New Year.
"Don't be shy!" Jiang Ling said without further ado, leading Xiao Ran to distribute the food to the villagers in line.
"There's only one Mid-Autumn Festival a year, and everyone has helped the grocery store so much; a few pastries are nothing."
The villagers couldn't refuse, so they accepted it and thanked them repeatedly.
"Thank you, Miss Jiang! You have such a kind heart!"
"Wishing Miss Jiang a happy Mid-Autumn Festival and prosperous business!"
"Thanks to Miss Jiang, we can finally try something new this year!"
Just then, an impatient little boy couldn't resist tearing open the wrapper.
The glistening, fragrant mooncakes were revealed, their golden crusts adorned with delicate patterns.
He took a big bite!
Instantly, an extremely sweet and soft texture, unlike anything he had ever tasted before, melted in his mouth!
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