Chapter 242 The Atmosphere of the Chinese New Year
Sure enough, even during the Chinese New Year, business people will not give up this opportunity to make money.
"Selling candied melons! Sweet and sticky candied melons!"
"Beautiful velvet flowers! Young ladies and wives, come and take a look!"
"Windmill! The windmill is spinning!"
"The sound of firecrackers bids farewell to the old year, and it's time to buy a string of firecrackers to welcome the New Year!"
"Sister Jiang, look at that! It spins!"
"Brother! There's someone making dough figurines over there!"
Jiang Ling bought each person a freshly baked, golden-brown, and crispy sesame seed cake, so they could cover their hands and have a little something to eat.
Xiao Qi and Xiao Yi stopped in front of an old man's sugar painting stall.
The old man held a small copper spoon, scooped up a spoonful of golden syrup, and with a few deft strokes of his wrist, as if painting, a lifelike golden dragon and a bird about to take flight appeared on the smooth stone slab.
"Sister Jiang, I want that little rabbit!" Xiao Yi whispered.
"I want that dragon!" Xiao Qi shouted loudly.
Jiang Ling smiled and paid the money.
Xiao Ran stopped in front of the bookstall next to her.
This stall sells secondhand books, and the prices are relatively cheap.
The stall owner, an elderly gentleman wearing glasses, saw him looking intently and asked with a smile:
"Young man, what kind of book do you want?"
Xiao Ran looked at the stall: "Old sir, do you have any etiquette?"
The old man rummaged through a pile of books and found one that was already a bit old and had some curled edges.
It seems the previous owner had been looking through it for a long time.
The old man handed him the book, saying, "I happen to have one. It's the New Year, so I'll give you a discount. It'll be twenty coins."
Twenty coins were within Xiao Ran's budget, so he took out the coins and accepted the book.
"Thank you, sir."
The intersection ahead was completely blocked by people.
Just then, loud cheers and drumbeats came from the street corner, making it even more lively than elsewhere.
The crowd surged toward that direction like a tide.
"Is there something exciting to see up ahead?" Xiao Yi asked curiously, standing on tiptoe.
“Come on, let’s go take a look.” Xiao Qi pulled him forward without hesitation.
Jiang Ling and the others followed Xiao Ran.
In the middle of the street, an open space had been enclosed to form a natural circular area.
A group of martial arts performers, seemingly from the Jianghu (江湖, a term referring to the martial arts world), were performing there.
The man banging the gong was a lean old man, while in the center of the arena, several young men dressed in short, tight-fitting clothes were practicing their martial arts.
Their movements were perfectly synchronized, their shouts were powerful, and their punches and kicks were fierce, drawing cheers from the surrounding audience.
After a set of punches was completed, the next step was an even more exciting two-person sparring match.
A man brandished a long spear, its cold light gleaming.
The other wielded a single sword, and his swordsmanship was fierce.
Xiao Ran has always been very interested in martial arts, and now she is learning martial arts from Zhao Shiying.
They were naturally thrilled by the martial arts competition in front of them.
The two fighters on the stage exchanged blows with lightning speed, switching between offense and defense.
They clashed with swords and spears, neither giving an inch.
They always manage to defuse crises at the last minute, and even counterattack their opponents.
This is not only a clash of strength, but also a contest of skill and wisdom.
But it's real skill, not the kind that's just for show.
Xiao Ran was completely engrossed in watching, her eyes glued to the screen, as if she had transformed into one of the players on the field, imagining how to dodge and counterattack the opponent's moves.
His fingers unconsciously traced the movements on the field, as he recalled the power generation techniques and footwork tips that Master Zhao Shiying had taught him.
It wasn't until the performance ended and the old man banging the gong walked around the field asking for a reward that Xiao Ran snapped out of her daze, her face still flushed with excitement.
"What Master Zhao taught us, and what they used, are somewhat similar..."
He muttered to himself, but his eyes grew even clearer.
Jiang Ling put a few copper coins into the gong and said to the children with a smile, "Alright, the performance is over, now we should go buy other things."
If you walk further ahead, you'll find food stalls.
The freshly baked sesame seed cakes are steaming hot, with a golden and crispy crust, and a bite is full of sesame aroma.
The candied hawthorn skewers were piled high, the hawthorns coated in sugar frosting, glistening red in the sunlight, making you want to take a bite.
There are also fried glutinous rice balls, with a crispy outer skin and a sweet red bean paste filling inside.
As the sun rose to its zenith, Jiang Ling's bamboo basket was already full.
Most of them are novelties unique to this era.
As the sun rose higher, we had finished exploring the market.
On the way back, Xiao Qi and Xiao Yi ate candied hawthorns and started chattering and laughing again.
Xiao Ran is too calm now, while Xiao Qi and Xiao Yi get along very well and can be seen playing around together almost every day.
As we passed the old locust tree at the village entrance, we happened to meet Aunt Zhao carrying a basket and walking towards town. Seeing them, she smiled and asked:
"You're back from the market? You bought so much stuff!"
Jiang Ling smiled and nodded: "I brought you some sesame cakes, I'll send them over to you later."
Aunt Zhao quickly said, "No need, no need, you can eat it yourselves!"
"Yes, yes," Jiang Ling took a specially wrapped packet of sesame cakes from the basket and stuffed it into Aunt Zhao's hand.
"It's nothing fancy, I just saw it at the market and thought it looked interesting, so I bought a lot. You can take it back for your grandson to try."
Unable to refuse, Aunt Zhao accepted the pastries, her wrinkles crinkling into a wide smile.
"Oh dear, I can't accept this. You're always so kind of you to spend so much. Miss Jiang, you're too kind!"
Then he looked at the three children behind Jiang Ling, "Look, Xiao Ran, Xiao Qi, and Xiao Yi, they look as smart as dolls in a painting in their new clothes!"
Xiao Qi and Xiao Yi laughed when they heard this, but Xiao Ran was a little embarrassed.
"Are you going to town?" Jiang Ling asked.
"Yes, I'm going to visit my daughter. There's a local opera performance at her in-laws' house today. They're inviting me over to join in the fun."
After praising the children a few more times, Aunt Zhao picked up her basket and headed briskly toward the town.
Back home, after tidying up the New Year's goods she had purchased, Jiang Ling took out a bag of sesame cakes separately and asked Xiao Ran to run a errand to deliver it to Aunt Qian.
Xiao Ran took the pastries, but turned around and then turned back:
"Sister Jiang, I...can I go see Master Zhao this afternoon? I saw people fighting on the street today, and there were some things I didn't understand. I'd like to ask Master Zhao for advice."
Seeing the boy's enthusiasm for martial arts, Jiang Ling felt gratified and naturally had no reason to refuse.
"Go ahead and deliver the pastries. If Master Zhao has time, go and ask him for advice."
"Okay!" Xiao Ran's face immediately lit up with a smile, and she took the pastries and went out the door with light steps.
Xiao Qi and Xiao Yi were playing with their newly bought windmills and other odds and ends in the yard, and they also invited a large group of friends over to play with firecrackers.
The pure laughter of children filled the air; the festive spirit of the New Year was strong and had not been replaced by electronic technology.
The children gathered together to play, while the adults, having finished their daily routines, would huddle together by the fire, chatting and laughing.
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