Chapter 72 I don’t quite understand what Sister Ying’er said
Jinniang naturally couldn't tell Wanyi when she asked her, because her mother dreamed of returning to the capital, and she had heard her mother tell her about all the big and small things happening at the foot of the imperial city over and over again since she was a child.
She deliberately kept it a secret, saying, "I did let it slip, so it's okay to tell you now, but you can't tell your mother!"
Wanyi was originally just surprised at how Jinniang knew so much about the capital, but she never thought that she had asked a secret. She immediately became interested and said with a solemn oath: "Of course I won't tell you. If I tell you, then, I will have a nail in my mouth."
She was halfway through her words when Su Ying covered her mouth. Su Ying didn't want to get involved, but she didn't want Wan Yi to swear so casually. She couldn't help but scold her: "Why are you swearing for no reason? Sister Jinniang just asked you not to say it, not that she doesn't believe you."
However, Su Ying's words made Jinniang unhappy. She thought to herself, Wanyi and I didn't feel anything, but your making such a fuss makes it seem like I, as the elder sister, am teasing my younger sister.
"I don't quite understand what Sister Ying'er said. Wanyi was joking with me, but you took it so seriously. Do you think I'm not steady enough as a sister? Are you trying to coax her with that?"
Su Ying simply felt that Wanyi was too innocent to believe anything anyone said. She simply didn't want Wanyi to take Jinniang's joke too seriously. Furthermore, when she tried to stop Wanyi, she had already softened her tone, without any intention of blaming Jinniang.
Unexpectedly, Jinniang still took it to heart.
She didn't want to argue with Jinniang any further. Knowing that Du Heng had put so much thought into this trip, she naturally didn't want to waste his efforts and leave everyone disappointed. So she tried to defuse the situation by saying, "Sister, you don't know, Sister Wanyi swears all the time. I'm just worried that she'll keep swearing too much and won't be able to enjoy the delicious cakes and pastries that my cousin specially prepared for her!"
As she spoke, she tickled Wanyi, making her laugh along with her. This deterred Jinniang from further outbursts, so she withdrew her claws, which were about to open, and followed suit, covering her mouth with her hands and laughing.
But no one noticed that at this moment, there was a hint of hatred in her eyes as she looked at Su Ying.
The Lantern Festival was truly bustling. As soon as the carriages and horses reached the outskirts of the Lantern Festival, they could already sense the surging crowds. Du Heng dismounted and assigned Li Mao and Qingyun to watch over the carriages and horses. The others, along with him, escorted the three girls into the Lantern Festival.
Su Ying had also heard her grandparents talk about the Lantern Festival in Beijing. The difference between the northern and southern lantern festivals lay not in the lantern riddles and the admiring of the lanterns, but in the diverse array of craftspeople and acrobatics. Another unique aspect worth mentioning was the frequent presence of skilled painters at the northern festivals, who roamed the streets, specializing in depicting vibrant scenes with exceptional skill.
As she looked around, she saw a painter bent over an easel in the corner ahead, concentrating on sketching figures. A few steps further, she came to a dough figurine stall, which attracted her attention.
The most common art form in southern China is sugar figurines. The artisan sits at a specially crafted wooden table, one side of which is fitted with a rotating pin, which is covered in a circle of various sugar designs. A copper coin is given to the artisan to rotate the pin. The artisan then uses melted maltose to create a corresponding pattern on an iron plate on the other side of the table. Bamboo sticks are then attached to the sugar. Once the hot sugar hits the iron plate, it immediately cools and solidifies. The artisan can then carry the sugar figurine, attached to the stick, and eat it while walking.
Su Ying remembered that the largest of the spinning needles was a dragon, half the length of a child's arm from head to tail. Everyone wanted to spin it, but no one had ever succeeded. She remembered that Yuan Song had told her that there was a magnet hidden under the needle, and no matter how hard you spun it, you couldn't get the dragon.
I remember that year's Lantern Festival. I didn't know how I met Yuan Song. He looked at Su Ying with sparkling eyes and said eagerly, "Ying'er, do you want to taste what the big dragon tastes like?"
Su Ying nodded naturally.
Yuan Song pulled a thimble-like object from his pocket, slipped it onto his finger, and then led her to the sugar art stand. Young Master Yuan, known for his generosity, gave the artisan a silver lump and, using his thimble-wearing hand, spun a long needle. Sure enough, it turned into a dragon, and then two in a row. The two of them happily received the sugar art, larger than their faces, and, as the children gazed enviously, bit off the dragon's head.
After they walked away, Su Ying asked him curiously, only to find out that there was also a magnet hidden in the "thimble".
"Yuan Song, I heard from my grandmother that if everyone could get this dragon, the sugar painting seller would lose money and wouldn't be able to eat. He had to cheat to make a living, but we can't do the same, knowing that we have no choice but to do it."
Su Ying was a little worried, but she saw Yuan Song smiling and said, "Do you think he doesn't know that I have a magnet in my hand? The silver nugget I gave him is enough for him to draw a hundred dragons."
Thinking of her childhood memories, Su Ying couldn't help but smile. The dough figurines in front of her looked quite similar to the sugar paintings she had seen before, except that the dough figurines were not to be eaten, but only admired.
How come the little dough figurines are so lifelike?
Su Ying watched the craftsman holding the dough in one hand and the bamboo knife in the other. He lightly cut a small piece of dough onto the table, then pinched it lightly with his fingers, and rubbed it, and the little man's arm came out.
She watched with great interest and was fascinated for a while.
However, this wasn't Wanyi's first time watching dough figurines, and she didn't share Su Ying's intense interest. Jinniang was equally absent-minded, not because she found dough figurines boring, but because she felt the Lantern Festival was so crowded that it would be a shame not to do something about it.
Seeing Wanyi's lack of interest, she urged her to continue walking deeper into the Lantern Festival. Unable to resist, Wanyi approached Du Heng, who was also watching the dough figurines being made, and said, "Brother, can I go take a look ahead?"
Du Heng seemed reluctant. There were so many people flowing together, and even though the lights were bright, if they got separated, it would not be easy to reunite.
Just as she was about to refuse, Jinniang said, "Cousin, I'm here with you, Qiaoshu and Chunnuan are here too. Let's just walk ahead. We won't be far. If we can't find you, we can all meet at the lantern riddle guessing place, okay?"
Seeing that she spoke appropriately and that Su Ying was in high spirits, Du Heng nodded in agreement and asked Qingquan to follow them.
The lantern festival was bustling with activity, and Su Ying, so engrossed in watching, didn't hear Jinniang's conversation with Du Heng. When she finished watching the craftsman shape a large piece of white dough into a statue of the Monkey King, wearing a tiger-skin skirt and a tight headband, she was startled to realize that only Du Heng and Taoxi were around.
His face flushed, and he was about to speak when Du Heng leaned over and asked with a smile, "You've been watching for so long, now you know how to do it?"
Su Ying, who was originally a little shy, was amused by Du Heng.
Seeing her smile, Du Heng also felt very happy. After asking the price, he bought the newly made Monkey King and handed it to Su Ying.
Su Ying thanked him and took it, gently turning Sun Wukong with her fingers, examining him carefully with interest. Du Heng also looked down, his eyes moving along the dough figurine to her face.
She raised her eyes and met his gaze.
The two couldn't help but smile at each other.
It turns out that this dough figure is much sweeter than a sugar figure even without being eaten!
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