Chapter 533 Unexpected
Following the flow of people, the Li family hurried along, and after more than an hour, they finally drove the carriage to the carriage shop on the street where Xuandu Temple was located.
Sure enough, as soon as they entered the street where Xuandu Temple was located, they saw a long queue forming at the entrance of Xuandu Temple.
Li Sanniang thought to herself, "It seems that Xuandu Temple has also adopted a flow control method to ensure the safety of people coming and going, otherwise there wouldn't be such a long queue."
"Da Lang and Er Lang, go queue up. I'll lead them to find a stall here to sit down and rest."
At the stall, after Li San Niang had eaten a small plate of four rice cakes, two pine nut candies, and a small bowl of wontons with Lu Zhu'er, it was finally time for the Li family to enter the Xuandu Temple.
Following the procedure, they first took the incense given by the young Taoist, went into the temple to offer incense, and then followed Li's mother to the place with the most people. When they arrived, they spent money, took a number from the young Taoist, and then went to find the Taoist priest to ask for peace charms for all the children in the family.
Not only Li Erlang, who has already entered officialdom and can be considered an adult, but also Li Sanlang, Xiao Silang, who are currently studying at the academy, Xiao Wulang who is staying at home, and Luzhu'er in Li Sanniang's arms. Li's mother is even thinking about Li Dalang, who is far away at the border.
Every single one of the third-generation children in the family had their birth dates and times told by the Taoist priest, and each of them received a peace talisman.
"We'll ask for it for Dalang, and then find a chance to send it to him."
After obtaining amulets for peace and paying respects to the Three Pure Ones, the group followed Li's mother to buy vegetarian fruits.
It's actually just a round cake baked with white flour, except that this cake is shaped in a mold and has a "福" (fortune) character inside a circle on top.
After buying two bags of vegetarian fruits with the character "福" (fortune) on them, Li's mother noticed that there were so many elderly people in the temple. She quickly asked a young Taoist priest for advice, calculated the time, and decided not to participate in the Taoist ritual at the temple. It would be better to go home as soon as possible.
However, on the way back, it happened to be lunchtime, so Li's mother decided to find a restaurant for the whole family to eat.
However, because of the festival, every restaurant on the street was packed. Looking at Lu Zhu'er's condition and glancing at the sky, Li's mother finally decided to go to a restaurant to eat.
"If we look for another restaurant, it will be just as crowded."
Besides, I think it's going to rain today, even though we brought umbrellas and have a carriage to take shelter from the rain.
But this horse is a precious animal; how could we let it get rained on?
"That's perfect. Let's eat while we wait for the rain to start. By the time we finish eating, it should be almost over, and then we can hurry home."
When the head of the Li family spoke, everyone obediently complied.
They found a fairly well-known restaurant and put two tables together in the lobby on the first floor, where the Li family members sat down one by one.
The weather was gloomy, a bit windy, and threatening rain. In such weather, a bowl of hot mutton soup with pepper would be perfect.
Before Li San Niang had finished her mutton soup, the rain started to fall.
The rain was heavy and dense, pattering as if something was about to happen.
After everyone finished their meal and drank a pot of tea to aid digestion, the rain outside still showed no sign of stopping.
"Looks like we won't be home until evening. Your father is home alone with Xiao Wu, he must be worried about us not coming back."
Seeing that his mother was worried about his father and son, Xiao Wulang, Li Dalang comforted her, saying, "Mother, don't worry. Father knows we're a big family together. We brought umbrellas with us when we went out."
"I'm getting home late; Father should know it's because of the rain."
Because they had been sheltering from the rain in the restaurant for a long time, which affected the restaurant's occupancy rate, Li's mother ordered four more plates of snacks.
Enjoying tea and snacks while watching the rain outside the window is a uniquely pleasant and elegant experience.
Li San Niang watched as the rain outside changed from a dense, torrential downpour of pea-sized raindrops to a light drizzle like continuous silk threads. After about half an hour, the rain finally stopped.
After waiting a while longer, seeing that the rain had indeed stopped, Li's mother quickly got up and directed everyone to go to the carriage shop to get the carriage so they could hurry home.
Because everyone on the street who was sheltering from the rain was in a hurry to get home, it was difficult to hail a car.
Brother Li then said to his mother, "Mother, you and Third Sister should take the children and go back first. We'll stay here and find a carriage slowly. Otherwise, if we just wait like this, it might be dark by the time we get home."
Mother Li shook her head, "Second Brother, take Third Sister and the others back first. Eldest Brother and I will wait for the carriage here. Judging from the looks of it, we should be able to get the carriage in half an hour at most."
Thus, Li San Niang, along with Lu Zhu'er, Qiu Xiang, Lao Shi who was driving the cart, Li Er Xiong, Li Er Sao, and Xiao Si Lang, first took the cart back to the Li family.
With so many people pulling carts, so many people and vehicles on the road, and the ground being so damp, how could anyone walk fast?
When Li San Niang and the others returned to Changshoufang, the sky was dark and the lights were already on in some houses on the street.
"I wonder where Mother and the others are now?"
Even if things go quickly, it'll probably take at least an hour to get back.
Old Ten drove the car to the entrance of Li Family Clinic. Seeing the clinic closed, Li San Niang had an uneasy feeling.
Why would Li's father close the door when he knew everyone hadn't returned?
Normally, Li's father should have left the door open and been waiting with Kogoro in the main hall of the medical clinic.
Brother Li jumped down from the carriage shaft and knocked on the door inside. But after knocking twice, the door opened.
But it wasn't Li's father who opened the door; it was a masked man!
Brother Li was about to cry out in alarm, but before he could react, the masked man opposite him stepped forward and covered his mouth.
The tenth brother, who was sitting on the other side of the carriage shaft, sensed something was wrong and got off the carriage to go to the entrance of the clinic.
When Lao Shi saw Li Erxiong with his mouth covered, he immediately rushed forward to rescue him. His fist was already in front of the masked man when the man hurriedly whispered, "One of us! One of us!"
Despite the shouts, Lao Shi didn't stop punching. He went forward to rescue Li Erxiong and then went into the clinic to fight the masked man.
Li Erxiong quickly ran to the side of the carriage and shouted to Li Sanniang, "There are masked men in black inside. I don't know if they are good or bad."
The tenth brother had already started fighting with him, but the other man claimed that he was one of their own.
Father and Xiao Wu have also disappeared without a trace. Where are they?
Li San Niang sensed something was wrong and quickly got off the carriage to see what was going on. However, before Li San Niang could move, Qiu Xiang grabbed her arm and prevented her from getting off the carriage.
"Third Sister, you stay in the carriage, I'll go down and take a look."
Before Qiu Xiang could join the battle, Lao Shi walked over with a dark face and explained to Li San Niang and the others, "They are our own people. Doctor Li and Xiao Wu Lang have been taken away to rescue people."
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