Chapter 518 The Bloodstained Butcher's Knife
As soon as Li San Niang said this, everyone in the room, except for Lu Zhu'er, including Qiu Xiang and the taciturn Lao Shi, thought that Li San Niang was just joking.
Not to mention Xu Jingzhen, Fang Chengxian, and Song Zhenzhu, who were stunned and dumbfounded.
Li San Niang seemed not to realize that there was anything wrong with what she said, and instead looked at Lu Zhu'er encouragingly. Lu Zhu'er received Li San Niang's look and naturally did what a well-behaved child would do.
Lu Zhu'er bowed deeply to Xu, Fang, and Song, remembering to follow the order Li San Niang had just instructed, bowing from left to right while saying, "Zhu'er greets Uncle Xu, Uncle Fang, and Aunt Song."
Dewdrop was already familiar with this process. When Li San Niang took Dewdrop to see Doctor Liang and the young boy from Shaoyang, she greeted them in this manner before receiving their gifts.
At that time, Dr. Liang gave Lu Zhu'er a gift, and afterwards the young boy from Shaoyang also gave her a gift.
So, after exchanging greetings, she looked at the three of them with bright eyes, waiting to receive a gift.
"Haha, haha," Fang Chengxian was the first to react.
Fang Chengxian pulled off the jade pendant from his waist, walked over and handed it to Li Sanniang, but spoke to Lu Zhuer: "Since you've called me uncle, then I must give you this gift."
"Here, take this jade pendant for now. Your uncle will give you something else later."
Fang Chengxian set an example, and Xu Jingzhen and Song Zhenzhu couldn't possibly ignore Luzhu'er. Who could resist Luzhu'er's adorable smile after receiving the gift?
Then, Xu Jingzhen took off the jade pendant from her waist and handed it over, while Song Zhenzhu, as the young lady, wore many accessories, so she took off a jade beaded string from her wrist and handed it over.
Although Song Zhenzhu's expression was one of surprise, she still smiled in response to Lu Zhu'er's grateful smile.
After accepting the three gifts on behalf of Lu Zhu'er, Li San Niang quickly cut to the chase and said, "Today is a good day, and we happen to have met a few people."
But I imagine you all have things to do, and I'm just about to take my little Dewdrop to buy some things.
"Then I won't keep you any longer, farewell."
Li San Niang led the leader to bow, and before the three people opposite could react, she immediately took Lu Zhu'er's hand and walked deeper into the second floor, disappearing from the three people's troubles like a gust of wind.
This action made Fang Chengxian, one of the three, burst out laughing. Unable to stop laughing, Fang Chengxian turned to look at Song Zhenzhu, who had come uninvited while the two of them were shopping, when he saw her looking at his friend Xu Jingzhen.
“What Madam Li said is exactly what I wanted to say. Jingzhen and I came to this shop because we had something to buy. Last time, Jingzhen helped Madam Song. It was just a small favor.”
"Your brother has already expressed his gratitude. It's already this late, so Fang and Jingzhen won't keep Madam Song any longer."
After saying this, Fang Chengxian bowed and prepared to leave. Xu Jingzhen bowed without saying a word and followed him away.
Song Zhenzhu, still stunned and unable to react, stared at the two of them as if she had seen a ghost. She then ran downstairs in a flash and disappeared without a trace.
Li San Niang led Lu Zhu'er to the depths of the second floor, and after purchasing all the items they wanted, she quickly led Lu Zhu'er and the others down the stairs on the other side.
As soon as she went downstairs, thanks to Qiu Xiang, Li San Niang quickly found Li's mother and the others.
After accompanying Li's mother for a stroll and buying some items, we heard a gong being struck at the supermarket entrance.
"It must be the start of the needle-threading competition. They say there are three rounds a day: one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one more by candlelight in the evening."
Li Erxiong explained to his mother and the others what he had just heard from the workers in the shop.
Upon hearing this, everyone became interested and headed towards the door.
Sure enough, a space had already been cleared out in front of the entrance, with about ten square tables set up. On the tables were long strips of radish with a row of needles stuck in them.
After the gong-beater explained the rules, the girls who had registered earlier came forward when their names were called. In no time, a girl stood in front of a square table, and in the blink of an eye, ten girls were standing there.
Li San Niang also listened to the rules the shopkeeper told her. They were actually very simple: whoever could thread the silk thread through the seven needle holes quickly and accurately would win.
A match has fifty participants, and the first round selects the top two out of ten.
Then the second round is the nine-hole needle, and the top five out of ten people are selected.
The third round is a ten-hole needle test, where the top three out of five players are selected.
The prizes were quite generous. The participation prize was a sewing kit, and the prizes became more and more abundant with each round. The winner in the end would receive a bolt of hemp cloth.
So, quite a few girls came to participate. Li San Niang and the others stood aside and watched the scene. Lu Zhu was too small to see, so Li San Niang held her up to watch, and she watched happily as well.
After round after round, we finally arrived at the third round, the ten-hole needle.
After the man banged the gong again to confirm the rules, he loudly announced the start of the competition.
Not to mention the participating women, even Li San Niang, an outsider watching from the sidelines, was watching with tense expressions, wanting to see who would be quick-witted and nimble-fingered to win first place.
But before the first test of the ten-hole needle could be completed, a sturdy woman ran out from a corner of the crowd. What was most terrifying was that this woman was carrying a bloodstained pig-slaughtering knife!
Not only did Li San Niang see it, but others naturally saw it as well.
Before Li San Niang could even warn her, Lao Shi and Qiu Xiang blocked her way from both in front and behind.
Li Erxiong hugged Xiaowulang tightly, while Li's mother grabbed Li Ersao and pulled them together, trying to retreat into the shop.
Just as the Li family was about to retreat, someone in the crowd shouted out.
"Ah! Murder! Murder!"
The scene was chaotic. It was a crowded place, and in the panic, everyone was trying to get away and escape. Li San Niang was protected by Qiu Xiang and Lao Shi, thinking that there might be a stampede outside.
Fortunately, although Xing Yu was going to hold an event in front of the shop today, he had the foresight to report it to the Jingzhao Prefecture in advance and even paid money to bribe four people to patrol the area.
He rode a tall horse while patrolling the streets, and as soon as he heard there was trouble, he immediately spurred his horse over.
After a few angry roars and revealing their identities, the panicked crowd seemed to have found a leader, gradually obeying commands and becoming orderly.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. What Li San Niang didn't know was that Xu Jingzhen and Fang Chengxian were standing anxiously watching her from a window in a private room on the second floor of the restaurant diagonally opposite the supermarket.
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