Chapter 77 Qixi Dating Qi Buchen couldn't help but widen his eyes...
Qi Buchen couldn't help but widen her eyes, suspecting that she had heard something. She looked at Yinzhen and then at the package in her hand.
No way, it can't be what she thinks?
She swallowed hard and asked with some difficulty, "You want to take me out?"
"Yes." Yinzhen nodded. "Today is the Qiqiao Festival. The Qiqiao Market has opened on South Street. I'll take you there to see the excitement."
After confirming his suspicions, Qi Buchen felt somewhat bewildered: "But...but I'm grounded."
Yinzhen looked at her with his dark eyes.
I know you're under house arrest, but I'm still saying I want to take you out. Can't you just come with me? Let's sneak out, and no one will know? You insist on telling me this, so how do you expect me to answer you?
Qi Buchen miraculously understood what he meant, lowered his head in shame, said "Wait a minute", and hurried into the inner room.
Although she'd been out every day recently, it was always with a large group, and all for official business, so it was hard to find any sense of pleasure in shopping. After all, she'd been here for over two years, and she'd never seen how ordinary people celebrated festivals. Basically, any major holiday required paying respects to the emperor at the palace, and after a tiring day, she had no mood to go out for a stroll in the evening. This time, she felt she had benefited from the house arrest.
The figure of Fu Jin fleeing in panic made Yinzhen laugh a lot. Fu Jin was sometimes really slow to react, and ended up in some ridiculous situations.
After Qi Buchen changed into the ordinary clothes that Yinzhen had specially found for him, the two of them quietly slipped to the back door and got on an inconspicuous carriage. They did not bring any of their usual familiar staff with them, only an inconspicuous maid and two guards disguised as servants.
Yinzhen pointed at the girl and said, "She has some martial arts skills. She will stay by your side and serve you. You can take her with you whenever you go out."
Qi Buchen looked at the girl and nodded in agreement.
Regardless of whether Yinzhen really wanted to do this for her own good or just to plant a thorn in her side, she had to accept this person.
This thought suddenly popped up in his mind. Qi Buchen was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly.
Look, even now, she still subconsciously thinks that Yinzhen gave it to people in order to monitor her. With her level of vigilance, how can she have a relationship with Yinzhen?
Seeing her sudden wry smile, Yinzhen frowned and said, "Don't you like this? Then I'll send a few more over and you can choose for yourself."
Qi Buchen waved his hands disinterestedly, "It has nothing to do with her." Fearing that Yinzhen might vent his anger on this girl, he took the initiative to ask, "What's your name?"
The girl bowed her head respectfully and replied, "I don't have a name. Please give me one, Madam."
Qi Buchen said casually: "Today is Qiqiao Festival, so let's call it Qiqiao."
Qi Qiao knelt down in the carriage and said, "Thank you, Madam, for the name."
"Get up." Qi Buchen closed his eyes and leaned on the pillow behind him.
Yinzhen looked at her and felt a little disappointed. Why did she seem unhappy even though he brought his wife out to play?
The two of them each had their own thoughts, and the carriage fell into silence for a while. Fortunately, not long after, they heard a gradually noisy voice outside the carriage.
Qi Buchen sat up straight involuntarily and asked, "Are we almost there?"
The coachman driving the car outside replied, "Madam, we'll be there just around the corner." When he came out, Yinzhen instructed everyone to call him "Master" and Qi Buchen "Madam" and to act like an ordinary young master when going out.
Sure enough, the carriage turned a corner and stopped: "Master, we're here."
Qiqiao went down first, followed by Yinzhen, and Qi Buchen was last.
Yinzhen was waiting for her by the carriage. When he saw her come out and stretched out her hand, Qi Buchen didn't act pretentiously and took his hand to get off the carriage.
After ordering the driver to drive the carriage somewhere else to wait, Yinzhen turned around and said to Qi Buchen, who was already looking around, "Let's go."
The two walked side by side, Qi Qiao followed one step behind Qi Buchen, and the two guards lagged behind a little, keeping an eye on the five meters around the two masters.
It was just after dinner and people were out strolling around, so there were quite a few people at the street corner.
The two of them moved slowly with the flow of people. Yinzhen was careful not to squeeze Qi Buchen while introducing, "Every year on the Qixi Festival, there is a Qiqiao Market here. It occupies three streets in total. This is just an entrance. This street mainly sells Qiqiao ornaments. Take a look and see if you like anything."
Qi Buchen had already cast aside his melancholy thoughts and returned to Java, regretting that his eyes were too small to see it all. It wasn't that the things sold in the market were particularly expensive or surprising; they were commonplace items: purses, handkerchiefs, pearl hairpins, dolls, masks, wooden plaques, and the like. It was just that all of these items were imbued with the Qiqiao (Qiqiao) element, creating a truly spectacular spectacle.
Moreover, Qi Buchen has always felt that things with ancient style have a certain charm and artistic conception. As long as they are not particularly ugly, she thinks they are all beautiful and can't put them down.
"What is this?" Qi Buchen picked up a box and was about to open it.
The stall owner hurriedly stopped him: "Wait a minute, sir, there are Xizi in here."
Qi Buchen was a little confused: "What is Xizi?"
Yinzhen explained, "It's a spider that spins a web. Put this spider in a box overnight, then open it tomorrow. If the web is dense, it means luck."
This is similar to the test of luck by throwing a needle. Originally, this kind of thing should be done by individuals themselves to be effective, but there is always a lack of business-minded people and people who seek convenience in this world, so some merchants catch these spiders and sell them in boxes of various materials.
Well, what you buy yourself can represent yourself.
"Spider? Huh~" When Qi Buchen heard it was a spider, she quickly put it down. She was still a little afraid of this kind of thing.
Seeing that his business might fail, the stall owner hurriedly explained, "Don't be afraid, customers. These xizi are very small and will never hurt anyone. And the box is very tight, so there's no need to worry about them escaping."
Qi Buchen was a little curious: "Won't it be suffocated to death?"
The stall owner smiled and said, "Don't worry, there are air holes in the box, Xizi won't suffocate to death."
"Do you want it?" Yinzhen asked her.
Qi Buchen hesitated, and the stall owner stepped up his sales pitch: "Look, besides that one, there are many other styles. This one is made of mahogany, this one is gilded with silver, and this one. Although the material of this one is ordinary, the carving master has excellent craftsmanship. Look at the magpie on it, it's lifelike."
Yinzhen took a glance and nodded in approval, "The craftsmanship is indeed good."
If the folk craft could be recognized by Yinzhen, who was used to seeing good things, it must be really good. Qi Buchen took it and looked at it curiously, and found that it was indeed good. The postures of the magpies were different, and they were lifelike and a little exaggerated, but also vivid.
"Then let's take this one." It wasn't easy for the stall owner to talk for a long time, and Qi Buchen felt embarrassed to look for a long time without buying anything.
The stall owner immediately smiled happily: "Thank you, twenty cents."
Honestly, the price is a bit high for ordinary people. These days, a pound of rice only costs a little over ten wen. But those who can come here to shop are generally middle-class people, and they won't mind spending so much. Furthermore, the carving is really good, and considering it's a handicraft, it's actually quite cheap.
Yinzhen and Qi Buchen didn't care about the price at all. They didn't pay and just took the things and left. The guards who followed them paid.
Qi Buchen played with the box, eager to open it.
Yinzhen noticed this and asked with amusement, "Are you not afraid now?"
Qi Buchen said embarrassedly: "Didn't you say it was very small?" Of course she would be afraid of a big one, but as for a small one, it depends on the situation.
As they continued their stroll, Qi Buchen came across a stall selling pure dolls. Most of the figures were wearing lotus leaf half-sleeve dresses and holding lotus leaves. The small ones were only the size of a finger, while the large ones were almost the size of real children.
Qi Buchen pointed at the stall curiously and asked, "What is that used for?"
Yinzhen looked in the direction she pointed and explained, "This is called Mohele. Common people often use it as a sacrifice to pray for many children and good fortune."
"Want it? Don't buy it here. Go to the front later. There's a store that specializes in this. The materials used are better. Most of the items here are made of clay or wood carvings."
For things like this that are to be used as offerings, Yinzhen prefers to buy ones made of good materials, such as ivory or Buddha's hand.
Qi Buchen shook his head like a drum, praying for many children and good fortune, what was she buying for?
We quickly walked through the street and came to the intersection of the three middle streets. There were fewer stalls outside here, and most of them were legitimate shops.
"Are you tired?" Yinzhen asked, "How about finding a place to rest?" He pointed to a shop called Yuelaixian and said, "Their cookies are really good. You should try some."
Qi Buchen shook his head. What's the point of eating in those high-end stores on such a festival? Of course, he had to look for street food.
"Isn't there any food for sale outside?" Qi Buchen asked.
Yinzhen understood what she meant and pointed to the street on the left: "Yes, the back half of this street is full of food."
"Let's go there." Qi Buchen took the lead.
Behind her, Yinzhen shook his head helplessly, not understanding why Fu Jin liked this street food. He didn't find it cheap, just unclean. Besides, even if street food was delicious, there was a limit. The real skilled cooks had already been recruited by the shop owners. Who would still engage in such a precarious business?
Qi Buchen was actually still somewhat influenced by his previous life's thinking. He thought that the truly delicious snacks were all on the streets and alleys, but he forgot the gap between ancient and modern times.
Of course, one thing remains unchanged, and that is the atmosphere in the streets and alleys.
Today is the Qiqiao Festival, so the most popular items sold on the street are various kinds of Qiaoguo. The raw materials are all oil, flour and molasses, but the shapes and patterns are different, including Naxiang, Fangsheng, door gods, and various exotic birds, flowers and fruits.
Qi Buchen bought one of each. The taste was actually average, but he just tried them for fun.
Yinzhen was more self-disciplined, so Qi Buchen rejected him.
Just as I was looking for more delicious food, I heard a call from a stall.
"Why is the Fourth Master here?"
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The author has something to say: Yinzhen: Fu Jin, come on, I'll take you out to play secretly!
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