February 2nd is the day when the dragon raises its head. It is an important solar term for spring farming and ploughing, also known as the Flower Festival.
The weather is warm, and fruit trees are in bloom in the fields. Spring is in the air and there is a new look. People in the city like to go out together to enjoy the spring, so this day is very lively. Although people in the countryside do not have the leisure time like people in the city, they will pick flowers and make wreaths and decorations to sell in the city during this festival, or set up a small stall in areas where there are many tourists to earn a little money.
On this day, young people will also date their favorite people.
When Xu He woke up in the morning, he saw that his sister had also gotten up early for the first time. She was dressing up in front of the mirror in the room and had taken out several sets of clothes for comparison.
Even though Fei Lian had returned to the academy and the two of them could not meet today, her second sister would dress up carefully to outshine all the other beauties during the Flower Festival every year, and she would receive many gifts on this day every year. It seems that this year's Flower Festival will be the last time for his second sister to accept gifts from others. After all, she will not be able to ask for gifts after getting married, so she has to take good care of it.
Xu He sat under the stove and boiled water. He rubbed his face. He had washed himself thoroughly last night. In the morning, when he went to his second sister's room to get something, he took the opportunity to look in the mirror. No matter how he washed, his face was still dark. He was a little discouraged.
"He'er, remember to feed the chickens and ducks today. I have to go out for a while and may be back late." Liu Xianglan came over to explain. His father went to work in another village and hasn't come back for a long time. Maybe his mother is going to deliver something for the holiday today, or maybe his mother is going to her aunt's house in the city.
He didn't ask any questions, just nodded, and prepared to open the door and go out to release the ducks into the field.
"You should dress up and go out during the Flower Festival. All the young people in the village and outside are outside today." Other families advise their children not to go out all the time during the Flower Festival, for fear that they will do something out of the ordinary with the opposite sex of the same age.
Liu Xianglan, however, wished that Xu He would go out and find a man to marry her, so that there would be no need for a matchmaker to come to her house to propose marriage for her. She would then have to take gifts to the matchmaker herself, which would be too troublesome.
Xu He didn't say anything, Xu Shaochun shouted from inside the house: "Mom, come and see if my dress looks good."
“Here it comes!”
When Xu He went out, the village was like New Year's Day. Everyone was in high spirits, wearing bright clothes, and many people even wore flowers in their hair. There are people everywhere in the fields, whether planting melons or beans. Everyone has cleaned up and gone out to farm, and they are much more meticulous than their usual dusty and dirty appearance. Working is just an attempt to cover up their guilt; the real thing is to go out and see each other.
He looked around but didn't see the man, and he didn't know whether he was in the village.
"Let's go quickly. We haven't been out of the village for a while. All the good seats on the official road will be taken soon."
Xu Shaochun was carrying a basket full of flowers and urging Xu He, who was carrying a backpack beside him. The brother and sister seldom went out together. People in the village could see from afar that Xu Shaochun was wearing a light yellow dress and a pearl ring on her head. She looked even more beautiful and charming against the backdrop of Xu He in a plain linen dress.
Along the way, people came up to ask, "Shaochun, are you two going to sell wreaths on the official road?"
"Yes, I made some wreaths to help with the family expenses."
"You are so sensible and kind..."
Xu He walked quickly ahead with her head down. Her second sister said that they wanted to get to the official road quickly, but she ended up chatting with the men in the village along the way. It took them an incense stick of time to get to the official road, which would only take a quarter of an hour.
The two of them had come to sell floral decorations in previous years. Xu He was skillful, and the wreaths she made were beautiful and solid. The young ladies and gentlemen in the city all liked them, and some would even get off their carriages to choose in person.
There are many more people on the official road today than at ordinary market times. One can see many luxurious carriages and horses from the city, and the young men and women from the city's noble families are too numerous to handle.
Xu He put down the backpack and started to hawk his wares. Xu Shaochun felt that hawking like that was a bit indecent, so he would usually stand aside and wait for Xu He to hawk his wares, and then greet people when they came over. She had once been favored by the young masters who came to choose embroidery for her, but it was a pity that people in the city only looked up to those with good conditions and were particular about whether the couple was well-matched, which was much more demanding than the people in the countryside.
Even if someone wanted to find out her name, she was a married young master. Having any relationship with her would only bring trouble and they could not become her legal spouse. It would be better for her to find a good family in the village.
Even her aunt Liu Xiangmei was a city dweller who knew some of the wealthy families in the city, but she had never told her about the city. She just knew that those who were well-off in the city were either married long ago or remarried, and there were plenty of people in the city, so there was no reason for them to look for people from the countryside.
She is illiterate and has never learned how to manage a household. Rich families in the city are willing to let her be a concubine because of her beauty, but they will not look at her as a wife.
Over time, she stopped having those ideas.
Xu Shaochun was already feeling a little hot after walking all the way. She fanned herself gently with her hands and looked at Xu He, who was usually quiet at home, who came out to hawk his wares with great enthusiasm. She felt a little puzzled.
The gray-haired farm boy looked even more ordinary against the backdrop of the BMW, but his hair... "He'er, when did you buy a hairband like this? Why haven't I seen you use it before?"
Xu He was much taller than Xu Shaochun. She had never paid much attention to Xu He on weekdays. Now, as she was concentrating on arranging the wreath, she accidentally noticed a silk headband on his head and couldn't help but ask.
“First time bringing it.”
Xu He answered, but didn't want to explain the origin of his headband to Xu Shaochun.
Xu Shaochun felt a little uncomfortable. She had seen a lot of good things and naturally knew the price of silk headbands. Previously, she saw a white silk headband in a shop in the city that cost more than eighty coins, but she was reluctant to buy it. The one on Heger's head had a pattern on it, and it looked exquisite even when tied with hair. It must have cost no less than a hundred coins.
She didn't think Xu He had so much money on him, and even if he did, he wouldn't be willing to spend it on a headband.
"Where did you get it? It's only over a hundred coins."
Xu He was slightly stunned and subconsciously reached out to touch the headband on his head. He had felt that it was not cheap, but he did not expect it to be so expensive. Zhang Fangyuan is really good at spending money. How can he be so generous?
"Um?"
Seeing that Xu He didn't say anything, Xu Shaochun turned his head and continued to ask.
"Someone else gave it to me."
Xu Shaochun's eyebrows twitched and she was about to speak, but two young ladies who came to buy wreaths interrupted her. She felt very uncomfortable, but she had no choice but to endure and greet these young ladies and gentlemen.
The two of them worked hard for a long time. Today's wreaths were particularly popular, but they didn't seem very happy. Until the things were sold out, Xu Shaochun couldn't help but ask, "Did you take my things?"
Xu He frowned, picked up the empty backpack, and said in a somewhat aggressive tone: "I never take your things for my own use!"
"Second sister is just concerned about you, afraid that you might go astray. Why are you so fierce?" Xu Shaochun looked aggrieved, but she did not forget to ask: "Who gave it to you?"
Xu He didn't respond to her and walked ahead alone with the basket on his back. Xu Shaochun chased after him and said, "If you still do this, don't blame me for telling mother."
"Whatever you say."
Xu Shaochun was furious and wanted to stamp her feet in anger, but someone came up to greet her, so she had to swallow her anger back.
Xu He took the opportunity to slip away.
In the evening, Xu He had dinner, and his mother had not come back yet. Xu He looked at his second sister staring at him like a black-eyed chicken, and said to her: "Second sister, why do you keep asking me? There are so many gifts, and there are so many good things. Do you want a hairband from me?"
Xu Shaochun's cheeks turned red with anger when he heard this: "I have plenty of headbands! How could I want yours!"
After hearing this, Xu He took two big mouthfuls of rice, meaning that's it. Xu Shaochun was so angry with Xu He that she knew her younger brother always spoke harshly. It was even more infuriating without her mother at home to speak for her. She was so angry that she threw away her chopsticks, stopped eating, and went straight down the table.
Xu He didn't even raise his eyelids. He didn't know if the person had run into the house to cry. The worst case scenario was that his mother would come back and complain and beat him up. He didn't bother to pay attention to her. After all, his mother and second sister would never take away the little brother's things.
After cleaning up the dishes, it was already dark.
Xu He was feeling confused and didn't know whether he should accept Zhang Fangyuan's invitation or not.
He knew that many people would meet secretly tonight, but he didn't know what they would do when they met. During the Flower Festival before, he had seen young men and women meeting on the road when he was busy outside. He didn't look up to see if he would disturb other people's good deeds.
If he had known that one day he would be invited, he would have secretly taken a look.
Xu He was confused and lit a small lantern in the yard so that his mother could see the road when she came back. He turned to the lighted Xu Shaochun's house and said, "I'm going to drive the ducks."
Zhang Fangyuan squatted on the slope of Haitang Bay for half an hour. He could not contain his excitement and left earlier than the agreed time. Haitang Bay, which was rarely visited before, was more lively tonight than the official road during the day, as it was full of people who came to meet each other.
Everyone tacitly agreed not to disturb each other. It was pitch dark and no one could see who was who. They just walked in silence, each standing far away from each other, so no one could recognize who was who. Even if you recognize someone, you have to pretend not to recognize him. You can't go around gossiping about him, otherwise people will just ask you how you knew.
It was hot, and it was still spring, and he could feel the buzzing of mosquitoes. Xu He didn't come for a long time, which made him even more annoyed.
I don’t know whether Xu He will come or not. When I think about it carefully, he has indeed not promised to come back. Thinking of this, he felt upset. He wondered if it was because he was too fierce that day that annoyed him. He also said that he was domineering.
Zhang Fangyuan was about to stand up and go back to look outside Xu's house, but when he turned around, he saw the silent man standing behind him.
"When did you come?!"
"Just now."
The surprise suddenly came, and Zhang Fangyuan became at a loss: "I thought you were not coming."
"I came here while driving ducks."
No matter whether he was driving ducks or pigs here, at least people came. Zhang Fangyuan was so happy that he was a little embarrassed.
"Have you had dinner yet?"
"Um."
"So...what did you have for dinner?"
Xu He raised his eyes and glanced at the person who was so close to him. The moonlight was nice tonight, and he could vaguely see the outline of the person's face from a close distance: "You called me here just to talk about this?"
Zhang Fangyuan scratched his head and said, "No, I..."
"Come over here."
Zhang Fangyuan saw that the two were standing at about the same intersection, and was unhappy about being disturbed, so he led Xu He to the corner.
The last time I came to the grassy slopes of Haitang Bay, the grass was withered and the old grass was gray and yellow. Since the beginning of spring, new grass has grown here. Even if you can't see clearly at night, you can still smell the fragrance of wild grass and flowers in the spring breeze.
The two men walked side by side. Zhang Fangyuan was a head taller than Xu He. They walked very close to each other, and their shoulders rubbed against each other lightly from time to time. The brief touch was like a feather floating in the wind, which you wanted to catch but couldn't, and it made people feel itchy.
Zhang Fangyuan tilted his head and glanced down from time to time.
Xu He felt that the person next to him was a little strange. Although he couldn't see clearly at night, he could feel the person's gaze.
He felt that this man seemed a little irritable today. He wondered if he was uncomfortable because he had been made to wait for too long, so he asked, "Why do you keep looking at me?"
Zhang Fangyuan withdrew his gaze with a guilty conscience.
Then Xu He heard again——
"I want to hold your hand." Zhang Fangyuan said what he was thinking in a foolish and honest way, and then added, "Is it possible?"
Xu He's ears turned red again. How could this guy... just pull it if you want to, and say it out loud!
The wind seemed to have sensed something was wrong and it was so quiet that it seemed as if it could smell each other's breathing.
The two of them avoided eye contact, feeling awkward and embarrassed.
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