Chapter 209 Lantern Festival
"Anning, Auntie is making hand-pulled noodles this afternoon. You and Youjian, remember to come back and eat them."
"Okay, Auntie!"
"Lin Sicheng, drive slowly on the road!"
"knew!"
After saying goodbye to each person, Wang Youjian even gave a proper bow.
The three people went downstairs and got into the car. Lin Sicheng started the car and drove out of the residential area.
Just as they turned onto the street, Ye Anning turned around and said, "Give it to me!"
Wang Youjian blinked: "Sis, what should I get?"
"You're pretending? Of course it's a red envelope!"
The chubby boy was stunned for a moment, then his face turned green: "Ye Anning, do you keep your word? Who was it that said this morning that as long as I come with you today, all the red envelopes are mine?"
Yes, she did say that. But she didn't expect the red envelopes from Lin Sicheng's grandfather and parents to be so thick.
Each package contained at least a thousand, and each of the three people received a portion.
With three thousand yuan, Wang Youjian could burn through all that money in less than a month.
Ye Anning wasn't about to waste words with him and stretched out her hand: "Wang Youjian, are you going to give it to me or not?"
The chubby boy tried to back away as much as possible, shouting loudly, "Senior brother, are you going to do anything about this?"
Lin Sicheng was stunned for a moment: What do you mean by that? Now it's his place to manage things?
He thought for a moment and said, "You can let Youjian hold it!"
If Wang Youjian had it, he'd definitely buy a bunch of junk...
Thinking it over, Ye Anning didn't say anything, but glared at Wang Youjian again, meaning she would deal with him when they got home.
Where can I wait for you to come home?
The chubby boy clutched his pocket and leaned closer to Lin Sicheng: "Senior brother, could you take me home first? You can come pick me up after you've finished watching the folk performances, strolling around the lanterns, and eating hand-pulled noodles."
"Oh, aren't you going to see the folk performance?"
"I'm afraid my sister will steal my money... Senior, don't disbelieve me, my sister is really capable of doing that!"
Lin Sicheng rolled his eyes but didn't say anything.
That's something they could really do: if this happened at home, the chubby boy would have gotten several slaps by now...
Ye Anning's eyes flashed with anger, full of threat: "When you came out this morning, you said you were going to guess riddles and win lanterns?"
The chubby boy said smugly, "With three thousand yuan, I can buy a whole truckload of lanterns."
Ye Anning was speechless, while Lin Sicheng laughed heartily: "There's a martial arts performance at today's folk festival, aren't you going?"
The chubby boy shook his head: "Don't even mention action scenes, even if Ultraman fell from the sky today, I wouldn't go."
Because Shan Wangshu specifically instructed: After delivering the gifts and paying New Year's visits, go home immediately, and whatever you do, don't be a third wheel for his sister...
Lin Sicheng could roughly guess what was going on, but he didn't point it out.
Before getting off the bus, the chubby boy didn't forget to tell his brother, "Brother, what I bought really wasn't very interesting. If you have time, help me win one back!"
Lin Sicheng smiled and nodded: "Don't worry!"
Fearing he would run off with the money, Ye Anning personally escorted the chubby boy upstairs.
Back in the car, she fastened her seatbelt and asked, "Where to?"
"Xingqing Palace!" Lin Sicheng turned the car around. "I'll show you something exciting!"
It's just a park visit; at most, you might see dragon and lion dances. How exciting could it be?
She adjusted her seat and leaned lazily against the car window.
Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, and the whole city is filled with folk performances. There are lots of cars, lots of people, and even more lanterns.
Like grapes, rows and rows of bright red lanterns, bunches of them crowded together, hung all over the city wall.
You can see dragon dance teams every now and then, with the sound of gongs and drums deafening.
Following behind was a row of land boats, with an old lady with a full head of silver hair smoking a pipe, sparks crackling out.
Then came another paper donkey, ridden by a woman with rosy cheeks, while a man with an ugly face pulled hard on the reins.
The two men and the donkey got into a contest, taking two steps forward and three steps back. Although the two actors didn't speak, their comical expressions and exaggerated movements made the audience laugh out loud.
Ye Anning glanced at the donkey, then at Lin Sicheng, then at the donkey again, and then at Lin Sicheng again.
Then she covered her mouth and laughed: "Lin Sicheng, look, doesn't it look like you?"
Lin Sicheng glanced at it: "It really does look like you, wearing a black overcoat and a flower in your hair!"
Ye Anning touched the beaded flower in her hair, glanced at her black overcoat, and patted him on the shoulder.
They only glanced around during the traffic jam and didn't get out of the car. After a while, the traffic eased, and they made their way to Xingqing Palace, moving slowly and intermittently.
During the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, this was the residence of Li Longji, a prince. After he ascended the throne, it was expanded, and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and Yang Guifei lived here for a long time, making it one of the three great palaces of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
The site was originally quite large, but later the university built a large portion of it, and the remaining small portion was turned into a park.
It is one of the iconic scenic spots in Beilin District. Every year during the Spring Festival, a branch of the folk performance is held here, which is very interesting.
The huge park entrance was packed with people, the center completely surrounded by stalls selling all sorts of things. Smoke filled the air, and the variety of goods was dazzling.
Before even getting off the vehicle, you could hear laughter and screams, and from afar you could see tall horses carrying military officers weaving back and forth.
Ye Anning took a closer look: "One is holding a mace, the other a whip, these are Qin Qiong and Yuchi Jingde... wait, is that Ma Shehuo?"
"It's more than just horses?" Lin Sicheng locked the car. "This is the Duima Wushehuo performance from Wugong County. Watch it closely!"
Before the words were finished, a drum suddenly sounded, and the two generals swung their reins and charged towards each other.
As the horses passed each other, two loud "bangs" rang out as the whip and mace collided, sending sparks flying.
Ye Anning was stunned: "Iron?"
"Iron-clad wood, with flint inlaid on top!"
"oh oh……"
Ye Anning nodded vigorously, watching intently.
After about ten rounds of fighting, the two generals left the stage, and with the chilling sound of suona horns, a group of strange creatures jumped out.
The suona horn blared, and the group jumped forward in unison, while the onlookers screamed in unison. The suona horn blared again, and they jumped forward again in unison, while the crowd screamed once more.
Most of them were women and children, and some were even crying. Then, there was another burst of laughter and shouting.
Lin Sicheng stood on tiptoe and chuckled.
There were quite a few people, so Ye Anning couldn't see clearly and moved closer. When she finally saw what it was, she was suddenly stunned.
Then his face turned pale, and he exclaimed, "Oh!"
A child had a pair of scissors stuck in his eyeball; his eyeball burst open, and blood gushed out.
There was also an old man whose forehead was slashed by a wide cleaver, leaving most of it embedded. His face was covered in blood, and the rotten flesh was turning outwards...
There were seven or eight in total, each more bloody and terrifying than the last.
Lin Sicheng grinned, showing his teeth: "Isn't it exciting?"
Ye Anning turned around and smacked him.
"This is Baoji's blood festival performance. Haven't you seen it during the Spring Festival?"
“My uncle stayed in Baoji for more than two years. Every year he would go back to Beijing for the Spring Festival. I would have to go back to school a few days after the Spring Festival, so how could I have a chance to visit him?”
Ye Anning felt increasingly uneasy as she looked at it, and patted Lin Sicheng again, saying, "Luckily, I didn't bring Jian!"
Lin Sicheng chuckled, "Junior brother is afraid of this?"
"Of course he's not afraid!" Ye Anning glared at him. "But once he sees it, he'll definitely pester you to learn it. Are you going to let him learn it or not?"
Lin Sicheng was stunned: You really don't know?
Wang Youjian loved tinkering with these strange and unusual things.
The blood-themed folk performance didn't last long; it only went around twice before coming to an end. Then came the stilt walking, the iron-core performance, and the flat-table float.
The most spectacular part was the fire show at Bailuyuan, where sparks shot into the sky from one iron rod, followed by another, one after another, in an endless stream.
The sky was filled with scattered stars, like the night sky falling to earth...
Ye Anning's eyes shone with admiration, completely captivated: "It's a pity it's not at night!"
"This is a touring performance, and there will definitely be another one tonight. There will also be lanterns then, which will be even more beautiful!"
Ye Anning shook her head without even thinking: "Looking at the lanterns is not as important as eating hand-pulled noodles."
Lin Sicheng assumed she was just complaining about the crowd and didn't ask any further questions.
After the iron flower performance, there wasn't much else to see, so Lin Sicheng and Ye Anning went into the park.
Several grand halls, pavilions, terraces, and trees along the lake were all adorned with lanterns.
Big or small, round or flat, animals, flowers, people, and historical figures.
After glancing around, Lin Sicheng was thinking about which one to choose for Wang Youjian when he suddenly paused in surprise.
Not far away, under the Agarwood Pavilion, Gu Ming stood with his head tilted back, his face full of worry...
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