Chapter 38 The Old Child at the Laba Festival Market…
Renting out the family's farmland is a big deal.
Even though she knew that what Wenzai said was the best option for the family right now, Grandma Guo still needed to think it over carefully before she could make a final decision, since it concerned the land.
So when Guo Xiaohua came downstairs, she found the atmosphere in the main room on the first floor to be rather heavy.
She was a little confused. She peeked out at the sky and then looked at the two people inside. "What's wrong? Are you not planning to go out?"
Even if renting land is a big deal, that will have to wait until we return to Guojia Village.
Grandma Guo shook her head, not mentioning the family's fields to Xiaohua, and simply said, "We're all waiting for you, hurry up and go."
Although Xiuning County is only a medium-sized county in Qianzhou, it is not far from the prefectural capital, and even though there are mountains in between, there are still many ethnic villages in between.
Although most people stay in their own villages during festivals, quite a few are gradually choosing to move from their villages to the county town.
On this one trip out, Guo Baiwen saw Guo Xiaohua, who originally wanted to show off her new clothes, staring at the clothes of the people passing by, looking at them intently.
Although most of the clothes were dark blue or bluish-black, the embroidery and decorations on them were quite beautiful.
Guo Baiwen also noticed that a few people were wearing shiny silver ornaments, which made them stand out among the crowd of people in gray clothes. There were quite a few people staring at them, but they only looked at them from a distance.
Putting everything else aside, the bamboo basket he was carrying looked like it contained a few snakes.
I don't know if they're poisonous or not. They look like professional snake catchers. After all, it's a holiday today, so it's better to avoid trouble.
No one approached them.
Guo Baiwen noticed that Guo Xiaohua's eyes were practically glued to the silver jewelry, so he had to quickly pull her back. Seeing how much she liked it, Grandma Guo started to think about it herself.
When I've saved enough money, I'll get some silver jewelry made to wear.
Hairpins are a bit expensive, but buying some small silver earrings to wear is also fine.
The area enclosed by the acrobatic performance venue next to the City God Temple is large enough, but even that can't keep up with the large number of people gathered around it.
Too many people had gathered there to watch the commotion. Worried that the three of them would get separated, Guo Baiwen held onto Grandma Guo and Xiaohua's hands tightly, afraid that if he let go, they would be swept away by the crowd.
Even with that pull, they couldn't squeeze to the front to watch the excitement. Luckily, Grandma Guo had sharp eyes and found a gap between two people's shoulders, so she called both of them over.
Although you can only see the acrobatics on stage through the crook of the people in the front row, and you can't see some details clearly, it's still better than not seeing anything at all.
First, they watched someone perform an illusion—'swallowing knives and breathing fire'.
I had seen this show on TV in my previous life, but the feeling of being there in person is quite different from seeing it on screen.
He watched intently, let alone Guo Xiaohua and Grandma Guo, who had never seen anything like it before.
After swallowing knives and spitting fire, it's time for the "pole-topping" and "rolling lantern" performances.
One person holds up a four- or five-meter-long pole while another person climbs on it and performs a handstand. Even from a distance, it looks incredibly dangerous.
In comparison, the rolling lantern is much gentler; as long as the lanterns on your head and in your hands don't fall or go out, it's quite beautiful.
Guo Baiwen hadn't been involved in such a lively event in a long time.
Whether it was excitement or being squeezed in the crowd, after finally watching the 'treasure-transformation' performance, I saw the troupe holding a gong and asking the surrounding crowd for tips.
They struggled to squeeze out of the crowd, and by the time they finally breathed in the cold New Year's Day air, all three of them had rosy cheeks.
There's no fixed amount for the reward. Wealthy families might give a few coins, while those less well-off might only give three or five coins.
Guo Baiwen gave ten coins, and when he turned around, he found that Guo Xiaohua had already led Grandma Guo far away.
So he hurriedly followed after them.
There were also storytelling stalls ahead. Although there weren't as many people as the acrobats, quite a few people were still listening intently, with tea and melon seeds in hand.
To listen to storytelling, one had to pay a few coins for a seat or tea to find a place to sit and listen.
If you like the storyteller's narration, you can give him more money as a tip.
Guo Baiwen followed from a distance and listened for a bit. He couldn't hear clearly, but he could vaguely make out that the story being told on stage was about the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
After all, although he couldn't tell which chapter or section the person was referring to, those who knew the name "Lord Guan" would immediately understand.
Although he was somewhat interested, seeing that Guo Xiaohua and Grandma both looked uninterested, he decided to follow them out of the storytelling stall.
There were more people at the City God Temple than they had expected before they left home.
Thankfully, when I checked my money pouch, it was still there because it was tied tightly enough.
Grandma Guo joined in the fun, and although it was crowded, she felt unusually young all of a sudden. "Come on! Grandma will treat you to something delicious!"
On New Year's Day, it's natural to eat things that are only available during the holiday.
Just like the rice wine and rice cakes they prepare in the shop, there are naturally many snacks available at the various stalls here.
Dishes like 'buckwheat pancakes', 'stuffed meat', 'black glutinous rice', 'sour soup fish', and 'glutinous rice cakes' use ingredients that aren't particularly expensive. The items are simply wrapped in dried lotus leaves and served with a small wooden skewer.
But with a large group, the atmosphere is what matters most.
This was the first time Guo Baiwen had ever eaten black glutinous rice, both in his past and present lives.
Although she chewed it and found it tasted much the same as the usual white glutinous rice, after he suddenly took a bite, Grandma Guo, who was usually so kind and gentle, suddenly burst into a strange laugh, "Hahahaha—"
I must say, their laughter is rather frightening.
It reminded him of the Black Mountain Demon from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.
Although I've never heard the Black Mountain Demon's laughter, I feel that it must sound something like that.
Just as Guo Baiwen was about to ask, "Grandma, what are you laughing at?", Guo Xiaohua, who had also shared a bite of black glutinous rice, suddenly pointed at his mouth and shouted, "Ah! Brother! Your mouth!"
Well, he glanced at Guo Xiaohua's appearance.
Without asking Grandma or looking in the mirror, I know that my mouth must be completely black right now.
Black teeth and black lips—it's hard to imagine how bizarre they would look to others.
Guo Baiwen felt a little helpless. He glanced at Grandma Guo, who was grinning from ear to ear, and said, "Grandma, you did this on purpose!"
He said that for no reason, after buying things, Grandma refused to eat them herself and insisted on sharing them with him and Xiaohua.
At that time, I just thought that Grandma's thrifty habits had come back.
I want to share the delicious food with him and Xiaohua.
Who could have imagined that?
Old child, old child—
So Guo Baiwen, showing off his black teeth and black tongue, deliberately moved closer to Grandma Guo's face, saying, "Grandma—you've gone too far—"
The closer he got, the more Grandma Guo laughed at his appearance.
The black glutinous rice is dyed black using maple leaves or black rice leaves. Although these are natural dyeing materials, their color-fixing ability is obviously not very good.
That's right, every time you eat one, your mouth turns black!
However, after brushing your teeth for two or three days, the black stains will gradually disappear on their own.
Guo Xiaohua's face was wrinkled and looked like a bitter gourd. She glanced at her teeth in the puddle next to her and burst into tears.
She was quite young and loved beauty, so she couldn't accept that she had become as ugly as her brother, "Big Black Teeth."
This crying startled Grandma Guo, who had been cheerful, and she quickly began to comfort her.
But since you've already eaten black glutinous rice, no matter how anxious you are or how diligently you brush your teeth every day, it will still take a day or two for the black glutinous rice to gradually disappear.
The thought of having to talk to customers in the restaurant with these purple teeth was unbearable.
Guo Xiaohua couldn't hold back her tears; her deafening wails instantly attracted the attention of everyone around her.
There was nothing Grandma Guo could do but try to coax her for a long time.
In the end, I managed to appease her by promising to take her to eat chicken stewed with pickled bamboo shoots.
Seeing Grandma Guo's helpless expression, Guo Baiwen's mood, which was initially a bit depressed because of the black teeth, instantly improved a lot.
That's why they say everything has its counter.
There's no time like the present, and Guo Xiaohua, with her blackened teeth, just wants to eat chicken stewed with pickled bamboo shoots.
I was planning to go out today, so I deliberately skipped dinner.
Although they had eaten snacks all the way here, they were afraid they wouldn't be able to finish them. So, when they saw the three people at the food stalls, they only bought enough for one person and then shared some with each other.
Having just cried, Guo Xiaohua's stomach was still rumbling loudly, even though she had stopped crying.
"Let's go, let's go, there's a shop up ahead, and it looks like there are still seats available."
I just don't know if that shop sells this pickled bamboo shoot and chicken dish anymore.
Guo Baiwen had never been able to accept the taste of pickled bamboo shoots, and originally planned to sit aside and eat some other dishes.
But to his surprise, when the restaurant served a dish, he couldn't help but pick up his chopsticks when he saw the soup bowl.
I just randomly walked into this shop, but I didn't expect the chef's skills to be so good.
When the chicken stewed with pickled bamboo shoots was served, the soup was still glistening with oil. The tender yellow pickled bamboo shoots and the dark red chicken, along with the bright green scallions, made it look very appealing.
Because they are all local free-range chickens, the chicken meat has a unique savory aroma. The spiciness is not too strong, but it perfectly blends the sour aroma of the pickled bamboo shoots with the freshness of the chicken, making each bite sour, spicy, and savory.
Putting aside the taste, the chicken broth alone is enough to make you want to eat two or three bowls of rice.
Guo Xiaohua didn't have time to argue about her black teeth anymore. With her face buried in the bowl, she just kept eating with her black teeth and mouth, which showed how delicious the chicken was.
The portions at this restaurant are quite generous.
That pot of chicken was a whole chicken, weighing at least four or five pounds.
The three of them ate for a long time, including meat and rice, but still didn't finish a quarter of it.
Guo Baiwen patted his slightly round belly, and was reluctant to leave the food uneaten. After thinking for a moment, he raised his hand and called over the shopkeeper, "Could you please pack this in a food box? I'll deliver the food to your house when I get home tonight."
When he invited the Zhao family to dinner before, he was very envious of Granny Sun, who could say this when she wanted to pack food to go.
Now, he can finally give it a try.
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