Chapter 75 Lantern Festival "I will be responsible for you."...
Many people have days off during the New Year holidays, so Pingjiang Prefecture officials won't be on duty until after the Lantern Festival. Even though it's their annual duty, the patrol officers are all beaming, whether they're patrolling the streets or guarding the docks and city gates. They all look happy and content.
Li Erlang leaned against the cold wall beside the city gate, chewing the new taro and pork floss bread from Meow Meow Bakery.
"Erlang, how about I take over for two days? You can go home and take a day off."
Wang Da, who was working with the Inspection Office, was bored at home, so he came to the Changmen Wharf to wander around. He saw his brothers eating delicious snacks, which made him feel greedy.
Li Erlang stuffed the snack wrapper into his arms, straightened his back, and pretended to be cold but smiled. "No, I'm on duty and need to protect Pingjiang Prefecture. Don't disturb me while I'm having snacks... There's no time for you these days. Go home and be with your mother."
"Erlang, it smells delicious. Let me have a taste."
Although Wang Da wasn't wearing official attire, he couldn't help but shout when he saw the boat approaching, "Stop the boat and bring in the guides in order!"
"Look at you, your grandson, you're greedy for snacks and you're shouting at the same time. Others will see and laugh at us, Pingjiang Prefecture."
Li Erlang saw him looking at the bread and sneered, but after saying that he still broke it in half and handed it to him.
Wang Da took it and put it in his mouth.
He bit into the soft bread, the sweetness of the taro paste wrapped around the salty flavor of the pork floss. The sweet and salty intertwined and spread across his tongue, a taste that was indescribable. He even picked up the scraps of pork floss that fell on his clothes and ate them.
He mumbled, "It's really delicious. It tastes a bit right."
"If you like it, go to Meow Meow Bakery and buy some. This is the New Year's subsidy given to us brothers by the prefect."
Li Erlang shook off the meat floss on his hands.
"I've asked a while ago, but they haven't opened yet! I heard that this bread is only supplied to our Inspection Office right now."
Wang Da sighed, "Yunlaixiang's snacks are delicious too. I've tried all of their products. But Miaomiao Bakery bakes with several large ovens baking together every day, and the aroma can spread all over the street. It's a pity that it won't open until after the Lantern Festival..."
As he spoke, Wang Da came closer, his eyes fixed on the remaining bread in Li Erlang's hand, "Give me another half, just a bite, just to taste it."
Li Erlang pushed him and said, "Go away, I won't give you any more. Wasn't what I just gave you enough? Go buy it yourself when the store opens."
The two of them were huddled together arguing when they looked up and caught a glimpse of a tall figure.
The two men immediately fell silent, and several other inspectors around them straightened their backs and shouted respectfully and loudly, "Master Lu!"
Lu Lan nodded, "Well, thank you for your hard work, brothers."
"It's not hard! Protecting Pingjiang Prefecture is our job!"
Lu Lan glanced at them and said, "After the new year, when the exchange period ends, you can take turns to rest for a while and have a good rest."
"yes!"
Lu Lan took a look around and found that the Changmen Wharf was well managed by his subordinates in an orderly manner, and they did not slack off because of the New Year.
But recently he always felt that something was wrong, nothing was right.
In the past, when Wei Jinyun delivered snacks, she always asked him to accompany her. Sometimes, after he finished his patrol, he would even carry the empty snack boxes for her on the way.
But these past two days, she had been taking Huihui by her hand to go around the docks delivering goods. He came to look for her, but where was she?
Why do you suddenly not want him to accompany you?
Mingming had clearly let him try the freshly made lactose dumplings with a smile a few days ago.
Yesterday, I finally accompanied my grandparents to visit the last relative and had time to go to Yunlaixiang, but I only saw my two sisters painting lanterns at the door of the shop. They said they went to Louhe Market to buy things.
Why doesn't she want to see him?
Or were it the lanterns for his sisters? He didn’t find one that suited his taste, and disappointed them?
What was even stranger was that the brothers from the Inspection Office had been looking at him with something odd in their eyes lately. When they saw him from afar, they would gather together and whisper, but would immediately disperse when they saw him coming.
Yesterday, Zhan Wenxing passed by Changmen Wharf. He had obviously taken a detour on purpose, but he said, "Excuse me, what a coincidence, I was just passing by." Then he suddenly said, "Excuse me, what do you like?"
Can the two sentences "passing by" and "what do you like" be put together to say this?
Lu Lan frowned and thought about it, but he really didn't understand.
He didn't think about it anymore, he wanted to go see her.
The Lantern Festival was approaching, and the shop assistants began to return to work. Wei Jinyun had originally asked them to come after the Lantern Festival, but they all said they were bored at home.
As for Gu Xiang, after only two relatives visited, a bunch of uncles, aunts, and cousins started chasing her and asking, "Little Gu, when are you going to get married? Have you found someone you like? You're not a child anymore."
Chaojiu urged her to have another child. Wanwu knew that she had gone out to earn money, so she tried her best to find out how much money she earned and whether she could lend her some. They were all relatives, so she decided to help out.
This year is nothing!
Let’s go back to Yunlaixiang and pester Manager Wei.
Wei Jinyun sat at Yunlaixiang's door, cutting window paper-cuts in the shape of a meow. Yuanbao curled up at her feet, dozing, his tail occasionally brushing against the hem of her skirt.
The sound of a broom scraping across the floor came from the room. Wan Wu was wiping the counter while chatting with Chao Jiu.
Chao Jiu responded and swept the floor spotlessly clean. "The boss went to check on the newly ordered wooden tables. He said they will all be delivered to Meow Meow Bakery before noon."
Xiao Zhang and Erniu were working together to lift the newly made wooden door and install it on the door frame of the bakery.
Xiao Zhang wiped his sweat and shouted, "Manager Wei, this door is very solid. It will last for ten or eight years without any problem... Look at Manager Wang's craftsmanship. He can really carve a door that looks like a raccoon."
The door's shape remains the same size for ease of installation, but the door features a family portrait of six cats, some lying down and some playing around. It's so lifelike, it's a sight to behold, inviting long stares.
Carpenter Wang didn't need Wei Jinyun to coax him now, so he called himself Wang Luban.
Wei Jinyun smiled and replied, "Thank you for your hard work, come and have two bowls of lactose dumplings later. Grandma and Wan Wu have made several kinds of fillings."
The two aunts had already booked the cleaning work for Meow Meow Bakery in advance, and were coming over with buckets and their own tools.
The round-faced aunt peeked into the house and said with a smile, "Manager Wei, your new shop is so grandly decorated. We've agreed with Xiao Zhang to clean it up after the doors are installed. Your business is booming, and we want to share in the good fortune."
She still remembered that Shopkeeper Wei had bargained with them for ten cents in the summer. He was very stingy and his shop was in trouble. Now he has opened two shops and is thriving.
There is no need for everyone to worship the God of Wealth anymore, just come and share in the wealth of Shopkeeper Wei.
"Come take a break and have a bowl of lactose dumplings!"
Wang Qiulan came out with a large basin filled with various lactose dumplings with different colored fillings of sesame and red bean paste.
"I just cooked it, eat it while it's hot."
Wang Qiulan placed the basin on the long table.
Wei Fuling and Wei Fuqiu ran out together, carrying another large basin. "Sister, Grandma, the salty ones are here."
This pot contains meat-filled dumplings, and the soup is stewed with chopped white cabbage, and the soup is clear.
Chaojiu was the first to come over, scooped up a pink lactose ball and bit into it. The red bean paste filling was dense, and the soft and glutinous skin made it sweet and not greasy.
She said, "They are so delicious! These are lactose dumplings made by immortals." Everyone quickly took their bowls to get some.
Wei Jinyun watched Chang Siyan burying his head in the account book at the counter, but he didn't turn a page for a long time. He didn't even join in the fun of the waiters scrambling for lactose dumplings. He walked over with a bowl of sesame-filled lactose dumplings and gently knocked on the counter.
"You used to run faster than anyone else when you smelled a scent, so why are you hiding here today?"
She handed the bowl over, looked at the red bloodshot in Chang Siyan's eyes when he looked up, and said slowly, "He must be unhappy again."
Chang Siyan no longer had his usual smile on his face, he just stared at the bowl of lactose dumplings in a daze.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk. Eat the lactose dumplings with sesame filling that grandma makes first. We are from Wudi, so we like to eat sweet things. Just a little sweetness will be enough. Whenever you want to tell your shopkeeper, Jiawei, about your affairs, I'll be here."
Chang Siyan held the spoon, scooped up a lactose dumpling, took a bite, and the sweet sesame filling fell from the dumpling into the bowl. Her eyes suddenly felt a little hot.
"Boss Wei...you are so sweet."
She was holding a dumpling in her mouth and her voice was a little hoarse.
"Don't talk nonsense."
Wei Jinyun didn't rush her. He just sat at the counter to accompany her, patted her on the back, and said, "Eat slowly. If it's not enough, serve more. The pot is still warm."
Chang Siyan couldn't hold back his tears while holding the dumpling in his mouth. He muttered, "I don't want to go home..."
Wei Jinyun looked at her red eyes and reached out to hand her the handkerchief. "So you want to stay in my bed again? It's been several days now, and you've almost taken up most of my bed."
"Who made Shopkeeper Wei's bed so soft?"
Chang Siyan rubbed his face with a handkerchief and muttered softly, "Home... I don't dare to go back, and I don't want to go back."
That day, the couple who claimed to be her parents came to her house and said they wanted to recognize her. She felt panicked.
But the old man who took her home and accompanied her through winter and summer for more than ten years would not let her into the house, and she felt very upset.
Her parents, who didn't even know her, took her back to a place where she had been away for several days. She looked at those unfamiliar faces and had no idea what to call them.
She doesn't know him.
She clearly only knows Aong.
But Aung deliberately avoided her and asked her to live with his parents.
"If you don't want to go back, then don't. My bed has plenty of room for you. Finish your lactose dumplings first."
Wei Jinyun had noticed that Chang Siyan had been tossing and turning in bed these past few nights, and her grandfather hadn't come to look for him.
In the past, if Chang Siyan came home half an hour late, her grandfather would come to the shop door with a bamboo stick to ask about her. Now, after sleeping in her place for a few days, her grandfather still hasn't shown up, which makes her even more worried.
Chang Siyan lowered his head and scooped up a dumpling. The sweet aroma of sesame seeds suppressed the bitterness in his heart. He whispered, "Then... I'll stay for a few more days."
"Okay."
Wei Jinyun responded with a smile, "If you try to steal my quilt again at night, I will drive you away and squeeze you in with Sister Qi and Sister Ling."
Chang Siyan finally smiled. Although his eyes were still red, he felt more relaxed than before and swallowed the dumpling in one gulp.
Soon, Gu Xiang's loud voice came from the door.
"Oh, Shopkeeper Wei, you've ordered too much stuff. It takes three donkey carts. Fortunately, Brother Qiang can drive two by himself. Otherwise, I don't know what I would do with the three donkeys."
As soon as she stepped into the room, she caught a glimpse of the lactose dumplings on the long table. Everyone was eating heartily, and there were three large bowls stacked in front of Erniu.
She immediately came over, deliberately putting on a stern face and yelling, "How dare you! How dare you sneak in to eat delicious food behind my back? I just finished moving the table and I can smell the delicious food. So you mean I don't get any?"
Chaojiu was scooping up his second bowl of salty dumplings and replied with a smile, "Why are you in such a hurry? I've saved some for you. The sweet red bean paste and the salty meat stewed with white cabbage are both warming on the stove. You can choose whatever you want."
Gu Xiang immediately smiled, rushed to the kitchen door, and served himself a big bowl.
She sat beside a few people and said loudly, "Of course we have to eat meat-filled dumplings. I can eat them with the iron pot."
Wan Wu laughed and said, "That won't do. Manager Wei will beat you up."
After eating the lactose dumplings, everyone went about their own business. Wei Jinyun wiped his hands and walked to the Meow Meow Bakery next door. The newly arrived tables and chairs had just been unloaded in the lobby, so they had to check the quantity and inspect for any damage.
The two aunts were working together to move a wooden table, with my grandmother's carved clothes hanger leaning against it.
The thinner aunt smiled and greeted, "Don't worry, Shopkeeper Wei, the table has been set neatly for you and the clothes hangers have been cleaned."
Wei Jinyun agreed with a smile and checked the accounts with Wang Jia Dalang, who was delivering the goods and also had a bowl of lactose dumplings.
Behind the counter of Yunlaixiang, Wang Qiulan spread out paper and thought about spring clothes. She thought for a while and sketched the pattern of a children's jacket on the paper.
At the door of Yunlaixiang's shop, Wei Fuling was arguing with loofah and edamame, Wei Fuqiu was sitting on a small stool sorting out paper cuttings, and Meng Ge'er was squatting beside her, gnawing on Zhao Xiangping's freshly baked fried chicken.
"Sister Qi, Sister Ling."
Meng Ge'er sniffed, a few tears hanging from the corners of his eyes, "In two days, you will have to go to Su Yuxuan again, and you won't be able to play with me every day."
Wei Fuling immediately stopped, ran over, took out a handkerchief and wiped his tears, "It's okay, we'll come and play with you after school, just like before."
Wei Fuqiu also nodded and handed him the meow meow paper-cut she had cut out. "This is for you."
Meng Ge'er took the paper cutout and took a bite of fried chicken, tears still streaming down his face. "Yes! I will definitely help you catch the bad guys again. Another year has passed, and Meng Ge'er has plenty of energy!"
Business was pretty good during the Lantern Festival, with many of the customers coming and going being young people. Wei Jinyun had a special promotion where if you bought some snacks, you'd get a free candy. He'd wrapped up some of the shop's freshly made pear paste candies and placed them on beautiful floral paper.
Although the lights at night are wonderful and beautiful, the weather is still a bit cold. Chang Siyan's advertising slogan is -
During the Lantern Festival, she was given pear syrup candy, which moistened her voice like spring water and sweetened her heart like honey.
Chang Siyan and Wei Jinyun were arguing in front of the counter about who would sleep outside tonight, but when they looked up, they froze.
Chang's father and mother stood at the door, followed by Old Chang who was still holding the bamboo stick.
Lao Chang was still wearing the same patched old robe. His back seemed even more bent, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were piled up, making him look several years older than before.
"Hua Jie'er, why don't you go home?"
Chang's mother walked to the counter and said in a friendly tone, "Your brother is crying at home for his sister. As a sister, you can't stay away from home even at night."
Chang Siyan grabbed Wei Jinyun's sleeve and said, "He's already seventeen or eighteen years old, not a three-year-old child. Besides, I don't know him well."
"How can you say that about your brother?"
Chang's father's face immediately darkened. He turned to look at Old Chang and scolded him, "Look at what you've done to Hua Jie'er. She was so well-behaved when she was little, but now she doesn't even recognize her own brother!"
Lao Chang lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't teach her well..."
After saying that, he slowly raised his eyes and looked at Chang Siyan, "Little Siyan, you...you have to go home."
These words were like a needle, piercing Chang Siyan's eyes and making them red instantly.
She looked at Lao Chang's ears, which were red from the cold, and said in a trembling voice, "I won't go back, Lao Chang. I'll just go with you."
Lao Chang raised his hand, but then slowly lowered it, "They are going home...they are your parents..."
"Hua Jie'er, how can you not acknowledge me as your mother?"
Chang's mother's eyes immediately turned red, and she reached out to pull her away. "In order to find you, I have cried so much over the years that my tears have almost dried up and my eyes have become blind!"
Father Chang also wiped his eyes, his voice choked with sobs, "Yes, Hua Jie'er, you were the closest to your parents when you were little. Why are you so distant now? Do you know how hard we tried to find you?"
The two of them were crying, and soon attracted many onlookers. The guests gathered together and whispered. Chang Siyan looked at their red eyes, but felt a chill in his heart.
"Do you think I'm too young to remember what happened back then?"
Chang Siyan took a deep breath. She had been at Yunlaixiang these days, and Manager Wei always told her some interesting childhood stories. The fragments that had been suppressed in her mind suddenly became clearer.
The cold winter wind, the worn straw mat, the burning pain on my forehead, and the vague feeling that I was beyond saving. My precious son had just been born, and I had to let him go...
"I've been back in Pingjiang Prefecture for several years, and you didn't come looking for me earlier. Why did you choose to recognize me now?"
She stared at Chang's parents' bright robes, then at Old Chang's frozen hands, tears finally falling. "Didn't you throw me away? Just because I had a high fever in winter, you thought I couldn't be saved. You didn't want me to be a burden to the family, so you took me to the vicinity of Hanshan Temple and set me free."
Let go.
Not like a human, but like a raccoon, a puppy, and placed her near Hanshan Temple. As soon as these words came out, the onlookers instantly quieted down, and Chang's father and mother's crying stopped abruptly, and their faces turned pale.
Chang's father's face turned pale and blue, and he took a few steps forward to pull Chang Siyan, "What nonsense are you talking about? Even if you don't want to recognize your relatives, you can't make up such nonsense to slander your parents!"
Chang Siyan wiped away her tears and stared at him with a look that was almost mocking yet clear, "So close... Really so close."
Those deeply buried memories came flooding back as she spoke, and she continued, "I remember the soup noodles my mother made, with sesame oil floating in the soup. There was a river in front of our house, and in the summer you could see dragonflies resting on the water plants."
She looked at Chang's parents and said softly, "Take me home this time. Your house is very close to the arch bridge where I told stories before."
"I've been teaching under that arch bridge for more than half a year. Every day, I go there at noon and return at noon. Whenever I go to the market to buy something, I pass by the alley where your house is. The children there all know me, and even the old woman who washes clothes knows my name."
She smiled, but tears began to fall again. "I was dressed in rags, telling stories under the tea stall at the arch bridge, and you never recognized me? Or did you never look for me at all?"
The onlookers immediately burst into an uproar and started whispering to each other.
Chang's father and mother's faces turned completely pale. She was still very young at that time, but she actually remembered everything?
Father Chang's face flushed crimson, and his voice was urgent and stern, "No matter what, we are your biological parents. Your real name is Zhao Songhua, and you can't change it!"
"My name is not Zhao Songhua!"
Chang Siyan said firmly, "My name is Chang Siyan. I am Old Chang's granddaughter, not your daughter!"
Seeing her determination, Father Chang's eyes suddenly turned to Old Chang beside him and asked, "When you adopted her, did you have the official documents? Without the documents, this adoption is invalid! I am her biological father. Now that she is grown up, she should come home with me, treat her brother well, and support us..."
When the government approves adoption documents, they will ask questions and conduct an investigation. How could they agree to let a beggar adopt a child?
"If there is no paperwork, you can make it up."
The wind chimes rang clearly, and Lu Lan's voice also sounded at the door of the shop.
He walked quickly through the crowd of onlookers, stopped in front of Chang's father, and spoke with a cold face.
"Pingjiang Prefecture has a rule that if an orphan has been raised for three years, the adoption documents can be supplemented with testimony from neighbors. He has raised Chang Siyan for over ten years, and the neighbors all bear witness when he returns to Pingjiang Prefecture. He also owns a small stall business and rents a house, which is enough to afford Chang Siyan's adoption. He can go to the government office tomorrow to obtain the documents."
Father Chang stammered, "But...but we are your parents..."
"If parents abandon their children, they can be reported to the authorities and held accountable according to the law."
Lu Lan's eyes grew colder. "There are always some of your neighbors still alive... The Inspection Department can definitely find out whether they were abandoned back then."
Chang's mother anxiously grabbed Old Chang's arm and said, "Say something! We are her biological parents. We really didn't have the money to treat her illness back then, so we had no choice... We didn't abandon her on purpose. We want to take her home right now. She has been looking for her parents for more than ten years!"
Old Chang's gaze fell on Chang Siyan's face, and tears flowed from his half-blind eyes.
Chang Siyan was already in tears, but she didn't care.
"My name is Chang Siyan... My grandfather's name is Chang Siyu. I'm not one of the Zhao family you're talking about."
"My grandfather would sing Lotus Flower. He would sing it while walking through the streets and alleys, and he would sing it to put me to sleep. He would pick up children, and he wouldn't just pick me up."
"My family lives in Xiaogang Village. We live in an adobe house. In the yard, we have chickens, pigs, and an old sheep that we've raised for a long time. There's no river next to our door, only a camphor tree."
"Grandpa doesn't make soup noodles, he only knows how to fry tofu. He pours some oil into the pan, fries the tofu until it's golden, and sprinkles a little salt on it to make it fragrant..."
She raised her hand to wipe away her tears, but the more she wiped away, the more tears came. "I've known since I was a child that my grandfather is Chang Siyu and I am Chang Siyan. I no longer long for parents. I only have one grandfather, and the tofu he makes is more delicious than anything else."
Old Chang stood there in a daze.
After a long while, he walked a few steps to Chang Siyan, finally raised his hand, and gently patted her back, just like when she was wronged as a child, "Little Siyan, don't cry."
Wei Jinyun stood aside, her eyes a little red. She stepped forward and held Chang Siyan's shoulders, "Stop talking. You're making your boss Wei want to eat fried tofu."
She turned to look at Mr. and Mrs. Chang, her tone cold, "Do you two have anything else to do? If not, please go back. I only sell snacks at Yunlaixiang."
While Chang's parents were still stunned, Lu Lan turned to Jing Liulang, who had just squeezed in, and ordered, "Take a few people with you and investigate the matter of abandonment."
Jing Liulang, who had come with some snack money, was taken aback when he heard this. He then said with a bitter face, "Sir, I actually came here to buy..."
"Double the salary."
Lu Lan interrupted him.
Jing Liulang immediately straightened his back and shouted to the brothers from the Inspection Department who followed him, "Did you hear that? Time to report! Follow you two closely and keep a close eye on them!"
How could he really follow them? He took his brothers and half-supported and half-carried Chang's father and mother away from Tianqing Temple.
Wei Jinyun saw Lao Chang standing next to Chang Siyan and joked with a smile, "Now you can rest assured, you can go back to your own home to sleep tonight, and you don't have to fight for my quilt anymore."
Chang Siyan nodded, and Old Chang also hurriedly thanked her.
He thought Xiao Siyan was going home for the New Year, but he didn't expect that she was squeezed in with Manager Wei. He didn't know how to thank her. She saved Xiao Siyan from being exposed to the wind and sun like him, and she was so kind to her.
"She slept with you?"
Wei Jinyun raised an eyebrow, "Yes, she has been restless these past few days. What's wrong with just spending some time with her? Why does Lord Lu care about this?"
Lu Lan sat down at the counter and said, "Call me Lu Lan, Lu Lan, Lu Lan. Don't call me Lord Lu."
Wei Jinyun looked at his rare awkward expression and couldn't help but laugh, "Lu Lan, who made you unhappy?"
"No one bothers me. Why... have you been ignoring me lately?"
Lu Lan thought for a while and looked up at her.
Wei Jinyun sighed helplessly, reached out to pour him a cup of tea, and said earnestly, "Xiao Lu, look at how busy this shop is. Meow Meow Bakery will be open for trial operation in a few days. I am really busy with my business."
Lu Lan said "Oh" and asked again, "Then the night of the Lantern Festival is always not busy?"
"I'm not busy tonight. I was planning to take advantage of the Lantern Festival to give everyone a day off. I'm going to go to the Lantern Festival with my grandmother, sister, Xiao Chang and a few other guys. Lu Lan, do you want to come with us?"
Wei Jinyun looked up while calculating on the abacus.
Lu Lan subconsciously asked, "So many people?"
Wei Jinyun nodded seriously, "Yeah, it's more lively with more people. I mainly want Xiao Chang to relax. She's been feeling down lately, and the Lantern Festival is a good way for her to relax. It's like the last revelry before the opening. After the Lantern Festival, once Meow Meow Bakery opens, I really won't be so free anymore."
"Okay, I'll go."
As night fell, the streets of Pingjiang Prefecture were already illuminated by lanterns, as bright as day. Shops along the streets hung fish lanterns and glass lanterns, and even the river was lit with a variety of lanterns, their shadows reflected in the water, swaying with the waves.
Yun Laixiang and his group walked in the alley in a mighty procession.
Wang Qiulan, wrapped in a royal blue cape, held the bouncing Wei Fuling and Wei Fuqiu by her hands. Chang Siyan, holding the sugar painting Gu Xiangcai had won from sumo, and Chao Jiu and Wan Wu huddled together at a lantern riddle stall, arguing endlessly over the riddle that read, "Circular when drawn, square when written."
Wei Jinyun was walking at the end, and was just about to call Gu Xiang not to squeeze the young lady who was buying lanterns, when she saw Lu Lan handing her a lotus lantern from the side.
"Here."
"Thank you, Lu Lan."
On the stage set up on Shantang Street, an actor in a Huadan costume was singing "The Palace of Eternal Life", and the audience was full of people.
"Sugar porridge—hot sugar porridge! Buy a bowl of sugar porridge for the girl you like!"
"Winter wine—homemade winter wine, it's so sweet that it won't make you look good, but it's so sweet that it goes straight to your heart!"
"Sugared lotus root, candied lotus root—"
Wei Jinyun heard Wei Fuling chattering about the goldfish lantern she had just seen. When she turned around, she saw Lu Lan walking towards her with an oil-paper bag and a bowl.
He was holding a pot of warm winter wine in his hand, a bowl filled with dense sugar porridge, and cut candied lotus root wrapped in oil paper.
"Lu Lan, why did you buy so much?"
"Here you go."
Lu Lan handed the bowl of sugar porridge to her, opened the oil paper package, picked out the tenderest piece of sugared lotus root and handed it to her.
Wei Jinyun had eaten two pieces when she heard Wei Fuling and Wei Fuqiu tugging at Wang Qiulan's sleeves and shouting, "Grandma, Grandma! The performance of 'The Palace of Eternal Life' is about to start. If we don't go now, there won't be any seats left! Hurry up, hurry up!"
Before she finished speaking, the two little girls ran towards the stage with Wang Qiulan and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Wei Jinyun looked at their backs and smiled, "They ran away. There's so much food, we have to eat it slowly."
"Um."
Lu Lan responded and naturally took her free hand.
Wei Jinyun was stunned for a moment, then clenched his hands and followed him.
From the arch bridge, you can see lotus lanterns floating on the river, and the singing and cheers from the stage in the distance can be faintly heard.
The two stood on the bridge for a while, and Lu Lan helped her gather the collar of her cloak to block the evening breeze.
"Ayun."
"What's the matter?"
Wei Jinyun looked up at him in a daze.
A sweet aroma of wine wafted towards her. Lu Lan looked down and saw that the winter wine brewing pot in Wei Jinyun's hand was half empty.
He lifted the pot helplessly and said, "You're so polite. You've finished the whole pot?"
Wei Jinyun's cheeks were as red as ripe peaches. She shook the empty pot and smiled, "It tastes great... even sweeter than Yun Laixiang's osmanthus wine."
Lu Lan couldn't help but frown, "Then tell me, who am I?"
"You are, you are my distinguished Peony Card member, Lord Lu."
As soon as she finished speaking, she snuggled into his arms, her head resting on his clothes, and fell asleep again without making any sound.
Lu Lan froze in place, looking down at the person in her arms who was breathing lightly. She remembered that when she bought the winter wine just now, the vendor patted his chest and said, "This wine won't make you drunk, at most it will warm you up."
His helplessness instantly turned into gritted teeth.
He cursed the vendor countless times in his heart.
What do you mean by not getting drunk? He was so drunk that he couldn't recognize anyone and fell asleep again. It was such a beautiful Lantern Festival, but he didn't say anything!
After the Lantern Festival is over, we must arrest the person and take him to the Inspection Office to interrogate him, whether he was selling winter wine or a magic potion!
Lu Lan was afraid that she would catch a cold sleeping in the wind, so he simply pulled her gently onto his back. Wei Jinyun's cheek was pressed against his neck, and the sweet scent of her breath mixed with the smell of alcohol fell into his ears.
"Lu Lan, you smell so good..."
Her voice was very soft, and she sniffed him like a cat and rubbed against his ears.
Lu Lan's ears felt hot, and she only responded softly, "Yeah."
“It’s orange flavored…”
She muttered, raised her hand to touch the side of his face, and then rubbed his ear.
"Behave yourself."
Lu Lan's voice was a little tense, and he reached out and held down her restless hand.
But just as he finished speaking, he felt someone bite the tip of his ear, and suddenly he felt a warm touch with a hint of alcohol.
Then came her sticky promise, "Don't worry, Lu Lan... I will be responsible for you until I make more money."
Lu Lan suddenly stopped where he was. The person behind him was still humming an unknown tune, but he felt as if all the blood in his body was rushing to his ears.
The evening breeze blew over with the light of the lanterns, and the shadows of the lights on the river made people dizzy. Only the weight on his back and the breathing beside his neck were so real that it made his heart beat out of rhythm.
He clenched his palms and cursed in a hoarse voice.
"Drunkard, drunk and lustful."
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The author has something to say: Jinyun: Don't worry, I'm busy with my career and I'm responsible. [Poor]
Mr. Lu: A sex-hungry ghost [bursts into tears]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
