Chapter 145: Temple Fair, Pick Up a Bargain? [6.6k]
Lin Heng picked up the bow and pulled the string to try. The bow was too soft. The estimated maximum range was only 20 meters, and the effective range was only more than 10 meters. It was indeed difficult to hit the target.
"Boss, I'll give it to you if you hit the target ten times. Are you sure?" Lin Heng asked again while picking up the bow and arrow.
"Here, I'll give you as many as you hit. If you don't give it to me, you're a son of a bitch. So many people are watching here, I can't cheat." The boss said with full energy, patting his chest.
"Okay." Lin Heng nodded.
"Here!" Xiulan gave one dollar, and the boss immediately took out twenty arrows happily.
This arrow has no feathers and the arrowhead is round. It can be said to be a very light wooden stick.
The ten-meter target in the distance is only the size of a watermelon, so it is extremely difficult to hit it with ten shots. People who have not practiced can only rely on numbers.
Taking an arrow, Lin Hengxian chose a target three meters away. The object below was a grasshopper woven from palm leaves.
Bang! After taking aim, Lin Heng shot an arrow into the straw target and stabbed it in the middle. He looked up at the boss and said, "Is this all right?"
"Yes, we are lucky." The boss responded with a smile and gave the grasshopper to Xiaoxia.
At this time, neither the stall owner nor the audience around realized the seriousness of the matter.
"Oh!" Xiaoxia shook the grasshopper happily.
Lin Heng almost understood the situation of the bow and arrow through the last arrow, and aimed the second arrow at the straw target ten meters away.
The arrow flew out with a whoosh, hit the target and fell behind.
"Hehe, this ten-meter target is not that easy. I advise you to hit some smaller objects." The boss grinned.
"It's okay, I'll try again!"
Lin Heng smiled and shot another arrow, which hit the ten-meter straw target with a bang.
The stall owner was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "You are lucky, young man."
Lin Heng didn't say anything. Bang! Another arrow hit the straw target again.
The smile on the boss's face gradually disappeared, and he asked tentatively, "Have you practiced before, young man?"
"No, I'm just lucky." Lin Heng smiled, raised his hand and shot another arrow, hitting the target again.
"Master, very powerful!"
"Win the jade hairpin and teach the boss a lesson!"
The people onlookers also understood that Lin Heng came prepared, and they applauded and watched the fun.
The boss's face turned gloomy, and the smile had already shifted.
Then, Lin Heng shot five arrows in a row, and the straw target was already filled with seven arrows.
"Boss, can you please take the arrows? There's no place." Lin Heng asked with a smile.
“No, you can’t take the arrows until you’ve finished shooting.” The stall owner shook his head, his expression turning cold.
"Are you sure you don't want to take it?" Lin Heng looked at him and asked with a smile.
"No need to take it. If you have the ability, shoot. If you don't, just leave." The boss snorted coldly. He knew that he was going to be in trouble today.
Lin Heng didn't say anything else. Bang, bang, bang, all three arrows hit the target again.
"Please bring me your jade hairpin." Lin Heng looked at him.
The stall owner reluctantly took the jade hairpin and handed it to Lin Heng.
Lin Heng took the hairpin and took a look. It was pure white with a phoenix carved on the tail with a hint of green on it.
Looking closely, there is quite a lot of cotton inside. It is indeed a hosta. He estimates that it is worth only ten yuan at most.
After looking at it again, he turned around and plugged it in for his wife. Although she had her hair tied in a high ponytail today, it did not affect the insertion of the hairpin.
"It looks good!" Lin Heng said with a smile.
There were so many people around that Xiulan felt a little embarrassed. She took it off, looked at it, and then put it back in with great fondness.
"There are still eight arrows. Is there anything else you want?" Lin Heng asked with a smile.
"It's nothing. Just let Xiaoxia cum with two toys. It's not easy for the boss." Xiulan was kind-hearted and took the initiative to say good things about the stall owner.
"I originally thought so, but the boss's tone was too tough just now. I have to play for another three dollars." Lin Heng said deliberately.
The boss, who had a sullen face, forced a smile and walked over to beg for mercy: "Brother, I called you brother, I was wrong, please don't do this, take eight more things from here."
"No, I'll shoot myself." Lin Heng shook his head.
With five arrows in a row, he shot two small frogs woven from palm leaves, two Luban locks, and a wooden cart for his daughter.
The remaining three arrows were given directly to a ten-year-old child nearby.
"Thank you, uncle!" The child was so excited to get the arrow that he kept thanking him.
Everyone was happy, the only one who felt bad was the stall owner.
"Wife, do you want to play ring toss?" Lin Heng asked, pointing at the ring toss stall.
"No, I can't hit the target." Xiulan shook her head. She believed that Lin Heng would make a lot of money by playing archery.
She has no interest in the game of ring tossing, which loses money.
"Okay then." Lin Heng nodded. As for Xiaoxia in his arms, forget it. She couldn't even throw a small stone more than two meters. She was too weak.
If you want to play, wait until she is older.
After leaving this street, they went to the street where young animals were sold. Most of the animals sold here were young animals of various kinds, but there were also cats, dogs, plants, birds and some goldfish.
Xiaoxia stopped in front of a little emerald green bird and stared at it for a long time. Every time the bird called, she giggled.
"Two dollars. Do you want to buy it for your daughter?" the stall owner asked with a smile.
Lin Heng shook his head: "No."
Xiaoxia didn't intend to buy it, she was just curious.
"Dad, red fish!"
Xiaoxia saw the koi in the basin and said curiously.
"You can only look, you can't touch." Lin Heng pulled her and said.
If the distance was not far, he would like to buy a few and take them back home to raise in the fish pond. These koi are quite beautiful.
After looking at the fish for a while, I went to look at other things. This place has quite a variety of things. Not only are there live pigeons and turtledoves for sale, there are even badger cubs.
Lin Heng thought about it and decided to give up. The badger can fight on its own, so why buy it?
The vegetable market is at the corner of this street. In addition to the common fruits and vegetables, the most common things here are fish and shrimp. All kinds of fish and shrimp from the river are for sale.
Because there was no oxygen equipment, most of the fish were dead, only crucian carp, catfish and the like were alive.
But you can tell it's very fresh, the fish's eyes are very clear, it must have been caught this morning.
But as a fisherman, he has principles and would rather starve to death than eat the fish he bought.
"There's a stall selling marinade ingredients over there. I'll go buy a few packs. When you catch prey again, we can marinate it."
Xiulan looked at a stall in front and pulled Lin Heng and said.
"Buy more, so we can make hot pot base when we get home. We can have hot pot in the winter." Lin Heng nodded.
When we go back this time, the weather will gradually get colder, and then it will be time for us to get together and eat hotpot.
He planned to buy a copper stove hot pot, and if there was no ready-made one, he would pay a blacksmith to make one for him.
"Okay." Xiulan nodded in agreement.
The marinade is not cheap. Xiulan spent six dollars on three pounds of it, which made her feel a little distressed.
People in rural areas only buy half a pound of braised pork head or something like that at the end of the year. No one buys it at other times, and most people don’t have meat to braise at home even if they buy it.
After buying the ingredients for the marinade, the three of them continued wandering around the street.
There is no purpose for shopping, just looking around. Shopping with people you like will definitely not be boring.
Xiaoxia was eating a red bean paste bun with great joy, chewing slowly with her cheeks puffed out.
Lin Heng and Xiulan were not hungry, so they did not buy any food, and there must have been a big meal prepared at home for lunch.
"You guys wait here for a moment, I'm going to buy something for mom." Xiulan said suddenly.
"Okay." Lin Heng didn't think much about it and took Xiaoxia to play around here.
After a while, Xiulan came back and the three of them went shopping together.
As we were strolling around, we came to a temple fair in Baisha Township, where there were jugglers and opera singers.
Lin Heng and Xiulan stopped to watch the performance. There were a lot of people watching.
Seeing this man breaking rocks with his chest, steel bars on his neck and steel bars bent on his neck, a group of people shouted and applauded, saying that he was amazing.
However, when people asked for money, only a few gave it. Xiaoxia took the dime given by Xiulan and threw it in, and received a string of thanks and blessings.
Everyone else gave one or two cents, and ten cents was the most.
She looked at the jugglers and then at the opera singers, who were singing the folk song Huagu Opera. She listened for a while and then ran away, mainly because Xiaoxia was not interested in it.
"I'll bet on the left, one ball."
"I'm betting on the right side, two balls."
After walking a few steps forward, I saw a group of people gathered around a stall in front, shouting and placing bets, which attracted a lot of attention.
However, there was only a table on the stall in front of them, with three small bowls on it. The man in a long gown running the stall had a smile on his face as he watched everyone place their bets.
"What is this for?" It was the first time Xiulan saw this.
"This is called the Ghost Hand Three Immortals Returning to the Cave. This is all gambling." Lin Heng said with a smile.
This kind of trick was considered a craft in the old society, and most people didn't know the principles behind it.
But in the later Internet age, it has become an open secret. It is just a magic trick that deceives people.
After watching from a distance for a while with Xiulan and Xiaoxia, both mother and daughter exclaimed in amazement, unable to see any flaws at all.
This person is obviously an experienced craftsman with very sophisticated techniques, and Lin Heng couldn't find any flaws.
But he knew the principle, and after he explained it to Xiulan, she suddenly realized: "So that's how it is, why am I so amazing, it turns out that the ball is hidden in my hand."
"So those who place bets are destined to never win." Lin Heng smiled slightly. This trick can only deceive people now.
"Then how did you know?" Xiulan looked at him curiously again.
"Because I met someone who could make the Three Immortals Return to the Cave, and he told me after drinking." Lin Heng blinked.
After walking around the temple fair, the sun gradually rose higher and the air became hot. The three of them didn't feel like walking around any more, so they stood up and walked back.
When passing by a street selling miscellaneous items, Lin Heng suddenly saw something out of the corner of his eye.
An incense burner, dark copper in color, shaped like a goblet, with a conical lid that is tall and pointed, shaped like a mountain and hollow, making it look like a series of green hills.
There are cloud patterns and bird and animal designs carved on it, and some parts have some green pigment, which looks quite delicate.
"This is a Boshan furnace, right?" Lin Heng asked with a smile.
The Boshan furnace is an instrument for burning incense. The ancients liked to burn incense and bathe, and they generally used this kind of furnace.
The seller was an old man. In addition to the stove, he also had several beautiful porcelain plates and bowls, as well as some bottles and jars.
He glanced at Lin Heng and shook his head, "I don't know. This is an old thing in my family. I dug it out from the cellar a few days ago. I don't know what dynasty it is from. Do you want to buy it?"
Lin Heng picked up the porcelain plate and bowl and looked at them. There was no specific signature or seal. Judging from the blue and green patterns on them, they were probably blue and white porcelain plates and bowls.
"How much is it?" Lin Heng asked, pointing at the Boshan stove. He wanted to buy it and make some incense powder to repel mosquitoes or something.
He was also interested in these porcelain plates and bowls. There were many old items in rural areas in this era, and there were even people who went to rural areas specifically to collect these things, just to take advantage of the rural people who were ignorant and did not understand their value.
The old man glanced at Lin Heng, waved his hand and said, "The stove is three dollars, and the porcelain bowls and plates are one dollar each. I'm not sure when they were made, so they're useless at home. If you like them, take them."
Lin Heng picked it up and looked at it again and again, and finally bought the Boshan stove, three intact blue and white porcelain plates and four small bowls.
"Are you sure you want to buy so much?" Xiulan looked at him and asked. Normally a bowl would cost only a few cents, so this was too expensive.
The old man seemed to be afraid that Lin Heng would not sell them, so he pointed to the five remaining broken porcelain bowls and plates and said, "If you buy so many, I'll give you the rest."
Lin Heng looked at his wife and said, "Buy it. You pay for it."
He didn't think it mattered. Even though it was a modern product, it wasn't too much of a loss.
"You earn the money, so just think about it carefully." Xiulan took out her wallet and handed over ten dollars.
"Haha, thank you. I'll use the rice dumpling fur to wrap it for you." The old man laughed, picked up the soft rice dumpling fur, wrapped these things up, put them in a cloth bag and handed it to Lin Heng.
After buying the things, Lin Heng took his wife and left quickly, walking towards the shore.
"Do you think these are all old things?" Xiulan asked curiously on the way.
"Yes, I'll ask someone to identify it when I get a chance. It's only ten dollars anyway, so it doesn't matter if it's not true."
Lin Heng smiled slightly. After all, he was a man with a net worth of tens of thousands, so he felt that taking such a small risk was nothing.
"As long as you're happy, I just hope you have better luck. Anyway, I feel that the old man is a liar." Xiulan said with a blink.
"Haha, we can only know after it is identified. But I think no one in such a small place should come here to cheat people. If you get cheated, you can only say that it's a problem with this thing." Lin Heng said with a smile.
As the two were talking, a boat came over and asked if they wanted to go to Liulin Village. Then the two got on the boat.
"The village is very lively at night, but it's a pity it's too far away." Xiulan said regretfully while sitting on the boat.
"We can only wait until later." Lin Heng spread his hands and said, there really is nothing that can be done about it. Living in the countryside has many inconveniences.
When we returned to Liulin Village, it was already eleven o'clock. Every household in the village was cooking. On August 15th, people in the countryside would have a sumptuous reunion dinner at noon.
It was inconvenient to eat without electric lights at night, and moon-watching was something only the literati did. Ordinary farmers would go to bed after watching the moon for a few seconds, as they still had farm work to do the next day.
I took the things I bought back home and could smell the aroma of fried meat from far away.
"Lin Heng Xiulan, you guys are finally back. You said the meal was ready but I couldn't call you."
Seeing Lin Heng and Xiulan, Lin's father, who was taking up the fishing net in the yard, smiled and said.
"It's time to eat." Lin Heng said with a smile.
"Xiu Lan, what did you buy? Is the village lively today?" asked sister-in-law Zhang Shuiqin curiously.
Xiulan shook the marinade in her hand and replied, "It's quite lively. We bought a marinade bag and then went to braise the meat."
"I bought some small gadgets, not worth much money." Lin Heng said casually. He certainly couldn't say that he spent ten dollars to buy these things.
Father Chen smiled and said, "We were lucky today. We caught a silver carp weighing more than 40 kilograms. The head has been chopped off. We will have chopped pepper fish head for lunch."
“It’s so big.”
Lin Heng walked over and took a look, and was a little shocked. He had never caught such a big silver carp before.
After chatting for a while, Xiulan asked curiously, "By the way, where are my second sister and her family?"
"He said he had something to do at home and went back first. We couldn't keep him here." Father Chen spread his hands and said.
"Okay." Xiulan nodded. She knew that her second sister must be worried again, and there was nothing she could do.
After entering the house and putting down the things, Xiulan went to the kitchen to help her mother, while Lin Heng took his daughter to chat with Chen's father and others under the eaves.
"I caught two mandarin fish today and made them into smoked fish. When you leave tomorrow, take it back for your parents to try. Don't refuse. We have a lot of fish here, and they're not good stuff." Father Chen said with a smile.
"Okay, thanks Dad." Lin Heng nodded in agreement. Mandarin fish actually tastes better when made into stinky mandarin fish, but dried fish is also fine.
The meal was not ready until half past twelve. Today, the Chen family set up two tables so the children could also sit at the table to eat.
Lin Heng's table still had 12 dishes, with an extra bowl of steamed pork with rice flour and fish head with chopped pepper, and two fewer vegetarian dishes.
Lin Heng had no interest in the steamed pork with rice flour which was full of fat, but the chopped pepper fish head was fresh and spicy and very good.
What he liked most was the stewed wild goose soup, which tasted so delicious.
"Dad, I want more!" Xiaoxia finished a small bowl and said she wanted more.
Not only Lin Heng likes it, Xiaoxia also loves this wild goose stew.
"Eat some meat." Lin Heng picked up some stewed goose meat and fed it to his daughter.
"I'll feed her, you eat." Xiulan carried Xiaoxia over because her mother was watching her and was very unhappy that she let Lin Heng take care of the child.
"Okay." Lin Heng grinned and didn't stop him.
He actually wanted to drink less by taking care of his daughter. Without his daughter as a shield, he drank more often.
Everyone is happy during the Mid-Autumn Festival, so it’s hard for him to refuse.
Good wine and good food are rare for people in rural areas.
While drinking, Chen's father and Xiulan's three brothers couldn't help but sigh about the difficulties of life, all this and all.
Lin Heng listened quietly, thinking that this was a prelude to borrowing money, but what surprised him was that they didn't mention this matter until they finished drinking.
He felt that he was being a little petty and judging others by their own standards. Perhaps the other person was just expressing his feelings simply.
After the meal, Lin Heng fell into a deep sleep. This lunch was really filling and he enjoyed it very much.
In another room, Zhang Shuiqin pinched Chen Zhidong's waist and said dissatisfiedly: "Why don't you ask for money?
Do you still want to live in this house? I have never had a good life with you."
She had already told her husband yesterday to borrow some money and try to build the house, but he didn't say a word.
"Dad warned us not to borrow it. Go find him." Chen Zhidong slapped her hand away in dissatisfaction.
"Hmph, your dad is really too obsessed with face and suffers in vain. He can't even live a day like this." The more Zhang Shuiqin thought about it, the angrier she became. She really married the wrong person.
The same thing was happening in the other two rooms.
The women all wanted to build a new house so badly that they couldn't stand living together with the whole family for a day.
Chen's father had his own considerations. He thought it was not good for them to borrow money when his son-in-law came back to his parents' home for the first time. Besides, the family needed to build three houses, which would require a large amount of money. So he decided to forget it.
When Lin Heng woke up, it was already dark. He walked out of the house. The moon was shining brightly and if he looked carefully, he could clearly see the pattern on it.
"Mom, the moon is so big tonight." Xiaoxia said, pointing to the sky.
In the yard, Xiulan and Xiaoxia were looking at the moon. Xiaoxia opened her eyes wide and was full of curiosity.
"Mom will tell you the story of Chang'e flying to the moon. Legend has it..." Xiulan hugged Xiaoxia and told the story, but she found it difficult to continue as her daughter frequently interrupted her.
Lin Heng listened secretly and found it very interesting.
"You're awake. Do you have a headache?" Xiulan asked with a blink when she saw Lin Heng.
"I feel a little dizzy. It's all because of you who took Xiaoxia away. Otherwise, I couldn't drink so much." Lin Heng said helplessly.
"You are the culprit." Xiulan said with a smile.
After a pause, she continued, "You must be hungry. I'll go get you something to eat. We've already had dinner."
"I'm not hungry for now, wait a moment." Lin Heng shook his head.
"Mom, look, there's another moon!" Xiaoxia said, pointing to the sky.
"That's a Kongming lantern." Lin Heng walked over, touched her face, and said with a smile.
"How can the lamp fly?" Xiaoxia was puzzled and very curious.
Lin Heng came over, picked her up and explained it to her. Xiaoxia naturally didn't understand and asked to make one for herself. Lin Heng could only tell her to wait until they got home to make one.
After playing for a while, Lin Heng had dinner and went back to the house to rest.
Xiulan's parents, elder brother and others had gone to bed after dinner. They drank more than Lin Heng at noon and were still drunk. They had no interest in appreciating the moon.
But Lin Heng couldn't fall asleep no matter what he did while lying in bed, after all, he had just had a nap.
He could only hold his wife's hand and count her fingers boredly. Xiulan was quite sleepy. He pulled her into his arms and touched his face helplessly: "Be good, we will go home tomorrow. Have a good rest. I am tired."
In fact, she was not that tired, but she was afraid that she could not control herself. Her parents were outside, and it would be bad if she made any strange noises.
"All right."
Lin Heng didn't want to disturb his wife's rest. He smelled the fragrance of his wife's hair, stared at the top of the mosquito net in a daze, and finally fell asleep unknowingly.
In the blink of an eye, it was the next morning. Chen's mother got up before dawn at five o'clock to cook.
When Lin Heng and Xiulan got up, the meal was already ready.
"Mom, there's no need to cook in the morning. Just make something simple." Lin Heng said with a smile as he looked at the table full of dishes.
"You are leaving today, so you must get some good ones." Mother Chen smiled and shook her head.
"Hurry up and sit down. Let's just have two drinks in the morning, not too much." Father Chen smiled and pulled Lin Heng over to sit next to him.
Since they had to travel before the sun came out, Lin Heng drank two cups of wine and went to eat.
After dinner, he led Hongzao's harness to pull the carriage while Xiulan was packing.
They didn't have much stuff, just the marinade and porcelain they bought yesterday, and some spare clothes.
Just as I finished taking it out, Chen's mother came out carrying several large bags of things.
"Lin Heng Xiulan, we don't have anything good to give you. These are some dried fish and shrimp skins. There are about thirty to forty kilograms of various kinds. You can take them back and eat them slowly." Chen's mother said with a smile.
"Okay, Mom." Xiulan took it without hesitation.
Father Chen held Xiaoxia and said with a smile, "Xiaoxia, call me grandpa again."
Xiaoxia looked at him and called out in a baby voice, "Grandpa!"
"Oh, you sound so sweet. I'll give you a red envelope as a reward." Father Chen grinned and handed a red envelope to Xiaoxia.
It was Xiaoxia’s first time to receive a red envelope. She had no idea what you were doing and looked at her grandfather curiously.
"Dad, what are you doing?" Lin Heng said hurriedly and was about to come over to stop him.
"It's the first time my granddaughter comes to visit, so what's wrong with me giving her a red envelope? Don't refuse it, it's not for you." Father Chen blocked him and pushed him away.
"Dad, you're too polite. We are all family." Lin Heng said helplessly.
"I gave it to her because we are family." Father Chen pushed him and asked Mother Chen to carry Xiaoxia directly into the car.
After chatting and chatting with everyone for a while, Chen's father and mother asked them to come back during the Chinese New Year, and Lin Heng invited them to visit.
"Then I'm leaving, Dad, Mom, brother and sisters-in-law."
Lin Heng said something, asked Xiulan to say goodbye, and then drove the carriage away quickly.
"Okay, remember to come back during the New Year." Seeing the carriage leaving, Chen's mother shouted reluctantly.
The Chen family members were filled with thoughts as they watched the carriage go away. Father and Mother Chen were happy from the bottom of their hearts. However, the daughters-in-law looked unhappy and even resented the two elders.
The carriage soon left Liulin Village again. The sun had not yet risen, and the grass on the roadside was covered with crystal dew. The morning breeze was very refreshing.
Xiulan smiled and looked at Lin Heng: "Guess how much money Dad gave Xiaoxia in a red envelope? You will never guess."
* * * PS: Friends, I’ve been lazy for a day and today I’ve also written 6,600 words. I’ve been in a bad state recently, and alcohol and sex have been ruining my life.
(End of this chapter)
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