Chapter 209: The Candy Wrapper Shooting Game
"How about bringing some dumplings to my parents?"
After finishing the meal, Xiulan spoke.
Lin Heng shook his head: "No need, they are all helping at the Liu family and having a feast there."
"That's fine. When Caiyun gets home from school tonight, ask her to come over for dinner."
Xiulan nodded and said again.
Lin Heng naturally had no objection to this. Speaking of Caiyun, Lin Heng remembered that this week should be her exam week and she would be on holiday soon.
Today is the 12th, Thursday, and I don't know when she will have her day off.
After breakfast, Xiulan took the beef tripe that had been soaked overnight, while Lin Heng took Xiaoxia to the Liu family.
Although the real event will be tomorrow and guests with gifts will come to the banquet, as a helper, he should still come and take a look, otherwise it would be a bit unprofessional.
Now the Liu family's place is much more lively than before. A group of people gather here, and it is bustling and lively.
Xiaoxia was pulled by Lin Heng, and her big eyes looked around curiously.
The shed was quite warm because of the charcoal fire. Lin Heng went to take a look at the kitchen, where his mother was helping to wash vegetables.
When she saw Xiaoxia, she immediately wiped her hands, stretched out her hand and said with a smile: "Come, let grandma hold you for a while."
"Mother-in-law, I want to eat this~"
Xiaoxia looked at her grandmother, walked over and pointed at the persimmon cake next to her.
The Lin family’s persimmon cakes had been dried a long time ago. Xiaoxia had eaten them before and liked them very much. When she saw the persimmon cakes here, she wanted some as soon as she opened her mouth.
"Okay, I'll get it for you."
Mother Lin smiled and kissed Xiaoxia's face and said.
Li Yan, a woman who was also helping to wash vegetables, took a persimmon cake and said to Xiaoxia, "Come on, say something nice to me and I'll give you this persimmon cake."
Xiaoxia looked at Li Yan, thought for a while, and said in a baby voice: "Auntie, you are so beautiful, just a little bit less beautiful than my mother."
Li Yan: “…”
"Hahaha, this girl is really good at talking."
"She even praises her mother outside. What a good child!"
The group of women nearby were amused by Xiaoxia's words and thought she was really funny.
"Here, here, don't say the second half of the sentence next time." Li Yan touched her face and handed the persimmon cake to Xiaoxia.
Xiaoxia took the persimmon cake and took a bite, mumbling "thank you".
Seeing him like this, Lin Heng prepared to turn around and leave, letting his mother take care of him for a while.
"I want to be with Dad."
However, before he had taken two steps, Xiaoxia ran over and grabbed Lin Heng's clothes.
"Okay, okay, let's go together." Lin Heng pulled her helplessly, said something to his mother and left.
The women here were a little curious when they saw this scene: "Xiaoxia is so attached to her father."
Someone shook his head and said, "I see Lin Heng often takes her for a stroll, and he doesn't even find it annoying. My lazy guy can't even take care of the kid, let alone let her wear clothes."
"Yes, Xiaoxia is only two years old, how can she speak like a four or five-year-old?"
Mother Lin looked at the women in front of her and responded with a smile: "No, my son takes care of her all day long and tells her stories every day."
"Is this true?" Some people didn't believe it.
Mother Lin smiled and spread her hands: "If it weren't for this, Xiaoxia wouldn't be able to speak so sincerely and be so smart. People wouldn't even let me take care of the child."
"Oh my god, Lin Heng is so patient."
"Of course not, otherwise he wouldn't be a millionaire."
"The old saying is true, a prodigal son who returns is worth more than gold."
Li Yan and other women's words revealed deep envy. Lin Heng is now everyone's dream spouse or son-in-law.
Everyone looked at Lin's mother with envy. It had only been half a year since Lin Heng became a millionaire, and Lu Hongmei had obviously gained a lot of weight. Her skin was no longer rough, and the clothes she wore were also very nice.
Lin Heng and Xiaoxia soon arrived at the place where the liquor was being made. The place was in the corner of the shed. His brother had built an earthen stove with mud, and a large iron kettle was heating liquor on it.
There are large square tables and benches in the shed. There is no farm work at this time of year, so a group of people gather around the tables, some chatting and some playing cards. It is very lively.
Lin Heng saw from afar that his father Lin Xuan was surrounded by a group of people. They were chatting animatedly, talking about everything from national affairs to trivial matters in the fields.
And his father was undoubtedly the center of attention, being complimented by a group of people and echoing his opinions.
In the past, few people would do this. The reason for this is naturally that his son has become a millionaire and is wearing a red flower and appearing in the newspapers.
Not to mention his parents, even his third uncle is much more respected in the village.
When Lin Heng brought his daughter here, everyone he met on the road greeted him with a smile and took the initiative to say hello.
Every time at this time, Lin Heng couldn't help but sigh at the magic of money.
But he was not a high-profile person. He took Xiaoxia to the corner of the liquor store and sat down.
A few children nearby were playing the game of hitting candy wrappers. Candy was very precious in that era, so candy wrappers became one of the fun things for children to collect.
Patting the candy wrappers means that both parties put a piece of candy wrapper on the table at the same time, and then pat it with their hands. If the two candy wrappers turn over at the same time, then the two candy wrappers belong to you.
If you fail, it is your opponent's turn.
Lin Heng had played this kind of game before, but it was Xiaoxia's first time seeing it. She ate the persimmon cake and watched with curiosity with her big eyes open.
"Do you want to play?"
A child noticed Xiaoxia and asked timidly.
"I don't have candy wrappers!" Xiaoxia shook her head. She didn't even know this game and threw away the candy wrappers after eating the candies.
But she didn't know that many of these children's candy wrappers were thrown away by her after she had eaten them. For the children in the village, going to Lin Heng's house every day to pick up candy wrappers was like treasure hunting.
And there are so many varieties. They were very envious when they saw Xiaoxia, because many of them could only eat one piece of rock candy a month, while Xiaoxia could eat individually wrapped milk candy every two days.
"It's okay, I'll give you one."
A little girl of four or five years old took a candy wrapper from her hand and gave it to Xiaoxia.
"Thanks."
As soon as Xiaoxia took the candy wrapper, a little boy took the initiative to play with her, obviously wanting to bully the newbie first.
Xiaoxia didn't know any of this. She put the candy wrappers down and tapped them gently. Miraculously, both candy wrappers turned over.
“You win!!”
The little girl who was giving Xiaoxia the candy wrappers was even more excited than Xiaoxia. She put the candy wrappers away from Xiaoxia, then looked at the little boy opposite and said, "You lost, you have to keep giving out candy wrappers."
"Just go ahead, I have plenty."
The little boy with dirty hands refused to give in and took another candy wrapper. Xiaoxia failed to take the picture this time.
"It's my turn!"
The little boy was so excited that he slapped the two candy wrappers and turned them over again, but he failed.
Xiaoxia tried again and succeeded. She happily picked up the candy wrapper and turned to look at Lin Heng: "Dad, I won."
"Xiaoxia is amazing."
Lin Heng laughed and said something encouraging.
Xiaoxia thought this new game was really interesting, so she turned around and started playing again.
No one noticed that Xiaoxia was only two years old, while the other children next to her were four or five years old. Not far away, there were a few two or three-year-old children playing and fighting, but they couldn't speak clearly.
Lin Yue walked over from a distance, looked at Lin Heng and said, "Brother, why are you here? I'll just watch over here for you."
"Come and take a look. It would be inappropriate for you to always be away. After all, you've already promised it." Lin Heng said with a grin.
Lin Yue glanced at him and said with a smile: "Then do you want to play cards? Lin Hai is here too."
"Forget it, I'm not interested in this."
Lin Heng smiled and shook his head, thinking that it would be better not to play in such occasions.
"That's fine."
Lin Yue found a bench and sat down, telling Lin Heng some things that happened at the funeral.
Although they are just trivial things, they are still quite interesting to listen to.
After chatting for a while, Xiaoxia suddenly came back, feeling a little depressed: "Dad, I lost all my candy wrappers."
"Mine is gone too."
The little girl who just gave Xiaoxia the candy wrapper was named Liu Qingqing, and she was also a little depressed.
The boys at the table were holding piles of thick candy wrappers with a look of pride on their faces. They were all skilled players. Even though Xiaoxia was lucky enough to win a few times at the beginning, she was quickly beaten back by them.
Lin Heng felt around and found three White Rabbit candies. He looked at the boys and said, "Who wants to exchange a candy wrapper for the candy wrapper?"
"Let me change. I have thirty candy wrappers here."
A little boy was the first to run over and handed the candy wrapper to Lin Heng.
"Okay then." Lin Heng also bargained and gave the candy wrapper to the little boy.
It was too late for the others to change, and they stared at the White Rabbit candy in the little boy's hand.
Lin Heng gave the remaining candies to Xiaoxia and the little girl Liu Qingqing, and then gave all the candy wrappers to Xiaoxia: "Now you have it."
"Dad is so nice." Xiaoxia kissed Lin Heng and was extremely happy.
"for you."
Xiaoxia turned around and took out more than ten candy wrappers and gave them to Liu Qingqing.
Then he turned around and played the candy wrapper slapping game with them. The children looked at Xiaoxia with deep envy, wishing they had a father like Lin Heng.
Because of this candy, Liu Qingqing's liking for Xiaoxia increased greatly.
While Xiaoxia and the others were playing games, the village party secretary came over and chatted with Lin Heng for a while.
After playing here for more than an hour, Lin Heng took Xiaoxia back. Now she only had five candy wrappers left in her hand.
Outside the shed, Lin Wei and all the other ten-year-old kids were setting off firecrackers. They were having a lot of fun playing with the small cannons they picked up that hadn't been ignited.
Not far from the shed, Lin Heng saw several students with backpacks appearing on the road in the distance, and Caiyun was among them.
"You're back so early, is it vacation time?" Lin Heng was stunned and stood there waiting.
"Second brother, Xiaoxia!"
Five minutes later, Caiyun came to Lin Heng carrying a big bag of books, greeted him, and held Xiaoxia in her arms.
"Aunt~"
Xiaoxia happily put her face close to Caiyun. Apart from her parents, she liked Caiyun the most.
"You're on holiday?"
Lin Heng looked at Caiyun and asked with a smile.
Caiyun smiled and nodded: "Well, I just finished the exam this morning. I will go to get the report card next Monday, and then I will be fine."
Lin Heng nodded and said, "Then let's go to my house and let Xiulan make dumplings for you. My parents are helping."
"Okay, thank you, brother."
When Caiyun heard the word dumplings, her eyes lit up immediately. She had been hungry for a long time.
When they returned to the house, Xiulan had already washed the cow tripe and was chatting with Tian Yan.
"Sister-in-law, Sister Tian Yan~"
Caiyun came over holding Xiaoxia and saw that the two of them were very close.
The three of them chatted for a while, and then Xiulan got up to make dumplings for Caiyun.
Before going down, she fried a plate of dumplings.
The fried dumplings are golden and crispy on the outside, and have an extra fried aroma compared to boiled dumplings, just like pan-fried buns, which are irresistible.
Lin Heng and Tian Yan were not hungry and could not help but eat several.
Tian Yan looked at Lin Heng and said, "Lin Heng, you are so lucky. Xiulan's cooking skills are better than my mother's."
"Haha, that's not the case." Lin Heng looked proud.
Tian Yan shook her head: "Fortunately you are being nice to Xiulan now, otherwise you would have to be beaten."
After saying a few words, she started chatting with Caiyun again.
After a while, Xiulan brought Caiyundu a bowl of dumplings.
Caiyun took a bite of the dumpling and was almost moved to tears: "It smells so good, I really want to stay here forever."
This is the second time she has eaten dumplings this year, the last time was during the Lantern Festival.
"I want to eat too."
Xiaoxia is hungry all day long, and she wants to eat when she sees someone eating.
After dinner, the four of them took a deck of cards and played for a while.
In the evening, Lin Heng had another delicious meal of dumplings and felt extremely comfortable.
The next morning, Lin Heng went there early to help.
Today is a serious business, and a lot of people came early in the morning.
The seats started to be filled at around ten o'clock. Lin Heng took a look and found that the occupancy rate was better than expected.
There are six cold dishes, five hot dishes and a soup, so there are 12 dishes on the table, but the ingredients take up most of it.
In the afternoon, Xiulan came with Xiaoxia and her elder sister-in-law Liu Juan, and they all presented ten kilograms of rice as gifts.
Of course there was money, but since everyone was eating food, Xiulan just followed the crowd.
There is almost no waste at banquets in this era. A dish will be finished quickly. If it is not finished in the end, everyone will share it and take it home for other family members to try.
Some places only prepare the meal for women, and no one eats the food. Instead, the food is divided equally and taken home.
It’s not easy to have a good meal these days. If there’s meat and it’s delicious, of course you have to share some with your family.
Xiulan naturally didn't take any. There was too much meat at home to be eaten, and the food she cooked herself tasted better than what was served.
After the ceremony, there was a grand duet of filial piety songs in the evening, and a suona band played suona, which also attracted many people who lived nearby to stay and watch.
At night, the border was officially closed, and the next morning a group of people carried the body and buried it on the mountain behind.
Lin Heng looked at these with a little emotion, shook his head, turned around and went home.
In the blink of an eye, another three days passed and it was the 13th day of the twelfth lunar month, which was the 15th day of the first lunar month in the Gregorian calendar.
It was Monday, the day Caiyun went to collect her report card.
Lin Heng will also go down today. People from the city will come up to buy mountain products today, and they should also bring news about ginseng buyers.
Similarly, wholesalers would also deliver some goods, and sales volume increased significantly during the Chinese New Year.
These all need Lin Heng to deal with.
So early in the morning, Lin Heng got out the carriage and took Caiyun to Chihuangtan Town.
(End of this chapter)
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