Today is the Lantern Festival, and there are lanterns to watch in the evening. Many people plan to come to town for dinner and a stroll. At the afternoon hour of You, West Street suddenly becomes crowded. Lin Yan methodically fries tofu. He had originally planned to sell the three-pan tofu slowly until the evening, but unexpectedly, it's sold out before the hour of Xu.
Lin Yan handed the last portion of tofu to a man, and Zhao Shiyun wiped his sweat. Luckily, he'd reminded customers not to queue when there were still a few left. Naturally, there were some complaints, so Lin Yan could only promise to bring more tofu tomorrow.
After a busy day, Lin Yan collapsed in his chair, too exhausted to move his hands. Zhao Shiyun was packing up his stall and handed him the bamboo tube. He had poured sugar water into the tube this morning, but he had been so busy that he hadn't had time to drink a few sips.
Lin Yan drank the sugar water in big gulps and finished it in a short while. Zhao Shiyun saw that he was drinking so quickly, patted his back to remind him to slow down, and handed him his bamboo tube. Lin Yan waved his hand and said, "I can't drink anymore, you drink it."
By the time Lin Yan recovered, Zhao Shiyun had almost finished packing. Zhou Chunlan borrowed a cart, and together they pushed the things to the detention center and loaded them onto the donkey cart. Today, the detention center extended the curfew to midnight. Usually, the curfew was at 11 p.m., but today, for the Lantern Festival, it was extended to midnight.
"Brother, brother~"
As soon as they pushed the cart back to West Street, they heard Yu Ge'er's voice. Lin Yan and Zhao Shiyun were startled, and looking around, they saw Zhao Qiming and Li Yuemei leading Yu Ge'er towards them.
Yu Ge'er ran in the front, his face full of smiles: "Brother, have you finished selling tofu? Dad and Mom took me to see the lanterns, let's go together~"
Lin Yan and Zhao Shiyun smiled at each other. They were also about to go see the lanterns. Some of the customers who had come to buy the fragrant tofu were already holding lanterns in their hands, which made Lin Yan envious.
Zhou Chunlan greeted her in-laws enthusiastically when she saw them. "Hey, you're here too? Are you here to see the lanterns?"
Li Yuemei stepped forward and asked, "Yes, have you finished selling your vegetables?"
"It's all sold out. I'm just about to go shopping with Yan Ge'er and the others."
"Then let's go together." Li Yuemei and Zhou Chunlan walked side by side and chatted.
*
The crowd walked together, and the streets were lined with all kinds of exquisite lanterns. Yu Ge'er ran around excitedly, and his eyes were full of them.
Li Yuemei shouted behind him: "Don't run, be careful."
Yu Ge'er ran to a stall selling lanterns, looked at a lotus-shaped lantern, and said excitedly, "Mom, I like this one, can you buy it for me~"
Li Yuemei tapped his forehead helplessly, and the vendor took the opportunity to sell him something: "I made these lanterns myself. They're sturdy and won't break easily. They're only ten cents each, which is a great deal."
"Ten cents..." Yu Ge'er muttered softly, feeling it was a bit pricey. Lin Yan pointed to a rabbit-shaped lantern and said to Zhao Shiyun, "Look at that lantern. Is it pretty?" Zhao Shiyun smiled and nodded, "It's pretty."
So Lin Yan bargained with the boss and said, "Boss, we want two, can you give us a discount?"
"This..." The boss hesitated.
Lin Yan continued, "Boss, your lanterns are so beautiful. If we take them out, there will definitely be a lot of people asking about them. Then we can say we bought them from you." Yu Ge'er also chimed in, "Yes, boss, your lanterns are beautiful. Please sell them to us."
The vendor was so pleased. "Okay, sixteen cents, I'll give you two. Which one do you want?"
Yu Ge'er was happy, "I want Lotus! What about you, Brother Fu?"
"I want the rabbit one. What about you guys?"
Both mothers shook their heads and said, "We don't want it." They were reluctant to buy so much.
When they reached the riverside bridge, there was a lantern riddle guessing activity. Zhao Qiming was eager to try and led everyone forward.
Zhao Qiming looked at the riddles. Some of the simpler ones had already been guessed. He looked for a moment and guessed two. One riddle was: "A bite tore through the clothes, leaving behind a sorrowful feeling." The answer was: "Sorrow."
Another riddle is: half green and half purple. It also uses one character, and the answer is: plain.
When Yu Ge'er saw that his father had guessed two, he clapped his hands vigorously. The boss smiled and asked, "Congratulations, everyone. Do you want to guess more?"
Lin Yan also joined in the fun, preparing to guess two. His father had sent him to school when he was young, so he could still read and understand simple words. He looked at the riddle and read: "A jar with two mouths, only for fire, not wine."
Yu Ge'er touched his chin and said, "Teapot? A teapot has two spouts."
Zhao Shiyun laughed at him: "Are you putting fire in a teapot? You little fool." Yu Ge'er refused to agree: "Then what do you say it is?"
Zhao Shiyun didn't think of it for a moment, and then he heard Lin Yan answer: "It's a lantern, right?"
The boss clapped his hands and said, "By the way, this young man is really smart."
Lin Yan smiled sheepishly. "Then let me guess this: a face but no mouth, feet but no hands. Listening to people talk, drinking with them. This is a table, right?"
He had just seen this, so he guessed it quickly.
The boss nodded and said, "Yes, yes, it's a table."
Everyone stopped guessing as they wanted to go somewhere else, so the boss handed them the lanterns they had won. They were four small and simple lanterns. Now everyone had a lantern.
After playing tirelessly, they found a snack stand and sat down. They ordered some steaming, sweetly scented glutinous rice dumplings (yuanxiao). These dumplings were filled with sesame seeds, and the filling flowed onto their spoons with each bite, leaving a rich sesame flavor. As they ate, they chatted about family matters, their laughter filling the air.
At this moment, fireworks suddenly burst into the sky. The colorful fireworks lit up the night sky, and Yu Ge'er clapped his hands and cheered excitedly.
The pedestrians on the street stopped and looked up at the fireworks, which were a riot of colour, bursting into the sky and lighting up the couples on the street.
Perhaps they were lovers, perhaps they were family. Whatever it was, at this moment, everyone was together, sharing the joy of the holiday, and all fatigue seemed to dissipate. Under the fireworks, their smiles were brighter than the lanterns.
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