The two, unfamiliar with the area and without any destination, wandered around aimlessly and somehow managed to immerse themselves in the era, enjoying the New Year's Eve of 1539.
After driving around for about an hour, I saw a large crowd gathered in front of a grand house, and the scene was quite lively.
"Let's go take a look. We're sure to find out something if there are lots of people!" Li Qianxia pulled Yang Qinglan forward.
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"You said the same thing when we were watching the scene of someone breaking a boulder on their chest." Yang Qinglan was being pulled along, her face, as smooth as ice and snow, bearing a slightly helpless yet serene smile.
She didn't stop them. With no clear goal and no information to gather, the only thing left to do was broaden her horizons.
The heavy snowfall has stopped, and children are having a snowball fight by the roadside, crunching the snow under their feet.
Approaching the crowd, Li Qianxia, relying on her modern height, the eyesight and hearing of a player, and by peering around, figured out what was going on.
It turned out to be a wealthy family who had set up a stall in front of their house. Children who went up to the stall could get a handful of candy, a bag of melon seeds, and a Yongle Tongbao coin if they could recite a poem about New Year's Eve.
Adults have higher requirements; they must compose poems, lyrics, or couplets on the spot, or write a good piece of calligraphy. As long as they pass the test, they can get one or two taels of silver, a couplet, and two New Year pictures.
“I’m an expert at this!” Li Qianxia excitedly shook Yang Qinglan’s arm.
Yang Qinglan never expected her to have this ability; she truly deserves to be the twin sister of the top liberal arts student in Mingcheng.
"Are you writing poems, lyrics, couplets, or calligraphy?" she asked.
Li Qianxia remained silent, lost in thought.
Yang Qinglan didn't disturb her. She looked around and listened to the conversations around her. The adults were helping the children come up with ideas. One child was very shy and didn't dare to go up even when his parents encouraged him. He was holding onto his mother's skirt.
A group of scholars were shaking their heads in deep thought, just like Li Qianxia.
“I’ve got it!” Li Qianxia pushed her way forward. “Wang Anshi has a poem called ‘New Year’s Day’.”
The sister-in-law quickly grabbed her sister-in-law; if they had been a moment later, their whole family would have lost face in this Ming Dynasty.
"What's wrong?" Li Qianxia asked, still looking puzzled.
“Only children can recite poems,” Yang Qinglan said in a low voice, sounding both helpless and amused.
"I'm just a child!"
"...You're twenty-one this year. In this day and age, if you were to have children, you might already be a mother of three or four."
Li Qianxia pouted and let out a soft snort through her delicate nose, seemingly quite indignant that she wasn't a child anymore.
While the two were talking, some children had already walked out of the crowd.
He was wearing new clothes, but you could tell from the style that he was from a poor family.
"What are you going to carry?" the stall manager asked with a smile.
"Poetry," the child answered crisply.
"Okay, you carry it."
"New Year's Day, by Wang Anshi of the Song Dynasty: Amidst the crackling of firecrackers, the old year departs; the spring breeze brings warmth to the Tusu wine."
The child's voice was clear and bright, and he swayed his head, making it hard to believe that he had actually returned to the Ming Dynasty.
When the child reached the phrase "thousands of doors and households," Yang Qinglan smiled and whispered to Li Qianxia, "Look, this is what a child should be like."
"Thousands of doors and households... thousands of doors and households..." The child's hands were clenched tightly behind his back, his whole body tense.
"Everyone, be quiet! Reminding me doesn't count!" the butler shouted, forbidding the adults from joining in the fun.
"You're far behind me." Li Qianxia didn't know what she was so proud of, and then used the 'sound transmission' skill that Yang Qinglan had researched from "Tight Folded Lonely Style - Hallucination" over the past half month.
"Thousands of households...the sun shines brightly! New peachwood charms replace the old!"
"Great!" The adults clapped enthusiastically.
The steward took out candy, melon seeds, and a copper coin, and handed them to the child as if awarding a prize.
The child grabbed the item and ran off, mouth agape, eager to show it off to his friends and family, but was grabbed by the shoulder midway.
"Hey." The child looked up and saw a very pretty older sister.
"I've helped you, give me the candy." Li Qianxia spread her hands and teased him with a smile.
The child recognized her voice; it was the person who had just reminded him.
The child hesitated for a moment, reluctant to part with his own candy, but not daring to refuse her. He could only lick the candy and then reluctantly hand it to Li Qianxia.
"Go away! Take it away!" Li Qianxia said with a laugh.
The child took off running. He didn't understand why the other person didn't want him, but what did that have to do with him?
Children sharing a piece of candy is a common practice, not just in ancient times, but also in some rural areas today.
Some of the reasons are poverty, while others are simply that children don't care much about distance and hygiene.
“This kid, trying to pull this trick on me? I’ve been using this trick for ages, and my brother can only eat my saliva every time.” Li Qianxia boasted to Yang Qinglan.
The attention of those around her gradually shifted away from reciting and writing poetry, and their eyes frequently turned to Li Qianxia.
Her long, black, satin-like hair, her captivating eyes when she smiled, her bright red lips, and her delicate face accentuated by a red dress.
I just used my magic ('ability') to disable the spell that conceals my appearance and demeanor.
Yang Qinglan glanced at her, and Li Qianxia, upon hearing her voice, quickly cast another spell on herself.
Suddenly, the crowd stirred.
"Huh? Where's the candy?"
"The candy flew away!"
The two quickly looked over and saw that the candies that had been piled on the paper were flying into the sky one by one.
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