Chapter 132 131. My dear husband, help me
"A Sichuan Restaurant" closed quickly today.
The Lantern Festival is an auspicious day when the Emperor of Heaven descends to the world to bestow blessings. Lei Li did not want to constrain the employees in the store, so he discussed with Chen Xiangrang and closed the store early, giving them half a day of paid leave.
The shop assistants and the chefs in the kitchen were overjoyed that they could go out and have fun without having to work and had money. They took the gift boxes and went home one after another.
Lei Li and Zhou Yi also returned home.
It was still early, so the whole family had a happy reunion dinner at home, ate some sweet rice dumplings, and then went out to play together.
The streets are busier tonight than on New Year's Eve.
People need to stay home to celebrate New Year's Eve, but not on Lantern Festival. Every household comes out. It can be said that the streets are deserted and there are so many people that you will be squeezed away if you are not careful.
"Sister Huaer and Xiaomu must hold on to Daddy and Grandpa's hands tightly. Don't let go, understand?"
Liu Guo instructed softly.
Sister Huaer nodded vigorously, patted her chest and said confidently, "Don't worry, Daddy, Sister Huaer will definitely hold on tightly and will keep a close eye on Xiaomu!"
"Xiao Mu too."
Xiao Liumu said quietly and positively, "Xiaomu will also hold Daddy's hand tightly and not let go. Xiaomu will also keep a close eye on Sister and not let her run around."
"Sister won't run around!"
Sister Huaer held her head high, thinking that she was an adult and would definitely not be dazzled by the world. She also felt that Xiaomu was her younger brother and was still young and weak, so she had to take good care of her younger brother and not let him get lost!
Liu Guo was amused by Sister Huaer's elder sister look, and Liu Qishu also laughed. He touched Sister Huaer's head and praised her, making Sister Huaer feel flattered.
"Little Bao will come and play with us later, and Sister Huaer has to keep an eye on him."
"Of course!"
Sister Huaer nodded reassuringly. After a moment's thought, she ran over to Xiaohua and said, "Sister Xiaohua, hold onto Huaer's hand too. You're so pretty, and if you don't hold onto her, she'll be snatched away by some bad guys!"
Sister Huaer heard from her father that some people would take advantage of the New Year's Day when there were many people around to snatch children or beautiful boys and girls, and then sell them off, and they would never be found again.
"Sister will hold Hua'er's hand tightly!"
Xiaohua also smiled and nodded, and couldn't help but pinch her sister Huaer's cute little face, "Huaer, you must protect your sister and brother tonight."
"Don't worry!"
Sister Huaer held her head high and chest out, just like a majestic rooster with its tail feathers raised.
"Baby!"
Seeing Zhou Yi holding the baby out, Sister Huaer flew over like a swallow, looking at the baby in the cradle with bright eyes, "Baby, do you want to go out and play with us too?"
"yes."
Zhou Yi smiled.
The baby in his arms heard the sound and turned his head to babble towards Sister Huaer. His big black eyes rolled around, and he seemed a little unhappy that he didn't see Xiaobao. He pouted his little mouth and blew a bubble.
Lantern Festival.
The baby was dressed much prettier than usual. She wore a gardenia yellow necklace adorned with a jade pendant shaped like a small fish, and a silver longevity locket. The silver bracelets on her hands made her arms look plump.
So do others.
Wearing gold and silver, and brocade and colorful clothes.
Apart from some uncomfortable stiffness and crampedness, they were like the family members of a wealthy family traveling together, and were accompanied by strong guards and clever maids.
Because there were many people in the family, Lei Li bought another horse and a matching carriage, and hired another coachman. The twelve people in the family sat in two carriages.
The baby had enough milk before going out, so it's no big deal for him to go out and play for a while. He is now in Xiaobao's arms, playing and talking with his favorite brother Xiaobao, and he doesn't care whether he has milk to drink if he gets hungry.
Because they wanted to please the emperor, today was much more lively than New Year's Eve. As soon as I went out, I saw fireworks exploding in the starry sky, one here and one there, colorful and brilliant.
We watched fireworks all the way along the way, and even Sister Huaer, who was the most lively, was tired of it.
The streets were crowded with people.
The carriage was halfway through its journey and could not move further, so Lei Li and the others got off the carriage. After reuniting with Miao Fulang's family, they walked around hand in hand in groups of three or four.
The streets were bustling with activity.
As essential festival programs, dragon and lion dances are of course a must.
The head is made of wood and the tail is made of silk, the eyes are plated with gold and the teeth are covered with silver. The dancers under the dragon and lion dance with their sweaters swinging their ears, shaking their heads, blinking their eyelashes and wagging their tails, and every move is lifelike.
Not only the children were attracted, but the adults could not help but stop to watch, cheering and throwing copper coins and silver into the basin of the dancers wearing big-head masks and holding sunflower fans.
The lanterns are also far more numerous and gorgeous than those around New Year's Eve, like a dazzling array of flowers.
There are peony bud lanterns, golden and red phoenix lanterns, blue and green fish lanterns, flowing pearl umbrella lanterns, Tianguan Blessing pot lanterns, and large flower stands with lanterns connected end to end, lighting up the night sky, brilliant and magnificent, which is a spectacular sight.
Even the attire of the wives and husbands, girls and boys, was different: apricot yellow, willow green, and peach red, colorful silver hairpins and golden hairpins, and the singing and laughter of orioles from far and near made the unmarried men and young men stare and blush.
Eight streets, nine alleys, nine thoroughfares and three markets.
The music and singing were in full swing, and the drums and gongs were deafening.
Lei Li and his companions were amazed and sighed again and again. They walked slowly while holding the hands of the children's families to protect themselves from being separated by the crowd.
Lei Li saw the lantern riddle guessers. He had won a lantern for free last time, and this time he got addicted to it again, so he pushed Zhou Yi there.
The stall owner was a middle-aged man with a amiable face. His lantern stall was the largest on the street. He even had dragon and lion lanterns, each half a person's height, that could move and even blink. Seeing them, Sister Huaer and the other children exclaimed in amazement.
"I want that dragon lantern."
Lei Li leaned close to Zhou Yi's ear and smiled softly, "My dear husband, can you help me win one back?"
"That dragon lantern shouldn't be a winning item."
Zhou Yi also moved closer to Lei Li. The street was bustling with noise, and it was difficult to hear what was said if he was not close enough. "I'll give it a try. You can pick out another one that you can win back, or buy it?"
"I want you to win."
Lei Li kissed him on the ear and saw his ears turn red as he wished. Then he smiled and pointed to another little white rabbit lantern, "Let's go with that one. The rabbit looks like you."
Obedient and submissive.
Timid and easily frightened.
"good."
Zhou Yi didn't know why the rabbit looked like him, but since Lei Li wanted him to, of course he had to give it a try.
The little white rabbit lantern is very simple in style and there are not many riddles to guess, so it is easy to get it.
Seeing this, Sister Huaer even called out to her cousin-in-law to win one for her, "I want that little toad, the ugly one, I'll take it back to scare Dahe and the others."
"Why do you, a girl, scare people every day?"
The uncle laughed and scolded him, but when Zhou Yi won the ugly toad lantern, he took it and gave it to Sister Huaer, "Don't scare people, just play with it."
He also asked Xiao Liumu and Xiaobao, "If there is a lantern you want, let your cousin Ayi win it back, or if you want to buy one, Grandpa will buy it for you."
Xiao Liumu asked for a small carp lantern.
Xiaobao wanted a palace lantern with the inscription "Heaven Official's Blessing" on it, which was more complicated and beautiful, so his uncle bought it for him. He also bought Xiaohua a square lantern with a picture of a lady and peony flowers on it, and Xiaohua liked it.
Another dragon dance team came over at this time.
The mighty golden dancing dragon and the domineering red dancing dragon competed with each other for the round gem. They struggled for a while, and sometimes they bumped into each other. Sometimes they opened their mouths and blinked as if cursing, and sometimes they wagged their tails and shook their heads as if they were proud.
“Ahhh!”
The baby was so fascinated by the show that he clapped his hands and laughed so hard that his gums were visible.
Seeing that the baby liked dragon dancing, Zhou Yi bought him a small dragon lantern, which was only the size of a palm. It was obviously made by the stall owner for children to play with.
The small dragon lantern is very delicate. It can swim and blink like the big dragon lantern. There is a small wick inside, but it is not lit at this time.
After the baby got the dragon lantern, he stopped watching the dragon dance and started babbling with his eyes curved. He played with it for a while and then gave the dragon lantern to Xiaobao.
"Give me?"
"Oh!"
Xiaobao was flattered. Seeing that the baby was having fun, he thought the baby must like it very much. However, he didn't expect that the baby would not give it to his father or his grandpa, but to himself.
Xiao Bao felt around himself and found nothing to give to the baby. After thinking for a while, he took off the gold pendant from his neck, raised his little face and asked Lei Li,
"Dad Li, can Xiaobao give this pendant to his younger brother Shengjiang?"
This small fish gold pendant was given to him by Lei Li, so naturally he had to ask Lei Li first.
"sure."
Lei Li smiled and nodded, then pretended to be regretful and said, "But Xiaobao only has this one. If I give it to my brother, what will Xiaobao do if he doesn't have it anymore?"
"No, then there is nothing."
Xiaobao shook his head indifferently. Instead, he was happy that he could give a gift to his brother. His eyes curved, "My brother gave Xiaobao his little dragon lantern. My brother has nothing left. I want to be good to my brother, too."
"But you can buy more, brother. There are so many lanterns here, some even more beautiful than the dragon lantern."
"Xiaobao can buy another pendant, but this dragon lantern was given to me by my younger brother. It's different from the other lanterns. If my younger brother wants to buy another dragon lantern, Xiaobao and my younger brother will both have one."
Xiaobao felt very happy.
He has a small dragon lantern, and his brother also has one. They all have small dragon lanterns.
Xiaobao hung the gold pendant around the baby's neck. The baby saw that it was a gift from his brother Xiaobao. He grabbed the little goldfish and loved it so much that he laughed so hard that he spit out bubbles of saliva.
Zhou Yi was afraid that the baby would grab the gold pendant and put it in his mouth, but when he saw that the baby was just grabbing it and not eating it, he relaxed and hugged the baby tightly.
There are more and more people here now, so you have to be careful of human traffickers or people who steal things.
The night gradually deepened.
The important scene is about to begin.
"The Emperor of Heaven is here!"
"The Emperor is here!"
"Where is it?"
"Get out of the way! The Emperor of Heaven is coming!"
No one knew where the words came from, but the crowds retreated on both sides like a tide, and everyone looked forward with sidelong glances, expecting the arrival of the Heavenly Emperor.
He wears a prime minister's hat with ruyi wings, five long wisps of beard, a red robe embroidered with dragons, a jade belt, holds a ruyi in his arms, and leans against the word "Fu" with clusters of flowers. Above his head and under his feet are auspicious clouds and five bats surrounding him.
The person who came was none other than the Great Emperor of Heaven.
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