allonlinenovel Chapter 169 Going to the County Town to See the Lanterns
Chapter 169 Going to the County Town to See the Lanterns
Gu Yonghe and Yang Jiaan have been married for more than seven years, but they only have a son and a daughter. Their daughter Yang Liu is six years old this year, and their son Yang Baozhu is four years old this year.
It is worth mentioning that Yang Jiaan’s old father is somewhat biased towards boys, which can be seen from the names he gave to his two children.
Fortunately, although the old man secretly favors his grandson, he would not treat his granddaughter harshly in daily life, so Gu Yonghe turned a blind eye.
She lived a comfortable life and didn't take it seriously even though her family was a little poor. After all, these days, at least nine out of ten families were extremely poor.
Gu Xing's daughter Fang Chunxi is in a similar situation to her. Both of their in-laws are not wealthy, but their husbands and the elders in their in-laws are easy to get along with and don't cause trouble.
Fang Chunxi's husband Chen Erhu has both parents and a married sister, but his mother and sister are both easy to get along with and honest people. They will not make things difficult for Fang Chunxi or treat her harshly.
This time when Fang Chunxi returned to her parents' home, she brought her husband and one-and-a-half-year-old son with her. Her son's nickname was Shuanzi. He looked dark and thin, as if he was malnourished, but he was still in good spirits.
The three families got together and had lunch at Gu Tong's house, and then had dinner at Gu Xing's house. Fang Chunxi and Gu Yonghe then followed their husbands back to their own homes.
They all married nearby, and if they left before the sun set, by the time they got home, it would have been just getting dark, so they wouldn't have to walk at night.
Lin Shuzhen and Jia Guizhi both stayed at their parents' homes for one night before returning. Their two families arrived home in the afternoon of the third day of the Lunar New Year and brought back generous gifts from the Lin and Jia families respectively.
On the fifth day of the first lunar month, villagers welcome the God of Wealth and eat dumplings according to custom, praying for wealth and prosperity in the new year.
At this point, the frequent celebrations came to an end.
It was not until the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month, the last major event of the new year, that everywhere became lively again.
As agreed upon before the New Year, Gu Wenxuan and Bai Jingzhou took their families to the big house in the county town on the 14th day of the first lunar month.
This time, Gu Wenxuan not only brought Mr. Gu and Mrs. Li, but also brought Father and Mother Jia and Jia Yuelan.
In order to protect the elderly, the weak, women and children in the family, Gu Wenxuan also specially invited Fang Youfu, Fang Yougui, Fang Youshun, Fang Youliang and Fang Yougen to accompany her.
Among the five brothers, two have been married for a long time and three are still unmarried. Unlike Fang Youcai, it is not easy to just leave his new wife at home.
Considering that the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is a day for family reunion for people of that era, when Gu Wenxuan approached the Fang family, she directly offered a high reward of two taels of silver per person.
It's just for two days, and not only can they earn two taels of silver, but they can also eat and play together. How could the Fang brothers not want to go?
Although their family's life has not been as difficult as before since last year, it is still a long way from being easy. They would have to be crazy to choose to refuse such a well-paid job.
The five brothers of the Fang family agreed readily, and Gu Wenxuan gave the money happily too.
Before she left, she gave them the two taels of silver she had promised them, and assigned her four younger brothers and Bai Jingzhou's younger brother Bai Jingheng to be directly cared for by the five brothers of the Fang family.
The fifth and fourth children of the Gu family, who were only six and seven years old, were assigned to Fang Youfu and Fang Yougui for special care. The eight-year-old Bai Jingheng was assigned to the seventeen-year-old Fang Youliang. The ten-year-old Gu Wenche was assigned to the sixteen-year-old Fang Youshun. The twelve-year-old Gu Wenhai was assigned to the fifteen-year-old Fang Yougen.
In addition, Bai Jingzhou's sister Bai Jingxin was taken care of by her personally, while the older generation was taken care of by Gu Yongming, Jia Guizhi, Jia Yuelan and Bai Jingzhou.
As for Ning Cuizhi and Lin Shuzhen, they both have their own husbands, and the two adults can take care of each other and protect themselves without any problem.
If it really doesn't work, with Gu Wenxuan's ability, she can carry Bai Jingxin on her back and provide emergency assistance in case of an emergency.
After the most important preparations were done, Gu Wenxuan and Bai Jingzhou boldly led everyone to the county town.
The county town is different from the village. The village only "scatters lanterns" on the fifteenth day.
Scattering lanterns is a traditional activity here. The villagers will prepare small pieces of wood dipped in oil in advance, and then on the night of the 15th, they will light the small pieces of wood with an open flame and scatter them on the road one by one.
This kind of "light" is not as bright, delicate and beautiful as the lanterns in the county town, but the long road is covered with dotted lights, which complement the stars and moonlight in the sky. The mysterious and unique beauty is actually very shocking.
Neither Gu Wenxuan nor Bai Jingzhou had ever seen this unique beauty, but in the memories of the little original owner that they inherited, there were heartwarming scenes of the villagers scattering lanterns together.
The adults scattered the lanterns step by step, and the children ran back and forth cheering. The cool night wind seemed to be less cold and biting because of the dotted warm lights.
Gu Wenxuan's family made a private agreement with Bai Jingzhou that next year, they must stay in the village and personally participate in this interesting lantern-scattering activity.
***
Merchants in the county town had already begun preparing for the Lantern Festival after the tenth day of the first lunar month. Those who already lived in the county town could enjoy the lanterns all over the streets from the thirteenth day of the first lunar month.
Gu Wenxuan and her companions set out from home after lunch and arrived at the county town before sunset on the fourteenth. After having dinner in a big house in the county town, they had nothing to do, so they followed the example of others and went to the street to watch the lights.
Of course, they didn't walk too far. They just walked around two streets near their home, just as a walk to digest their food.
The lanterns and crowds of people filling the streets, as well as the various snacks emitting hot and fragrant steam, all deeply attracted everyone's attention.
For most of them, it was their first time to come to the county and see the lanterns, so even though it was only the night of the fourteenth, and the river of lights that had not yet revealed its most dazzling faces to the viewers was enough to make them feel fascinated and amazed.
But no matter how obsessed they were, or how amazed they were, everyone still kept in mind what they needed to do.
None of the people who were responsible for protection were fully absorbed in watching the lights. The Fang brothers, Gu Wenxuan, and Jia Yuelan all simply held the arms of the people they were supposed to protect to prevent them from getting separated.
The people they protected were also very careful to keep close to their protectors at all times. Everyone formed a circle, with the elderly, women and children standing as close to the inside as possible.
When they came across something they wanted to eat, such as wontons, rice balls, fried cakes, etc., Gu Wenxuan and Bai Jingzhou would take everyone to sit down at the simple wooden table next to the stall, and then ask the store owner to give them a few small portions so that they could try something new.