Chapter 209: Lantern Festival

"Anning, Auntie is making hand-pulled noodles this afternoon, remember to come back and eat with Youjian."

"Okay, Auntie!"

"Lin Sicheng, drive slowly on the road!"

"Got it!"

Saying goodbye one by one, Wang Youjian even gave a proper bow.

The three of them went downstairs and got into the car. Lin Sicheng started the engine and drove out of the residential compound.

Just as they turned onto the street, Ye Anning turned around: "Hand it over!"

Wang Youjian blinked his eyes: "Sis, hand over what?"

"You're playing dumb? The Red Envelope, of course!"

The little Pangzi froze for a moment, his face turning green: "Ye Anning, does your word count or not? Who said this morning that as long as I came with you today, the Red Envelopes would all be mine?"

That was true, she had indeed said that. But she hadn't expected the Red Envelopes given by Lin Sicheng's grandfather, father, and mother to be so thick.

Each one contained at least one thousand, and all three of them had given one.

Three thousand yuan—with Wang Youjian's short-sightedness, he would spend it all in less than a month.

Ye Anning wouldn't waste words with him, reaching out her hand: "Wang Youjian, are you giving it or not?"

The little Pangzi dodged backward hard and shouted loudly: "Senior Brother, aren't you going to do something about this?"

Lin Sicheng was stunned: What kind of talk was that? Was it his turn to manage things now?

He thought for a moment: "Let Youjian keep it!"

If he let Wang Youjian keep it, he would definitely buy a pile of junk back...

With this thought, Ye Anning didn't make a sound, but glared at Wang Youjian again, meaning she would deal with him when they got home.

How could she wait until they got home?

The little Pangzi clutched his pocket and huddled closer behind Lin Sicheng: "Senior Brother, can you drop me off at home first? You can come pick me up when you're done watching the folk performances and the lanterns, and are ready to eat the hand-pulled noodles."

"Ah, you're not going to watch the folk performances anymore?"

"I'm afraid my sister will snatch my money... Senior Brother, don't disbelieve me, my sister is really capable of doing that!"

Lin Sicheng rolled his eyes and said nothing.

She was indeed capable of it: if they were at home, the little Pangzi would have already received several slaps...

Ye Anning's eyes showed anger, full of threats: "When you left this morning, you even said you wanted to guess lantern riddles and win a lantern?"

The little Pangzi looked smug: "With three thousand yuan, I can buy a truckload of lanterns."

Ye Anning was speechless, and Lin Sicheng laughed out loud: "There are martial arts performances in today's folk show, you're not going to that either?"

The little Pangzi shook his head vigorously: Never mind martial arts performances, even if an Ultraman fell from the sky today, he couldn't go.

Because Dan Wangshu had specifically instructed him: go home after delivering the gifts and paying the New Year's calls, and absolutely do not be a third wheel for his sister...

Lin Sicheng could roughly guess why, but he didn't point it out.

Just before getting out of the car, the little Pangzi didn't forget to instruct: "Senior Brother, the ones you buy really aren't interesting. If you have time, help me win one back!"

Lin Sicheng nodded with a smile: "Rest assured!"

Afraid that he would run off with the money, Ye Anning personally escorted the little Pangzi upstairs.

Returning to the car, she fastened her seatbelt: "Where to!"

"Xingqing Palace!" Lin Sicheng turned the steering wheel, "I'll take you to see something exciting!"

It was just a park, at most they would see dragon and lion dances, how exciting could it be?

Adjusting her seat, she leaned lazily against the car window.

Tomorrow was the Lantern Festival, and the whole city was performing folk shows; there were many cars, many people, and even more lanterns.

Just like grapes, Bright Red lanterns were lined up one after another, strung together in clusters, hanging all over the city walls.

From time to time, one could see dragon dance teams, with gongs and drums sounding to the heavens.

Following behind was a row of dry-land boats, with old ladies with silver hair puffing on tobacco pipes, sparks sizzling out.

After that was a paper-pasted donkey, with a woman wearing rouge riding on top to drive it, and a man with a painted ugly face pulling the reins hard.

The two and the donkey were locked in a struggle, walking two steps and retreating three; although the two performers didn't speak, their expressions were comical and their movements exaggerated, making the onlookers laugh out loud.

Ye Anning looked at the donkey, then at Lin Sicheng, then at the donkey, then at Lin Sicheng.

Then she covered her mouth and laughed: "Lin Sicheng, look, does it look like you?"

Lin Sicheng glanced at her: "It really looks quite like you, wearing a black coat and a flower on your head!"

Ye Anning touched the pearl hairpin on her hair, then glanced at the black coat she was wearing, and gave him a pat.

They only watched during the traffic jam and didn't get out of the car. A little while later, the traffic loosened up, and they drove and stopped until they reached Xingqing Palace.

During the time of Wu Zetian, this was the residence of Li Longji when he was a vassal prince; after he ascended the throne, it was expanded, and Tang Xuanzong and Yang Yuhuan lived here for a long time, making it one of the three great inner palaces of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

The site was originally quite large, but later Jiaotong University took up most of it, and the remaining small portion was turned into a park.

It was one of the landmark scenic spots in Beilin District; every year during the New Year folk performances, this place was a sub-venue, and it was incredibly interesting.

The area in front of the huge park was full of people, the center was packed tight, and all kinds of small stalls were set up all around. Smoke and fire swirled, and there was a dazzling array of goods.

Before even getting out of the car, one could hear laughter and screams, and from afar, one could see tall horses carrying military generals shuttling back and forth.

Ye Anning looked carefully: "One holding a mace, one holding a whip, these are Qin Qiong and Yuchi Jingde... Huh, a horse folk show?"

"More than just horses?" Lin Sicheng locked the car, "This is the horse-mounted martial folk show from Wugong County, look closely?"

Before the words had faded, suddenly a drum sounded, and the two military generals flicked their reins and charged at each other.

As they crossed paths, with two "Clang! Clang!" sounds, the whip and the mace collided, splashing out two trails of sparks.

Ye Anning was stunned: "Are they made of iron?"

The latest novels are first published here!

"It's wood wrapped in iron, with flint inlaid on top!"

"Oh, oh..."

Ye Anning nodded vigorously, watching without blinking.

After roughly ten rounds of fighting, the two military officers exited the stage, and following the sound of a hair-raising suona, a group of strange things jumped out.

The suona sounded once, and the group jumped forward in unison; the onlookers screamed in unison. The suona sounded again, they jumped forward in unison again, and the surrounding crowd screamed again.

Most of them were women and children, and there were even children crying. Immediately after, there was another burst of laughter and scolding.

Lin Sicheng stood on his tiptoes, chuckling happily.

There were quite a lot of people, and Ye Anning couldn't see very clearly, so she moved a little closer. When she saw clearly what it was, she was stunned.

Then her face turned pale, and she let out a "Yah!"

One child had a pair of scissors stuck in their eyeball, the eyeball burst, and blood flowed straight down.

There was also an old man with a hand-span-wide kitchen knife hacked into his forehead, sunk in more than halfway, his face covered in blood, and rotting flesh turning outward...

Like this, there were a full seven or eight of them, each one bloodier and more terrifying than the last.

Lin Sicheng bared his teeth in a grin: "Is it exciting?"

Ye Anning turned around and hit him.

"This is the Blood Shehuo of Baoji; haven't you seen it during the New Year?"

"Uncle only stayed in Baoji for two years, and every year during the New Year, we had to return to Beijing. A few days after the New Year, I had to start school, so how would I have the chance to see it?"

The more Ye Anning watched, the more creeped out she felt, and she patted Lin Sicheng again, "It's a good thing we didn't bring Youjian!"

Lin Sicheng let out a "Ha": "Would Junior Brother be afraid of this?"

"Of course he wouldn't be afraid!" Ye Anning glared at him, "But as long as he sees it, he will definitely pester you to teach him. Would you let him learn it or not?"

Lin Sicheng was stunned: come to think of it, that's true?

Wang Youjian loved tinkering with these strange things the most.

The Blood Shehuo didn't perform for long; after circling roughly twice, they went off. Then came the stilt walking, iron cores, and flat-table floats.

The most spectacular was the fire show from Bailu Plain; one rod of iron flowers shot into the sky, and another followed in quick succession, rod after rod connected, endless and continuous.

The sky was full of broken stars, as if the night dome had fallen to the ground...

Ye Anning's eyes shone with brilliance, infatuated and intoxicated: "It's a pity it's not nighttime!"

"This is a touring performance; there will definitely be one at night, and there will be lanterns then, even more beautiful!"

Ye Anning shook her head without even thinking: how could watching lanterns be more important than eating hand-pulled noodles?

Assuming she just disliked the crowds, Lin Sicheng didn't ask again.

After the iron flowers were finished, the rest wasn't worth watching, so Lin Sicheng and Ye Anning entered the park.

Several large halls, corridors, pavilions, and the trees by the lake were all hung with lanterns.

Big ones and small ones, round ones and flat ones, animals and flowers, historical figures and stories.

After scanning the area roughly, Lin Sicheng thought about which one to pick for Wang Youjian, and then, he suddenly froze.

Under the Chenxiang Pavilion not far away, Gu Ming was looking up with a big head, his face full of sorrow...

(End of this chapter)