Baozi Xishi's Struggle

After leaving the temple, the scene outside is completely different.

In Guang'an Temple, the scene was solemn and the people were all sincere and serious, burning gold ingots for their deceased relatives, burning incense and praying for blessings, and offering Yulan basins. Children were afraid to laugh and play too much.

After leaving the temple, there were not many people coming over to offer sacrifices. The area in front of the temple was no longer crowded with people. Instead, a circle of stalls were set up in an orderly manner around the empty courtyard. They were colorful and very beautiful.

Under the guidance of the monks, the vendors set up stalls around the venue, leaving a large open space at the entrance to the courtyard and in front of the temple gate. From what people around said, the dragon and lion dance teams would come over to compete in a while.

Now the middle of the venue is still empty, and one can hear the hawkers shouting hard around.

"The big candied dates are so sweet and crunchy!"

"Radish is better than pear, spicy and crispy, come on!

"Big crispy lotus root, so crunchy!"

"The candied date cake is hot!"

The long, crisp, and rhythmic tune, which was shouted out on one side and continued on the other side, sounded like a singing competition and was very pleasant to hear.

Shen Yu looked at the lively temple fair, holding Maodou's hand tightly. This was the first time she brought the child out to play. Maodou was only five or six years old, at the age of being naughty and active. If he really ran away, she would not be able to explain to Mrs. Liu.

In modern times, stories about human traffickers kidnapping children have been made into movies and TV series. The heartbroken parents looking for their children and the children who were priced after being kidnapped made Shen Yu shed many tears while watching the dramas, and left a deep impression in her mind.

When Mrs. Liu mentioned the beagle, Shen Yu held Maodou's hand, which was twisting like a fat loach. She couldn't help but feel a little regretful. She shouldn't have been soft-hearted when she saw Maodou was about to cry and brought him out to play.

Shen Yu took two steps and looked at Maodou beside her, jumping excitedly. The little hand was restless in her hand. After thinking for a while, she stopped and squatted down, saying to Maodou as gently as possible: "Maodou, there are so many people at the temple fair. It's also the first time for Sister Shen to come here. You should go shopping with me. Tell me if you like anything. Let's go and see it together and buy it together. Don't break free and run over alone, okay?"

Maodou's eyes were fixed on a row of small windmills with wind whistles that were spinning happily on the stall next to him. He looked as if he hadn't heard anything at all and twisted his body this way and that. Shen Yu looked at him and stood up helplessly, holding Maodou's hand more tightly with his right hand.

She raised her left hand to smooth the loose hair on her forehead, and the silk ribbon wrapped around her wrist slipped out.

Before going out today, Yutao handed over a braided silk ribbon, a long and thin ribbon with a bamboo leaf-shaped knot made of green silk thread hanging at the end. It didn't look new.

Yu Tao smiled sweetly and said, "Everyone wears a leaf knot on the Ghost Festival. My sister taught me how to make this. I brought it with me when I moved this time. Sister, please wear it now."

Shen Yu didn't understand what it meant, and didn't want to ask, so he just smiled and took it, imitating Yutao and wrapping it around his wrist. Yutao also wrapped one around Yucheng, saying crisply as she wrapped it, "Mother said that if children wear it, they will be blessed by their ancestors, and they will grow taller and taller."

Shen Yu looked at the silk ribbon and came up with an idea. She lifted up Maodou's sleeve, and sure enough, he also had a green silk ribbon wrapped around his wrist, which was thicker than hers.

She untied the silk ribbons on her and Maodou's wrists. The two ribbons were almost the same length, so she put them together, tied one end with a slipknot and tied it to Maodou's wrist, and the other end to her own wrist.

This kind of slipknot knot is not tight when tied on the hand, but if you pull the rope, it will become tighter and tighter, and it is difficult to break free easily. This was taught by the instructor as a trick during military training at school. Shen Yu thought it was practical, and he memorized it after practicing it a few times. He didn't expect it to come in handy here.

She looked at Yutao and Yucheng, and felt that her younger brother and sister were well-behaved and reassuring, so she smiled and said, "You two don't need to be tied up, but don't get lost."

Yu Cheng said with a smile: "Big sister, I don't want to be a puppy."

Maodou was immediately unhappy when he heard this. He pouted and snorted, "I don't want to be tied up. I'm not a puppy."

Shen Yu glared at Yu Cheng, then squatted down and coaxed him gently: "Brother Yu Cheng, I was just joking. Look, I'm tied up too. Are we both little dogs?"

Maodou looked at Sister Shen, who was pretty and spoke sweetly, and then looked at Yucheng, who was laughing non-stop with Yutao covering his mouth. He couldn't make up his mind who was right.

Yutao whispered something to Yucheng, and Yucheng stopped laughing. Yutao pulled Yucheng to stand next to Maodou and said to Maodou with envy: "My sister took you for a walk because she thought you were the best and most obedient. We tied you with ribbons. We wanted to be tied with sister, but sister thought we were naughty and didn't want to."

Maodou heard this and asked Shen Yu half-doubtfully: "Really, Sister Shen, am I the best?"

In order to coax Maodou, Shen Yu had already used the most gentle tone in her life. After hearing Maodou's words, she smiled and nodded desperately, saying, "Of course, as long as you follow me obediently and don't run around, you are the best one. Sister Shen will buy you osmanthus candy."

Maodou puffed out his chest and said seriously, "Then I will definitely not run around."

He looked at the stall over there that was full of toys, hesitated for a moment, and asked again: "Sister Shen, I don't want to eat osmanthus candy, that's for little girls, I want that." Then he pointed to the stall in front.

Shen Yu looked forward in the direction of his finger. The stall was filled with colorful items, and the most eye-catching ones were a few wooden swords tied with red cloth.

Shen Yu smiled and said, "Of course you can, but this knife is too big. It's not convenient for us to carry it around after we buy it. Can we come back here to buy it after we have finished shopping and seen everything?"

Maodou was so happy that he nodded when he saw Shen Yu agreed immediately.

As expected, no preaching is as good as promising a favorite toy. Shen Yu took the three children and strolled around the temple fair.

Because Maodou had promised to buy the big knife, he behaved very well along the way. He let Shen Yu hold his hand and did not move around like he did at the beginning, which made Shen Yu panic.

There are not many food items for sale at the temple fair today. Most of the items sold are small and ingenious toys that children like, flowers and beads that girls like, and headbands and silk handkerchiefs that ladies will stop to choose from.

Walking to a stall selling earrings and hairpins, Yutao picked up a pair of earrings with a pink, round peach-shaped glass pendant underneath. She held them in her hands and looked at them again and again, unable to let go. She asked the price, and the stall owner quoted forty-five cents, but Yutao reluctantly put them back.

Shen Yu watched from the side and knew that Yu Tao liked the earrings, but felt that they were too expensive to buy. She smiled and walked forward, holding Mao Dou in one hand and picking up the pendant in the other, and asked the middle-aged stall owner with a smile: "Uncle, how much is this pendant?"