Chapter 223 The Shangsi Festival
Jiuyue's eyes lit up, "Mom, I'll go then! There happens to be a temple fair at the Fuzi Temple that day. I'll go early, so I can sell out and come back early. What do you want? I'll buy it for you after I earn money!"
Cuihua giggled. She laughed as she teased Jiuyue, "Look at you, you just couldn't save money. You're already thinking about how to spend money when you haven't even earned any yet. You don't need to buy anything for me. Buy yourself something you want. I saw that the velvet flowers look good on those girls. You'll definitely look better with that than they do."
Jiuyue pursed her lips and smiled, "No way. You think I'm pretty just because we are a family."
Cuihua stretched out her finger and nodded at her forehead, and Jiuyue swayed in response.
Cuihua continued, "I'm complimenting you, okay? All right, now do your work."
When Jiuyue laughed and ran out of the house, she met Xiuniang. Xiuniang saw that Jiuyue looked so happy, so she asked, "What's wrong? What good things did Mother tell you? Why are you smiling like this?"
Jiuyue shook her head, "Nothing. It's just that I want to go to the temple fair tomorrow, and mom agreed!"
She looked delighted, and Xiuniang beside her was envious to see her like this.
Only then did Jiuyue realize that her second sister-in-law was pregnant and that it was not convenient for her to go out. When she gave birth in the future, it might be even more inconvenient for her to go out.
Jiuyue stopped smiling and asked, "Second sister-in-law, is there anything you want? I'll bring it to you when I come back."
When Xiuniang heard this, her eyes lit up and she confirmed once again with some disbelief, "Will you really bring it to me?"
Jiuyue nodded, "Of course. I just need to do it in passing. Why should I lie to you?"
Xiuniang smiled and smoothed out her hair at her temples, "I don't have any other requirement. It's just that since I'm pregnant, I've been craving sour food. Can you see if there are any plums and bring me some?"
Jiuyue agreed to do so. She found it funny when she saw that Xiuniang didn't even mention giving her money. "She won't even pay some pennies, no wonder my mother-in-law always said that the second sister-in-law was petty.
However, that is not much money, so it was fine that she wouldn't pay. I would give her as a gift for her son in advance." Jiuyue thought.
She put all the needlework she did this month in a small basket and placed it neatly on the bed so that she wouldn't be in a muddle tomorrow.
The next day, she got up at dawn.
The place she was going to today was crowded, so it was not convenient for her to take Hong with her. Therefore, she carried a bamboo basket and went out alone.
She knew that her appearance was eye-catching, so she would definitely wear a bamboo hat when she went out.
There were many women who went out wearing bamboo hats, and some of them even had purdah that could even cover half of their bodies.
Therefore, her dress did not attract too much attention from others.
There was a river near the Fuzi Temple, named the Qing Shui River(which means clear water in Chinese).
This river was considered a great river in all their surrounding villages, and many of the small rivers in their surrounding villages were tributaries of this river.
The water of the Qing Shui River, as the name implied, was crystal clear. Many villages did not have wells and the lives of the villagers all depended on the river water.
However, because of last year's drought, the water level of the Qing Shui River dropped a lot and even several tributaries around it dried up completely.
A few heavy snowfalls at the beginning of the year saved the Qing Shui River. On the riverbank, the green willows were gently swaying in the breeze and some grass emerged from the meadow.
But when she went closer to see, she learned what "The green grass can be perceived afar but not nearby" meant.
She came relatively early and there were not many people around.
So she picked a nice spot. She took out a sheet from her basket and laid it on the lawn, then carefully and neatly placed the pouches and handkerchiefs she brought.
As expected, people appeared one after another after 9 a.m.
The long-established Shangsi Festival took place in the third month of the Chinese calendar when the spring breeze was warm and the sun shone brightly.
The Shangsi Festival was the most lively event of the year. Apart from the annual Lantern Festival, it was probably the only event where men and women could ignore the boundaries and go for a spring outing aboveboard.
Not far away, a young lady dipped an orchid in the river water and sprinkled it on her girlfriend.
Her girlfriend exclaimed and played with her cheerfully.
See that, Jiuyue beside them was a little envious. "It was a mistake. I should have asked Xi to come along."She thought.
Previously, she rarely went out to the Shangsi Festival. Xi always told her how lively the Fuzi Temple was.
It was a pity that she finally came over, but Xi was not by her side.
Just as she was slightly lost in thought, a nice voice sounded beside her, "Girl, how much are these purses?"
When Jiuyue came back to earth, she saw an elegant woman standing in front of her. The woman was dressed in damask and silk with a hairpin made of jade and gold in her hair. Her graceful appearance immediately matched the wife of the wealthy family described in the opera.
A girl who looked about eleven or twelve years old stood beside her. The little girl was younger than Xi, probably about the same age as Wuyue.
The little girl wore her hair in two buns with two bells on them, which jingled when she moved. She looked so cute.
The girl was looking at her pouches with an astonished expression on her tilted head. She obviously seemed to like those pouches.
Jiuyue smiled gently at the two, "Only fifty taels."
Fifty taels were almost as much as others' daily wages, but the woman didn't even frown. She directly asked her daughter to come over, "Baoya, which one do you like? Pick one for your sister as well."
The face of the girl named Baoya suddenly became animated, "Mom! I want the one with the chick eating rice. I'll give the one with the napping kitten to my sister!"
As the woman smiled, she took the two pouches and handed them to her, "Keep them. Remember to give one to your sister when you see her at home. Don't keep them to yourself."
Baoya quickly nodded, "I will definitely give it to my sister. Mom, don't worry!"
When Jiuyue saw that the two of them didn't look through the pouches, she wondered if they didn't notice that there was something special inside the small pouches.
She interrupted the conversation between the woman and her daughter, "Madam, lady, these pouches are double-sided. The lady can wear it on both sides."
Hearing this, the woman looked at her with some surprise, then took a purse in her hand and turned it over. Only then did she see that there was indeed another side of the needlework inside.
The needlework of the purses was so exquisite that no thread residue could be seen.
They were from a large family and had seen many skilled craftsmen, so naturally, they knew that her work was quite extraordinary.
The woman picked up the handkerchief that was placed aside. The fabric of the handkerchief was not the best, but when the handkerchief was turned over, there was a different embroidery pattern.
The woman, who was sophisticated, recognized it immediately, "Double-sided embroidery?"