Lantern Festival

 

Jing Family Fried Food Stall

 

To everyone’s surprise, when Xiaoxia got involved in the business, he became quite interested. Each successful transaction was accompanied by a sparkle in his eyes. Later, when he noticed that the stock of potato sticks was running low, he thought, “Ah Yi, since we can deep-fry potatoes and pork belly for snacking, can’t we do skewers too? I think they would taste great!”

 

“Wow! Xiaoxia, you’re really smart! Of course, we can do skewers; we can sprinkle them with seasoning, and they’ll taste fantastic,” Jing Yi exclaimed.

 

“My wife is truly exceptional, his intelligence matches mine.”

 

“Really? Then I’ll take some for your father and me. Ah, Xiao Xia, you’re amazing!” Jing’s mother, upon hearing this, was overjoyed. They had sold quite a few skewers today.

 

Praised repeatedly by his family, Xiao Xia felt extremely embarrassed. His face blushed as he continued serving crispy pork and handing out potato sticks to customers.

 

He already had a handsome appearance, and now, his fair face tinged with a slight blush, a faint smile on his lips, and a hint of shyness, illuminated by the lazy sunset of winter, made him exceptionally beautiful. The scene struck a chord in the hearts of those who witnessed it.

 

The young man across from him, who had been stunned for a while, finally regained his senses, thanks to a pinch from the girl next to him. Perhaps out of frustration, he shot Xiao Xia a resentful glance and muttered a small “hmph.”

 

Seeing this, Jing Yi couldn’t let it slide. He stepped forward, asking the young man, “What’s wrong, my friend? Is there something wrong with the crispy pork my husband made?”

 

Although it seemed like a normal question, everyone could sense an undertone of displeasure and a hint of intimidation.

 

The young man had snapped out of his daze when his companion pinched him, and now, upon witnessing Jing Yi’s dark expression, his tall stature, the hand he had placed on the pretty young man’s shoulder, and the clenched fist hanging by his side, he hurriedly shook his head and stammered, “N-No… nothing…”

 

But Jing Yi wasn’t finished yet. He turned to the girl and continued, “What about you? Do you have a problem with your eyesight, or is there an issue with your throat?”

 

No one expected that Jing Yi would confront the girl as well. In general, when a man sees his wife being mistreated, he would step in to defend her. However, when it comes to other women or men, it’s usually left to the wife to handle the situation. Men don’t usually interfere, as they consider it beneath their dignity to get involved.

 

But Jing Yi was no ordinary person. In his view, no one should mistreat his wife, and he was responsible for handling such matters.

 

“Huh? No, there’s nothing wrong with me either.”

 

The fierce appearance of Jing Yi made the girl nearly cry. She had thought that being a woman would give her an advantage, but she hadn’t expected the shop owner not to play by the rules and respond differently.

 

Then, the couple, holding crispy pork, hastily left.

 

“Thank you, Ah Yi,” he softly expressed his gratitude.

 

Jing Yi didn’t feel that confronting the girl was wrong or embarrassing. Instead, he felt a warm sense of sweetness in his heart.

 

Xiao Xia, who rarely had the chance to be outside, reached out to hold Jing Yi’s hand, though he had the immediate urge to let go. However, Jing Yi caught his hand.

 

“You want to run away after delivering yourself to my door? No way!”

 

“You don’t need to be polite to her; you don’t have to tolerate her. I’ll take care of you, and I can handle any unexpected situations.”

 

After the little incident, the business became even livelier. Deep-fried skewers turned out to be more popular than crispy pork and potato sticks. Skewers were cheaper than crispy pork, and potato sticks were mostly favored by children, making skewers a hit among a wider audience.

 

Many customers who had already enjoyed the spicy hot pot earlier in the day returned for skewers. They strongly recommended adding skewers to the menu in the future, and Jing Yi reluctantly agreed.

 

“I told you; Xiao Xia is a lucky charm! Alright, your father and I will handle things here. You two should go and enjoy yourselves,” Jing’s mother said sensibly, urging the young couple to leave.

 

“Big brother…” Xiao Shu couldn’t help but call out as he saw them preparing to leave.

 

Since they had learned they couldn’t go to the Lantern Festival, the two children had been sulking. Although they were understanding and didn’t insist on going, they still couldn’t hide their emotions. They knew earning money was important, but the promise from their parents had made them feel wronged.

 

Xiao Shu couldn’t control his feelings; he knew he should be understanding, but he felt wronged because their parents had promised them something. So he called out to his big brother, not necessarily wanting to go with them but feeling wronged.

 

Xiao Xia had always been fond of him, and when he heard his pitiful voice, he couldn’t help but plead, “Auntie, what if we let Xiao An and Xiao Shu come with us to the festival?”

 

Although he and Jing Yi had agreed that today would be their private time together, it was hard to leave the children alone at the stall, and he couldn’t enjoy the festival with a clear conscience. Xiao Xia suggested this, and Jing’s mother readily agreed. Besides, she was more concerned about her own children. Now that Xiao Xia was willing to take care of them, she was overjoyed; it was a win-win situation.

 

After happily strolling through the Lantern Festival, the New Year’s Eve in Dayuan gradually came to an end. The townspeople settled down, preparing for the busy year ahead.

 

The Jing family’s business was thriving, with increasing revenue, and all their plans were being systematically arranged. In March, they would start building a house, in June, they would present a betrothal gift to the Lin family, and later, they would buy the shop. They would also slowly search for suitable farmland.

 

Of course, in early February, they quickly resolved one matter – the marriage of the Zhu family in Dongkuan Village. Jing Yi had openly informed them about this during a lantern delivery to their house, without hiding or concealing anything.

 

They had agreed that Jing Yi would help the Lin family solve this problem and would not reveal their cooperative relationship with the Lin family at the moment, to avoid any backlash from the village. Unfortunately, the Zhu family currently had more influence in the village, so they had to proceed cautiously.

 

This plan was mainly conceived by Lin’s father and Jing Yi. Due to this matter, Jing Yi’s position in the Lin family had greatly improved.

 

By February 26th, the Zhu family in Dongkuan Village had made their decision.

 

In the morning, the village came alive with colorful decorations and bustling activity. This day brought immense joy to Aunt Zhu, as her niece was getting married, which would make it easier to assist her family.

 

The groom, Zhu Qun, was in high spirits. Though his bride, his cousin, didn’t possess the elegance, eloquence, or family background of a girl named Qiu’er they’d considered previously, she was gentle, obedient, and attentive to him. He was so enamored that he forgot about any past expectations or comparisons.

 

Meanwhile, the Lin family in Wangjiazhuang was also in high spirits. Their courtyard gathered more than a dozen young men, along with respected village elders and some men and women who had come to help.

 

Once everyone had assembled, Lin’s father stood on a step and expressed his gratitude, “Today, thank you all for coming to help my Lin family. We villagers of Wangjiazhuang are united, and today you’ve helped my daughter regain her justice. If you ever need anything from my Lin family in the future, feel free to ask!”

 

The background and reasons behind the matter of the Zhu family’s son-in-law and the Lin family’s daughter had been explained to the village chief and elders when they sought help. The village also learned why Lin’s eldest daughter had returned home. Most of the villagers, including the husbands and wives from other households, knew about the gossip that had been circulating in the village, and now they came bearing gifts like green onions and eggs as an apology, though they couldn’t bring themselves to say it outright.

 

Today, it was a given that the village chief and elders would take charge. If a girl from their own village was unreasonably divorced, that couldn’t be tolerated, and justice had to be served. Other young men who had volunteered to help were indignant about this matter from the start.

 

Some women and men who had come voluntarily had even more thoughts. Today, it was Lin’s daughter who had been mistreated. If they didn’t stand up now, would other girls and boys from Wangjiazhuang be bullied when they married into other families in the future? Moreover, Lin’s family was not to be trifled with in the village, and it was already uncomfortable to have this incident happen to them. For other families, it would be even more unbearable. Therefore, this matter had to be taken care of to show a stance to other villages.

 

Jing Yi also came today, accompanying Lin’s father and Lin’s grandfather to Dongkuan Village. Jing Yi had the courage, attentiveness, and cleverness, and he knew many people in town. Lin’s couple initially thought of asking their son-in-law to help, but they hesitated and never brought it up. They had assured Jing Yi not to worry and not to come for help.

 

However, early in the morning, just as dawn was breaking, they heard a knocking on the door. When they opened it, they saw Jing Yi, who had already grown even more handsome, smiling and greeting Lin’s father.

 

Lin’s father couldn’t help but exclaim, “What a difference between a son-in-law and a former son-in-law! Our little boy really has good luck.”

 

Ugh! Former son-in-law!

 

Jing Yi had already rented several donkey carts from a familiar store owner in town. When the carts arrived in the village, a group of people mounted them, and they headed toward Dongkuan Village in a formidable and imposing manner.

 

Little did they know, the villagers of Wangjiazhuang also envied and were somewhat jealous of Jing Yi. Leaving aside everything else, just the fact that he had rented several carts from town and was so considerate made him highly regarded in their eyes.

 

In front of the Zhu family’s gate in Dongkuan Village:

 

“The new bride has arrived! The new bride has arrived!” Children ran around the street, sharing the news, their faces beaming with smiles as they went to collect wedding candies.

 

The onlookers were buzzing with conversation, some positive and some negative. The positive comments generally came from those who were unaware of the situation or those who wanted to please the Zhu family.

 

The negative remarks came mostly from those who knew what was going on. When neighbors were close, everyone knew everything about each other. The Zhu family’s wrongdoings had already been shared within a small circle.

 

“Which family is this new bride from? I’ve never heard of them. I only know that they met each other before the New Year. This Lin Qiuying doesn’t seem like that type of person. Alas, you never truly know someone!”

 

“Ugh! What kind of ‘met each other before the New Year’? It’s disgusting!”

 

This was from those who were aware and disdainful. After speaking, they turned to leave, as if staying for even one more second would dirty their shoes.

 

“Hey, wait! Look over there at the village entrance. Why are there so many horse-drawn carriages? This bride’s family must be quite wealthy!”

 

“The old man’s family used to be a poor household! Huh? It’s true. Who’s family is this? The grandeur is impressive. Six carriages!”

 

On this joyous occasion, the arrival of guests in six carriages drew astonishment and a crowd at the entrance of Dongkuan Village.