Chapter 196 Lantern Festival, Chrysanthemum Exhibition, and Dragon Dance ( words long chapter, wishing everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival~)
"Brother, Yuanyuan, how was it? Did you have a good time out this time?"
It was still my brother-in-law who picked me up at the airport this time, but the difference was that my sister Du Na also came. Of course, my brother-in-law Du Ruo was driving and sat in the passenger seat, while my sister Du Na and Xiang Yuanyuan sat in the back seat.
Du Na seemed to be asking the two of them, but in fact she was just holding Xiang Yuanyuan's hand and looking her up and down.
"Tsk tsk, Yuanyuan, I'm so envious of your figure. Not to mention men, I want to drool just looking at you."
"Um, haha, we had a great time. We played at the beach for a long time, and we happened to catch a typhoon. It was a good experience."
Xiang Yuanyuan was too embarrassed to answer questions about her figure and only talked about some things about her travels.
"Well, I checked out my circle of friends. The sea view is really nice. Recommend it to me when the time comes. I'll take Xiaoya there next time. How come you didn't get tanned when you went to the beach? Look, I got tanned when I went to Yunnan, and I haven't recovered yet."
Du Na's voice is really nice. She always praises people every three or two sentences, and she only talks about people's strengths, which makes it really hard for people to have a bad impression of her.
"By the way, you guys are back home this time, right? How's your family? Are your uncle, aunt, and grandpa all in good health?"
"Yeah, it's pretty good. By the way, sister, have you drunk the medicinal wine I sent back last time? That medicinal wine is very good after drinking it..."
Gradually, Xiang Yuanyuan wanted to learn from and get closer to Duna.
My brother-in-law who was driving and Du Ruo who was sitting in the passenger seat smiled at the same time.
Family harmony can avoid many bad things. My brother-in-law has always been a worry-free person when it comes to family matters.
Du Na is not only like this with Xiang Yuanyuan, but also when she returns home, she can coax her mother-in-law and father-in-law into a state of confusion.
Usually when I go back home, I do nothing, but my mother-in-law and father-in-law always have smiles on their faces every day, and they seem to have endless energy to work. They also praise Du Na to everyone they meet.
Moreover, whenever there is a little conflict between the couple, Duna doesn't have to say anything harsh. She just has to say that she wants to go back to her hometown to live for a few days, and her brother-in-law will usually give in. It's really because his parents love Duna as their daughter-in-law more than their son.
"Brother, you can take Xiaoxiang to the Lantern Festival tonight. There will also be a chrysanthemum exhibition tomorrow. They are all quite good now. You can go and have a look."
While driving, my brother-in-law introduced Du Ruo to some interesting places nearby.
In fact, my brother-in-law is not a very romantic person, but these are more local in nature, and they have been held every year recently. Du Ruo seldom goes home to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival, and he was afraid that he didn't know about these places, so he said this.
"These are great. I didn't expect the Mid-Autumn Festival to be so lively at home. I thought it was just a family meal and the festival was over."
To be honest, Du Ruo did think so. When he was in the city and had a girlfriend, they would at most watch a movie together.
Later, when I didn’t have a girlfriend, I lost all sense of ritual. My impression of the Mid-Autumn Festival was only about mooncakes and family reunions, and I had never thought about so many activities.
"This is nothing. A few years ago, several nearby villages invited two grass dragons together and formed two grass dragon teams. During festivals, they would dance the dragons. That was when it was really lively."
Seeing Du Ruo's curiosity, my brother-in-law simply said more. In particular, he couldn't help laughing at the end. Even when he was driving, he turned his head slightly to look at Du Ruo and Yuanyuan in the rearview mirror, and then added:
"This year my parents are planning to bring a straw dragon into the house, and they've bought a lot of fireworks and firecrackers, so it's going to be very lively then."
"Um, what does it mean to welcome the grass dragon into the house?"
Du Ruo's knowledge of grass dragon dancing still remains in his childhood. At that time, there was a dragon dance team in the village. However, later on, the villagers went out to make money and there were fewer dances. I haven't heard about it for a long time. Unexpectedly, it has started again in recent years.
"What else could it mean? The straw dragon is made of rice straw, which represents ears of grain and a good harvest. The dragon represents auspiciousness and good fortune. Receiving the straw dragon means hoping for a good harvest in the coming year. More importantly, it means hoping for more children and blessings in the family in the coming year. My parents are hoping to have a grandchild."
The one who answered the call was Duna. She was sitting in the back seat, chatting with Xiang Yuanyuan while listening to the conversation between the two people in front of her. When she heard this topic, she immediately started explaining with a smile.
Speaking of this, Du Ruo didn't care, but felt a little embarrassed towards Yuanyuan.
"It was very lively, quite rare."
Du Ruo just smiled. He had been back to the village for such a long time, and as for going out for fun, unless he was going hiking, it really had little to do with fun.
"Well, the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Spring Festival are the busiest times in the village. People who work outside... as long as they are not too far away, will generally rush back. The dragon dancers are all young and strong. There are two teams of two straw dragons, and it would take at least 60 people to dance them."
My brother-in-law explained with a smile, but when he mentioned "people who work outside", he paused for a moment and added a sentence specifically, for fear that Du Ruo would think he was talking about him.
As they were talking, the car had already gotten off the highway and entered the town.
There were indeed a lot more vehicles along the way, which was a rare bustle in the town except during the peak tourist season.
This is also one of the few times when locals choose to climb mountains.
Even when you leave the town and head to the village, you can see cars parked in front of every household along the road. Many children are playing and frolicking in the village, adding a lot of popularity.
……
This time the car did not go to the B&B. Du Ruo specially gave Yang Ling a holiday during the Mid-Autumn Festival. There wouldn't be many people staying here during these days, so he simply notified them of the holiday in advance.
"Yuanyuan is back. You must be tired. Come in and have some tea~"
As soon as the car parked, the mother came out. Without paying any attention to her son and daughter, she went straight to Xiang Yuanyuan, asking her about her well-being, and then went into the house.
"Hello Auntie."
Xiang Yuanyuan was confused by such enthusiasm. She just shouted and then was pulled into the house by her mother.
"what's the situation?"
Du Ruo lowered her head and asked Du Na, "My mother used to be very enthusiastic, but she has never been like this."
"What else can he do? He must have guests coming and wants to show off his wife to me."
Du Na was not surprised at all and got out of the car calmly, while her brother-in-law helped Du Ruo with the luggage in the car.
"Uncle, uncle, you're back~"
Yaya ran out of the house, her mouth was particularly sweet and she called me so affectionately.
"Yaya, have you eaten fish these days? That's the sea fish that your aunt prepared specially for you."
Du Ruo picked up Yaya and didn't even take her luggage.
"Oh, bro, take this. You'll need it later."
The brother-in-law standing by also smiled and shook his head when he saw this. He took out a few packs of cigarettes from the car and stuffed them into Du Ruo's pocket, then took in Du Ruo and the others' luggage.
"Mmm, it's delicious. I've been eating fish these days, mum~"
Yaya was very happy. She sat on Du Ruo's arm, hugged Du Ruo and gave him a big kiss.
Du Ruo carried Yaya into the house. As soon as they entered, they saw the floor filled with gift boxes. Upon closer inspection, they found that they were all kinds of specialties that Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan had sent back from Hainan and Fujian a few days ago.
Suddenly, Du Ruo couldn't help but twitching the corners of his mouth. It was obvious that this was deliberately put up by his mother, and the purpose was easy to understand.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, all the young people in the village will come back and inevitably visit each other's homes. My mother is really showing off her wife.
Sure enough, as soon as he entered the room, Du Ruo saw many people who looked familiar but whose names he could not remember, both men and women.
Moreover, these people were all dressed beautifully, wearing gold and jade. Some sisters-in-law even wore light makeup, and it was obvious that they had rushed back from outside.
The men were drinking and smoking, while the women were eating melon seeds and surrounding Xiang Yuanyuan, asking her all sorts of questions.
At this time, Du Ruo understood why his brother-in-law gave him two packs of cigarettes.
There was no other way. Even if Du Ruo was not good at socializing, he could not lose face at this time.
Du Ruo put Yaya down, took out a cigarette from his pocket, started smoking, and then joined in.
Outside, Du Ruo can be Master Du, can show off in front of people, and even drink tea and chat with celebrities, but when he returns home, he is Little Du, who has to pass out cigarettes and call them uncles, brothers, and sisters-in-law.
Of course, even if Du Ruo lowers his attitude, he and Xiang Yuanyuan are still the most handsome ones in the room.
Xiang Yuanyuan is usually carefree, but at times like this she is dignified and generous. She always sits upright with a smile on her face, revealing her demeanor as a lady from a noble family.
Even if Du Ruo appears to be ordinary, he can simply sit on the stool with his back straight and sitting upright like a bell, which gives people a very calm feeling.
This is the change in posture brought about by practicing martial arts, and more importantly, the confidence brought by practicing martial arts, which allows him to remain calm no matter where he is, and no one dares to look down on him.
So after Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan entered the room, many men began to sit up straight and the women spoke in much lower voices.
Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan immediately became the focus of the whole room.
"Xiang Yuanyuan, are you hungry? I'll go get you something to eat."
Seeing this scene, my mother's eyes reddened. She quickly turned her head, asked Xiang Yuanyuan, and walked towards the kitchen.
For parents, nothing makes them happier than seeing their children living a good life.
It was also after seeing this scene that my mother finally let go of the worry that had been hanging over Du Ruo for many years. She was just a little excited and couldn't control herself for a moment.
Fortunately, my sister Duna knew my mother very well and followed her to the kitchen.
The guests at home left very quickly. There was nothing they could do. They always felt a little uncomfortable in front of Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan, so they didn't have much interest in chatting afterwards.
In response, my dad didn't stay long and sent the person away, and then it was time for the family to spend some time together.
The whole family was there at noon and everyone enjoyed the meal.
"Mom, we'll have our reunion dinner there at noon tomorrow, and come back tomorrow night."
At the dinner table, my brother-in-law talked about the arrangements for tomorrow. In fact, it was almost the same as before. They would go over to have lunch with their parents at noon, and then come here to reunite and celebrate the festival in the evening. There was no other way. In the past, when Du Ruo was not at home, they, as the sister and brother-in-law, had to take care of both families.
"Okay, by the way, take some of the things Yuanyuan bought over, as a token of your appreciation."
My mother didn't close her mouth today. She was so happy that she quickly shoveled the rice into her mouth and then went to pack up her things for my brother-in-law to take away.
This is not showing off, it's just sharing. My mother never treated my brother-in-law as an outsider, and even treated him better than my sister. This is also a family tradition, treating sons-in-law and daughters-in-law better than their own children. Of course, this is also the main reason why my brother-in-law has never complained in all these years.
After lunch, my sister and brother-in-law drove away. They had to go back to their village to celebrate the New Year. But before leaving, my sister sent the location of the lantern festival and chrysanthemum exhibition to Du Ruo.
That afternoon, Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan shared their travel experiences with their parents. Of course, they only talked about the interesting and good things, and did not elaborate on the thrill of the typhoon.
In the evening, Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan went to the B&B, drove a car, and then drove out for a ride.
The lantern festival is held in the ancient village, which is also a tourist attraction. In addition to the lantern festival, many out-of-town villagers like Du Ruo and others gathered there.
To suit the occasion, Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan even wore ancient costumes, bought two lanterns, and visited the lantern festival together.
The entire ancient town is like a city that never sleeps, with bright lights everywhere and all kinds of lights shining, with both traditional and modern lanterns on display.
It is called a lantern festival, but in fact, all kinds of special performances are displayed one by one, such as opera performances, various intangible cultural heritage displays, lantern riddles, Hanfu garden tours, etc. Not to mention that this is the first time for Xiang Yuanyuan to see these, in fact even Du Ruo is learning about them for the first time.
Of course, with Xiang Yuanyuan's figure and face, wearing ancient Chinese costume and light makeup, standing together with Du Ruo who was wearing a long gown and had a gentlemanly demeanor, the two of them were a perfect match, a couple made in heaven.
No matter where they go, they attract a lot of attention, and even many foreign tourists will take photos with them.
Yuanyuan had a lot of fun in the evening, and the whole ancient town seemed to be filled with her happy laughter.
After playing in the ancient town until midnight, Du Ruo returned to the rented house in Yangcun with Xiang Yuanyuan who was reluctant to leave.
It was not suitable for the two of them to live together at Xiang Yuanyuan's home, and it was also not appropriate to live in the same room at Du Ruo's home, so they simply returned to the rented yard tonight.
What happened at night was naturally the deep love and the couple stayed together happily.
The next morning, the two of them slept until noon, mainly because Xiang Yuanyuan was a little tired. Not only was she reluctant to get up, she also clung to Du Ruo like an octopus.
It was not until noon that he got out of bed.
In fact, before going to bed, Xiang Yuanyuan said that they must go to the mountain to visit the clouded leopard family the next day, otherwise the two of them would probably sleep until noon.
Although they got up a little late, the two of them still bought a lot of fresh beef before starting their journey up the mountain as they did before.
Naturally, Du Ruo carried Xiang Yuanyuan on his back as they went up the mountain.
Otherwise, at her speed, it would probably be noon by the time she climbed up the mountain.
Originally, a family of clouded leopards were lazily lying in the grass on the mountain, basking in the sun and taking a nap.
As a result, I was woken up by the arrival of the two people.
It was because Xiang Yuanyuan loved the clouded leopard family so much that she refused to let go of the two little ones.
The clouded leopard mother was bribed with beef, so she completely ignored her two cubs and let Xiang Yuanyuan hold them and play with them.
However, after the two little cubs smelled the beef, they struggled to climb out of Xiang Yuanyuan's arms again and again.
It was not until Du Ruo tore off a piece of beef, handed it to Xiang Yuanyuan, and asked her to feed the two little clouded leopards that he began to behave himself.
Clouded leopards live a free and carefree life. They sleep after eating. Only the mother clouded leopard will lie beside Duruo and rub her tail against him.
The kestrel seemed to be out today, but Du Ruo was still considerate enough to take a little bit of beef, climb the cliff and put the beef in its nest.
They played for a long time, until the clouded leopard family had fallen into a drowsy sleep, then Du Ruo took Xiang Yuanyuan down the mountain.
But after they came down the mountain, they actually met Yang Chenguang, who was walking in the village with a rosy face.
"Du Ruo, when did you come back? Why didn't you let me pick you up?"
Seeing Du Ruo, Yang Chenguang walked up.
He was very busy before the Mid-Autumn Festival. Not only did he have to do live broadcasts in the evening, but he also had many things to arrange in the village. It was not until the holiday came that he had some free time. He had not had time to contact Du Ruo these days.
"I just got back yesterday. My brother-in-law went to pick me up and happened to meet you. Come on, go to my place and bring the gifts for uncle and aunt."
Du Ruo was holding the happy Xiang Yuanyuan's hand, and didn't think much when he saw Yang Chenguang. He actually brought some local specialties, and had originally planned to find time to send them back, but now that he saw Yang Chenguang, he didn't have to make a special trip.
"Okay."
Yang Chenguang didn't bother to be polite with Du Ruo. He handed Du Ruo a cigarette and then followed him towards Du Ruo's yard.
"If I had known you would be able to come back today, I would have reserved the position of leader of the village dragon dance team for you."
Yang Chenguang still felt it was a bit of a pity. He always regarded Du Ruo as a brother. To dance the dragon head in the village definitely represented a certain prestige and one had to be young. In his opinion, Du Ruo was definitely the most suitable candidate.
I just thought that Du Ruo might have gone to her mother-in-law's house, so I didn't save it for Du Ruo.
"Haha, there's no need for that. I just came back and I may not be able to convince everyone."
Du Ruo smiled and gave Yang Chenguang a way out. He didn't care about these vanities. His own life was more important than anything else.
"Tsk, we are now in our prime, and this year's dragon dance team is made up of young people, who dares to disobey?"
Yang Chenguang smacked his lips. They were in their thirties and were the backbone of the village. Besides, he was the secretary, so he naturally didn't worry about those things.
"Hey, why don't you guys come over to my house for lunch or dinner? We can have a drink together."
When they arrived at the yard, Yang Chenguang took the various specialties given by Du Ruo and stood in the house to invite Du Ruo to come over for dinner.
"No, I'm going to the chrysanthemum exhibition in town with Yuanyuan later, and then we'll go home for dinner in the evening. I won't bother you today."
Du Ruo shook the car keys in his hand and rejected Yang Chenguang's kindness.
"Okay then, you guys should go take a good look. By the way, you don't have any chickens at home, right? I'll bring two to your house later."
Yang Chenguang smiled. Knowing that Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan had their own plans, he did not invite them too much. He just smiled and told them his plans. It could be considered as a courtesy.
Yang Chenguang's family not only has a tea garden, but also raises a lot of pigs and chickens. In fact, in the years when Du Ruo has not returned home, Yang Chenguang has also sent many gifts to Du Ruo's home. The relationship between the two has always been good, which is inseparable from Yang Chenguang's social skills.
"You can take it yourself. Yuanyuan and I will leave first."
Du Ruo just smiled and didn't refuse.
The Huangshan Chrysanthemum Exhibition is one of the local features. At the exhibition, Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan were able to see chrysanthemums of various colors.
There are potted plants, landscapes, and even a sea of flowers. The entire chrysanthemum exhibition is filled with the fragrance of chrysanthemums, and they are everywhere in the mountains and fields.
The two of them wandered around for a long time before they finished shopping.
Of course, the biggest gain is that Du Ruo’s mobile phone is full of photos. During the period, she even took a video with Yuanyuan, which will be posted on her personal account as material.
Xiang Yuanyuan's account became quite popular after Uncle Mo's last traffic diversion.
However, only a small part of the previous videos are left, and the rest are mainly videos of Du Ruo practicing martial arts, and Hainan showing the local customs and culture.
The response to her winery in Fujian, especially some of the wines in the wine cellar, and some videos of her visit to the Lantern Festival yesterday, was quite good.
The number of views is no lower than that of previous videos. Overall, the transformation can be considered a success. Although the stickiness is not as high as before, Xiang Yuanyuan is already very satisfied.
After visiting the chrysanthemum exhibition, Du Ruo bought a lot of chrysanthemum bonsai. Chrysanthemum represents nobility, tenacity and longevity. It is a good choice whether used to decorate the courtyard or as a gift during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
However, Du Ruo did not give it away as a gift. After all, many young people today cannot accept receiving chrysanthemums, so she just bought it home and displayed it at home.
When I got home, my sister and brother-in-law had already brought Yaya over.
However, after the family reunion and dinner, my mother started to get busy.
There are two straw dragons in total from several villages, which will set off from two directions in the afternoon. The families who want to invite dragons will inform the dragon dance team in advance.
They will go to this dragon dance performance specifically to perform a series of dragon dance displays, and finally the two dragon dance teams will join together to perform.
The time we arrived at Du Ruo's house was around 8:30 after dinner.
So after dinner, my mother started to direct everyone, some setting up fireworks and some preparing firecrackers.
After a while, a long team came towards Du Ruo's house. There was a team holding grass dragons, a band, and of course many villagers who came to watch the fun. The whole team was led by a leader holding a dragon ball.
Before the team arrived, my dad had already lit the firecrackers to welcome the dragon. Then when he heard the sound of firecrackers, the person in the lead holding the dragon ball began to chant. Then he waved the dragon ball and started the dragon dance performance with the dragon dancing team behind him. At the same time, the band also started to play music together.
The dragon dance team is mainly based on drums, with drum beats driving the rhythm, and then the dragon balls lead the entire grass dragon team to start the performance.
The drum beats went from gentle to intense, and the dragon dance team became more and more enthusiastic. At the same time, Du Ruo lit the fireworks and Xiang Yuanyuan took out various candies and gave them to the children who followed.
The children were waving mini straw dragons woven with Platycodon in their hands, waving happily alongside the straw dragons that were being waved by the twenty other people.
The whole performance takes about twenty minutes.
When everything was over, my father took out incense and candles and began to pray to the ancestors, while my mother took out two packs of cigarettes and red envelopes and stuffed them into the hands of the person who led the way to get the dragon ball.
"The host is so polite, everyone, please play another piece to make it more lively!!!"
The leader who got the dragon ball was also a very particular person. He touched the red envelope, looked at the two pieces of silver in his hand, and immediately picked up the dragon ball on the bamboo pole and shouted loudly.
"it is good!!"
Everyone understood the reason and stood up to respond. Then the drums started again, firecrackers rang again, and the grass dragon performed vigorously again.
The grass dragon symbolizes a good harvest, good weather, happiness and peace.
I wish all book friends: a good harvest, happiness and peace, and family reunion~~~
(End of this chapter)
