The temple fair in Luozhou City is quite famous. From the first to the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, people from all over the country flocked to the Tai'an Temple in the city. People who do small business can't rest during the Chinese New Year. The money they make in these days may be enough for the next half of the year.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Yan Wenkuan was in high spirits. He thought that Yan Yu and Qin Zhuen would be returning to Beijing after the New Year, so he decided to take his brothers and sisters to visit the local temple fair, which would also be considered as a courtesy to his nephews who came here to celebrate the New Year. friendship.
One old and four young, four boys and one girl, were walking around, eating and shopping, quite happily. During this period, Qin Zhuen and Yan Yu were particularly clever. They bought everything Yan Wenkuan and Yan Tian had seen twice, whether it was food, clothing or entertainment. And it seems that the division of labor is becoming more and more clear. Qin Zhuen pays special attention to Yan Tian, while Yan Yu mainly pays attention to his third uncle.
As a result, it seemed that Tian Shuangquan was a little timid. Money is a hero's courage, silver is a man's waist. At this time, Tian Shuangquan was so timid that he couldn't even straighten his waist. He couldn't help but have a look on his face, becoming more and more embarrassed.
So when Yan Tian looked at the lantern at the lantern riddle stall and smiled sweetly, Tian Shuangquan finally felt that the hero had a place to play, and immediately rushed forward, pointed at the lantern and said to the stall owner: "Boss, I want to guess this lantern riddles!"
Everyone stopped to look. Qin Zhuen turned to look at Yan Tian again.
"These guests have great eyesight!" The owner of the lantern riddle stall stretched out his thumb and shook it at everyone, "This glazed lantern is a foreign product that has just been shipped across the ocean. This is Luozhou City, no, it is found in Kyoto. There is no second one. It is the king of lanterns here, and its lantern riddles are naturally the most difficult. Limited time, half a stick of incense, if you guess it, you will get a glazed lamp as a gift. If you can't guess it, please pay two taels of silver! "
"Two taels of silver?!" Tian Shuangquan exclaimed, with a bit of hesitation in his eyes.
"Don't be surprised, young man." The stall owner said with a smile, "I also bought this lamp for ten taels of silver. If it weren't for making money, who would spend the money on the two acres of land to buy a lamp? But if The young master is so talented that he can naturally take away this lamp without spending a penny. I am willing to admit defeat! Whether I can take it away for nothing depends on the young master's ability."
As soon as these words came out, Tian Shuangquan was lifted up into the air and unable to get down. If he stopped guessing, saying that he was stingy and reluctant to part with money would be second best. Saying that he was incapable of giving up without fighting would be the real loss of face.
Yan Tian thought deeply and wanted to help him out. Unexpectedly, Tian Shuangquan's mind became hot and he immediately became hardened.
"Just guess! Cousin, wait! I will definitely win that lantern back for you!" His generosity was even greater than rushing to the battlefield.
"Uh...thank you cousin." Yan Tian could only nod his thanks.
Tian Shuangquan's heart suddenly skipped a beat when he saw Yan Tian's pair of plump autumn water, and then he felt extremely heroic.
"Boss! Question!"
The stall owner smiled slightly and reached out to turn over the red lacquered bamboo sign under the glazed lamp.
Qin Zhuen glanced at the arrogant Tian Shuangquan, and then looked at Yan Tian: "Well, this lantern is indeed unique. However, if you carry it when traveling during the Lantern Festival, it seems that it will easily attract bees, waves and butterflies..."
Dogs bark! Yan Tian rolled his eyes and reached out to pat the dog-head lantern next to him.
Yan Yu raised his eyebrows and looked at Qin Zhuen. Why does this guy talk so sourly?
Yan Wenkuan was still stroking his beard and pretending to be his Maitreya Buddha with a smile.
The lantern riddles of the glazed lantern are really good.
"One less than a thousand and one more than a thousand. Type one word." Tian Shuangquan opened his mouth and read, then thought to himself, "One less than a thousand is nine hundred and ninety-nine. One more than a thousand That’s one thousand and one. But adding these two together…”
At this time, the people around him gradually gathered around when they saw someone trying to guess the Damp King. The stall owner looked at the half of the remaining incense that was lit and chuckled inwardly. As soon as this person came up, he started making various calculations like those before him. Forget it, forget it, there was a bookkeeper who even took out an abacus just now, but he couldn't figure out the reason.
Sure enough, Tian Shuangquan became more and more confused as he calculated. Although it was a cold winter, he was slowly starting to sweat on his head.
It was because he was too impulsive. I thought he was a scholar with great fame, but why couldn't he guess these wild lantern riddles? But in fact, crouching tigers, hidden dragons often appear in rural areas, and this lantern riddle is really tricky.
If he took the initiative to admit defeat, let alone the two taels of silver that made his flesh ache, even in front of so many people, especially Yan Tian, he couldn't afford to lose face!
But half of the incense stick was about to burn out, so he probably had no other choice but to admit defeat. Tian Shuangquan's face gradually turned red, and his clothes were soaked with sweat.
"Master, please hurry up, this incense is about to burn out." The stall owner reminded with a smile, feeling very proud in his heart. Another twenty taels of silver will be credited to the account! This business is really easy to do. The Lamp King has already earned enough capital, and the rest is a net profit.
Yan Tian glanced at Tian Shuangquan, knowing that he was riding a tiger and unable to dismount, so he solemnly looked at the lantern fan.
The remaining incense was about to burn out, and Tian Shuangquan was sweating like rain.
"Ren!" Yan Tian suddenly said.
In just one breath, Qin Zhuen immediately understood and said: "It's a piece!"
As soon as the words fell, the remaining incense burned out.
Tian Shuangquan and the people watching were still confused, but the stall owner looked livid.
"Boss, are our guesses right?" Qin Zhuen glanced at Yan Tian, then smiled at the stall owner, "If they are all right, who will we give this lantern to?"
Only then did Yan Yu suddenly realize: "Then it's right to use the word '仵'!"
"The incense has burned to ashes, this young master's does not count!" The stall owner said to Yan Yu through clenched teeth.
Yan Wenkuan smiled and nodded: "The two of them did tell the answer in front of the incense. This lantern is difficult to handle!"
"You are in the same group, and even if you give ten answers, it is your family's business." The stall owner was quite angry at this time. He reached out and took off the lantern and stuffed it into Qin Zhuen's arms, "Besides, it was obvious at first that only One person had to guess, but in the end they all got involved together. You can win without force, but you can win without force! Take the lantern away quickly! Don't stop me from continuing my business!"
The more the stall owner talked, the more distressed he became, and he waved his hands to drive them away.
Everyone laughed and dispersed.
Qin Zhuen held the lantern and looked at Yan Tian with his hands spread out. He looked innocent but showed off: "The boss gave it to me. I also like this lantern quite a lot. What do you think I should do..."
"The lanterns attract bees and butterflies. I guess the stall owner thinks they are a good match for Brother Qin." Yan Tian smiled half-heartedly, turned around and left.
This girl! You are so small-minded. Qin Zhuen curled his lips and hurriedly followed. Behind him, Sanshou casually threw two pieces of silver worth more than ten taels to the lantern riddle stall owner...
Tian Shuangquan felt a little sad when he visited the temple fair again. After the incident just now, he had not earned back his face, but had lost face again. Therefore, no matter how interesting and lively the street was, it became boring to him.
Everyone could understand him when they saw him like this, so they walked around for a while and then decided to go back home. Unexpectedly, on the way back home, there was another excitement. Two teams of people were getting married at the same time. This was exactly what Qin Zhuen, the eighth mother-in-law, had in mind. Everyone followed him and stopped on the street to watch for a while.
"Eh? These sedans are all red, why is that sedan pink?" Yan Tian is young after all, and has never seen many weddings. It was strange to see this today.
Uh... Yan Wenkuan tugged on his beard and didn't move. The old father was so kind to his daughter that he really didn't know how to explain it, and more importantly, he was afraid that his daughter would say something nice again on the spot. He glanced at Tian Shuangquan, who was beside him with a droopy head.
Qin Zhuen watched the excitement with great interest, and casually added: "Hey! I don't know this! You only carry the pink sedan when you marry a concubine. Naturally, the pink sedan is sitting in the beautiful concubine of this Xinna family, and the one on the horse The old man is so gorgeous..."
After a pause, he suddenly remembered that Yan Tian was a girl who had not left the court. Qin Zhuen turned around and saw that the girl was thoughtful, but there was no sign of shame. Well, he was overthinking it. Yan Tian shouldn't be regarded as some kind of girl.
At this moment, Yan Yu said: "The two teams seem to be on top."
Sure enough, the street was narrow, and two groups of sedan chairs walking towards each other met at the intersection.
They were all getting married, and they were all loud and loud with drums and music, but one party immediately sat with a handsome young man standing guard next to a big red sedan chair. Immediately sitting on one side was a fat old man carrying a pink sedan chair. Anyone can see the logic behind this. Those who take concubines will naturally have to give way to those who get married, not to mention that the groom on the horse is such an outstanding-looking young man.
Unfortunately, the results were a big surprise. After the two parties sent people to negotiate, the red sedan wedding party retreated three feet, making way for the pink sedan concubine.
The people onlookers sighed and were quite puzzled. Yan Wenkuan and others also looked at each other, wondering what the story was.
But after all, Qin Zhuen had sharp eyes and suddenly pointed at the young groom on the horse and said, "Isn't that the son-in-law that the Leng family got by throwing embroidery balls?"
In one sentence, everyone was cleared up. Outside, relationships and sophistication all depend on men. When two groups of sedan chairs meet, if they are both well-established men, it is natural that the one marrying will be a person of ethical standards and the one taking a concubine will be a romantic one. It is orthodox for the concubinage procession to make way for the wedding sedan.
However, the son-in-law's status was low and he was lower than the head of the family who inherited the family line. Looking at the man outside, he can't stand up for his son-in-law, and he doesn't dare to stand up. This is the rule.
The fun just passed away with a laugh, and I don’t know what was going on in the minds of those involved. But there were two people in the Yan family who fell in love with him.
One is Yan Tian. Although his expression has been normal since the way back, he feels uncomfortable in his heart. Just because his father and brother were both there, he didn't dare to show any signs of weakness.
The other one is Tian Shuangquan. He has been timid since the temple fair. Later, he lost a bet, and the lantern fan realized that he had lost his master, and became depressed. What's more, when he saw the scene where the Leng family's son-in-law gave way, he seemed to have been greatly stimulated. The whole way back, he had a look on his face, and he felt quite worried and gloomy.
Everyone more or less understood what he was thinking, so they didn't try to expose it.
What Yan Wenkuan didn't expect was that his nephew was really unexpected and had great ideas.
On the fifth day of the first lunar month, Yan Yu and Qin Zhuen came to the Yan family to resign and return to the capital. After all, the Chinese New Year has passed, so it is not good to leave home and career behind and stay in Luozhou.
Also coming to resign was Tian Shuangquan. He also wants to go to the capital...
