Chapter 97: The Auspicious Lantern Festival

  The Lantern Festival is indeed as wonderful as its reputation suggests.

  The streets were crowded and bustling, with shops on both sides of the street having prepared all sorts of lanterns, hanging them in front of their doors. Some business owners even gave small lanterns as gifts to customers, packaged and handed out, a marketing tactic reminiscent of later generations' holidays. Suddenly, a large number of vendors appeared out of nowhere, making the normally spacious streets narrow and crowded. The various goods on display at the stalls attracted people to stop and watch, creating a lively and extraordinary scene. The stalls selling lanterns and lantern riddles were especially popular, drawing in large crowds of people who gathered around them in groups of three or five, eager to try their hand.

  Young ladies and daughters-in-law who rarely go out on weekdays, flocked to the streets, either with family and friends or accompanied by guards, also put aside many of their usual worries, only going to crowded places, watching the excitement, or buying some exquisite trinkets, each different, but everyone's face wore a joyful smile, all looking content.

  Qin Dai Xin walked along the way, and was also infected by this joyful atmosphere, and even came up with a few playful thoughts, but at present, all the people from Qin's house were sitting in the shed under the viewing platform, so she couldn't just wander around alone.

  They say that the Qin family's entourage was riding in a horse-drawn carriage to visit the lantern festival. Qin Dai's heart was quite disdainful of this matter. The Qin residence is only about 100-200 meters away from Zheng Street, and once you leave the alley, you're already there - what's the point of making such a big show? Later she found out that the most prosperous place in Taizhou is indeed Sanzi Street, but this is where the rich people gather. Those who can establish their residence here are either wealthy or noble. And if they want to truly enjoy themselves with the common people, they still need to walk another segment of road, towards Xishi.

  Taizhou is divided into two cities, east and west. The eastern city is a commercial hub centered on 30 An Street, while the western city is more down-to-earth, with shops following a more populist route, and many small vendors also love to set up stalls here to sell their wares.

  To put it bluntly, if Dongshi is a supermarket, Xishi is a farmer's market.

  The carriage stopped at a wide open space, where someone who looked like they were in charge collected the Qin family's token and had the young servants lead the horses to a quiet spot, where a dedicated person was responsible for watching them, while others led the crowd along the way to the theater shed.

  The Lantern Festival party hosted by the Magistrate of Zhi State was set up in an open space in the western market. A high platform, about three or four meters high, was built on the empty land. The pillars supporting the platform were as thick as a bowl mouth, and it was said that the craftsmen had worked overnight to build it. The platform was hung with all kinds of colorful lanterns, which were ordinary in style but impressive in number, looking very beautiful when placed together. A dark green curtain was hung on the stage, surrounded by red silk on both sides, giving off a sense of grandeur similar to that of a temple fair, adding to the festive atmosphere. On either side of the platform stood four lamp posts, each containing candles as thick as a bowl mouth for lighting. By this time, the surrounding area was already crowded with people who had come to watch the commotion, having heard that the government was spending money to invite the common people to watch acrobatics. They arrived early to occupy their positions and pointed at the decorations on the platform, marveling at them as if they were opening their eyes for the first time. Just then, several officials dressed in formal attire brought out two red carpets and placed one on either side of the curtain, spreading them out and eliciting another round of applause.

  There are over a dozen simple viewing sheds under the stage, with canvas tents resembling Mongolian yurts on the outside and ordinary green bricks paved inside. The shed only has tables, chairs, and wooden beds for guests to rest. Since men and women sit separately, this viewing shed currently only has the ladies of the Qin Manor.

  Mr. Fang was supported by someone and went to the women's pavilion of another family, letting Fang Wanru empty-handedly visit various ladies.

  Qin Dai's heart heard a few unusual points from here, and he was afraid that the governor's banquet had other profound meanings, and it wouldn't be as simple as the commercial event on the surface.

  Dusk arrived as scheduled, the crescent moon appeared shallowly, and the lights of each stall lit up at the same time. It was truly a sea of lights, bright as day, with loud voices and endless laughter.

  On the high platform, gongs and drums sounded in unison, and the acrobatic troupe formed a formation to officially start the performance.

  Qin Dai's eyes were fixed intently on the stage, oblivious to the subtle atmosphere in the shed.

  On the stage were two six or seven year old girls, with extremely flexible bodies, balancing over a dozen stacked bowls on their heads, their bodies twisted backwards to form a circle.

  Everyone else was excited, but Qin Dai alone was deep in thought. She remembered her childhood, training every day, exposed to things that shouldn't exist in a child's world: violence, bloodshed, and even ***, she recalled the demonic training, the concentration camp-like life, those memories that seemed to have left her long ago, yet were now being drawn out again, so vividly, as if she had never left.

  In a daze, thunderous applause erupted, and the two sisters had already finished their performance and were getting up to take their bows.

  Fang Wanru also took out a red envelope she had prepared and let the maidservants hand it over to the small copper basin.

  Qin Dai Xin was getting a bit restless and took the opportunity to express her desire to go out for a walk in a subtle manner to Fang Wan Ru.

  Fang Wanru considered it for a moment and agreed. Every year on the Lantern Festival, the young ladies of the mansion would also take their maids to stroll around the streets.

  She instructed the two women in detail, telling them to follow carefully, and also told Qin Dai Xin not to get too carried away, and to return early. After that, she shifted her gaze back to the high platform.

  A young man is performing a stunt with a small clay pot half a meter high being thrown into the air.

  Qin Dai Xin took four personal maids and two married women out of the pavilion quietly. Soon after, Qin Qian Xin and Qin Ruo Xin also led their maids and married women out of the pavilion respectively.

  After leaving the shed, Qin Dai's mood inexplicably improved, and looking at the crowded crowd coming and going, she didn't feel annoyed either.

  As expected, Qin Daiyu knew that she disliked crowded places the most. Seeing her in a good mood was quite unexpected.

  Four maidservants followed closely, two matrons brought up the rear, and although the group's presence was not overly grand, it was still not something that could be compared to a humble household. The people were dressed in fine attire, and those who saw them could only retreat from afar, not daring to approach, fearing they might provoke someone they shouldn't.

  Qin Dai's heart was unhappy, wanting to get rid of the two old women, so she deliberately went to where there were more people. Who knew that the two old women were also well-trained and managed to keep up with her pace? On the other hand, several young maidservants seemed unaccustomed to squeezing in such a crowded place and were somewhat struggling.

  It's rare to come out, can't waste all the time on this? Qin Dai simply ignored the two old women, pretending not to see them, and took the four girls to stroll past one by one.

  The night market was not small, and in addition to the stalls selling flower lanterns and guessing lantern riddles, there were also many more stalls selling silk flowers and snacks. Qin Dai Xin found a stall selling rouge and powder, as well as silk flower accessories, and bought each of the four maids some hair ornaments as their festival gifts.

  Several girls were naturally delighted, and they picked up styles and colors one after another. After playing for a while, they spent only three or two silver coins, but bought more than ten different types of ornaments, including small earrings, silk flowers, wooden hairpins carved from wood, pearl strings, etc.

  The crowd wandered around for a while, and Qin Dai's stomach growled with hunger. She picked out a small food stall selling "Tuan Yuan" (sweet glutinous rice balls) and ordered several bowls of different fillings to eat.

  It's funny to say that this "reunion" is actually the later generations' Tangyuan, but here it's called "reunion".

  Because there were many people patronizing the snack stall, Qin Dai Xin had waited for half a day but still couldn't get her turn to have the glutinous rice balls served. The old couple selling the glutinous rice balls kept apologizing and asked everyone to wait for a moment. Seeing that Qin Dai Xin agreed, they smiled and went back to work busily.

  Qin Dai Xin had nothing to do, so she let the two old women wait on the chairs and took four maids to the next stall to choose lanterns.

  It's probably because of the poor location that this stall is deserted, with the owner watching as others' businesses thrive while his own has no customers, anxiously pacing back and forth. Seeing Qin Daijin dressed in fine clothes, he took her for a noble guest and suddenly beamed like a flower, greeting her with extra enthusiasm.

  "Take a look, miss. Our lanterns are of the finest craftsmanship and have novel designs. They're a traditional family trade passed down from our ancestors. If you like any, I can give you a discount."

  Qin Dai Xin didn't care about the small amount of money, but hearing him speak generously also made her happy, so she simply picked up a few lanterns to match the atmosphere.

  Everyone was in high spirits, so they started picking out lanterns in front of the stall. They picked an eight-sided lantern, a Chang'e racing to the moon lantern, a snowflake lantern made of thin silk, and also a complex prismatic lantern.

  Four girls each held a lantern, their faces beaming with joy. The happiest of them all was the little vendor who sold flower lanterns, his smile so wide that it seemed to split his face in two.

  As the crowd was about to turn around and go back to eat reunion dinner, Qin Dai's heart suddenly caught sight of a corner of the stall hanging a peculiarly beautiful flower lamp. The entire lamp body was like a delicate treasure pagoda, with exquisite floral patterns painted on it. The four corners of the lamp were decorated with red tassels, but what was most special was the inside of the lamp, where the candle was placed - it was a small three-dimensional cloud sparrow candle holder. The cloud sparrow looked lifelike, its feathers clear and visible, truly endearing to people.

  Qin Dai Xin thought that such a beautiful lamp, Su Shi must like it, and hurriedly let the vendor hand over the flower lamp to her. She held it in her hands and looked at it carefully, liking it more and more as she did so, and asked: "Why was this lamp placed in a corner? What's the price?"

  The peddler didn't care about anything else, and just said: "Miss, take care of my business. If you like it, give me five taels of silver. This lamp is time-consuming and costly to make, and it's quite difficult."

  Qin Dai Xin nodded, this price was indeed reasonable, so she took out five taels of silver from her purse and handed it to the vendor.

  She turned around just about to leave, but heard a sudden burst of sound coming from behind her, and the word "whip" flashed into her mind. Before she could react, she felt a thin whip wrapped around her wrist, and a voice like a skylark said: "I'll give you ten taels for this lamp."

  PS: Are all the judges on vacation? Why haven't they collected anything for many days in a row? You need to work harder!