The closer it gets to the end of the year, the happier the children at home are.
Although the children were disappointed for a moment because the blue tears were gone, they became even happier when they heard that Ye Yaodong was going to take them to the market.
But Lin Xiuqing was not in high spirits. "You guys go ahead. I'll stay at home to look after the house. You should be careful and take good care of the child. Don't lose the child. There are many kidnappers during the Chinese New Year."
"Let's go together. Winter clothes are thick and cotton jackets are loose, so you can't see them."
“I’m afraid of crowds…”
"Not really. It's only a little bit big, not even seven or eight months old. We'll be back soon after we go shopping."
"Dad, you promised to take us to the movies!"
Ye Yaodong nodded and said with a smile: "Yes, our family will go to the movies together. Let's go together. It's a rare year with so many happy events. We can have a prosperous new year with great fun."
Lin Xiuqing was also very tempted by what he said. After hesitating for a moment, she nodded. She decided to be careful and take good care of her belly. It wasn't her first pregnancy anyway and the pregnancy was not too late, so it was relatively safe. Women in the village still carried hoes and went to the fields when they were seven or eight months pregnant.
"Okay, we're going to the market~ We're going to the market~" Ye Chenghu excitedly ran to the door and shouted, he wanted to tell his brothers and sisters.
Without a doubt, I received another wave of envious looks.
They also want to go, but they dare not say it for fear of being scolded!
It’s all their mother’s fault for not listening to Uncle San. Now she’s taking her anger out on them. It’s so hard for them to be children!
I don’t know if their mother will give them pocket money this year. They don’t dare to think about the lucky money. It’s confiscated every year anyway, but after confiscating it, they will still give them a dime or two in pocket money. This year, it’s probably uncertain…
Thinking about it, Ye Chenghai's face fell!
When he saw Ye Yaodong and his family of four walking out, he suddenly had an idea.
"Third uncle?"
Ye Yaodong stopped and said, "What? If you want to go to the market, ask your parents to take you there. There are too many people there, and I can't keep an eye on them."
"No..." He trotted forward and pulled Ye Yaodong to the corner to whisper.
"Uncle San, can I discuss something with you?"
"What?"
"Tell Auntie San that when she gives you the New Year's money the day after tomorrow, can you only give half? And you can give the remaining half secretly?"
"Ah?" Ye Yaodong was a little confused and couldn't understand his train of thought.
"My mother will definitely confiscate the New Year's money. She lost a lot of money and she will be in a bad mood. She will definitely not give us pocket money. If you give it to us separately like this, I won't be afraid." He said with a flattering smile.
Ye Yaodong flicked his forehead and said, "Slippery guy, we'll talk about it the day after tomorrow!"
"Hey, then I'll take that as your agreement."
Ye Yaodong smiled and ignored him, continuing to walk out with the one adult and two children. Although one person could sit on the big bar in front of the bicycle, he was afraid it would be too crowded if two sat on the back.
What's more, it is not convenient to go shopping while pushing a bicycle, and he has to take care of one adult and two children, which is inconvenient. The bicycle is also easy to be stolen when parked on the roadside.
It is more convenient to take a bus to and from the town. At the entrance of their village, they can wait for various passing buses from the county town to the town.
In recent days, many people in the village have gone to the market. Some are willing to take a car and wait on the roadside, while others walk to the town in groups.
I don’t know if it’s because it’s the end of the year, but there are more passing cars. Not long after they reached the village entrance, a small bus from the county to the town came, and the family of four happily lined up and got on the bus.
Along the way, the two children chattered non-stop and excitedly communicated with children from the same village in the car.
"My dad said he would take us to the cinema after shopping. I heard that the movies shown in the village are different..."
"Really? Your dad is so nice..."
"I think so too. I'll tell you guys after I finish watching it..."
"Okay, okay... Come back after you finish watching and tell us what the cinema looks like..."
Ye Yaodong held his forehead with his hand. All children are like this, right? Adults love to show off, let alone children. There should be nothing wrong with that, right
With the two children's expectation, they got off the bus directly on the street instead of sitting in the station. As the year was coming to an end, the town was crowded with people, and the cars were difficult to pass through, moving at a snail's pace.
Ye Yaodong held one person in his arms and led one by one, and asked Lin Xiuqing to hold his sleeves so that they would not get lost. They followed the crowd and slowly moved forward.
On both sides of the street there are baskets of people selling vegetables, fish, or selling gold ingots, window decorations and couplets, as well as various kinds of food and snacks.
He strolled along the way, and the child was so excited that he couldn't even look away, "Dad, Mom, the town is so lively today."
"Don't crowd it. It's easy to get lost. If it gets lost, we won't be able to find it. Someone will take it away, chop off its hands and feet, and let it beg on the street."
"Ah!" The two children were so frightened that they pulled even tighter. Ye Chenghu didn't dare to pull him forward.
But when he heard the cotton candy vendor shouting, he couldn't help but shout, "Mom, I want to eat cotton candy!"
"Let's go over first..." It was rare for the family to go to the market together, so Lin Xiuqing would still satisfy the child's request.
They followed the crowd to the stall selling cotton candy, where there was an old man, a three-wheeled bicycle, and a simple cotton candy-making machine. There were also many adults and children surrounding the stall.
The old man held a wooden stick in one hand and scooped sugar into the round hole in the middle of the machine with the other hand, letting it run at high speed. Then white filaments like spider threads instantly condensed inside the sugar-making machine. The old man stirred the wooden stick to let the white filaments wrap around it.
After a while, there were more and more white filaments and the marshmallows were getting bigger and bigger. The old man took another stick and continued to roll the filaments. He handed the marshmallows in his hand to the child next to him.
With money in one hand and candy in the other, the child happily accepted it and left with the adult.
Under the eager eyes of the two children, it was their turn. Each of them took a super-large marshmallow and licked it directly.
“So delicious, so sweet~”
"Mmm, so sweet!"
The two children had satisfied smiles on their faces and looked at the couple with joy.
Ye Yaodong happened to see a photo studio on the side of the road, and an idea came to his mind, "Ah Qing, let's go to the photo studio to take a family photo? Our family of four has never taken a photo together."
Ye Chenghu jumped up excitedly, "Ah... OK, OK, let's take a picture. I want to take a picture."
Lin Xiuqing nodded with a smile, "Okay!"
They have never taken a photo as a family, so it's time to take one as a souvenir.
Unexpectedly, the photo studio's business was also very good. There was a long queue to get in. Everyone probably wanted to take advantage of the New Year's Day while they were in good spirits and had some extra money to take a family photo as a souvenir.
It was their turn soon. After they sat properly and took a photo, Ye Yaodong asked the photographer to take one more, a more natural one.
Two children stood beside them, each licking a marshmallow. The couple looked at the two children with smiles on their faces. The picture was very loving and full of happiness, which could be felt directly from the camera.
As soon as the photo was taken, Ye Chenghu ran to the photographer excitedly, "Let me see, let me see..."
"You can't see clearly. You have to wait until the photos are developed."
"When will it be washed out?"
"The fastest is one week. You pay the money and come back a week later to pick it up. This is because there are so many people taking photos during the New Year and the film is used up quickly. Otherwise, it would normally take half a month to get it."
Ye Yaodong nodded. This was normal. His skills were not good enough at the moment, so it was considered fast if he could get it in a week.
Being able to take photos was already a pleasant surprise. Although they couldn’t see them right away, the two children were already extremely satisfied.
Ye Yaodong was thinking about when to bring the old lady and his parents over to take a few photos as a souvenir.
After walking out of the photo studio for a few steps, they saw someone selling candy figures, and they couldn't walk anymore.
I saw that the roadside stalls were filled with sugar figures of various shapes, including chickens, monkeys, and even phoenixes...
This is a small stall that paints sugar figures. Next to the stone slab on which the sugar figures are painted, there is also a round plate with flowers, birds, animals and insects painted on it.
After paying the money, you can turn the pointer on the disk and do what it points to. The children around are attracted and beg the adults for help.
Ye Chenghu and Ye Chengyang hadn't even finished eating the marshmallows in their hands, but they pulled their sleeves and looked at their parents eagerly.
"Dad, there are sugar men..."
Of course Ye Chenghu knew that his father was easier to talk to than his mother!
It was just a few cents, so Ye Yaodong had no reason to refuse. Since they were out, the whole family should have a good time.
After he took out the money, he asked the two children to spin the pointer on the plate. Ye Chenghu spat into his palms twice and rubbed his hands amid the envy of the children around him.
"Who did you learn this from? You even spit into your hands. Do you think you're doing some kind of manual labor?"
Ye Yaodong looked at his eldest son's actions speechlessly. He didn't know who he learned it from. Children's ability to imitate is really strong.
"Haha, Dad, stop making noise. I want to turn into a phoenix! Phoenix... Phoenix..."
He moved the pointer, and it spun rapidly. When it finally started to spin slowly, he puffed up his cheeks and blew air, trying to blow the pointer to the phoenix, but it stopped at the tiger's position.
"Ahahaha, tigers are fine too, I like tigers too!"
"Yangyang, it's your turn. Try to imitate your brother's moves." Lin Xiuqing smiled and taught him gently in his ear.
But Ye Chengyang was not very good at it. He hooked his finger and the pointer stopped before it even made a full circle.
Ye Chenghu said disdainfully: "You idiot, I should have helped you transfer it earlier."
"It's okay, monkeys are also very good, and he happened to be born in the year of the monkey!"
Ye Chengyang nodded happily, "Monkey, I am a monkey!"
The master craftsman who made sugar figures started painting after they finished turning.
Sugar figures are drawn with syrup on slate, which is usually smooth and cool marble, and a layer of anti-stick oil is applied on it.
The master craftsmen scooped up the cooked syrup with a small spoon and poured it smoothly into lines on the stone slab. After thousands of times of hammering, their skills are very sophisticated and they can complete the work in one go without any pause.
Moreover, the syrup cools down quickly on the stone slab, so it must be done in one go.
The process of making the sugar man is very exciting. After a spoonful of syrup is used up, the big tiger that has been outlined with lines also takes shape vividly.
The master craftsman scooped up the sugar painting with a small spatula, stuck a bamboo stick on it, and handed it to Ye Chenghu.
Ye Chenghu took it excitedly, "My tiger... My tiger... Haha..."
After painting Ye Chenghu's tiger, he followed with Ye Chengyang's monkey. The monkey was simpler and soon took shape under the master's skillful techniques.
The children watching nearby were also amazed. Which child could resist the charm of the sugar man? They all begged their parents behind them. Some parents who loved their children could only pay the money.