Today is the Half-Year Festival. Many people go out to the market and visit relatives. The streets are bustling with people and cars.
Because they were not in a hurry and it was inconvenient to ride on horseback on a crowded road, Yan Liqiang and Qian Su rode their rhinoceros horses and chatted as they walked, just like taking a walk. It took them almost two hours to get from the Artisan Camp to Lujia Village.
Today's Lujiazhuang is indeed more lively than it was more than a month ago. On the road leading to Lujiazhuang, early in the morning, there are several times more pedestrians than usual. It seems that people from all over the nearby villages are rushing to Lujiazhuang.
Those who were heading towards Lujiazhuang, each family brought their elderly and children, some riding in ox carts, some riding in horse carriages, some in teams of five or six, some in groups of dozens, all heading towards Lujiazhuang happily.
Some people were driving cars with empty seats for passengers, and many people invited people walking on the road to get on the car and ride with them.
There were some young men, some riding horses, some walking, all of them were in high spirits.
There were also some young women, sitting in groups of three or five in cars decorated with flowers. Each of them wore brightly colored skirts and had various beautiful flowers in their hair. They dressed themselves up beautifully and walked on the road with the crowd.
The women were chattering, the men were laughing, the young men and women looked at each other, sometimes joked, and asked each other where they lived, "I know so-and-so, do you know him/her?". If they got along well, the men would invite the women to go together, and if the women agreed, the group would go together, which was even more lively. If they didn't get along well, they would go their separate ways without affecting each other.
Yan Liqiang found this scene very interesting. Shopping was a very common thing in his previous life, but the atmosphere was not as warm and festive as the one in front of him. Even during festivals, the shopping malls on the street tried their best to create a festive and cheerful atmosphere, but there was still a sense of distance between people, and they were a little indifferent, not as festive and warm as the one in front of him.
Yan Liqiang was deeply infected by the smiles and happiness on the faces of strangers he met along the way.
Seeing Yan Liqiang riding on the tall rhino horse, young and handsome, with extraordinary looks and temperament, he attracted the attention of countless young women along the way.
"Uncle Qian, why is Lujiazhuang so lively today?"
Yan Liqiang asked Qian Su again and found that Qian Su didn't say anything. He turned his head and found that Qian Su's eyes were fixed on a woman on the ox cart in front. The woman was in her thirties, wearing a red skirt. She was in her prime, with a plump figure, big breasts and a perky butt, and was quite pretty.
The woman also noticed that Qian Su was looking at her, and the two of them were exchanging glances.
Yan Liqiang slowed down his voice, "Ahem... Ahem, Uncle Qian..."
“Ah, what, Li Qiang, you called me…” Qian Su reacted immediately and turned to ask Yan Liqiang.
"It's such a beautiful day, Uncle Qian, why don't you go up and ask. If there is still room for people on the ox cart, Uncle Qian can get off and squeeze in with those women, and I will lead the Rhino Horse to Lujiazhuang!" Yan Liqiang said mischievously with narrowed eyes.
Qian Su's face turned red and he glared at Yan Liqiang, "You dare to tease your elders at such a young age!"
Yan Liqiang burst into laughter...
…
When they arrived at a gate outside Lujiazhuang, there was still some distance when Yan Liqiang saw his old acquaintance Lu Wenbin looking over here at the gate. He and Qian Su were riding on rhinoceros horses, which were very eye-catching. When they saw Lu Wenbin, Lu Wenbin also saw them. When they approached on rhinoceros horses, Lu Wenbin walked towards the two people with a bright and enthusiastic smile on his face.
Yan Liqiang and Qian Su also dismounted from the Rhino Horses and handed the reins to the two Lu family farmhands who had come over with Lu Wenbin.
"Lu Wenbin meets Supervisor Qian and Master Yan!" Lu Wenbin saluted the two men. Seeing that Yan Liqiang's temperament changed immediately after he changed his clothes, even Lu Wenbin couldn't help but look at Yan Liqiang a few more times.
Yan Liqiang blinked at Lu Wenbin and smiled, "Manager Lu, you are too polite!"
"Hahaha, is Brother Payne here? I have an appointment with Brother Payne to go fishing today, and I can't wait. Right now, the sun has just come out, and it's a good time for fishing..." Qian Su said while looking around.
"Sixth Brother is waiting for Qian Yingjian by the lake!"
"Okay, let's go right away, right away..." Qian Su said, then turned around and said to Yan Liqiang, "Lianhua Lake has beautiful scenery, it is a scenic spot in Huanglong County. You haven't seen it yet, you can go and see it together. If you want to visit the market in Lujiazhuang, you can wait until the afternoon, which is the busiest time."
"Yes, yes, yes. It will be lively in the afternoon when the several opera troupes invited by Lujiazhuang start to perform. If Mr. Yan wants to watch the show, he can wait until the afternoon. The master has already reserved a seat for Mr. Yan in the stands..." Steward Lu also said with a smile.
"Okay, let's go see the scenery of Lianhua Lake that Uncle Qian mentioned!" Yan Liqiang nodded.
"Please follow me, both of you..."
The three people did not enter Lujiazhuang. Lu Wenbin took them directly to the river outside the wall of Lujiazhuang Fortress and asked them to get on a small boat. After instructing the boatman, the boatman rowed the boat towards the distance.
The boat was just full with two people and the boatman. It moved very lightly on the river. In just a short while, the boat circled around the fortress wall of Lujiazhuang and entered a beautiful lake with endless scenery.
The water of the lake is so clear that you can see the fish swimming around. Sitting on the boat, looking around, you can see fields of lotus leaves everywhere. Many frogs are squatting on the lotus leaves, staring at the people on the boat with wide eyes, and then jumping into the water when the boat approaches.
It is midsummer now, the time when lotus flowers are in bloom. Pink, white or red lotus flowers stand gracefully among the lotus leaves and can be reached with one's hand. The view is breathtakingly beautiful. The boat gliding among them is like gliding in a forest full of green flowers. A breeze blows, and the lotus leaves sway gracefully. The nose is filled with the elegant fragrance of lotus flowers, which is really refreshing.
After a while, the boatman rowed the boat to a small island in the middle of the lake.
The island is surrounded by water. There is a pavilion, an attic and some trees on the island. It is a good place for fishing.
A stocky and short man in his thirties, with a face somewhat similar to Mr. Lu and a small mustache, stood on the edge of a stone staircase on the island, watching the approaching boat with a smile.
"Hahaha, Brother Qian, you're finally here. Let's see who's better today. It's just in time for us to make fish soup tonight..." The man and Qian Su laughed, then looked at Yan Liqiang, sizing him up from head to toe, with an even brighter smile in his eyes, "This must be Master Yan, he's really a handsome man!"
"Yan Liqiang greets Sixth Master!" Yan Liqiang saluted the man.
This Sixth Master, named Lu Pei'en, is one of Mr. Lu's sons and the sixth in the family. Yan Liqiang had heard of Lu Pei'en's name the last time he listened to Lu Wenbin's introduction to Lujiazhuang. Many of the Lu family's industries in Huanglong County are managed by this Lu Pei'en. This man can be said to be versatile and is one of the core figures of the Lu family.
Yan Liqiang did not feel strange about Qian Su and Lu Pei'en's acquaintance, because the Zui Xiang Lou that Qian Su often went to was one of the businesses managed by this Sixth Master. What Yan Liqiang found strange was that this Sixth Master was such a busy man, how could he have time to come here today to gamble and fish with Qian Su to kill time? Perhaps the two of them had something to talk about, just like the bosses in the previous life liked to talk about business while playing golf.
"Li Qiang, Brother Payne and I are fishing here. You are a young man. If you feel bored, why not take a boat around in the Lotus Lake? We'll see you at lunch!"
Hearing Qian Su say this, Yan Li couldn't help but want to do it. It would be torture for him to sit here and stare at the two fishing rods motionlessly.
After saying goodbye to Qian Su and Lu Pei'en, Yan Liqiang got on the boat again and asked the boatman to take him for a spin on the lake.
Seeing Yan Liqiang leave, Qian Su and Lu Peien smiled at each other...
…
The golden color in the lake was so beautiful that Yan Liqiang was completely fascinated by it...
"Oh, Master Yan, it's bad, the boat is leaking..." Suddenly, the boatman who was leading him shouted. Yan Liqiang looked down and found that a hole as big as a wine glass had appeared on the bed floor behind him, under the feet of the boatman, and the lake water was gurgling out from underneath.
How come there is a hole in this boat
"I can swim, it doesn't matter, you just need to row the boat back!" Yan Liqiang said calmly.
"There are two people on this boat, and it's leaking so fast, I'm afraid we can't get back..."
"Then what should we do? Do you mean we all swim back?" Yan Liqiang looked at the boatman with amusement. If that were the case, his outfit for the day would be ruined. It's not that he felt sorry for the clothes, he just thought it was a little funny. He didn't expect to encounter this situation himself.
"That's not necessary. Master Yan just needs to change a boat and I can row back by myself..."
"Change boat? Where does the boat come from?"
“Ah…” the boatman shouted exaggeratedly, just like the exclamations of the chefs at the beginning of Stephen Chow’s “The God of Cookery”, “Look, Master Yan, what a coincidence, a boat just happened to come over there…” The fisherman pointed to the distance, Yan Liqiang turned his head and just saw a small boat sliding out from a lotus leaf.
On that boat, there was a boatman and a woman in a green dress. When he looked over, the woman on the boat over there also looked over and sized up Yan Liqiang with a very strange look in her eyes...
The boatman on this side called out, and the small boat over there rowed over. The two boats were connected in the middle of a lotus leaf. After the two boatmen stabilized the boats, Yan Liqiang changed boats and sat on the new boat.
The boatman who brought Yan Liqiang here rowed the "leaky" boat and disappeared among the lotus leaves in the blink of an eye...
(End of this chapter)