The Maple Bridge and the river bank were crowded with people watching the fun. After a few cannon shots, dozens of dragon boats entered the water at the same time. The boatmen were ready to go, and there was a drummer standing next to the dragon head, beating the drum loudly.
"Sister, let's go over there..." Xiaoqing saw a high platform built at the other end of the river from afar, with a wide view, convenient for watching the competition, so she held Bai Suzhen's hand tightly and wanted to run towards the high platform, but the crowd was crowded and it was difficult to move forward. "Could it be that all the people in Zhenjiang Prefecture came to Fengqiao to watch the excitement..." Xiaoqing muttered with some complaints, and suddenly heard three gongs and drums, followed by the crowd's cheers. She looked up and saw that the dragon boat race had officially begun, and dozens of dragon boats were cutting through the waves, making it very lively.
"Hmph, I can't walk over. Can't I fly over? Sister, let's go!" Xiaoqing put her arms around Bai Suzhen's waist, tapped her toes, and flew up. After a few jumps, she reached the high platform at the other end of the river.
"Ah--" Two women suddenly fell from the sky beside him. For a moment, many people on the platform were startled. Their eyes turned from the dragon boat to Xiaoqing and Bai Suzhen. When they saw that both of them were as beautiful as fairies, their eyes suddenly lit up and the frightened expressions on their faces immediately turned into amazement.
"Have you never seen a grown-up girl?" Xiao Qing glared at everyone with an impatient look. Her cold eyes made everyone shudder, and they all shrank their necks, tactfully retracted their gazes, and carefully retreated away from her.
"Qing'er—" Bai Suzhen smiled apologetically at everyone, secretly squeezed Xiaoqing's hand, raised her eyes and looked at the river. Seeing dozens of dragon boats chasing each other, the race was exciting, and her mood could not help but be excited. "Qing'er, look, the speed of those two dragon boats is comparable. Which dragon boat do you think will win?"
"The one on the left will win." Xiaoqing said decisively.
Bai Suzhen asked with a smile: "Why are you so sure?"
Xiao Qing raised her chin, looked at the two dragon boats moving in parallel, and said, "The boatmen on the left and right boats all cooperated well with each other, but the drummer on the left boat was obviously more experienced. The beating of the drums was in perfect harmony with the rowing rhythm of the boatmen. The coordination between the drummer and boatmen was also impeccable, so they will definitely win."
"You've watched carefully." Bai Suzhen looked at Xiaoqing intently, with a smile on her lips, obviously agreeing with Xiaoqing's opinion.
Xiaoqing was very pleased with Bai Suzhen's praise. Suddenly, someone behind her called out hesitantly, "Miss Xiaoqing?"
Xiaoqing was startled and looked back blankly, but saw a handsome young man in brocade clothes and jade belt standing not far behind her. It was none other than Zhang Yutang, whom she met in Qiantang.
"Zhang Yutang? Why are you here?" Xiaoqing was quite surprised to meet Zhang Yutang in Suzhou City.
Zhang Yutang strode forward, his eyes filled with excitement and joy. He bowed to Bai Suzhen and said hello, then fixed his eyes on Xiaoqing and replied, "I came to Suzhou with my father to do business. It happened to be the Dragon Boat Festival today and I had nothing to do, so I came to stroll by the Maple Bridge. I didn't expect to meet you, Xiaoqing, here." He paused and asked, "By the way, Xiaoqing, why are you in Suzhou?"
"That's a long story." Xiao Qing didn't want to explain further, so she changed the subject and asked casually, "What kind of business are you doing with your father?"
Zhang Yutang said: "It's some medicinal materials business."
"Medicinal herbs business?" Xiao Qing couldn't help but think of Xu Xian when she heard the word medicinal herbs. Thinking of Xu Xian, she felt angry and frowned, with a dull expression on her face.
Zhang Yutang saw Xiaoqing's expression suddenly become unhappy, and thought that he had said something wrong. Feeling at a loss, he heard a soft voice saying: "Since Mr. Zhang and your father are in the medicinal materials business, maybe we will have business dealings in the future." He was slightly startled and looked at Bai Suzhen in confusion.
Bai Suzhen smiled and explained to Zhang Yutang, "Our Bao'an Hall is a medicine shop. We have to buy some medicinal herbs on weekdays. If the medicinal herbs supplied by Master Zhang are genuine and of good value, our Bao'an Hall can take the lead in purchasing them from you."
Zhang Yutang's eyes lit up and he said happily, "Really? Thank you very much, young lady." Then he bowed to Bai Suzhen as a greeting.
Bai Suzhen smiled and said, "Mr. Zhang, you don't have to be so polite." She turned her eyes to Xiaoqing and saw that Xiaoqing was pouting in displeasure and turned her face away. She laughed secretly and whispered in her ear, "Qing'er, I'm not doing this for Xu Xian, but to get everything in Bao'an Hall back on track, so that I can leave with you sooner."
"Really?" Xiaoqing suddenly opened her eyes wide, turned her head and looked at Bai Suzhen with joy, Bai Suzhen just smiled and said nothing. At this time, a gong sounded, Xiaoqing turned her head and saw that the dragon boat race had already decided the winner. As expected, the winner was the dragon boat she had favored.
"Ha, look, sister, the dragon boat on the left really won." Xiaoqing was in a good mood, with a bright smile on her face.
Bai Suzhen smiled with bright eyes, quietly looking at Xiaoqing who was excited like a child beside her, her heart softened, and suddenly she noticed from the corner of her eyes that Zhang Yutang was staring at Xiaoqing absentmindedly, with admiration in his eyes, she was slightly startled, slowly pursed her lips, subconsciously held Xiaoqing's hand tightly, and interlocked her fingers with hers. Xiaoqing noticed something, looked at her tightly held right hand, raised her eyes to meet Bai Suzhen's eyes, raised her eyebrows, and then a big smile appeared in the corners of her eyes and mouth without disguising, the flying spirit between her eyebrows made Bai Suzhen dazzled, and she felt Xiaoqing shaking their tightly held hands, and suggested with interest: "Sister, let's go to the market." The Dragon Boat Festival not only has dragon boat races, but also the market has many more acrobatic performances, street performances, and various snacks and accessories than usual, which is particularly lively. At this time, the dragon boat race was over, and most of the onlookers were talking about the excitement of the event while walking together to the market not far away.
Seeing that Xiaoqing was in high spirits, Bai Suzhen smiled and nodded, "Okay."
Xiaoqing turned her head to look at Zhang Yutang, waved and said, "Master Zhang, see you next time if we are lucky."
"Miss Xiaoqing—" Zhang Yutang couldn't help but look anxious when he saw Xiaoqing was about to leave.
"Is there anything else?" Xiaoqing looked at Zhang Yutang and asked curiously.
"I..." Zhang Yutang opened his mouth but hesitated. Xiaoqing was anxious and frowned, urging him, "Master Zhang, if you have something to say, just say it directly. Why are you hesitating so much?"
Zhang Yutang looked at Xiaoqing deeply, then looked at Bai Suzhen beside him, hesitated, and finally just shook his head.
"Okay, we'll go first." Xiaoqing didn't delay any longer, pulled Bai Suzhen and followed the direction of the crowd.
After walking a distance, Bai Suzhen looked back from a distance and could still see Zhang Yutang standing there blankly, staring at their direction. Bai Suzhen retracted her gaze, turned her head and looked at Xiaoqing beside her, and sighed softly - she was clear in her mind and knew that Zhang Yutang was interested in Xiaoqing. To be fair, Zhang Yutang was handsome, well-mannered, and had a good family background. He could be said to be a good match for a woman, but the woman who matched him could not and would not be Xiaoqing. Xiaoqing was the person she liked, and she would not give her to anyone else!