bookcurios Chapter 118 Flower God Temple Fair (Part )
Chapter 118 Flower God Temple Fair (Part )
Lu Che stood in front of the window and didn't dare to blink, for fear that the spring scenery before his eyes would slip away if he blinked.
But Taoyao disappeared in an instant. Just when I was worried, I suddenly heard a series of ding-ling-ling sounds coming from outside the guest room door, followed by Taoyao's voice from behind the door.
"Lu Che, come out and have breakfast! The sun is burning your butt!"
Lu Che smiled and walked over quickly, opening the door in an instant, which scared Tao Yao.
"You've packed up so quickly!" Tao Yao smiled and raised the bag of fried dough sticks and buns in her hand. "I just bought some breakfast to fill our stomachs. We'll eat while we walk around later!"
But Lu Che stared at Tao Yao's face intently, not saying a word for a long time. Tao Yao touched her face and hair curiously, and smiled a little embarrassedly: "What's wrong? Do I look a little strange today?"
Lu Che came back to his senses as if waking from a dream. He was a little afraid to meet Tao Yao's eyes. He touched the bridge of his nose and smiled, "No, it's not, Arnold. You look very beautiful like this today. This dress...suits you very well."
"Is it?"
Hearing this, Tao Yao was obviously very happy, and the smile on her face deepened. She turned in a circle, and the hem of her skirt, dotted with golden peach blossoms, fluttered in the wind, as if all the peach buds on the tree had suddenly blossomed in a gust of spring breeze.
Spring is in the air—Lu Che understood the meaning of this phrase for the first time. So this is it.
Spring is not in the emerald green willows, nor in the pairs of yellow orioles, nor in the fragrant flowers that fill the city. At this moment, spring is only in Taoyao's pair of bright eyes filled with hope.
The cold winter has passed, and spring is coming.
Lu Che avoided her gaze and pointed behind Tao Yao. He widened his eyes and shouted, "Arnold, look, what kind of bird is this?"
"Huh?" Tao Yao was fooled and quickly turned in the direction of his finger, but behind her was nothing but two white clouds in the sky. "Nothing? Lu Che, what did you say?"
Lu Che took advantage of this gap to snatch all the fried dough sticks and buns from Tao Yao's hands, and happily picked up a bun and took a bite.
Huh? It's filled with red bean paste, and tastes cloyingly sweet. Lu Che had never eaten sweet-filled buns before, figuring he was used to bacon-filled ones and wouldn't like sweet ones.
But when I tasted it today, it didn't seem so bad. I chewed it again and it seemed to be a little bit delicious.
Tao Yao turned around and found that all the buns and fried dough sticks in her hand had been taken by Lu Che. She laughed innocently and pretended to be angry. She cursed, "Lu Che, you sand bandit from the desert! You even want to steal buns and fried dough sticks. Are you crazy because of poverty?"
Lu Che cooperated well by picking up another bun and tossing it into his mouth, gobbling it up ravenously. He then gathered all the buns and fried dough sticks in his arms, acting like a real bandit, and threatened Tao Yao, "Today, I, the bandit, am specifically going to steal the buns and fried dough sticks. All of them are mine!"
It was the first time Tao Yao saw Lu Che's face beam with such a genuine, relaxed, and happy smile. She couldn't help but laugh along with him, saying with relief, "Alright, then I'll be merciful today and give all these buns and fried dough sticks to you as a token of my good deeds!"
In this way, the two of them arrived at the Flower God Temple Fair while joking and eating hot buns and fried dough sticks.
The Flower Goddess Fair in Qingshui Town wasn't as magical as the legends claim. While flowers and bonsai were indeed displayed in the streets and alleys, most of the vendors were hawking their wares. Rather than calling it a temple fair to welcome the blessings of the Flower Goddess, it was more a business gimmick devised by these vendors. They hyped the fair up, generating a buzz and attracting more customers.
Tao Yao dragged Lu Che around for a long time, seeing many novel things. Although she was curious, she ultimately didn't buy anything. Lu Che had already spent too much money on her recently, and Tao Yao was embarrassed to let him pay for more.
Only those who manage a household know how expensive daily necessities are. These beautiful and fun things are only available to those with spare cash. Tao Yao and Lu Che are currently living a very tight life.
As they walked, they unknowingly arrived at the Flower God Temple. Tao Yao looked up at the tall and majestic temple hall of the Flower God Temple, and then looked down at the endless stream of pilgrims going there to pay their respects. Her anxious heart unconsciously calmed down.
Tao Yao suddenly looked up and smiled at Lu Che, asking, "Lu Che, do you think there really is a flower god? When spring comes, does the flower god really come with it and bless the world?"
Lu Che quickly covered Tao Yao's mouth, raised his index finger and pressed it against his own lips, silencing her. He whispered, "It doesn't matter whether there's a real god in front of the temple. Since we're here to make a wish, we must be sincere."
Tao Yao tilted her head, thinking for a moment, and then said, "Oh... the flower goddess must be very beautiful, with flowers blooming on her hairpins and dresses? When she comes to the human world, will she also ride in a super gorgeous carriage pulled by fairy birds and beasts?"
Lu Che couldn't help but sigh at Tao Yao's rich imagination, but he quickly told her to shut up and stop making such disrespectful remarks about the gods in front of the temple.
"Arnold, if you keep talking, your wish will not come true."
"Huh?!" Tao Yao was extremely shocked and quickly closed her mouth. Her cheeks were bulging with the fried dough sticks she had just stuffed into her mouth and hadn't had time to chew and swallow. She looked like a puffed-up pufferfish, which was inexplicably funny and cute.
"Why can't you tell me this or that? Why is the Flower God so stingy?"
Tao Yao muttered softly and stuffed the last fried dough stick into her mouth, because Lu Che had warned her in advance last night that she could not eat in the temple, as it would be disrespectful to the gods.
There is a huge century-old willow tree in front of the Flower God Temple. The tree is hung with red ribbons tied by pilgrims who come to the Flower God Temple to pray for their wishes. When the wind blows, the thousands of red ribbons on the tree dance in the wind with the lush branches and leaves. The rich aroma of incense in the temple flies together with many willow catkins, covering people's heads and faces. Tao Yao suddenly feels that the wind is also spicy, which makes her eyes hurt.
At this time, Lu Che had already bought incense and paper money from the Taoist priest guarding the temple gate, and walked towards Tao Yao with a smile.
Seeing Tao Yao standing motionless under the big willow tree covered with red ribbons, squinting her eyes to look at the red ribbons on the tree, Lu Che guessed that she also wanted to write her wishes on the red ribbons and tie them on the tree, so he turned around and went back to find the Taoist priest to buy some more red ribbons.
Little did he know that in just a moment, someone who appeared at an inopportune time took the lead.