Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Yutao also smiled and said, "Mom and I think the same. I also plan to wear it during the New Year."

Shen Yu smiled and nodded, pretending to be rich and playfully said, "This pendant is just for the sake of novelty. When we make more money in the future, we can buy better ones. During the New Year, we can open the jewelry box and wear any kind of jewelry, whether it's gold, silver, red, green, jade or agate."

When Li heard this, she was so happy that she couldn't close her mouth. She said happily, "If that day really comes, I will wake up with a smile even in my dreams. This life will not be lived in vain."

The whole family imagined the scene and laughed happily.

As soon as she prepared the ingredients for tomorrow, Li went out to release river lanterns.

Shen Yu had never seen river lanterns before, and was very curious. Li took out a lotus lantern that she had bought yesterday, put it in a basket, took a tinder, candles and other items, and took the three siblings straight to the canal outside the city.

The sky was not completely dark yet, and the sunset glow was still bright, spreading a large area of ​​orange across the sky.

There are more and more people on the street. I can hear passers-by talking as I walk. In the afternoon, the dragon and lion dance teams parade on the main street of the county town, which is very lively. This year's dragon dance is more beautiful than in previous years. No wonder it cost a lot of money to invite it.

Li listened and said with a bit of regret: "We were so busy mixing the dough and stuffing at home that we didn't even have time to take a look."

Shen Yu thought of the wonderful performances that Li had seen in the morning. She was listening to a lecture and missed it. In the afternoon, she was busy at home and couldn't watch it. She could only comfort her, "There will surely be dragon and lion dances during the Chinese New Year. They will definitely be more and better than this team. When the time comes, we will definitely go and watch it."

Li thought about it and said, "But I didn't lose anything either. The lecturer was really good at it."

Shen Yu turned his head helplessly, pretending not to hear, muttering in his heart: "Here it comes again, here it comes again, my god, I lied to you all, I've said it over and over again this afternoon, why haven't you forgotten it now?"

Yutao and Yucheng followed behind. There were hawkers on the street selling lanterns on bamboo poles, shouting loudly.

Although the lotus lanterns are all in the shape of lotus, they are different if you look closely. Some are made of colored paper, some are made of thin silk, and some use natural fresh lotus leaves as the base, which are very exquisite.

These novel and diverse river lanterns are a feast for the eyes and a great pleasure to watch.

I walked out of the alley at home and followed the crowd on the street. It took me about an incense stick of time to reach the south gate of Anping County. After exiting the city gate, the canal was not far away.

As soon as I walked out of the city gate, I saw crowds of people crowded together by the canal.

It was getting dark at this time. The summer sky was a bright dark blue color, and the wind was cool and gentle.

Li led the way, and the three siblings followed behind, walking towards the canal together.

Some impatient people have already lit the river lanterns in their hands. On the steps of the canal dock, many people are queuing up, waiting to walk down the steps and release the river lanterns into the water.

Li walked to the end of the line and couldn't help but regretfully said, "We should have hired a car. Look, there are so many people lined up in front."

Shen Yu pushed Yutao and Yucheng to stand behind Li, and stood behind Yucheng himself. Hearing what Li said, he stood on tiptoe and looked forward. There were indeed a lot of people in front. Many people were standing on the river bank beside the canal to watch, but the only place to put the river lanterns into the water was the pier.

The river bank is high, and tonight government officials have been sent here to maintain order, fearing that someone might go down from the bank to release river lanterns without permission. The water level in this section of the canal is very deep, and the current is fast, so people who are not good at swimming will not be able to get up once they go down.

Shen Yu looked at it for a while, and then comforted Li: "Mom, we should be there soon. Look, the people in line are moving forward very fast."

Li anxiously stuck his head out to take a look, but seeing no other solution, he had to follow the team and move forward slowly.

The canal pier is spacious and the line looks long, but there are also many people going there to release river lanterns every time. After a short while, it is Shen Yu's family's turn.

When he got closer, Shen Yu saw that there were barricades on both sides of the entrance to the canal wharf, with soldiers guarding the middle. About ten people were allowed in at a time, and after putting the river lanterns into the canal, they went out from the other exit.

Shen Yu followed Li, Yutao and Yucheng through the entrance, walked down the steps and came to the water's edge. Li took out the lotus lantern, inserted the candle, lit it, and carefully placed it in the water.

The family stood by the water, clasped their hands together, and silently watched the lantern drift away with the water. Shen Yu couldn't guess what others were thinking. She looked at the floating lotus lantern and said silently in her heart: "Dad, Mom, I am doing well now. I have a family who treats me sincerely again. You can rest assured now."

After standing there for a while, I heard the soldiers on the dock urging us, "You can leave now. The next group is waiting. Hurry up."

Li put away the sad look on her face, packed up the basket, and followed the three siblings out of the exit with the crowd.

After coming out, Shen Yu cheered up and pretended to be very interested and suggested to Li: "Mom, let's go to the river bank and look at the river lanterns. It must be very beautiful to stand there. Look, many people go there to watch."

When Li was releasing the river lanterns, she thought of the time when Mr. Shen was alive. Although several years had passed, she still felt a little sad.

At this time, looking at the three children around him, thinking about the increasingly better life, he laughed at himself: "Well, why think about these things? If you think about it, you can't come back. It's more important to live a good life."

Thinking of this, he dispelled the sadness in his heart and said with a smile: "Okay, let's go and have a look. I heard that there will be colorful boats passing by, and there will be variety shows on the boats. It will be very interesting."

The family walked to the embankment. The embankment was high and the view was much wider. Looking far into the river, they saw little lights floating with the ripples of the water, just like the twinkling stars in the sky.

Yu Cheng shouted loudly: "Mom, mom, look, it's so beautiful."

Yu Tao looked at the stars all over the river and said to Shen Yu, "Sister, this is so beautiful, just like the stars in the sky."

Shen Yu stood aside and watched, and replied: "It is indeed beautiful."

Before he finished speaking, someone shouted miserably, "Qiqi, Qiqi, help, help, my child has slipped into the water."

Shen Yu was startled and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a young woman on the river bank not far away, trying to jump off the bank like crazy.

Several people nearby tried desperately to hold her back. She turned her head towards the riverbank, her arms held tightly by people on both sides, but she still cried out in tears, "Please, save him, save him."

Shen Yu felt his heart clenched as he listened to the heart-wrenching screams. He could not help but follow the crowd and run towards the woman. Behind him, Li shouted anxiously, "Yuzhi, Yuzhi, come back. What are you doing? Come back quickly."

When they got closer, the people nearby pulled the woman and kept comforting her: "Don't worry, don't worry, we will definitely be able to rescue her."

Under the canal embankment, two soldiers held a long bamboo pole together and stretched it forward. In the moonlight, they could see a man swimming hard towards the shore in the turbulent water of the canal, and it seemed that he was holding another person in his arms.