Song Sanniang's Journey to Wealth

The ox cart entered the city gate, and Si Niang and Wu Niang were gently awakened. They both rubbed their eyes with their hands in the same way, looking dazed.

When Si Niang saw the bustling streets and dense crowds of people, she couldn't help but widen her eyes and said, "Wow, there are so many people, it's so lively."

Wu Niang said, "There are so many delicious foods. I want to eat buns, candied haws, and sugar men." The more they looked, the more excited they became. They wished they could jump off the ox cart immediately.

After seeing Song Ersao's warning look, the two of them sat back on the ox cart dejectedly, but their eyes could still not hide their excitement.

Finally they arrived at the market, and the family went to where Song Sanniang's stall was. The fourth and fifth Niangs walked and looked around along the way, their heads spinning like windmills.

When they arrived at the stall, they hurriedly set up the stall, handed it over to Aunt Wu, and the family started shopping in the East Market.

Song Dazhi has already sent the things from the West Market over, so Qin Haodong and his brother can just open their stall.

We had agreed to eat in town, so the family skipped lunch and bought a basket of dumplings to fill everyone's stomachs. The dumplings were soft and juicy, just enough for two per person.

Then she bought some candied haws for the fourth and fifth mothers, one each. Their mouths were dirty from chewing them. Second Sister Song was so embarrassed that she could only silently say, "My dear daughter, my dear daughter."

After walking around the East Market, they didn't see any sugar figurines, but they did see clay figurines. Si Niang and Wu Niang couldn't walk anymore.

So Song Laoer asked the uncle who made clay figures to make clay figures of the two of them, and the two of them smiled so hard that their teeth were showing.

Song Sanniang felt that all the family members were there, so she asked her uncle to bring all the family members together so that the family would be complete and tidy.

First, I kneaded Si Niang's face. I saw the uncle kneaded a ball of clay to form the outline of the head and upper body. He held the back of the head with his index fingers and pressed two holes under the forehead with his thumbs. Then he pushed upwards to form the outline of the eyebrows and eyes.

Then he pushed and pinched his hands a few times, and somehow, the nose, mouth, and all the facial features came out. Then he used a small bamboo stick, looked at Si Niang's appearance, and began to carefully adjust the face and carve out the hair. A clay figure exactly like Si Niang was born. It was truly a masterpiece of supernatural craftsmanship.

The uncle handed the clay figurine to Si Niang with a smile. Si Niang took the clay figurine and held it up happily to show everyone, "Look, this is me, this is me, it's exactly like me."

Wu Niang was anxious and urged the uncle to quickly pinch out hers. The uncle was not angry and said with a smile, "Little girl, you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry."

Wu Niang knew what this sentence meant, so she had no choice but to wait for the uncle to pinch her.

It took a while before all the clay figures of the family were made. The uncle charged eight cents for each clay figure. Song Laoer paid the money, and the family continued to stroll happily.

The family entered the clothing store, intending to buy a pair of shoes for each person. When the waiter saw the family, he hurried forward and greeted them with a smile, "Dear guests, what would you like to buy?"

Song Lao Er replied, "Our whole family needs to buy shoes. Can you please show us around?"

When the servant heard this, he was delighted and made a gesture of invitation, leading the few people to the place where the shoes were placed.

The shoes above are arranged in different categories. Women's shoes include exquisite satin embroidered shoes, ordinary embroidered shoes, embroidered upturned shoes, embroidered buttoned soft-soled shoes, and ordinary thick-soled cloth shoes of various colors, etc.

Men's shoes include satin embroidered thick-soled shoes, solid-color upturned-toe boots, embroidered upturned-toe boots, various colors of auspicious cloud thick-soled cloth shoes, thousand-layer-soled monk shoes, etc.

Children's shoes are the same as men's and women's shoes. There are all kinds of thick-soled shoes with satin embroidery, ordinary solid-color thousand-layer cloth shoes, and the most special ones are all kinds of tiger-head shoes, with various zodiac patterns, one-step shoes, and button shoes, which are dazzling.

Everyone had to buy a pair of straw sandals for work, except for Song Lao Er, who bought a pair of black thousand-layer monk shoes, and Song Ersao, who bought a pair of black thick-soled cloth shoes and a pair of dark blue cotton and linen thick-soled shoes with bamboo leaves.

Song Sanniang bought a pair of light green embroidered thousand-layer soles, and Si Niang and Wu Niang each bought a pair of black thick-soled cloth shoes, which were made for them with great care. They also bought a pair of tiger-head shoes with the shape of their respective zodiac signs, and they all chose red in color.

The shoes were not expensive. Song Lao Er paid for them. Si Niang and Wu Niang wanted to show off in their new tiger-head shoes. They had no choice but to change their old shoes and put them in the backpack.

After finishing their tour of the East Market, the family decided to go to the West Market. Song Laoer asked everyone what they wanted to eat, as they had not had a proper meal today. However, no one knew what to do, so they had to wait and see when they got to the West Market.

There are all kinds of restaurants in Xishi, including noodle shops, bread shops, cake shops, porridge shops, restaurants, and so on.

There are dessert shops, but they are similar to milk tea shops, selling various beverages, such as papaya juice, basil drink, lychee paste water, etc.

There are also fruit shops that sell all kinds of fruits, dried fruits, preserved fruits, cakes, etc. Song Sanniang bought her mango and coconut in the fruit shop.

There are also food stalls selling a variety of snacks, which are dazzling.

Because it is close to the pier, there are mostly fish restaurants here. Song Laoer sets up a stall at the market, and the most popular thing he hears is that the sashimi and roast duck at Jufulou are excellent, but a bit expensive.

Song Laoer is reluctant to spend money on himself, but he is absolutely willing to spend money on his family.

With a wave of his hand, the whole family came to Jufulou.

Jufulou is built on the riverside, with one side facing the river. You can see the river view by opening the window. Jufulou has three floors. The exterior shape adopts the Jiangnan architectural style. The interior decoration is simple and elegant, with moderate space. The most important thing is that each floor is different.

As you enter the first floor, the entire space is in the shape of a Chinese character “回”. Looking up, you will see the hollow carved fence on the second floor. Lanterns are hung one after another in the air above the hall.

In the middle of the hall is a huge rockery fish pond, where colorful koi fish are swimming and playing. The tables and chairs in the hall are all made of red sandalwood, and each table is cleverly separated by a screen to protect the privacy of customers while dining.

The second floor is full of private rooms, and each room has a different decoration theme. For example, the room suitable for family dining is called "Flowers and Full Moon", and the decoration inside is relatively simple and elegant.

The private room where students gather for dinner is called Caigaobadou. Inside the room, all the walls are hung with paintings and calligraphy by famous artists. Although they are not authentic, they can be appreciated and discussed together. They are changed every month.

The room is also equipped with desks, pens, ink, paper and inkstones for the students to write and paint. If there are excellent works, the restaurant will buy them and hang them in the box for the next batch of students to appreciate.

If there is a gathering of ladies and ladies, the beautiful private rooms are carefully designed for them.

The walls of the box were covered with paintings of various classical ladies. In addition to the dining table, there was also a table with mahjong and leaf cards on it for the ladies to use for entertainment. There were also pens, ink, paper and inkstones so the ladies could paint and write inscriptions. However, in order to avoid suspicion, the ladies were allowed to take their works away.

The dining table and the desk are separated by a double-sided embroidered screen made by everyone. The embroidery on it is ingenious and lifelike. The window facing the river is decorated with exquisite gauze curtains, and the whole box is exquisite and elegant.

Except for the private rooms for family gatherings, all other private rooms must be reserved in advance.

The third floor is men's favorite because there are performances here. Different male performers are invited every day to play musical instruments and sing. It is so enjoyable. However, you can only watch but not touch. The stage is a certain distance away from the dining area. After the performance, the male performers will retreat from behind the stage without passing through the dining area.