You are unlucky and I am tough

On the seventh day of the seventh month, the whole family got up early and changed into the new clothes that Cheng Shuang brought back from the provincial capital last time.

As soon as it was light, the donkey cart set off for the county town. After going to the county town so many times, this was the first time they knew the road could be so busy and they almost got stuck in a traffic jam.

There were not only donkey and horse carriages, but also horse-drawn carriages from wealthy families in other towns, all of which were going to the county town to worship the Weaver Girl and Kuixing.

The brothers Lai Fu and Lai Cai both arrived with their ox carts, taking many villagers to the county town to join in the fun.

After entering the city, the streets and alleys are decorated with lights and the atmosphere is festive everywhere.

The streets were crowded with people, and the sounds of hawking and laughter could be heard one after another.

Wei Qinglang parked the donkey cart at Baicaotang and asked Zhuzi to help look after it. He gave him five cents as a care fee, and the family started shopping and sightseeing.

The hustle and bustle of the streets overwhelmed Cheng Pan and Wei Xinyi, who were visiting the county town for the first time. They felt their eyes were not enough to see everything. The streets, shops, restaurants and taverns were all things they had never seen before.

"Sister-in-law, what is that?" Wei Xinyi pointed to a roadside stall.

Cheng Shuang asked, "That's a candied haws, do you want some?"

"Is it okay?" Wei Xinyi's eyes lit up.

Cheng Shuang looked at Wei Qinglang, and he walked over and bought four skewers, one for each of his three younger siblings and Cheng Shuang, as he himself didn't like them.

"Wow, so sweet!" Wei Xinyi took a bite of the candied haws and smiled happily.

Then they passed by a stall selling sugar figures, and they were so lifelike that they couldn't move.

"Which one do you like?" Cheng Shuang asked her two sisters who were looking at her eagerly.

Wei Xinyi pointed at a little rabbit, Cheng Pan pointed at a butterfly, and Wei Nanxing shook his head and said it was too sweet and didn't want it.

Cheng Shuang gave the money and handed the two candy figures to the two sisters, "Don't eat too much sweets, you won't be able to buy sweet food when you see it later."

The family continued walking forward. There were all kinds of food stalls along the way. They had set out early and had deliberately skipped breakfast to save space for themselves. They bought some of the snacks they wanted to try.

When they passed by a restaurant, Cheng Shuang asked if they wanted to go there for breakfast. The three younger brothers and sisters all said that they wanted to eat on the roadside so that they could watch the hustle and bustle on the street while eating.

Finally, they chose a wonton stall to sit down and ordered a bowl of fresh meat wontons each. They chatted about going to Mingde Academy to pick up their two younger brothers to worship Kuixing after noon. They were afraid that the academy would not let them go if it was too early.

Cheng Shuang was almost full after eating some snacks, and she couldn't finish the small portion she ordered.

She stopped eating halfway, and as soon as she put down her chopsticks, a bowl was pushed towards her.

Wei Qinglang said, "I'm almost too lazy to order another bowl. Give me yours."

Wei Xinyi turned to look at him, "Brother, isn't it enough to eat? I'll give you some of mine."

"Eat it yourself. If you can't finish it, just leave it aside and don't feel too full." Wei Qinglang said as he picked up the leftovers from Cheng Shuang and poured them into his own bowl. He had hardly eaten any other snacks just now, and a bowl of wontons was not big enough, so adding this little bit was just right.

Cheng Shuang was speechless at her actions. How come she was addicted to picking up her leftovers?

After eating the wontons, we continued shopping and went to the largest and most lively street in the South District. Because today is the seventh day of the seventh month, all kinds of acrobatics have been set up in broad daylight, with fire-breathing, bowl-balancing, and magic tricks, which made the onlookers cheer.

The family looked around for quarter of an hour before continuing to go shopping. The younger siblings, who had never seen the world, found everything curious and went into each shop one by one. When asked if they wanted to buy anything, they said no. The two of them did not rush them and just let them have fun.

After strolling around for more than half an hour, Wei Qinglang passed by Moxiang Bookstore and went in to hand in his manuscript, and then went to the square to worship the Weaver Girl.

There is an open square in Qushan County. Any large-scale activities in the city are held here. When there are no activities, circuses, acrobatic troupes or drama troupes will set up stages here for performances. There is a large flow of people, and many vendors will also come here to set up stalls with their goods. There are also three- or four-story teahouses and restaurants on both sides of the square.

The altar for worshiping the Weaver Girl had been built a few days ago. The altar was about two stories high and seven or eight meters long and wide. There was a base in the middle for placing the Weaver Girl statue, covered with red silk. In front of it was a long eight-immortal table with an incense burner on it.

The steps were also covered with red carpets, extending all the way to the eight-immortal table, with red roses and pink lilies placed on both sides.

There is also a large incense burner in the center of the square, which is used by the people who come to worship the Weaver Girl.

When the family arrived, the place was already crowded with people, and small vendors with stalls were also squeezed in, shouting about various special Qixi decorations and snacks.

Wei Xinyi was very excited and asked when the statue of the Weaver Girl would arrive. Cheng Shuang was afraid that she would be squeezed away, so she held her tightly and reminded Cheng Pan to follow closely. She didn't expect there would be so many people and was a little worried about a stampede.

The windows of the teahouses and restaurants on both sides were open, but not every window was occupied. Cheng Shuang looked at Wei Qinglang and suggested, "Let's go ask the restaurants on both sides if there are any window seats available."

Wei Qinglang agreed, and then asked at three restaurants in a row, but there were no seats available. Not to mention the private rooms by the window, there wasn't even a single empty table.

There was no other way, they had to squeeze in. The two sisters had been looking forward to watching the Weaver Girl for so many days, they couldn't just leave because there were too many people. It was their own fault for not coming to the reservation in advance.

In a private room on the third floor of the Grand Hyatt Restaurant, Lu Yinyin was leaning against the window with a piece of cake in her hand, watching the hustle and bustle downstairs while eating the cake in small bites. Her mother finally agreed to let her eat a piece of cake, and she was reluctant to eat it in big bites.

Yuanbao also stood on a stool and looked downstairs. Suddenly, he saw a familiar face. The people downstairs were getting more and more crowded. Wei Qinglang directly picked up Wei Xinyi, who couldn't see anything, and sat her on his shoulders. Yuanbao saw her at a glance.

Yuanbao reached out and pulled Lu Yinyin, "Sister, sister, look, sister Xinyi is down there."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yinyin quickly looked in the direction her brother pointed, and soon saw that not only Wei Xinyi but the whole family was there.

The last time she went to Chengjia Village and talked about worshiping the Weaver Girl, she wanted to invite her family to come and play. At that time, Cheng Pan said that her sister was busy and she had to see if she had time. Unexpectedly, they really came.

Lu Yinyin turned around happily, "Dad, Mom, Sister Cheng and her family are here too."

Mr. Lu at the table was holding a jade ornament in his hand. He bought it from a businessman yesterday. It was extremely rare. He brought it out to play with it today when he accompanied his family to watch the Weaver Girl.

Hearing his daughter's words, he stood up and walked to the window to look downstairs. Unfortunately, his eyesight was not good and he kept asking where it was. Madam Lu squeezed over and saw Cheng Shuang. She pointed downstairs and said angrily, "There, there. You look at those treasures of yours every day. Your eyes are blinded by these things."

After being scolded by his wife, Mr. Lu went back to sit down with a pout and continued to look at his treasure.

Lu Yinyin hugged her mother's arm and said, "Mom, there are so many people downstairs and it's so hot. Let's invite Sister Cheng and her family up."

Madam Lu was embarrassed and poked her daughter's forehead. "No, there are two grown men in their family. Your father knows many people here today, and you are not a child anymore. If you invite two grown men up to squeeze into the same room, it will cause gossip. We can only invite Madam Wei and her two sisters up."

Lu Yinyin pouted and looked downstairs, her eyes fell on Wei Nanxing's face, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Wei Nanxing never mentioned her fall, as if it had never happened. The last time she went to Chengjia Village to play, she followed Pan'er and the others to water the watermelon field. Wei Nanxing was there too, and they had a lot of fun.

They are friends now.

Lu Yinyin turned around and went to find her father, and said coquettishly, "Dad, aren't you good friends with the owner of the restaurant? Why don't you get a room for Sister Cheng's family?"

Mr. Lu was so dazzled by her that he called in Butler Tong and ordered, "Go find Old Chang and tell him that a friend of mine is coming and wants another room. Tell him to ask if anyone is willing to give up their room. We'll offer double, triple, or quadruple the price, and ask him for a room facing the street."

Butler Tong took the order and went out to do something. He came back soon and said, "I've offered three times the price. There's a room on the second floor that's willing to be vacated."

Lu Yinyin jumped up happily and immediately asked Xi Que to go down and bring the person up.

Xi Que came downstairs with two servants, clearing the way for her and squeezing behind Cheng Shuang with difficulty.

The Weaver Girl statue was approaching soon. The area in the middle covered with red carpet had been cleared, and the two sides became even more crowded. Cheng Shuang was sweating profusely and was almost questioning his life. He was shielding the glaring sunlight with his hands when someone suddenly patted his shoulder.

She turned around and saw that it was an acquaintance, and asked in surprise, "Magpie, why are you here too?"

Cheng Shuang's voice made the others turn around. Wei Xinyi's face was filled with surprise. "Sister Xi Que."

Xi Que smiled and raised his hand to indicate upstairs, "My young lady is upstairs."

Cheng Shuang looked up and saw a window on the third floor. Lu Yinyin was waving at her vigorously, and there was Yuanbao with only his head sticking out from the window.

The magpie continued, "It's hot and crowded, so my master asked the restaurant for an empty room. My wife and her family can go upstairs to rest and have a cup of tea."

"Tell Uncle Lu to thank me for this."

Cheng Shuang was not being pretentious. She really couldn't stand the heat any more. The smell of so many people was also hard to describe. She pulled Wei Qinglang and said, "Let's go upstairs and take a look."