You are unlucky and I am tough

After entering the Grand Hyatt Restaurant, Xi Que led the person to the door of the room before bowing and leaving.

Cheng Shuang pushed open the door and went in first. The room was not big, but it was enough for their family. The window faced the altar.

The three younger brothers and sisters all ran to the window and looked down, they were extremely happy.

Cheng Shuang wasn't so energetic. She sank down on a chair, fanning herself with her hands and saying to Wei Qinglang, "So, it's important to prepare in advance before going out to play. If it weren't for Uncle Lu today, I might have gotten a heat stroke."

Wei Qinglang smiled and said, "I guess a lot of people from nearby villages and towns are here. Uncle Cheng and his friends brought a hundred kilograms of braised food to sell today."

The two of them had barely exchanged a few words when the waiter knocked on the door and came in, smiling and holding a menu. "Excuse me, sirs. We have tea and snacks. What would you like to order?"

The two of them each took a bill. It seemed that Junyue was a famous restaurant like Taibailou, with branches all over the place. With its fame, its prices were also very ruthless. A simple bowl of meat wontons would cost sixty-eight cents.

The food they ate there in the morning only cost thirteen cents, okay? The rich people are really being taken advantage of.

Wei Qinglang took the list and asked his three younger brothers and sisters what they wanted to eat. The three of them didn't want to spend money and shook their heads and said no.

Wei Qinglang looked at Cheng Shuang and said, "Why don't you just keep an eye on it."

She closed the list and said to the waiter, "A pot of jasmine tea, osmanthus cake, jujube paste cake, and mung bean cake."

A pot of tea and three servings of snacks cost two taels and three cents in total, but since it was already there, Cheng Shuang gave it without any regret.

The waiter took the money out with a smile on his face, and soon brought up the scented tea and snacks.

The family drank tea and ate snacks while watching the excitement downstairs. The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and more and more people were crowded.

At noon, the crowd downstairs suddenly became agitated. Wei Xinyi stood on a stool and peeked out, shouting, "Here she comes! It's the Weaver Girl."

Having never seen the worship of the Weaver Girl here, Cheng Shuang and Wei Qinglang also walked to the window and looked down, and heard the sounds of suona and drums.

I saw a group of people coming this way. In front were a dozen or so well-dressed men, probably merchants engaged in cloth and textile business in Qushan County. In the middle was a middle-aged man in uniform carrying a statue of the Weaver Girl.

The Weaver Girl statue was made by weaving bamboo into a figure and then covering it with paper. It is about three zhang (10 meters) tall, with a pretty face and wearing a pink dress with fluttering sleeves. She was carried towards this side. The scene was quite grand and spectacular.

"The Weaver Girl is so beautiful." Wei Xinyi excitedly discussed with Cheng Pan.

Wei Nanxing is not such an extroverted person. After watching for a while, he turned his head and looked around curiously.

Suddenly he turned to look for Wei Qinglang, pointed across and said, "Brother, look, isn't that Brother Xiuwen across the way?"

Wei Qinglang went over to take a look. Although they were far away, Zhao Xiuwen and two others were indeed standing at a window on the third floor of the teahouse opposite.

One of them was Master Shen. I didn’t recognize the man in white in the middle. He looked quite young. He stood with his hands behind his back and had a half mask on his face.

Cheng Shuang also looked over. "Isn't that Master Shen? He's here to join in the fun too. So, can we go pick up Chen'er and Xiao Si earlier? Hey, why is the guy with them wearing a mask?"

"I don't know him. He must be Zhao Xiuwen's friend."

Seeing that there was an acquaintance across from them, the two of them exchanged a few words and didn't take it too seriously.

The crowd downstairs was in commotion again. The county magistrate had arrived. The statue of the Weaver Girl was fixed on the altar, and the worship of the Weaver Girl began immediately.

The people downstairs collectively paid homage to the county magistrate. Cheng Shuang was very glad that she didn't have to kneel down when she went upstairs.

County Magistrate Zheng came on stage to preside over the ceremony. After the ceremony, the merchants walked up to the stage in groups of three, holding various gold, silver and jade offerings in their hands. They placed them on the Eight Immortals Table, burned incense, knelt down, and then prayed.

This process lasted for about half an hour. After the county magistrate and the merchants finished, it was the turn of others to pay their respects.

Those people all rushed to the altar to worship, burn incense and pray. Some people in the crowd shouted loudly to sell incense and candles, and their business was very good.

Eighty percent of those praying are women, no matter they are rich ladies dressed in silk and satin, or village girls in coarse cloth, they all close their eyes and pray devoutly, silently praying in their hearts that they can have the skillful hands of the Weaver Girl and a happy marriage.

Cheng Shuang knew that her two sisters also wanted to go, but there were too many people there. She said, "Let's order some food and have lunch first. After we eat, when there are fewer people downstairs, you can go down and worship."

Both sisters nodded in agreement, and Wei Qinglang went to ask the waiter for the menu. Cheng Shuang glanced across and saw that Zhao Xiuwen, Master Shen, and the masked man had already left.

For some reason, she had a vague premonition that Zhao Xiuwen's acquaintance with Master Shen and his last trip to the provincial capital were all related to the masked man.

The food at Grand Hyatt Restaurant is expensive, but they have enough money to afford it, so they ordered four dishes and a soup: braised lion's head, braised beef with soy sauce, stir-fried pork belly with wood ear mushrooms, a green vegetable, and tofu and fish head soup.

The chef’s cooking skills at the big restaurant were really good. The family was commenting on the chef’s cooking skills when Lu Yinyin came and saw them eating. She immediately sat down and wanted to eat too.

Cheng Shuang asked the waiter to add a set of bowls and chopsticks, and a serving of braised lion's head. Lu Yinyin was so moved that she wanted to cry while chewing on the braised lion's head.

"Sister Cheng, you are so kind. You don't know that I just looked at a table full of meat and vegetables upstairs and couldn't eat them. My mother only gave me cabbage and tofu."

Cheng Shuang smiled and said, "Then don't tell anyone what you ate here when you go back. Also, don't eat too much."

It's not easy for this girl either. She is obviously a foodie, but she seems to have lost ten pounds in the past two months. Mrs. Lu has been very cruel to her. It's pitiful to see how loving parents are.

"Why doesn't your mother let you eat meat?"

Wei Nanxing on the opposite side suddenly asked.

Lu Yinyin, who was chewing on the lion's head, stopped and looked at him. "Can't you see? Of course it's because I'm fat. My mother said that other girls are weak and fragile. There is no lady like me. Look at your sister-in-law and Pan'er, aren't they also slender?"

Wei Nanxing frowned, "Do we have to be the same? I think you're doing fine this way."

Wei Xinyi also said, "Sister Yinyin looks great now. Isn't it enough to be beautiful? Why does she have to be so thin?"

Lu Yinyin looked at Wei Xinyi with emotion, pouting as if she was about to cry. "I wish my mother was like you guys. She's always worried that I'd be too fat and unable to get married."

Cheng Shuang shook her head. "Yinyin, you misunderstood your mother. This world is too harsh on women. Most people have stereotyped thinking. There is a saying that goes, 'Parents who love their children will plan for them in the long run.' With your family's financial resources, even if you become fat as a ball, there will still be many people who want to marry you. Why would they be afraid that you won't be able to get married?"

She definitely didn't ask you to lose weight so you can get married, but because she can't shut up the outsiders and doesn't want you to be criticized for your plump figure in future marriages. It's not because she dislikes you, so don't blame her, and don't look down on yourself. "

Lu Yinyin's eyes were red as she hugged Cheng Shuang. "Sister Cheng, you are so kind. I will listen to my mother in the future. I will never eat the food that my father secretly cooked for me again."

Everyone at the table laughed. It turns out your father secretly cooks for you.

After dinner, Lu Yinyin said that her family would take her younger brother to worship Kuixing later. What a coincidence, Cheng Shuang and the others were also going, so they made an appointment to meet at Kuixing Temple.