Xue Jiao took a closer look, the largest lotus flower in the middle was made of hard colored paper, petals overlapped one by one, the tender yellow stamen curled, and a few drops of crystal clear dew went straight to the heart of the flower, which looked more delicate than the real lotus.

This lotus is a lotus lantern, on the fifteenth day of the first month, both sides of the Xiaohuai River are hung, and at night a race is bright. Zhao Yiming thought about it for a day and came up with such a unique method, because it was not the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and there were few such lamps in the shops in the town, he ran and broke his leg to find one, and it was a bamboo row, and it was a lotus, and he was busy for a long time, and in the evening when the sun set, he put it in the river and pulled it all the way.

Chen Xuejiao had just taken a shower when she came out, her hair was loosely tied with two double screws, and her head was full of decorations except for two blue ribbons, and there was a pink lotus flower pinned to her sideburns at this time, the whole person was indescribably delicate, the wind by the river carried water vapor, and the smell of jasmine pollen spread out in all directions.

She stood beside Zhao Yiming, and Zhao Yiming looked at her and smirked. Seeing Chen Xuejiao's happy appearance, Zhao Yiming felt a beautiful flower in his heart.

"Where did you pick so many lotuses?" Chen Xuejiao asked crisply.

"The most beautiful lotus flowers in the entire Xiaohuai River have been picked by me." Zhao Yiming laughed, his face like a crown of jade.

"There are so many lotus flowers, I'll take them all home when I turn back." Chen Xuejiao pinched the lotus flowers in her hair, one by one, and took them home and inserted them in bottles, and the room was full of flowers.

Zhao Yiming smiled: "You don't have to take it home, I'll pick it for you when I go back, you see what this is." ”

Zhao Yiming said and walked down to the shore, pulled the bamboo raft down to the shore, and lit a fire in the largest lotus lamp in the middle, which turned out to be filled with lamp oil and wick. As soon as the fire was wiped, it lit up. Zhao Yiming put the lit lotus lantern back into the bamboo row and pushed it into the water, the lotus lantern floated in the water with a lotus full of bamboo rows, the entire water surface was dotted with broken waves, one after another lotus flowers floated on the blue waves, Chen Xuejiao clapped her palms and smiled, and her palms were red. Lying on the railing, supporting your chin with one hand. His face was full of joy.

Zhao Yiming stood on the shore, blown by the wind, and the plain clothes on his body swayed with the wind. He was born good-looking, but when he was reflected by the lotus lantern, he became more and more warm as white jade.

It was completely dark, and the villagers of Maoshan were simple. Even in the middle of the night, the door is not closed, and this is the time for dinner. Many families have begun to set their tables on the shore, and fragrant meals are served to them.

Waiting for the bamboo raft carrying lotus flowers to the middle of the river, the red candlelight reflected, and those big girls and little daughters-in-law gathered around the river bank to watch. Zhao Yiming and Chen Xuejiao stood side by side. In the moonlight, the pink carving is general. Others don't think about it, and in the haze, he only thinks that it is two children who pulled the lotus flower and lit the lamp.

Surrounded by indescribable fireflies. Flying in front of his eyes and pounced around his clothes, Zhao Yiming jumped up to catch it. Xue Jiao suddenly became interested, and took the lotus flower in her hand to fight the firecrackers. After catching dozens of them in total, Zhao Yiming untied a small square scarf on his head, put the fireflies in, and took a step to turn into a ball and tie a knot.

"You take it home, hang it in the tent like a moon, and you don't need to light the lamp, it's very bright." Zhao Yiming's eyes reflected the stars and fireflies, shining as bright as the stars at night.

"Have you tried?" Fireflies fly around on the river beach all day long, that day I heard Li accidentally mention that some poor people use fireflies to light up at night in summer, and even lamp oil is saved, Chen Zimin often caught fireflies when he was a child and put them in a cloth bag, hanging them in the tent to study.

"I would hang fireflies in my tent every day to study." Zhao Yiming said with a smile, without the slightest sadness on his face. Chen Xuejiao sighed in her heart, the Zhao family was so difficult, this lotus lantern didn't know how many days of lamp oil he had to save to burn for so long.

Chen Xuejiao took the firefly with both hands, as if holding a lamp in her hand, turned her head to Zhao Yiming and said: "There is an allusion called Bao Ying's night reading, the Jin Dynasty people Che Yin's family was poor, and there was no lamp oil to study. On summer nights, he made a bag of white silk and filled dozens of fireflies to read according to the books, Che Yin because of years of hard study day and night, and finally became a very learned person when he grew up. ”

The lotus lanterns in the river drifted away, the people on the shore scattered home, the lights were lit in the village, and there was a flat shout from the bank, one after another: "Second sister, eat, second sister eat." ”

Chen Qiping stepped over the threshold with his legs, and the lotus lanterns in the river had drifted away into the night and disappeared. Everyone in the family knows that Chen Xuejiao moves a rattan chair every evening to sit on the bank of the river to blow the wind, Chen Qiping stood at the door of his house and shouted that he should not see his sister, and spread his legs and ran towards the river.

When I arrived at the shore, I saw that the rattan chair that Xue Jiao often sat on was placed on the shore, but I didn't see Xue Jiao, Chen Qiping was small and timid, and thought that my sister had accidentally fallen into the water, so I was so frightened that I shouted: "Second sister!" Second sister! ”

Xue Jiao heard Qi Ping's shout and agreed in the direction of the voice: "Here!" ”

Chen Qiping ran over, saw Xue Jiao and Zhao Yiming standing together, and immediately took Zhao Yiming's hand to the house. Zhao Yiming has not been to Chen's house for three months, because Re Xiaozhong can't visit relatives and friends, and now that Rexiao has just passed, it stands to reason that it's nothing to hang out, so he followed Xue Jiao and Qi Ping to Chen's house.

The Chen family just set up dinner, there are not so many vain manners in Maoshan Village, and there is no distinction between men and women when eating, and a large table is sitting.

Because it was Xue Jiao's birthday, Li made a lot of effort to make a table of dishes, spicy belly shreds, braised elbows, mushroom stewed chicken, beans roast pork, cold dried shreds, and all kinds of dishes were served on the table. Because of the night, I was afraid that so many meals would be eaten, and there was no staple food on the table, except for Xue Jiao, only a bowl of white porridge was placed in front of the others. In front of Xue Jiao is a bowl of noodles, different from the eel toppings in the morning, this bowl of noodles is covered with a poached egg, duck fresh soup is the base, sprinkled with chives and dripping sesame oil, fragrant and steaming, Chen Qiping swallowed saliva when he heard it, and begged Xue Jiao directly. Xue Jiao had already eaten a big bowl of noodles in the morning, and she hadn't stopped talking all day, and naturally she couldn't eat so much in the evening, so she took another bowl and pulled more than half of it into her brother's bowl.

Seeing that Zhao Yiming was thin and skinny, Li specially packed a bowl of rotten and crispy elbows into his bowl, and kept putting vegetables into his bowl in the middle.

Although Chen Zimin is a talent, he has few rules for his children, so the Chen family is not like the general reading family has the rule of eating without saying anything. After Futian, autumn is approaching, as soon as the early autumn passes, Chen Qi'an is going to participate in the autumn festival, Zhao Yiming and Chen Qi'an discuss a few words about the autumn festival, he because of his father's death, this dynasty stipulates that it will take three years to refer to it.

Chen Xuejiao listened with her ears pricked up while eating, and Zhao Yiming secretly looked at her, thinking that she hung the bag of fireflies in the tent, reflecting her delicate and tender face, and wanted to laugh in her heart. Chen Xuejiao was still thinking about the lotus lantern floating on the river, and when she looked up and saw Zhao Yiming looking at her and laughing, she smiled back generously, Zhao Yiming lowered his head and grabbed a chopstick elbow into his mouth, red from his cheeks to his ears.

After dinner, Chen Qi'an took out the watermelon in the well water, cut it into large pieces with a horizontal knife, and everyone took it and ate it. After washing the melon juice on their hands, Zhao Yiming and Chen Qi'an read the book, said hello to Xuejiao and went home. Li had already prepared a bamboo basket, which was covered with a basket of steamed buns, a large bowl of sauce elbows, and half a chicken with a cloth.

Zhao Yiming still refused to accept it, Li Shidao was for his mother, if he didn't come to the house for dinner today, Ming'er would also ask Qi An to send it, it just so happened that he came today, and he didn't have to go alone tomorrow.

"You're polite to me." Li said angrily, and Zhao Yiming accepted it.

Chen Xuejiao took out a lamp from the house and chased it to the door, the lamp was still a fresh object handed by Chen Xiucai from the south, the gilded base, the glass lampshade embroidered with a beauty, and a candle was inserted in it. ”

Zhao Yiming looked at the exquisite lamp and refused to answer: "The moon is shining brightly, where is this needed." ”

"You are only allowed to give me a lotus lantern, but I am not allowed to give you this lamp." Chen Xuejiao covered her sleeves and smiled, and before Zhao Yiming could react, Chen Xuejiao put the lamp in Zhao Yiming's hand, turned around and went back to the house.

Zhao Yiming walked to the house with the lamp, Xu left the door for him, and he took advantage of the moonlight to take advantage of the soles of his shoes, and when he saw his son come in, he got up and poured a bowl of herbal tea for him.

"Mother, why are you taking shoes at night again, don't burn your eyes." Zhao Yiming said distressedly, handed the basket given by Li to Xu, Xu lifted the cage cloth, took out the steamed buns and meat dishes, and then looked at a layer of cloth underneath, and when the cloth was lifted, there were two large jars of lamp oil.

It has been a month since the embroidery shop opened by Li and Wenying in shares, and they have made a net profit of one or two silvers from the cost of going out. Don't look at this tael of silver is a small amount, there are always a dozen taels in a year, not to mention that it is only earned by selling small items such as handkerchiefs, insoles, and foreheads in the first month.

Wen Ying can still eat hard, Li is doing business for the first time, and he can't close his mouth for a long time, and one or two pieces of silver are enough for the family's daily expenses.

The sister-in-law was silent, and the news was still faintly leaking. A few days later, Zhao Yiming's mother Xu came to the door, took a pair of shoes and asked Li: "Sister, look at how my insole is embroidered." ”

Li Shi took it over and took a closer look, the dense wiring, layer after layer of pulp, thick bottom, firm upper, although there are not many colors, but it is better than dense, the most suitable for the peddler pawn to wear, the moment of admiration: "It takes a lot of effort to starch." ”

Xu is a cheerful person, seeing Li say this, she knew that her own craft entered her eyes, and said bluntly: "I vaguely listen, you and Wenying's sister do embroidery business, if you don't dislike my craft, I will also do some work to earn some money." ”

Li said with a smile: "Although it is an embroidery shop, the shop has not been rented yet, but it is embroidered first and sold in bulk." ”

She knows Xu's temperament, she can't stand the sympathy and help of others, last time she gave her two jars of lamp oil, and the next day she sent a basket of soybeans, she wanted to rely on her own hands to feed Zhao Yiming, took her hand and said: "I'm afraid that the store is small, and my sister won't come." If you come, like everyone else, you will receive silk threads and patterns from the shop, and you will be paid by the piece. (To be continued)