When the pears are green

Chapter 180 Praying for Rain

Several people followed Li Yun'an back to the intersection of the main road, and then continued west along Heqing Street.

There are bustling shops on the south side of Heqing Street, but on the north side there is a red wall that stretches as far as the eye can see.

From a towering attic near the wall came the sounds of pipa and men and women laughing. A weak and boneless woman leaned on a young man standing by the window. The woman glanced out the window and pointed with her soft fingers at Li Yun'an, who was standing opposite the shop and talking to Yang Jing. She said softly to the man, "Second Young Master, isn't this your eldest young master's future brother-in-law? Do you want to invite him to come and sit with you?"

"Oh, how do you know him? Is he also one of your regular customers?" The man asked with a smile, lifting the woman's chin.

The woman smiled and pushed the man's hand away. She grabbed the man's neck and replied with a smile: "Second Young Master is really a joker. He can't enter our Huanhua Tower with his clothes. A few days ago, the county magistrate hosted a banquet for the men who passed the exam this year and invited the sisters in the tower to dance. The county magistrate told me."

“If the boss hears what you say, I will be scolded as well. Let me show you how I punish you!” After saying that, the man tore off the woman’s coat and threw it out of the window.

The woman struggled to grab it, but could only watch as the coat quickly fell off and was finally blown by the wind onto an old beggar who was curled up against the wall.

The old beggar buried his head in his pink coat, sniffing the scent of rouge madly.

This scene fell into the eyes of the woman who was looking out with her head held down by the man. The man smiled and warned the woman as he watched: "Don't forget your identity, and don't play tricks in front of me. It's not your turn to interfere in the matter between me and the boss. If you do it again, I will make you accompany that old man."

The woman hurriedly admitted her mistake to the man, and the man clapped his hands. The tactful Pipa girl and the maid and servant who were standing by walked down the stairs with their heads lowered and their faces submissively looked amiable.

In front of the shop outside the window, Song Li and Yang Jing were selecting silk flowers.

Yang Jing held a pink silk flower and asked the stall owner: "Brother, what kind of flower is this?"

"This is a Chinese marigold, which is most suitable for you little girls to wear. It was originally sold for seven cents a piece, but today I will sell it to you for six cents a piece." The stall owner replied to Yang Jing with a smile. He could see that the two girls really wanted it.

After hearing this, Song Li smiled and said to the stall owner, "Brother, why don't you give us two for ten cents? We'll take more."

"Let's just charge ten cents for two. We want two each." Yang Jing continued bargaining with the stall owner following Song Li's words.

Li Yun'an also came in. He first glanced at the silk flowers on the stall, then smiled and interrupted: "I want four too. Now I can get a discount."

The stall owner immediately agreed with a smile.

Li Yun'an picked it up and put it in Yang Jing's hair to gesture. Yang Jing covered her head with her hands uncomfortably.

"Miss Yang, I want to bring a few flowers for my sister, so I want to borrow your hair. I saw that you also wanted to buy that fu just now, I can lend it to you first." After explaining, Li Yun'an took out the fu from his bag and handed it to Yang Jing.

Song Li reminded Li Yun'an not to forget what the stall owner had said, and Li Yun'an said nonchalantly, "Madam Jiang, you are worrying too much. These are all words, not pictures. How can there be anything that is not suitable for Miss Yang to see?"

Song Li originally wanted to tell Li Yun'an the contents of the poem, but she opened her mouth and couldn't say anything, so she could only watch Yang Jing put the poem into her bag.

Yang Jing not only let Li Yun'an borrow her hair, but also enthusiastically told Li Yun'an about the colors and patterns that the little girl might like.

Just as the three of them were becoming more and more confused, Jiang Qingzhou and Yang Yu walked over from a distance.

Jiang Qingzhou walked over to Song Li and asked, "Have you chosen, Xiaoli?"

Song Li shook her head. Jiang Qingzhou smiled and picked a crimson rose and a pink camellia from the stall and handed them to Song Li.

"Where did Qingzhou and Master Yang go?" Song Li asked in a low voice after taking the silk flower.

Jiang Qingzhou touched his bag and answered softly, "We looked around. Do you like these two?"

"Well, Qingzhou has good taste." Song Li said with a smile. She took the two silk flowers in her hands and looked at them carefully. They were indeed much more exquisite than the ones she bought from the peddler in the town before.

Yang Jing and Li Yun'an also picked out the silk flowers with the help of Yang Yu. Li Yun'an couldn't help but tease Yang Yu with a smile: "I didn't expect that the taciturn Brother Yang knows so much about women. It's really beyond my expectation."

Yang Yu smiled and said that since he was older, he would naturally understand more.

After paying the money, Jiang Qingzhou pulled Jiang Qingye, who had been flipping through a book, and followed the others towards the west city gate.

As we got closer to the West City Gate, there were more people on the road and the smell of incense became stronger in the air.

"This is the Dragon King Temple. Do you want to go in and burn some incense so that you can pray to God for rain soon?" Li Yun'an asked several people while standing in front of the gate of the Dragon King Temple.

Jiang Qingzhou, Yang Yu and Yang Jing all expressed their desire to go in and burn incense. Song Li, who had never believed in these things, also followed them in.

The Dragon King Temple is not big. On the black couplet board in front of the two pillars of the main hall, there is a golden couplet written: People live long and have abundant crops. The world is peaceful and the seas and rivers are clear.

In front of the temple door stood a huge rectangular incense burner, with long incense sticks emitting light smoke scattered inside. In front of the burner, an old woman who was about to insert incense looked devoutly at the smoke reaching the sky, praying continuously to the Dragon King to send down rain immediately.

Pilgrims of all kinds were coming in and out of the main hall of the Dragon King Temple. Jiang Qingzhou and his companions went to the main hall to kneel down and worship the Dragon King, leaving Song Li standing under the ancient cypress tree in the temple to help Jiang Qingye hold the picture book.

"Each of us donated six copper coins." Jiang Qingzhou, who came out of the main hall, whispered to Song Li.

Song Li smiled and nodded. She said that as long as people donated some money within their ability, it was understandable. After all, this was the belief of this era.

"Master Yang and the others have gone to burn incense, you should go too." Song Li took out six copper coins from her purse and handed them to Jiang Qingzhou. She had just heard someone say that incense costs one penny per stick.

Jiang Qingzhou took the copper coin with a smile, and led Jiang Qingye to buy incense from the young Taoist priest in the temple.

Song Li felt dizzy from the smell of incense, but she endured the discomfort and waited for Jiang Qingzhou and others to finish burning incense, then hurried out of the temple.

Jiang Qingzhou hurriedly caught up and anxiously asked Song Li, who looked unwell, what happened.

Song Li held Jiang Qingzhou's arm and said that she had never smelled the smell of incense before, but this time she smelled too much and felt a little uncomfortable.

After Li Yun'an and the others came out, Song Li's face became much more normal. They looked at the sun approaching noon and prepared to eat something before going to the river to watch the rain-praying ceremony.

The group walked east along Heqing Street and finally stopped at a noodle shop and each ate a bowl of egg noodles.

When the shopkeeper heard Song Li and the others chatting about praying for rain, he smiled and said to them, "You are late, my dear guests. There was a dragon dance in the morning. I went to see it. It was crowded and lively."

Song Li and the others felt very sorry after hearing this. The shop owner smiled and comforted them, saying, "Wait until New Year's Eve to come back and see it. By then, there will be not only dragon dances, but also lion dances."

After eating the noodles, they walked towards the west gate with little interest.

A circular altar with nine steps was built on the south side of the city gate, with three dragon flags of yellow, red and white inserted on it, with three of each color inserted in an orderly and equidistant manner on the edge of the altar.

Song Li looked at the white dragon flag fluttering in the wind, on which was painted a long black dragon with its claws stepping on auspicious clouds.

"Fourteen." Jiang Qingzhou saw Song Li wanted to count the boys in green who were holding willow branches and sprinkling dew on the round altar.

Song Li asked curiously: "How did Qingzhou know?"

"I heard it from others in the temple. They said there were fourteen more people. Two teams took turns circling the circular altar day and night. There were also eighty-one lizards in cages placed on the circular altar. Each cage was covered with leaves." Jiang Qingzhou lowered his head and explained in Song Li's ear.

Song Li nodded, and she followed the crowd and walked a few steps forward. She could vaguely hear the boy on the altar chanting: Lizard, lizard, raise clouds and spit out mist, and make the rain pour down, so that you can go back. "

After watching for a while, they returned to the city. Li Yun'an suggested going back now so that they could be back in town at dusk.

Just as Li Yun'an said, when they returned to the town, the golden afterglow of the sun was falling on the earth.