Chapter 89: Temple Fair 3/3

However, after listening to Jin Xiaoye and the others, he realized that the temple fair was not exactly what he had imagined.

In fact, it was close to the New Year, and people were idle, so many people set up stalls near the temple to sell things.

It was more like a market than a temple fair, and it would continue until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Of course, if it rained, then there would be nothing.

Jin Xiaoye said, “I used to love going to temple fairs when I was a child. Tomorrow, I’ll take Damao and Ermao to see it, and I’ll go to the temple to offer incense.”

“Xiaoye, can you buy some spring roll wrappers? I want to eat spring rolls,” Li Laogen quickly added.

Jin Xiaoye readily agreed.

Li Laogen then asked, “Xiaoye, can we eat fried spring rolls?”

“We can,” Jin Xiaoye looked at her mother, “Mom, tomorrow you make two kinds of spring rolls, one with leftover oil, tofu, and pickled vegetables filling, and the other with pork filling.”

“Isn’t it too early for the New Year…” Her mother hesitated. Such good food should be saved for the New Year’s Eve dinner, shouldn’t it?

“Mom, Damao, and Ermao have never eaten fried spring rolls before!” Jin Xiaoye said. She had been too poor in the past few years to afford to fry spring rolls.

Her mother had to agree. When they got back home that night, she couldn’t help but complain to Li Laogen.

“We’re eating too well here, eating meat every day…”

The couple sighed, and Li Laogen gave her a chicken egg and handed her a greased paper bag. From it, he took out a piece of a pig’s tail and stuffed it into her mouth.

They weren’t allowed to take food from the kitchen, but it was fine to take a bit of their own food from their meals. 

Talking quietly, the couple felt that their relationship had improved a lot.

Before, Jin Xiaoshu lived in the same room with them, separated only by a straw curtain, and they wouldn’t talk to each other at night.

The next morning, when Li Qingzhi woke up, he cooked as usual and taught Jin Xiaoye to read.

But when they were having breakfast, someone came over to invite them to the temple fair to buy things.

Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye were fine, but Damao and Ermao were eager to go!

Even Li Laogen didn’t go to the teahouse in the county town today.

Although the temple fair in their area would last for quite some time, except for a few special days, it wasn’t as lively on other days.

Today is the first day, so it’s a bit livelier.

After dinner, the whole family set out together to go to the temple fair.

In previous years, if so many people from the village had been conscripted, everyone would have been too preoccupied to enjoy the temple fair. But this year was different.

Those who went to build the wharf were eating meat every day, so there was no need for them to worry!

Moreover, with the favorable weather this year, everyone’s harvest was good, and smiles adorned every face.

Soon, they arrived near the temple.

From a distance, Li Qingzhi saw many stalls set up at the entrance to the small temple. As he approached, he realized that the items being sold were quite diverse.

For example, some people had set up oil pans to sell fried dough sticks and radish cakes; some were selling steamed buns; while others sold dried bamboo shoots, seaweed, dried shrimp, and salted fish. There were even stalls selling clothes and fabrics…

The liveliest stall at the moment was the one selling fried dough sticks. With modern amenities being abundant, people had no resistance to fried foods, especially at a time like this.

Although there were stalls selling fried dough sticks in the county town, Li Qingzhi had never bought from them because the oil in their pans looked like it had been used for a long time. But today… this oil looked new!

Li Qingzhi immediately took Li Damao and Li Ermao to join the line.

Li Damao and Li Ermao were extremely excited; their eyes were practically glued to the oil pan.

In fact, Jin Xiaoye had already let Li Damao and Li Ermao taste fried dough sticks before, but they had long forgotten the taste!

Li Qingzhi bought ten fried dough sticks and ten radish cakes in one go, attracting envy from the people around.

Jin Moli, holding little Yao Xiaobao, couldn’t help but salivate.

Seeing her son’s reaction, Jin Moli also joined the queue to buy fried dough sticks.

At this moment, everyone started chatting, and the conversation naturally turned to the death of Sun Juren.

The people from Miaoqian Village already knew about Sun Juren’s framing of County Magistrate Gou, and they felt relieved about it.

Only Jin Moli sighed again at the extent of the changes.

In her previous life, Sun Juren hadn’t died until over ten years later!

At this time, Sun Juren should have been quite prestigious. It was because of his knowledge that Fang Zijian wanted to apprentice under him. Fang Zijian even went as far as marrying his sister to Sun Juren.

After the incident involving Fang Xiuniang, Sun Juren even married another young girl!

Then there was Magistrate Zhang… In her previous life, Magistrate Zhang failed to govern Chongcheng County properly, which led to County Magistrate Gou not being able to become the county magistrate. But this time… it was said that Magistrate Zhang praised County Magistrate Gou endlessly.

Jin Moli became more and more agitated as she thought about it, taking a deep breath.

This was just too fragrant!

Li Qingzhi also found the fried dough sticks particularly fragrant.

High-calorie treats like these, as soon as they entered the mouth, made people feel incredibly happy.

And then there were the radish cakes, where the collision of radish and dough created a magical taste…

Li Damao loved radishes, but Li Ermao didn’t. These days, Li Qingzhi had been making radish dishes at home, but Li Ermao wouldn’t touch them.

However… seeing his father’s expression, Li Ermao tentatively took a bite.

Although there were radishes in the radish cakes, they didn’t taste as bad as he had expected!

Each of them ate one fried dough stick and one radish cake, putting the leftovers in a bamboo basket before going to buy other things.

To Li Qingzhi’s surprise, he saw someone selling sugarcane! Sugarcane was probably harvested in the ninth lunar month, and it should have gone bad by now… Li Qingzhi asked around and learned that sugarcane was wrapped in straw and buried in mud, which could preserve it for a long time. However, when spring came next year, the sugarcane would sprout.

In addition to sugarcane, there were also people selling water chestnuts. Some families in Miaoqian Village grew these. They were usually grown in rice fields or shallow ponds. A plot of land the size of a table could yield quite a few water chestnuts.

People in Miaoqian Village usually ate them raw, but Li Qingzhi knew from his research that it was best to cook them thoroughly to avoid parasites. But with his abilities, he wasn’t afraid!

He just bit into them raw, but didn’t give any to Li Damao and Li Ermao.

Fortunately, the two children weren’t very interested in this common village food. They had been staring at the stall selling maltose.

Maltose wasn’t as sweet as cane sugar, but for children at this time, it was still a top delicacy.

Li Qingzhi took them to buy some maltose.

Winter maltose was hard. The seller used a chisel to chip it off and sell it. Li Qingzhi bought some and gave each of them a piece. The two children were too busy sucking on the sweetness in their mouths.

As time passed, more and more people gathered here. Not only did people from Miaoqian Village come, but also people from nearby villages.

At this moment, Li Qingzhi also clearly realized that it was almost New Year’s.