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Su Zhi revealed a money-making idea, which indeed gave Shen Zi’an and the others greater expectations for the future. They happily finished their meal.
In the afternoon, Shugen’s wife and some other women came to visit Liu Siniang. Su Zhi chatted with them for a while before heading back home.
The next day was the Rain Worship Festival.
As soon as the sky brightened, Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi got up. One prepared breakfast while the other fed the cattle and chickens. By the time breakfast was ready, the children had also woken up and dressed themselves.
Su Zhi poured warm water for them to wash their faces and hands, then combed their hair. Yueyue had her hair styled into two buns, while Xiaori and Xinger had their hair tied into a small topknot each.
Although the White wolf and Big Black’s family enjoyed cooked food, recently, as Little Black and Little White had grown a bit, Bai Lang started taking them into the mountains to hunt for wild food. Therefore, they usually only ate cooked food at night. Su Zhi didn’t need to prepare breakfast or lunch for them, but sometimes she would give them dried meat as a snack.
Little Black had already heard them getting up and ran to the table, looking up at them. Su Zhi gave it a piece of dried meat, which it happily ate until Little white snatched it away. Little White, like the White wolf, had great self-control, hinting at its future as a majestic sacred beast. As for Little Black, it was still young, and it was unclear whether it would only grow as big as Big black. If that were the case, it would be quite tragic for a son of a sacred beast.
The family each drank a bowl of porridge, ate flatbreads and pickles, and had a fried egg each. Although simple, the meal was filling. Then, Su Zhi wiped the children’s hands, and they all got into the ox cart and headed out.
They picked up Li Shi and Liu Siniang and went to see the village head. When they arrived in front of the Zhao family’s house, they saw the carriage. Zhang Qingniang was helping Old Lady Li onto the carriage. She glanced at them and smiled before getting into the carriage. Zhao Xiaohua first curled her lips, then also smiled and proudly got into the carriage, as if riding a carriage was more prestigious than an ox cart, putting on the airs of a wealthy young lady. Unfortunately, she almost fell off the carriage, looking somewhat disheveled. She glared back before quickly ducking inside.
Zhao Daliang looked at Liu Siniang with a complex expression. This woman had once been his wife, but now she belonged to someone else. She seemed to be in good spirits, wearing a light blue dress with white flowers, the best she had ever worn, making her appear more attractive.
Liu Siniang turned her face away, while Li Shi stared at Zhao Daliang until the latter bowed his hands and got into the carriage, which then quickly departed with a crack of the whip.
Su Zhi watched this scene, thinking that although she had been in this world for less than a year, it felt like many things had happened. The most significant and positive changes were for her and Liu Siniang, who had both escaped from their previous hardships.
Shen Zi’an met with the village head, exchanged a few words, and then left. When they arrived at the Shen family’s house, they found that only the eldest and second branches of the family were there; everyone else had already left. They heard that a carriage had come to pick them up, indicating that the Rain Goddess was indeed quite esteemed.
Shen Zifu, Shen Zigui, and the other adults weren’t too keen on going to town. They said the Rain Goddess would also come to the village, and they could just watch from the village entrance, saving themselves the walk. As for the children, The Eldest and Second grandsons had already run off on their own. They were used to running around, and the journey to town was like play to them. Chunlan and the other girls wanted to go as well, but the adults thought it would be too chaotic and didn’t allow them. They were told that they could be taken to the foot of the Daming Mountain to watch the ceremony after reaching the village entrance. The girls could only comply, enviously watching Shen Zi’an’s ox cart disappear into the distance.
Along the way, they saw many more people than usual, each with a festive look on their faces, much like during the New Year. However, the older folks looked somewhat solemn.
“Since the beginning of spring, there hasn’t been any rain. Farmers are all worried about this. We’re all hoping that after paying our respects to the Rain Goddess, she will bring us a good rain,” Li Shi said. Although his family didn’t have much land, they were still concerned about the weather, as no one wanted to face a drought year.
“Then we should plant even more sweet potatoes and potatoes this year, as they don’t require much water,” Su Zhi suggested, expressing her own concern about a drought year. In ancient times, the greatest fears were floods and droughts, which could lead to crop failures and hardship for farmers. Prices would rise, and life would become difficult. She didn’t want to encounter such problems so soon after arriving, especially since she had the Spiritual Spring and didn’t have to worry about food or starvation. However, she also didn’t want to see others suffering. Living well alone would make her too conspicuous and uncomfortable.
Everyone nodded, discussing the rain-worship event as they arrived in town.
As soon as they entered the town, they encountered Shen Ziping and Sun Shi, accompanied by the Third and fourth grandson. Behind them, the tiny Chunhua was carrying Wulang, making one wonder how she managed with her small stature. Yet, she held him as he wriggled in her arms, making it even more difficult for her. Her forehead was covered in sweat.
“Oh, Fourth Brother, Fourth Sister-in-law, you’re here! What a coincidence to meet you here. Let’s go together. I also want to see how our little boy and girl are dressed up. It’ll be an eye-opener for me and let me share in the blessings. Of course, the most important thing is our Wulang; he needs these blessings the most. Since you wouldn’t let him be the young boy participant, at least bring him along for a while! It’s the least you can do as his uncle and aunt.”
The way she spoke made it sound as if they owed her something for not letting Wulang be the young boy participant. Shen Zi’an ignored her and drove the cart away, but Shen Ziping stopped him.
“Fourth Brother, don’t be like this. Your third sister-in-law didn’t say anything wrong. She’s just too worried about Wulang. Have some sympathy for her as a mother and do us a favor. Consider it as your third brother begging you.”
“Fourth Brother, Fourth Sister-in-law, your three children are all young boy and girl participants, which is a great virtue and brings you immense blessings. Can’t you help us out? Not only are the boy and girl participants meant to bring fortune to us common folk, but we are also your elder brother and sister-in-law. You should show some compassion. Don’t be too heartless; that’s not befitting of the parents of boy and girl acolytes.”
Sun Shi’s loud words attracted the attention of passersby, and many stopped to point at the three children and discuss them. Today, being the young boy and girl participant made them quite conspicuous.
Shen Zi’an frowned and said, “If you want to enter the Tiansheng Courtyard, just say you’re the Rain Goddess’s elder brother and sister-in-law, and you’ll be able to get in. You don’t need us.”
With that, Shen Zi’an lightly reached out and pinched Shen Ziping’s arm, pulling his hand away. Then, with a flick of the whip on the ox’s back, the cart moved forward.
Shen Ziping wanted to stop them but was deterred by Shen Zi’an’s stern look. He knew that his brother was normal when he didn’t get angry, but if he was displeased, he could be quite ruthless. He could only stop and think, realizing that they could mention Shen Zhu’s name to enter the Tiansheng Courtyard, as she was the Rain Goddess.
Sun Shi watched the ox cart leave, stamping her foot in frustration. She wanted to vent her anger but had nowhere to direct it. In the end, she pinched Chunhua and said, “You useless girl, didn’t you know to put your brother on the cart? They wouldn’t have thrown him off. You’re as dumb as a rock!”
Chunhua bit her lip in pain, tears welling up in her eyes, but she didn’t dare to cry. Earlier, she had almost dropped Wulang, and he had scared clung to her neck so tightly that he almost choked her. When Sun Shi saw this, she scolded Chunhua for almost dropping Wulang and pinched her again.
The third grandson said impatiently, “Mother, let’s go. We’ll look for our little aunt. Do you still want to enter the Tiansheng Courtyard or not? If we can’t get in, we won’t be able to do anything, and Wulang’s dream of becoming a young boy participants will just be a dream.”
“Let’s go, let’s go. You all listen to me. Once we’re in, whoever has the chance should take action. Don’t be cowards. Whoever succeeds, I’ll make them a new set of clothes.”
The people nodded, and only then was Sun Shi satisfied, leading her family in a hurry towards the Tiansheng Courtyard.
The alley outside the Tiansheng Courtyard had been cleared of people, and at the entrance of the alley, there were guards. Only those related to the Rain Worship Festival were allowed in; unrelated individuals were not permitted entry. The people from the third branch knew this, and it was only after seeing Shen Zi’an that they thought they could enter together, but unfortunately, they were refused. However, they still had Shen Zhu, and their hopes remained.
The name of Shen Zhu, the Rain Goddess, wasn’t very effective, but it just so happened that Qian Guang was bringing his cousin, and Shen Ziju was also in the carriage. When they saw the family, they allowed them to enter.
Liang Fu came here because Qian Guang said he would bring her to see the festivities. He mentioned that behind the Tiansheng Courtyard would be where the Rain Goddess and the boy and girl participants would dress and change, and they could catch the first glimpse of them. She wasn’t particularly curious about this, but the thought of Su Zhi, Shen Zi’an, and their family being there made her want to come and see.
As soon as they got off the carriage, they saw two people running out from the door. One of them, upon seeing Qian Guang, immediately ran over, looking anxious. Qian Guang quickly asked him what was wrong.
“Young Master, something’s happened! The Rain Goddess—no, the girl playing the Rain Goddess—is in trouble. She’s itching all over, and her face is covered in red rashes. It looks really scary!”
“What? How could this happen? Quick, go get a doctor!”
Qian Guang was alarmed upon hearing this. The Rain Worship Festival was important, and the Rain Goddess was a key figure. Before it even began, the Rain Goddess had fallen ill. If people found out, they might think a great calamity was about to befall them! There was a year when the Rain Goddess accidentally fell from her carriage, and as a result, there were many heavy rains that year, causing severe losses for the farmers. People believed that any mishap involving the Rain Goddess could affect the year’s weather and harvest.
So, upon learning that the Rain Goddess had a full-body rash, Qian Guang was frantic.
Shen Ziju was also anxious; after all, she was his sister. He hurried towards the courtyard, his hands clenched into fists, thinking that someone must have harmed Shen Zhu. Whoever it was who harmed his Shen family, once he found out, he wouldn’t let them off easily!