"Candied haws on a stick, delicious candied haws on a stick."
There was an old man on the street carrying a straw target filled with various kinds of candied haws, hawking and walking around among the crowd.
Wherever he saw there were more children, he would gather there.
Not far from him there was an old man dragging a lot of stuffed hydrogen balloons. These two places are undoubtedly the most popular among children.
When Cao Shujie and his family of four saw it, several children were standing in front of the two stalls, choosing what they liked.
After Mengmeng saw it, she pointed there and shouted: "Dad, I want to eat candied haws."
"You went to buy it, and I didn't say I wouldn't let you eat it." Cao Shujie said.
Mengmeng immediately stretched out her hand, palm facing up: "Dad, give me money."
Cao Shujie's son, Cao Yirui, who was still in his arms, also shouted to eat candied haws.
"Let's go there together," he said.
Cheng Xiaolin protected her daughter and followed that way.
When I walked up to it, I saw that in addition to hawthorn candied haws, there were also orange ones, yam ball ones, yam segments, apple ones, etc. There were all kinds of them, and they looked delicious.
"Grandpa, I want hawthorn." Mengmeng shouted against the old man who was holding a straw target.
The old man just brought two bunches of candied haws to the kid next to him, wrapped them in a laminated paper bag and handed them over. After collecting the money, he looked at Mengmeng and asked with a smile: "Do you want the ones with seeds or without seeds? I
There is also a kind of hawthorn candied haws with walnuts.”
"There are quite a few tricks." Cao Shujie thought to himself. He ordered a bunch of seedless ones for Mengmeng and a bunch of yam balls for his son.
This thing is not big, and it is cooked very soft and glutinous, which is just suitable for him to chew.
"Wife, which one do you want to eat?" Cao Shujie asked her.
Cheng Xiaolin looked at the glaze-colored candied haws, and she really wanted to eat them, so she finally chose the one with a bunch of oranges.
"That one doesn't taste good," Cao Shujie said to his wife, not shying away from the old man selling candied haws.
"It doesn't taste good, you eat it." Cheng Xiaolin said directly without thinking.
What else can be done?
In addition to the orange ones, Cao Shujie also took a bunch of seedless hawthorn ones. He watched the three women eat them first, and he was not in a hurry to eat them after paying the money.
He had just walked a few steps when he heard his wife murmuring: "Oranges are really unpalatable. Are they sweet or not, sour or not? Why do they still have a bit of a bitter taste?"
"Here, here you go, give me your bunch." Cao Shujie reached out and handed over the seedless hawthorn gourd in his hand.
Seeing that his wife was still in a daze, he snatched the bunch of oranges, put them into his mouth and chewed them slowly.
After chewing a few mouthfuls, he smiled and said, "It's not bad, it's not very delicious."
Cheng Xiaolin rolled her eyes at him: "You must have done it on purpose."
"Hey, I can eat whatever I want. Come on, eat it." Cao Shujie said.
In his arms, his son Cao Yirui was also chewing yam balls. His little face was covered with syrup. When he saw his father eating an orange, he stretched out his hand and said, "Dad, eat."
"Good son." Unexpectedly, Cao Shujie was really happy that his son still had such 'filial piety'. He stretched his mouth forward and bit off the front one, then handed his own over and placed it sideways on his son's mouth: "Ruirui,
You should also try one."
But as soon as the little guy put it in his mouth and took two bites, he pouted and started spitting it out: "It tastes really bad!"
Cheng Xiaolin: "..."
Children's world is always pure and flawless, and they will not lie.
Mengmeng didn't care about them, she was eating happily, half of a bunch of seedless hawthorn candied haws was gone in a short time.
At this moment, Mengmeng's eyes were fixed on the popcorn maker in front of her again. Smelling the rich sweet aroma, she was already licking her lips greedily.
"I found that there is nothing you don't want to eat." Cao Shujie complained about his daughter.
But Mengmeng took it seriously, and then said: "I won't eat shit."
"puff!"
Cheng Xiaolin was eating candied haws on a stick. When she heard what her daughter said, she opened her mouth and spit out the candied haws.
Fortunately, she blocked it with her hand and vomited all on her own hand instead of spitting on anyone else.
"Mengmeng, are you looking for a beating?" Cheng Xiaolin said.
This sentence has almost become a mantra.
When Mengmeng saw that the situation was not good, she ran forward, thinking that it would be safer to stay away from her mother.
The big market is full of people selling couplets, fireworks, and various meats, fruits, vegetables, and snacks, which is very lively.
Arriving at the fireworks stall, Cao Shujie had already seen a 'reduced price' wooden board placed on the stall.
However, Cao Shuchao had already taken people to the fireworks and firecracker factory to buy them, and he was not very interested in the fireworks here.
Cao Shujie and his family of four came to the fair just to join in the fun and kill time.
"It's better to celebrate the New Year like this." Cao Shujie said with emotion.
He thought it was particularly pyrotechnic, and Cheng Xiaolin also thought it was good.
Unconsciously, it was noon. Mengmeng was tired from walking. When she saw that her brother was always in her father's arms, she rolled her eyes and yelled for her mother to hold her.
"You really love me." Cheng Xiaolin said to her.
Mengmeng weighs over 40 pounds. It’s okay to hold her occasionally, but holding her while walking can kill half of her life.
But Mengmeng was unwilling to give in and even gave her mother an idea: "How about you hold your brother and let dad hold me."
Cao Shujie's face turned dark when he heard this. Who is this?
He said: "Go on, if you don't want to go shopping, you can stay here while we go home."
We’ve almost finished shopping, eating and not buying anything. It’s nice to go home and eat some New Year’s goods made by our parents.
Mengmeng was so tired that she really didn't want to leave. She didn't even hear what her father said. When she saw the steps in front of her, Mengmeng didn't care whether they were dirty or not. She walked over and sat down on the ground: "Dad, if you don't hold me, I won't leave."
Come on, you go, don’t let my grandparents and grandpa look for me."
Cao Shujie's face turned dark. If he really left her here, she would be beaten to death by her parents when she got home.
This naughty kid does have his own ideas, but he just doesn't follow the right path.
Cao Shujie finally compromised and said to his wife: "Wife, you hold your son, and I will carry her."
Cheng Xiaolin glared at Mengmeng, then reached out to take her son, and said angrily: "Mengmeng, you are already in the second grade, and it is embarrassing for your father to carry you."
"I don't feel embarrassed anyway?" Mengmeng saw her father squat down, and she stood up happily, lying on his back, and put her arms around his neck.
When Cao Shujie stood up with his daughter on his back and the family of four walked forward, Mengmeng proudly raised her eyebrows at her brother, as if to say: "Little boy, it's amazing that mom is holding you, and dad is still carrying me."
"
At this moment, Mengmeng’s thoughts are clear and she feels comfortable!
The couple took the siblings to the parking place, but the crowd didn't get any smaller just because it was noon.
On the contrary, Cao Shujie felt that there were more people and they couldn't squeeze in when they walked out.
It took a lot of effort to get out of the densely populated area, and halfway there I saw a stall selling root carvings.
An old blue cloth bundle was spread on the ground, and it was covered with root carvings of various sizes and shapes.
At first glance, you will feel that the root carvings are lifelike, as if they are alive.
Cao Shujie subconsciously walked towards the stall selling root carvings. When Cheng Xiaolin saw it, she followed her with her son in her arms.
There are large root carvings on the stall that look like an eagle spreading its wings, as well as medium-sized root carvings like a tiger descending from the mountain and two dragons playing with a pearl.
In addition, there are some small root carvings such as chickens, dogs, cows, snakes, and turtles. Each one is made very similar, and the surface of the root carvings is polished very smooth and rubbed with tung oil and the like.
The color of the root carving wood tends to be dark yellow or dark gold.
"Do you want to buy it?" Cheng Xiaolin asked him.
When her husband nodded, Cheng Xiaolin asked him which one he wanted to buy.
"I like both the eagle spreading its wings and the tiger descending from the mountain." Cao Shujie said directly. He didn't mind that the boss at the stall knew that he wanted to buy.
When the boss who was busy carving heard what Cao Shujie said, he raised his head and put down the angle grinder in his hand. He looked at Cao Shujie's family of four without any trace, then pulled back the corners of his mouth, and a smile appeared on his face that was still stained with sawdust.
: "The boss is a discerning person at first glance. These two root carvings are the ones I spend the most time on. I polished the one with the eagle spreading its wings for more than half a month, and the smaller one with the tiger descending the mountain, also polished for more than a week."
"Boss, just tell me how much it will be." Cao Shujie didn't listen to his nonsense.
If you believe what he says, you will really be taken advantage of.
Seeing that the boss wanted to quote a price, Cao Shujie added: "Let's talk about it first. I like it. If it's too expensive, I don't want it."
"Ah...haha, no, no." The boss paused.
The price he originally thought of slipped to his lips but he swallowed it back.
When I looked at Cao Shujie's family just now, I saw that the clothes worn by their adults and children were all of high quality, so I knew they were from a wealthy family.
He felt that such a rich man was not willing to spend money even if he wanted to buy what he liked. He also wanted to quote a high price. When Cao Shujie said this, he did not dare to speak randomly.
After all, the root carving cannot be eaten or drank, it can only be looked at. It is a big toy for the rich.
There aren't many people doing root carving in this rural area, and only a few small-sized root carvings were sold at this New Year's Eve gathering.
This boss was not a local either. He saw that half a day had passed since the New Year's Fair. He also thought about selling two more items to earn more money and go home for the New Year. Naturally, he thought about how he could maximize the quotation to promote this order.
Buy and sell.
After thinking about the price for a while, the root carving master gritted his teeth and said: "Brother, I want to go home early to celebrate the New Year. I won't lie to you. This big eagle spreads its wings and the dimensions are displayed there. I
I’ll give you the lowest price of 3,188 yuan, and everyone will be lucky.”
"The smaller tiger goes down the mountain, 2388 yuan."
"The price of these two is really not high. If you really want to buy them, I will give the two children a few more gadgets. I also wish them a happy new year, happiness and good health in advance."
"If you think the price is okay, just take it. If not, forget it." After the stall owner finished speaking, he didn't say anything else.
The price he quoted is indeed not high. This thing requires craftsmanship. The larger the root carving, the more troublesome it is to polish it. It also takes a lot of time. If you don't pay attention, it will be useless.
"Dad, I want that puppy, it looks like Daha." Mengmeng, still on Cao Shujie's back, pointed at the puppy's root carving on the stall and shouted.
Cao Shujie was not influenced by his daughter. He calculated in his mind that the price of these two things was indeed not expensive, so he scanned the QR code and paid 5,500 yuan, and he got the 76 change for free.
After the root carving master received the payment, he smiled and said nothing, and even helped to wrap up several small animal ornaments on the stall with old newspapers and put them into a plastic bag.
"Boss, how do you get them back? These two things are very heavy." The root carving master asked Cao Shujie.
Cao Shujie pointed to the east: "My car is at the intersection ahead, still 300 meters away."
"It's too far. The big one weighs 70 to 80 pounds," said the root carving master.
When Cao Shujie heard this, he asked Mengmeng on his back to get off first.
Mengmeng was corrupted when she had the puppy's root carving, and she stood aside obediently.
Cao Shujie walked over and lifted up the eagle to spread its wings. Good guy, it’s so heavy!
If you calculate it this way, he bought it for more than 200 yuan, which is really not expensive.
He tried another material called Tiger Down the Mountain, which weighed about 50 kilograms and was not very light.
It was impossible to move it, so in the end I asked the root carving owner to send it there with him on a small cart.
When he saw Cao Shujie's Range Rover, the root carving owner stared straight in the eyes.
Most of his root carvings are sold to wealthy people, and naturally he knows some cars. He doesn't know the exact model of the car, but he knows it's not cheap just by the brand.
So much so that when moving two root carvings to the car, the master was very cautious and did not dare to use too much force, for fear of bumping into other people's cars and causing trouble for him.
After loading their things and closing the trunk door, Cao Shujie and his family of four no longer missed the gathering and hurriedly got in the car, ready to go home and see if there was anything to eat.
"Dad, grandma said the meat should be cooked, right?" Mengmeng was still a little unsure.
When Cao Yirui heard about meat, he also shouted: "Rourou, eat meat."
"I'll have something to eat for you when I get home later." Cao Shujie slowly drove past the cyclist next to him and drove slowly on the road.
Cheng Xiaolin looked at the siblings from behind, and she said to them: "Just talk about eating now, and it won't matter who eats less later."
"Mom, I want to eat a big bowl." Mengmeng drew a circle with her hands, looking like she was very powerful.
Cheng Xiaolin didn't believe it, Mengmeng just opened her mouth.
I drove to the door of my house, but before I got in, I smelled a strong smell of meat as soon as I got out of the car.
There are also the sounds of Daha and Erha.
Cao Shujie was also greedy and swallowed his saliva.
Mengmeng's eyes were like light bulbs: "It smells so good, Dad, I'll go in first."
After getting out of the car, Mengmeng ran directly towards home.
When Cao Yirui saw his sister running away, he was afraid that she would finish eating and leave some for him, so he also became anxious: "Sister, wait for me."
"You can't run away by yourself." Mengmeng's voice came from home.
The next moment, even Cao Shujie heard his daughter shouting: "Grandma, I'm back. Is the meat ready?"
"Mengmeng is back. Come here quickly. You can try the beef I just cooked while it's hot." Wang Yuelan dotes on her eldest granddaughter unconditionally. She is not afraid of her eating. Wang Yuelan thinks it would be best for her granddaughter to eat more.
