80 Observations (2)
They walked side by side and hand in hand as they fast became the center of attraction.
This group of women was young and beautiful. Some were slightly older, but they still had charm and temperament. They attracted the attention of men and women on the streets. Some men followed them along the way.
A child pointed at the group of women and exclaimed, “Mom, that sister is so beautiful.”
“The young lady in the middle is really beautiful. She’s like a famous celebrity on television. She’s so fair.”
…
No matter how eye-catching Gu Qingming and the others were, Aunt and the others protected Gu Qingming in the middle, not letting her come into contact with the pedestrians outside.
They all knew that Gu Qingming was unwilling to be touched by anyone.
“Mom, where are we going now?” Eldest Aunt asked.
First Aunt asked Gu Qingming, “Mingming, where do you want to go?”
Gu Qingming shook her head and said, “I’m not familiar with this place, and I don’t know where to go. Aunt, you can decide. I’ll follow.”
Third Aunt smiled and said, “Then let’s go to the center of the market first. Most of the things sold are there, and there is also some food.”
“All right, then. We’ll go there.”
They were just shopping and accompanying Gu Qingming around. They didn’t buy anything.
The group walked into the arbor.
Perhaps it was because it was a busy time for farming, but it was usually crowded with people.
There seemed to be a lot of people now, but it was much fewer than before.
Third Sister-in-law said, “There are fewer people now.”
Second Sister-in-law nodded and said, “Everyone is busy with farm work and rushing for time now. How would they have the time to come here?”
Plucking peanuts, picking watermelons, harvesting rice, and then rushing to plant seedlings and farm were all done during this period of time.
This was the busiest period of time for farmers.
Most importantly, they were subjected to the whims of the weather to get busy with farm work. As they were sunning their items, they could not even eat if they saw that the weather was dark and gloomy. They would immediately put down their bowls and chopsticks and quickly go to collect the items.
For example, if the rice that was sunbaked was not collected in time or washed away by the rain, the rice would not taste good the next day. It could only be used to feed the chickens.
More than half of the hard work of the past year would probably be wasted.
Therefore, as long as they were busy farming, the villagers would not dare to leave their homes unless they really needed something to buy.
…
In the past, when one passed by the town, one could only see two rows of self-built houses on the road. Most of the houses were four stories high, with occasional three or two stories. There was a small greenery in front of the houses and a sidewalk.
The road from Shahe Town to Pingyang County was donated by Gu Jianguo.
Now that they had followed their aunts and sisters-in-law into the courtyard, they realized that the construction of the courtyard was completely incomparable to the outside world.
Most people traded on Market Day. However, the buildings in the marketplace were uneven. They were all self-built houses.
Some were newly built, and some were rather dilapidated old houses.
The first floor of each house was a shop. There were people who made food, clothes, shoes, or other common household utensils or farming utensils and peddled their wares there. Anything that could be used in the countryside was basically traded.
There were all kinds of stalls on the street between the houses on both sides. Most of them were at the entrance of other shops. The stall owners had to pay the stall fee.
Those who did not pay the stall fee were mostly villagers who planted vegetables, made their own things, or picked up things from the mountains. They were placed on both sides and bought by people who needed them.
However, what made Gu Qingming frown was that not only were there potholes on the street but there was also some water in the potholes. It was black and smelly.
There was also a place commonly known as snack street. It sold the specialties of Shahe Town’s snacks. In front of those stalls, there was a smelly ditch. Everyone who passed by could not help but cover their noses.
What Gu Qingming did not understand was why this was a snack street when it was so smelly.
How could she eat in such a smelly place?
However, looking at the crowd sitting on both sides of the stall and ordering bowls of food, Gu Qingming fell silent again.
Grandma looked at Gu Qingming’s expression and said with a smile, “Do any of you want to eat here? If not, we’ll leave.”
“I don’t usually eat here!” Third Sister-in-law frowned and covered her nose. She continued, “The smell here is too strong for me to eat!”
“Me too!” Second Sister-in-law also expressed, “This is our Shahe Town’s specialty, but no matter how delicious it is, I don’t want to eat it.”
The eldest sister-in-law smiled and said, “We have a capable second aunt at home. It’s easy to eat anything.”
“Yes, yes!” Second Sister-in-law nodded and smiled. “Granny knows how to make everything. If we want to eat it, we’ll let Granny make it. It’s clean and hygienic. This taste is much better than here.”
Gu Qingming also covered her mouth and nose. She looked at the black noodle-like thing on the stall and asked curiously, “What are they selling?”
“This is a potato vermicelli!” Grandma said. “In the past, these were all made by hand. The noodles were delicious and strong. Now, they are all made by machines. The taste is a little lacking. Now, I’m eating potato vermicelli at this stall to fill my stomach.”
“Vermicelli?” Gu Qingming had never heard of it.
The eldest sister-in-law smiled and explained, “It’s sweet potato noodles. We call them vermicelli here!”
“Oh, I see!” Gu Qingming asked. “Is this delicious?”
“Mingming, when we get back, Second Aunt will make it for you to try,” Second Aunt said heartily. “The hygiene here is not good at all. Moreover, the environment here is really unpleasant. I’ve lost my appetite just by smelling it!”
Second Aunt was a very clean and hygienic person.
No matter how busy she was, she would clean up the house, especially the kitchen. It was as clean as new.
Second Aunt didn’t like to eat outside either.
As long as she wanted to eat something, she would go home and figure it out herself before making it.
Second Aunt was talented in cooking, so no matter what she did, the food she made tasted good.
Second Aunt continued, “When we get back, I’ll make all the famous dishes here for you to try. When you crave something, Second Aunt will make it for you.”
“Alright, thank you, Second Aunt!”
“Haha, Mingming, we’re all family. Don’t thank Second Aunt in the future. Also, in the future, if you want to eat anything, just tell me. Don’t stand on ceremony with me!”
“Okay!”
“Mom, Mingming, let’s go. It feels a little awkward to talk about food in such a smelly place!”