Chapter 145: Temple Fair, Hidden Treasures?

Lin Heng picked up the bow and tested the draw—it was too soft. Its maximum range was probably twenty meters, with an effective range of just over ten. Hitting a target was going to be tough.

“Boss, if I hit the target ten times, I get the prize, right? You sure about that?” Lin Heng asked again as he picked up the bow.

“Yes! However many times you hit, you get that many. If I don’t give it to you, I wasn’t raised by my mother. So many people watching—I couldn’t cheat even if I wanted to,” the stall owner thumped his chest and declared loudly.

“Alright.” Lin Heng nodded.

“Here you go!” Xiulan handed over a yuan, and the stall owner happily brought out twenty arrows.

The arrows had no feathers, and the tips were rounded—more like lightweight sticks than actual arrows.

The ten-meter target in the distance was only the size of a watermelon. Hitting it ten times in a row was incredibly difficult. Anyone without practice would have to rely on sheer numbers.

Lin Heng took an arrow and first chose the closest target three meters away. The prize below was a palm-leaf grasshopper.

Thud!

He aimed and hit the straw target dead-on. Then he looked up at the boss. “That counts, right?”

“Yeah, nice shot. Lucky, huh?” the boss replied with a smile and handed the grasshopper to Xiaoxia.

At that moment, neither the stall owner nor the crowd had realized the gravity of the situation.

“Wow!” Xiaoxia shook the grasshopper happily.

From that first arrow, Lin Heng had already grasped the feel of the bow and the arrows. For the second shot, he aimed at the ten-meter target.

Swoosh—the arrow flew but bounced off the target and fell behind it.

“Heh, that ten-meter one’s not so easy. You might as well try for some smaller prizes,” the boss chuckled.

“No worries, I’ll try again.”

Lin Heng smiled and shot another arrow. Thud—it stuck into the ten-meter straw target.

The stall owner froze for a second, then forced a smile. “Not bad, kid. Got lucky again, huh?”

Lin Heng said nothing. Thud—another arrow stuck into the target.

The smile on the stall owner’s face began to fade. He hesitantly asked, “You’ve practiced before, haven’t you?”

“Nope, just lucky.” Lin Heng chuckled and fired again. Thud—bullseye.

“Damn, you’re good!”

“Win that jade hairpin! Teach that boss a lesson!”

The onlookers quickly caught on—Lin Heng clearly wasn’t here by chance. They clapped and cheered, eager for more drama.

The stall owner’s face darkened. His smile had fully vanished.

Lin Heng fired five more arrows, all on target. Seven arrows were now embedded in the straw.

“Boss, can I retrieve the arrows? There’s no space left,” Lin Heng asked with a grin.

“Nope. Can’t collect them until you’re done,” the boss shook his head, his tone turning cold.

“Sure you don’t want to?” Lin Heng looked at him, smiling.

“Nope. If you’re good, keep shooting. If you’re not, then leave,” the boss grunted. He already knew he was screwed today.

Lin Heng didn’t argue. Thud, thud, thud—three more arrows, three more hits.

“Bring over that hairpin,” Lin Heng looked at him.

Reluctantly, the boss took down the jade hairpin and handed it over.

Lin Heng took a look—pure white, with a phoenix carved into the tail, a hint of green in the pattern. Looking closer, the inside was a bit cloudy, but it was definitely real jade. He figured it was worth about ten yuan at most.

After a moment, he turned and tucked it into his wife’s hair. She was wearing a high ponytail today, but that didn’t stop the pin from looking good.

“Beautiful!” Lin Heng said with a grin.

With so many people watching, Xiulan felt a little shy. She took it off, gave it a good look, and then put it back in place, clearly loving it.

“There’s eight arrows left. Anything else you want?” Lin Heng asked, smiling.

“Not really. Just win Xiaoxia a couple of toys. Poor guy, the boss is having a tough day,” Xiulan said kindly, trying to smooth things over.

“That was my original plan, but this guy got too cocky earlier. I think I’ll play for another three yuan’s worth,” Lin Heng said deliberately.

The stall owner, whose face was already gray, forced out a smile and hurried over. “Bro—can I call you bro? I’m begging you, please let it go. Just take eight more items. Anything you want.”

“No thanks. I’ll shoot them myself.” Lin Heng shook his head.

Five more arrows—he won Xiaoxia two palm-leaf frogs, two Lu Ban locks, and a small wooden toy car.

The last three arrows he gave to a nearby ten-year-old boy.

“Thank you, uncle!” The boy beamed with joy and thanked him again and again.

Everyone was happy—except the stall owner.

“Wife, want to try the ring toss?” Lin Heng pointed to another game stall.

“Nope, I’m no good at that.” Xiulan shook her head. She’d trusted Lin Heng to win at archery, but ring toss was just a money pit—not worth it.

“Alright then.” Lin Heng nodded. As for Xiaoxia—no chance. She couldn’t even throw a rock more than two meters. Too weak.

Maybe when she’s older.

They left that street and wandered over to where they sold livestock babies. Most stalls had piglets and goat kids, but there were also cats, dogs, plants, birds, and a few goldfish.

Xiaoxia stopped in front of a bright green little bird, staring for a long time. The bird chirped and made her giggle.

“Two yuan. Want to buy it for your daughter?” the stall owner asked with a smile.

Lin Heng shook his head. “No.”

Xiaoxia didn’t ask for it either—she was just curious.

“Daddy, red fish!”

Xiaoxia pointed excitedly at some koi swimming in a basin.

“Just look, don’t touch.” Lin Heng held her hand.

If they’d lived closer, he might’ve bought a few to raise in their backyard pond. The koi were really pretty.

After watching the fish for a while, they checked out more stalls. There were all sorts of things for sale, including live pigeons and doves. Surprisingly, they even had hog badger pups.

Lin Heng thought about it but decided against it—he could catch those himself. No need to buy them.

Around the corner was the farmers’ market. Besides the usual fruits and vegetables, it had tons of fish and shrimp—pretty much every kind the river had to offer.

Most were dead, since there was no oxygenation equipment. Only carp and catfish were still alive.

But everything looked super fresh—their eyes were clear, probably caught just that morning.

But as a true fishing enthusiast, he had his principles—he’d rather starve than eat store-bought fish.

“There’s a stall over there selling braising spices. I’ll go buy a few packs. When you catch something again, we’ll braise it and eat it,” Xiulan said, tugging at Lin Heng as she looked ahead.

“Buy a bit more. We can use it as hot pot base when we get home. It’ll come in handy once winter comes,” Lin Heng nodded.

After this trip back, the weather would start to cool, and it’d be the perfect time for gathering around a steaming hot pot. He was planning to buy a traditional copper hot pot—if he couldn’t find one, he’d pay a blacksmith to make one.

“Okay,” Xiulan agreed.

The spice mix wasn’t cheap. She bought three jin and spent six yuan, which made her heart ache a little.

In the countryside, people only bought half a jin of braised pig head meat at the end of the year. No one bought it at other times, and even if they did, they didn’t have meat at home to braise.

With the spices bought, the three of them continued to wander the streets aimlessly—just looking here and there. But strolling with someone you love was never boring.

Xiaoxia munched happily on a red bean bun, cheeks puffed out, savoring each bite.

Lin Heng and Xiulan weren’t hungry, so they didn’t buy any food. Besides, there would definitely be a feast waiting at home for lunch.

“You two wait here for a second, I’m going to buy something for Mom,” Xiulan said suddenly.

“Alright,” Lin Heng didn’t think much of it and stayed with Xiaoxia to play nearby.

In no time, Xiulan returned, and the three of them continued strolling.

As they walked, they arrived at a temple fair in Baisha Township. There were performers and traditional opera singers.

Lin Heng and Xiulan stopped to watch the performances, surrounded by a large crowd.

They saw a man smash a rock on his chest, bend steel rods with his neck—both from the front and behind—drawing cheers and applause from the crowd, amazed at his strength.

But when it came time to collect tips, only a few actually gave money. Xiaoxia threw in a ten-cent coin that Xiulan had given her, which earned her a stream of thanks and blessings.

Most people only tossed in one or two cents; ten cents was among the highest.

After watching the acrobats, they moved on to see the opera—folk songs and flower-drum opera. They didn’t stay long though; Xiaoxia wasn’t interested.

“I’m betting one ball on the left!”

“I’m putting two on the right!”

Not far ahead, a crowd had gathered around a booth where people were shouting and placing bets, drawing lots of attention.

On the table in front of them were only three small bowls, overturned. The man running the stall, dressed in a long gown, wore a smile as he watched people place their bets.

“What’s this?” Xiulan asked, clearly seeing it for the first time.

“This is called ‘Three-Immortals-Return-to-the-Cave.’ It’s all gambling,” Lin Heng said with a chuckle.

This trick used to be considered a skill in the old days. The average person didn’t know how it worked.

But in the internet age, the secret’s out—it’s just sleight of hand, a kind of magic trick meant to deceive.

He stood at a distance with Xiulan and Xiaoxia to watch for a while. Both mother and daughter gasped in amazement, unable to see through the trick at all.

This was clearly a seasoned performer, extremely skilled—even Lin Heng couldn’t spot the trick.

But he knew how it worked and explained it to Xiulan, who finally understood: “So that’s it! I was wondering how it was so magical—turns out he hides the ball in his hand.”

“Which is why the people placing bets never stand a chance,” Lin Heng smiled faintly. Tricks like these only worked in the present era.

“How do you know that?” Xiulan looked at him curiously.

“I once met a guy who knew this trick. He told me after a few drinks,” Lin Heng winked.

After circling the temple fair, the sun had climbed high and the heat was setting in. The three of them lost interest in strolling and began heading back.

As they passed a street selling odds and ends, Lin Heng suddenly caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye.

An incense burner—dark bronze all over, shaped like a goblet. The lid was cone-shaped, tall and pointed like a mountain, and hollowed out. It resembled layers of overlapping peaks.

It was adorned with cloud motifs and depictions of birds and beasts. Some areas were tinged with green pigment, giving it an ornate appearance.

“This is a Boshan incense burner, right?” Lin Heng asked with a smile.

A Boshan burner was a vessel used for burning incense. The ancients liked to bathe in fragrant smoke, and these were typically the kind of burners they used.

The stall owner was an old man. Aside from the burner, he had some pretty porcelain dishes and bowls, as well as a few jars and bottles.

He glanced at Lin Heng and shook his head, saying, “I’m not sure. It’s an old thing from home—I dug it up from the cellar a few days ago. No idea what dynasty it’s from. You want it or not?”

Lin Heng picked up the dishes and bowls for a look. There were no stamps or signatures. Judging from the blue-green floral patterns, they were probably blue-and-white porcelain plates and bowls.

“How much?” Lin Heng asked, pointing to the Boshan burner. He thought it’d be nice to take home and burn mosquito-repelling incense.

He was also interested in the dishes and bowls. In this era, the countryside still had a lot of vintage items. Some people even came specifically to collect such things, taking advantage of rural folks who didn’t know their value.

The old man looked at him and waved, “Three yuan for the burner. The porcelain plates and bowls are one yuan each. I don’t know what era they’re from. They’re useless at home—take them if you want.”

Lin Heng looked them over again, then ended up buying the Boshan burner, three intact blue-and-white porcelain plates, and four small bowls.

“You sure you want this much?” Xiulan asked. Normally, a bowl cost just a few dimes—this seemed overpriced.

The old man, afraid Lin Heng might change his mind, pointed at the five chipped bowls and plates left over and said, “If you buy this much, I’ll throw the rest in for free.”

Lin Heng looked at his wife and said, “Let’s just get it. You pay.”

He didn’t care—these might not even be antiques, but it wasn’t much of a loss either way.

“You earned the money—if you’re sure, then it’s fine.” Xiulan pulled out her wallet and handed over ten yuan.

“Ha! Thanks a lot. I’ll wrap them up for you with palm fiber,” the old man laughed heartily, bundling the items with soft palm fibers and placing them in a cloth bag, which he handed to Lin Heng.

With the purchase done, Lin Heng led his wife away quickly, heading toward the riverbank.

“You think those are all antiques, don’t you?” Xiulan asked curiously on the way back.

“Yeah. I’ll have someone appraise them if I get the chance. It was only ten yuan anyway, even if they’re not, it’s no big deal.”

Lin Heng smiled faintly. After all, he was now someone with over ten thousand to his name—taking a small risk like this didn’t bother him.

“As long as you’re happy. Just hope you got lucky. Personally, I think that old man looked like a scammer,” Xiulan said with a wink.

“Haha, only an appraisal will tell for sure. But I don’t think anyone would come to such a small place just to scam people. If it turns out to be a dud, it’s probably just because the stuff isn’t worth anything,” Lin Heng chuckled.

As they chatted, a boat came paddling by and asked if they were headed to Liulin Village. The two got on board.

“The town’s really lively at night—it’s just too far away,” Xiulan said with a bit of regret as they sat on the boat.

“We’ll just have to wait for next time,” Lin Heng shrugged. That was just how it was—living in the countryside came with a lot of inconveniences.

By the time they returned to Liulin Village, it was already eleven. Every household in the village was busy cooking; in the countryside, people had their big Mid-Autumn Festival meal at noon.

There were no electric lights at night, making dinner inconvenient. Things like moon-viewing were for scholars and poets—ordinary farmers just glanced at the moon and went to bed. There was still farm work to do the next day.

As they approached the house with their purchases, the smell of stir-fried meat wafted from afar.

“Lin Heng, Xiulan, finally! We were just saying the food’s almost ready and we didn’t know how to call you back,” said Father Chen with a big smile as he worked on some fishing nets in the courtyard.

“Timed it just right for lunch,” Lin Heng replied with a grin.

“Xiulan, what did you guys buy? Was the town lively today?” asked Sister-in-law Zhang Shuiqin curiously.

Xiulan shook the spice packet in her hand and said, “It was lively. We just bought some spice mixes to braise meat with later.”

“I just bought some little knick-knacks, nothing expensive,” Lin Heng added casually. No way he was going to say he’d spent ten yuan on those things.

Father Chen smiled and said, “We had good luck today too—netted a forty-plus-jin bighead carp. I’ve already chopped the head off. We’re having chopped chili fish head at lunch.”

“That big, huh?”

Lin Heng walked over to take a look, genuinely surprised. He had never caught such a big silver carp himself.

After a few more words, Xiulan asked curiously, “By the way, where’s my second sister and her family?”

“They said something came up at home and left early. No convincing them to stay,” Father Chen shrugged.

“Alright,” Xiulan nodded. She knew her second sister was probably overthinking things again. Nothing she could do about it.

Back inside, she set their things down and went to help her mother in the kitchen, while Lin Heng sat under the eaves chatting with Father Chen and the others, with his daughter in tow.

“We caught two mandarin fish today too—I smoked them. Take some back with you tomorrow for your parents to try. Don’t turn it down, we’ve got plenty of fish here, it’s no big deal,” Father Chen said with a smile.

“Alright. Thanks, Dad.” Lin Heng nodded. Personally, he thought the fish would taste even better as fermented mandarin fish, but smoked was fine too.

Lunch wasn’t ready until half past twelve. The Chen family set out two full tables, and even the kids were allowed to sit and eat with the adults.

Lin Heng’s table had twelve dishes again, this time with a bowl of steamed pork with rice flour and the chopped chili fish head, though it was missing two of the vegetarian dishes.

Lin Heng wasn’t interested in the all-fat steamed pork, but the chopped chili fish head was fresh, spicy, and very tasty.

His favorite, though, was the wild goose soup—it was incredibly fragrant.

“Daddy, I want more!” Xiaoxia asked for another bowl after finishing one.

It wasn’t just Lin Heng who liked it—Xiaoxia was clearly a fan of the goose soup too.

“Eat some meat too.” Lin Heng picked up some tender goose meat and fed it to his daughter.

“I’ll feed her. You eat.” Xiulan took Xiaoxia into her arms. Her mother had been watching disapprovingly, clearly unhappy that Lin Heng was the one taking care of the child.

“Alright.” Lin Heng grinned and didn’t argue.

He’d actually been using his daughter as an excuse to drink less. Now that his shield was gone, he ended up drinking more.

Everyone was in high spirits for the Mid-Autumn Festival, so it was hard to refuse.

Good food and good wine were rare treats for rural folks.

As the drinks flowed, Father Chen and Xiulan’s three brothers started lamenting the hardships of life—all kinds of complaints and gripes.

Lin Heng quietly listened, thinking this might be the prelude to a request for money. But to his surprise, even after the meal, no one brought it up.

He realized he might’ve been too suspicious. Maybe they were really just venting.

After the meal, Lin Heng drifted into a boozy nap. That lunch had really hit the spot—he was full and satisfied.

In another room, Zhang Shuiqin pinched Chen Zhidong’s waist and complained, “Why didn’t you ask to borrow money? Do you still want to keep living in this crowded house? I haven’t had a single good day since marrying you.”

She had reminded her husband just yesterday—ask for a loan and try to get the house built. And yet, he hadn’t said a word.

“Dad warned us not to bring it up. If you’ve got a problem, go talk to him,” Chen Zhidong swatted her hand away, annoyed.

“Hmph, your dad’s just obsessed with saving face even if it means suffering. This life is unbearable,” Zhang Shuiqin fumed, growing more and more resentful. She felt like she’d married the wrong man.

Similar conversations were happening in the other rooms.

The women were desperate to build new houses. Living together as one big family was driving them crazy.

But Father Chen had his own reasons. He felt it wasn’t right to ask their son-in-law for money on his first visit to his wife’s family. Besides, building three new houses would cost a fortune—it was better to let it go for now.

Lin Heng woke up to find it was already dark. He stepped outside and saw the bright full moon—he could even make out the patterns on its surface.

“Mama, the moon’s so big tonight!” Xiaoxia pointed up at the sky.

In the courtyard, Xiulan and Xiaoxia were moon-gazing. Xiaoxia’s big eyes were full of curiosity.

“Let Mama tell you the story of Chang’e flying to the moon. A long time ago…” Xiulan began the tale, but Xiaoxia’s constant interruptions made it hard to get through.

Lin Heng listened quietly from nearby, amused.

“You’re up. Does your head hurt?” Xiulan asked with a wink when she saw him.

“A bit fuzzy. It’s your fault—you took Xiaoxia away. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had to drink so much,” Lin Heng said helplessly.

“And whose fault is that, really?” Xiulan laughed.

She paused for a moment, then said, “You must be hungry. I’ll go get you something to eat. We’ve already had dinner.”

“Not hungry for now. Maybe later,” Lin Heng shook his head.

“Mama, look! There’s another moon!” Xiaoxia pointed at the sky.

“That’s a sky lantern,” Lin Heng walked over, gently touched her face, and said with a smile.

“How can a lantern fly?” Xiaoxia asked, full of confusion and curiosity.

Lin Heng picked her up and explained patiently, though she didn’t really understand. She clamored to make one herself, and Lin Heng could only promise they’d do it once they got home.

After playing for a while, Lin Heng had his dinner and went back to rest.

Xiulan’s parents, eldest brother, and the others had already gone to bed—they’d had even more to drink than Lin Heng at lunch and were still groggy, with no interest in moon-gazing.

But Lin Heng lay in bed unable to sleep, having already napped earlier.

Bored, he held his wife’s hand and counted her fingers. Xiulan, already quite drowsy, let him pull her into his arms and touched his face with a sigh, “Be good. We’re heading home tomorrow. Get some rest. I’m tired.”

She wasn’t actually that tired, but she was afraid things might get out of hand. With her parents sleeping just outside, any strange sounds would be too embarrassing.

“Alright.”

Lin Heng didn’t want to disturb her rest. Breathing in the scent of her hair, he stared at the top of the mosquito net until he eventually drifted off to sleep.

Before they knew it, it was early the next morning. Chen’s mother got up before dawn at five to make breakfast.

By the time Lin Heng and Xiulan woke, the food was already prepared.

“Mom, no need to go to all this trouble in the morning—just something simple is fine,” Lin Heng said with a smile as he looked at the full table.

“You’re leaving today. Of course I had to make something nice,” Chen’s mother smiled and shook her head.

“Hurry and sit down. Let’s have a couple of drinks this morning—just a few,” Chen’s father said with a laugh, pulling Lin Heng down to sit beside him.

Since they needed to set out before the sun got too hot, Lin Heng had a couple of drinks before eating.

After breakfast, he led Hongzao out and hitched up the cart, while Xiulan packed up.

They didn’t have much—just the marinade pack and porcelain they’d bought the day before, plus a few changes of clothes.

Just as they finished loading up, Chen’s mother came out carrying several large bundles.

“Lin Heng, Xiulan, we don’t have much to give you, but here’s some dried fish and shrimp, all kinds—must be thirty or forty jin altogether. Take it home and enjoy it slowly,” Chen’s mother said with a smile.

“Thanks, Mom,” Xiulan accepted them without fuss.

Chen’s father held onto Xiaoxia and smiled, “Xiaoxia, give Grandpa another call.”

Xiaoxia looked at him and called out sweetly, “Waigong!”

“Aww, that’s so sweet. Here, a red envelope for you,” Chen’s father beamed as he handed her a red packet.

It was Xiaoxia’s first time receiving one. She had no idea what it was for and looked at her grandpa curiously.

“Dad, what are you doing?” Lin Heng hurried over to stop him.

“It’s her first time visiting. What’s wrong with giving my granddaughter a red envelope? Don’t refuse—it’s not for you,” Chen’s father blocked him with a hand and pushed him back.

“Dad, you’re being too generous. We’re all family,” Lin Heng said helplessly.

“Exactly—because we’re family, I’m giving it to her,” Chen’s father said, nudging him aside, and motioned to Chen’s mother to lift Xiaoxia into the cart.

After some more parting words and small talk, Chen’s parents told them to come back for the New Year, while Lin Heng invited them to visit as well.

“Alright then, we’re off now—Dad, Mom, brothers, and sisters-in-law.”

Lin Heng gave his farewell, then asked Xiulan to say goodbye too. He took the reins and drove the cart quickly into the distance.

“Okay, don’t forget to come back for New Year!” Chen’s mother called out, reluctant to see them go.

The Chen family stood watching the cart disappear into the distance, each lost in their own thoughts. Chen’s parents were genuinely happy from the bottom of their hearts. But the daughters-in-law all wore sour expressions, some even harboring resentment toward the old couple.

The cart quickly left Liulin Village. The sun hadn’t yet risen, and the roadside grass sparkled with dew. The morning breeze was cool and refreshing.

Xiulan looked at Lin Heng with a smile. “Guess how much Dad gave Xiaoxia in the red envelope? I bet you’ll never guess.”

(End of chapter)
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Waigong = maternal grandfather (mother’s dad).