Soon, the cabin courtyard gate was opened, and a small figure stood behind it, smiling at her, his dark eyes shining under his messy hair.
Liu Yusheng ran over happily, threw herself into his arms, and tilted her head up. "Brother Axiu, our family is going to the town today. Will you come with us? We can go and eat delicious food. Also, there's lots and lots of fun things in town. Go and play with me, will you?"
Axiu hesitated when faced with the little baby's barrage of questions. He glanced back into the cabin. He didn't want to refuse Nannan, but would his mother allow him to go out?
Wanrong had long been listening to the conversation at the courtyard entrance, and had come up with an excuse to refuse when she walked out.
But looking at the almost identical expectant eyes of the two children, the words of refusal got stuck in her throat.
"Wanrong, get ready and come along. Come with us to town! The ox cart will be here soon, so hurry up." Grandma Liu's voice sounded behind the little child.
"Auntie, I-I-I don't…" Wanrong struggled with how to decline.
Grandma Liu thought she was just embarrassed and didn't want to bother anyone, so she laughingly pulled her forward. Let's go, don't think about anything else. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. We should spend the day together, and join in the noise and excitement. You two are all alone in the cabin, so let's eat at our house. It's livelier. I treat Axiu like my own grandson, so don't refuse or I'll be saddened."
Mid-Autumn Festival, a day of reunions.
A glimmer of gloom flitted across Wanrong's eyes, then she nodded slowly after a moment of silence. "Okay. Then today, we'll follow Auntie to town and join in the fun."
"Now, that's better! If you refuse, the kids will be disappointed, don't you think so? Don't bring anything either; we'll just take a casual stroll. It's rare to have a leisure time in such a busy year."
Seeing that Grandma had convinced Aunt Wanrong with a few words, Liu Yusheng pursed her lips and smirked like a little fox, took Axiu's hand and led him out. "Brother Axiu, have you ever ridden in an ox cart? We'll be taking an ox cart ride to town in a little while – oh. I wonder what's on sale in town, what's delicious to eat. Besides sweets and snacks, will there be any mooncakes ah?"
"Mooncakes?" Axiu frowned, then said, "Shengsheng is talking about moon dumplings."
"Moon dumplings?" Liu Yusheng was confused. "What is a moon dumpling?"
"It's a kind of small cake. It's used as a moon sacrifice during the Mid-autumn festival. The cakes are wrapped with sesame seeds, walnut and other fillings, making them a tasty sweet treat."
Only then did it dawn on Liu Yusheng that moon dumplings should be moon cakes. She had always thought there were no moon cakes in ancient times.
"Are the moon dumplings delicious?" She asked again.
Axiu replied, "It tastes okay." He didn't really like the sweet taste. However, Shengsheng seemed to like it.
"Then, besides the moon dumplings, what else do people eat during the Mid-Autumn Festival?"
"In addition to the moon dumplings, they also eat watermelon and drink osmanthus wine. Besides those, in some places, they go tide watching and release lanterns at mid-autumn night. Many towns have lantern fairs for people to tour and riddles to compete in. It's totally lively."
Hearing these descriptions, a yearning unconsciously kindled in Liu Yusheng.
She had always been busy in her previous life and devoted herself to the family. For her, this festival was just any other day, nothing special. Even if in family reunions, sometimes she didn't have time to participate.
Those excitements that others spoke of had been out of her reach.
Over time, she gave up yearning for it.
For some reason, listening to the narratives, fading out from Axiu's mouth, that yearning of being able to spend every festival with the people she loved, liked, and cared about stirred once again.
Thinking of the future, her head was filled with the most precious memories.
"Brother Axiu, have you ever been to a lantern festival before?"
He nodded.
"I want to go too. I can't even imagine what a lantern festival looks like. From what you've said, it will be very crowded! It's a pity that the lantern festival is always at night. My grandparents definitely won't let me out. I don't know when I'll be able to see those magnificent scenery you mentioned with my own eyes."
When the child's eyes flashed with a trace of disappointment, Axiu felt like a hand gripped his heart, and it was stiflingly painful.
"Shengsheng, I'll take you to see it someday." He blurted just like that.
"Great!" The child immediately smiled gaily and tilted her head up, her eyes shining brightly as she looked at him. "Brother Axiu promised, no backsies, ah!"
"Hmm, no backsies."
"Then you mustn't forget it, ah!"
"I won't forget it." He would never forget what he promised her for the rest of his life.
They walked back to the ancient acacia tree while chatting just in time with the ox cart's arrival.
The whole family squeezed into the ox cart with excitement and occupied every seat. On the contrary, those who had been waiting for a long time could no longer crowd in. It made the adults of the Liu family a little embarrassed.
The villagers chortled. "It's rare for the bunch of you to go to town together. We'll let you sit first. If we squeeze in, won't we separate your family? Okay, go on, go on. At most, we can just wait for the next trip. Let Nannan have some fun today!"
"Alright, this old man will thank everyone's favor. Later, I'll send some wine over for you, so that you can also enjoy good wine for the Mid-Autumn Festival evening!" Grandpa Liu smiled openly.
"You said it! Then we'll be waiting!"
While joking and laughing, the ox cart set off, driving slowly and leisurely towards the ancient road.
Li Ping drove the cart, and with the whole family, full of laughter, set off for town.
"Xiao Ping, how is your family now? You've unsealed your porcelain kiln, right?" Grandpa Liu struck up a conversation.
"Yes, Uncle Liu. Father and Mother said that we should also take advantage of Nannan's good fortune and keep the porcelain kiln going. Work hard, and there may be a chance for a turnaround in the future."
"Speaking of your family's craftsmanship in porcelain making, you're really skilled. Compared to other shops that opened up later in town, it's so much better. The porcelain bowls your family burned, as long as they don't fall, they can last for more than a decade or so. Your father and your mother are right. Work hard; there will definitely be a turnaround. There's this saying that goes, fragrant wine fears no dark alley; isn't that right?!"
Li Ping nodded and smiled, "Right, that's the idea. We aren't people who are afraid of hard work. If we don't work hard enough to feed our families, we can't make ends meet, can we?"
Grandpa Liu laughed aloud. "If you're ambitious, that's the way it should be."
Liu Yusheng, who was listening to their exchange, interjected with a childish voice, "Uncle Ping, don't seal the porcelain kiln, ah. When the winery opens, there'll be a need for many, many wine jars. If you seal the porcelain kiln, I won't be able to find such desirable wine jars."
Hearing this, Li Ping turned around excitedly, and looked at her. "Nannan, Nannan, do you mean to order wine jars that the winery will be using later on at our house?"