Should he ask her how her holiday revision was going?

But it was New Year’s – what if Xiaolan thought he was just a bookworm who only knew how to study?

Thinking carefully, Chen Qing realized he was indeed a bookworm. He wasn’t particularly talented or handsome, often helped with farm work which left his skin dark, and his grades weren’t even as good as Xiaolan’s. Why would Xiaolan ever be interested in him?

Chen Qing felt discouraged.

Young people’s thoughts are ever-changing, but with Chen Wangda’s occasional guidance, he has become more mature than his male classmates.

Chen Qing knew what he wanted and understood that Xiaolan also valued the college entrance exam highly. If he said something foolish to her now, it could affect both their upcoming exams, regardless of her response.

He secretly decided to wait until after the college entrance exam to say anything, which made him feel more at ease around Xiaolan.

Unable to find the solution to his problem, he simply asked Xiaolan directly.

Chen’s mother looked at her son as if he were an idiot – discussing math problems with a girl on New Year’s Day, her son had truly become study-obsessed.

Li Fengmei found it quietly amusing. Chen’s mother’s intentions were so obvious, but Chen Qing wasn’t taking the bait.

She wanted to mention Zhou Cheng but found it inappropriate with so many people around, including Chen Qing. The family reunion dinner would have been perfect, but the prissy Princess Liang Huan had caused everyone to leave early, making Li Fengmei miss the best opportunity.

Never mind – it would be cruel to mention it now. Chen Qing liked Xiaolan, and it wouldn’t be good to upset him with only five months until the college entrance exam. She could clarify things before the Chen family brought up the matter of the two children.

Discussing math problems while bouncing along made the time pass quickly, and they soon arrived at Baixi Reservoir.

Baixi Temple sat atop a hill beside the reservoir, an old temple among bare trees, quite zen-like. However, the path along the reservoir below was packed with vendors and crowds, diminishing the sacred atmosphere.

Liu Zitao could barely walk.

He was mesmerized by the popcorn maker.

The old-style popcorn machine was a dark metal container heated by flames underneath. The vendor continuously turned the handle, and when the popcorn was ready, they would release the pressure with a loud “bang” – whether in villages or cities, popcorn makers always drew crowds of children.

Usually, people brought their rice or corn and paid a processing fee to have it made into popcorn.

Of course, you could also buy it directly – who would carry rice around while visiting a temple fair?

“Tao Tao wants popcorn? Auntie will buy it for you.”

Chen’s mother was being generous, but Li Fengmei quickly intervened: “Sister, how can I let you pay? I have money.”

While they were arguing, Xia Xiaolan had already paid the vendor. These snacks were perfect for munching while browsing the fair. She got both rice and corn popcorn, sweetened with white sugar. It was deliciously sweet with a rich grain aroma, and the corn popcorn was different from modern versions, without the cloying butter flavor.

The fair had many food options, including fresh pork from pre-New Year slaughter, preserved by the cold weather. Besides pork, there were many egg vendors and reed-woven items for sale. Seeing these reminded Xia Xiaolan and Liu Fen of when they left the Xia family.

The reed-woven products weren’t selling well, with no sales all morning. Xia Xiaolan had once considered getting into that business – fortunately, she’d switched to egg trading instead.

The reservoir was frozen, and some vendors had broken through the ice to catch fish, which they were selling from large wooden tubs.

Xia Xiaolan remembered the carp from the Anqing County restaurant and started salivating.

“Should we buy a fish to take home?”

Seeing her craving, Li Fengmei suggested buying one.

Xia Xiaolan hesitated, “If we wait until we’re done looking around, it won’t be fresh anymore.”

The fish vendor, not wanting to lose a sale, grabbed a fish that splashed water with its powerful tail:

“Which one do you want? I’ll keep it for you. Come back after you finish at the fair, and I’ll kill it fresh. It won’t spoil even tomorrow! Pick one, and I’ll weigh it for you!”

Liu Yong also agreed to buy. Before Xia Xiaolan could choose, Chen’s mother was already peering into the fish tub.

Qijing Village was near a river, but who would catch fish in winter? You’d freeze before catching anything.

“How much for the snakehead fish?”

Chen’s mother remembered Chen Qing enjoying the fish at the Liu family dinner. Believing her son was overworking his brain, and having heard that snakehead fish was nutritious, she wanted to make soup for him.

Senior-year students had it tough, returning to school on the third day of the New Year. Chen’s mother worried about Chen Qing getting exhausted.

Some extra nutrition couldn’t hurt.

“Snakehead is 1.50 yuan per jin. It’s very nutritious. How about this one?”

The vendor lifted a large snakehead fish weighing about four or five jin. Chen’s mother thought it was a robbery – usually snakehead cost at most one yuan, but they’d added fifty fens for New Year’s Day. She’d buy it anyway, as this was the only fish vendor at the fair. She paid 6.50 yuan and asked the vendor to mark it clearly:

“I’ll weigh it again before taking it, and it must be this exact fish!”

Xia Xiaolan asked Liu Yong what fish he wanted. Usually, they bought carp for braising, but Liu Yong had the same idea as her.

“Grass carp, but nobody at home knows how to cook it…”

The grass carp they’d had at the restaurant was good. Xia Xiaolan thought for a moment, “It’s not that hard, let’s try it.”

Considering the household of four adults and one child, uncle and niece chose a grass carp weighing almost 17 jin. It was cheaper than Snakehead at 1.20 yuan per jin, coming to just under 20 yuan. Li Fengmei paid while complaining:

“You two are just wasting money.”

Spending 20 yuan on one fish?

Fish prices were almost as high as pork, and Li Fengmei had never been so extravagant.

Though she complained about their spending, she didn’t hesitate to pay.

Chen’s mother also thought it expensive – how much had the Liu family earned in just a few months to spend 20 yuan on a fish? Even with money, this seemed wasteful. She worried that after staying with the Liu family, Xia Xiaolan might become a big spender.

The Chen family was well-off in the village, but buying two such fish monthly would leave nothing for other expenses.

Xia Xiaolan was unaware of Chen’s mother’s thoughts, and wouldn’t have cared anyway.

Making the most of the rare temple fair visit, she bought almost everything Liu Zitao showed interest in, whether practical or not. If Liu Zitao liked it, Xia Xiaolan paid without hesitation.

While tops and picture books weren’t expensive, to Chen’s mother, Xia Xiaolan seemed to be spending money like water.

“Amitabha Buddha, what family raises a daughter who spends money like this?”