A Gathering For Everyone

Xiaoguo understood her reasons for doing that. In any case, when she made those clothes for them, it didn’t mean that the children had to wear them for specific occasions.

Zhuang Zhuang was also wearing the new clothes that Xiaoguo had made for him, but the colors did not align with the little guy’s aesthetic preferences.

Xiaoguo didn’t know why, but she simply loved the color pink. Zhuang Zhuang really disliked wearing pink clothes, which were usually worn by little girls. But being the sensible boy that he was, he didn’t want to upset his mother.

The already cute and fair-skinned child looked even more like a lovable little girl with the clothes accentuating his appearance.

Jiang Danhe and Xiaoguo were dressed very simply—both of them were not fond of wearing bright-colored clothes. As for dressing the children in bright colors, apart from satisfying Xiaoguo’s selfish desire to dress them up, the more important thing was to make them more noticeable.

The streets are going to be crowded. It would be terrible if something happened, and the children got separated from them. Dressing up the children in eye-catching colors would make it easier to spot them in the crowd.

Jiang Danhe had been sighing non-stop from the moment he saw Zhuang Zhuang dressed in pink clothes. The more he looked at him, the more upset he got. “Why is this kid not a girl…? He looks so adorable…”

He felt so sad…

With that face, it was no wonder that others would mistake Zhuang Zhuang for a girl. He really looked too cute.

As there were quite a number of people sitting in the carriage, Jiang Danhe was afraid that the donkey could not bear the weight. Therefore, he removed the cart from the donkey’s back and loaded it onto the horse’s back instead.

Xiaoguo did a headcount to make sure no one was left behind. Even though there were only a few people, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

“Alright, no one is missing. Let’s go!”

“Let’s go!”

Xiao Zhu and Yu Ling were extremely excited. As soon as the carriage started moving, the two of them eagerly lifted the curtain and looked out, while chatting animatedly.

Although the two of them were newcomers in the village, they had gotten to know more villagers than Xiaoguo.

Along the way, many girls of the same age greeted the two of them.

Xiaoguo and Zhuang Zhuang were squeezed so tightly by the two of them that they almost got flattened. It took some effort for them to catch their breath. Just moments ago, they felt like they were going to suffocate.

Looking at the two girls, who were still chattering non-stop, Xiaoguo sighed to herself. It’s fortunate that the girls were not born in the capital city, otherwise their behavior would have been labeled as unladylike and would have attracted criticism.

After leaving the village, the two girls became even louder. They were very curious about their surroundings. Seeing this, Xiaoguo immediately abandoned Zhuang Zhuang and fled out of the carriage to sit beside Jiang Danhe, who was driving the carriage.

“Why did you come out?”

When Jiang Danhe saw Xiaoguo come out, he subconsciously drove the car towards a more shaded spot.

“I came out to accompany you.”

Xiaoguo smiled at him and said.

Jiang Danhe almost blushed as he pretended to cough a few times. He straightened his back quietly and secretly stole a glance at her, feeling secretly delighted in his heart.

“So you love me so much that you can’t even leave me for a moment… I feel so shy…”

Xiaoguo looked at him and chuckled to herself.

Zhuang Zhuang was suffering in the carriage. He really didn’t expect his mother to be so disloyal—she had abandoned him and went out alone to hide from the noise. He really didn’t expect her to do that…

No, he has to go out too. “Don’t leave me here alone.”

“Wow, Zhuang Zhuang, look over there!”

Zhuang Zhuang had just left his seat when he was pulled back by Xiao Zhu.

Feeling helpless, he looked in the direction she was pointing. “… Isn’t that just a tall tree?”

“That’s right. I’ve never seen such tall trees growing by the beach!”

“…”

After Xiao Zhu finished speaking, she ignored Zhuang Zhuang, whose mouth was twitching. She turned around and touched Yu Ling. “Have you seen that before, Yu Ling? What a tall tree. I’ve never seen such tall trees in the fishing village or in Peach Blossom Village…”

“There are many such trees on the island where I used to live. Many of them are taller than this.”

Yu Ling didn’t want to disappoint Xiao Zhu, but she had seen many tall trees before, so she wasn’t very impressed by this one.

Xiao Zhu exclaimed regretfully. So she was the most ignorant one among them. Maybe it would be better if she stopped talking for now.

Not long after, Xiao Zhu’s exclamation sounded again.

“Wow… look at this bridge…”

“Hey, look at that road.”

“It’s a dog, it’s a dog… What an ugly big dog…”

“Yu Ling, Zhuang Zhuang, look. It’s a bird…”

“…”

Xiao Zhu’s exclamations continued throughout the journey. Most of the time, she was exclaming about things that were commonly-seen, instead of the bustling scenes in the county.

However, Xiaoguo and Jiang Danhe knew why she was behaving in that way. It was not very often that she had the chance to come out and play, so it was natural for her to get excited over everything that she was seeing.

Although Yu Ling was not as dramatic as her, she made quite a lot of noise too.

At times, they would point to a dog, then at a tree, laughing and exclaiming intermittently.

The two of them were enjoying themselves heartily while Zhuang Zhuang was grieving alone. Indeed, people’s joys and sorrows were completely independent.

When they arrived at the county, they could feel the lively atmosphere of the festival even from a distance.

At this moment, Yonghai County was twice as lively as the usual marketplace. There was a bustling crowd, and the sounds of hawking and laughter could be heard incessantly. There were stalls of all sizes selling candy figurines, masks, lanterns, kites, mooncakes, and sweet-scented osmanthus wine. There was something for everyone to eat, drink, and play with.

The lively atmosphere during the day only heightened one’s anticipation for the night’s festivities.

From the moment Xiaoguo saw the entrance of the county city, she quietly raised her arms and covered Jiang Danhe’s ears. When he was wondering about her actions, Xiaoguo counted down to three in her heart.

Three, two, one.

“Wow…”

Xiao Zhu and Yu Ling’s sky-shattering cries immediately rang out and attracted the attention of many people around them.

Amidst the noisy environment, their cries had created a moment of silence.

When their voices died down, Xiaoguo removed her hands. Jiang Danhe shot her a grateful smile—if she hadn’t covered his ears, he would have had to live with ringing ears for quite a while.

Zhuang Zhuang, who was in the carriage, was not as lucky as his father. After hearing the girls’ screams, his ears were filled with ringing and buzzing sounds for quite some time.

As it was the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xiaoguo had discussed with the craftsmen to give them a day off so that they could return home to celebrate with their families.

At this moment, Shu Botong was the only person in the two-story building. He was sitting alone at the door, waiting for something.

As the carriage stopped, Shu Botong immediately brightened up

He dusted himself off and stood up expectantly, waiting for them to call him.

Xiaoguo couldn’t bear to see Shu Botong spending the day alone on such a festive day, so she and Jiang Danhe unanimously decided to bring him out to play.

When Xiao Zhu and Yu Ling got out of the car, the smiles on their faces froze. They weren’t expecting to see an outsider.

They had never met this person before. This was also Zhuang Zhuang’s first time seeing the man. Feeling curious, his gaze swept over Shu Botong several times.

After a round of introductions, the few of them got into the carriage and drove towards the noodle shop.

Qin Anming, Ruyi, and the others were naturally included in the lively celebrations of the festival.

It was the Mid-Autumn Festival. For sure, Xiaoguo had to spend it with them. This was what it meant to be reunited.

The noodle shop had closed its doors early today. Other than Ruyi, Qin Anming, Uncle Xu, Xiaocui, Ling Long, and Fu’er, the other shop assistants had all been given a day off. At this moment, the front hall of the noodle shop was empty.

The rooms in the backyard were bustling with activity.

Everyone was dressing up in their rooms. Some were washing up, some were changing, and some were combing and styling their hair. They were all taking it very seriously, as if it was the New Year.

When the group was finally gathered together, Xiaoguo looked at their happy faces and couldn’t help but break into a happy smile.

Xiaoguo had not formally introduced Xiao Zhu and Yu Ling to anyone before, so Xiaoguo took the opportunity to introduce them, and also Shu Botong to everyone else.

From now on, they were family.

With Ruyi and Qin Anming taking the lead, everyone took the initiative to welcome the two young ladies and Shu Botong who just went through a major transformation.

Since they were the few people that Xiaoguo trusted and recognized, they were considered family and would be treated with sincerity by everyone.