Riding the wind of rebirth

The leisurely side of Jiachuan people's lifestyle is most obvious in the early morning like this. Tofu pudding restaurants, teahouses, and breakfast shops can be seen everywhere. They have opened their doors long ago. Steam is rising from pots of various sizes at the doors, making the lights at the store entrances even dimmer.

Many early risers, diners and tea drinkers were already sitting there. When Zhou Zhi told Mai Xiaomiao that these people might sit there for two or three hours, Mai Xiaomiao opened his eyes wide in surprise.

"The tofu rice in our county is very famous, and it is served with various small steamed dishes." Zhou Zhi smiled and said, "If nothing goes wrong, my mother and the others have already arranged everything, and we will probably be able to taste it soon. Now we are passing by the vegetable market, which is a spontaneous market. These are farmers who took the ferry from Caiba on the outskirts of the city and Baimi Township across the Yangtze River. Their vegetables are the freshest."

“So many people? Can they sell all their vegetables?” Mai Xiaomiao looked at the vegetable farmers’ stalls on both sides of the long street and couldn’t help but worry that they wouldn’t be able to sell all their vegetables.

"There are more than 800,000 people in our county, and about 200,000 in the county town. This amount of vegetables is definitely not enough. The bigger market is in Zhangjiagou, but the stalls there are indoors, not as distinctive as those on both sides of the street." Zhou Zhi smiled and said, "Some of these vegetable farmers will definitely be attending the wedding, and you will definitely see them then."

"Why are they wearing white cloth on their heads? Aren't they like Grandpa Chi Ri and Uncle Tu, who are wrapped in blue cloth and wear octagonal hats?"

"This was a common custom among the Han people in Shu. Legend has it that it was to show filial piety to Zhuge Liang. This custom has been passed down to this day, but it has disappeared in many places. At least I don't think I've seen it much outside of southern Sichuan."

“So that’s how it is.” Mai Xiaomiao nodded: “It seems that the people in your hometown attach great importance to preserving traditions, and you have been greatly influenced by them.”

"Well, that's not the case. It's just that here, especially in the countryside, it's relatively closed and backward." Zhou Zhi told the truth, and then leaned close to Mai Xiaomiao's ear and said, "So Xueshan's pregnancy before marriage can only be a secret here."

Only then did Mai Xiaomiao understand why Zhou Zhi was so busy arranging the wedding of Feng Xueshan and Yang He. After all, it was the pressure brought to them by the customs of their hometown. Even though they no longer lived in their hometown, they still had to take care of the "public opinion" of their hometown.

In Mai Xiaomiao's eyes, this is also one of the characteristics of China.

The convoy quickly circled Jiachuan County and finally stopped at the Hongshui River Wharf. Below was Shipanjiao, a huge gravel beach where the Hongshui River merges into the Yangtze River.

This is a huge rocky beach made up of a large layer of red sandstone. There are many circular puddles formed by the impact of flowing water, as well as some gullies and two small pools of water. The scenery is very beautiful.

The water in rivers and streams is very clear in winter. On one side of the Yangtze River is the Baimi Township with green bamboos. The White Pagoda at the bend of the river has just undergone a restoration, and now it looks really white and new.

This is also the first time that Jiachuan County has restored a large-scale immovable cultural relic. The banyan tree on the top of the tower, which had seriously affected the survival of the ancient tower, was removed, the top of the tower was restored, and a circle of brick and stone fences were built outside each floor of the tower to make it safer to enjoy the scenery after climbing the tower. The collapsed chalk wall on the tower was also repainted.

Although Zhou Zhi thinks that the silhouette of the banyan tree on top of the White Pagoda is extremely beautiful in the sun and is too easy to be photographed, from the perspective of cultural relic protection, the banyan tree should indeed be removed.

The wind was quite strong on the river. Feng Xueshan, Yang He, Mai Xiaomiao and Zhou Zhi took a group photo together here. Then Feng Xueshan and Yang He, Mai Xiaomiao and Zhou Zhi took photos separately.

The funniest thing was that the photographer instructed Feng Xueshan and Yang He to be closer, but he didn't mention it to Mai Xiaomiao and Zhou Zhi at all, because Mai Xiaomiao was so used to being close to Zhou Zhi that it was very natural.

Afterwards, the convoy set off again and arrived at the main venue of the wedding, Licheng Hotel.

This is a newly built hotel under the Zhou Liu Niang Group. In fact, the biggest reason is that most of the merchants who come to Jiachuan now come for the Zhou Liu Niang Group. The reception capacity and level of the Jiachuan County Guesthouse are obviously lagging behind the reception requirements, and conflicts may even arise during periods such as the two sessions. Therefore, in the end, Sister Xiao Juaner simply let her own group open one.

Although it cannot catch up with the Yinhai Hotel that Xiaoliujie went to to compete with the three-star Laojiao Hotel, Licheng Hotel is also the best "modern" external reception hotel in Jiachuan, much more advanced than the county guesthouse. Now it has become the first choice for people in the city who want to be respectable to hold wedding and birthday banquets.

The advertising spray-painted wedding dress painting has been put up at the hotel's main entrance. Old Yang, his mother, and his eldest brother and sister-in-law are all waiting for the in-laws to arrive at the door of the store.

When they saw the motorcade appear, firecrackers and gongs and drums started to sound. There was also a "wedding room" decorated in the hotel. Yang He had to carry Xueshan in, and then the work of welcoming the bride would be completed.

Zhou Zhi and Mai Xiaomiao are also responsible for escorting, and the photographer has to follow along the way.

Once you get here, the wedding company will make all the arrangements. The bride and groom, best man and bridesmaids all become characters in the story, and their only responsibility is to perform.

Yang came in with his parents and Feng Xueshan's parents. He chatted with a few people in a hurry and expressed his gratitude to Zhou Zhi and Mai Xiaomiao. Then he was pulled by the wedding host to rehearse the wedding.

My eldest brother and his wife arranged for the fleet drivers, photography team, and wedding planning team to have breakfast.

Only then did my mother have time to chat with Zhou Zhi and the others. She first said to Zhou Zhi, "Look at what you've done. Is it so urgent to hold a wedding? If you hadn't brought Xiao Miao back with you, I would have punished you!"

Zhou Zhi didn't quite understand what his mother said, but now was not the time to discuss it in detail: "I said I would take Xiao Miao to eat tofu rice, but you can't do it this morning, right?"

My mother looked at her watch and said, "Xueshan and Heshang are definitely not going to make it. They can just eat a bowl of glutinous rice balls to fill their stomachs. As for the two of you... you can probably come back in half an hour."

"Hey, we'll be back soon!" Zhou Zhi pulled Mai Xiaomiao out and said, "There's a black bean curd shop right next to the hotel. I saw it when I came here."

"The Jiachuan tofu pudding is tender, you take care of the seedlings!" The two of them were already in the hallway of the hotel, and my mother poked her head out to say, "Eat more, you have a lot of work to do today!"

"And don't get your clothes dirty!"

After both of them entered the elevator, my mother turned around and asked Feng Xueshan and Yang He: "Elbow and Xiao Miao, are they doing well?"

Jiachuan tofu pudding has now been "introduced" to Lianhe Township by Zhou Zhi, but people in Lianhe Township are not used to eating particularly tender tofu pudding. Therefore, every time Gillette Abi makes tofu pudding, Zhou Zhi rushes to scoop the tofu pudding around the edge of the pot, because that part is the most tender and can barely resemble Jiachuan tofu pudding. The rest of the pot is actually more like tofu.

The dipping sauce is not very effective either. There are as many as a dozen condiments for Jiachuan tofu pudding, and Gillette Abi usually only provides a few things such as onion, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, chili, sesame oil, and lard. There are also litsea cubeba or litsea cubeba oil, and Sichuan peppercorns. The rest depends on the mood of the day.

The tofu pudding shop in Jiachuan has a more complete range of seasonings. For example, crushed peanuts, fried white sesame seeds, red oil and fried chili peppers are all served separately for customers to choose from. The main feature is that it is thoughtful and meticulous.

Even the bowls and chopsticks are scalded with boiling water, which ensures cleanliness, hygiene and heat preservation.

"Tofu pudding should be eaten hot, and a wife should be fat." This is also Jiachuan's old saying. (End of this chapter)