The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

This market day is indeed the largest annual gathering in this small county town.

It was a huge wasteland, but now it's packed with all sorts of stalls.

Using tables, plastic sheets, tricycles, and woven bags laid directly on the ground, several maze-like streets were planned out.

There were quite a few people there. It wasn't to the point where walking was difficult, but it was still a bit uncomfortable.

Coupled with the distant, unseen sounds of the opera troupe's gongs and drums, this was truly a scene of "loud gongs and drums, crackling firecrackers, waving red flags, and a sea of ​​people."

As soon as they entered the entrance, the family was separated from each other.

Ye Shu and Zhi Qiu had been holding hands the whole time, and seeing this, they pulled her closer to themselves, afraid that she would be pushed aside.

Anyone who has been to a local market knows that the stalls at the entrance are usually selling popcorn.

The "putt-putt-putt" noise had already drowned out the distant gongs and drums. This stall looked like it was run by a family of three, focusing on a combination of the old and the new.

A middle-aged woman wearing a cotton-padded coat and an apron was pouring something into a machine that looked like a tractor engine. A long, steaming string of popcorn came out from the other end, and a child next to her was holding a large plastic bag to catch it; he looked like her son.

On the other side, a man wearing a cotton hat sat on a small stool, slowly cranking a grain amplifier, the kind of old-fashioned hand-cranked popcorn machine, which was burning on a small charcoal stove.

Zhi Qiu had only seen this on her phone before; this was the first time she had watched it live.

She found it interesting, so she tugged at Ye Shu's arm and pointed to the cannon barrel in the man's hand.

Ye Shu understood what she meant, so he pulled her a few steps to the side and found a place where they wouldn't block the way.

But after waiting for a long time, the man remained sitting there slowly turning the stove in his hand, only stopping occasionally to look at the pressure gauge in the middle of the handle, without making any other movements.

Zhi Qiu couldn't help but lean close to Ye Shu's ear and ask loudly:

"Why hasn't it exploded yet?!"

There was nothing they could do; it was too noisy around them, and the "putt-putt-putt" sound from over there was almost making their ears ring.

"We'll have to wait a bit longer! It needs to build up enough pressure before it explodes!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the man who had been shaking the stove stopped, picked up a pair of dirty gloves from the side, put them on, and lifted the stove off the fire onto the ground.

"It's going to explode!"

Ye Shu turned her head and whispered in Zhi Qiu's ear.

Zhi Qiu covered her ears with her hands, staring at the man and the stove in his hand, waiting to witness this moment.

The man got up from the stool, carrying a large leather bag with a long net attached to the back. He then inserted the popcorn popper, the one with the valve, into the large leather bag.

Then, he took out a pry bar, inserted it into the hole on the leather pouch, and clipped it to the stove lid where it was used to open the lid.

But the man didn't rush to open the lid. Instead, he put an iron whistle hanging around his neck in his mouth and blew it hard.

"beep!!!"

A whistle blew through the surrounding noise, a warning to those nearby that it was about to go off! Don't be startled!

After blowing the whistle, the man grabbed the crowbar with one hand and then kicked it hard with his leg.

"Pass!!!"

A thunderclap sounded out of nowhere, accompanied by a plume of white smoke billowing from the large leather bag, the large net bag behind it already filled with popcorn.

Even though I covered my ears, the loud noise seemed to penetrate my body directly, making my heart tremble.

Ye Shu clearly felt Zhi Qiu's body tremble.

After the loud bang, came the aroma of freshly popped popcorn and the cries of frightened children nearby.

Ye Shu turned to Zhi Qiu and asked:

"Were you scared?"

Zhi Qiu lowered her hands from her ears, patted her chest, and let out a soft breath. However, she didn't look scared at all; instead, she seemed somewhat excited.

"Yeah, it's too loud."

She watched the man pour popcorn from the net bag into a large basket; it looked delicious, still steaming hot.

She instinctively reached for her phone, but as soon as she put her hand in her pocket, she realized that her phone wasn't with her.

Which one would you like to eat?

Ye Shu had already taken out her phone to pay the bill.

Zhi Qiu turned to look at Ye Shu and smiled sweetly. This was one of the things about Ye Shu that made her heart flutter. Many times, she didn't even need to say anything; just a gesture or an expression was enough for him to understand her thoughts.

This tacit understanding warms one's heart.

She raised her hand, pointed to the freshly popped popcorn, and said:

"this."

So, before the two even reached the market, they found themselves with a plastic bag full of popcorn.

But since we were just taking a leisurely stroll, eating as we went was quite pleasant.

Zhi Qiu picked up a bag, popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth, and crunched it down. It was crispy, sweet, and slightly bitter. It was really good, with a more rustic and earthy flavor than the popcorn produced by machines in movie theaters.

She picked up another one and brought it to Ye Shu's lips.

Ye Shu tilted her head and opened her mouth to take it.

"Is it sweet?"

Zhi Qiu looked at him with a smile in her eyes.

"Hmm, it's alright, but eating too much of this makes me thirsty."

The two walked hand in hand, slowly moving into the market with the crowd.

While munching on popcorn, Zhi Qiu looked around with great interest.

She quickly formed a preliminary impression of the market, which was not only lively but also large.

Everything here exudes a very grand and imposing atmosphere...

The cabbage sellers simply drive in their farm tricycles, using the cargo compartment as their stall, with a whole load of cabbages neatly stacked on top.

The potato sellers didn't use any small baskets; they just used a large woven bag with the top open, filled with mud-covered, fist-sized potatoes.

At the meat stall, whole slabs of pork were hung on the side with iron hooks. On the table were several pig heads with their eyes wide open in death, and several white-feathered chickens that had been plucked and stretched out like Egyptian pharaohs, which looked terrifying.

The most outrageous thing is that there are actually barbecue skewers here. They set up an iron stove and started grilling right there. There are a few simple folding tables and small stools in the back, which serve as the dining area.

Besides the large size of the items, the noise level here is also high. Each stall has a large loudspeaker that plays the stall owner's desperate shouts on a loop.

Their voices were all incredibly loud, each one trying to outdo the other in their high pitch, and they just kept shouting at each other.

Amidst the lively atmosphere, Ye Shu felt a vibration in his down jacket pocket. He took out his phone and saw that it was a call from Tang Xiaotao.

It's been so long, surely they haven't just realized two people are missing?

Ye Shu answered the phone, held it to her ear, covered her other ear with her hand, and shouted at the top of her lungs:

"Hey?! I can't hear you! Speak louder!... Ah! We're not lost! We're together! Yeah, we were watching the popcorn popping just now! I know, I know! Don't worry, we won't get lost! We're adults, how could we get lost?! Okay! You guys go ahead and do your thing, don't worry about us, call me when you're ready to go back! Okay, bye!"

After Ye Shu finished yelling into the phone and hung up, he felt that he hadn't performed very well; several of his words had cracked.

Who is it?

Zhi Qiu leaned close to his ear and asked.

"Xiao Tao!"

Ye Shu turned her head, seemingly used to shouting at the top of her lungs, and realized what she had just said, quickly lowering her voice to say:

"They only realized we were missing when they called to check on us, worried that we might have been kidnapped by human traffickers."

He laughed as he spoke, saying that although he was away from home all year round, it was quite remarkable that he could get lost while going to a market in his hometown.

Zhi Qiu was amused by Ye Shu's words, and looking at the endless road ahead, she asked:

"So where do we go next?"

Ye Shu pointed to a small shop next door:

"Go buy a bottle of water first; I'm thirsty after eating too much popcorn."