A small plot of land in a mountain village

Chapter 60 Going to the Market

There are only five days left until Lunar New Year's Eve. The days are starting to get lively.

Early in the morning, Zhang Niu rode his tricycle, taking his younger sister and mother to the town market to buy some New Year's goods. He had already bought a considerable amount of expensive New Year's goods a few days earlier in the county town. Walnuts, raisins, biscuits, pistachios, and other snacks cost over a thousand yuan. This was the most the family had bought in recent years. There was so much stuff that they eventually had to call Fatty Qian to have it delivered.

Today's trip to the market is simply to buy some cooked food. There are already quite a few fellow villagers on their way. The motorcycles whizzing past are mostly driven by young men from the village who like to speed.

The little sister sitting in the back seat was counting on her fingers, thinking about what she still needed to buy for the New Year. For a kid, the New Year was even more exciting than winter vacation. New clothes, meat to eat, firecrackers, and of course, lucky money—who wouldn't love that? Her own little sister was no exception. A few years ago, Zhang Niu would even bring sweets to relatives' New Year's greetings just for that little bit of lucky money.

Riding on his bike, he quickly arrived in town. With the Lunar New Year approaching, the market was packed with people, the air filled with the lively sounds of vendors' shouts. He paid a dollar to park his bike by a wall. An old man was there to watch over it. Still worried, Zhang Niu used an iron chain and a padlock to secure it before he and his mother entered the market.

Zhang Niu had already bought a set of clothes for his younger sister. She liked them very much; they were much nicer than the ones at the market. So, he didn't plan to buy any more clothes this time.

A little while later, Mom went to buy other things with some other women from the village, leaving Zhang Niu and his younger sister alone. She bought two skewers of candied hawthorns for her craving. Zhang Niu, squeezed in the crowd, kept glancing around, looking here and there. He didn't buy much.

Hearing the distant sound of firecrackers, Zhang Niu realized he had almost forgotten to buy fireworks. He grabbed his younger sister and rushed to the fireworks shop. There were many people buying fireworks today. However, the shop was quite large, with plenty of space, so it didn't seem too crowded.

The display stand was filled with a dazzling array of fireworks of all colors, making Zhang Niu's eyes a little blurry. There were just as many when he and his father came last year, but in just one year, many new varieties had been introduced.

"Brother, I want this." He pointed to a box of firecrackers in front of him.

"Don't rush. Niu Niu, tell your brother if you see anything you like. You'll have a blast this year."

The little girl clapped her hands and laughed, "So, Niu Niu, can you have a giant panda like Wenwen this year?"

It seems I haven't been paying enough attention to my little sister's life. A while ago, Wen's relatives came down and brought back a giant panda for Wenwen. They even took my little sister to see it at her house. After returning home, my little sister kept asking for one, but who had time to buy toys back then? Zhang Niu only found out after returning from Happy Little Abode.

"How about I buy you two? You can hold one in each arm when you sleep tonight, okay?"

"Really?

"We'll go to the department store after we buy these fireworks."

He spent over eight hundred yuan on a lot of firecrackers. Ten thousand shots, a million shots. He also bought a large tub of fireworks. This included the ones the little kids often play with—the ones that roll on the ground and make a loud crackling sound, the ones that fly, and the long ones. There were also some small gadgets that even Zhang Niu couldn't identify.

He left the firecrackers and other things with the shopkeeper, saying he'd come back to pick them up later. Then he pulled the younger sister towards the department store.

The department store is a well-established, five-story building in town. You can buy almost anything you need here, and the prices are much cheaper. The toy my little sister wants is on the third floor. The first and second floors sell food. The third floor sells toys. The fourth floor sells clothes.

There weren't many people buying toys during the Lunar New Year, perhaps because it was still early. There were only a handful of people inside.

The bright-eyed little sister said, "Brother, Wenwen's family is like that."

Looking up, I saw a large white panda hanging on the wall. It looked so cute and endearing. I pulled the younger girl to the counter and said, "Excuse me, could you please take that panda down so I can take a look?"

A salesperson in work clothes came over and used a wooden fork to take the panda down and place it on top.

Zhang Niu reached out and stroked it; it was very soft and comfortable. "Come on, touch it. See if you like it."

"I like it, brother, I want this one."

Seeing that the young lady liked it, Zhang Niu didn't say anything more. He asked the salesperson to bring down another bear. The two together came to three hundred yuan. It seemed quite expensive, but the young lady liked it, so paying a little more wasn't a problem.

The little sister happily hugged the giant panda, her clear laughter ringing out all the way. This was the kind of child Wuyou had. Zhang Niu loved having such a little sister. At least he would dote on her.

Zhang Niu walked through the market carrying a teddy bear, attracting envious glances from many little girls around him; the bear was just too tempting. Even after he left, you could hear many children begging their parents to buy one for them too.

Back at the fireworks shop, I handed the bear to the saleswoman and picked up the box containing a small amount of fireworks. Even lifting it, it felt quite heavy, probably weighing at least several tens of kilograms.

Zhang Niu was already panting heavily when he returned to the tricycle and put down the box. It seemed he needed to train a bit more when he got back; he was already exhausted from such a short journey.

Zhang Niu, resting on the bicycle frame, glanced at the many village girls walking by. Quite a few of them seemed to have good figures. There were even a few cute schoolgirls. Suddenly, a pair of large hands appeared in front of him, waving incessantly. He looked closer and realized it was Xiao Er. "Hey kid, what are you doing? Why are you causing trouble?"

"And you're one to talk. You've been eyeing pretty girls all over the place without even blinking. If I hadn't been moving, you would have thought I was invisible. I know your personality best." He rattled off Zhang Niu's flaws in one breath.

"What are you talking about? He's just bored, look at him. What brings you out today? Where have you been hanging out lately?"

The waiter pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lit one, and exhaled smoke. "Don't say I didn't share with you. You don't usually smoke, so you're saving one for yourself."

"Hey, who wants a smoke?" He pulled out an unopened pack of Liqun cigarettes from his pocket. "Here, have a smoke of this. Help me check if it's fake."

"Good cigarette, then I won't be polite." After extinguishing his own cigarette, he lit a Liqun cigarette. "Not bad. This tastes authentic. Don't worry, it's genuine."

"I'm afraid of running into friends during the Lunar New Year, so even if I don't smoke myself, I have to put some in my bag, otherwise you'll think I'm being rude."

The waiter nodded. "Yeah. Even if you don't smoke, you still have to carry a bag with you. Where's your mom? Why isn't she here?"

"I went to buy New Year's goods. Look, these are still the fireworks I just bought." He patted the cardboard box behind him.

"I saw you from far away and ran over here. Come visit me during the New Year holiday if you have time. I still need to go back and help my mom with some things."

"Okay. I'll come see you when I have time. If you're busy, you can go ahead and do what you need to do."

Before leaving, he took about ten cigarettes from the pack, saying they tasted good. Looking at the half-empty pack, I realized I'd have to buy another pack. What a sin! I should have known better than to take them out.

First update. Please recommend and add to your favorites. For questions regarding the female lead, please leave a comment in the book review section.