Rebirth of Bloody Romance

Zhong Yuemin sat in a corner of the banquet, playing with a wine glass in his hand, with a sly look in his eyes. The banquet tonight was unusually lively, with a bustling crowd and bright lights. He was wearing a dark suit, exuding a calm temperament.

Li Kuiyong and Duan Xuemei walked towards Zhong Yuemin with wine glasses in their hands and smiles. Their faces were filled with joy and gratitude, and they were obviously grateful for Zhong Yuemin's help tonight.

"Yuemin, you have to drink this glass of wine." Li Kuiyong said, handing the glass to Zhong Yuemin.

Zhong Yuemin waved his hand and said with a smile, "Kui Yong, you guys go and do your own things. We don't need to do anything here."

Duan Xuemei heard this and said quickly, "That won't do. I can't exempt you from this! You've been busy with our affairs today, and you've been worrying a lot."

Zhong Yuemin looked at the sincere eyes of the two people, and a warm current surged in his heart. He took the wine glass and said with a smile, "Kui Yong and I are brothers, you don't have to be so polite to me. I wish you a happy wedding!"

"Thank you!"

After Zhong Yuemin finished drinking, Duan Xuemei poured him another cup. Zhong Yuemin was a little confused. Why did I have two cups when everyone else had one? Duan Xuemei said, "Good things come in pairs. The last cup was Kui Yong's, and this one is mine."

Zhong Yuemin smiled. "You two are really in harmony with each other! I must drink this cup, cheers."

Li Kuiyong and Duan Xuemei walked around the banquet, clinking glasses with everyone at the table, expressing their gratitude and joy. Their faces were filled with happy smiles, as if at this moment, the whole world was celebrating their happiness.

Xiao Shihua watched all this and felt a little anxious. She saw Li Kuiyong and Duan Xuemei clinking glasses with everyone but not her. She held the drink cup tightly in her little hand, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Finally, she mustered up her courage, walked up to Li Kuiyong and Duan Xuemei, and said sweetly, "Uncle Li, Auntie, here's me!"

Li Kuiyong and Duan Xuemei couldn't help laughing at Xiao Shihua's cute appearance. They bent down, gently touched Xiao Shihua's drink cup, and said softly, "Thank our little princess for being our flower girl."

When Xiao Shihua heard their praise, she was immediately delighted. She raised her head and said seriously, "Then I wish uncle and auntie to give birth to a little brother soon."

As soon as this sentence came out, there was a burst of laughter. Li Kuiyong and Duan Xuemei were even more laughing, because they knew that Xiao Shihua was sending them the most sincere blessings.

Amid the laughter, Xiao Shihua felt as if she had become the protagonist of the banquet. Her heart was filled with joy and pride.

As night fell, Zheng Tong, Yuan Jun, Hou Erpi, Ermaozi, Ning Wei, Zhang Jiandang and Xie Yongkang gathered in Zhong Yuemin's yard. They had a deep friendship and mutual trust, so when Zhong Yuemin mysteriously invited them over, they were full of curiosity and expectation.

"Yuemin, why did you ask us all to come here?" Zheng Tong asked straight to the point. The others also pricked up their ears, waiting for Zhong Yuemin's answer.

Zhong Yuemin looked at them with a meaningful smile on his face. "There will be an opportunity to make money in July or August this summer. Do you want to participate?"

Everyone was immediately excited when they heard this. In this era of material scarcity, opportunities to make money are always so rare. Yuan Jun couldn't wait to ask, "Yuemin, what opportunity? Can we make money?"

Zhong Yuemin nodded. He knew the personalities of these friends very well and said directly, "Yes, this is a great opportunity. If you participate, you will definitely make a lot of money."

Ermaozi was calm and collected. He frowned and asked, "Yuemin, please don't joke with us. What is the opportunity?"

"It's a little early to talk about this now. If you want to participate, just prepare the money during this period."

The opportunity that Zhong Yuemin was talking about was football betting. This thing was meaningless to him. If he bet too much, he didn't know whether the bookmaker would compensate him. If he bet too little, it would be meaningless. Zhong Yuemin simply decided to make some money with everyone.

"Yuemin, how much should we prepare?"

"It doesn't matter. It's better not to have too little. If it's too little, it won't be interesting. If anyone is free, come with me."

Zheng Tong asked with a dark smile, "Yuemin, have you finished your business? My word..."

Zhong Yuemin threw a notebook over. "I've prepared it for you. It's all in this book!"

"Hey, that's great. When I make some money, I'll treat everyone to a meal!"

"Zheng Tong, stop making big promises for us. We won't be able to finish them if you make big promises for us." Haha...

Hou'erbutt and Ermaozi said to Zhong Yuemin, "Yuemin, we will be leaving in the next two days. We will send the money to you tomorrow."

"Okay, be careful on the road. There's no rush about the money."

Ning Wei also said, "Team members, we are also going to set off in the next two days."

Zhong Yuemin nodded. "You two should pay more attention to your safety."

"Don't worry, Captain."

"Don't worry, Brother Zhong."

Zhong Yuemin finally had some rare free time, and the family was filled with a relaxed and happy atmosphere. Xiao Shihua, the lively and lovely little girl, ran to Zhong Yuemin in a baby voice, with a gleam of expectation in her eyes.

"Dad, can we go out and play? I haven't been out for a long, long time." She blinked her big eyes and begged in a childish voice.

Zhong Yuemin felt a warm feeling in his heart when he saw his daughter's lovely appearance. He gently touched Xiao Shihua's head and replied with a smile, "Okay!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Shihua immediately cheered. "Oh, let's go out and play!" Her face was filled with excitement and joy, as if the whole world was dancing at her feet.

Zhou Xiaobai began to wash his and Xiao Shihua's faces, comb their hair, and dress up. After finishing, he started to walk around the city.

The family of four accidentally came to the Ditan Temple Fair, which was once regarded as "Four Olds" in a special period, but now has regained its vitality. Unlike other temple fairs, the Ditan Temple Fair is mainly dominated by small vendors setting up stalls, which is noisy and lively, full of a strong market atmosphere.

As soon as Zhong Yuemin stepped into the bustling temple fair, he saw a stall selling candied haws. Xiao Shihua, who was riding on his neck, pointed at the candied haws and said in a baby voice, "Dad, I want to eat this." Her eyes were shining with desire and excitement, as if she had been deeply attracted by the crystal clear candied haws.

Zhong Yuemin smiled and fulfilled his daughter's wish by buying two strings of candied haws. He handed one string to Xiao Shihua and the other string to Zhou Xiaobai gently. The two smiled at each other, as if they were back in their youthful love days. "I'm holding my son, you can eat it."

"What's the big deal? Give me your son and you can have the candied haws."

After seeing this, Xiao Shihua passed her candied haws to Zhong Yuemin's mouth. "Dad, you have some too."

Zhong Yuemin was so touched! "Girl, Dad doesn't eat."

"no!"

"Well, I'll just take a bite, okay?"

"Okay! Can I eat it, brother?"

"No, my younger brother is too young to eat it." So the family of four ate candied haws while visiting the temple fair.

Zhong Yuemin saw the green and bright red floral fabrics and fashionable clothes in the street stalls. The young girls and wives could not move their feet after seeing them. Their eyes were attracted by the dazzling array of goods in the street shops. The green fabrics, bright red floral fabrics, and various fashionable clothes all made them feel bright.

Some of these simple and honest girls timidly held the few copper coins in their pockets, while others pretended to smooth their messy bangs and sideburns with their hands, stopped and stared at the fashionable clothes hanging high in the store.

"Oh, this cloth is so beautiful. It will be very pretty if it is made into a coat." A girl in a washed-out blue cloth coat whispered to her companion next to her, but she pinched the few copper coins in her pocket with her hands, and a trace of helplessness flashed in her eyes.

"Yes, it really suits you." Her companion agreed, with a bit of envy in her eyes.

"Forget it, let's go. We have to buy noodles later! Otherwise, we won't have food at home."

Zhong Yuemin listened to their conversation silently, knowing in his heart that although these girls were tempted, they could only give up helplessly in the face of the difficult reality.

Perhaps they had never worn such beautiful foreign cloth in their lives. They lowered their heads to look at their washed-out blue coarse cloth jackets, their patched shoes, and the empty flour jar at home. The girls sensibly lowered their heads, bit their lips, and walked away reluctantly.

Zhong Yuemin saw another young man squeezed in the crowd, staring at a stall selling leather shoes. His eyes were full of expectation. The pair of cloth shoes with thousands of layers of tops and hundreds of layers of soles on his feet had been laughed at countless times. He was eager to change into a new pair of leather shoes to show his style.

"Boss, how much is this pair of leather shoes?" the young man asked tentatively, gently stroking the shoe surface with his fingers, feeling the smooth leather.

The boss looked at him with a smile and held out his finger: "Ten dollars, no bargaining."

The young man's heart sank. This price was a bit high for him. He felt the money in his pocket and found only five yuan. He asked unwillingly, "Boss, can you make it cheaper? If you make it cheaper, I'll take it."

"I see that you are sincere in wanting it, so I'll give you nine dollars. No less."

However, the young man still couldn't afford it, so he had no choice but to leave the stall and continue looking for cheaper leather shoes.

Zhong Yuemin and Zhou Xiaobai walked a little further and saw a group of women bargaining around a stall selling clay pots. The clay pots at home had been used for more than ten years and had more and more cracks. They were considering whether to buy new ones or repair them and continue using them.

"Boss, how much is this clay jar?" asked a middle-aged woman.

"One dollar and fifty cents each. The quality is absolutely good." The boss answered confidently.

The women began to talk about it. Some thought the price was too high and that their clay pots could be repaired and still be used.

At another corner of the temple fair, a vendor was shouting to sell soap and wooden combs. Soap had become a scarce commodity, and many people were worried about a little soap. The wooden comb caught the attention of the women, who felt that their hair needed a good combing.

"Ladies, look at this wooden comb. It is of high quality and very comfortable to comb your hair with." The vendor enthusiastically sold his product.

The women picked up the wooden comb and tried it, and it really felt good. They hesitated for a while, and finally some of them gritted their teeth and bought a wooden comb.

Just like this, Zhong Yuemin, Zhou Xiaobai, Xiao Shihua and Xiao Haichen shuttled among the bustling crowd, sometimes stopping to watch, sometimes communicating in a low voice.

In front of the roadside stalls, the hawkers' cries and customers' inquiries rose and fell, forming a unique temple fair symphony. The air was filled with various smells, including the sweetness of candied haws, the fragrance of dried persimmons, and the tempting aroma of sesame crisps and steamed cakes, making people salivate.

Zhou Xiaobai and Xiao Shihua have been trying all kinds of food along the way. Zhou Xiaobai is a foodie and can't help but want to buy it whenever he sees tempting food. Xiao Shihua is like a curious baby, full of curiosity about everything.

"Xiaobai, what do you think of this steamed cake? I loved it the most when I was a child." Zhong Yuemin pointed at the steamed cake on a stall, his eyes full of nostalgia.

Zhou Xiaobai looked at the steamed cake, which was steaming and emitting a faint sweet fragrance, and nodded. "It looks good, Shihua, do you want to try it?"

Xiao Shihua blinked and nodded, her face full of curiosity and anticipation.

Zhong Yuemin walked over with a smile and bought three steamed cakes, giving each of them one. They stood by the roadside, eating steamed cakes while continuing to visit the temple fair.

"Yuemin, look at those people gathered over there, what fun things are they doing?" Zhou Xiaobai asked curiously, pointing to a stall not far away.

Zhong Yuemin took a look and said with a smile, "Wife, that's for guessing lantern riddles. Let's go take a look."

They walked over and saw rows of red lanterns hanging on the stalls. Under each lantern was a piece of paper with a riddle written on it. People gathered in front of the stalls, talking and trying to guess the answer.

"Yuemin, guess this." Zhou Xiaobai pointed to a riddle under a lantern and read it out. "Green clothes and red skirt, walking on the bridge, guess a fruit."

Zhong Yuemin thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Wife, this is easy. This is an apple."

"Wow, you're so awesome. You guessed it right at once." Zhou Xiaobai exclaimed in surprise.

The little girl followed and shouted, "Dad is so awesome." Xiao Shihua also clapped her hands excitedly and looked at Zhong Yuemin with admiration.

They continued to guess the riddles, and cheers and applause could be heard from time to time. The laughter and joy at the temple fair seemed to fill the entire city with vitality and vigor.

Xiao Shihua saw something delicious again and pointed at it and said to Zhong Yuemin, "Dad, I want to eat this."

Zhong Yuemin was afraid that she would eat too much, so he threatened her, "Girl, is your stomach full?"

Xiao Shihua nodded. "Yes, I'm a little full, but I can still eat."

"If you eat more, your stomach will hurt. I'll give you an injection when we get back."

The little girl was obviously afraid of injections. After hearing this, she subconsciously covered her butt with her hands. "Dad, then I won't eat it. Can I buy it and eat it in the evening?"

"can."