A ragged cub at the beginning

On the Lantern Festival, the children cheered and ran around the yard. After a while, they came to ask a question, "Aunt Xu, when are we leaving?"

"What will be at the Lantern Festival? Any good food?"

"Can I have a lantern?"

“Can you bring it back?”

"Do you want to guess riddles?"

"Can I guess the riddle?"

Tang Xu was annoyed by the noise and pushed Du Yun out. "I'll pack my things. Please let these kids be quiet!"

Du Yun hurriedly grabbed Fang Zijun who was about to ask again. Fang Zijun was so excited that he opened his eyes wide, grabbed Du Yun's hand and danced while saying: "What's so fun about the Lantern Festival? This is my first time!"

"I've been there." Du Jiarui put his hands on his hips, like a little teapot, and I don't know who learned this from.

"Really? Really? Is it fun?" They surrounded Du Jiarui. Although the children were noisy, they were very patient. Du Jiarui spoke a little slowly, but no one urged him. He didn't mind the many questions from his friends, and he answered them seriously one by one.

"Fun! I like the box lights best!"

"A box light has many lights hidden inside, and each time you turn it on it is different!"

“Some of them even have stories in them!”

"It's so beautiful!"

This time, four people with the surname Tang were confirmed to go, with five children and Du Yun. An An was too young to go, and Yu Xiaotao was not going. Hu Xinting was not going at first, because Grandma Hu was worried, but Hu Xinting started crying after hearing that. He was quiet and well-behaved, and he didn't make a fuss when Grandma said she didn't want to go, but just sat there and shed tears quietly. This was more lethal than howling with his mouth open. Grandma Hu was heartbroken by his crying, so how could she not agree?

But she was too old to do it, her daughter-in-law was in poor health, and her son had to go to work. She could only ask Tang Xu for help. Tang Xu saw the child every day, and he was sensible and obedient. Everyone liked him very much, so one more would not be too much.

Although the lantern festival is held at night, you can't go too late, otherwise the good places to view the lanterns will be taken by others.

Because there were so many people, one carriage was not enough for the Du family, so they rented another one.

When they set out, Tang Ling walked out of the room, and heard a "wow" sound. She wore the green dress she wore during the Chinese New Year, and walked over like a breeze. Her high ponytail was let down, and half of her hair was tied into a bun, with a string of crabapple flowers hanging on her temples. The other half of her hair was hanging down naturally, which weakened her cold temperament and added a touch of gentleness and beauty.

When people see it, they just want to praise it: absolutely beautiful.

"Wow! Sister! You can comb your hair into a bun, it's so beautiful! We are obviously sisters! How did mother give birth to you so beautiful!" Tang Xu came up to take a closer look, his eyes full of amazement.

Tang Ling gently pushed her away, feeling that her saliva would drip onto him in the next moment. "You have been learning for so long, I have learned it all by watching you."

Tang Xu's whole face wrinkled, "It's too difficult."

Yu Xiaotao laughed at her strange look of worry, took a comb and said, "Xiao Xu, come on, I'll comb your hair for you too."

After combing her hair, Yu Xiaotao praised: "Our Xiaoxu is also a great beauty." Then she glanced at the stunned Du Yun and said, "Silly boy, your eyeballs are falling out."

Tang Yao, who was not noticed by anyone, looked at Tang Ling silently and said, "My A Ling is the most beautiful."

So, Tang Xu also used a new hairpin, the same style as Tang Ling's, and changed into the same set of sister clothes. She happily took Tang Ling's arm and waved her right hand forward, "Let's go!"

Du Yun drove the Du family's car, with Tang Xu, Qiyue, Yunniang and Du Jiarui in it. Tang Yao drove a rented car, with Tang Ling, Tang Qing, Fang Zijun and Hu Xinting in it.

Tang Ling doesn't like to talk, Tang Qing likes to act like an adult with a stern face, and Hu Xinting is shy. But who is Fang Zijun? He is cheerful and lively, not afraid of people, and can talk a lot by himself.

Tang Xu was telling stories and the children were listening with great interest.

"Aunt Xu, I want to hear it too, please speak louder." Fang Zijun stuck his head out of the car window and shouted to Tang Yao, "Brother Tang, please drive slower."

Tang Xu heard the sound and saw that half of his body was about to fall out. He said anxiously: "Okay, I won't tell you anymore. I'll tell you next time. Hurry up and put your head back. It's dangerous."

As soon as he finished speaking, a hand reached out and grabbed Fang Zijun and pulled him back. Tang Ling put him aside and said, "Sit down."

Fang Zijun looked at Tang Ling expectantly, "But aunt, I want to hear a story, too. Why don't you tell us one?"

Tang Ling glanced at him and said, "No."

"Wow..." Fang Zijun pursed his lips, pretending to cry and playing the victim, "I'm so pitiful. July and the others all have stories to listen to, but we don't...Wow...Xiaoting, don't you want to cry?" I don't know where he learned this weird trick, but he knew to cover his eyes without a tear.

Hu Xinting looked around blankly. Tang Ling frowned slightly, and Tang Qing looked like he was watching a good show. He asked weakly, "Do I want to cry?"

"Pfft", Tang Yao couldn't help but burst into laughter outside the car.

"Oh, I failed. Xiaoting doesn't lie." Fang Zijun put down his hand. The child thought whatever he wanted. He was not sad about being rejected. He turned around and took out a bag of melon seeds from his arms. "Do you want to eat melon seeds?"

Tang Ling breathed a sigh of relief. The child was too difficult to raise. She grabbed a few melon seeds, fearing that if she rejected him again, the child would do something else.

Time passed quickly on the road. They arrived relatively early, and it was only lunch time. After asking, Du Yun took them to a restaurant for dinner and went to find an inn. It was not safe to walk at night, so they had to rest for a night before going back.

Du Yun came back only after the food was served. He ran to several restaurants before finding one with a vacant room.

After lunch, Du Yun took them to a nearby temple. There was a ceremony during the Lantern Festival, and many people came and went. There were even many vendors at the foot of the mountain.

There were people selling incense, candles, lucky bags, snacks, and sweet soups and teas. The various shouts were one after another, making the scene very lively.

The children were so busy that they couldn't see enough, but they were all obedient. No matter how curious they were, they didn't run around or even ask for anything.

Tang Xu, on the other hand, wanted to taste the food whenever she saw it. She didn't even try it herself, she fed everyone. The adults were fine, especially Tang Yao and Tang Qing, who were very happy to eat and drink. The children were also happy, but they had small stomachs and were so full that they could hardly walk.

Du Jiarui patted his belly and said, "It looks like a watermelon."

“Hahaha…” several people laughed.

The group listened to a monk preaching in the temple, but they couldn't understand what he was saying, so they just wandered around the temple.

But there was nothing interesting in the temple, so they went down the mountain soon.

The county town in the evening was completely different from the noon, with a constant stream of people and cars. Hawkers carrying loads and pushing carts were heading to the street where the lantern festival was being held.

They were not hungry, so they followed along. They saw many beautiful lanterns on the road, but many people had not yet found a place to set up their stalls, so it was inconvenient to block the street to sell their lanterns.

When night falls, lanterns are lit one by one, and the dense lights make it seem as if it is daytime.

Tang Xu took advantage of the crowd and quietly put her hand into Du Yun's palm. Du Yun looked down at her, with a gentle smile on his face that was charming.

The two of them were holding hands, and in front of them were several children holding hands, and exaggerated and cute exclamations could be heard from time to time.

Tang Xu teased, "Look at them, they have never seen the world, a bunch of bumpkins."

"You're naughty again. Children only live for a few years." Du Yun's tone was without any blame. Instead, he ruffled her hair lovingly.

The children walked around and each of them got the lantern they liked. When passing by the lotus lantern, Tang Xu bought one, wrote a few words on it and quietly put it into the river.

Tang Ling glanced at it and saw that it was a blessing to Tang Xu. But they both knew who it was written for.

After releasing the river lanterns, the sound of gongs and drums suddenly rang out in the distance, and pedestrians on the street flocked over there.

"The box lights are on. Let's go to the inn. I can see them from the room I booked." Du Yun led everyone back to the inn. He booked the second floor. When he opened the window, he could see several pillars on the open space opposite. There was a rectangular box between every two pillars. The surrounding area was also fenced off to block the crowd.

Several men stood under the pillars and shouted loudly. Holding a thin and long torch in their hands, they lit something under the colorful paper box.

With a whoosh, a lamp suddenly fell out of the box. The lamp swayed and fell off, revealing a pagoda.

There were cries of surprise and praise from the crowd, and the man who lit the lamp laughed a few times. He stretched out his torch and lit it again, and the pagoda lamp fell to the ground, and a mountain fell from it.

"Wow!" Several children shouted in surprise and excitement.

The box lamp doesn't look big, but it has layers upon layers, which actually represents the story of Chenxiang splitting the mountain to save his mother.

There was thunderous applause and endless exclamations from children in the crowd.

Not to mention the children, even Tang Xu, who grew up in modern life and claimed to have seen everything, was shocked. She had never seen this kind of lantern before, and had never heard of it. She thought it was a rare intangible cultural heritage.

Box lights are not easy to make, and there are only three in the entire county. Everyone was stunned and reluctant to leave.

Fang Zijun left the window with a lingering feeling. "Is this a box light?! So cool! How is this made?"

Tang Xu shook his head, "I don't know either."

Fang Zijun was a little disappointed, but he quickly raised his head and clenched his fist and said, "I want to learn how to make this lantern! Make it every day! Make a few more and set them off every day!"

"Brother Dandan, can you give me one?" July asked, looking up.

"I want it too!" Du Jiarui raised his hand.

"I want one too!" Zhao Yunniang also raised her hand.

Hu Xinting was also envious, and mustered up the courage to whisper, "I want one, too."

Fang Zijun waved his hand, "Everyone has one! Let's each have one!"

Tang Xu laughed, speaking as if it was already done. The production process of this box lamp must be extremely complicated, and several are made in one day.

But that's what children are like, they have wild imaginations and dare to think and speak. Now they are even discussing what kind of light to hide in the box light.

Tang Qing crossed his arms and was disdainful at first, but as he listened, he was also led along and joined the discussion.

It wasn't until the second half of the night that things gradually quieted down outside. The excited children finally showed signs of fatigue, and Tang Xu asked someone to bring them some hot water, washed them briefly, and then began to divide their rooms.

The children were too young to sleep in a room outside alone, so Du Yun booked five rooms according to the number of adults, with Tang Qing being counted as half an adult.

Qiyue would definitely sleep in the same room with Tang Xu, Du Jiarui would sleep with Du Yun, Zhao Yunniang was the only girl and would sleep with Tang Ling. For some reason, the other children were afraid of Tang Yao, but Fang Zijun was not afraid, so he went with Tang Yao, and Hu Xinting was assigned to Tang Qing. After the rooms were arranged, they each took their children to sleep.

The experience of this night left a deep impression on each child. For several days after returning home, they discussed what they had seen and heard that day.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed and the kindergarten was about to start putting up the beams.

Tang Xu bought some candies and the sound of firecrackers attracted many people to watch. Taking advantage of the large crowd, Tang Xu began to promote the kindergarten.

Kindergarten? One that specifically takes in children? Takes in children to learn to read and practice martial arts? Really? It must be very expensive. One tael of silver for four months? It seems expensive, but not too expensive, it's okay.

A group of people surrounded Tang Xu and asked him questions. They might not be interested in helping to take care of the children. But being able to learn to read and practice martial arts was very tempting. The prices of some enlightenment classes opened by scholars were similar, but they did not provide meals, and gifts were required during festivals. Students could only study alone. The personalities of the teachers were different.

It sounds different from kindergartens. Children eat two meals a day in kindergarten, and also have two snacks. They eat in the morning, then practice martial arts, eat snacks and start classes. After class, they play for a while and eat lunch. After lunch, they take a nap. After the nap, they eat snacks, then go to class, play, and pick up the children before dinner.

Some people wondered if they could learn anything this way. Tang Xu explained that children’s concentration was not good enough, and they could not concentrate on reading for too long, and it would make them irritable and hate reading.

Those whose children have read books nodded repeatedly, saying that when their children read, they either feel sleepy or scratch their ears and cheeks, as if there are nails piercing them on the stool.

Many people have shown some interest in this wave of publicity, but not too much. It can only be said that they are curious about new things.

Tang Xu didn't care, and she got busy afterwards. There were many walls to paint this time, so she specially ordered tools such as brushes. Du Yun helped her find a few students who could come directly when the time came.

After the beams were installed, tiles were laid, walls were built, and the ground was tidied, the house could be handed over. Carpenters began to install windows and doors. Tang Xu specifically requested that the windows be larger. Glass was not available at that time, and colored glaze was too expensive. Tang Xu selected the most light-transmitting window screens and installed them, hoping that the house would be brighter, otherwise it would damage his eyes.

Carpenter Tan, with his untidy beard, came with his apprentices to install the windows. They worked overtime and burned the midnight oil, and were exhausted. But thinking of the large sum of money they were about to get, they were happy to do it.

There was a kindergarten poster posted at the entrance of the portrait shop. The picture was divided into four sections. The first section was about children reading together, the second section was about children playing on the slide together, the third section was about eating, and the fourth section was about practicing martial arts. At the top of the page were a few cursive characters: I want to go to kindergarten.

Tang Xu found a bookstore and printed a lot of flyers. When Ah Da came over for dinner, she asked her to find some beggars to help distribute these things. Each person could get three buns and five coins from her.

Ada went there happily and told some people he was close to.

There weren't too many orphan beggars in the town, only seven in total. Children were small, and it was hard for them to survive after being abandoned. Those who survived were either lucky or smart.

For the first time, someone gave them a job to do and offered them a reward, so they flocked to it.