Insufficient balance
Today is the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, and the festive atmosphere is still very strong. The streets are filled with the joyful ambiance of the holiday season, and the colorful lanterns and decorations that line the roads are still hanging proudly, even in the daytime. Under the warm winter sun, these vibrant decorations seem to be illuminated by the sunlight, and they continue to present a lively and festive appearance during this holiday season.
It's early spring now, and the weather isn't much warmer than winter, even in a southern city like Feicui. On this eighth day of the first month, there's still a chill in the air that makes you want to shrink your neck. Especially at this time of 8 or 9 o'clock in the morning, the sun's heat is not enough to dispel the cold, and the whole street is shrouded in a biting wind. However, these cold winds cannot stop the enthusiasm of the people on the street, and the vitality brought by the festival makes everyone's face full of smiles and hope.
Li Jingru walked to the vegetable market not far from home with a delicate basket woven from thin bamboo strips. A light yellow cotton-padded jacket, a pair of white trousers, and a pair of light brown boots made her look no different from most young girls. However, Li Jingru's exquisite facial features, outstanding appearance, and captivating temperament made her a more stunning sight on the street than the blooming flowers arranged by the roadside.
Her pale face, slightly reddened from the cold, always had a pair of shallow dimples on it. Under her fine eyebrows was a pair of beautiful eyes that sparkled with life. A white scarf wrapped tightly around her slender neck made her look even more lovely and gentle. The ponytail tied up high on her head bounced up and down slightly as she walked, giving people the feeling of youthfulness and vitality emanating from this beautiful young girl. Li Jingru walked along the bustling streets in the early morning, with the gaze of some not-so-good boys lingering on her body, unwilling to move away, for in the winter sun, Li Jingru was indeed like a fairy fallen to earth.
Li Jingru felt particularly happy today. The reason for Li Jingru's happiness was simple, because today her father and mother's unit organized a trip to travel, originally Li Jingru also planned to go on the trip with her parents, because the place they were going to was a scenic resort with beautiful mountains and rivers. However, when Li Jingru heard that Lin Xiaoyu's parents would be returning to their hometown for a few days tomorrow, she gave up the idea of traveling with her family and chose to stay at home. Li Jingru knew that spending these days with Lin Xiaoyu at home would make her feel happier than going to those beautiful scenic spots. Early this morning, Li Jingru woke up Lin Xiaoyu who was still lying in bed and asked him to go to the market with her to buy ingredients for today's meal. Because both of their families were away on a trip, they had to take care of their own meals for the next few days.
Lin Xiaoyu walked alongside Li Jingru with her hands in the pockets of her long pants, slowly following behind. The slightly cold wind had already blown away the sleepiness on Lin Xiaoyu's face. She was wearing a full set of black and blue winter sportswear, and it seemed that due to her good physical condition from exercising all day, she only wore a thin long-sleeved T-shirt under the sportswear and didn't feel cold at all. Compared to Li Jingru who was wearing a small down jacket, Lin Xiaoyu's outfit looked more like something for autumn.
Lin Xiaoyu can't remember how long it's been since she last came to the vegetable market. Lin Xiaoyu remembers that in the past, she always loved following her mother to the vegetable market to buy vegetables because there were always many new and interesting things in the market that attracted little Lin Xiaoyu. When Lin Xiaoyu saw something she wanted at the market, she would grab her mother's basket with her small hands and beg her mother to buy it for her. Her loving mother would tell Lin Xiaoyu that if they had enough money left after buying vegetables, she would buy it for her. This made Lin Xiaoyu behave well and follow her mother around the market to finish shopping, then she would pull her mother's hand back to the stall where she had been eyeing something earlier and ask her mother to buy it for her. Every time she went to the vegetable market with her mother was a happy moment for Lin Xiaoyu.
However, there were also a few times when Xiaolin Xiaoyu wanted something that had already been sold out after her mother finished shopping. At this time, her mother would take her to a small rice cake stall at the back door of the vegetable market and buy two pieces of fragrant and sweet rice cakes for Xiaolin Xiaoyu. The rice cakes were made from glutinous rice and green beans, and they tasted very good. One or two pieces of these small rice cakes could often make Xiaolin Xiaoyu, who was pouting with a tantrum, become happy again.
Lin Xiaoyu couldn't help but smile wistfully as she thought back to her childhood. She had really grown up now. When she used to follow her mother to this market, her eyes were always fixed on the feet of the adults walking around, and her height was still below that of a grown-up's waist. She remembered one time when she got distracted by the new toys at a street stall and kept staring at the interesting things by the roadside. Only after they had walked a long way did she realize that she was holding onto a stranger's basket instead of her mother's, which made little Lin Xiaoyu frantic with worry and burst into loud wails. Fortunately, the stranger wasn't a bad person and helped Lin Xiaoyu find her mother who was also frantically searching for her son... Now, at 1.8 meters tall, Lin Xiaoyu stood out as particularly tall in this market, no longer the little kid who used to hold onto her mother's basket and couldn't even reach an adult's waist.
The vegetable market nowadays is a bit different from what Lin Xiaoyu saw when she was a kid. This renovated market seems bigger than before, with more goods on sale, but its basic structure remains unchanged. Lin Xiaoyu still remembers that the west side of the market is where people buy live fish and seafood, and the sight of squirming fish and shrimp always made her want to reach out and touch them. The east side is for buying poultry, where chickens, ducks, and geese are kept in iron cages for customers to choose from. Lin Xiaoyu didn't like going there when she was a kid because it smelled bad, but they often had some unusual wild animals on sale that she couldn't name. The vendors selling vegetables, fruits, and melons are located on the north side of the market, which is the most colorful area, with all sorts of vibrant produce arranged in stone stands like an exhibition. The meat sellers are at the south end of the market, where you can always hear the sound of knives being sharpened and meat being chopped.
When Lin Xiaoyu was a child, she loved watching the adults who cut meat with big knives skillfully cutting open pieces of fresh meat, and after weighing them on a balance scale, the transaction would be completed. At that time, Lin Xiaoyu longed to grow up and be like those uncles, holding a knife and a balance scale every day, thinking it was very interesting. However, when she told her mother about her thoughts, she immediately received her mother's firm ideological education, which quickly dispelled Lin Xiaoyu's idea of becoming a butcher.
Nowadays, Lin Xiaoyu sees that the old balance scales have been replaced by electronic scales with pointers moving on round graduations, like clocks. The balance scales she saw as a child, held in one hand and manipulated with the other, are now rarely seen in vegetable markets.
Lin Xiaoyu felt that time was slowly changing herself and everything around her, all of which were so quiet, yet so obvious.
Li Jingru is a girl who is very good at buying vegetables, slowly strolling through the vegetable market. The basket in Li Jingru's hand was already filled with all sorts of vegetables. Lin Xiaoyu, who had originally had her hands tucked into her pants pockets, was now holding several bags containing vegetables. It was unclear when Li Jingru became so skilled at shopping, but this beautiful girl, who looked like she had never been to a vegetable market before, was buying vegetables with ease, not inferior to those housewives who shopped in the market every day. Lin Xiaoyu watched as her neighbor, whom she had grown up with, chatted with the vendors for a bit before effortlessly selecting the best vegetables and putting them into her basket. Lin Xiaoyu noticed that the small yellow cucumbers bought by the aunt, who looked very shrewd, for two or three yuan were not even as good as the ones Li Jingru had chosen for one yuan and fifty cents. Lin Xiaoyu couldn't help but admire this neighbor girl of hers, who excelled in every aspect.
At a fresh beef stall, the auntie with a scarf was smiling and helping Li Jingru pack the weighed beef while constantly complimenting her on her good taste in choosing things, saying that she had picked out all the best beef at the stall today. Finally, the auntie also said to Lin Xiaoyu standing beside Li Jingru, "Young man, your little wife has a great eye for things, you're really lucky to have such a smart and beautiful girl, it's hard to find someone like her even with a lantern. You'd better take good care of her." The auntie's casual remark made both Lin Xiaoyu and Li Jingru feel a bit embarrassed, Li Jingru took the beef from the auntie with a red face, not daring to look at Lin Xiaoyu, she lowered her head and walked away, Lin Xiaoyu also followed behind Li Jingru with a big bunch of bags in his hand, both childhood friends felt a bit awkward because of the auntie's casual remark.
Li Jingru was a bit resentful of the gossipy old woman, whose phrase "little daughter-in-law" made Li Jingru's face burn with embarrassment, but her heart felt sweet and warm. Li Jingru didn't dare look at Lin Xiaoyu, the shyness and reserve of being a woman making her only able to walk forward with her head down, carrying the vegetable basket, although she really wanted to know how Lin Xiaoyu felt after hearing that phrase, but she still didn't have the courage to ask him.
"Xiao Ru." Lin Xiaoyu's voice sounded beside Li Jingru.
I don't know if everyone has an impression of the vegetable market in their childhood hehe The attitude towards things in childhood and now is really very different If you like this book, please give it a lot of votes, recommend and collect it, thank you for your support which is my motivation.
