Chapter 551: Chapter 538: What Should We Do Now

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The Lantern Festival is bringing a great deal of hustle and bustle to the county town.

New red lanterns adorned the front of the shops, their festive cheer visible even in the day time.

Various stalls and vendors sold all sorts of wares, from sugar art to candied hawthorns. Their cries for sales were mingled with the bustling crowd’s laughter and chatter; it could be said that the place was bubbling over with life.

The three children had not visited the county town in a long time, thus everything seemed new and exotic to them. Each odd trinket or delicacy caught their attention and they were eager to buy and try them all.

Ning Feng and Banqing followed closely behind, looking after the children’s safety and bustling to pay for purchases, their hands full.

The impish Fan Wenxuan seemed to revert to his childhood, and followed the children around, reveling in the sights and purchasing snacks and toys.

Zhuang Qingning gave a resigned smile at this sight, but refrained from stopping them, merely trailing behind Ning Feng and Banqing, acting as a porter.

Upon looking around, Zhuang Qingning spotted Zhuang Yutian chatting with someone on the street.

Looking up, she realized they were in front of Zhuang’s cloth shop.

Being in the vicinity, naturally she greeted him. Before she could speak, Zhuang Yutian saw her and greeted her with a smile. “You’re here, Miss Ning?”

“Yes, it’s the Lantern Festival. I brought Qingsui and the others to the county town for some fun.” Zhuang Qingning responded.

Zhuang Yutian was familiar with Fan Wenxuan and Chu Jinzhou and greeted them courteously. “Since you’ve come to enjoy the festival, continue ahead. There are more festivities over there, and better-looking lanterns. The tea house there has lantern riddles, and if guessed correctly, there are rewards. Now that Mr. Fan is here, come join in. Winning an award could bring good luck.”

The reward might not matter to Fan Wenxuan and the others; the more important thing would be winning for the good luck, especially on the Lantern Festival, which gave them a sense of excitement.

As soon as they heard this, Chu Jinzhou and the others were instantly interested. “Should we hurry over to check it out?”

“Why don’t we have a competition to see who can solve more lantern riddles?” someone suggested.

“That’s a good idea. Whoever wins gets all of Big Sister Ning’s homemade chestnut cakes.”

“Sounds good, I agree.”

“I agree too.”

The three children quickly achieved consensus and their faces broke into smiles.

Zhuang Qingning, on the other hand, had a helpless look on her face.

Her items were made into prizes, but did they even ask for her consent?

In their eyes, was she just a machine that churned out prizes without feeling?

“Count me in too.” Fan Wenxuan, stroking his beard, suddenly said.

“That…doesn’t seem right. You’re an adult and we are children. Isn’t it a bit of adult bullying if you participate?” Zhuang Qingsui raised doubts.

Chu Jinzhou and Zhuang Mingli chimed in too, “Yeah, it’s not very fair.”

“Well, to be fair, I will only count a correct guess every two times. Is that fair now?” Fan Wenxuan thought it over and made a concession. “But just to mention ahead of time, I want a fair share of the final chestnut cake just like you all.”

Oh, she had forgotten about this old imp.

Zhuang Qingning rolled her eyes, looking helplessly at the three children who had already enthusiastically agreed to Fan Wenxuan’s participation. They even began to discuss whether they should also punish the worst performer.

“You should hurry. It’s about noon, the best time to join the festivities.” Zhuang Yutian smiled.

“Alright. We are heading over there first.” Zhuang Qingning waved then followed Fan Wenxuan and the others ahead.

Zhuang Yutian turned and entered the shop.

Seeing Zhuang Yutian enter, Mrs. Meng anxiously came over to the door and asked hurriedly, “What happened? Any news?”

Zhuang Yutian didn’t speak, just shook his head and sighed.

Seeing her husband’s expression, Mrs. Meng knew the outcome and sighed, “What are we going to do now…”

What are we going to do now?

Zhuang Qingning thought she heard this sentence from a distance.

She paused, startled. If her ears weren’t playing tricks on her, the voice belonged to Mrs. Meng.

But Mrs. Meng was not standing by the front of Zhuang’s cloth shop just now, and even if Mrs. Meng was inside the shop, it was unlikely that her voice could carry to the outside, let alone reach the ears of Zhuang Qingning who was already several tens of steps away from the shop.

Zhuang Qingning was surprised, but a sudden idea sprung to mind.

Ding! Congratulations to the host for the trigger of a random task – Aiding Others in Difficulty. The host is tasked with helping Zhuang Yutian and his wife overcome their current issue. Upon task completion, the host will receive task rewards including a blueprint for an improved loom.

No wonder she could hear the sigh of Mrs. Meng from such a distance. It turns out it was guided by a certain god.

But seeing Mrs. Meng’s hapless sigh and a task from the system, it seemed that Zhuang Yutian and his wife were indeed facing a difficult problem.

In any case, it would be prudent to have a look first.

“Big Sister, what are you thinking about? Let’s go quickly. Look, there’s a big crowd ahead, I think we’re about to get there.” Noticing that Zhuang Qingning has fallen behind, Zhuang Qingsui returned to pull her arm.

Zhuang Qingning patted Zhuang Qingsui’s head, sped up, and called out to Fan Wenxuan and Ning Feng. “Mr. Fan, Housekeeper Feng, I just remembered something I need to discuss with Uncle Yutian. You go ahead. Let’s meet at Hanfeng Tower in an hour for lunch.”

“Miss Zhuang, if you have something to attend to, go ahead. Leave Qingsui and Mingli in our care.” assured Fan Wenxuan. “Rest assured, Miss Zhuang.”

“I appreciate it, Mr. Fan, Housekeeper Feng.” Zhuang Qingning said her thanks, reminding Zhuang Qingsui and Zhuang Mingli to behave themselves and not to wander around the county town recklessly, so as to avoid trouble.

Once the two had agreed, Zhuang Qingning turned around and made her way back to Zhuang’s cloth shop.

Zhuang Yutian and Mrs. Meng were behind the shop counter, looking worried. Hearing someone enter the shop, they quickly looked up, their faces plastered with smiles. “What can we help you…?”

Before they could finish, they noticed that the visitor was not just a customer, but Zhuang Qingning. This realization left them momentarily speechless.

“Miss Ning?” Zhuang Yutian quickly came out from behind the counter. “Didn’t you go with the others to the lantern exhibition? Why did you come back? Did you forget something?”

“No, I didn’t forget anything. It’s just that a while ago, I saw Uncle Yutian looking rather worried, and I couldn’t help but come back to check on him.”