The person riding the bicycle over was none other than Old Man Han's son, Han Wenke.
Zhou Hongxia had only met him once, but he had left a deep impression on her, which was why he felt so familiar.
He was wearing a brand-new blue Dacron shirt on his upper body, a somewhat worn army-green pair of trousers, and a pair of shiny black leather shoes on his feet.
The first time she saw Han Wenke, a ripple of emotion had stirred in Zhou Hongxia's heart. Just now, while walking on the road, hadn't she been hoping to bump into him?
Unexpectedly, her wish had actually come true. She tightened her grip on Zhou Xiaobao's hand, her cheeks flushing slightly.
However, Han Wenke did not notice Zhou Hongxia. He got off his bicycle and pushed it toward an empty spot by the side of the road.
Zhou Hongxia was just about to step forward and greet him when she saw a middle-aged woman walking over. "Wenke, you're finally here! The girl has been waiting for a long time!"
"Someone in the village asked me to give their pigs a vaccine, so I was delayed!"
"...If you two take a liking to each other, you should take advantage of the fair days to settle the marriage..."
Zhou Hongxia hadn't even reached Han Wenke when she heard the woman's words, and her footsteps abruptly halted.
Her budding feelings, which hadn't even had time to warm up, were instantly doused with a basin of cold water, chilling her heart completely.
"Sister, why isn't our grandma here yet?" After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Xiaobao tugged hard at her hand, snapping her back to reality.
By this time, Han Wenke and that woman had already left.
She had always thought that as long as a potential partner looked decent enough, it would be fine; whether she liked them or not wasn't important, since it was just about finding someone to live with anyway.
Who would have known that the moment she first laid eyes on Han Wenke, her perspective would change completely.
The young girl's heart began to feel anxious and restless, stirring with newfound emotions.
The feeling was as sweet as drinking honey, but it wasn't a cloying sweetness; it seemed to carry a hint of youthful innocence.
She hadn't slept a wink last night, her mind entirely occupied by Han Wenke. She thought that perhaps this was what the storytellers called "a young girl's springtime yearning."
If she could live her life with Han Wenke, she would be completely satisfied with this lifetime.
But Han Wenke was going on a blind date with someone else today. Zhou Hongxia felt as if her heart was stuffed with a tangled mess of hemp, knotting her up and leaving her restless.
She pulled Zhou Xiaobao to sit by the side of the road. Her eyes seemed to be staring at the passersby, but in truth, her mind had long wandered off. She didn't even notice when Aunt Zhou and Chuntao walked over.
It was Zhou Xiaobao who had sharp eyes. He broke free from her hand and ran over. "Grandma, Sister-in-law Chuntao!"
"Xiaobao! Where's your sister?" Chuntao held onto Zhou Xiaobao's hand and glanced toward the roadside.
Aunt Zhou also looked toward the road. Hearing the voices, Zhou Hongxia finally snapped out of her daze.
"Grandma, Sister-in-law Chuntao!" She forcefully suppressed the gloom in her heart and squeezed out a trace of a smile on her face.
Chuntao could tell that something was off with her, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was and felt it wasn't her place to ask.
With one hand holding Zhou Xiaobao and the other supporting Aunt Zhou's arm, Chuntao walked toward the nearby stage.
Zhou Hongxia followed behind carrying a chair, her mind still filled with Han Wenke's gentle and refined appearance.
The play hadn't started yet, but the area below the stage was already packed with people.
Chairs, benches, and folding stools were arranged densely together. Those without seats stood leaning against the base of the walls, while a few teenagers simply climbed up the old locust tree beside the stage.
The group walked around before finally finding a spot slightly toward the front; although it was a bit off to the side, the view was decent enough.
As Zhou Hongxia helped Aunt Zhou sit down on the chair, she said, "Tomorrow I'll come earlier to save a seat!"
Aunt Zhou sat there waiting to watch the play and said to Zhou Hongxia and Chuntao, "I'll watch the play here. You two take Xiaobao for a stroll, and if you see anything you like, buy some!"
Zhou Hongxia replied, "Alright, then I'll take Xiaobao for a walk down the street."
"Wait a minute, Hongxia, I need to go over there for a bit!" Before Zhou Hongxia could react, Chuntao squeezed out of the crowd.
She walked to a nearby snack stall and bought a skewer of candied hawthorn, then bought a Monkey King sugar figure at the adjacent candy stall, and also weighed out a bag of pastries.
By the time Zhou Hongxia squeezed her way over, Chuntao had already paid.
Lying in bed last night, she had been thinking about giving the money Zhou Zhijun had brought over to Aunt Zhou, so she could pass it back to him.
But today, Zhou Hongxia had insisted on dragging her to the fair, so she had no choice but to keep the money for now.
Aunt Zhou was usually so good to her. Even though her own life was difficult, she couldn't be completely stingy!
So she used the money Zhou Zhijun had given her to buy some snacks, planning to pay him back later after selling the piglets.
"Sister-in-law Chuntao, you bought so many snacks? Let me pay!" Zhou Hongxia quickly pulled a few bills from her pocket.
Chuntao handed her the bag of pastries and the candied hawthorn, saying, "I already paid! Let's go, take these to your grandma!"
Zhou Hongxia handed the pastries to Aunt Zhou. "Sister-in-law Chuntao bought them!" Then she looped the string of candied hawthorn around Zhou Xiaobao's neck.
Aunt Zhou took the pastries and said, "This girl. I ate my breakfast so full, I can't eat another bite!"
"It's fine, just watch the play, and eat a little if you get hungry! Hongxia and I are going to look around the street!"
Seeing the Monkey King sugar figure in her hand, Zhou Xiaobao reached out for it. "I want the Monkey King sugar figure."
"Here you go!" Just as Chuntao handed the sugar figure into his hand, the sound of gongs and drums suddenly rang out from the stage.
The rhythmic clanging grew denser, and an actor with a painted face lifted the curtain, stepping out from backstage and opening his throat to sing the opening line.
The buzzing chatter from the audience immediately quieted down. Even the children stopped making a fuss, their eyes fixed intently on the people on stage.
While Aunt Zhou sat there watching the play, Chuntao and Zhou Hongxia took Zhou Xiaobao out to the street.
The stalls on both sides of the street were packed tightly together. To the west were sellers of fabric and ready-made clothes in all sorts of colors, forming a vast, colorful display.
To the east was the agricultural tools section, with brooms, wooden pitchforks, wooden shovels, hoes, and sickles—everything one could possibly need.
Interspersed in the middle were food vendors. Malt sugar syrup was stretched out long on stone slabs, and soda in glass cups bubbled with fizz.
In front of a small stall, several girls were trying on vanishing cream while looking into small mirrors. Hair accessories were strung together with fine iron wire, hanging in a colorful cluster.
The three of them moved slowly forward with the flow of the crowd, their ears filled with the sounds of hawking. "Cheap fabric! Only one dollar for three feet!"
"Buns, big pork-stuffed buns!"
Zhou Hongxia bought a tank top and a pair of shorts for Zhou Xiaobao, along with a pair of sandals.
She bought a thin cloth shirt for her grandma. She also cut a piece of blue Dacron fabric, saying she would make a short-sleeved shirt for her dad...
She bought things for everyone in the family, but she was the only one she didn't buy anything for.
"That dress is so pretty, it would definitely look perfect on you!" Chuntao said, pointing at a pink dress hanging on the wall.
Everyone has a love for beauty! As a young woman of seventeen or eighteen, Zhou Hongxia was exactly at the age of caring about her appearance.
Usually, she wore rough cloth clothes while working at home, and in all her life, she had never worn a dress.
Looking at the soft pink dress, Han Wenke's face suddenly popped into Zhou Hongxia's mind. If she wore this dress, would he take a second look at her?
But on second thought, he was already going on a blind date with someone else today. What use would it be no matter how beautifully she dressed?
Zhou Hongxia then thought of her father's old-fashioned, conservative mindset, and the thought of buying the dress completely vanished.
Seeing her staring blankly, Chuntao patted her arm with her hand. "Hongxia, what are you thinking about?"
"Oh! The dress is pretty, but since I work in the fields every day, when would I ever have the chance to wear it?"
Zhou Hongxia stopped going to school after graduating from elementary school. It wasn't that her parents forbade her from continuing, but rather that she simply didn't want to.
After leaving school, she helped her parents with the chores and took care of her younger brother. Her life passed by in a peaceful, ordinary way, and she had never regretted her choice. Today, however, she felt a twinge of regret.
Han Wenke was a veterinarian who had graduated from a technical school and held a secure government job. She, on the other hand, only had an elementary school education and couldn't even fully read an account book.
Even if Han Wenke wasn't going on blind dates, she still wouldn't be a worthy match for him. At the thought of this, her nose suddenly stung with unshed tears, and her footsteps grew a bit heavier.
Chuntao didn't buy anything for herself either; she only bought a hair flower for Wang Xiaohong.
Before they knew it, the sun was directly overhead. They headed over to the theatrical stage to find Aunt Zhou, planning to take her out for lunch.
The performance hadn't ended yet, and the crowd below the stage was massive. People were packed tightly together, shoulder to shoulder.
As they were walking, a man suddenly dashed out from the crowd, looking completely panicked.
Chuntao didn't have time to dodge. The man crashed hard into her, knocking her off balance and nearly sending her tumbling to the ground.
Before she could even process what had happened, she heard someone shouting, "Thief! Catch the thief...!"
