The Last Mecha

Chapter 166 Paper Lantern Festival

In the evening, as soon as Wu Gou entered the Shikumen house, the atmosphere in the house seemed lighter than usual. On the dining table hung an orange paper lantern cut into the shape of a pumpkin.

There are more meat dishes on the table, diced meat with sauce, pig ears, and the aroma of cooked protein wafting from the meat that is visible to the naked eye.

Since Wu Gou made a lot of money for the family, their quality of life has really improved a lot, but in terms of food, there is absolutely no intention of being extravagant.

Today is a special day.

The paper lantern festival in July has always been a very influential event in Jiangsong. In this city with huge life pressure, people who have worked hard for several months cherish this rare opportunity to relax.

This is not a national festival. When the concession was first established decades ago, a wealthy British businessman who came from afar became interested in the craftsmanship of a famous paper lantern maker in Jiangsong, so he bought a large number of paper lanterns and held a garden party. good.

Year after year, this activity gradually expanded to the whole Jiangsong.

On this day, when night falls and paper lanterns of different colors and shapes light up the darkness, it is a precious entertainment time for everyone to put down their work at hand and relax and immerse themselves.

So much so that the paper lantern festival has developed to the end, and the paper lantern as the source has been reduced to a background board. Various lantern festivals and entertainment stalls are strewn all over the streets. This night of every year is destined to have nothing to do with work and troubles.

Luo Liangcheng, the previous inspector of Jiangsong City, thought that it was inappropriate for such a large-scale non-national entertainment event, so he issued a decree to deliberately reduce the scale. Unexpectedly, he was criticized by the whole city. On the morning newspaper, the criticisms of great Confucians swallowed him up like a sea of ​​rivers.

Speaking of which, Guo Penglai's ability to snatch the position from him also has something to do with Luo Liangcheng's loss of popular support.

All in all, to this day, the annual paper lantern festival is an entertainment for the whole city, and anyone who touches it will have to touch their brows, which has become a fact recognized by the whole city.

"Brother! Go watch the lights and play at night!"

As soon as the door was opened, Wu Yong jumped up like a monkey. Fortunately, Wu Gou had been practicing for a long time, and when he received, held, and sent with both hands, he was thrown lightly to the floor.

The half-sized boy lay sprawled on the ground, still dancing happily, took out a small handful of copper coins from his pocket, and almost grinned to the sky.

"Yo, a lot of money, where did it come from?"

Wu Gou glanced at him and asked without smiling.

"Tips, those wives who have money are vain. If they have a sweet mouth, they are willing to give it if they are in a good mood. Brother, let's go! Treat you to a piece of flower." Wu Yong rolled his eyes and felt that the flower cake was a bit expensive, and then changed his words. "Please eat candy!"

"Thank you, brother." Wu Gou smiled, "You can go eat flower cakes by yourself, I won't go."

"Come on, it's okay for me to treat you to a piece. You taught me boxing, and I can't show it."

"Next time, today is really not possible."

"Why? You were looking forward to this day the most before."

"There is an appointment."

"Oh?" Wu Yong raised his eyebrows, and immediately noticed Xin Dalu and put his ear on it, "Female?"

"not human."

"Oh, huh?"

The door of the narrow room was pushed open, and Wu Gou was holding a bowl with half the food in it than usual.

He coughed, and the girl under the bed poked her head out when she heard a familiar voice.

It has been more than a week since I left this girl in my room.

Wu Gou also considered whether to get it out for others, find a place outside or something, but after much deliberation, he still decided to forget it.

Where can he get a large living person? Inns and shops with a lot of traffic are high-risk, as well as vacant rooms with no one on weekdays. Those who are looking for her in the city will think of these places immediately.

When it comes to asking for help, after all, there is no one in this city that he can absolutely trust.

It's not that he would deceive himself, but Nan Zhiyun's identity is too special, even Master Jiang, he has no idea how he will choose after knowing this matter.

From the perspective of a country, it is right to sacrifice one person to benefit thousands, but at this moment, the girl in front of her is not a cold number.

It's not a matter of adding and subtracting to compare size.

Seeing that there are very few meals today, he frowned subconsciously, and immediately realized that this was just someone's kindness, and he was not qualified to pick and choose.

Then Nan Zhiyun rolled his eyes and asked with a worried expression, "Am I poor for your family?"

"No, although your appetite is indeed not small for a girl of this age, but it's not enough." Wu Gou glanced at her, rubbed the waist of his trousers with his index finger and thumb, with a careless expression on his face. Said, "There is still a chance to eat delicious food in the evening, don't fill your stomach for a while."

"night?"

"The paper lantern festival is only held by Jiang Song. There are many things that you can't usually see. There are a lot of fun and food."

"But--"

"One can't be bored in a small room all the time, it will be suffocated. It's okay to let go of things like your mind once in a while, and don't worry about things you can't control. Go out for a walk, don't worry about being exposed, I'm prepared."

As Wu Gou said, he opened a small box that had just been brought into the room.

It was full of all kinds of bottles and cans, brushes and paintbrushes, and what made Nan Zhiyun almost cry out in fright—the head.

"Don't be surprised, it's plastic, it's called a wig."

Wu Gou sized it up for a moment, and chose a hair style that deviated from Nan Zhiyun's and was not conspicuous. Without any explanation, he leaned forward and gave her a button on the top of her head, and then began to appreciate, "It's okay, it's a bit like a swan turning into a duckling. "

He kept moving, stretching his arms into the box, and took out the small bottles with the words "powder", "shaving cream", "rouge" and so on inside one by one. He held the small seven-inch brush like a sword. palm.

Then Wu Gou raised his hand and pinched Nan Zhiyun's chin with two fingers, causing her snow-white face to turn red up to the base of her ears.

"What are you doing?"

"Just don't move."

"itch"

"Be patient."

"."

This is the first time the two have had close contact other than the first day when their swords faced each other.

Even when the meal was delivered, it was Wu Gou who pushed the bowl and chopsticks, and Nan Zhiyun reached out to grab the food when he sat back in the opposite corner. The whole process was silent, as if it had been rehearsed thousands of times.

When the sense of distance was broken, the girl did not show any repulsive movements, but the sound of breathing became a little heavy.

Wu Gou didn't care, his attention was all on his hands, and after a moment of action, after a stick of incense time passed, he pushed the thin guy to stand in front of the bronze mirror.

Nan Zhiyun was taken aback, the girl inside had shoulder-length short hair, darker complexion, scattered freckles on her face, even under the light and shadow, even the shape of her face changed.

In an instant she went from being a girl of jewels to a wild girl running across the fields.

perfect makeup.

"Why are you so good at makeup?"

She looked at Wu Gou with strange eyes.

The young man was taken aback, the corner of his mouth twitched twice, and finally he gave the answer: "I have sung before."

"Sing?"

"Yes, a person, men, women, children, and the elderly, all have to act, so you can only use makeup. These powders and solutions are magical. When you cover your face, no one knows who is behind it. With acting skills, you can sing When people get carried away and think that you are really the character in the play, it is a disaster."

"That's it."

"Do you dare to go out now?"

"It's dangerous."

"I'm afraid of being struck to death by lightning on a rainy day, so let's go out for an hour, it's fine."

Wu Gou looked at the expectant expression that flashed across the girl's face, and knew that she had indeed held back for too long.

As far as whether there is any danger, there is nothing foolproof in this world.

It’s just that he weighed it up and felt that the risk was really not that big. In the era before the emergence of the recognition neural network, one could only rely on the naked eye to find people. He didn’t think his masterpiece could be spotted by others, let alone at night.

This risk is worth taking, it's time to end her journey in Jiang Song.

Long-term tension and anxiety can easily make people think into a dead end, and a night of relaxation may make her realize——

It's time to let go.

Although I said to help, but the cold reality is that there is no way to start.

There is nothing you can do by staying here, leaving is the best choice.

This is the sole purpose of Wu Gou's trip.

At night, there are endless singing and dancing in the city, and the paper lanterns blooming along the street push away the night with light.

The face of the old policeman in the fur cap was flushed, and a half-drunk wine bottle was hidden in the waistband of his trousers under his coat.

He waved his withered fingers, signaling to the street vendors pulling small carts not far away to block the road, but when he turned his head, he found that the street was already crowded with stalls of all kinds. After passing the colorful lights, they spread far away.

He chuckled to himself, touched his head and folded up a scary police uniform, then squeezed into the bustling crowd with a murmur in his mouth.

"The one who committed the crime tonight is not a minibus bird!"

These days, Jiang Song’s police officers are probably like this, and no one will take care of those who lose their wallets at the paper lantern festival, so most people go out at night, only dare to hold some copper coins in their hands, and sew two banknotes inside their hats. .

But obviously, not all people were immersed in the lively atmosphere and forgot who they were.

On the pier, far away from lights and human voices, the dark waves reflected a stream of light from the zenith, and then hit the reef, breaking into countless white foam.

The huge seagull that was not full spread its wings and circled, uttered a side-eared cry, and then flew away quickly.

Few people were there, except for a few small boats that were loading goods and going to sea at night. Sailors in blue and white waistcoats were smoking pipes. While looking at the lights in the city, they spat angrily into the water and drank it dry. The empty bottle was still in the sea, splashed with flying water, and was soon swallowed by the dark turbulence.

"pat-"

The sound of leather shoes stepping on the wooden board was particularly conspicuous in this quiet moment. The two turned their heads to follow the sound, and saw three tall and thin figures wearing gray non-reflective cloaks in the night.

"What are you doing, robbing the Paper Lantern Festival?"

The sailor squatting on the bow stretched out his index finger and rubbed his nose before he said, "Where are you from? This is a private cargo ship!"

"Temporary spot check, with official approval."

The leader in the gray cloak took out a piece of thin paper with ironed edges and handed it over.

The sailor saw that there was a large piece of colorful text written on it, which he could not fully recognize, and it was also stamped with a big red official seal. He didn't dare to neglect it, and immediately went to the captain.

Turning around, the man who came back with the approval document was in his early 40s, wearing a short white jacket, and his brows were furrowed into one strand on his wrinkled face. He looked at the paper carefully, and finally showed a suspicious expression. Question: "The approval document from the Municipal Council should have a date stamp, and the format is not exactly the same as the ones I've seen before. You guys don't look right."

"The incident happened suddenly, and it was temporarily drawn from the bureau. If you don't believe me, I can leave the badge to you."

The gray cloak spoke calmly, and took out a brown leather-covered ID from his pocket.

"What do you want to check?"

"All, goods, people, every corner."

"What are you looking for with so much fanfare?"

"You can't ask."

"No, I just checked for you out of nowhere. A few hours are about to pass. According to the timetable, we are going to sail soon. The Milligan's cargo will lose money if it is half a point late."

"I'm also on business, so I can't accommodate."

"Are you from the city council? When the paper lanterns are on, check one of our merchant ships?"

"I don't need to say anything else, I just need an answer, can I check it?"

"Of course I have nothing to say if you want the procedure to be fair, but you are in such a hurry and the procedures are not complete. Do you know who my boat belongs to, Jinmen—"

The small sound of the sharp knife piercing the flesh was blown to the ocean with the sea wind, and the captain looked at the dagger sunk into his chest in disbelief.

The man with the cloak pulled it out vigorously, and the jet-black blood arrow flew soaring, and the captain rolled into the sea, smashing a large ball of red and white water.

"Murder!"

Seeing this, the two sailors at the bow ran into the cabin without knowing what to do, picked up an iron hammer tied with gauze, and slammed on the gong.

"Since you have done it, don't leave it alive."

The man in the lead flicked the blood from the knife, and his tone was serious, but he didn't seem to be talking to the people around him, but talking to himself.

The man breathing fire was hanging upside down on a vertical iron pole, his legs were vigorously writhing in mid-air, drawing a big circle of fire.

The woman with the string tied to her ten fingers quietly pulled her fingertips behind her back, and the little figure pricked out of straw in front of her was writhing on its own, as if it had come to life. scream.

The dragon-shaped paper lanterns made of dozens of parts of different colors span most of the street, and the colorful lights seem to fall from the sky like a rainbow.

Nan Zhiyun was dazzled by the sight. She grew up in an environment where she was closely guarded, and the number of times she even went out in her life can be counted on the fingers. Since the riot, she has been hiding in the east for a year in Xiaguo. During the trip, I failed to appreciate the local customs and customs of this country.

Today is the first time.

Jiang Songhai is inclusive of all rivers and rivers, and you can find food everywhere. On the wooden tables along the street, the vendors in vests are sweating profusely from the heat, and the smell of oil and meat is wrapped in the sultry air of the summer night.

"Buy whatever you want to eat, it's not worth the money."

As Wu Gou said, he stuffed a handful of copper coins into her hand.

After his words relieved the burden for the girl, Nan Zhiyun finally dared to speak. She ate very slowly, but didn't stop.

Leicha, meat swallow, sweet-scented osmanthus cake, fermented glutinous rice. The two walked together and ate together.

Wu Gou hiccupped with the smell of meat, secretly marveling that he had a strong appetite because of practicing qi, and the girl beside him didn't seem to be much inferior.

There was white powdered sugar on her mouth, and after eating the last strawberry served before, she subconsciously licked the corner of her lips, but she didn't want to be frowned by the thick makeup powder, and looked aside Wu Gou I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Nan Zhiyun glared at him, his amber eyes still reflected the food stalls that lined up half of the street.

"More?" Wu Gou asked.

"I can't eat any more." The girl shook her head with unsatisfied intentions, gently touched her belly with her arms that were smeared with makeup, hesitated for a while before saying, "I'm too full."

"Can't you take a break if you can't eat?"

"I may not be able to eat it in the future, so I want to try it."

"Then you just have a taste."

"waste."

"." Wu Gou smiled wryly. He scratched his head and said instead, "There is still a chance. Your life is still long. You can't finish good things."

"Thank you."

Nan Zhiyun burst out two words suddenly, her voice was soft, completely different from her usual powerful and bright voice.

"Let's go," Wu Gou's face remained unchanged, his gaze followed the flow of people, "I'm full, let's go see something interesting."

(End of this chapter)