Chapter 223: Flower Festival

Mucheng has beautiful scenery and humid air. On both sides of the street, there are large flowers and plants in flower pots. Walking around everywhere is like visiting a scenic spot.

Li Haitang was still reluctant to leave until he was on the road, not to mention the Taibai Building where he was cheating money, Mucheng is a good place.

However, Taibailou is not without any merits, at least the sweet and sour pork dish is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

A few people packed lightly, set off on the road in a carriage, and walked for a few more days, and finally arrived at the boundary of Licheng.

Licheng is close to the sea, with developed aquatic products and abundant materials.

However, the fishermen here are not very rich, mainly due to traffic restrictions, the fish and shrimps caught can only be sold in the surrounding cities, and cannot be sent too far away, otherwise the weather will be hot, and it will stink in two or three days.

The villagers in the surrounding villages have lived on fishing for generations. Every household in the village has no land for themselves. They sell seafood and save money, which is only enough to build stone houses on the shore.

Occasionally, merchants from afar bought dried seafood and kept the price extremely low, but the villagers still sold them without hesitation.

Seafood is a rare fresh commodity in a city not near the sea, and in the eyes of fishermen, it is cheaper than sweet potatoes.

After a meal of fish and shrimp, they have already felt nothing, but it is rare to eat a meal of vegetables.

There is a lot of sand and gravel by the sea, and there is no decent field. If you want to eat vegetables, you have to go to the market for fish and shrimp.

There is no way for every household to travel without a horse, cart and ox cart, and they can only rely on one leg. For a long time, it is not a solution.

Later, the fishermen learned to be smart. They dug up black soil from fertile soil, put it in a wooden frame, put it in a stone house, bought vegetable seeds, and irrigated them with rainwater in pots. The vegetables really grew.

Li Haitang yearned for Li City, and when she really walked to the foot of Li City, she felt that this land was sacred.

"It will be easy when we arrive in Licheng. I will send Yinzi to find someone to deliver a letter to my uncle. Let me tell you I'm safe first."

Zhang Ruyi was even more excited than Li Haitang. She also traveled far, from Kyoto to Beidi, but they didn't stop in Licheng along the way.

This place is close to the sea, the climate is humid, and the folk customs are relatively open. It is said that there is an annual Hundred Flowers Festival from the end of July to the beginning of August every year.

"What is the Hundred Flowers Festival?"

A group of people shuttled among the crowd, and wherever they went, the common people were discussing that this year's Hundred Flowers Festival, the city will choose a Hundred Flower Empress to spread blessing bags for the common people.

"I seem to have seen it in the travel notes."

Li Haitang carefully recalled that in the travel notes she bought, the author once mentioned Licheng's characteristic Hundred Flowers Festival, which is unique to the local area and enjoyed by all the people. It was even more lively than New Year's Eve.

Every year at the Hundred Flowers Festival, a Hundred Flowers Empress will be selected.

Empress Baihua is an unmarried girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen, a big girl of Huanghua, pure and clean, and her appearance is also first-class.

Only such a woman can sit on the most beautiful float and accept the support of the common people.

"The age has been relaxed, but most eighteen-year-old girls are married."

Zhang Ruyi listened with gusto, and listened to what the common people said. Empress Baihua didn't have any requirements on her identity, ordinary people could do it.

In previous years, the Empresses of Hundred Flowers married soon after participating in the Hundred Flowers Festival, and all of them were favored by dignitaries. Because Empress Baihua herself is also a symbol of good fortune.

"Specifically, it's not written in the travel notes, we can inquire about it."

Li Haitang is embarrassing, whoever made the author a big foodie, he described at length how delicious the Baihua cakes made at the Hundred Flowers Festival are. The fillings are made of dozens of flowers, and honey is added to them. Women can beautify their skin when they eat them. , adjust the color and so on.

"That would be great!"

Miss Zhang is born to love gossip, and she is extremely interested in this matter, even overshadowing the food.

"Don't get excited, don't get excited."

Li Haitang reached out to grab the person who was about to rush out, and hit him, "Even if you choose Empress Baihua, it's nothing to do with you, you're already married."

"Yes indeed."

Accepting this fact, Zhang Ruyi instantly became a discouraged ball again, but it's good to be able to watch the excitement.

She was never married before, so she could only live in a deep boudoir, and it was not easy to go out, especially when her father married a vixen to enter the house, which restricted her freedom of movement even more.

Marry Lu Er fool, not to mention that everything goes well, at least, if she wants to go out, he will accompany her and respect her wishes.

"Guys, you are foreigners, and you came to Licheng to watch the Hundred Flowers Festival, right?"

The local people on the side heard a few people talking about it, and they enthusiastically introduced the Hundred Flowers Festival in Licheng. If they can get the flower garland of the Empress of Hundred Flowers, and go back and soak the flower garland in the water to bathe, they will be reborn and walk on the road of Kangzhuang.

"Really?"

Zhang Ruyi was skeptical, not knowing the difference in bathing with fresh flowers.

"We dare not lie about this. A Juren was selected the year before last, and he wrote a poem that night. Last year, he was a Jinshi in high school and was sent to the south to be a county magistrate. I heard that he became the son-in-law of a certain prefect!"

Don't talk about the year before last, let's talk about the one who was selected last year and opened a small shop. Now the business is booming and life is happy and happy.

It has been a centuries-old tradition in Licheng to pray for the Empress Baihua. Every year at this time of year, Licheng is overcrowded.

Indeed, in the streets and alleys, there are many men and women from other places who speak with different accents. Li Haitang can only understand some local dialects.

In the market, there are hawkers setting up stalls every few meters. Some of the fish, shrimps and crabs produced in the sea are caught before dawn. There is some seawater in the crab, and it is still alive.

Li Haitang swallowed her saliva, she couldn't help it, she was already very grateful to have some dried dried shrimps at home, stir-fried vegetables and dumplings to make them fresher.

The seafood transported from the barbarians can only be eaten in cold winters. Now when encountering live animals, frying, frying and cooking must be enough to eat.

"Crab is a cold food, it is not good to eat too much."

Xiao Lingchuan saw his wife staring anxiously, her complexion relaxed, that's all, just eat if you like, it's rare for my wife to come to Licheng once.

Li Haitang nodded, her stomach is cold, she can eat less crabs, and not only crabs, prawns, and fish are fresh and tender in the sea, as long as they are cooked well.

A group of people stayed in a good-looking inn on the street. After tidying up, they went out to go shopping immediately. Li Haitang was a little shocked when he saw that there were grilled fish fillets. Research came out.

It’s just that there’s almost nothing for sale in Biancheng and Lucheng, no grocery store, and she’s never seen it at a peddler. She thought it wasn’t there. It seems that reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles. If you walk more and see more, you can also enjoy delicious food from all over the world. The grilled fish fillets seem to have been added with a little rice wine, sugar and **** juice to preserve the umami and remove the fishy smell. Li Haitang wrapped a few portions in oiled paper, which won't go bad even in hot weather, and can satisfy your cravings when you're hungry.