novelaction Chapter 276 Win
Chapter 276 Win
"You can answer now."
Qin Yan on the side spoke lightly.
Liu Mingce blurted out, "You know?"
Qin Yan's face showed a hint of surprise: "Why, you don't know?"
Liu Mingce's face turned red after his question, and he was speechless for a long time. He felt that Qin Yan must be pretending.
"Hmph, I advise you to think carefully, lest you make a mistake and get embarrassed!"
Qin Yan was about to say something when he heard his sister and father cheering him on from behind.
"Brother is awesome, come on brother!"
"Who's the best at guessing Lantern Festival riddles? Look at Qin Yan on this street."
Qin Yan couldn't help but laugh.
Liu Mingce's friend turned to look at Fang Nanzhi: "What's the point of shouting so loudly?"
Qin Yan withdrew his gaze, not bothering to pay attention to them, and said directly to the yamen runner: "Then I will tell you the answer directly. It is coral."
The yamen runner was also a little shocked when he heard the answer so swiftly: "This young man is right. It is Shanhu."
Everyone was stunned. Liu Mingce couldn't help but ask, "What is coral? I've never heard of it."
The yamen runner's expression turned grim. "I already stated this when I asked the question. You can't blame the riddle if you don't know it."
Upon hearing this, Fang Nanzhi ran over and mocked him, "Yeah, if you don't know, then you don't know. Why don't you admit defeat? Where have all your studies gone? You don't know things that my brother knows. Doesn't that mean you're not as skilled as him? Come on, hand over the silver!"
Liu Mingce gritted his teeth and said, "He said that coral is coral. How do I know if it really exists?"
Qin Yan moved his wheelchair forward and said, "Maritime Records" is a must-read book recommended by the teachers of the academy. It's available in the academy's study, not even in the library."
"This book has been out for a while. The author is still alive. Every two or three years, a new edition is released, adding, deleting, and revising many things. This year's edition includes a discussion of coral."
"Coral was brought into the imperial court as tribute long ago. It was extremely rare and even harder to preserve. Only the nobles in the capital could occasionally obtain a few small pieces."
"It wasn't until recent years that a powerful coastal guild salvaged such an object. The origin, appearance, and purpose of this coral are all in the book, and the mystery is completely solved."
Liu Mingce blushed.
It's not that he hadn't read books on maritime affairs, but he felt that the books recommended by the academy teachers were not necessarily good books. He bought all the books himself, and he always bought the expensive ones. How could they be worse than those obscure books?
The yamen runners didn't care about any twists and turns among them. They moved the ladder and carefully took down the phoenix lantern on the top of the lantern tower, for fear that it would fall.
When this lantern tower was being built, they repeatedly emphasized that the top lantern must be fixed securely. This craftsmanship is truly invaluable!
When the Phoenix Lantern was taken down, there was a burst of cheers and everyone was very excited.
"Oh, this is the first time I've seen a Phoenix lantern so close!"
"Yeah, I came here for the first two years too. I always kept this lamp at the top. I thought it looked nice, but I couldn't see clearly. Now that I've taken it down, it looks even bigger!"
"I didn't expect the person who finally took down the Phoenix Lantern was so young. He's truly a promising young man!"
"Yeah, yeah, I've never heard of this coral. It turns out it's a tribute. Now I'm really curious about what it looks like!"
Everyone was in high spirits, chatting about all sorts of things, their eyes fixed on the Phoenix lamp without blinking.
Qin Yan took it with both hands. Fang Tong and Qian Fengping also came over to look at it. It was rare to see such a beautiful lantern.
The people around him were even more envious: "Oh, he is so well-read at such a young age, what a son he has!"
Qin Yan wanted to give the Phoenix Lantern to his sister, but when he turned around, he saw the little girl counting silver and money!
Ten taels of silver was not too much or too little, so she quickly put it in her pocket and came back skipping happily.
People on the surrounding streets heard that a young man had guessed the riddle of the phoenix lantern in the county government tower, and they were all very curious. Seeing more and more people flocking to the vicinity, Fang Tong hurriedly pushed his son, called his wife, second brother and daughter, and went to where there were fewer people first.
The family took the lamp and the silver and left happily.
Liu Mingce stood where he was, and his companions following behind him didn't dare to say a word, his face changing from gloomy to bright.
Holding this phoenix lantern, I was indeed very conspicuous on the street. Although there were not as many people gathered at the lantern tower as before, everyone passing by would turn around to take a look.
They were hungry after shopping, so Fang Tong asked them what they wanted to eat.
Fang Nanzhi had just received the silver and raised his hand generously: "Meat! Dad, I want to eat mutton!"
They found a mutton stall, grilled and sliced the mutton on the spot, put the sliced mutton in steamed buns, and drank a bowl of soup. It was extremely delicious.
On a cold day, there is nothing better than eating hot soup and fragrant meat.
Fang Nanzhi was so happy with the delicious food that he shook his head, patted his chest, and said generously: "Dad, Mom, brother, and second uncle, you guys can eat as much as you want. I'll treat you tonight!"
Fang Yin was straightforward. He didn't have any thoughts in his mind. When Zhizhi asked him to eat meat, he didn't hesitate and immediately ordered another bowl of meat and another bowl of soup.
Fang Tong was helpless and pinched his daughter's nose: "You are so generous, isn't this the silver your brother won?"
Qin Yan watched with a smile on his face, not caring at all.
After finishing the delicious food, there are still many places to visit on this street. Just now, I heard someone on the road say that there will be a dragon and lion dance performance. They haven’t seen it yet, so they can only walk in that direction.
Fortunately, the dragon dance requires a large venue, and the platform and poles can be seen from a distance. There are so many people watching around that Fang Tong took a long time to find a good position to ensure that his son and daughter can see it.
Fang Nanzhi held his brother's wheelchair with one hand, and his mother held the other hand, looking up at the lion jumping on the pole.
The big eyes of the lion head were very bright, flickering and shaking its head, which was particularly attractive. She was fascinated by it and saw that the lion actually turned over on the thin wooden stake!
"Wow! So awesome!"
She couldn't help but blurt it out, and there was a burst of applause from all around.
The lion head seemed to hear the cheers from below and raised its head triumphantly, making everyone laugh.
Fang Nanzhi had never seen what a real lion looked like. He had only seen the stone lions at the door and the pictures in books.
In her eyes, the dancing lion was as agile as a live little lion, and it was so easy to be fascinated by it.
Qian Fengping was holding her daughter's hand, and Fang Tong was standing on the other side of her, also watching with a smile.
She usually likes to be quiet at home, but she also likes this kind of lively atmosphere during festivals.
She turned her head to look at the people around her, and out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of a man and woman who looked familiar.
She turned sideways to look carefully, and Fang Tong also followed her line of sight and recognized at a glance that the man was Tiezhu's eldest cousin, Ma Laifu.