Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

Chapter 159 Guessing Lantern Riddles

Xu Bei, both doting and helpless, had no choice but to give in to his younger sister.

At the same time, to prevent being separated from the crowd, since it's hard to find people in this era without cell phones, he held the person tightly and protected them from the side.

After the three of them finally managed to squeeze to a spot near the front, as if they had overcome numerous obstacles, they saw a long red banner stretched out in the middle.

The sign above reads in large characters: "Celebrate the Lantern Festival, guess the riddles, and win prizes."

Xu Juan stood on tiptoe as much as she could and pointed excitedly at a row of long tables below the banner, laughing, "Mom, brother, look! There are prizes! If you guess correctly, you can get something good, including a notebook with a plastic cover!"

Xu Bei also looked over and saw that although the prizes on the table were not particularly valuable, they were extremely tempting in the early 1980s.

At the front was a stack of Xinhua dictionaries, next to which were neatly arranged some plastic-covered diaries and some brand-new fountain pens.

Xu Bei knew very well that at that time, a Xinhua Dictionary would cost a few cents to a little over a dollar, which was about the same as a pound of pork.

Plastic-covered diaries were a popular item in this era, especially among readers.

Both it and the fountain pen are standard accessories for the most popular artsy young people.

However, a cheap fountain pen costs a little over a dollar, which is definitely not as expensive as a diary.

Because plastic-covered diaries are relatively expensive, few people are willing to spend the money to buy them.

Generally, these gifts are awarded by relevant organizations as prizes for participating in an activity or receiving an honor, or they are given by elders, relatives, or friends to encourage the recipient to study hard, or they are given by classmates or friends to express their friendship.

It's no wonder it attracted so many people; who wouldn't want to guess the riddles correctly and win a free prize?

Xu Bei shouted to his mother and sister, "Then let's go join in the fun, it's all about participation!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Fengying, whose eyes were shining with excitement, chimed in at the top of her lungs, "Mom can only watch the fun; you guys have to do the riddles."

Xu Juan giggled, and because it was too noisy, she could only speak a little louder, "Mom, we might not be able to guess right either."

Even after the three of them finally squeezed to the front of the riddle area, they didn't dare to separate.

Instead, they linked arms and held hands, looking at the riddles together, hoping to find one they could solve.

Xu Bei discovered that several of the riddles involved guessing the name of a character from "Dream of the Red Chamber".

When I saw one of the riddles, which described anecdotes from Hunan (guess a three-character name from "Dream of the Red Chamber"), my sister and I guessed the answer almost at the same time.

"Shi Xiangyun".

"Yes, yes. Bro, let's hurry up and take it to redeem the prize."

Zhao Fengying was overjoyed and incredibly proud that her son and daughter had guessed one of them so quickly.

"Let's go right away then, I wonder what kind of prize they'll give us."

A diary would be best, I really want one!

Xu Bei smiled and protected his mother and sister, and soon they arrived at the long table where the prizes were displayed.

"Comrade, we've figured out the answer."

The staff responsible for distributing the awards were also dressed very warmly from head to toe because it was outdoors.

He took the pen with his gloved hand, looked at the riddle, and confirmed that Xu Bei and the others had guessed the answer before saying, "You got it right, young man. This pen is the prize."

Xu Bei said thank you, then took the pen and casually handed it to his younger sister.

Although fountain pens are nice, Xu Juan really wanted a plastic-covered diary, so she asked curiously, "So, guess what I can give you for a diary?"

The staff member patted a small box on the table, "We'll draw a riddle from it later for everyone to guess. The prize for the correct guess is a diary."

Upon hearing that this was the only way to get their desired prize, they had no choice but to stay there a little longer and wait.

However, since it was quite cold outside and more and more people were gathering in the square, and there would be activities such as Yangko dancing and fireworks later, the onlookers were not kept waiting for too long before the riddle-drawing session began.

The staff member in charge of distributing the prizes picked up a new red slip of paper and read aloud, "Listen carefully! 'Hammered and chiseled from the deep mountains, tempered by fierce fire as if nothing,' guess a building material. The prize for the correct answer is a diary!"

The noisy, buzzing crowd fell silent for a moment.

After hearing the riddle, everyone frowned and pondered, and soon resumed their lively discussion.

Xu Bei pondered for a moment, and soon came up with an answer.

A confident smile played on his lips as he announced loudly, "Lime!"

"Great!" The staff member slapped the table lightly, gave a thumbs up, and exclaimed, "You got it right! Young man, you're really knowledgeable!"

After saying that, he deftly picked up a red plastic-covered diary from the table and handed it to Xu Bei.

Xu Bei thanked him and took the book to look at it.

I discovered that, apart from the title page, every page had horizontal lines drawn on it, and there were also four or five color illustrations inside the notebook.

Afterwards, Xu Bei closed the diary and handed it to his younger sister. Xu Juan smiled happily and excitedly, "Brother, you're amazing!"

Zhao Fengying looked at her son with eyes full of relief.

She was about to say a few words of praise when her gaze inadvertently swept to the side and she happened to catch sight of a familiar figure standing in the front row.

Zhou Qingwan was exactly the future daughter-in-law he was very satisfied with.

"Oh my god, isn't this late at night?"

Zhao Fengying warmly greeted her, "You're here to guess riddles too?"

Xu Bei and Xu Juan, brother and sister, didn't care about anything else and quickly went over, each with their own thoughts.

Especially the former, when he came to the street, he wondered if he might meet the girl he liked again.

After all, today's Lantern Festival falls on a Sunday, and most schools and businesses will be closed for the holiday.

Today, Zhou Qingwan was wearing a dark-colored cotton coat, a white hat, and a scarf. Under the streetlights and the bright moonlight, she looked even more beautiful, standing out from the men, women, and children around her.

Zhou Qingwan first greeted Zhao Fengying politely, and then looked at Xu Bei and Xu Juan.

"Brother Xu, I never knew you were so good at solving riddles."

Xu Bei immediately smiled modestly, "I also stumbled upon this place by chance. Did you come alone?"

Since she didn't see anyone she knew around Zhou Qingwan, she asked out of curiosity.

Xu Juan glanced around as well. "Yes, Sister Xiaowan, are you alone?"

Zhou Qingwan said with some distress and embarrassment, "Actually, I came here after having dinner with my aunt, uncle, and brother, but there were too many people just now, and we got separated. I searched for a long time but couldn't find them."

Upon seeing this, Xu Bei naturally extended a strong invitation to the other party to join them.

"Yes, with so many people, it'll be hard to find each other if we get separated. Why don't you come with us first? You might run into us later."

Zhou Qingwan hesitated for only a moment before gently nodding in agreement.

"Alright then. Hopefully we'll meet soon, otherwise I'm worried my aunt and uncle will get anxious."

Xu Bei looked at the somewhat worried girl and gently comforted her, "Don't worry. You'll definitely meet her."

Xu Juan immediately took Zhou Qingwan's arm affectionately, "Sister Xiaowan, let's guess some riddles for a while, then go ice rolling on the river."

Xu Bei mentally gave his younger sister a thumbs up; this little girl was truly a great help.