Sisters in the Deep Forest Valley: Many Fun Things

Chapter 212 A Stroll Through the Paradise Pavilion (4)

"You've seen it before?" The two sisters raised their voices in unison, asking the question.

Could Ning Linlan be a fallen high-ranking official's family member? Or a member of the royal family forced into hiding after being hunted down?

They started brainstorming...

“Yes, my parents used to be servants and maids in the Zhenyang Marquis’s mansion. They would visit the mansion every few years, and I went with them twice,” Ning Linlan said slowly.

Lin Chunyi and Lin Lanshan were speechless: They had been to such high-class places, yet when they went to a teahouse and a brothel, they acted like country bumpkins... What kind of new kind of "pretending to be weak to deceive others" was this?

"What kind of looks are those? Are you disgusted with me?" Ning Linlan somehow understood their gazes and retorted.

"I've only been there twice! When I was five and ten years old! And the Marquis's mansion, think about it, is it a place where you can do whatever you want?"

I could only steal a few glances; I didn't dare touch them. It's perfectly normal to have never seen these before, isn't it?

As she spoke, her voice grew softer and softer.

The two sisters were amused to see her pouting and looking defiant.

"You're still laughing!"

Lin Chunyi picked up her chopsticks and gently placed a pastry on the small plate in front of Ning Linlan. "Stop smiling, stop smiling. Crab roe pastry, please have a taste, Sister Ning~"

Ning Linlan rolled up her sleeves and reached out her hand.

"This is delicious!" In the blink of an eye, she exclaimed in surprise, almost spitting out the crumbs.

Seeing someone similar to herself who always loses control in front of delicious food makes Lin Lanshan appear much more composed at this moment.

She took out a clean small handkerchief and handed it to Ning Linlan, unable to resist teasing her, "I forgot just now, but now, I really want to complain about you... um!"

Ning Linlan reacted quickly, picking up a crab roe pastry and stuffing it into her mouth, "So, what about now~"

Lin Lanshan bit into the pastry, catching the crumbs with her hand before they fell, and then took a small bite, eating it slowly.

"It's definitely worth the money we spent; it tastes better than any other pastry we've had before, hehe~"

Take a sip,

From the crispy, milky outer layer to the visibly generously filled, savory, and sweet crab roe and meat, there's absolutely nothing to criticize in terms of both taste and appearance.

After all, this was a dessert that even Consort Hua was longing for. She glanced at it with those alluring eyes, then raised an eyebrow and said lightly, "Why don't you have my favorite crab roe pastry?"

Being able to eat this makes all the money they spent worthwhile!

"Sis, you should eat too!" Lin Lanshan took another bite, her mouth full of crab flavor. "I suddenly have a craving for crab, I want to eat seafood!"

Steamed crabs, boiled shrimp, crispy fried ribbonfish, spicy stir-fried clams... I miss all the seafood I ate in Qincheng Prison, with my parents.

"Seafood? We don't have any seafood. How about some river fish? Our river in Xishui Village has all kinds of fish, as well as river clams, loaches, red-shelled shrimp, and small crabs. But the red-shelled shrimp and small crabs aren't very tasty; they have a lot of shells and little meat, and the flavor is just so-so."

When Ning Linlan was a child, in order to avoid her parents teaching her to read and write, she would often secretly hide behind a large rock on the other side of the river, and roast whatever she could catch when she was hungry.

The worst-tasting things were the red-shelled shrimp and small crabs! They were skewered on wooden sticks, seasoned with salt and wild chili peppers, and roasted until they were a bright red and fragrant.

As a result, when she took a bite, it was all shell, and her mouth was pierced several times!

“If you want to eat, come and stay in our Xishui Village for a few days. I’ll get you everything that flies in the sky, runs on the ground, and swims in the water. Eat whatever you want!” Ning Linlan winked at them, trying to entice them.

After they got to know each other better, Ning Linlan really started to let loose more and more, and the two sisters got goosebumps all over their arms from her staring.

Lin Chunyi held out a finger, saying, "Speak properly, don't kill with your eyes." She poked her right cheek and turned her to the other side.

Besides eating, Lin Lanshan's favorite things are playing. So she readily agreed, "Sure, when the weather gets warmer, let's go fishing and shrimping together."

Suddenly remembering something, she asked seriously, "Sister Ning, do the river mussels in your area have pearls inside?"

"..."

"..."

Silence doesn't necessarily mean being unable to speak; it could also mean having nothing to say.

Ning Linlan opened her mouth as if to ask what was going on in her head, but then gave up.

"A river only a few palms wide is so narrow that it takes forever to find even a few meaty clams, and you actually expect to find pearls..."

If there were such a village, our village would have been renamed Pearl Village long ago. I'd probably be dressed in fine silks and satins, a wealthy young lady by now, wouldn't I?

Ning Linlan's meaning of "you're indulging in wishful thinking" was very clear.

"I'm just thinking, you never know, hehe~ if I make a fortune, it could be worth a lot of money!"

"Eat your pancakes and stop having such unrealistic dreams, or you'll turn into an idiot," Lin Chunyi couldn't help but complain to her sister.

The three of them chatted and joked around in the private room, eating quite a bit of the tea, sweet soup, and various snacks on the table.

Time slowly passed and it was noon.

"Thump!" A muffled drumbeat suddenly rang out from downstairs.

"I am delighted that distinguished guests have graced the Paradise Pavilion with their presence. Therefore, I have prepared a grand finale performance for today's music and dance show. Please look forward to it!"

"Well then, let's begin today's performance, as usual..." Fangniang rattled off a string of words on stage, then clapped her hands and stepped off.

The private rooms upstairs were all quiet; no one spoke. But downstairs, there were a few cheers of support, and then the performance began.

Fortunately, the three of them had almost finished eating what was on the table, so they could now concentrate on watching.

The gauze curtains at the window were lifted and tied back, leaving only the beaded curtain swaying.

In the center of the performance stage downstairs, a guqin and a stool have already been prepared.

A beautiful girl of sixteen or seventeen, with her hair styled in an exquisite bun and wearing a moon-white long dress, sat upright and raised her hand to touch the zither.

"Zheng zheng..." The sound of the zither reached their ears from afar.

It's not the gentle, tender feeling one might imagine. Instead, it's a bold and unrestrained spirit that rises and falls, twists and turns.

The first performance was a soaring piano piece that went straight to the heart; the owner knew how to attract customers' attention!

Sure enough, most of the guests downstairs who were chatting with their friends were unconsciously drawn to the stage.

Before the guests could recover from the excitement they had been stirred up, the song ended.

Before the guests could say anything, Fangniang gave a single glance, and the maids and servants quickly cleared the stage, preparing the path for the next performance.

The stirring melody of the zither had just ended when the captivating sound of the flute and the enchanting dance of a woman in red began.

Not to mention the group of men below who were all focused on one thing, even Lin Chunyi and her two companions were staring intently at the stage without blinking.

Having just experienced the pinnacle of being a hero, is he about to have to contend with the allure of beautiful women?

The two sisters couldn't help but think:

No wonder this Paradise Pavilion is so successful; look at their business acumen and the way they arrange the performances.

Even if the Monkey King came, he'd have to keep a hair on his head...