nucmednet Chapter 128 Dragon Boat Festival Health
Chapter 128 Dragon Boat Festival Health
As the sun rose higher, its warm light filtered through the thin clouds, pouring directly into this ordinary alley, shrouded in the haze of fireworks. The bluestone pavement, polished smooth by time, now reflected the sunlight, a warm hue that stretched all the way into the depths of the alley.
Many houses in the alley have already hung mugwort and calamus at their doors. The slender leaves sway in the wind, and the spicy fragrance permeates the air, weaving a natural curtain of rich fragrance.
Several children ran around laughing, their wrists tied with colorful silk threads, clutching newly woven kites, clamoring to fly them into the open air. Nearby, an elderly woman sat on a bamboo chair, her eyes narrowed as she leisurely wove small Dragon Boat Festival items to distribute to the younger generations.
At the entrance of the alley, a peddler's shoulder pole was resting on the side. The pole was filled with items suitable for the Dragon Boat Festival, including yellow paper with a Taoist talisman drawn on it and sachets with patterns of the five poisonous creatures, which attracted several young girls to stop and choose.
In the peach blossom courtyard, everyone was busy early in the morning.
There was no definite news about setting up a stall yet, and the Dragon Boat Festival was coming. Cheng Yuntao thought, there is no difference between two days, so it is better to celebrate the festival first.
"Grandma, today is the Dragon Boat Festival. I'm going to the market to buy some festive items." Cheng Yuntao came to the door of Grandma Zhou Xiufang's room and said softly.
Grandma's gentle response came from inside the house: "Okay, go early and come back early, be careful on the road."
Cheng Yuntao went out and headed straight for the market.
The market was bustling with activity, overflowing with colorful silk threads, fresh mugwort, and vibrant pomegranate blossoms. She carefully selected, and soon she had bought everything from hollyhocks, pomegranates, and cattails. Returning home, Cheng Yuntao found her younger brother, Cheng Jingzhu, practicing boxing and kicking in the yard, each move perfectly executed.
"Xiaozhu, come and help your sister decorate the yard." Cheng Yuntao greeted with a smile.
Cheng Jingzhu stopped fighting and ran over happily: "Sister, I'm here!" The brother and sister worked together to put hollyhocks, pomegranates, and cattails into the vase one by one and placed it in the middle of the yard.
At this time, her younger sister Cheng Yueli also came out from the house. Her hair was not combed yet, and she looked very cute with sleepy eyes. Cheng Yuntao walked up to her and gently pinched her cheek: "Xiaoli, go wash up quickly. We still have to put mugwort leaves and pomegranate flowers in a while." Cheng Yueli nodded obediently and turned to go back into the house.
Soon, the whole family had packed up.
Cheng Yuntao took out the mugwort leaves and pomegranate flowers that she had prepared long ago and put them on Grandma Zhou Xiufang personally, muttering, "Grandma, these mugwort leaves and pomegranate flowers will keep you healthy all year round." Zhou Xiufang's wrinkled face was filled with a smile: "My Yuntao is so thoughtful."
Soon, Cheng Yuntao finished combing her sister's hair and putting flowers on it. Cheng Xiaoli looked in the mirror, looking left and right, extremely satisfied, and spun around happily. She hadn't worn women's clothes for a long time since she went to private school. Today was a holiday, and private school was closed, so she had the opportunity to wear her own beautiful clothes again.
Cheng Jingzhu watched from the side and shouted anxiously: "Sister, there are some for me too, I want some too." Cheng Yuntao walked over with a smile and fixed the mugwort in her brother's hair. Cheng Jingzhu immediately marched in the yard with a heroic and proud manner, making everyone laugh.
Just as the party was getting busy, Jiang Yu came back with some gifts from the pharmacy, including realgar, angelica dahurica, and distiller's grains. These were all things Cheng Yuntao had asked him to buy in the morning.
Cheng Jingzhu was sharp-eyed. As soon as she saw Jiang Yu come in, she immediately started to tease, "Sister, today is the Dragon Boat Festival. You should also put some mugwort leaves on Jiang Yu's head to keep him safe!" As she spoke, she winked at Cheng Yuntao with a mischievous smile on her face.
Cheng Yuntao was very graceful. She took out some fresh mugwort leaves, walked up to Jiang Yu, stood on tiptoe, raised her hand and inserted the mugwort leaves into Jiang Yu's hair. Her movements were gentle and delicate.
"Be safe and sound, without any illness or disaster." Her voice was as gentle as water, like a breeze, gently brushing across Jiang Yu's heart.
Jiang Yu's Adam's apple rolled as he whispered, "Thank...thank you, Yuntao."
Cheng Jingzhu, watching from the side, burst out laughing, breaking the momentary silence: "Brother Jiang Yu, why is your face so red? Are you hot?" Jiang Yu finally came to his senses, raised his hand and touched his cheek in embarrassment, and said cunningly: "No...nothing, maybe I just came in and it's hot in the room."
"And you, kid? Why don't you call me Master anymore? Do you think you've learned enough to become a disciple?" Jiang Yu realized that Cheng Jingzhu was deliberately teasing him, so he rubbed his fists and chased after him: "Since you are so confident, why not let me test it!"
"Ah - it's a holiday today! Xiaoli School is on holiday, why should I practice more? I won't do it! I won't do it!" As time went by, the relationship between Cheng Jingzhu and Jiang Yu became better and better. He knew in his heart that Jiang Yu was reluctant to be cruel to him, and his temper became more and more naughty.
"Okay, stop messing around and come back soon. There are still a lot of things to do." Cheng Yuntao stood there, hands on her hips, looking helplessly at the two figures chasing each other in the yard.
Jiang Yu paused when he heard Cheng Yuntao's cry. He turned his gaze towards Cheng Jingzhu, raised his eyebrows slightly, and spoke in a low voice with a hint of warning, "I'll let you go this time, little brat. But if you dare to deliberately make fun of me again, I won't let you off easily."
Cheng Jingzhu, however, pretended not to hear, his eyes rolling around, his mind as clear as a mirror, he had long seen Jiang Yu's special feelings towards his sister: "Brother Jiang Yu, I'm not afraid of you, that's why you can't bear to do anything to me. If you really get angry with me, I'll be heartbroken." After saying that, he deliberately winked at Jiang Yu, and his look was so annoying.
Jiang Yu coughed lightly, trying to hide his embarrassment, and said in a muffled voice: "You... stop talking nonsense." In fact, he knew in his heart that what Cheng Jingzhu said was true, but for a moment he didn't know how to refute it.
Cheng Yuntao was too lazy to get involved in their fight, so she took matters into her own hands. She cut calamus leaves into swords, stalks of crickets into whips, and added peach branches and garlic bulbs, hanging them on the headboard and door. Cheng Yueli followed her, her eyes sparkling as she asked, "Sister, can these really drive away ghosts?" Cheng Yuntao touched her head and said, "This is a custom passed down from our ancestors. If you believe it, it works, if you don't, it doesn't. I just want to feel at ease."
"On May 5th, tie colorful silk on the arms. It's called the longevity thread, another name is the life-extending thread, another name is the war-avoiding thread, another name is the five-color thread, and another name is the red rope. It can ward off soldiers and ghosts and prevent people from getting plague." Cheng Yuntao explained as he tied colorful silk on everyone's arm.
After tying them all, she clapped her hands and said, "The Dragon Boat Festival customs are finally almost arranged. Now there is only one last thing left, which is..."
"Making zongzi!" everyone responded in unison.