Chapter 72: Red
"What? How long is left? You're temporarily repainting a dragon head?"
When Tan Chunying received the request from the organizer, she felt it was ridiculous. The dragon boat race was about to start, and the organizer suddenly said that they would add an interesting dragon boat performance segment. They would use the old hull but add a new dragon head, so it needed to be repainted.
"Oh..." The other party probably mentioned the price during the call, and Tan Chunying said cheerfully, "I'll hurry up and it should be fine. Just ship it over. What kind of head is it? A tiger head?"
Tan Chunying was very happy. Although it has not been open to the public for the past two years, their income has increased because the witch culture has returned to the public eye and even sparked some discussions, as well as the boost brought by the tourism industry.
"If you have graduated now, you can start a big business with mom, right? I'll wait for you for a few more years, and study hard..." When Tan Chunying was persuading him to study, the truck transporting the faucet had arrived, and the master took down the huge wooden box and left.
Tan Chunying took the tools and opened the wooden box, revealing the faucet inside.
Tan Chunying: “…………”
She slowly turned around and asked Tan Xiao: "This is a KaiX cat, right?"
Tan Xiao took a look and said, "Didn't you say tiger head? Doesn't the white embryo look more similar?"
Tan Chunying cursed and said, "Nonsense, the bow is still here, don't think I can't see it just because you smeared the color!"
Tan Xiao lowered his head and tried not to laugh.
The girl on the boat was so girlish that she had to have the "white tiger head". They were racking their brains. The problem with the organizer was easy to solve, but in terms of operation... let's put it this way, who would be held responsible if there was any infringement?
So Tan Xiao came up with a bad idea. He removed the only color of the white tiger, and slightly processed the back cover, and sent it to Tan Chunying as a white mold, and repainted it according to the colors of the dragon boat.
Tan Chunying called directly to confirm whether the goods were delivered to the wrong place. After knowing that it was not delivered to the wrong place, the other party asked her if there was any problem . She just paused for a moment and immediately said, "No problem."
Tan Xiao understood in his heart, he still knew his mother well.
"I'm telling you, this exhibition match must be because the sponsor's kids like it, or some charlatan figured it out, saying something like a cartoon cat head brings good luck." Tan Chunying thought of the reason for the other party without any surprise, "I don't know what generation the colleagues in the industry are from, how come they have so many creative ideas?"
Tan Chunying colored the "dragon head" in the old way... It was still white as the base, but the eyebrows and beard were repainted on top with the classic Dragon Boat Festival color scheme. At first glance, it really looked like a white tiger head. But when you look at the bow, you'll notice something is wrong.
Tan Xiao secretly took a photo and gave it to Mu Fei, asking her to show it to the boat girl. The boat girl was very satisfied. This was simply a combination of her classics and preferences.
The "white tiger head" was almost dry when the day of the Dragon Boat Race arrived.
Tan Xiao's original plan that day was to avoid tourists and stay at home, but now he had no choice but to rush to the crowded Nanxi River after finishing half a day's class.
Tan Xiao was traveling with several of his classmates. Besides him, there were also Lin Yang and several other classmates who wanted to watch the fun.
The scene was decorated with red and colorful decorations, and there were a large number of staff maintaining order. There were tourists on both sides of the river, and there were sightseeing boats on the river. There were incense tables and offerings on the dock. Tan Chunying was wearing a robe and waiting for the auspicious time to perform the ritual. The cameras of everyone from reporters to documentary crews were aimed at her.
Tan Xiao had other tasks today, but he didn't go in immediately because they saw Teacher Zhu.
"Teacher Zhu!" Lin Yang shouted loudly to Zhu Dayong in the crowd.
Zhu Dayong came in a wheelchair, with his wife and parents beside him.
I heard a few days ago that Teacher Zhu had woken up, but he had been lying in bed for so long that he was very weak and couldn't recover for a while. I didn't expect to meet him at the scene.
"Teacher Zhu, are you discharged from the hospital?" The classmates all crowded over and asked.
"Yes," Zhu Dayong was also very happy to see his students, "Thank you for your concern!" After he woke up, his mind was confused for a few days. He didn't quite remember how he fell and fainted, and he didn't remember what he did while wandering on the river.
Everyone asked Zhu Dayong a few questions of concern, and he answered them one by one.
When the master's wife saw Tan Xiao, she recognized him and said, "Little friend, it's you, Dayong, this classmate. He taught us how to summon spirits. We went to the riverside to call for spirits, and when we came back, you really woke up!"
Because it was such a coincidence, the master's wife thought that maybe traditional metaphysics really worked? Although she was not sure whether it was the soul that was called or the red envelope under the pillow, but when she recalled the look she had with Tan Xiao that day, she inexplicably wanted to believe it.
After Zhu Dayong woke up, he heard from his family members how the hospital rescued him - first of all, of course, he wanted to thank the doctors who treated him for his fall - and then they even used metaphysical methods when he remained unconscious, but he himself looked confused and just felt that he woke up suddenly.
Of course, Zhu Dayong knew Tan Xiao's family background. He smiled and said, "Tan Xiao, you came to see me."
"Well, Lin Yang and I both went there, and happened to talk about the old custom of summoning souls in Nanchu. I wish you wake up, teacher." Tan Xiao naturally knew what to say, and talked about the matter of summoning souls openly.
Zhu Dayong originally had a normal smile on his face, but when he heard Tan Xiao's voice again, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, as if he had heard this voice before in his sleep.
Just as I was stunned, the sound of drums suddenly rang out from the altar on the shore. The sound traveled so far that it could even be heard on the other side of the river. Tourists on both sides cheered, as this was the beginning of the dragon boat launching ceremony!
"Teacher Zhu, let's go over there and take a look! See you at school!"
Zhu Dayong couldn't help but cover his heart, he felt that the drum sound was particularly familiar. From a distance, he could vaguely see the Chu witch dancing with a mask on, as if deep in his memory, there was also a colorful mask talking to him.
He heard Kong Xuan say to Tan Xiao: "Are you going over now..."
That's strange.
Zhu Dayong felt that this voice also gave him a special sense of familiarity, not because they were his students, but... it was related to the river in front of him.
Although Tan Xiao covered his face and Zhu Dayong had forgotten what happened at that time, because he was in a spirit state, the consciousness hidden deep in his soul seemed to be more acute.
Zhu Dayong suddenly remembered that his colleagues came to visit him, mentioned the recent urban strange news, and also the circle of friends he posted before he fainted. He couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"What's wrong?" asked the wife.
"Nothing, I just felt that while I was unconscious, maybe my soul really fell to the riverside to watch the dragon boat race, and was called back by you and Tan Xiao, haha." Zhu Dayong touched his head and saw that his family members also laughed. He murmured, "Something that can be passed down for so long may really have a mystery that we have not been able to decipher..."
…
On the shore, dragon boats were being pulled to the shore. Tan Chunying burned incense and paper, holding a rooster in her hand, chanting a blessing, "Today, I ask the ancestors to show their power and spirit, and the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas to help. Let's offer a sacrifice to the bow of the boat for a good tooth gold..."
As firecrackers blasted, she threw all the offerings into the river.
The white mist rolled, and the ceremony was over. Next came the newly added performances. The MC held up the cue card and said, "Next, we invite the traditional white tiger boat of Nanchu to perform the traditional dragon boat show "Robbing Red" for us. The dragon boat team members are all from the 404 Cultural Research Office of the Nanchu Municipal Government, and the drummer is the spiritual master Tan Xiao, the inheritor of the Nanchu intangible cultural heritage."
——The boat girl wanted to lead the team to perform, but her team members were all ghosts, and there was one missing. She couldn't let the whole city see ghosts in broad daylight. But it was not easy to replace her crew members on the spot, as they had been practicing for so long.
So the last solution they came up with was for a member of Office 404 to act as a stand-in and let her teammates temporarily possess their bodies.
And because they were missing a team member, they finally adjusted the positions and asked Tan Xiao to take the drummer position, thus forming the dragon boat team that the audience sees today.
As soon as the dragon boat team came out, there was an uproar on both sides of the strait.
Even those netizens who were watching the event on TV and via live webcasts were frantically commenting on the comments in confusion. The cameras allowed them to see it more clearly than the live audience.
[…White tiger head? Why do I look like a cat head?]
[Hey, there's a bow on the head! 】
[How come tigers are not considered big cats? ]
[I saw an old friend in its face...]
Starting from the first person who saw through it, the truth spread farther and farther. No matter how you paint it, you can't cover up the fact that it really looks like the Dragon Boat Festival version of Kai X Cat!
This shocked foreign tourists and netizens, and the discussion level increased rapidly. More tourists entered the live broadcast room to appreciate the cat-head dragon boat.
[I've heard that the Dragon Boat Festival customs in Nanchu are unusual. There are dragon heads, phoenix heads, unicorn heads and tiger heads. I didn't expect there are also cat heads? ]
[I made a wish online for a X-shaped King Kong head, and named it Duan Tianwu. ]
[No, the organizer is trying to make trouble, right? Your traditional dragon boat has a cat head, hahahahahaha]
[It's amazing to see cats going into the water. Is this a special hobby of the organizer? ]
[I, the X-cat Sheriff, am not convinced! ]
[I also saw an acquaintance in the crowd! Isn't that Chu Wutan's younger brother? I didn't hear that he would be on stage before. Is there going to be a new stage? ]
[Compared to Chu Wu, the host said that the rowers were all from cultural research offices. I was more confused. Since it was a traditional dragon boat performance, I thought they would find some old rowers from the past? ]
The members of the dragon boat team, such as the boatman, should be experienced sailors who can work for a long time, but the rowers should be young and strong. However, since it is an exhibition match, many people think that the rowers should be old rowers who cannot participate in the competition.
If you find a group of office workers, even if they can tell you a hundred cultural meanings of dragon boat racing, what’s the use?
[I can't hold it anymore, so I asked a group of experts to help. Which of them gave some smart suggestions? I hope the boat won't capsize soon? 】
[Don't say that. What if they have practiced it before? ]
At this time, the crew members have all boarded the ship, the oars are neatly arranged, and "Rush for the Red" is about to begin.
The so-called "grabbing the red" was a major attraction of dragon boat races in the past, and the corresponding term is "shanging the red". During the race, in order to support their favorite boat team, the spectators would pull a piece of red cloth, wrap it with silver or prizes, and hang it on a bamboo pole. The dragon boat team would row hard to the shore, and the rowers would grab the red from the bamboo pole and hang it on their boat. If the red was given to the winning team alone, it would be "grabbing the red".
Most of the time, it is friends and family who support the dragon boat team and give them red gifts, making them covered in red. Now that the competition is standardized, everyone is trying to grab the small flag, and grabbing it means victory. Those who want to support the dragon boat team can directly donate money or prizes, so that the reward will eventually go to the winner.
But if you ask old Nanchu, this is not as exciting as the old days of grabbing red. Zhu Dayong heard from his grandfather that in the past, although the family was not well-off and could not afford to give too much reward money, they would still tear off a piece of red silk and wrap some cigarettes to show their support for the dragon boat team.
Accompanied by the drumbeats, the cat-head dragon boat rushed out like an arrow from a bow. Each "scholar sitting in the office" had a firm gaze and his movements were neat and swift. They did not look like performers without opponents, but rather like experienced rowers, which somewhat changed the views of the audience who were talking a lot.
Father Zhu on the shore even exclaimed, "Oh, it looks pretty impressive."
The exhibition match required rowing to the other side and back. After they left the shore, the camera was focused on a young man on the shore. He was seen holding up a long bamboo pole with a rolled-up red cloth wrapped on it. This was the red cloth that the dragon boat would grab.
"Isn't that Kong Xuan?" Lin Yang and other classmates recognized him immediately. "No wonder he came to join in the fun. He went to work for Xiaozi. I wonder if he got paid?"
Tan Chunying rubbed her hands and said, "Thank you, Xiao Kong. Auntie's hands are tired from playing the drums."
Kong Xuan: “…It’s okay.”
The dragon boat was moving so fast that while he was talking, Kong Xuan saw that Tan Xiao's boat had already crossed half of the river.
It was also at this time that the audience saw that the lifeboat on the opposite river was actually a large bamboo raft pushed from the shore into the river. It floated far away and blocked the dragon boat team's way across the river.
What is this, an obstacle course?
The young audiences were puzzled. Even dragon boat enthusiasts of Zhu Dayong’s age didn’t quite understand. Was this going to simulate a “cut in the middle” and have the fleet perform a sharp turn?
Only the old man of his father's age had his eyes brightened, "This, are they going to..."
Before he finished speaking, the cat-head dragon boat had already approached the bamboo raft. Tan Xiao beat the drum more and more urgently, and the rowers shouted slogans in unison. The oars moved very quickly, and with a sudden rush, the entire dragon boat flew over the bamboo raft which was several meters wide!
"Oh my god!" The spectators on the shore were excited. They didn't expect to see such a wonderful scene.
[I give up! The cuter the paint job, the faster it paddles in the water! So cool! ]
[My skin got goosebumps and my eyes almost popped out. I underestimated the office clerk! So did the dragon boat races in the past also have this? ]
Zhu Dayong felt inexplicably excited, as if he were in the same situation.
Father Zhu couldn't help but pat the armrest, "I haven't seen a flying boat in many years!"
Back then, the Nanxi River served as a transportation hub, with many raftsmen going downstream to Yunmengze to trade. Large bamboo rafts were often parked on the river bank, and this situation continued until a few decades ago.
In dragon boat races, racing straight across the water is fine, but if you race across the water, you will inevitably encounter bamboo rafts. If you are not good enough, you will have to take a detour, and if you are not quick to turn around, you will collide with the boat. If a dragon boat team can fly across the bamboo raft, it will surely be greeted with cheers from both sides of the strait, and it will still be discussed years or decades later.
Zhu's father never thought that he would see such a scene again, even with his own children and so many tourists. Thinking of the cheers in his memory, the Nanxi River in front of him seemed to have returned to its former appearance, making his eyes red and he clapped his hands vigorously.
The Maotou Dragon Boat Team proved with their flying bamboo raft that even if the dragon head hanging in front is funny and girly, they are indeed a traditional dragon boat team that cannot be more traditional! Fierce enough!
The dragon boat turned around on the other side, and the huge cheers when approaching the shore proved that they had changed the audience's impression in just two minutes. "Robbing the Red" needs a winner, but at this moment, they have no opponents, so they are the winners.
He rushed back, this time heading straight for the red mark.
The dragon boat was flying, and when it was near the shore, the rowers turned their paddles to slow down. Everyone thought it was the end and was breathing a sigh of relief, but then the boatman pushed with the bamboo pole, and unexpectedly, he jumped up and reached out to pick up the red cloth!
"ah--"
There were screams from the shore.
This exhibition match was really spot on!
But the boatman tried to snatch the red cloth in mid-air. The boatman touched the red cloth and took it down. After it fell on the shore, the long red cloth spread out, revealing four black ink words on it: See a boat, win a boat.
There was warm applause again.
The boatman clasped his fists towards the four directions and the rowers also raised their oars, using their bodies to enjoy the long-lost sounds of the human world.
The dragon boat swayed gently, and it seemed that the boat girl was also expressing her joy of getting what she wanted. All this made her feel that her existence was still meaningful.
At this moment, Kong Xuan shook the bamboo pole leisurely without letting go of his hand. Then someone discovered that there seemed to be something tied to the top of the pole. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a shiny medal.
The boatman touched the back of his head and said, "Huh?"
The rowers all laughed, thinking that the organizer was being naughty and secretly hung a medal inside the boat. He had already gotten off the boat.
Tan Xiao was in the middle of it and couldn't help but smile. He had an idea and beat the side drum, and everyone turned the boat sideways.
"Please help me." Tan Xiao's movements on the swaying boat were not as agile as the boatman. Two rowers supported him, and the boy stepped on his own drum.
"There are also entertainment programs." Lin Yang touched his chin on the shore: "Xiaozi, you won't have to jump up to get the red card, will you? It's so high."
But Kong Xuan was seen holding a bamboo pole and swinging it in front of Tan Xiao as if he was fishing. Originally, he was caught by Tan Chunying to do something, but now his eyes were full of interest and pride.
Tan Xiao didn't get the medal for a while, so he pointed at Kong Xuan and said, "You, you..."
The audience burst into laughter when they saw the interaction between the boys.
Tan Xiao stomped on the drum a few times, and the audience laughed even louder.
[He is angry. He is angry.]
[It’s so funny, it’s okay to make people stamp their feet in anger, I’m touched by its cuteness]
[It’s over. I feel like the little Chu witch is angry. She’s going to cast a spell in the next second! Manual dog head.jpg]
[These two seem to know each other, right? ]
[Of course I know him, otherwise why would we play like this? Isn’t the guy on the shore Xiao Chuwu’s classmate? He even assisted him in a performance.]
[…I don’t know if this is appropriate, they look like a young couple, who knows! ]
But the next second, several rowers put down their oars and lifted the drum from all sides, lifting him up with the drum. It turned out that the boy's action was not stamping his feet in anger, but clearly stepping on the drum to pass on a message!
Tan Xiao's body suddenly rose up, and Kong Xuan only felt that the other end of the long bamboo pole in his hand was held by him, with a slight pulling force. As Tan Xiao took the medal, the bamboo pole bounced back slightly, leaving nothing.
Tan Xiao jumped off the drum clutching his medal and was supported by the rowers. They all lifted it up to show the audience . Amid the noisy crowd, he looked up with a smile, sparkling in the sun.
Kong Xuan was holding the bamboo pole in a daze, and he felt that there was something else, which was also gently pulled along the bamboo pole and completely snatched away.
