Author: quiet thoughts

Seeing the smiles of Torataro and Kashiwagi, as well as the approaching noise, Shirakawa Kaede knew that these two people had prepared some tricks for themselves.

Soon the drumming became clearer and clearer, followed by a long team.

The leader was the village chief Fujiyama, who was wearing traditional kimono, and a palace priest who presided over the village shrine.

Behind them were the "raw ghosts" who wore various evil masks and performed unknown dances. Finally, there was the sacrificial team with white towels on their heads, standing on the carts and beating taiko drums vigorously.

Just when Bai Chuanfeng showed surprise, Village Chief Fujiyama had already stepped forward with a wine glass.

"Please drink this cup to the full."

He saw the other party's serious expression and the increasingly exciting drumming in the team.

Although Bai Chuanfeng didn't understand what kind of ceremony this was, he still nodded and drank the wine glass in one gulp.

The moment he picked up the wine glass, Gongji, who was holding a pine branch next to him, was murmuring something while sweeping back and forth around Shirakawa Kaede.

After finishing a glass of wine, the atmosphere in the team became more and more lively, accompanied by the shouts of the men.

After the priest in the shrine finished praying, he placed his pine branches horizontally and held them up to Shirakawa Kaede.

The latter glanced at the team. Everyone's eyes were eager. Village Chief Fujiyama nodded slightly.

So Bai Chuanfeng no longer hesitated, took the pine branch with both hands, held it up, and showed it around.

The crowd then burst into enthusiastic cheers, the rhythm of the "raw ghost" dance became faster and faster, and the "dong dong" drum sound became more urgent.

Until a certain moment, with a heavy "dong", all the sounds suddenly stopped.

"Oh~!" After a chorus of cheers, everyone burst into laughter.

"Xiao Feng, welcome back~"

"Xiao Feng, you are Xiaolu's hero!"

Faced with the enthusiastic greetings from the uncles in the same village, Bai Chuanfeng could only keep nodding and greeting everyone.

The noisy scene made the originally neat team a little scattered, so the village chief Fujiyama turned his head and shouted loudly.

"Okay, don't make any noise, the festival isn't over yet."

The village chief's words still had some effect, and the lively scene finally cooled down a little.

Taking advantage of this time, Shirakawa Kaede also had time to chat with Fujiyama.

"Uncle Fujiyama, is there something wrong with this?"

Shirakawa Kaede held up the pine branch in his hand, and the village chief personally led the team, and the shrine's palace minister personally presided over it. This was not a treatment that ordinary people could get.

Pine branches in neon represent longevity and health. On such solemn occasions, they are usually only given to elders with high status.

There was also the first glass of wine that the ghost had prayed for, all of which were dedicated to him for the next year, which made Shirakawa Kaede think it was too much.

"Xiao Feng, don't worry, this is Xiao Lu's gratitude to you." Tengshan knew what Bai Chuan Feng was worried about.

But everything today was discussed in advance, and no one objected, except his parents.

With everything Bai Chuanfeng has done for Xiaolu, gathering everyone's hearts to pray for him is already the most sincere return gift they can give.

"Xiao Feng, you haven't seen what Xiaolu looks like now. Come on, let me show you what Xiaolu looks like now."

After that, Fujiyama waved his hand, and the sacrificial team gradually began to turn their heads, and Shirakawa Kaede was crowded at the front of the team.

Seeing the expectant looks in everyone's eyes, he did not delay and nodded with Torataro and the others.

They found their parents among the crowd of onlookers, and after looking at each other to reassure each other, Shirakawa Fengcai and Fujiyama walked towards Xiaolu Village.

Kazuko and Shirakawa Hayato, dressed in gorgeous clothes, were both excited and proud as they watched Shirakawa Kaede's back gradually disappear.

"Hezi, Xiaofeng is becoming more and more like you. Just like you did when you were young, with a bit of aristocratic bearing."

Seeing his son being supported by everyone, Shirakawa Hayato couldn't help but sigh.

"Pfft" Hearing her husband's emotion, Kazuko couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"What a nobleman, just a man in trouble."

It seems to recall the scene when the two met for the first time, a dirty lady with a cute expression, and a young mountain man with a hunting bow on his back but a simple and honest expression.

Not to mention all the ridiculous things, more than twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Kazuko and Shirakawa Hayato looked at each other, and then smiled in unison.

Time flies so fast, Xiaofeng has grown so big.

Shirakawa Kaede, who was already quite magnanimous in the eyes of Shirakawa Hayato, was now carefully looking at this small mountain village in his memory.

However, it is a pity that the changes in Xiaolu today are almost no longer similar to those in the past.

The unique Japanese-style wooden houses slowly extend along the stone road in front of you to the foot of the mountain in the distance.

The heavy snow has cleared, and the roofs and treetops in the dense forest are all covered with a layer of fluffy white snow.

At dusk, the snow lanterns placed on both sides of the wooden house and the stone road give Shirakawa Kaede the illusion of being in a snow country wonderland.

The Xiaolu in front of us can no longer be regarded as a small village in the mountains, but more like an ancient street from the Edo period.

Yes, that's right, it's a street.

Various signboards such as taverns, restaurants, handicraft shops, and specialty shops are erected on both sides of this street.

Although the banners are of different colors and the billboards are scattered high and low, they have a unique atmosphere of life.

At this moment, in addition to the villagers from this village, there were also many tourists who looked like they were from other villages. They were pointing at Shirakawa Kaede at the front of the team.

The little deer is really surprising.

In the Japanese-style wooden houses, Shirakawa Kaede even saw more Western-style cafes and restaurants.

At this moment, he had countless curious questions in his mind and wanted to communicate with Fujiyama next to him.

But when I looked up and saw the unique courtyards at the foot of the mountain not far away, as well as the steaming springs, I already had a vague answer in my heart.

"Xiao Feng, the little deer now is far from the little deer back then.

The name ‘Hachimantai Hot Spring Village’ may be more familiar to outsiders.”

Fujiyama seemed to see Shirakawa Kaede's doubts, and explained it very thoughtfully.

From his face, Bai Chuanfeng saw pride, emotion, and a sense of the vicissitudes of the changing world.

Because of the noisy crowd, Bai Chuanfeng didn't rush to ask about the reason for the deer's transformation.

Surrounded by the crowd, he walked from the street to the original shrine in the village.

This place has also been renovated, and now it looks even more ancient and mysterious under the flickering lights.

Under the guidance of the Palace Secretary, Shirakawa Kaede also lit a stick of incense in an orderly manner and completed the last part of the festival. The New Year Festival finally came to an end.

After saying hello to the uncles and uncles in the village, Shirakawa Kaede was brought to a courtyard by Fujiyama.

The brand-new bedroom and the exquisite carvings and decorations all reveal the extraordinaryness of this place.

Pushing open the paper sliding door, the warm spring-like temperature in the room also made Bai Chuanfeng relax a lot.

"Uncle Fujiyama, is this what Xiaolu will look like after his transformation?"

As soon as he sat down on the tatami, Bai Chuanfeng couldn't wait to ask.

Teng Shang poured him a cup of tea with a smile, put down the ancient teapot, and then nodded.

"Yes, this is what Xiaolu looks like after his transformation.

This is what Xiaolu looks like now after transforming Xiaolu into a resort according to your original request, Xiaofeng."

Bai Chuanfeng held the tea cup and remained silent for a long time.

After a while, he nodded with emotion, "To be honest, this has exceeded my expectations."

He really wanted to build Xiaolu into a hot spring resort, and he had this plan when Xiaolu was preparing to rebuild after a disaster.

Instead of repairing and repairing those old wooden houses, it is better to tear them down and rebuild them according to the specifications of the resort.

By the way, it was developed together with the nearby hot springs, forming an ancient hot spring town.

However, the design of the resort cannot be left to Xiaolu villagers' free will, which requires professional project designers.

So with the intention of leaving the two masters alone, Bai Chuanfeng found Qingshui Construction, which he had cooperated with once.

Although the other party is a construction company, it has cooperative relationships with many famous designers and design teams.

So under the entrustment of Qingshui Construction, the designers conducted a thorough on-site inspection of Xiaolu.

They created a complete set of reconstruction plans tailored for Xiaolu based on the local customs, climate and geographical environment.

From villagers' residences to hot springs, transportation, streets, attractions and other details, all are included.

Shirakawa Kaede, who was once far away in Tokyo, also saw the design drawings, but he could not infer what the built Fawn would look like based on the drawings.

So without thinking, I approved more than 300 million yen of funds with a wave of my hand, specifically for Xiaolu's reconstruction.

Later, during occasional phone calls at home, my mother kept lamenting the great changes in the little deer.
To be continued...