Humans truly are social creatures. Wherever people gather, passersby are bound to stop and join in soon enough.
A circle of onlookers forms quickly.
Today was no exception. First, a dating couple approached. Jiang Qingning walked over with a smile. “Brother, win a doll for your girlfriend! If you’re lucky, you might even get a hundred yuan! Just yesterday afternoon, an uncle won a hundred yuan!”
“A hundred yuan! Really?” The young man was clearly skeptical.
“Of course it’s true! My teacher says good children don’t lie,” Jiang Qingning said, pointing to Huang Guoqing selling candied haws nearby. “If you don’t believe me, you can ask that uncle. He saw it yesterday too.”
Seeing her sincerity, the man was half-convinced. “How much for one try?”
“Two yuan for ten throws.” Jiang Qingning held up two fingers.
The woman beside him smiled. “Little sister, can you make it cheaper?”
Jiang Qingning shook her head. “Everyone pays the same price, sister. Think about it—if you win the hundred yuan, how many two-yuan games would I have to sell just to break even? This is a small business; I can’t lower the price.”
“But I can give you two extra rings. Sister, think about it. Even if you don’t win money, winning some toys is nice too. See that little plush dog? Isn’t it cute?”
Noticing the woman had glanced at the dog several times, Jiang Qingning specifically mentioned it.
Sure enough, the woman nodded. “It is cute.”
Jiang Qingning continued her pitch. “If you win it, sister, you can take it home.”
The woman laughed. “Alright, I’ll give it a try. Let me have two yuan’s worth first.” She started reaching for money.
The man gritted his teeth and quickly pulled out two yuan. “I’ll pay. Give us twelve rings.”
“Great!” Jiang Qingning took the money and quickly counted out twelve rings. “Here you go. Good luck!”
With these two playing, several other dating couples nearby were immediately drawn over. Once they were here and saw others playing, how could they not spend money for a try themselves?
They had come out specifically for a date today. The young men were mentally prepared to spend money—either on snacks or a movie.
Spending money on ring toss? With good luck, they might even win a hundred yuan.
But ideals are beautiful; reality is harsh.
The man was a bit uncoordinated. After twelve throws, he hadn’t won anything. His expression soured. “These things are placed too far, and the rings are so small. It’s impossible to win. It’s a scam.”
Jiang Qingning didn’t reply, just bent down to collect the rings from the ground, rolling her eyes internally.
From the crowd of onlookers, a young man with a crew cut, wearing an army-green cotton-padded jacket, stepped forward. He asked clearly, “Little girl, how much for a try?”
“Two yuan for ten rings, and I’ll give you two extra.”
“Alright, give me two yuan’s worth. Let me test my hand.”
This guy had some skill. After getting the rings, he threw a few to get a feel, then grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. His next ring landed perfectly around the golden plush dog.
“Wow, he’s good!”
“He won so quickly! Seems it’s not that hard after all.”
“Young folks with long arms and legs have an advantage.”
A small wave of cheers erupted from the crowd.
Jiang Qingning kept a smile on her face as she walked over to pick up the won plush toy, but inwardly she tensed up. This was only the man’s sixth throw. He’s a pro.
“Brother, you’re so lucky! This little dog was a gift from my aunt. I really liked it.” Jiang Qingning looked up, holding the toy out with both hands.
The crew-cut young man bent slightly to look at Jiang Qingning, smiling. “Then I feel a bit bad. I’m taking something you like.”
Jiang Qingning looked at the toy in her hand, a trace of reluctance flashing across her face, then forced a bright smile. “It’s okay, brother. I need to run my business to make money. Since you won the dog, it’s yours now.”
The crew-cut young man smiled as he took it. “Thanks, little sister.”
He still had six rings left. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—he threw them quickly but didn’t win anything else.
The crew-cut guy shrugged nonchalantly, then walked back to where he’d been standing. He handed the toy dog to the long-haired woman he’d come with. “Here, for you. Take it home to play with.”
The woman, wearing a cashmere coat, shivered in the wind, hugging herself. She didn’t take it. “What would I do with that? Why didn’t you keep playing? You seemed pretty good at it earlier. Maybe you could have won the hundred yuan next time. Even if not a hundred, a fifty would be good too.”
The crew-cut guy shrugged. “It’s not easy for a kid to set up a stall in the dead of winter. Winning this already probably put her in the red. No need to make things harder for her.”
“Hmph, as if you really could have won it,” the woman rolled her eyes, stomped her foot from the cold, and said irritably, “Let’s go. There’s nothing fun here anyway.”
“We agreed to come ice-skating today. Why did you wear so little? You can’t handle the wind at all.”
“This is pure cashmere, it’s plenty warm. Who said I’m cold?” The woman patted her coat, glanced at the man’s padded jacket, and curled her lip. “What you’re wearing is so tacky.”
The crew-cut guy raised an eyebrow. “If you’re not cold, then let’s wait a bit longer. I brought my ice skates. I plan to skate a few good laps today.”
“You…” The woman glared at him, angry. “If you won’t leave, I’ll go myself. You can stay here and play to your heart’s content!”
With that, she stomped her foot, turned, and walked away.
Back at the stall, the man from the first couple, seeing the crew-cut young man easily win the dog, looked displeased.
“His rings must have been easier.”
The woman he was on the date with felt a bit exasperated. “Weren’t they the same rings? How could they be different?” As she spoke, she also took out two yuan to play.
The golden puppy she’d wanted most had just been won by that other guy. She settled for aiming at another white dog.
Unfortunately, after throwing twelve rings, she didn’t win a single thing.
“See? I told you. There’s something wrong with these rings. You can’t win. It’s all a scam,” the man spoke up again.
The woman frowned, but before she could say anything, Jiang Qingning’s clear voice rang out. “Uncle, I’m not scamming anyone! That brother just won the puppy this sister wanted!”
The man sneered. “Hmph, who knows if you’re not in cahoots?”
Jiang Qingning was unhappy. “Uncle, how can you accuse people without proof? It’s clearly because your own skill isn’t good enough that you didn’t win.”
The man felt his pride wounded. He took a step forward, gritting his teeth. “Who are you saying isn’t good enough? I don’t care. Give me my money back right now.”
“Hey, what’s going on here?” Jiang Liye walked over, gave the man a shove, and positioned himself in front of Jiang Qingning. He looked down at the man, his tone unfriendly. “Buddy, what, trying to cause trouble? Which ‘gang’ are you from?”
Seeing Jiang Liye’s tall, sturdy build and somewhat rough-around-the-edges appearance, the man’s bravado instantly deflated. He mumbled, “Who’s causing trouble? I… I was just saying, just talking.”
The woman beside him looked somewhat embarrassed and spoke up. “Um, boss, don’t misunderstand. He was just complaining a bit. He didn’t mean it.”
So annoying. I shouldn’t have agreed to Third Aunt’s matchmaking to meet this ‘outstanding’ young man today.
Jiang Liye didn’t press further. “We’re just trying to make a small living. It’s not easy. Don’t go making unfounded accusations.”
“Ah, understood. Really sorry about that,” the woman smiled awkwardly and urged the man to leave.
After walking a few steps away, the man, who had been glowering, spoke up with dissatisfaction. “Why did you apologize to him just now? I’m telling you, there’s definitely something fishy going on.”
“Enough already, will you ever stop? Why don’t you go back and tell him that yourself?” The woman impatiently cut him off.
The man, angry, pointed at her. “What’s with your attitude?! Weren’t you the one who wanted that stupid dog, which is why I paid?!”
“Wow, so now it’s all my fault, is it?” The woman didn’t indulge him either. “It’s just two yuan. What’s with all the whining? Are you a man or not?”
“It’s not about the money!” the man stomped his foot for emphasis.
“Hmph, is that so? Then go back and argue with the boss. If he decides to hit you, I won’t be stopping him this time.”
“You… you’re impossible to reason with!” The man turned and stormed off in a huff.
Watching his retreating figure, the woman muttered under her breath, “What kind of person is that… I must have been cursed for eight lifetimes to go on a date with someone like that today…”
“Hey, you can have this dog.” A cheerful male voice from above interrupted her grumbling.
The crew-cut guy, having watched the whole scene, walked up to the woman and casually handed her the toy.
“For me?”
“Yeah, I have no use for this. I heard you liked it, so here you go.”
The woman didn’t take it immediately, instead looking at the man with a curious gaze.
“Ahem, I wasn’t intentionally eavesdropping. Your voices just drifted over to my ears earlier,” the crew-cut guy said, grinning to show his white teeth. “My hearing is especially sharp.”
The woman also smiled, took the toy dog, and said frankly, “Well then, thank you.”
“So, um, do you want to go ice-skating? I brought skates. My friend left early.”
“Sure, I haven’t skated in a while.”
And so, the two of them went off to skate together.
Two people who had both failed their respective dates ended up paired together by a twist of fate.
Meanwhile, Jiang Qingning didn’t dwell on the earlier minor incident and continued cheerfully serving customers.
Around 9:30, many more children appeared on the ice, probably all sneaking out behind their parents’ backs, just like Jiang Qingning and Su Yuanjie had done yesterday.
These kids were here to ice-skate and buy snacks. Their first stop was the neighboring candied haw stall. The new tangerine candied haws were getting great feedback and were very popular with the children.
“Hey, what’s that big crowd doing over there?” a child asked curiously.
“You don’t know? They’re playing ring toss.”
“Ring toss? I played that last year! My dad won a bowl to take home!”
“I played too! My dad didn’t win anything, and my mom scolded him.”
“Come on, let’s go see!”
“Yeah, okay!” The kids chimed in together, holding their candied haws as they ran over.