At six thirty that evening, after dinner, the four of them and the cat headed out to set up the stall together.
Their destination was still the West River waterfront, which was bustling during the holiday.
Li Wanyin rode the little electric tricycle, Chen Shi'an rode his bicycle, and the two best friends walked.
When they reached a banyan tree, Li Wanyin stopped the vending cart and began setting up.
She had been running her stall for a while now. Although no one had ownership of any fixed spot, most vendors had their usual places. Aside from the busier areas, where more people competed for space, the stalls elsewhere stayed in fairly consistent locations.
Li Wanyin's usual spot was beneath this big banyan tree.
"Not selling sweet soup today, Xiao Li?" the barbecue vendor beside her asked curiously.
"That's right. I've switched to milk tea."
"Nice, you're upgrading your business! What kinds of milk tea do you have?"
"Four whole-leaf fresh milk teas and four fruit teas. They're all our stall's specialties."
"Oh? You can't get them anywhere else?"
"Nope!"
"Then I'll have to try them and see what they're about."
"Haha, thanks for your support, Brother Wu. Let me get the stall set up first-"
"You're here today too, Master Chen? You've been away these past few days, but your fans have still been waiting here every day!"
"Really?"
Chen Shi'an smiled at that. By now, whether he was there hardly mattered. Those traditional-culture enthusiasts among his fans had spontaneously formed their own little gathering. Like old men chatting in a park, they would come to the West River waterfront at this time every day, with dinner eaten and nothing to do, to talk with like-minded people.
It was rather like those authors' reader groups Little Cicada had mentioned.