In the evening, our family sat around the kitchen steps, and my mother prepared home-cooked dishes for us. It was summer and a warm wind was flowing in the air. My father was shirtless and looked very cool. Every day when we were eating, it was the most relaxing time for the family. Now when we think about it, we can never find that comfortable feeling again.

My father is a relatively talkative person and talks endlessly at the dinner table. He talks about national affairs, astronomy and geography, catching turtles from the five oceans, and experiencing the sky into the sea. In short, my father was our learning machine when we were young.

After dinner, my father looked at the sky thoughtfully. We were also bored at the blue starry sky. In our hometown, the sky was particularly blue. There was no blue cloud, just like a clean blue cloth. At that time, my house had no electricity, so there was no need to rush to watch the show. The way we had a leisure time after dinner was extremely simple, just look up at the sky and imagined it.

My father asked me and my brother: "Do you know what the star in the sky is called?"

I looked in the direction of my father's finger and saw a starry sky. It was not just a star, it was obviously a star in the night sky.

"Dad, which star are you talking about?" I asked.

In contrast, my younger brother seemed a little more monkey-like. He said tenderly: "Dad, I saw the star you mentioned." My mother smiled knowingly. I am sure that my younger brother did not see that star.

My father patiently told me the position of the star, and I raised my head and screened it repeatedly in the starry sky.

"Look! There is a big star in the middle and two small stars on both sides." The father added.

I found the star, pointed at it in surprise and said to my father: "Dad, I saw it, I saw it! That's that!" My father blinked his eyes as if he was brewing a rich story.

"That star is Ark of Hell!" My father told us.

I asked curiously: "Dad, who is Cowherd? What is he doing?"

This simple question seemed to stump my father. My father was silent for a while and then said, "The Cowherd is a farmer."

I seemed to understand, and I clicked a little.

"The two little stars on both sides of Arkantha are his two dolls. Do you think they look like an adult, carrying two dolls?"

The mother said indirectly, "It's true, one adult and two little babies." The mother read a few books, and probably she didn't know what stars were in the sky. Only after her father said this could she have some insights.

"Dad, why did the Cowherd carry two dolls in the sky?" asked the younger brother. He saw his parents a little cute on his innocent face. His father smiled, which was a kind smile.

At this time, my thoughts had already flown to the distance. I seemed to see a man named Niu Lang floating in the sky, carrying two of his own children in the bamboo baskets on both sides.

My father continued to tell: "Did you see the misty thing in the middle?"

In order not to let my father be disappointed with my IQ, I pretended to nod and waited for my father to continue to tell.

"That's Tianhe!" the father continued.

My mother laughed funnyly and went to pack up the leftovers on the table. My brother fell into a state of confusion at this time. I asked my father for my brother: "Dad, is there a river in the sky?"

The father said, "Not before, but it has happened since the Queen Mother got angry."

"Ah? What is Queen Mother doing? Why is she angry?" I asked quickly.

"The Queen Mother is the one who is in charge of the heavenly court. Because the Weaver Girl is her daughter, the Weaver Girl fell in love with the Cowherd on earth, married the Cowherd and gave birth to a child. When the Queen Mother found out, she got angry and drew a river in anger, so that the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl could not meet." The father might be afraid that his story would be interrupted again, so he finished the general plot of the story in one breath.

My brother and I were completely intoxicated in this story. My brother didn't say a word, but just looked at the stars in the sky quietly, thinking about something, if not thinking about anything.

There were a few more pictures in my mind. In the vast river of heaven, the river water rolled, and the Weaver Girl was crying all day long, looking at the husband and children opposite her, far away in the sky and near in front of her, but she couldn't meet. She instantly felt that the Queen Mother was so heartless, why couldn't they meet?

"Dad, Queen Mother is too bad, can't they let them meet? Don't those two dolls cry?" I was completely trapped in the plot and couldn't extricate myself, so I asked my father anxiously.

The father said slowly: "The Queen Mother finally couldn't bear it, so she set a time to see her once a year."

My brother and I instantly got better. I said happily: "That's okay. This Queen Mother is still a good person. I thought they would never meet again!"

The younger brother asked his father: "Dad, dad, when did they meet?"

My father continued to tell us like a scholar who was full of knowledge: "On July 7th every year, they will meet, and then all the sparrows will fly to the sky and build a magpie bridge for them."

"Ah? Will the bridge built by the sparrow collapse? What if it falls down?" I asked my father worriedly.

My father smiled and said to me, "They will not live in heaven, so they will not collapse."

My mother asked us to go back to the house to sleep at this time. My brother and I pretended not to hear it, but were still immersed in various questions.

"Dad, do you think the sparrow really can make a bridge?" I asked in disbelief.

"Well, it is said that I will really go. After July 7th, the sparrow's feathers were messy, and that was they trampled on!" said the father seriously.

After my father finished speaking, I agreed that this is the true fact. My younger brother was completely silent. He might think that this story is too beautiful and does not require too many languages.

It turned out that the story was not over yet, and the father continued, "On the night of July 7, if you hid under the mulberry tree, you will hear their whispers!"

My brother and I widened our eyes in surprise.

"Dad, are you saying true?" The two of us brothers asked in unison.

"You brothers can go and listen!" said the father seriously.

But, where are there mulberry trees?

Yes, the fourth uncle of the Cui family has it, but it is a bit far away.

"Dad, can you hear it under our peach tree?" I made some adjustments and asked my father.

"It should be fine," the father replied.

After a long time, I finally waited for July 7th. My father would not think about why we chased him every day.

After it got dark, my brother and I quietly ran to the peach tree behind the house, squatting under the peach tree, quietly waiting for the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl to meet. We did not dare to speak, worried that the Cowherd would notice it. However, after waiting for a long time, we didn't even hear a word.

We both returned to the house in disappointment.

"Where did you two go? You told you not to agree for a long time." Mother asked.

"We went to listen to the whispers between the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl!" We honestly explained the question.

My father smiled happily, laughing so hard that he couldn't stop. My brother and I looked at my father with a confused look on our faces until we finished laughing.
Chapter completed!