jdhmnovel Chapter 347 Sacrifice
Chapter 347 Sacrifice
Li whispered, "Don't be afraid. We still have so many pine mushrooms at home. Pine mushroom stewed with meat and stir-fried with meat will make two dishes. The villagers didn't come empty-handed either. Each family brought something when they came. A cabbage, a radish, a bowl of dried pine mushrooms, and a few steamed buns. If you put these dishes together, you will have two more dishes. There are also smoked rabbit and smoked fish in the house, so there will be barely six dishes. Except for the meat, the villagers brought everything else."
This is how farmers eat at banquets. Those who have money give money, and those who don’t have money just bring some food, eggs, and meat, which is considered as their contribution.
However, the meal at the Zhou family's was special. It was a pig-killing dish, and half of the people in the village were invited. They didn't have to pay a contribution, but each family came with something. Since they lived in the same village, everyone knew the situation of each family.
Although the Zhou family can hunt and have a lot of meat, they also have many children. Look at them, all half-grown boys, one after another. If they were born in a family like theirs, I'm afraid all the children would not have enough to eat. When someone invites you to a meal for free, you can't go empty-handed. Even if it's the vegetables in the cellar, even if it's the pickled cabbage in the jar, taking a few handfuls would be considered a token of your thoughtfulness.
Even so, Zhou Xing was still very sad. Of the twenty or so smoked fish that were smoked in the autumn, only ten or so were left after they were eaten up. If they finished eating them, they would have to wait until the beginning of next spring if they wanted to eat fish again.
After Zhou Guo finished greeting the guests, he also came over to help. A shed was temporarily set up in the corner of the yard to serve as a makeshift kitchen. The house was too small and there was really no place for so many people to stand.
When Mrs. Li saw her coming, she rushed away, "What are you doing here? It's a mess here. Go somewhere else. You just changed your clothes and they are all greasy. Otherwise, you can wash them yourself later."
Zhou Guo saw that although everyone was busy, they were busy in an orderly manner. Some were cutting vegetables, washing dishes, washing vegetables, and helping out. It seemed that there was nothing for her to do, so she had to leave again.
After walking around for a long time without finding any work, I had to go into the house to find the old man.
But when I got in, I found that there were people in the room. Everyone was huddled on the warm kang and chatting. The old man always liked quietness, so he was definitely not in the room.
She walked around the house but couldn't find anyone.
I had no choice but to ask Zhou Xing, "Sister, isn't Master at home?"
Zhou Xing slapped his head and said, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, the master said he had a headache because of the noise, so he took a pot of wine and went into the mountains, and will be back for dinner."
Zhou Guo looked up at the sky, which was gloomy. "Going into the mountains at this time? What if it snows? Besides, isn't it said that it's hard to walk in the mountains? Why go into the mountains at this time? Wouldn't it be better to hide away and go fishing by the river? Don't you like fishing?"
Zhou Xing smiled bitterly, "That's what we told him, and your mother also warned him repeatedly, but you also know that Master is just like you, and he is very capable. Can I tie him up and prevent him from going? However, I think you don't have to worry too much. Master is so capable, nothing will happen."
Zhou Guo sighed. Why couldn't he stay idle at home? He always liked to run to the mountains.
Come to think of it, there is nothing else to do at home except lying on the kang and drinking tea. In autumn, you can go to the vegetable garden for a walk, but now there is not a single vegetable in the garden, so you can only go to the mountains out of boredom.
She wanted to wait until spring comes and then open up a few vegetable plots nearby, pick up the rocks, and dig some mud from elsewhere. Then she would hand the vegetable plots over to the old man to take care of, and then she would dig up some flowers from the mountains and plant them in the yard. With the black darling, it would be best if she could raise a bird. Then walking the dog, playing with the bird, raising flowers and planting vegetables every day shouldn't be boring, right?
Speaking of Heidadan, I haven't seen it for a long time, I guess it also followed me into the mountains.
Ever since this guy came to their house, he has followed her every time she goes into the mountains. Even if she doesn't go, he will follow her wherever the old man goes. It seems like he was born to live in the mountains, and he's becoming more and more like a hunting dog as he grows older.
With nothing to do, she had to sort out the things in the room brought by the villagers and put them in their proper categories.
After Zhou Guo finished packing, he followed his brothers to greet everyone, busying around adding tea and water to see if anything was missing.
After Zhou Dacang settled his brothers, he began to prepare the sacrificial items. After Li arranged the dishes, she assigned them to a few skilled women, while she freed up her hands to prepare pig heads and other meats, which would be used in the sacrifice later.
When everything was ready, Zhou Dacang and Zhou Gu carried incense, candles, and paper money, Zhou Mai and others carried fruits and wine, Zhou Guo held a pig's head, and the Li family and others carried dishes to the village entrance.
Wang Fugui and several members of his family also followed them. They also sent people to go buy incense, candles, and paper money. They also bought the things and cooked some food at home. Since they were going to offer sacrifices together, it would be more lively.
Cakes, wine and meat were laid out in several long rows, and incense sticks and candles were lit everywhere on both sides of the road. The candlelight flickered in the snow, but there was no sign of it going out.
Pieces of paper money were thrown into the fire, and each family began to call out to their family members.
Zhou Dacang shouted at the intersection, "Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Second Brother, the ancestors and descendants of the Zhou family have sent you money. Please take a few more steps and come to the village entrance to pick it up!"
Zhou Su quietly asked Zhou Guo, "Sister, why do we have to come to the village entrance to burn money for grandpa and grandma? Can't we just do it at the door of our house?"
"This..." Zhou Guo couldn't answer it. Yes, why does it have to be at the entrance of the village? Can't it be at the doorstep of home?
Li whispered, "Our ancestors have never been here. I'm afraid they can't find our home now. If we shout in the direction of our home at the entrance of the village, they will hear us. The mountains are high and the roads are long, so they can't go back. We can only trouble them to walk a little further."
Zhou Guo and Zhou Su nodded, not understanding why they could find the village entrance but not their home, and they didn't dare to ask more.
Piles of paper money illuminated the world red, and each family began to chatter to their ancestors about family matters, and finally did not forget to ask them to bless their family with prosperity, full granaries and huge fortunes in the coming year!
Zhou Guo listened to her mother's chattering about how good life was at home, how her younger uncle had joined the army and had become a sergeant in a short time, and how she wanted him to return safely from the battlefield and become a general in the future...
However, the smoke made her unable to open her eyes, so she had no choice but to change direction. However, the smoke seemed to have eyes and followed her wherever she went. Zhou Dacang was also affected and was not spared.
The two of them were so smoked that they burst into tears, but the others were fine.
Seeing this, Li smiled and said, "Don't be afraid, they like you and want to touch you."
Zhou Su couldn't help but ask, "Mom, why am I not being smoked? Don't grandpa and grandma like me anymore?"