EBE Chapter 386 Ancestral Worship at the Ancestral Hall, the Festive Atmosphere Grows Stronger
Chapter 386 Ancestral Worship at the Ancestral Hall, the Festive Atmosphere Grows Stronger
"Look at those two uncles, they have an extraordinary air about them, could they be officials?"
“Aji is a lucky boy, to be able to make such an amazing friend while working on a ship.”
Aji felt his face burning as he listened to these words.
"Uncle Zhang, you don't need to worry about these things. The villagers are just curious."
Yun Dan smiled and said without minding, "It's alright, it's more fun when it's lively."
For the next two days, Yun Dan spent her time playing with a group of children in the village.
He would take some time to go into the mountains to find medicinal herbs needed to treat Takada's foot.
Yun Dan looked at the medicinal herbs she had found with slight regret.
No problem, let's get Brother Gao's body in good shape first, then everything will go smoothly.
She took out some flour and several large pieces of wild meat from her spatial storage.
They then took out some brown sugar and red dates and piled them on the stove in Takada's house, leaving Takada and his three children dumbfounded.
Takada was sweating profusely when he saw her take out so many valuable items.
“Miss Yundan, this…this is far too precious.”
Yun Dan smiled and said, "These are for you to nourish your bodies."
"And it's almost Chinese New Year! We need to eat well so you can recover before I can treat your leg."
She took out more than ten pieces of clothing that she wore when she was around ten years old and gave them to the children in the village.
A group of children happily twirled around in the yard, holding their new clothes.
Da Mo and Xiao Ya touched the hem of their clothes, reluctant to get them dirty.
Seeing all this, Takada's eyes were red. He pulled Aji and said, "Luji, you must repay Yundan properly in the future."
Aji nodded emphatically: "I know, Father."
Yundan also noticed that most of the children in the village were pale and thin, so she asked Aji to buy dozens of kilograms of fatty meat in town and deliver two kilograms to each household.
The villagers who received the meat were extremely grateful.
The village chief led the villagers to the Gao family's house and expressed his gratitude to Yun Dan.
"This girl is a true bodhisattva; she even gave our village so much meat."
The children were even more excited, surrounding Yun Dan and calling her "sister," running around behind her.
Yun Dan was harassed by them to no avail.
In the end, they had no choice but to take a group of children to play on the hillside behind the village.
Teach them to sing modern children's songs and tell them stories from the outside world.
On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, the village of Polin was filled with the festive atmosphere of the New Year.
Every household is sweeping their yard and putting up Spring Festival couplets (although they are just simple auspicious words written on red paper).
The children took the one or two coins given to them by their parents and ran to the peddler at the village entrance to buy candy.
On New Year's Eve, before dawn, the sounds of people working could be heard from every household in the village.
Takada also got up early and busied himself in the yard, leaning on his cane.
Aji helped chop firewood, while Xiaobao led his sisters in putting up Spring Festival couplets.
Those Spring Festival couplets were written by Leng Xiyue.
The calligraphy is magnificent, with strong and vigorous strokes, profound and powerful, and elegant and refined.
It's nothing like the books that villagers used to have written by a teacher in town every year.
This year, Polin Village is more vibrant than in previous years.
Xiao Bao stood on tiptoe and stuck the Spring Festival couplets onto the door frame: "Sister Yun Dan, do you think I pasted them straight?"
Yun Dan smiled and helped him straighten up: "Straight! Xiao Bao is so capable."
Leng Xiyue wasn't idle either; he helped Gao Tian kill chickens.
After Yun Dan finished putting up the couplets, she wandered around the kitchen.
She watched as Aji busied himself at the stove preparing various offerings for the ancestral worship.
In the morning, the villagers were preparing offerings for their ancestors.
Polin Village is located by the sea, and fish is an essential part of the tribute offerings, including both cured dried sea fish and fresh sea shrimp.
There are also homemade steamed flatbreads, dotted with red dots, which look festive;
Those from wealthier families would serve a large bowl of fatty meat, glistening with oil, making the children's mouths water.
The offerings from Aji's family were prepared by Yundan: a plate of steamed fish, a bowl of lean meat, fruit brought from the Abyss of Extremes, and some candy.
Takada's eyes reddened again as he looked at these things.
"I've never presented such a dignified offering in my entire life."
In the afternoon, the ancestral hall in Polin Village became lively.
The ancestral hall is the only tiled house in the village. Although it is somewhat dilapidated, with several broken roof tiles and a crack in the wall, it is kept very clean.
Two red lanterns, made of red paper, hung at the entrance, swaying precariously in the wind.
The ancestral hall contains ten old red eight-immortal tables, collected from various families. They are of different styles, but all are polished to a shine.
More than twenty children were running around and playing in the ancestral hall.
Yun Dan and the other two had already been invited to the ancestral hall by the village chief.
The three sat on an octagonal table placed against the wall inside the ancestral hall, drinking tea.
Yun Dan looked at the ancestral tablets hanging on the inner wall of the ancestral hall.
I suddenly remembered what I saw last night.
Every household in the village donated money to the ancestral hall, some donating several hundred coins and others fifty coins.
This money was donated to cover all the expenses for village ancestral worship.
On a whim, she took out fifty taels of silver from her spatial storage and handed it to Old Man Gao.
“Village chief, let’s use this money to repair the ancestral hall. Look at this roof, it’s going to leak when spring comes.”
Old Gao looked at the heavy silver coins on the table.
His hands trembled uncontrollably.
"Miss, this is too much! Fifty taels could rebuild the ancestral hall!"
The surrounding villagers were also stunned, and a buzz of discussion arose.
"Good heavens, fifty taels!"
"Is this girl a descendant of the God of Wealth?"
Yun Dan laughed and said, "Make sure it's sturdy enough so it doesn't get blown down by a typhoon."
Old Gao nodded repeatedly and bowed to the ancestral tablets.
"Thanks to our ancestors, our Polin Village has met a benefactor!"
The ancestral worship ceremony has begun.
The men of each household carried offerings and lined up according to seniority, with the women and children following behind.
First, the village chief lights incense and candles and places them in the incense burner.
Then he led everyone to kowtow before the memorial tablet.
"May our ancestors bless us with favorable weather and safe voyages in the coming year..."
"May our ancestors bless our child with good health and happiness, and that we may earn more money..."
Prayers rose and fell from house to house, and children were made to kowtow by adults.
Some were still secretly looking at the offerings on the table, drool dripping from their mouths.
Yun Dan felt a warm feeling in her heart as she watched this scene.
She thought of the modern Spring Festival, which, although lively, lacked this simple and sincere devotion.
Leng Xiyue and Zhang Sanfeng also watched intently.
Leng Xiyue said in a low voice, "This kind of ceremony is much more interesting than the formalities in the city."
Zhang Sanfeng nodded: "Sincerity is the key; it's not about pomp and circumstance."
After the first incense offering, the adults gathered in a corner of the ancestral hall to drink tea and chat, discussing their plans for the coming year.
Some said they wanted to catch more fish, while others said they wanted to plant some new crops.
Takada then told the old men, "Once my leg heals, I'll go to town and find some work. I'll tell Luji to stop running the boat; it's too dangerous."
The children ran outside the ancestral hall and continued chasing and playing.
Yun Dan was pulled along by Xiao Bao, who taught them to play "Eagle Catches Chickens".
She plays the mother hen, and Xiao Bao plays the eagle.
A group of children ran after them, their laughter echoing throughout the village.
Half an hour later, the second incense offering began.
This time, it was the women from each family who stepped forward to add incense and candles and arrange the offerings.