Zhang Yongsheng took a big bite of his elbow and said with a smile: "I think they are quite happy, unlike in the city where drinking is mixed with water. Although the wine is not very good, it is indeed real food wine, which is not easy. Up. Someone in the next county held a banquet and bought fake wine at a cheap price, and several people died."
Zhang Xuewen sighed and said: "The world is deteriorating, there is nothing we can do. Only in our poor and remote country, the villagers still have a sense of simplicity. In fact, many people in the town who have returned from working have become slippery."
While the three of them were chatting, Wu Chunlei came over with a few more brothers. Everyone made toasts and it became lively again. Zhang Yongsheng was afraid that Zhang Xuewen wouldn't be able to handle it, so he was ready to help him with the wine, but Wu Qiuyue took over. Wu Qiuyue has been in sales for a long time and has a good capacity for drinking. She can drink this amount of wine easily.
The banquet lasted for more than two hours before it ended. Relatives and friends bid farewell to the host and left the Wu family one after another. Zhang Yongsheng and the others were the last to leave. Before leaving, they chatted with Wu Qiuyue's parents for a while to improve the relationship between the relatives.
Wu Qiuyue's parents heard that Zhang Yongsheng had arranged a job for Wu Qiuyue with a monthly salary of 800 yuan. They expressed their gratitude to him, which made Zhang Yongsheng very embarrassed. When the relatives of the Wu family heard that Wu Qiuyue earned so much in a month, they all looked envious and praised her for her future.
This situation made Wu Qiuyue's vanity unprecedentedly satisfied, and the smile on her face became more and more charming. She has been favored by her parents since she was a child, and some relatives also criticized her. Now that she looks so decent in front of her relatives, those who like to gossip behind her back are speechless.
After returning home, Zhang Yongsheng first used Qigong to dispel the alcoholism in his body, and then began to prepare to return to Zhangwan Village to worship his ancestors. He was about to set off the next day, and he had to bring a lot of sacrificial supplies with him, so he had to pack them and prepare them in advance. The two of them rode their bicycles down the next day and stayed in the village for two more days.
Zhangwan Village is the ancestral home of the Zhang family. The entire village is named Zhang. They have lived and thrived here for hundreds of years. Among the surrounding villages, this village is considered one of the oldest, and many places still retain ancient customs. In particular, the Zhang family's ancestral hall is a symbol of family inheritance.
Nowadays, many members of the Zhang family have left their ancestral land to spread their business, and some may not be able to come back even once a year, so ancestor worship has been carried out by representatives from each household. Zhang Yongsheng's parents were out racing, and he attended on behalf of his parents, but the sacrificial supplies had to be prepared for three people.
It is still very troublesome to transport the sacrificial supplies of the two families to the village. Especially since Zhang Xuewen is in poor health, it is dangerous for him to carry a lot of things on a bicycle. Aunt Zhang picked up a tricycle at a neighbor's house, and the four of them put the sacrificial items on the car, and then went to Zhangwan Village together.
Zhangwan Village is not close to the town, and the road is not easy to walk. It takes at least an hour or two to walk. Zhang Yongsheng, a strong man, pedaled three wheels in front, carrying Aunt Zhang and the sacrifice. Zhang Xuewen and his wife followed behind on bicycles, and the group headed to Zhangwan Village at a leisurely pace.
Zhang Yongsheng comes back three times a year. In addition to the Ghost Festival, he also visits the tomb during the Chinese New Year and Qingming Festival. His grandfather is buried in the family cemetery in the village, as are most Zhang family members in Yunshan. Therefore, the annual grave-sweeping ceremony is very lively, just like a gathering of relatives.
Not long after leaving the town, Zhang Yongsheng's cell phone lost signal. He smiled bitterly and shook his head. Mobile phones are good, but it’s easy to become dependent on them. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable without my mobile phone, as if something is missing. He knew that he was a little stubborn. Most people could still live without mobile phones.
The process along the way was relatively smooth and no difficulties were encountered. As we approached Zhangwan Village, the road became lively. People from the Zhang family from all over the world gathered here, bringing various offerings. Aunt Zhang was the most familiar person, and she met many people who greeted them, and she responded enthusiastically while sitting on a tricycle.
When we arrived at the Zhang Family Ancestral Hall, the person in charge of the ancestral hall was already making arrangements. The sacrifices of each family are first collected and stored in the warehouse, and then taken out for the final burning ceremony, and worshiped and burned according to the names written on them. Then there is the most troublesome matter of arranging the residence of each household.
There are guest rooms left in the Zhang Family Ancestral Hall, which can be provided for the children of the family who have returned home. However, there are so many people coming during the Hungry Ghost Festival that the guest rooms in the ancestral hall alone are not enough, so most people have to be diverted to various homes in the village. Generally, everyone looks for someone they know each other, so that accommodation, food and drink can be settled easily.
Aunt Zhang was the most familiar with the village and quickly arranged accommodation, food and drink for the four of them. The family staying here is an old widow with a son, which is similar to the situation of Zhang Xuewen's family before. The old widow's surname is Wang, and Zhang Yongsheng is called Wang Po. Aunt Wang's son is called Zhang Guiquan, who is a generation older than Zhang Yongsheng, so he must be called uncle.
Zhang Guiquan's house is not big, just a small courtyard, with a total of three tile-roofed houses, all of which were built when his father was still alive. Aunt Zhang and Mrs. Wang shared a room, Zhang Xuewen and his wife slept in the same room, and Zhang Yongsheng had a small room by himself. They will stay and eat at this house for the past two days, just give them some money.
Zhang Yongsheng knew that the family was living in poverty and that Zhang Guiquan could not make much money from farming, so he brought some sausages and bacon and other foods. These are all produced by meat processing plants in the county. Although they are not as delicious as those made by farmers themselves, meat is considered a hard food in rural areas.
Looking at the sausages and bacon on the tricycle, plus the rice and vegetable oil brought by Zhang Xuewen, Mrs. Wang was very happy. She said no, but she was already happy in her heart, and told her son to take the things in. Her family lived a frugal life and could not afford to eat meat for a month, but this could last for several months.
"Uncle Guiquan, I see there are a lot of people worshiping ancestors this time. It's more lively than the Qingming Festival." Zhang Yongsheng asked while helping to move things inside.
Zhang Guiquan said with a smile: "That's right, the Hungry Ghost Festival is a big festival, which is much grander than the Qingming Festival. In fact, the Qingming Festival was also a big festival in the past, but now for the convenience of people working outside, the ceremony has been simplified. After all, the Chinese New Year is already a big festival. No, I just come back to visit the grave during Qingming Festival."
Zhang Yongsheng marveled and said: "I think there are more people today than last year. There were not so many people last year. I looked at the warehouse where the sacrifices were placed, and I could hardly place them. There are more tricks than last year, such as gold, ingots, treasures and silver." There are ingots, and there are even banknotes from the underworld with the Jade Emperor’s face printed on them.”
Zhang Xuewen shook his head and smiled bitterly: "These people are just talking nonsense. Sacrifice is such a serious matter, but they have turned it into a joke. I took a look and saw that there are still 10 billion or 20 billion."
Zhang Guiquan sighed: "It's because of this that Uncle Ke got angry last night. He attaches great importance to ancestor worship, and he gets angry when he sees these random things."
Uncle Ke in Zhang Guiquan's mouth is called Zhang Ke, and he is the patriarch of the Zhang family. He presides over various activities related to the ancestral hall. He is an old-fashioned and very stubborn person, and he can't stand such disrespectful things. With his temper, he would definitely get angry if something like this happened.
