On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, it is rare for the sun to shine brightly. The eaves, along the paths, and among the treetops seemed to be covered with silver sand. Under the sunlight, the frost and snow glowed with silver.
Erqiao Village wakes up amidst the festive noise.
At Xie's house in the east of the village, the closed courtyard door was suddenly pushed open, and the penetrating voice of the aunt next door came in.
"Lao Xie, Lao Xie, your eldest grandson is back home!"
Along with this voice, a tall and strong figure pushed the door in the cold wind, carrying large and small bags in his hand. If you take a closer look, you will find that although this man is as tall as an adult, his eyes and brows reveal the childishness of a young man.
Mrs. Liu, who was sweeping the floor in the yard, saw her, threw away the broom in her hand, ran up and hugged her into her arms, crying and yelling: "You brat, you still know how to come back?"
"Dad, come out quickly, Brother Song is back!"
Mrs. Liu's excited voice sounded like a trumpet blowing in the yard. Xie Mu, the eldest son of the Xie family who was calm by nature, hurried out after hearing the sound. He was obviously thinking a lot about his son after not seeing him for a long time. He just stood aside and nodded: "It's good to come back, it's good to come back."
"Mom!" Xie Song was tall and tall, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He was held in his mother's arms. He couldn't help but shrink and feel helpless. His tear-soaked neck shrank in the cold wind, "I'm not... a doctor. Is the library too busy?"
"What are you busy with? No matter how busy you are, you have to go home to celebrate the New Year!" After Mrs. Liu lost her composure, she let go of her son and looked him up and down carefully, "I've lost weight, I've lost too much weight. You're not a doctor, why?" The hospital cannot do without you?"
Hearing Ms. Liu's complaint, Xie Song also felt guilty: "It's my fault that I didn't have time to go home until today. The hospital encountered a difficult patient these days, and Dr. Zheng was busy for more than half a month. If we don’t touch the ground, we apprentices will have no time to rest.”
Having said this, he pointed at the large and small bags placed on the ground and grinned: "There is a good thing. The patient was very generous, and I also got a lot of rewards."
While the couple was talking, everyone in the family heard the noise. When they came out and saw Xie Song standing in the yard, they were immediately surprised and happy.
"Big brother, big brother! You are finally back!"
Sisters Xie Mei and Xie Lan happily jumped in front of their brother like a pair of little birds. Xie Shi, who was following behind, was wrapped into a ball in a cotton jacket, and when he ran, he seemed to be rolling up a small blue whirlwind.
One of the three little ones held his left hand, one held his right hand, and one hugged his calf, surrounding Xie Song. The three siblings raised their faces together, showing their expectancy.
"Did you bring us anything good?"
Seeing the expectant looks in his younger siblings' eyes, Xie Song's sense of responsibility as the eldest brother instantly exploded. He pulled out a package and patted his chest to confirm: "Of course! Come on, Sister Mei, this is yours, Sister Lan. , this is yours. And Brother Shi, my eldest brother bought this specially for you."
Colorful handkerchiefs and headbands, exquisite and cute tumblers and wooden tops, various candies and snacks...Xie Song took out a bunch of gadgets and immediately received cheers and support from his younger brothers and sisters. He stood proudly with his chest raised. point.
"You kid, you are just spending money indiscriminately."
Seeing how harmonious their brothers and sisters were, Xie Dayou and his wife were in a good mood. Old Xu laughed and cursed a few words: "The family still lacks some food and entertainment for them?"
The eldest grandson will be fourteen this year. He will get married in a few years. It is time to make plans early. He will save more money in the next few years. How can he be so lavish?
Xie Song didn't take it to heart: "It's okay. I live and eat in the hospital alone, and I have nowhere to spend the money. This time the reward is large, enough to last, and I haven't used it up yet."
The old Xu family took a breath of cold air.
Enough money? What a generous patient!
It should be noted that medical clinics are not like restaurants, and there is no custom of rewarding people. For ordinary people, the cost of medicine and consultation alone is already a considerable sum.
Which big family invited Dr. Zheng to come to the house for consultation, and even the apprentices who followed him were rewarded? Is it the Sun family, the Wang family, or the master of the Yamen? I don’t know what kind of complicated disease it is?
Although they were curious, they didn't ask any more questions. Xie Song has been an apprentice in the medical center for several years, and everyone still understands some of the rules. It is not allowed to pry into the privacy of patients in the medical center.
——Xie Song’s timely return home is the greatest joy. Living a good life in the medical clinic and earning reward money are just the icing on the cake.
Xie Sen, the third son of the Xie family, interrupted with a smile: "Today we are worshiping the Kitchen God. Brother Song is back just in time."
Xie Song sat down in the main hall and took a breath: "What the third uncle said is that we just happened to be in time to worship the Stove Prince together."
Xie Sen came back with Mrs. Zhang two days ago, and Xie Song, who has been working as an apprentice in the town's medical clinic all year round, also pushed the door open in the morning light. It is rare for the twelve members of the Xie family to get together happily.
Today is both the Little New Year and the traditional folk festival of worshiping the Stove God. It is said that the Yuri Stove God will go to heaven and report the good and bad things done by every household in the world this year. Therefore, every household must worship the Stove God in advance and silence him with bribes. Let the Kitchen God go to heaven to speak only good things and not bad things.
Therefore, there is a poem that says: According to ancient legend, on the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen King looked up to the sky and wanted to say something. The clouds, the carriages, the wind, the horses, the little ones linger, and there are cups and plates in the house for the feast. ＊
After the pleasantries, the Xie family took action.
He cleaned the yard inside and out, replaced the old Stove God statue that was blackened by smoke and fire, invited back the new Stove God statue, and offered maltose, water, and beans on the Stove Lord's table. And moss. The candy is to stop the Stove Lord’s mouth, and the last three are to prepare materials for the Stove Lord’s mount to ascend to heaven.
Regarding the stove sacrifice activities, Xie Shi was very enthusiastic about participating.
As a result, I was immediately confused by the strange rules.
"Men don't worship the moon, and women don't worship the stove? What kind of breaking of the rules is this?" Xie Shi thought it was very unreasonable. Judging from his rich experience in dreamland, the atmosphere in fairyland is very open-minded. As long as they don't do evil, men and women can do whatever they want. There are no strange restrictions. "As a god, the society god has such an outdated mind? "
...This is not right. Either the social god is a fake god, or ordinary people made up this rule on their own initiative.
Fans of deep spiritual cultivation decisively choose to believe the latter.
As a result, the enthusiasm that had just been extinguished was ignited again - it was the ignorant ordinary people who were at fault, not the Kitchen God. You still have to worship when you should, don’t miss every possible opportunity!
Not only did Xie Shi reluctantly offer his favorite candy, he also bowed to the God of Society in earnest several times.
"Kitchen God, Kitchen God, after you go to heaven, remember to ask for me, when can I return to the immortal class? Can I bring my whole family with me? If not, is there any other way?"
"...How about you help me find a special passage for the immortals in charge of ascension? When I return to the immortal class, I will be repaid. Please!!"
As the reincarnation of a god, it makes sense for him to have a few good friends in heaven, right? Maybe the Kitchen God is one of them. Even if it wasn't the case before, it can be the case in the future. By accepting his offering, he implicitly became good friends with the Kitchen God.
Since we are all good friends, there is nothing wrong with asking the Kitchen God for a little help, right?
Xie Shi thought confidently in his heart.
"What kind of offerings do you want? Tell me in your dream. Don't forget to send me a message. The whole family is waiting for me to take you away."
After thinking a lot in his heart, Xie Shi bowed earnestly a few more times, with full seriousness and piety on his little face.
I can't help but feel itchy after looking at it. I always want to use my hands to pinch this smooth, white and chubby face.
The same is true for Xie Song next to him. He couldn't help but glance at it, and then another, and finally couldn't help but take action.
Xie Shi, whose cheeks were suddenly pinched, widened his eyes and said, "Are you showing off your chair? (Brother, what are you doing?)..."
"It's okay, I'm just teasing you."
After coming back to his senses, Xie Song let go of his hand in embarrassment, only to find two more red marks on his little cousin's face.
The child's skin was already delicate, but when he walked out of the kitchen with two eye-catching red marks, it made a group of women at home feel distressed.
For the first time, Mr. Xu caught his eldest grandson and lectured him several times. Sisters Xie Mei and Xie Lan also blamed their brother for his strong hands and did not know how to restrain them. Xie Song suddenly became the "enemy of the whole family."
Amid the mutterings of his grandmother, mother and two younger sisters, Xie Song had no choice but to raise his hands in surrender and said, "Okay, okay, I remember, I shouldn't use so much force next time."
...Do you want another time?
Xie Shi immediately moved a few steps to the side vigilantly, covering his face tightly with his little hands.
This gesture made the whole family laugh.
The courtyard was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
However, the family had just spent New Year's Eve happily, but the next day there was a thunderbolt from the blue - something happened at Yongji Hall in the town. Dr. Zheng had someone killed and was thrown into prison by the Yamen!
