The ship of the dead rides the tide.
It's really strange.
Before nightfall, Qian Tang has been widely spread, and countless versions have been derived in the market.
Some said that the family's surname was Qi, and they were engaged in the maritime slave trade business in the name of recruiting workers. Transporting piglets has always resulted in three or four deaths out of ten, which is the most unscrupulous thing to do. The lucky ship was a wrecked ghost ship, and the dead on board were all the ghosts of slave laborers who came back to seek revenge.
Some people say that the family's money is not clean, so Mrs. Qi often goes to the temple to worship Buddha. However, her bad nature is hard to get rid of. She regards the incense money for praying for herself as alms to the monks, and finally attracts God's punishment for her vicious and arrogant behavior.
Others said that Mrs. Qi often went to the temple not to worship Buddha, but to have sex with the young monks in the temple. Afterwards, the monk often knocked on the wooden fish and chanted sutras, and he sincerely repented, so he became rich. However, she did not repent and polluted the purity of Buddhism. She became more and more dissolute and rampant, even affecting the lives of the whole family.
The rumors gradually changed, and there was a hint of romance twisted out of the horror.
However, if you carefully consider the many versions of rumors, you can also hear the secret common attitude of Qian Tang people:
There is no way to bring about blessings and misfortunes, only people bring it upon themselves.
This family did not practice morality, exceeded the rules of human conduct, and damaged their moral character, so they suffered this evil deed that wiped out the family.
But it seems that those of us who are pious, honest, and diligent in worshiping have the blessings of gods and Buddhas, so we don’t have to worry about such unforeseen disasters.
Otherwise, with so many gods appearing at the festival, why not come to the rescue? There were so many people on the seawall, but they just smashed his house to death?
It can be seen that this is the case.
All in all, under Qian Tangren's strange composure, although the Dead Man's Ship caused some disturbances, it did not cause much panic.
The people of Qian Tang Dynasty sang and danced, just treating it as a fresh piece of strange stories, just for conversation in the drinking room.
After all, today is August 15th.
It is both a festival day and a Mid-Autumn Festival.
Watching the tide during the day and appreciating the moon at night are so rare to enjoy the beautiful scenery at night. How can we delay our enjoyment because of a little unpleasantness?
It's the eve of the moon, the golden breeze is refreshing, the jade dew is cool, the jade toads are full of light, and the osmanthus is fragrant.
There are lanterns and colorful decorations everywhere in the city. There are ten miles of long streets, ten miles of lanterns and ten miles of galleries. Twelve thousand moons are reflected under the twelve thousand bluestone bridges.
Powerful people climbed to dangerous buildings, opened pavilions, and had banquets in recent months.
The rich among the people competed in various restaurants to enjoy the moon, while the poor were not willing to be lonely, put on new clothes, and went out to play in the streets with their families, playing all night long.
Everywhere is lively and prosperous.
Li Changan walked around and looked at the flowers, probably because he was poor, but he felt that the scenery before him was different from the previous 15th day - July 15th, the Ghost Festival.
It's just that the hand-washing flowers sold all over the street have been replaced by osmanthus and begonia, and the ones floating in the water are no longer star-like river lanterns, but boats.
These boats are hung with colorful lights, colorful silks, and even thin sheets of gold and silver, so as not to be conspicuous or luxurious. Each boat carries a team of musicians in costumes, and each musician must be surrounded by stars and a beautiful woman.
The beauties' makeup is all exquisite, and their body decorations are all extravagant and gorgeous. It can only be said that red damask and purple silk are particularly simple, and gold and pearls are afraid of being vulgar.
They are all famous talents from Qiantang and even from other places. They show off their unique skills on the boat, attracting tourists to follow them along the shore and cheer.
This scene vaguely reminded Li Changan of the scene at the Dionysus Festival in Xiaoshui Fantasy Land.
But people in Qiantang are more refined and think it is too vulgar to reward people with money, so they use flowers.
The ordinary ones use seasonal flowers such as osmanthus, chrysanthemum, hibiscus, and rose, and the rich ones use gold, silver, and jade flowers that never fade away.
On many rivers in the Qiantang Dynasty, flowers were falling like rain, and painted boats flowed with the tide, laden with flowers, singing and dancing, gold, silver, and beauties.
People in Tang Dynasty are willing to spend money, especially during festivals.
Xiangyin's business got off to a good start, and Li Changan was very happy at first, but when he saw the jeweled boats passing by, he emptied his wallet...
"What does this little thing mean?" The old man next to him was very disdainful, "It's so shabby!"
There was no one around to refute.
Li Changan is poor and has little knowledge: "I thought there is no luxury in the world better than this."
The old man sneered, his expression full of reminiscence: "When I was young, there lived a beauty named Zeng Yulian by the Chunfang River. She was an excellent singer and dancer, and her beauty spread all over the world. No one who saw her was not fascinated by her. Inverted. In the Mid-Autumn Festival of that year, she took a boat to sing and perform the Feather Dance. Her dancing posture was like a goddess in the clouds showing off her beauty. Men and women all over the city rushed to follow her, and they couldn't wait to see the hibiscus woven from gold and silver, the peonies carved from blood jade, and the colorful flowers. Absolutely. But who would have thought that the accumulation of flowers and branches would actually weigh down the boat!"
He tugged at his beard and sighed.
"It's a pity that a beautiful lady of this generation was buried on a boat in a river of flowers."
"Here."
The old man pointed to a small boat in the river.
Tonight, there is such a "tail" on the back of every boat. The boatmen are either handsome young men with red lips and white teeth or pretty girls dressed in men's clothing.
The father-in-law explained:
"After that, every time when people paraded around the streets, they would hire a small boat like this to follow them, specifically to clean the piled bouquets of flowers on the boat to prevent them. The story back then had a nice name, called 'Lihua Lang'.
There are poor people in the village who make a living by fishing debris from the river. Over the past few decades, they often fish for carved patterns that fell into the river and were washed away by the tide. These people who fished for fish and shrimps in the mud also got a good name, and they were called "flower pickers". "
Li Changan nodded. He had heard of this story, but Huang Wei said it was nonsense.
Ask why.
Answer: The real protagonist in the story is sleeping in the courtyard of Wannian Gong in Feilaishan Mountain - the concubine of the ghost king who was rescued by the Taoist priest is afraid of being caught back, so she has been hiding under the protection of Wan Nian Gong.
So, Zeng Yulian did die back then, but not by drowning, but by being kidnapped into the Cave City.
The father-in-law was in a good mood of conversation.
"After decades of looking at it, I can see that no woman has the same style as Zeng Yulian back then. Only Master Wuchen can compare with her when he traveled. As for these people this year... tsk tsk, not to mention Yulian, they are even better than in previous years. Much worse!"
"Wuchen?" The Taoist priest was surprised.
"Master Wuchen is outspoken and unrestrained. In the past few years, he occasionally took a boat and sang songs to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in women's clothing. He was favored by many women in the city." The old man blinked, "Of course, there are also many men."
When he saw Wuchen in Xianyi Temple, Li Changan knew that he was definitely not a serious monk, but how about dressing up in women's clothing and learning martial arts skills to compete for courtesans? Li Changan couldn't comment, so he simply passed by and caught the subtlety in his father-in-law's words.
"According to my father-in-law, is it possible that this year's 'shabby' situation has something hidden behind it?"
The old man's expression froze, he hesitated for a moment, and because Li Changan was a good compliment, he whispered:
"These words are only for you, don't tell others. I heard from the wizard in the neighborhood that not long ago, a Taoist priest sneaked into the Cave City to hold a banquet for the Ghost King, and rescued and kidnapped the Ghost King's concubine! I also heard that some people in the city His wife and daughter have been missing recently, saying that they - well, they have suffered a 'immortal fate'. The girls in Chunfang River are all in danger, and many famous ones have stayed behind closed doors."
I see.
Another boat floated slowly by.
Colorful purples and reds mixed with pearls and jewels.
The Taoist priest followed him with his eyes and let out an inexplicable sigh.
…………
Things sell out fast at festivals.
Li Chang'an picked up two large buckets of drinks and went to the street today. Before nightfall, they all sold out.
He packed up his things and spent money to buy some pancakes at the night market.
The custom of mooncakes has not yet evolved in this part of the world, but it has already taken shape. The cake Li Changan bought was no bigger than the palm of his hand and was shaped like a plum blossom, with small festive words on each petal.
He arrived at the place where everyone agreed to meet, and everyone was there.
Huang Wei gathered the salesman and the country men together, sometimes happy and sometimes frowning, as if they were calculating the gains and losses of today's business.
Three scholars stood near the river. Although their cloth clothes were short and brown, they could not stop their poetry from flourishing.
Doctor Lu was sitting on a stone pier by the shore with his old arms and legs supported, while his eldest sister Tou Chunyi tapped his back.
He Wumei was also there, holding the little baby girl in her arms, whistling softly, and carefully feeding the child rice soup. The big black cat was lying at his feet, tail wagging lazily.
Other children, older and younger, all gathered together, staring closely at the bustle on the street, as well as the dazzling array of food and objects in the bustle, such as candied haws, pastries, fruits, lanterns, windmills, etc.
The children were the first to discover Li Changan. They gathered around him and shouted "Uncle Ghost" in a low voice to help the Taoist priest unload the pole and barrel.
Li Changan looked at each other: "Why are you just looking at it and not buying some?"
Whether collecting medicine or selling yinzi, the children have helped a lot and deserve a reward. Originally, He Wumei had to confiscate the gifts and dowry in the name of saving, but with the help of the Taoist priests, she was able to leave some pocket money. Although she couldn't be extravagant, it was not a problem to buy some snacks and small toys.
A child replied in a naive voice: "We want to save money for Wu..."
Not finished yet.
He Niluo covered his mouth and grinned two rows of big teeth at the Taoist priest.
Don't you know what the little slick guy is trying to do?
However, the children were not bad in nature, and they were sensible early. The Taoist priest did not go into details and took out the pancakes he bought with a smile.
The children immediately cheered and helped distribute the cakes to everyone.
Each pancake was carefully broken into five pieces, and the piece Li Changan got had the word "wealth" on it.
Thought: "Blessings are immeasurable and all your wishes come true."
He chewed the word "wealth" into his mouth.
The pancakes are actually similar to mooncakes, but due to the materials, craftsmanship, and additives, the taste and texture are a bit worse than what Li Changan has eaten.
In the modern world, he always buys mooncakes without looking at them and eating them.
But life is inevitably so fragrant.
Without paying attention, I even licked the cake crumbs off my hands, and I still had some unfinished thoughts.
A moment of aftertaste.
Phew~bang!
The sound of explosions rolled down from the eaves. Looking up to follow the sound, I saw thousands of honeysuckle trees blooming in the night sky.
The crowds on the street stopped and raised their heads.
Fireworks "chirped" and flew up into the clouds, and then with a bang, fireworks spread all over the sky.
in a blink.
The sky and the earth are already bustling.
At the right time, a painting boat approached the shore.
What music was played by the musicians on the ship could no longer be discerned in the din. Only the dancing girl in colorful clothes held a feather fan and danced with a fan. Her dance steps were charming, imitating the scene of a girl flapping butterflies in the flowers.
The white jade comb and golden steps in her hair were swung up, and strings of pearls, agates and gemstones hung down, swaying and shining with the dance. Exquisite makeup, set against the fireworks blooming in the sky, looks like a beautiful woman.
On the shore, only ten steps away, He Wumei was dressed in a patched linen dress, with a bare face, thin tail lines exposed at the corners of her eyes, and only the hair comb given by Loach was inserted in her hair.
She looked at the dancing girl, slightly lost in thought.
Li Changan lowered his head and counted the coins in his wallet.
