On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Shangyuan Festival, the breeze blows to the north, so it is appropriate to offer sacrifices, pray for blessings, and get relief.
The genius was slightly bright, and the two children were still in their dreams. The youngest checked out of the inn and drove the ox cart to continue north.
That inn mostly welcomed merchants who missed their entry time and were waiting to clear customs the next morning, so the price was high. Although the family only had a small C-sized room near the toilet, it also cost 50 coppers. round.
Fifty copper yuan can buy four kilograms of rice and noodles, enough to feed a family for two days.
"The children's father has gone outside the city. Why don't you sleep a little longer? After four days of traveling, the children are a little bit exhausted. It's rare for them to stay in a hotel... ." The mother-in-law murmured to herself while covering the two children beside her with quilts. It was obvious that she was quite critical of her husband's practice of "not making the best use of everything".
The youngest looked back and saw his children huddled under the quilt in the carriage, sleeping soundly. He smacked his lips twice and did not answer the mother-in-law's words.
"Drive!" He raised the bamboo stick and gently slapped the cow's buttocks. Immediately, the wheels of the cart started to spin faster.
He borrowed the car from Mr. Zhu.
On the tenth day of the Lunar New Year, the youngest went to the Zhu Mansion and explained his purpose to the housekeeper. When Zhu Youzhuan heard that he wanted to take his family to Jinzhou to offer sacrifices to Mei Siyuan, he agreed without saying a word.
The car borrowed by the Zhu family was equipped with a carriage and horses. However, the youngest woman was worried about leaving her old cow at home and insisted on bringing it to pull the car.
"No, no. Don't let someone steal it!"
The youngest couldn't resist, so he had to let her go.
For his efforts in finding salt, the County Salt Administration Department and the State Salt Administration Department each rewarded him. In addition to fifteen acres of fertile land, he also had twenty guan in cash.
The old cow was bought after receiving the reward.
At his current age, his body is not as good as before. Without oxen, the fifteen acres of land could not be plowed by just one person.
However, the power of the oxen was good at plowing but not at doing good deeds. Although there was constant forage, the day was only a hundred miles away, and it took four days to reach the outside of Jinzhou City.
At two o'clock in the morning, there was a sound of gongs on the city wall, and everyone waiting outside the door hurriedly lined up and entered the city one by one.
After paying the customs clearance fee, the youngest continued to pull the ox cart toward the northeast.
"Thirty copper yuan is enough to buy ten big pancakes!" The old lady murmured softly, tightening her clothes.
"Mom, what big cake is that?" Nvwazi asked with a worried look on her face as she rubbed her eyes. After saying that, he stood up and climbed up.
When the youngest heard her daughter's question, she quickly turned around and said with a grin, "Nini is awake? Can daddy buy you some meatloaf?"
"You want to eat meat pie too!" The boy vaguely heard the reply between his father and his sister, and he jumped out of bed at this time.
"Okay!" The youngest looked at the pair of children with infinite tenderness in his eyes, and agreed with a smile, "Daddy will buy it for Yaozi too."
No matter from a poor or rich family, parents can't help but want to treat their own flesh and blood well.
When the two little children heard that there was meat pie to eat, they both cheered and laughed endlessly.
About a hundred feet away, there happened to be a cake stall on the roadside, and the goatee owner was shouting hard.
The youngest quickened his pace and approached. Seeing that the cakes were selling well, he asked about the price.
There are four copper rounds in the vegetarian cake, with cabbage and chopped green onion fillings.
The meat pie is made of ten copper rounds, and the filling is pork foam.
The youngest put down the ox reins and bamboo sticks, took off a cloth bag from his waist, and slowly took out a handful of copper balls. He counted them three times before handing them to the boss. After doing this twice, he said : "First wrap me ten meatloaf in oil paper."
The old man with the goatee grinned like a flower and nodded in agreement. In such a small business, it is not often that you encounter generous customers. Looking at the rough clothes of the man in front of me, I didn't expect that he was actually very generous.
After taking the oil paper bag and ordering the pancakes, the youngest took out a small pile of copper coins from the flat wallet, counted thirty of them, put them in the boss's hand, and said to him: "Bring me three more meat pancakes. .”
After hearing this, the goatee boss looked even happier than before.
The youngest returned to the carriage with the meat pie. The mother-in-law turned her head aside in anger and ignored him. However, the two little children happily took a piece of meat pie and ate it with relish.
"Alas..." The youngest sighed softly, stuffed the oil paper bag wrapped with the last meat pie into the quilt next to the mother-in-law, walked to the front of the car, picked up the reins of the cow, and continued on the road.
The street was full of novel acrobatics, the stalls were noisy, the restaurants were fragrant with wine, and the decorations matched the scene... The two children had already finished eating the pancakes, looking at the various shapes outside the carriage, laughing and screaming all the way, and even felt sorry for the money left with their husbands. The angry mother-in-law also sighed a few times from time to time.
Only the youngest, he just led the old cow and walked quietly towards the northeast, occasionally shaking his head and sighing.
Twenty miles northeast of the city, there is an open area beside the post road. It was originally a horse farm for the military camp. But now there are hundreds of grave heads standing neatly facing east, making it look like a cemetery.
Although the children were playing around all the way, they calmed down when they saw this scene and sat down next to their mother.
The youngest led the old cow and walked slowly towards the front, muttering all the way: "Oh God, God... Oh, this is so cruel... Oh... this The way of the world..."
The tombs are located in an oval shape, with a joint tomb in the middle of the front. There are many sacrifices and sacrificial vessels placed in front of the tomb, and the paper ashes have been swept aside. Obviously, people often come here to worship and clean.
The youngest stopped in front of the monument, stretched out his trembling right hand and took out a piece of paper from his arms, with the names of Mei Siyuan and his wife clearly written on it. He half-crouched in front of the tombstone, carefully comparing the words one stroke at a time. After confirming that the owner of the tomb was correct, he lamented several times in succession, with tears shining in his eyes.
After more than ten rests, the youngest returned to the oxcart and took out the ten meat cakes that had been wrapped before, lined them with oil paper and placed them in two piles in front of the tombstone.
"Nini, Yaya, come here."
The two children didn't know why, but they still walked hand in hand to their father.
The youngest mother-in-law stopped nagging now, quietly picked up the broom beside her, stepped aside and started working.
"Nini, Yazi, please remember that buried inside is our family's benefactor." The youngest, with tears in her eyes, said softly to her children, "He invited dad to the table, brought dad food, and gave it to you After eating meat, we allotted fields to our family..."
As I talked, I couldn't help but burst into tears, which gradually turned into a whimper.
The youngest is a real person, honest and stubborn. Although his vision is not broad and his knowledge is short-sighted, he looks dull and stupid, but he has his own ideas.
From having no ridges and being able to plow the land and committing yourself to being a tenant, to owning land and passing it on to your children with a deed;
From not having three complete meals to being able to eat enough, to not having enough rice left in the tank at the end of the year.
The changes before and after are all due to the person sleeping under the monument.
"I know it in my heart."
This kind of kindness is like re-creating the fate of his family of four, and he does not hesitate to give life to him.
After taking out incense burners, candlesticks, money papers and other items one after another from the bullock cart, the youngest took the two children and knelt down in front of the tomb and whispered: "Yazi, Nini, burn some money papers for your benefactor." "
Although the child knew little about it, he still followed the instructions and picked up the yellow paper and clicked on it one by one.
"Sir Mei, from now on every year during the Lantern Festival and Hungry Ghost Festival, I will come here to burn paper for you."
The youngest slowly lit the yellow paper and chanted softly. As if he suddenly remembered something, he paused, turned to the children beside him and said, "Yazi, Nini, you must remember the way to this village from the end of the village accurately. Even if my father is no longer here, you will also Don’t forget to come here every year to visit the grave.”
On the post road, two horses stopped. A fat-headed monk and a gray-haired man got off their horses and walked slowly towards the tombs.
As we got closer, the youngest could clearly see the descriptions of the two of them.
The fat-headed monk is tall and strong, with a big nose and long ears. It is difficult to tell his age just by looking at his face. At first glance, he looks like he is in his fifties, but at a closer look, he looks like he is in his thirties.
The gray-haired man was wearing linen clothes and had a short beard. He looked elegant and handsome, but his eyes were filled with sadness and his steps were as slow as lead.
Both of them held weapons in their hands.
The youngest was feeling uneasy, so he gently pulled his children apart to make way for them. Seeing this, the mother-in-law hurriedly put down the broom and stood next to him, protecting the two children in the middle.
"Don't be afraid, I'm also here to pay my respects to Master Mei's family." The man in gray clothes tilted his head slightly and said in a hoarse voice.
