Manbao followed his brothers to the tomb. Old Zhoutou asked Zhou Dalang and the others to dig a big hole beside Zhou Yin's tomb. He put a box in it, filled it with mud, and dug some soil from nearby to raise the tomb and match it with the tomb.
The large grave mounds are integrated into one.
Man Bao looked at it blankly and asked: "Dad, what did you put in the second uncle's tomb?"
Lao Zhoutou let out a "shhh", looked around, and found that their family was the only one nearby for the time being, so he relaxed his voice and said: "It's nothing, it's just the belt you gave me last night."
Man Bao was stunned and asked after a while: "Dad, why did you bury it?"
"Give it to your second uncle to take a look. Maybe he likes it?" Anyway, it's not a very expensive thing and he can't wear it, so he might as well give it to his younger brother.
Manbao scratched her head and looked at her father and said, "Dad, you and your second uncle have a really good relationship."
Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang finished preparing the grave. They were silent for a moment after hearing Man Bao's words. It's not the father who has the best relationship with his uncle, but them, right?
But forget it, as long as you know this kind of thing, there is no need to publicize it.
Man Bao took out the meat and rice for ancestor worship and laid them out. Zhou Lang lit a handful of incense and gave three sticks to Man Bao. Everyone bowed and worshiped.
After Manbao put the incense, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed. Lao Zhoutou said from the side: "Kowtow a few more times."
Man Bao, who was about to get up, knelt down and knelt a few more times, "Dad, is that enough?"
Lao Zhou nodded with a smile, "That's enough, that's enough."
Man Bao followed his brothers and led his nephews to kowtow to the ancestors nearby, and then waited for the ancestors to eat.
Man Bao habitually pulled out three sticks of incense from his grandfather's grave, walked to a nearby grave, offered incense and invited the owner of the grave to come and have a meal with him.
This is what she has done every time she visits the grave since she can remember.
The people of Lao Zhou's family squatted around the cemetery and watched. They did not tell Manbao that the owner of the tomb had moved here, and allowed her to go there to pay homage.
After worshiping me for so many years, if I don’t worship you now, my child will ask why. Man Bao is so smart...
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, most people worship their ancestors, or go up the mountain to worship gods. Some people go to burn incense under the banyan tree at the entrance of the village. They don’t know what they are worshiping.
When Manbao and the others returned home, breakfast was not ready yet, and many people had not gotten up yet. She squatted at the gate to clear her mind, then walked to the river to play with the water, no, to look at the water.
She picked up a stick and squatted by the river to play with the water.
When Bai Shan walked to the river, he saw her squatting on the ground fetching water happily, so he picked up a stone from the ground and threw it...
The water splashed from the stone hit Man Bao's face, and Bai Shan burst into laughter when he saw it.
Man Bao looked up and saw him couldn't help laughing, and asked loudly across the river: "Why are you here?"
Bai Shan also walked to the river and squatted down, picked up stones and threw them into the river. He replied: "My family has just finished offering sacrifices to our ancestors. I felt bored at home, so I went out for a walk."
If you don't feel like visiting someone's home on New Year's Day, you can just walk on the road.
Man Bao smiled and said, "Me too. Look, the water is clearer in winter. I just saw a lot of small fish swimming."
Bai Shan looked inside for a while and then said: "It's too small and can't be eaten. I wonder if there are any big fish in the ditch. Why don't we go fishing in the afternoon?"
"Today is the first day of junior high school, so it's hard to go out."
Bai Shan said: "Let's go quietly."
It is impossible to go quietly, because Bai Shan will always be followed by Daji.
However, they didn't disturb many people. Bai Shan ran home to have breakfast, then went out carrying two fishing rods.
Man Bao found a small hoe and a small bamboo basket. As soon as the two met at the river, they followed the river up to the big canal. They found a piece of land that looked quite moist and started digging for earthworms.
While digging, Manbao was a little confused, "Do all the fish in the river eat earthworms?"
Bai Shan said: "Maybe."
Man Bao: "The earthworms got into the mud of the pond. Can the fish also get in like the earthworms?"
Bai Shan: "They also eat vegetable leaves, aquatic plants and mud, right? Otherwise there wouldn't be so many earthworms for them to eat in the river."
"Then if we can't dig up earthworms, can we catch them by fishing with vegetable leaves?"
Bai Shan: "You can give it a try."
Man Bao said: "I'll try it later, but we found earthworms."
Daji found a piece of relatively clean grass beside the canal and sat cross-legged, watching them squatting on the ground in boredom.
When they finally dug up enough earthworms, they found an area that seemed to be rich in water and grass and started digging.
Man Bao said: "My fourth brother said that there are many fish in places with abundant aquatic plants, and they all like to hide under the grass roots. It's just that it's not easy to catch, and they will always catch the aquatic plants."
Bai Shan said nonchalantly: "It's okay. I have a lot of hooks at home. If it breaks, we can install another one."
Man Bao then confidently and boldly hooked into the ditch.
Fishing is all about patience. The two of them moved some hay and spread it on the ground to sit, and then began to wait for the fish to bite.
Bai Shan asked her, "When are we going to pay New Year's greetings to my husband?"
"On the third day of the lunar month, will Bai Er go to his uncle's house this year? If not, he can do it on the fourth and fifth day of the lunar month."
"Let's go to the third day of the Lunar New Year." None of his relatives are here, and he only has to go to Bai Erlang's house to pay New Year greetings. He is not busy.
Man Bao only goes to Qian's house every year, and one day is enough.
The two of them just sat by the water and chatted for most of the day. There were fish biting the hook, but they couldn't catch any.
The two of them were not in a hurry. When they got hungry, they took the fishing rod home.
Daji, who had fallen asleep on the grass while basking in the sun, also got up from the ground and followed him quietly.
He still prefers to live with the young master in Qili Village. It is leisurely and comfortable, but it is not a waste of time.
It's not like in Yizhou City, where it seems busy, but I always feel like I haven't done anything at the end of the day.
Of course, Bai Shan and Man Bao, who were still in the learning stage and wished they could break a quarter of an hour into two quarters, could not experience this feeling.
They carried the empty bamboo basket back and saw the villagers sitting and talking in the village, so they raised their hands to say hello.
Someone glanced at their diabolo basket and couldn't help but laugh: "You didn't catch it, did you? The remaining fish in our village are about to become sperm, so it's not easy to catch them."
Man Bao asked: "What about stupid fish?"
"We were told to catch almost all the fish before the year. By the way, your family catches the most. Your third brother and your fifth brother bring two barrels of fish home a day. Why, didn't they dry it into salted fish for you to keep?
?”
It was impossible to salt the fish. Most of the fish that were brought back were sold by Zhou Erlang in the market. The rest were either eaten by themselves or made into fish sauce by Xiao Qian and sealed in jars.
Knowing that Man Bao was going fishing, Xiao Qian thought she was greedy and said, "Why didn't you eat a few more bites last night? No one went to the market today. I really want to eat. I asked your eldest brother to go to the river.
Go into the basket, maybe you can catch some."
Man Bao shook his head, "I don't want to eat fish, I just want to fish."
Xiao Qian then smiled and waved his hand and said, "That's free. Let's go out and play. My sister-in-law will take you back to your uncle's house tomorrow."