When it was nearly seven o'clock, the people in the kitchen prepared breakfast and set the table. Village Chief Zhou set off a string of thousands of firecrackers to urge those who wanted to come for dinner to come quickly.
People from neighboring villages who wanted to have breakfast at Lejia arrived early. People who hadn't arrived from Meicun heard the sound of firecrackers and hurried to have breakfast at Lejia.
There were fewer customers in the morning than last night, with a total of fifty-four tables.
Breakfast is relatively simple, just six dishes.
After dinner, all the tent tables and benches were removed from the floor in front of Lejia's house and on the side of the house, the place was cleaned, and benches were set up on the village road.
Afterwards, prepare to move the coffin out for binding.
There are a series of ceremonies before tying the coffin and the funeral. The filial sons kneel in front of the coffin, the masters play music, and Master Lei assumes the responsibility of presiding over the ceremony.
As Le Yun's eldest daughter and her aunt's only biological niece, she held a memorial tablet for her aunt and held a soul-guiding flag for her aunt. The two siblings knelt at the front and acted according to Master Lei's instructions. They worshiped when called upon.
Kneel down when you are asked, rise when you are asked to rise, kowtow when you are asked to kowtow, offer incense when you are asked to offer incense, drink when you are asked to toast, and shout when you are asked to call out the soul of the deceased.
The coffin has been tied up, covered with a green cover made of cypress trees, and stands a crane made of paper.
That crane is called "Yin Yang Bird", also called the soul-protecting bird.
In fact, a long time ago, what stood on the coffin was not a crane, but a rooster.
The rooster crows early, which is a bird that welcomes the sun. Because when the rooster crows, the night is ushered in light. The ancients believed that the rooster is a pure Yang bird and has the ability to drive away ghosts and evil spirits. Therefore, when the deceased is buried, a rooster is placed on the coffin.
Paper rooster, let the rooster drive away the negative energy of the deceased and lead the soul of the deceased to the underworld safely.
The rooster on the coffin leads the deceased from the Yang world to the underworld, and is called the Yin-Yang bird.
Because the people who tied the rooster had different skills, the piercing was not necessarily very realistic. It gradually turned into a bird shape, and then evolved into a crane shape.
After preparations were made, the sun also emerged from the top of the mountain.
Before the funeral, there is a ceremony for relatives and friends to say goodbye to the deceased. A table is set up in front of the coffin with offerings, and relatives and friends take turns toasting to the deceased and saying goodbye.
The toast will be given by the closest relatives first, followed by the relatives or friends.
The farewell ceremony was over and preparations were made for the funeral.
After moving the altar table, Le Yun went to throw down the basin, then knelt down on the road in front of the coffin and waited while holding the memorial tablet.
The pallbearers took their places.
The coffin bearers are also very particular. First of all, they must be married men. They are also required to have horoscopes that do not conflict with the deceased. They also need to be of good character. If they have bad moral character or have no moral integrity, they will suddenly quit or curse during the process of carrying the coffin.
, a bad sign.
Liu Lu, Zhang Poluo, several young men from the Zhou, Liu, and Zhang families, as well as two of Yang Dayantong's sons were responsible for carrying the coffin. They helped in the kitchen and carried the coffin, and they went wherever needed.
Zhou Ge's horoscopes are not compatible, and the Zhou family is divided into two families. Because Village Chief Zhou and Lehong are sworn brothers, they are Leya's adopted brothers and are very close, so they cannot carry the coffin.
Chen Dalian, along with Chen Kang, is considered a relative of Chen Hongying's mother's family and cannot carry the coffin.
Lan San is still single and there is no arrangement for him to carry the coffin.
Before unveiling the coffin, Le Yun knelt three times and kowtowed nine times. Then Master Lei shouted "Sheng", and the coffin bearers lifted the coffin. When they heard the shout "Step by step, Sheng Gao Sheng", they walked away carrying the coffin.
Leba, Chen Xin and Chen Jie were walking backwards in front of the coffin head, holding the coffin in their hands. Yan Lao, Yan Lao, Chen Kang, Zhou Ge, Chen Dalian and Lan San were walking on both sides, also holding the coffin or supporting the coffin bearers.
The coffin was placed on the crossbar on the shoulders.
Close relatives and friends do not carry the coffin, but support it while walking.
Chen Kang held the coffin for his niece because he loved his nephew. Mr. Yi held the coffin for Leya because his young disciple was Leya’s nephew. Mr. Yan held the coffin for Leya because the Hua family and Leya
The little head of the family is a close friend.
A funeral in the countryside is called a funeral. During the funeral, cannons and gongs and drums are sounded. Someone scatters paper money to guide the way. Children carry wreaths in front, and filial sons kneel and worship all the way up the mountain.
People from several villages far away from where we had eaten last night also came before and after binding the coffin. People in some villages didn't know before that the Le family was organizing funerals for Le Ya. When they found out, they came after hearing the news.
Those who came after hearing the news also went to receive a gift.
The person who helped manage the gift money counted up and found that twenty-three new tables had been added. Village Chief Zhou was shocked when he heard this. He quickly notified the kitchen and arranged for someone to rent tables, stools, bowls and chopsticks.
Sister-in-law Zhao, Sister-in-law Liu and others saw Leya out of the village and hurriedly returned to Leya's home to start work, killing chickens and ducks, processing the offal of pigs and sheep, etc. They were very busy.
There were too few good people in Little Le Yun. Le Yun felt sorry for her brother and told Mr. Li in advance that she would ask Mr. Li to help her carry her brother away when the funeral was held.
Mr. Li did not go to hold the coffin. He waited until after the funeral and after the funeral procession passed Zhou's house, he immediately picked up the little junior brother and walked and knelt down on his behalf.
To see the deceased off, you can send them a short way or up the mountain.
Those who saw Le Ya off, including some elderly people or those with family affairs, saw her off at the foot of the mountain and then turned around. Some people saw her off and sent her to the burial place.
Towards the end of March, Le's father chose an auspicious day to dig a hole for the place Xiaomian had selected for her aunt to live in. The surroundings of the big hole were shoveled smooth.
The coffin went up the mountain, and the filial sons also took off their mourning clothes and straw ropes.
The coffin bearers rested for a while, then removed the crossbars carrying the coffin, burned paper in the pit, killed the big rooster, and then several people pulled the ropes to move the coffin into the pit.
Before the burial, there is a ceremony: the loved ones enter the coffin and call the deceased several times to say their final farewells.
Because the girl from the Le family was the heir to the Le family and the younger generation of Le Ya, she took the soil dug out with the first hoe when digging the pit, placed it on the head of the coffin, shouted three times, and then left.
The close relatives bid farewell to the deceased, cover the earth, and build the tomb.
When building a tomb, you cannot build it all at once. You have to leave one step until you have lunch, then go up the mountain to build the tomb in the afternoon and add soil to the tomb.
There were many people helping to cover the earth, and a grave was quickly built. The top of the grave was not sealed, and everyone went down the mountain and returned to Lejia.
The coffin bearers and Brother Zhou, Chen Dalian, who was supporting the coffin, returned to Le's house and went to work in the kitchen.
Le Yun returned home, took her clothes, and took her brother to Grandma Zhou's house to wash her hands first, then massage her legs, apply medicine, and carry her brother on her back with a sling.
I took the medicine again and waited in the main room. When my cousin, the Zhou family's aunt, the Cao family's sisters, Chen Xiaozhu and Xiaohe went to wash themselves and came back, I gave them medicine and massaged them for a while until they were red and swollen when they knelt down.
Or rub the bruised area to activate blood.
Village Chief Zhou waited until the little boy was done with his work, then went to find her and tell her about the many new customers.
"I've guessed it a long time ago." Le Yun is not surprised at all. Because the suspension time is short, people in many places don't know yet. If the suspension lasts for another day or two, people further away or in the county will definitely know the news after hearing the news.
If you came to express your condolences, you would need at least 200 tables at that time.
"..." Village Chief Zhou's expression was quite...complex, and he didn't know how to describe his mood at all.
It has been more than forty years since Leya passed away, and nearly a hundred tables could be gathered for a temporary funeral. If little Lele gets married or has children in the future, I don’t know how many people there will be.
He felt that he had to train a successor quickly, otherwise he would not be able to bear it. Once he has a successor, he will wait for Xiao Lele to get married or give birth to a child, and a young person will be the conductor and supervisor. He will only enjoy peace and happiness. How wonderful it is.
!
Due to the sudden arrival of new guests, many things needed to be reorganized, and lunch was postponed a bit, and the table was not set until half past twelve.
When all the guests were seated, even though some people from several villages had not come because they were far away, there were still a dozen more tables than last night, totaling 105 and a half tables at noon.
When having a banquet, the host's gift in return is given to the guests when they pay the gift. After lunch, the host does not have to give back the gift one by one. Guests who have something to do will leave first, and those who have nothing to do eat slowly.
Have lunch until three o'clock.
The singers and the masters went home after dinner. Leyun sent the singers and a pack of cigarettes to each of them. Then she sent the singers to each other and gave each of them a red envelope and a portion including meat, towels, tobacco and wine.
of thanks.
The red envelope given when going to invite people is the appearance fee of the masters, which is divided equally among the teams. The red envelope given when they leave is a thank you gift from the host.
The person responsible for building the tomb went up the mountain to do the rest of the work, and the relatives and friends also went up the mountain again to add a handful of soil to the new tomb.
After the tomb was built, the host gave everyone present a gift and a red envelope before going down the mountain.
Zhang Ke also followed him up the mountain. When he was about to enter the mountain when he came down, he was going to go directly back to his home.
Le Yun stopped him and asked him to go to Le's house for dinner.
"I won't go." Zhang Ke shook his head. He was already very grateful to the Le family for letting him make atonement for his mother's sins.
"If you don't want to go, that's okay." Le Yun didn't force it, and didn't care that others were listening. She said her decision calmly: "I forgive you. Originally, your mother harmed my aunt, and I was so cruel that she wanted to go."
Your mother has cut off her children and grandchildren.
Uncle Zhang has never done anything unconscionable, and you yourself have not done any serious evil. I know you have sincerely repented, and I forgive you. If I want to settle accounts with your mother, I will only target her personally, and I will not curse your mother again.
Cut off children and grandchildren.
From now on, if you find a suitable woman, find someone to live with. You don’t have to worry about my revenge. The grudges between my family and yours have been wiped out. From now on, there will be no grudges or grudges, and there will be no kinship. We can just live our own lives."
Everyone who accompanied them up the mountain looked at the Le family's little boy in shock. She, she, she...had she ever planned to make Grandma Zhang die off?
Zhang Ke also changed his expression and his eyes widened in horror.
"I have always repaid kindness and revenge. The Zhang family harmed my aunt. It is impossible for me not to avenge my aunt. My aunt was harmed and died early. She has no children. How does the person who harmed my aunt have the right to enjoy the blessings of children and grandchildren?
?”
Le Yun did not bother to hide her vengeance to protect her family: "My aunt was killed and she had no children. The people who killed my aunt will not be able to enjoy the incense of future generations. Every important day, I will curse those people to cut off their descendants."
My curses have always been very effective. Look, the Huang family is not far away from being an empress. Chen Wu, if his son and grandson don't repent, they are not far away from being an empress."
Zhang Ke was frightened when he heard this. He broke out in a cold sweat due to the fear. He suppressed the shivers and thanked him repeatedly: "Thank you, thank you! I regret it, reflect on it, and will also dissuade my sister and nephews."
, let them behave as human beings."
Le Yun nodded: "Well, I will never curse your mother to have no children again. I keep my word, so you can feel free to find a mother-in-law to have children."
"Okay." Zhang Ke responded and walked onto another road. After walking for more than ten meters, he turned around and saw the Le family and the group of people walking away, and then he dared to wipe his sweat.
His heart also fell to the ground. The Le family girl forgave him and finally no longer had to bear the debt of conscience.
