Chapter 381: Raising the Beam

Li Shaofen's family didn't have much to begin with, and now that Li Wensong is here, they have a representative, and that's enough.

The rest are basically from the surrounding villages, so they don’t need to come home in advance. They can just come early tomorrow morning, so it saves a lot of trouble.

As for Lin Xiaoxia's family and friends in the city, they can all come over early tomorrow morning. It's not too far away anyway.

What they didn't expect was that while they were talking, Lu Jingxue arrived.

After entering the house, he called Lu Guojiu and Li Shaofen "Second Uncle" and "Second Aunt", and then without sitting down, he said directly: "I will go to help in the kitchen tomorrow. I can cook big pot meals and can help."

Lu Guojiu nodded and said, "Okay, that's great. Ask your dad to come over for dinner when he has time, and bring some food home so you don't have to cook."

Lu Jingxue said, "Well, I won't keep you from talking any longer, Uncle and Aunt, I'm going back." After saying that, he nodded to Lu Jingshen and Lin Xiaoxia and went out.

Lu Jingshen saw Lu Jingxue out the door. Suddenly, he didn't know what to say, so he just saw him to the door.

After watching Lu Jingxue leave, Lu Jingshen returned to the house.

Li Shaofen sighed and said to Lin Xiaoxia and Lu Jingshen, "You probably don't know yet, but Zhang Tingting ran away with someone a few days ago. I thought Jingxue had changed for the better and their family could live a good life, but I never thought Zhang Tingting would run away with someone."

Lin Xiaoxia asked in confusion: "She ran off with someone? Does she have someone else outside?"

Li Shaofen nodded. "Some merchants who buy medicinal herbs came to the village a while ago and set up a shop here to buy medicinal herbs from the mountains. They must be rich people. Zhang Tingting hooked up with one of the merchants and went to the city with him."

Lu Jingshen couldn't understand why he asked, "So you ran away with someone without getting a divorce?"

Lu Guojiu also sighed: "Shameful, so shameful, who wouldn't laugh at this? What kind of daughter did the Zhang family raise? It's so shameful."

Lin Xiaoxia asked Li Shaofen, "Didn't you go find Lu Jingxue? I think he's quite calm."

Li Shaofen said, "I don't know either, and it's not easy to ask."

Lin Xiaoxia thought about it and agreed. "It's really hard to ask, but Zhang Tingting is really not a good person. She even seduced my cousin, Doctor Jiang, before. It's not surprising that she ran away with someone. But she got a divorce before leaving. What's the big deal?"

Lu Guojiu said, "I said I was afraid I couldn't leave. I left with someone and will come back in two years to complete the divorce procedures."

Lin Xiaoxia said, "I'm afraid that after two years of running away, she might come back to him and he won't want her anymore. If we don't divorce him by then, Lu Jing will have to bear the consequences."

Lu Guojiu said: "This is also a problem. Who knows what will happen in the future?"

After a few words, everyone returned to talking about the beam raising tomorrow. This was a serious matter, and they couldn't say too much about Lu Jingxue's affairs.

The next morning, before daybreak, Lu Guojiu and Li Shaofen got up.

Lin Xiaoxia and Lu Jingshen also got up at dawn. Hearing them get up, Lu Jingyuan and Li Wensong also got up.

We changed into more formal clothes, packed up, had some snacks and drank some water, and then started moving things to the new house.

Lu Jingyuan and Li Wensong, two young boys, are quite capable at work and are good at pushing a flatbed cart.

Soon, neighbor Uncle Dong and the old Zheng family in the front yard also came to help.

It took two trips to move all these things over.

Li Shaofen locked the door and went to the new house.

After a while, the cook came and started to prepare.

Soon the carpenters and bricklayers arrived. The master in charge of raising the beam was named Ji, which means Jili. It was a good name, so everyone would look for Master Jiliji when raising the beam.

Master Ji and his men first pasted a piece of red paper similar to the Bagua diagram on the main beam of the main house, and then pasted two couplets, which read "Taigong is here, all gods abdicate."

Lin Xiaoxia asked Lu Jingshen in confusion: "Who is Taigong?"

Lu Jingshen explained, "Tai Gong is Jiang Tai Gong, also known as Jiang Ziya. There's a folk legend about this. Legend has it that Jiang Tai Gong visited his friend Song Yi Ren's house, which was in very poor condition. He asked Yi Ren why he hadn't built a new house. Yi Ren explained that the first time he built a new house, a strong wind blew it down just as he had laid the walls. The second time, a beam suddenly broke. The third time, the thatch on the roof caught fire, and he was never able to finish it. After hearing this, Jiang Tai Gong realized it was the four gods fighting over territory and offerings, so he chanted a spell: 'Gods of the Four Directions, listen carefully! Tai Gong is here. Return to your proper place!' After that, Song Yi Ren's family was able to build their house safely. It used to be superstition, but later it became a custom."

Lin Xiaoxia finally understood the meaning of the couplet and smiled at Lu Jingshen: "My husband really knows a lot."

Lu Jingshen also laughed: "That's right, don't you see whose husband he is?"

After some sweet banter, the two went over to help.

After the beams and pillars are prepared, they need to be covered with red cloth and tied with a string of copper coins. When the auspicious time comes, the beams are placed on top of the main house. This is called "raising the beams".

One after another, the helpers arrived, some washing and some cutting vegetables, while the cook started stewing and frying the food.

They are also ready for the beam raising. Eight fifty-eight is the auspicious time, so there is still some time and no need to rush.

After a while, Sun Qiang, Sanluzi and others arrived, and Lu Jingxin also came with them. They brought good cigarettes and alcohol in the car. They greeted them and moved them in, which also gave face to the Lu family.

Soon, the Lin family also arrived, including Lin Jianguo and Lin Jianshe. In addition to Lin Jianye’s car, they hired another car.

When Lu Guojiu and Li Shaofen saw their in-laws coming, they hurried out to greet them.

The Lu family is now quite prestigious in the village. There are several cars parked at the gate of Shangliang, and so many city people have come, bringing so many good cigarettes and good wines. Who wouldn't be envious?

Lin Xiaoxia was also happy to see her parents coming. She took Huang Wanxia and Lin Mei's arms and introduced to them the future uses of these factory buildings at home.

To be honest, Lin Jianye had not expected that the factory would be so large, so numerous, and so luxurious. However, looking at his daughter and son-in-law, he was not surprised. These two kids are really capable of making things happen.

The auspicious time has arrived amidst the hustle and bustle.

As Master Ji called out the auspicious time, several strong men carried the beams onto the house, and then Lu Jingshen went to light the firecrackers.

As soon as the sound of firecrackers died down, a wedding attendant came in, banging on a bamboo board and saying auspicious words: "Today is the day for the beam raising! The green tile house is so tall! Four golden bricks support the jade pillars, and four jade pillars support the main beam. Guan Gong's sword is eight feet long. After finishing the front hall, he is now working on the back hall. The front hall is like the mansion of the top scholar, and the back hall is like a warehouse full of beams. The host looked up and saw eight immortals coming from the sky to announce the good news. Boys under their seats scattered money. The first scattered gold, the second scattered silver, the third scattered mules and horses in a group, the fourth scattered golden flowers to announce the good news, and the fifth scattered carp jumping over the dragon gate. There was a money tree in front and a treasure bowl in the back. I wish the host more and more prosperity, and great wealth every year and every month."

After saying this, Lu Guojiu couldn't stop smiling. He took the red envelope and gave it to the person who came to celebrate.

The one celebrating the wedding was also happy and said a few auspicious words.

After the beam-raising ceremony was completed, the banquet began.

The person who brings the gift has arrived. He writes down the account at the door, including his name, amount of money, etc., and then enters the yard.

Now that the weather is warm, the banquets are set up in the yard.