At this time, the main beam that was originally suspended in the air for debugging has been lowered and placed on two benches, with copper coins and other items hung on both sides.

The carpenters were in the east and the bricklayers were in the west, and the ceremony officially began.

The first item of the beam-raising ceremony is the worship of the host.

The hosts are naturally Jiang Li and Zhu Yan, but before they get married they have to be accompanied by their fathers to perform the sacrificial ceremony.

The sacrificial ceremony was all about saying nice things. The carpenters and masonsmen had smiles on their faces that Wan Feng thought were fake, and they said auspicious words like "good luck, the house will be forever solid, and the descendants will be prosperous."

Then the host burns incense, offers wine and kneels down. The wine should be offered three times, and while offering wine, he should say some good words in his heart as if making a wish.

After these rituals are completed, the song of raising the beam will be sung.

Mr. Wang also burned incense and washed his hands before starting to sing.

"The sun rises in the east, and the white light shines. This is a good place.

The Zhongde Mansion will be built in the front, and the Ge Lao Hall will be built in the back;

The Azure Dragon on the left comes to cheer, and the White Tiger on the right makes a scene;

Where did the big tree in the east room come from? It came from a good place;

Its roots stretch across the five lakes and four seas, shading the nine-day sun..."

This was the first time Wan Feng had heard such a beam-raising song, not to mention that the rhyme was quite nice.

Old Master Wang was holding a bottle of wine and singing while pouring it all over the house, in front of, behind, left and right.

"The Dragon and Phoenix Pond was created in the front, and Phoenix Mountain was created in the back.

Watering on the left and right will bring out a riot of flowers, and in the center will bring out a house full of blessings..."

After watering the outside, water the inside of the house, and finally pour the wine on the main beam.

"The golden rooster crows in the sky, and it's time to raise the beams.

The green dragons on the left and right are floating softly, teachers, please come up high."

Wang He and his uncle climbed onto the roof with axes on their waists, and stopped on the left and right of the location where the main beam was to be placed.

They are today's beam-raising masters.

If you walk with a big head, you will be promoted to a high official position; if you walk with a small head, you will be the top scholar. Good luck!

Zhang Hai shouted at the door: "Fire the firecrackers!"

Those who had already prepared to light firecrackers immediately poked the cigarette butts in their hands onto the wicks, and the crackling sound of firecrackers rang out to the sky.

The green smoke from the firecrackers filled the place with mist in an instant. The children were both excited and scared. Sometimes a firecracker flew over and the whole place was in chaos.

Amid the sound of firecrackers, the master who erected the beam pulled up the east end of the main beam, which was slightly higher than the west end, and raised it to the roof. Wang He and his uncle caught the main beam and knocked it into the mortise and tenon.

The next and most exciting step is to grab the buns on the beam.

The steamed buns for beam raising in southern Liaoning are very small, about the same size as Wangzai steamed buns. You can grab several of them in one hand and hang them next to the beam raising master with a bucket, who then starts throwing the buns down.

Wang He first grabbed a few handfuls and put them in his pocket, then threw two handfuls to the boss. After the boss caught them, the remaining buns flew in all directions.

It is said that the steamed buns on the beam can ward off evil and bring good luck, so it is not just children who grab the steamed buns, adults also grab them like crazy.

Of course Wan Feng would go and grab it, for the sake of good luck.

Wang He deliberately threw several handfuls to Wan Feng, and Wan Feng only grabbed more than ten.

Wan Feng came back with a handful of steamed buns, gave one to each of the people at the two tables, and kept one for himself.

After throwing away the steamed buns, it’s time to eat.

Zhang Hai sat at a table with a piece of red paper spread out in front of him.

The team accountant sat off to one side.

"Buy meal tickets!" Zhang Hai shouted, and the people who came with gifts started to pay, each lining up with a one-yuan bill in their hands.

At that time, the rural share of money was one yuan, and this amount remained until around 1985 when it became two yuan.

Zhang Hai is responsible for keeping records, and the accountant is responsible for collecting money.

"We also need to pay for food, right? Xiao Wan, you keep the account and I'll collect the money for you." Zhou Bingde suggested.

It is natural to spend money on meals. Wan Feng was not at all pretentious. He asked for a piece of red paper. Zhou Bingde was responsible for collecting the money and he was responsible for recording.

What made Wan Feng speechless was the ten-yuan notes that Xia Qiulong and the others had. It really looked like they were rich now! Isn't this a bargain for the Jiang family?

Wan Feng collected 100 yuan from ten people on this order, but Zhang Hai's team in Wahou had not yet collected 100 yuan.

In rural areas, gifts are almost always paid at home. There are only about eighty or ninety households in Wahou, and there are many people who don't come to visit. How can I collect a hundred yuan?

However, Wan Feng did not plan to give the money to the Jiang family. He planned to give it to Jiang Li and let them keep it for themselves. Anyway, they would have to repay the favor themselves in the future. It would be a loss to give it all to their family.

After collecting the money, the dishes began to be served, and Wan Feng called Zhang Hai to this table.

"This is Zhang Hai, the leader of our Wahou team. This is Zhou Bingde, the captain of the First Construction Team. This is Xia Qiulong, my eldest brother!"

After both sides shook hands and exchanged greetings and sat down, the dishes came.

There were seven people in total at Wan Feng's table, including Xia Qiulong, Zhou Bingde, Zhang Hai, Wan Feng, Lu, Liu He and Zhou Bingde's driver.

The person in charge of the dishes on their table is Yang Qilang.

"Tell the people at our two tables to serve more food so that everyone doesn't feel too crowded." Wan Feng grabbed Yang Qilang and reminded him.

Wan Feng doesn't drink, but the five of them drank two taels each, and a bottle of Moutai was gone.

Wan Feng brought a bottle of Moutai and a bottle of Wuliangye, and the remaining two bottles had to be left for grandpa. Anyway, if the two bottles were not enough, he could only drink the host's Sanbai.

After two rounds of drinks, Wanfeng began to speak.

"Godfather, I've been really wanting to see you these past few days. Our team has a project that's a key project approved by our commune. It was originally done by our commune's construction team, but they were too slow and slack. Our deadline is quite tight, and we can't afford to slack off, so we sent them away. Do you think Yijian can take over this job and help us?"

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!