Chapter 153: The Beam Raising Banquet

Li Youshan glanced at him and thought, humph, his hard work and study during this period have paid off.

Then they pasted red cloth on the beams and placed grains, copper coins and incense burners on them.

Old man Li thought he would be asked to give the blessing speech, but Li Youshan asked Grandpa Li Fu to come instead.

Grandpa Li Fu tapped the beam and muttered to himself.

"I hope the day is auspicious and the time is good. The heaven and earth are open, the golden beam is on the roof, and the family will prosper forever..."

After reading it, grab a chicken and worship at the head, tail and middle of the beam to ward off evil spirits and avoid disasters.

Afterwards, Li Youshan and his son held the incense in their hands, bowed three times to Liangmu, and put the incense in the incense burner.

This is called Jiliang.

Then comes the cheering.

The carpenter lifted the beam while shouting auspicious words, and the whole audience responded.

When the beams were installed, a string of firecrackers rang out in the sky.

The Li brothers threw down maltose and steamed buns wrapped in oil paper from the beam, and people on the ground rushed to pick them up.

Someone was picking up things and said, "Oh, in the past, other families would throw some coarse flour cakes when they put up the beams, but the Li family is really generous, they actually gave us sugar and white flour buns."

"Stop talking and pick it up."

Some people picked up two or three steamed buns, some picked up a few pieces of maltose, and most of them had smiles on their faces.

A small number of people felt that the amount was too little, and that the Li family was rich, so they should give more.

After the beam-raising ceremony, the banquet began.

Village Chief Li looked at Li Youshan and said, "Brother, you did a great job in raising the beam. It's unique in our village."

Li Youshan laughed innocently and said, "Our village will get better and better in the future. By then, every household will build a blue brick house, and their beams will be better than mine."

Village chief Li was very excited to hear this. He thought it would be great if one day every household in their village lived in a blue brick house.

When the food and wine were served, everyone's eyes widened.

Someone sighed: "Oh my god, four meat dishes."

"That's right. We haven't had such a sumptuous meal during Chinese New Year."

One woman said, "I heard from Sister Guixiang of the Li family that each dish has its own particularities."

"What's the point?"

"Steamed egg with minced meat, good fortune and prosperity; four-joy meatballs, good fortune, wealth, longevity and happiness; stewed chicken with mushrooms, good luck; braised fish, fish every year; hot and sour cabbage, wealth and fortune; seasonal vegetables, peace in all seasons; mapo tofu, prosperity; egg drop soup, prosperity; red bean and glutinous rice dumpling soup, family reunion..."

The woman had a loud voice, and everyone around her could hear what she said. If others talked about it a little more, everyone would know it.

"My goodness, there is such a saying?"

"That's right. The Li family does business with restaurants in the county town. They have seen more of the world than us, so they must know more than us."

"We have seen the world. When I build a house in the future, I will follow this."

"Aunt Mei is right. Let's follow the Li family and build a blue brick house and hold a beam-raising ceremony like this."

Everyone present was chatting and laughing. Li Youshan also gave red envelopes to the craftsmen who helped him. Each red envelope contained ten cents, and the craftsmen happily accepted them.

They ate all the food on every table and even drank the soup.

I ate so much at noon that I can skip dinner.

After the meal, most of them helped to clean up the dishes. After cleaning up, they took their own tables, chairs and benches home.

As for plates and bowls, return them to them after they have been washed.

After everything was packed up, it was already 4:40 in the afternoon.

Zhao Suying gave each of the people who helped her a red envelope of thirty cents.

Several people went back satisfied.

As the sun was setting, Xiaolan, Xiaohe and a few other children saw that there was nothing to do at home, so they took bamboo tubes and went to touch the cicada monkeys.

In the summer, children love to touch this.

Many children were searching in the woods.

"Sister, here is one." Xiaohe shouted excitedly, but she was short and couldn't reach it.

I bent down and picked up a branch, and when I pulled it, the cicada monkey fell off.

She quickly picked it up and put it into the bamboo tube.

Xiaolan immediately praised: "Xiaohe is so smart."

Xiao Tao pointed to the top of the tree and shouted, "There's one here, it's too high, we need to find a long wooden stick."

After saying that, just as he was about to look for a stick, Zhou Muniu ran over and said, "Xiaotao, don't look for a stick. I'll help you catch it."

He spat on his hands twice, climbed up the tree in a few steps to a high place, and caught the cicada monkey.

There was another one on another branch, and they took both down and handed them to Xiaotao.

"Thank you, Brother Muniu. I only need one. The other one is yours." Xiaotao took one from him.

"I'll give them all to you. I've caught a dozen in this bamboo tube, I'll give them to you, too."

Zhou Muniu said as he reached for the bamboo tube at his waist. Xiaotao waved her hand quickly, "No, no, you can keep the ones you caught for your family."

Xiaolan heard the noise and came over to stop them: "Brother Muniu, we have caught enough. You can take the ones you catch back for Auntie and Xiao Miao to eat."

Zhou Muniu patted the bamboo tube on the other side and said, "I still have one tube here. You have taught me so much, and I have nothing to thank you for. This is a thank you gift. Otherwise, I would be embarrassed to learn from you."

During this period, he not only learned a lot of things, but also ate well every time because he helped the Li family build a house.

He can also save some and take it back for his mother and sister to eat. He has gained some weight recently.

Apart from helping the Li family collect firewood and chop pig grass in my spare time, I don’t know what else I can do for them.

Xiaolan then took it: "Okay."

At this time, a sharp shout was heard: "Zhou Muniu, what are you doing?"

The two cows of Zhou's family, Jin and Yin, ran forward and pointed at Zhou Muniu, saying, "Well, you are a traitor. You caught a cicada monkey but didn't take it back to feed your grandparents. Instead, you gave it to the Li family as a loss-making commodity."

"Don't talk nonsense, I didn't do that. The one on my waist was caught by me. The tube originally belonged to the Li sisters. I just helped pick it up when it fell on the ground. You cursed at me, you should apologize to the Li sisters."

"Why should I apologize? That's your money, and you still want to deceive us. I'm going to go back and tell my grandparents, and see how they deal with you."

Zhou Muniu gritted his teeth and clenched his fists until they made a creaking sound. It didn't matter if he was beaten, but he would not be at ease if Li's sister was scolded.

He wanted to beat them up and threaten them not to say anything, but Li Xiaolan said loudly: "Okay, go home and complain. Your second uncle, brother Mu Niu, and several relatives are still working in our house. You go back and complain, and I will go back and tell my grandfather to tell him not to let those people come. Each person earns 30 cents a day. If you lose this income, will your grandparents and those relatives be happy? They may even blame you then."

The two Zhou family members froze in place instantly. They were right. If this money-losing guy was right, even if their grandparents didn't beat them, their cousins would blame them.

The two cows looked at each other, snorted coldly, and ran away.