Chapter 104 Moving into the Ancestral Hall
This relocation of graves kept the entire Jiangcun village busy for several days.
Even An Jianping and his group, when necessary, took leave to come and participate.
And then came the day when the village committee decided to move into the ancestral hall.
Even the entire Jiangcun village, and many of Jiangcun's married daughters, came back to participate.
The hearse and three buses that the village committee had specially rented were all full.
This day happened to be a Sunday.
The entire village donned mourning clothes, and under the organization of the village committee, they carried the new urn of ashes through the gate of the ancestral hall.
The new ancestral hall is located in a place that An Songyu is unfamiliar with.
Even several cars drove through the area after leaving Jiangcun.
These are all places that An Songyu has never been in before, in both her past and present lives.
Once they arrived outside the ancestral hall, An Songyu got off the bus with the villagers.
According to the village's long-standing tradition, the hearse was accompanied by the filial sons and grandsons of each family.
But this time, all the ancestors of Jiangcun since the village was founded were moved here.
Almost every man in the village, regardless of age, had to carry an urn containing ashes.
In some families, there are even more elderly members.
Even unmarried girls were given this rare honor as an exception.
An Songyu's family is doing well.
Even though their cousin's family was short-handed, the An Songshu brothers all had to go and help.
Their daughter doesn't need to come along yet.
So, An Songyu and her sisters, along with their two aunts and two cousins, sat on the bus behind them.
The seating arrangements on the three buses following behind were also differentiated.
The first bus following the hearse carried An Songyu and other women from Jiangcun who were related by blood.
And some of the wives from Jiangcun.
With this number of people, one bus is certainly not enough to accommodate them all.
So the second bus was also mostly occupied.
The second and third buses were filled with Jiangcun's sons-in-law.
And the descendants of those women from Jiangcun who got married.
When I heard about this arrangement...
Not to mention the An Songyu sisters, even the people who have lived in Jiangcun for a long time find it hard to understand.
However, after accepting this arrangement...
The daughters who had married out of Jiangcun seemed to have a particularly different mood.
As soon as they got off the bus, the villagers of Jiangcun naturally lined up according to the village's arrangement when they boarded the bus.
Not far away, people gathered to watch, whether they had heard the news beforehand or simply heard the commotion.
Seeing the orderly and disciplined people of Jiangcun, it was as if they were influenced by this rather solemn atmosphere.
Next, the burial ceremony for the Jiang and An families was naturally not something that others could participate in.
The new Jiangcun Ancestral Hall is not entirely together.
But it was right next to it.
The Jiang and An families split into two groups and entered through different entrances.
Going up the newly built stone steps behind the ancestral hall, you will reach the new burial ground for the ancestors who settled here.
Today, however, only some of the ancestors with the surname An are allowed to be buried in the tomb.
Other ancestors would follow the guidance of the feng shui master.
It was temporarily placed with wood underneath and tarpaulin on top, but not with soil.
It is said that this is because today is not a suitable day for them to be buried.
So we have to wait here, neither here nor there, for the right time.
An Songyu's great-grandparents did not have this taboo.
However, several of my great-great-grandfathers and even earlier ancestors were indeed in this situation.
Moreover, according to the feng shui master's calculations.
The days when these ancestors were able to be buried again were not all the same.
Although the filial sons and grandsons are destined to come back several more times.
But everyone sincerely worships and expresses gratitude to their ancestors.
According to many of the older generation in Jiangcun.
If it weren't for the blessings of our ancestors and their hard work during their lifetime...
Where would these descendants and grandchildren be, enjoying their current good life?
What's more, their village even managed to get such a good thing as a demolition and relocation.
The ceremony for reburying ancestors is extremely complicated.
There are different ceremonies for sons, grandsons, and married women.
When An Songyu and her sisters came down from the mountain together.
The two aunts and two cousins who came out earlier had already walked around half the neighborhood.
Upon seeing the sisters, the two older cousins greeted them first: "Ayu, are you done too?"
An Songyu and the others nodded and went to greet them.
However, looking around at the completely unfamiliar scenery, she couldn't help but ask, "Big sister, where is this place?"
As soon as An Songyu finished speaking, An Songxiang and the others who came out with her also looked over.
I noticed that my cousins all looked on with longing.
An Songyi smiled helplessly before looking at An Songyue first: "A-Yue, you don't even know?"
An Songyue was slightly taken aback. She touched her face shyly and nodded awkwardly.
"So, do you know about the brigade headquarters?" An Songyun asked curiously from the side.
She does know that.
An Songyue nodded affirmatively.
“This is the place where Grandpa would always bring Dad and Songshu to pay respects every year during the Lunar New Year.”
“Oh right, I remember when we were little, we seemed to have come here too!” An Songyun looked at her sister uncertainly.
Before An Songyi could answer, An Jianjia, who was standing next to her, said definitively:
"Of course, although we haven't come every year in the past."
"But it is still necessary to obtain it every time the An family holds a grand ceremony."
“It’s been these past few years…” An Jianjia stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence.
After all, this is outside the ancestral hall, so there are some things that are not so easy to say directly.
So she asked quite bluntly, "Xiaoyu, do you know which brigade our Jiangcun belongs to?"
An Songyu was slightly taken aback, blinking her eyes for a long time, but she couldn't find the answer in her mind.
Upon closer reflection, it seems she has never really thought about it deeply.
There are only about twenty households in their Jiangcun village.
How could it possibly be a single team?
Seeing An Songyu's reaction, An Jianjia and the others couldn't help but laugh.
On the contrary, An Songxiang and the others also felt like they were being laughed at.
An Jianning, however, couldn't bear to see his nieces continue to feel so ashamed, so he quickly and gently explained to them:
“Our Jiangcun village belongs to Xinmin Brigade, and this is where the brigade headquarters is located.”
"And Xinmin Brigade is composed of several major surnames."
"At the suggestion of the elders in the early years, we simply rebuilt the ancestral hall together."
"This is where we are right now."
"This time, the entire Jiangcun village was demolished."
“We want to relocate the graves, but the government hasn’t allocated any other land for us.”
"But the Shuncheng Cemetery can provide us with a lot of convenience."
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