Qingming Festival.
Qingming Festival, one of China's four major traditional festivals, involves ancestor worship, burning incense and candles, and offering sacrifices at gravesites. This does not represent a strong belief in ghosts and gods, but rather a moral belief and cultural heritage of people remembering their ancestors and giving thanks for the continuation of life.
Every year during the Qingming Festival, people of all ages, whether they are studying or working away from home, return to pay respects to their ancestors.
During the worship, the elders would tell stories about whose grave was which, and what important or interesting things happened during their lives.
Let future generations remember that life is not easy, we should cherish the bitterness and appreciate the sweetness, filial piety is the most important virtue, and we should know how to be grateful for the people and things of the past in order to have a better future.
Early in the morning, the Xiao family members in the town gathered at the end of South Street, more than a hundred men, women and children.
Sitting on a stool, eating sunflower seeds.
The place was bustling with people, chatting away. People who wouldn't normally get along put aside their differences and chatted about everyday things during this festival when people returned home to pay respects to their ancestors.
We waited together for the bus to return home.
Before long, a deafening roar came.
Everyone looked up at the sound.
A fleet of military-green brick trucks drove in from the other end of South Street, and pedestrians on the road quickly made way for them.
"Finally, I don't have to ride a tractor this year!"
"Great! I don't have to push the stroller in the cold wind anymore, and I don't have to throw up my breakfast from all the jolting!"
"The village chief has finally accomplished something this year!"
Many people almost burst into tears of joy.
Someone said, "What does this have to do with the village chief? These brick trucks were all borrowed by Xiao Zhigang's son, Xiao Cheng, from the brick factory owner. I saw Xiao Cheng go to our brick factory owner to borrow the trucks yesterday after I finished work at the brick factory."
“Our boss agreed without saying a word and even politely saw Xiao Cheng out. The two have a very deep friendship! How can the village chief, who is turned away every time he goes there and can’t even get a meeting with our boss, compare to him?”
Others chimed in, "When I came here this morning, I saw the village chief driving a tractor. If a young man hadn't stopped him and told him that the brick factory had lent the tractor to Xiao Cheng, the village chief might have let us ride the tractor back to the countryside to pay respects to our ancestors this year!"
"If Brother Xiao Cheng can borrow a car, why didn't he come back to the countryside with us to pay respects to our ancestors in previous years?" a middle school boy asked, puzzled.
The aunt, with a friendly smile, chuckled, "Your grandfather didn't even let anyone inform your brother Xiao Cheng, so how can he reply?"
The young man looked embarrassed and wisely shut up.
After the first brick truck came to a stop, no one got off.
When the second car came to a stop, village chief Xiao Guofu got out of the passenger seat and hurriedly ran over to count the number of people.
After ordering, he ran to the first brick truck and said to the man in the driver's seat, "More than 20 people came back from Longcheng next door this morning, so the total number is now 168. Can we fit them all in these six brick trucks?"
The man glanced around and asked casually, "How many elderly people, children, and adults are there respectively?"
Xiao Guofu immediately ran back to count the heads.
He quickly ran back, panting, and said, "There were 15 elderly people, 11 children under the age of ten, 39 junior and senior high school students under the age of eighteen, and the rest were all adults."
Xiao Cheng tapped his fingers twice on the steering wheel and said, "The old man with his stool will ride in one car, and the three adults who are banging gongs and drums will ride in the other car."
"Children under ten years old ride in one car with their parents, while the other four cars are for standing."
After a moment's thought, Xiao Guofu nodded. All the adults stood up, just like in previous years.
Originally, there were supposed to be six large brick trucks this year, and everyone could sit on benches. He received a message from an acquaintance in town early in the morning and made the necessary arrangements. However, in previous years, each family in Longcheng would send one representative back. This year, there were suddenly so many more people, and no one was informed in advance.
It's too late to go back to the brick factory to borrow a car now; we can only squeeze in and stand.
Compared to tractors that could even cause jaundice to spit out, the smooth and stable brick trucks were infinitely better, so the villagers would never complain about standing.
Upon hearing the assignment, I got on the bus without saying a word, and temporarily left the stool I had prepared at the nearest neighbor's house.
Wang Cuihua's husband was also a member of the Xiao family, named Xiao Zhongbiao. Logically speaking, she could remarry after her husband's death, and she could choose whether or not to go to the Xiao family's hometown to pay respects to their ancestors.
But she immediately wanted to get into Xiao Cheng's car.
"Brother Xiao Cheng..."
Before the second "brother" could even be uttered, a handsome head popped up in the passenger seat, beaming with smiles.
I asked her, "What do you need my husband for?"
Wang Cuihua glanced at Xiao Cheng, who was silently supporting Bai Lu's waist in the driver's seat, and stammered, "I get a little carsick. I heard it's better to sit in the passenger seat so you won't throw up."
Bai Lu smiled slightly: "But our car is already full. Xiao Wei even added a cushion to sit in the middle. Do you want to go and see if you can find any other cars?"
Xiao Wei was speechless at this moment.
She also knew he was sitting in the middle.
She turned sideways in front of him, almost lying on top of him. How come someone who is usually so conscious of his image has suddenly become so reckless?
Wang Cuihua's face burned, and she was still stunned by Bai Lu's sudden appearance, unable to come to her senses for a long time.
Who goes to a cemetery while pregnant?
Why doesn't Brother Xiao Cheng do anything about it?
"Hey you, move aside, we need to get into Brother Cheng's car. If you're not getting in, please move aside."
A group of little girls ran over carrying shovels.
They were all junior high and high school students, full of sunshine and energy, who quickly pushed Wang Cuihua to the side. It was clear that "make way" was just a notification.
Wang Cuihua reluctantly got into Xiao Dazhuang's car, only to find that Xiao Dazhuang's mother, who was in the passenger seat, was also carsick.
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