Chapter 310: Ritual of Life
When the ox cart arrived at the door of the house, the new millet was taken down and placed at the wall inside the door. It was not their turn to dry today, so they were put there first and spread out to dry when the sun came out tomorrow morning.
The things that have almost dried on the drying mat are collected, and the busy day ends only when the last ray of light disappears in the sky.
Qin Yao felt sticky and itchy all over and just wanted to take a quick bath.
While Awang went to boil water, Liu Ji was lazy and ran to the foot of the mountain to call the four children who had run away somewhere to come home, and on the way he took back the cash box from the water mill.
The water mill has not stopped these days, and every household can't wait to get a jar of new rice to taste.
Seeing this situation, the village chief has gone to discuss with the clan leader and is preparing to raise funds in the village to build a large mill like the one in Xiahe Village so that each household can use it.
It is difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Now the old-style manual mill is vacant and no one is willing to go there. There is only one water mill in Qin Yao's house, which is a bit too crowded to use.
Qin Yao didn't care. The cost of the water mill at home had been recovered long ago. It was quite troublesome to overhaul it every three to five days. The village had replaced it with a big mill, so she could keep the small mill for her own use.
The evening breeze was blowing and my body felt cool. Awang had just prepared warm water in the shower room.
Qin Yao remembered that the soap she and Awang made last month had been hidden in the attic in the backyard. It should be ready to use now.
Thinking about the hardships of the autumn harvest these days, now that the work is done, Qin Yao decides to reward herself with a little sense of ceremony.
I quickly walked to the backyard, climbed up to the attic, and took down the bamboo basket hanging on the beam. Before I got close, I could already smell the sweet scent of flowers.
It is a scent mixed from many kinds of nectar, not strong, but the kind of fragrance left behind when someone walks by, fleeting but able to make people feel relaxed and happy.
Qin Yao thought to herself, I didn’t realize Awang is also a master of perfumery. She was looking forward to today’s bath even more.
"Mother!"
Si Niang's excited shouts came from the door.
Liu Ji led the four children who had rolled in the mud home, cursing. As soon as Dalang and Erlang entered the house, they ran towards Qin Yao, picked up their fish baskets and showed her today's spoils.
Green crabs were crowded in a small fish basket, their legs crawling around and scratching on the bamboo strips, making a rustling sound that gave people goose bumps.
Dalang said happily, "We found these in the creeks in the mountains. They are big and strong. Fourth uncle said we should bring them back and have Awang pick out the big ones to steam and eat. They are so sweet!"
Qin Yao took a look, waved her hand, and said with a smile: "Awang, there will be a snack tonight!"
The three Dalang brothers immediately rushed into the kitchen carrying their fish baskets, and soon the kitchen was filled with their excited laughter.
Si Niang waved the bunch of wild flowers in her hand vigorously, "Mother! Look at me, look at me!"
Today, the little girl followed her brothers into the mountains. Her head was full of grass seeds. Her messy hair and expectant expression made her look funny and cute.
Qin Yao walked towards the little girl holding the soap, and Si Niang, who stood on tiptoe, handed her a bunch of purple and white wild flowers. "Smell it, it smells so good~"
Qin Yao took a sniff and it was indeed fragrant.
Taking a look at the soap in her hand, Qin Yao looked towards the water tank and said, "Go get the pottery plate that was broken yesterday."
Liu Ji had just washed his face with cold water and was about to sit down to rest for a while. He didn't feel like moving, so he grabbed Erlang who ran out to wash his muddy feet and said, "Go, bring that broken pottery plate to your mother."
Big Lazy sent Little Lazy away, Erlang pulled Sanlang up from the basin, "You go."
Sanlang let out an "oh" and started running, as if he had endless energy.
"Mother, here." Sanlang quickly handed the plate to Qin Yao, and ran back to the water tank to continue washing the mud off his legs.
Dalang came out of the kitchen with the small crabs that Awang had left over. He planned to keep these small ones in water overnight and fry them as a snack for lunch tomorrow.
Qin Yao asked him to help get the whetstone at her feet to smooth the sharp edge of the ceramic plate, then put in the soap and took a handful of purple and white flowers that Si Niang had carefully selected and placed them next to it as decoration.
The earth-colored ceramic plate contains light yellow oval-shaped soap, which contrasts beautifully with the purple and white flowers. It is colorful, exquisite and beautiful, and full of ritual sense!
Si Niang screamed and immediately ran into her room, found clean clothes, and stuck behind Qin Yao, wanting to take a bath together.
Liu Ji muttered: "Pretending~"
But his body was very honest. He walked to the corner of the backyard wall, dug out a few unused broken pottery jars, and polished the cracks smooth just like Qin Yao had done just now. Then he put the wild flowers that Si Niang had placed under the corridor into the pottery jars.
One was placed on the table in the main room, one was placed on the low table with a mat in the yard, and the last one was quietly brought into Qin Yao's room like a thief and placed next to the weapon rack at the head of the bed.
The dim candlelight in the yard shines through the paper-pasted windows, bringing a faint warmth into the room. The purple bouquet adds a touch of beautiful and dreamy color to this faint warmth.
Liu Ji clapped his hands in satisfaction, closed the door, and tiptoed out.
As soon as he went into the bathroom to wash up, Qin Yao came in and checked whether the money hanging on the beam was missing.
As soon as I looked up, I saw that dreamy purple, and my mood immediately relaxed. I let my body lie down on the soft big bed, looking at the window that was emitting warm light, smelling the fireworks coming from the kitchen, and a sense of gratitude arose spontaneously.
Thank God for letting her live again, and wish the country peace and prosperity.
God seemed to have heard people's prayers, and the rain this year came just in time.
After the autumn harvest was over and all the millet was dried, Liujia Village welcomed the first heavy rain of autumn.
The refugees of the road construction team were finally able to take advantage of the rain to stop and rest for two days.
The small village shrouded in rain looks like an ink-and-wash landscape painting by a master artist. The dim sky turns all colors into grayish white.
From afar, you can see white smoke coming out of the factory at the entrance of the village and shepherd boys wearing straw raincoats and bamboo hats herding cattle.
The rain covered up people's voices. The world was silent, with only the sound of the rain.
The four brothers and sisters of Dalang, who couldn't go to school because of the heavy rain, sat in a row at the door of the main room, gazing at the water flowing in the drainage ditch in the yard, their eyes rolling around, and they obviously wanted to go down and step on the water.
Awang was sitting under the eaves picking peanuts and could see at a glance how eager the children were to try.
Turning his head to take a look at the small room next door, he saw that the lady was checking the master's homework progress in the past two months and did not notice this side.
So he put down the work in his hands, got up and went into the main room, and took out the straw raincoat and bamboo hat hanging on the wall.
Without him saying a word, the four brothers and sisters immediately took it and put it on, then lined up and followed Awang, sneaking into the backyard like thieves.
With a "pop", Si Niang jumped into the rain first. Looking at the high splashes of water at her feet, she covered her mouth and smiled with her eyes curved.
Some are happy and some are sad.
Liu Ji in the room was like the herbs in the stove at this moment. He was in agony and wanted to die under Qin Yao's test questions one after another.
(End of this chapter)
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