Go home for the New Year
Shu Lang's family started out in agricultural trade in the early years, contracting the sales of crops in the surrounding area.
The whole family is diligent and hardworking, and has become rich through hard work. The family conditions are very good, and they are definitely well-off.
The Shu family bought a house in the city early on, but his parents felt they were more comfortable in the countryside, where the neighbors were also harmonious.
Therefore, I almost never lived in the city, and I celebrated the New Year in my hometown in the countryside.
Shu Lang, holding his cousin Yaya and his stupid brother who had followed him to eat and drink for free, returned to the legendary "village".
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the festive atmosphere in the village has not yet dissipated. There are swept firecracker shells at the door of every household, which looks particularly festive at first glance.
The villagers sat in groups of three or five on the stone blocks at the door, chatting and eating melon seeds.
When he saw them, his eyes drifted over and he started to wonder which relative from the city they were.
Yi Jingchen was wrapped in a light-colored down jacket, walking on the village path, and the style was somewhat out of place.
Shu Lang was also dressed like a city girl. When he heard them muttering, he put Yaya down and walked over, calling out to each of them one by one.
"It's me, the son of the second son of the Shu family." Shu Lang introduced himself.
"So it's you. Have you grown up so much?"
"This kid hasn't been back for a few years, right?"
"I remember when you left, you were only this big, this big..."
"I was busy the past two years, so my parents came to visit me." Shu Lang smiled and pulled Yi Jingchen over and said, "This is a brother I met outside. His surname is Yi, and his name is Yi Jingchen."
The villagers looked at Yi Jingchen and nodded, "Very good, look at this kid who grew up in the city, so cute."
"Why do you look familiar to me?"
"Have you forgotten? The eldest son of the Shu family has made it big and is on TV, and this kid is standing right next to him."
Those who braved the snow and ice to go out and chat with their neighbors are older and naturally not addicted to the Internet, and have no idea about celebrities.
Even though everyone in the village knew that Shu Lang was on TV, they only described him as "promising".
Yi Jingchen spoke sweetly, calling everyone one by one, and then said to Shu Lang, "I treat him as my own brother."
"That would be great!"
"The Shu couple picked up such a big one for free."
As they were talking, Shu's father and mother, who were like Cao Cao, thought their son should have arrived, so they went out to check what was going on and ran into Yi Jingchen who was chatting with an elderly man in the village.
Shu Lang couldn't get a word in and just stood by and watched silently.
Shu's father and mother smiled.
"If you don't know, you might think Xiao Yi is the one who went home for the New Year."
"that is."
Shu's father yelled from a distance, "Stinky boy, bring Xiao Yi back quickly. The dishes are ready and waiting for you two!"
Before Shu Lang could react, Yi Jingchen heard that all the dishes were served and once again showed his greedy nature.
The main body quickly popped out of the large backpack on the back.
"Meow~!" Is there a share for me?
Yi Jingchen rushed ahead and couldn't wait to walk into Shu Lang's house.
Shu Lang's family had originally planned to entertain guests today, but when they knew their son and godson were coming back, Shu's father and mother sent the guests away early and prepared a large table full of New Year's dishes for them.
Yi Jingchen sat down and Shu Ma put a large stewed pig's trotter in his bowl.
The sauce was thick and red, and it made two duang~duang~ bounces when put into the bowl.
There are several meat dishes placed in front of the bowl, including fried hairtail, four-happiness meatballs, steamed pork with rice flour...all of which are staple dishes that could only be eaten during the Chinese New Year in the past.
Shu Lang sat down and saw that there were only cold dishes and stir-fried vegetables in front of him. He cast a suspicious look at his parents.
"Dad, Mom, who is your biological child?"
"What?" Shu's father glanced at him. "You've been eating this for over twenty years, and this is your brother's first year back home. Shouldn't he eat more?"
"Okay, I have no objection." Shu Lang sighed and reached out to pick up the vegetables.
Yi Jingchen reached across the table, picked up a large meatball and put it in Shu Lang's bowl.
"You..." Shu Lang was moved!
There is someone in this family who cares about me!
Before he could finish being moved, he heard Yi Jingchen beeping loudly.
[Let’s just appease him.]
What if my brother holds a grudge and doesn't take me home next year?
Shu Lang: ...
I shouldn't have brought you back this year!
After eating and drinking, Yi Jingchen obediently went into the kitchen to help, perfectly integrating into this family.
Shu's mother didn't refuse. She called Shu's father and Shu Lang over and washed the dishes together in no time.
Even after the Spring Festival, February here is still bitterly cold.
Shu's mother was afraid that they would be cold, so she asked them to go inside to rest and prepared to turn on the electric heater to keep the two children warm.
Before Yi Jingchen entered the room, his eyes were filled with excitement, and he asked excitedly, "That... is..."
Shu's father came over and asked, "What? What do you want?"
"Do we have a kang at home? I want to experience that!" Yi Jingchen asked expectantly.
He knew that earthen kangs were often used for heating here.
During the previous interview, Yi Jingchen was particularly curious about the "kang" and wanted to know if sleeping on it would turn him into a stone cat.
Unfortunately, the timing he chose was not right.
Or it's summer and the earthen kang is useless.
Or they are arranged to stay in a guesthouse and rely on electric blankets for warmth.
Despite so many interviews, Yi Jingchen never slept on the earthen kang that he longed for.
It’s not that strange when you think about it.
In the past, no matter how in-depth his interviews were, he was ultimately a journalist.
In the eyes of the general public, journalists are essentially bystanders and outsiders who are responsible for recording and reporting.
No matter how long you stay together, you can never truly integrate into local life.
It’s different now. Yi Jingchen joined this family as Shu Lang’s half-brother and has been fully accepted.
He can truly immerse himself in it and enjoy the local customs and folkways.
"Yes, yes..." Shu Ma said hesitantly, "We use electric heaters now, and we haven't heated the kang for many years."
"Ah?" Yi Jingchen's invisible ears and tail drooped instantly.
The real body curled up beside his legs was also sad and couldn't meow.
In the early years, local people did rely on earthen kangs to keep warm in winter.
In recent years, new rural construction has been carried out in various places. Shu Lang's family lives in an agricultural prosperity demonstration village, and every household has switched to air conditioning or gas heating early on.
In addition, for the sake of environmental protection, the village advocates not burning straw, so even if the earthen kang has not been dismantled, it would have been abandoned long ago.
Seeing his godson so disappointed, Shu's father slapped his thigh and said to Shu's mother, "I remember that the earthen kang in Lao Wu's house hasn't been dismantled yet, right?"
"It hasn't been demolished, but now it's winter and there's no wheat straw. What can we use to heat the kang?"
"It's easy to light the kang. Ask him to clean up the kang. I'll go to the old man's house and ask for some corn cobs. It won't be a problem to light it for a whole day."
"Yes, I'll call Lao Wu right now."
When Yi Jingchen heard about the play, he immediately stuck to Shu Ma and praised her as the best mother in the world.
"Alright, alright, stop praising me." After Shu's mother finished the call, she poked him on the forehead as if it were her own son. "You're the only one who cares about that broken earthen kang. Your brother has never liked sleeping on it since he was a child."
After poking, Shu Ma was stunned for a moment and felt that her behavior was inappropriate.
Even though Yi Jingchen had no temper and called her "godmother" all the time, he was still the young master of a wealthy family after all.
I have only fed him two meals at most, how can I start right away?
The stupid silver-colored cat was poked on the forehead and felt a little aggrieved. He went to Shu Lang for comfort, but was poked again.
"Just go ahead and do it. You don't want to sleep on a good bed but insist on sleeping on the kang." Shu Lang's face was full of disgust. "In the middle of the night, you tossed and turned until your throat was burning and you just stopped."
"So scary? Then sleep with me."
"I won't." Shu Lang refused forcefully. "When I was a kid, I slept on a kang. I got a sore throat every winter."
"It's a good time to reminisce about our childhood!" Yi Jingchen said confidently and insisted that Shu Lang accompany him.
Shu Lang couldn't resist and reluctantly agreed.
Shu's mother looked at her two children and, in a trance, felt that she might have actually given birth to one more child.
——Why is Yi Jingchen not considered one’s own son?
Shu's father and mother have always lived in the village, and they have close contact with each other as neighbors.
He said, "My son who came home from the city insisted on sleeping on a brick bed." Several families nearby helped him and sent him a lot of dried corn cobs.
Dad Shu makes an estimate.
If all of that were cooked on Yi Jingchen, he would be cooked to at least 70% doneness.
The fifth brother, who happened to have not had time to dismantle the earthen kang at home, worked with his wife to clean up the kang where miscellaneous items were placed and put a soft mattress and quilt on it.
Not long after, a cute and well-behaved city kid holding a fat cat knocked on his door and politely called out "Hello, uncle, hello, auntie".
When he entered the room, he seemed quite satisfied, exclaimed "Wow" several times, and asked if he could take a photo.
The fifth brother's wife said yes, thinking he was going to take pictures with his mobile phone and post them on WeChat Moments, but she saw Yi Jingchen take out a professional-grade camera from his bag and start taking pictures of the earthen kang.
In a trance, the earthen kang in his home that had been idle for many years seemed to have become an intangible cultural heritage.
After Yi Jingchen took the photo, his main body meowed and prepared to jump onto the kang skillfully.
"No!" Yi Jingchen hurriedly stopped him, "Uncle and aunt have changed the sheets and quilt covers for us. You must wipe your feet clean before going up. Don't get them dirty."
"Hey, it's okay!"
The fifth couple said generously.
"There are always newborns during the Chinese New Year, so every year we don't change four or five sets of sheets and quilts."
"You can make as much as you want, and just wash it when it gets dirty."
After hearing what they said, Yi Jingchen still held down the body, wiped its four feet clean, and then held it down and wiped it from head to toe with pet wipes before letting go and putting it on the kang.
The main body jumped onto the earthen kang and habitually began to dig up the quilt to make a nest.
After digging for a while, it felt something was wrong.
This place is so hot!
"Let me be frank, it was you who insisted on sleeping on the kang." Shu Lang grabbed his stupid brother and threatened fiercely, "Just because of your words, we've been in so much trouble at home. Don't tell me in the middle of the night that you don't want to sleep anymore."
"How could that be!" Yi Jingchen looked upright and firm.
However, after having come into contact with these naughty kids, you will realize that their enthusiasm only lasts for three minutes.
Yi Jingchen slept until midnight and felt the endless heat burning his body.
He rolled around, but no matter where he rolled, he couldn't escape.
The family was afraid that they would be cold, so they heated the kang extra warm.
But now it's February and we still have air conditioning and electric heaters at home.
Yi Jingchen had a dream at night that he found himself stranded in a cat-eating tribe, where he was made into wild cat skewers and roasted on a fire.
"No! Don't eat me!" Yi Jingchen kicked away the quilt and shouted in a daze.
The awakened creature jumped away and hid in a cool place, looking down at the owner whose head was covered in sweat.
Oh.
Stupid humans.
The next day, Yi Jingchen got up and found that he indeed had a hoarse and low voice.
——I’m getting angry.
Shu Lang had a helpless expression that said 'you deserve it', but he still accepted his fate and made some orange peel soup for his stupid brother.
After breakfast, Shu's father and mother saw that their godson looked very angry, so they urged Shu Lang to take him out for a walk.
The New Year in the countryside is different from that in the city. There are not so many lively commercial activities, but the folk customs passed down from ancient times are preserved.
According to local customs, people worship gods and ancestors during the New Year so that the spiritual world can also feel the New Year atmosphere.
Walking out of the village, there is a century-old temple in the town. From the 28th day of the 12th lunar month to the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, there is an endless stream of incense and a perpetual lamp is lit in front of the statue of Bodhisattva.
Yi Jingchen does not believe in ghosts and gods, and has no religious beliefs.
In the past, he visited many places, met people of various religions, and had a basic understanding of various religious cultures.
Even though he is a staunch materialist, he does not believe in the so-called protection of gods and respects all kinds of serious religious cultures equally.
Besides, when our compatriots in China worship gods during festivals and holidays, they just pray for good luck at most.
Domestic gods are different from those abroad. In a country with a strong involution, even Buddhas have to do things inwardly. They must do things first before they can receive offerings to fulfill their vows. If they fail to do things, they will be criticized as "ineffective".
After finally becoming a god, I ended up feeling like a corporate slave and had to complete KPIs to get any benefits.
For most people in China, worshipping gods has a purpose.
On the way to the temple, Shu Lang explained to Yi Jingchen that worshipping gods on the third day of the first lunar month can bless business, so many of those who worship gods on the third day are businessmen.
"Aurora is also a business, right?" Yi Jingchen made a decisive decision, "Please celebrate for us."
"It seems a bit wrong to treat our group as a business... Never mind, since we are here, let's say goodbye." Shu Lang threw out a universal rhetoric and walked into the temple with Yi Jingchen.
There are many pilgrims in the temple. There are countless sea lanterns on the shelf at the main entrance, and there is no place to burn incense in the incense burner in front of the Bodhisattva Hall.
Yi Jingchen followed the guide and came to the place where he could get free incense, and found that there was a long queue in front.
Come to think of it, business is linked to money, so pilgrims must be extremely pious.
Fortunately, there were many volunteers in the temple, and soon they lined up in front of Yi Jingchen, and gave him and Shu Lang each a stick of incense.
The volunteer looked very young, probably a college student returning home for winter vacation.
When the volunteer saw them, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he quickly looked away and pretended not to know them, glancing at them again and again with his peripheral vision.
Yi Jingchen saw what she was thinking and asked with a smile, "Do you want an autograph?"
"Buddhism is a pure place, not a place for worldly matters." The volunteer, very professional, firmly refused to sign, then quickly added, "After I finish my volunteer work today, can I ask for your autographs?"
"Okay!" Yi Jingchen agreed readily.
The other person smiled with his eyes narrowed, and while no one was paying attention, he stuffed two small tags into Yi Jingchen and Shu Lang's hands, then winked.
Shu Lang and Yi Jingchen took a few steps and found that they were vegetarian dishes in the temple, which could be enjoyed for free with a ticket.
"Wow!" Yi Jingchen happily tightened his pockets and patted them, "I got food again!"
"Be serious and don't let the Buddha hear it." Shu Lang was influenced by the local culture and maintained a state of "belief is existence" towards the gods.
What if the gods thought his dream was to beg for food and turned his stupid brother into a beggar?
Yi Jingchen covered his mouth, nodded cautiously, and explained to the people around him in a low voice, "I just said nonsense, I don't want food."
Shu Lang almost couldn't hold back his laughter. He brought Yi Jingchen to the place of offering. He lit the thin incense sticks with the candlestick next to him and put them into the incense burner one by one. He saw that the first incense stick next to him was as thick as a bowl.
There was a child next to them, being held by his parents and offering incense.
He asked innocently, "Why are their incense sticks so big? I want one that big too."
His parents panicked and said something like, "You're just a child." They pulled him away and said, "Why do you have so many questions? When you grow up, you can burn such thick incense."
Yi Jingchen was knowledgeable and naturally knew that those thick first incense sticks could only be obtained by donating incense money, and the starting price of one stick was at least five figures.
He looked at the Buddha in the temple and wondered curiously:
If there really are gods in this world, can thicker incense really double the effect of making a wish?
No way.
Yi Jingchen put himself in the other person's shoes and thought, if he were a Bodhisattva, when he saw the first person to burn incense, he would probably just think, "He burns such thick incense, it must be difficult to handle, let's pick a few simple ones first."
Yi Jingchen and Shu Lang walked around the temple and bowed in front of each temple, even though they didn't know what gods were enshrined inside.
After coming out, I touched the Pixiu and the lion under the guidance of the volunteers.
"The Pixiu gathers wealth, never giving it away. Therefore, if you touch its bottom three times, it will bless you with good fortune in the coming year."
"Wow, a lot of people must have touched its butt." Yi Jingchen gently stroked the Pixiu's butt, feeling the lines there, which had been worn away over the years.
"Good fortune and prosperity, good fortune and prosperity."
Yi Jingchen recited silently devoutly.
At this moment, he sincerely hoped that materialism would be proven to be pseudoscience and that there really was a great god of wealth in the world.
After worshipping the Buddha, they went to the temple's cafeteria.
The canteen is usually open to the public and pilgrims can come in to eat.
There are so many people during the Chinese New Year that the cafeteria cannot accommodate so many people. Only those who have meal coupons from the temple can come in.
Yi Jingchen and Shu Lang walked into the cafeteria and found that most of the people there were monks and volunteers.
Some eminent monks would recite a few passages of scriptures before meals, which added a special sense of ritual.
Yi Jingchen walked quietly to the food window, having already lowered his expectations.
The food in the temple must be vegetarian. Those who are familiar with Yi Jingchen know that cats are carnivores.
He took a serving tray and walked to the window. He was immediately attracted by the braised eggplant and smelled its fragrance.
Looking around, even if it is just vegetarian food, the temple has prepared more than a dozen dishes, with a lot of choices.
Yi Jingchen chose eggplant, potato and chicken mushroom, and ordered a bowl of corn soup.
The monk who served him food, seeing that he was a stranger, recommended that he try the coarse grain steamed buns in the temple instead of rice.
"Okay." Yi Jingchen accepted the suggestion and got two unremarkable steamed buns.
He sat down, took a big bite, looked up at Shu Lang and said, "It's delicious! Why didn't you bring me here earlier?"
If you eat vegetarian food every day in this place, you will definitely lose weight!
"If you want to come, you can come by yourself. The monks in the temple are all very kind. I often came here to eat when I was a child." Shu Lang also asked for steamed buns and said with emotion, "The steamed buns in the temple are made with six kinds of coarse grains. You really can't buy them outside."
"Can I eat for free every day?" Yi Jingchen gnawed on a steamed bun and had an absurd idea, "Why don't I just become a monk?"
"Shut up, do you think everyone can become a monk? Have you seen through the mundane world?"
Yi Jingchen thought of his wife whom he changed every three months, and took another big bite of the steamed bun in grief and anger.
Can't see through it at all!
.
"Teacher You."
On the first day of work after the New Year, Yi Jingchen sat upright with the script on his knees, looking like a good student.
You Mo, who was being called 'Teacher You', shuddered and stressed for the Nth time, "Don't call me teacher. If you call me that again, I won't teach you."
"Then what should I call you? Once a teacher, always a father. How about..."
"Stop!" Youmo glared at him.
Yi Jingchen angrily stopped talking, fearing that he really wouldn't teach him.
[The New Year isn't over yet, so I should be exempt from the naughty kids' responsibility for my own misdeeds, right?]
You Mo didn't bother to care about the immunity of the naughty child and reached out to take the script handed to him by Yi Jingchen.
Yi Jingchen's script is only twelve pages long, and most of it is other people's lines.
Yumo studied it carefully and found that the twelve-page script was actually not simple.
Every page turned is a reflection of the magnificent years of the war correspondent in the play.
The script is divided into three scenes. The first scene is that he just rushed to the scene from a country where there is no war. As a result, as soon as he landed, the interview car was hit by a stray bullet.
The second scene is about him risking his life to rescue babies buried under the collapsed ruins and escorting them to the protected area.
In the third act, the journalist reveals too much about the brutal nature of war, leading to criticism from the war-provoking faction, who then decide to attack the journalist. Faced with a vastly different weaponry, he resolutely runs towards an open area, neither hiding nor avoiding, simply begging them not to bomb the civilians behind him...
After reading the script, You Mo told Yi Jingchen frankly, "Your role doesn't have many scenes, but it's very difficult to play."
"Yeah, that's what the director said. So let me study the script carefully and shoot my scenes when I'm ready."
You Mo gave him a well-reasoned analysis, "Your three acts correspond to three different situations. At the beginning, you were full of ambition, even a bit naive, a young man full of high spirits. Although you faced reality midway, you still didn't give up your fantasy and tried to help more people. In the end, you seemed to have given up the struggle, but in fact, you knew you were doomed and lived with the awareness of facing death."
"Generally speaking, even veteran actors cannot fully handle a role with such a huge contrast and such drastic emotional fluctuations." You Mo knew that he had taken several acting classes and asked him how effective the acting classes were.
"It's fine." Yi Jingchen said sincerely, "The teacher who taught me said that I had nothing to teach and told me not to look for him anymore."
Yumo: ...?
Are you sure this situation is 'good'?
You Mo didn't believe it and asked Yi Jingchen to perform the first scene for him.
Yi Jingchen was straightforward. He immediately put down the script, stood up, and began to play the role of a reporter who had just arrived in the war zone.
You Mo resisted the urge, watched for 30 seconds, and finally called a halt.
"What are you doing?" Yumo frowned. "You look so naive and stupid. You don't look like you can survive three seconds in a war zone."
Yi Jingchen was deeply shocked and said aggrievedly, "I knew I had no talent for acting."
"That's not the case..." Youmo tried to comfort.
"However!" Yi Jingchen cheered up again and said with a smile, "In order to help me perform this play well, the station arranged for me to report on the actual combat drill this month~ Rounding it up, I can join the T military camp!"
"Is this even possible?!" You Mo was shocked and wanted to put a few big words behind the news station logo:
——Just pamper him!
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