Chapter 1936 Angry
Manbao and his friends didn't wait for Xia Yi and his wife to come back. After installing all three beds, Manbao saw that it was getting late and decided to go back to the city.
Before leaving, Qian pulled Manbao aside, took out three strings of money and placed them in her hand. She winked at her and said, "Take them. This is a gift from you, as an elder sister, to your younger brothers and sisters."
I originally wanted to say it was a gift for my cousin, but when I thought about how she didn't seem to like Xia Yi very much, I changed my mind.
Manbao's eyes lit up. It was the first time she felt like an elder sister based on age.
She took it, but didn't give it to the three of them in public. Instead, she pulled them aside and gave it to them quietly, saying, "Don't tell your parents. Keep it for yourself. This is my gift to you."
Xia Dalang didn't want to accept it and pushed it back. Seeing his younger brother and sister tugging at the string of money and trying to give it back to her, Manbao pushed it away and said, "I'm already an official with a salary. Well, our two families are the closest, we share the same great ancestor. So, I live far away and may not come back many times a year. When you go to visit my great-grandparents' graves in the future, remember to clear the grass for them..."
Manbao then remembered the most important thing and stamped his feet in frustration, saying, "Oh, I forgot to visit the graves of my great-grandfather and great-grandmother."
After saying that, he turned and ran away.
Xia Dalang didn't have time to stop her, and watched her run away with three strings of money in his hand.
Old Zhou, who was waiting outside, kept muttering, "...I asked her to give it to him in public, how could she give it to him secretly?"
This was beyond Qian's expectations, but she still held Old Zhou tightly and scolded him in a low voice: "Be quiet, it's fine if you give it quietly. If you go in and shout it out now, your good intentions will turn into bad intentions."
Old Zhou muttered, "You shouldn't have given so much. It's only three hundred coins."
Qian thought to herself: How could she know that Manbao was so honest and actually gave it to her secretly?
She was willing to pay so much money just to let her give it in public and win another good thing in front of Xia.
Old Zhou continued to mutter, "If I had known earlier, I would have given him ten cents."
Qian was annoyed by his noise and said, "Shut up."
Old Zhou lowered his voice, but still couldn't help muttering.
Qian thought unconsciously, not knowing whether it was because she was getting older or because he was living too well, that he had become more nagging recently.
Manbao rushed out of the house and said anxiously, "Dad, Mom, we forgot to go to the ancestral hall to pay respects to my great-grandparents."
Old Zhou and Qian: ...
Qian couldn't help but turn around and mutter to Old Zhou, "What do you remember all day long? How could you forget something like this?"
Old Zhoutou: "Is this also my fault?"
When Manbao and the others rushed back to the clan leader's house, Mr. Zhuang, who was already chatting happily with the clan leader, asked with a smile, "Are you done?"
Manbao opened his mouth to speak, but Mr. Zhuang pointed at the chicken, fish, and meat on the table and said, "The offerings are all ready for you. Are you ready to start paying respects to your ancestors?"
Manbao was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes. He took Mr. Zhuang's hand and said, "Sir, you are still reliable."
Mr. Zhuang patted her head and scolded her with a smile, "You naughty girl, hurry up and pack your basket. I've already made an appointment with Chief Xia, and he's prepared a hoe and a sickle for you. Your cousins and brothers are waiting for you too."
Manbao looked around and asked doubtfully, "Where is Chief Xia?"
Mr. Zhuang chuckled and said, "Patriarch Xia drank too much tea and felt a little uncomfortable in his stomach, so he went to rest."
Clan leader Xia and Mr. Zhuang sat here drinking tea for half a day, but they didn't find out much about Zhou Man. Instead, they were asked to offer many sacrifices. Thinking of what the Zhou family was doing with the young men of their clan at Xia Yi's house, they drank some more tea out of depression. Then they felt bloated and uncomfortable for a while, so they went back to the house to rest.
Seeing that the son and grandson of the Xia clan leader were waiting for them, Manbao did not ask any further questions. He packed the offerings and went out. Bai Shan and Bai Erlang helped with the sickles, while Zhou Dalang and Zhou Wulang carried the hoes.
The tomb of my great-grandparents is not very far away. It is on the mountain next to the village and can be reached in a short walk.
But when they got there, even the son of Chief Xia, who had come to see it in advance, took him a while to find it.
Everywhere I looked was weeds, and there was a large tree growing next to the grave, completely blocking its view.
Not to mention from a distance, even from up close you can't tell it's a grave.
The son of the Xia clan leader was a little embarrassed and said to Zhou Man, "Your parents haven't been home for many years, so no one has come to visit them. However, Uncle Xia will come back occasionally to visit them."
But the last time I visited the grave was several years ago.
Manbao frowned, nodded, and started cutting grass with everyone else.
In fact, she wanted to ask, doesn’t the clan visit the tombs of the widows and orphans every Qingming Festival?
In their Qili Village, each family has a bunch of graves that they have to sweep together. The village has experienced several major disasters, and many families have died out, and they are all related.
It’s okay for other festivals, but during the Qingming Festival, the village will organize young and strong people to sweep all the graves. The sacrificial dishes are the same anyway, it’s just that you visit a few more graves, and in the end you take them home and eat them, right?
Fellow villagers, if you visit more graves, you may get more protection.
In Manbao's memory, she had never known that the grave next to her grandparents belonged to her biological parents. The villagers even agreed that they didn't know whose grave it was. It seemed to be a wild grave. That was how it was. Every year when Zhou Dalang and his friends went up the mountain, they would shovel away the weeds on the grave and they would also pay their respects. She never felt it was wrong.
So she couldn't understand why her great-grandparents were not visited by the ancestors even though they lived right next to the village. Apart from anything else, there must be many close blood relatives in the village.
Manbao hummed in her heart, and after clearing the weeds on the grave and offering sacrifices, she went back. She did not stay in Hongtian Village for long, and rode away with Bai Shan and Bai Erlang on horseback. Only after leaving Hongtian Village did she change horses and get on the carriage in a depressed mood.
As a result, not far from the village, they met Xia Yi and his wife who had just returned. Manbao still remembered the grudge that her great-grandparents were not worshipped during the sacrifice. Not to mention others, her great-grandparents and Xia Yi's grandparents were brothers, and he even occupied her house.
So he leaned half of his body out of the window and waved to Xia Yi, shouting, "Uncle Yi, why did you come back just now? I have already cleaned up your house."
Daji didn't stop, but slowed down. The carriage rumbled past Xia Yi and his wife. Manbao clearly saw their eyes widen instantly, and he chuckled and said, "We've reinstalled your beds, your boxes, your tables and chairs. Many people in the clan helped. If you don't believe me, go back and see."
Xia Yi was terrified, thinking she had done something to their family. He was so angry that he jumped up and down, "Xia Man, that's my home, what did you do to my family?"
"Nothing, Uncle Yitang. I love my brothers and sisters, and I love you too. I'll come back to see you next year. Bye."
See you at 11pm
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
