Chapter 714 Paying Homage to Mazu on the First Day of the Lunar New Year
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the usually quiet village was much more lively than usual.
The day before, Fu Laoda, who stayed up until midnight to welcome the New Year, opened the door and set off firecrackers before 5 a.m. Fu Wan and the others heard the sounds of firecrackers being set off in every household in the new house, so they also got up early.
Fu Ling and Qin Mingzhu, dressed in new clothes, were eager to go out and show them off. Just as Fu Wan led them to her front door, the village loudspeaker blared.
"Fellow villagers, it's time to worship Mazu on the first day of the lunar month again. The bus to the Mazu Temple will be waiting at the village entrance at 5:10. Each household can send a representative, and remember to bring the offerings!"
The announcement rang three times, and Fu Liang arrived with the offerings. Ye Xiaocui hurriedly packed her family's offerings into a basket, then urged Fu Wan and the others to set off.
"Hurry up, come back for dinner as soon as you're done with the worship."
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, red candles were still burning on the offering table. Ye Xiaocui and Jiang Chunlan had to stay home and keep an eye on things, and couldn't go to the Mazu Temple.
Fu Wan and the others nodded in agreement. Since they had a car and didn't need to catch the bus, they didn't go to the village entrance to squeeze in.
Even so, Ye Xiaocui kept urging them to leave early, because it's important to go to the Mazu Temple early to burn incense. Today is the first day of the lunar month, and those who live nearby will definitely be the first to burn incense.
To ensure there wasn't enough room, both Fu Wan and Qin Anning drove. Qin Anning had never been to the Mazu Temple, so she followed behind Fu Wan in her car. As the two cars passed Fu Qing's house, they happened to see Fang Min and Fu Qing leaving.
Fu Wan honked the horn to signal them to get in the car.
"Happy New Year, Awan!"
As soon as she got in the car, Fu Qing greeted her sweetly.
"Happy Chinese New Year! Have you prepared your offerings?"
Fang Min nodded, "Auntie has prepared everything. Awan, can we go with you later?"
"no problem!"
This was Fang Min's first time worshipping Mazu, and she knew nothing about the rules and customs.
She was also afraid that she might offend Mazu by not knowing the rules, which would cause her to have bad luck at sea the following year and delay Fu Wan and the others.
As the two cars passed the village entrance, they encountered villagers queuing to board the bus. Fu Wan turned her head and glanced at the back seat; her eldest son, Fu Qing, Fang Min, and two children were already seated, and there was no more room for them.
But there should be enough room for two more people in Qin Anning's car.
Sure enough, Fu Ming rolled down the car window and shouted twice. Not long after, Fu San and Fu Jian also got into the car.
"Oh, Dad, is Third Aunt about to give birth?"
Fu Wan has been so busy lately that she almost forgot about Lin Qiuju's due date.
"Yes, it should be full term around this time. I thought your third uncle wouldn't go today, but I didn't expect him to go too."
This kid, he didn't even know to come directly from home to take the bus, instead he went to squeeze onto some other bus with the other villagers.
Fu Wan smiled upon hearing this, "Third Aunt hasn't given birth yet, so Third Uncle must go and pray to the Goddess Mazu for blessings."
She knew that her third uncle and aunt desperately wanted a daughter.
As soon as their car drove out of the village, the shuttle bus followed. The shuttle bus went directly to the Mazu Temple, and this somewhat dilapidated bus was the only public transportation for the nearby villages to get to the Mazu Temple.
Of course, the time is fixed, and if you arrive late, the bus won't wait.
The bus passed through each village at different times. Fujia Village was the last village, and everyone arrived at the Mazu Temple at just over six o'clock.
Although it was early, the Mazu Temple was bustling with activity.
Many people who worship Mazu in the neighborhood had already arrived. When everyone on the bus got off, Fu Wan was surprised to find that the old village chief Fu had also come.
"Village Chief, what brings you here today?"
"Hehe, I thought I could still walk, so I had to come and offer incense to the Goddess Mazu."
Fu Wan thought to herself, "Strange, given Old Village Chief Fu's habits, how could he not have asked Old Fu for a ride?" But then she thought again, "He's probably too tired from what happened with Old Fu the Second last night, and he doesn't want to trouble Old Fu the First any further."
Indeed, although Fu Lao Er was restricted from worshipping Mazu with the villagers, and Wang Zhaodi went back to her parents' home, there was actually no substantial punishment for the disgusting thing that Fu Lao Da's mother did.
If it weren't for the sake of Village Chief Fu, Old Master Fu would definitely have given Old Master Fu a good beating.
"Ah Wan, what are you standing there for? Come and get the incense!"
"Hey, here it comes!"
Upon hearing Boss Fu's shout, Fu Wan quickly responded and then squeezed into the crowd.
Representatives from almost every household in Fujia Village were present, each holding three yellow incense sticks. Following tradition, the family with the best sea transport last year stood at the front, with the others arranged according to seniority.
When it came to the best shipping, everyone unanimously suggested that Boss Fu and his group stand at the front. However, Boss Fu pulled Fu Wan aside, slipped three incense sticks into her hand, and then gestured for her to go to the front.
Does this mean she should be the first to burn incense?
Seeing this, several grown men among the villagers whispered among themselves, "Wait, why let Fu Wan be the first to burn incense? She's a woman!"
Fu Wan originally didn't care about being the first to burn incense, but after hearing such discussions, she stood firm. She was determined to be the first to burn incense in Fu Family Village today!
The group wasn't satisfied with their discussion. One of the bolder ones even pulled the village chief aside and whispered a question. The village chief thought it was something serious, but upon hearing it, he immediately glared at him and muttered, "What's wrong with women? Erdan, you were born of a woman too, how can you look down on women?"
Speaking of last year's fishing trip, did you catch as much as Awan?
If you have any, go and burn that incense stick!
These words immediately shut Fu Erdan up. In terms of gains, let alone all of them, Fu Wan had more than half of what he had!
After one person was scolded, the others nearby quickly fell silent. It was a perfectly good first day of the Lunar New Year, and nobody wanted to invite further trouble or criticism.
And so, Fu Wan took the lead, holding the incense stick, followed by a large group of village representatives. Fu Laoda and Fu Ming followed behind her like two protectors, while Qin Anning led the two children and Fang Min behind the villagers.
Village Chief Fu was naturally in front of the villagers, and Fu San squeezed through from behind to follow behind him.
"Uncle Village Chief, I heard something happened in the village again last night?"
"Oh, don't even mention it, Third Brother. I'm really getting old. Do you want to be the village chief?"
Upon hearing this, Fu San quickly shook his head, afraid that if he was too slow to refuse, this difficult task would fall on his shoulders.
"I don't want to at all. I just want my daughter to be born soon so I can run a small business and support my family!"
He looked down on the village chief's meager salary; it was like paying a pittance while worrying about something terrible. He didn't have the awareness to shoulder that responsibility.
As without exception, Fu Sanhui refused to become the village chief. He was also troubled, wondering why none of the young men he had his eye on were willing to become the village chief.
Fu San didn't care what the old village chief was thinking. He squeezed forward simply because he wanted to finish kowtowing quickly and go find Fu Wan.
He has a business dealing with seafood boats and wants to discuss it with her!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com