There are five rooms in the house, one of which is where Aunt Lin lives, and the other four rooms can be allocated as they wish.
"I'll cook. You can tell me if you want anything to eat." Aunt Lin showed them the room and opened the curtains. "Everything is good here, but there may be more mosquitoes at night."
She said, motioning them closer to the window.
Looking out from the window of this room, you can see other villagers working outside and the green trees in the distant mountains and forests.
"But the air is definitely very good. If you are afraid of mosquitoes, you can light mosquito coils." There was an iron plate in the corner of the room with a circle of black mosquito coils on it. They were new and showed no signs of being burned.
They arrived at the right time, and Aunt Lin asked them to rest for a while while she prepared lunch.
"Thank you for your help." Zhong Le said.
Several people watched her enter the kitchen, and the sound of running water began to be heard from inside, and then they divided the rooms.
The anchor who plays Wu Zheng is actually a girl, so Wu Zheng and Zhong Le were naturally assigned to the same room, while the other three boys were squeezed into one room. There was no other way, as there was an odd number of people and it would be bad for anyone to be left alone.
After choosing a room, they briefly checked the cabinets and under the bed in the room. Only after confirming that there was nothing that shouldn't be there did they feel relieved.
"Let's go to the kitchen and take a look." Zhong Le said. Wu Zheng joined her, and the other three left the house to take a look around.
"Auntie, is there anything we can help with?" Zhong Le asked eagerly. Auntie Lin was lowering her head to take out the fish's internal organs. She looked up when she heard her voice.
"No, no, you are guests, how can that be possible?" Aunt Lin shook her head.
"Let us help you wash these vegetables." Wu Zheng pointed to a basket of greens with dirt still on their roots. "It's embarrassing to see you busy all the time."
Aunt Lin looked at the basket of vegetables and nodded: "Okay."
With a reason to stay in the kitchen, the two players began to chat and talk.
"Auntie, Guide Lin told me that there will be a blessing ceremony in the village the day after tomorrow?" Zhong Le seemed to be washing vegetables seriously, but in fact, he was always staring at Auntie Lin out of the corner of his eye.
"Yes." Aunt Lin finished preparing the fish and began to prepare the onions, ginger, and garlic to remove the fishy smell. "This is an old custom in our village. Only after the blessing ceremony is completed will the mountain god bless our village with good weather and good harvests in the coming year."
"What does this blessing ceremony entail? We haven't experienced it yet. Guide Lin said we could help out tomorrow..."
"Help?" Aunt Lin paused noticeably, then nodded and muttered, "Yes, you can help tomorrow. There's a lot of preparation for the blessing ceremony, and everyone would be happy if you were willing to help."
"Auntie, I just heard you talk about the mountain god. Is it the same as the land god? I heard that in some places people worship the land god to pray for peace or something like that." The vegetables had been almost washed, and Zhong Le asked questions while draining them.
"Almost." Aunt Lin nodded, but did not introduce the mountain god to them in detail. Instead, she said, "Lin San should come to take you to the mountain god temple this afternoon to pay homage to the mountain god and let the mountain god recognize you first."
Mountain temple?
Zhong Le and Wu Zheng looked at each other and decided to take a good look at this mountain temple in the afternoon.
On the other hand, Qiongzhi and the other two could not walk too far, so they talked to the nearby villagers and asked for information indirectly.
These villagers are very enthusiastic, but they don’t necessarily answer every question you ask.
They have great reverence for the mountain god, and their eyes are filled with piety when he is mentioned, but they will not tell them more about the mountain god.
So Qiongzhi turned to ask about the blessing ceremony.
The blessing ceremony will be held in the "small square" in front of the mountain temple. The village chief and the blessing woman will be responsible for presiding over the ceremony. Tomorrow, they need to prepare all the necessary items for the ceremony.
"So what is needed for this ceremony?" asked Qiongzhi.
"A lot. Cleaning the mountain god temple. Sticking mountain god talismans on every door. Three incense sticks every one meter around the outside of the courtyard. Light them all the morning of the ceremony. Wear white clothes and eat cold food all day tomorrow. A pig will be slaughtered in the evening, so the bamboo frame for carrying the pig must be built during the day. And there are other offerings, too, that need to be prepared..."
The woman talked to them incessantly, and said that if they were interested they could help and experience the culture of their small village.
"Mom, mom, we're back." As they were speaking, two children ran in from outside.
"Oh, our little fairy children, come on, come on, mommy has cooked a table full of delicious food!" The woman smiled brightly when she saw the two children and led them into the house. "I'm sorry, I can't entertain you."
"It's okay, you're busy." The three of them walked out of the small yard of this family's house. There were many vines climbing on the fence outside the yard, and small purple flowers were blooming.
As they walked back, Qiongzhi murmured, "Fairy boy and fairy girl..."
He turned to Zhang Yuan and asked, "Don't you think it's strange that she calls her child that?"
Zhang Yuan nodded: "Indeed, I've heard of them being called good boy, baby, little barbecued pork, beloved, and so on, but I've never heard of them being called fairy boy or fairy girl."
"Maybe it is related to the blessing ceremony?" Wang Yang looked around. It was time for dinner and the villagers were all going home. He nodded and greeted them when he saw them.
In the house, the meal was ready. Zhong Le and Wu Zheng helped to bring everything to the table. When Aunt Lin saw the three of them come back, she greeted them and said that they could eat. She also asked them where they had been and whether they liked their village.
"We just walked around. The village is beautiful and everyone is very welcoming," Qiongzhi said. "We even met the fairy boy and the fairy girl, two very cute little kids."
When Aunt Lin heard about the fairy children, her eyes lit up and she smiled, "They are very pretty and adorable, aren't they? Those two children are the most beautiful born in the village this year, so they were chosen to be fairy children and fairies to serve the mountain god. I really envy their family. It's a great honor."
really.
Several people looked at each other. The fairy boy and the fairy girl were related to the blessing ceremony.
"Aunt, what does it mean to serve the mountain god? Can we see the real body of the mountain god during the blessing ceremony?" Zhong Le smiled and helped Aunt Lin scoop a bowl of soup.
Aunt Lin took the soup and shook her head. "How can we, mortals, possibly see the true form of the Mountain God? As for how to serve him... well, I can't explain it clearly. You'll understand when you see him."
In any case, the matter of the fairy boy and fairy girl was remembered by several people, but they had to put it aside for the time being, because in the afternoon, Lin San came to take them to the mountain temple to pay homage to the mountain god.
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