When you walk out of the last hall, there is a merit box at the door. Different from the one in the hall, this one is bigger and there is a piece of paper on the side. The general meaning is that it is for raising funds to repair the temple, and no matter how much it is, it is merit.
Lin Guoqing wanted to take out money, but only a corner of a ten-yuan note was exposed before it was pushed back by Chen Chunhua.
"...You're bringing so much money just to burn incense?"
Lin Guoqing exclaimed, "Aren't we out having fun? I'm afraid the kids might want to buy something they like, so we have to bring enough money! It's New Year's Eve, so I don't want to spoil their fun."
Chen Chunhua gave him a look, then took out a two-yuan bill from her pocket and stuffed it into the donation box.
"Give me two yuan first. If everything goes well this year, it means the Buddha has blessed me. Then I'll come back with a larger donation as a way to fulfill my vow. If I give more, I might even get my name engraved on it."
Lin Guoqing was shocked by his wife's words. "Give me a big one?" How big would it have to be to have your name engraved on it? How big would it be to buy a car with that much money...
After receiving the glance from his wife, Lin Guoqing quickly showed his upper teeth to show that what his wife said was right.
Finally, the incense burning was over, and the happiest person had to be Liang Shengdi. She came out today just to go shopping and eat, and burning incense was just an excuse.
However, it is easier to go up the mountain than to go down. This refers to the unrenovated mountain roads. There are only a few small stones to rest on the steep parts. You don’t feel scared when you climb up, but when you want to go down, you can’t wait to crawl down on all fours.
"No, never again... It would be nice to just stroll at the foot of the mountain, why do we have to climb up..." Liang Shengdi muttered unhappily. Lin Guoqing, who went down first, had to carefully support his mother and remind her not to fall.
By the time they got down the mountain, two hours had passed. Liang Shengdi felt her stomach and said she was starving.
Fortunately, there were more people selling food on the roadside at this time, so I walked over one by one.
"Ma Tang!" Lin Shumei pointed at a basket and exclaimed in surprise. The old lady sitting on a small bench behind her had her eyes wrinkled like chrysanthemums and greeted them with a smile.
"Would you like some, little girl? I just made this yesterday!"
Ma candy is made from glutinous rice, granulated sugar, sesame seeds, peanuts, and other ingredients. It's usually sold around the Lunar New Year, as it's difficult to gather so many ingredients at once. Furthermore, it's not cheap, so people usually don't buy it.
Lin Shumei touched her pocket and turned to look at the other people in the family, wanting to ask if they wanted to eat. She only brought fifty cents with her today, so she could still afford one dollar per person.
As a result, Liang Shengdi came up and said, "Give me a pound!"
One... Chen Chunhua hurried forward, "Mom! Don't you want to walk around and try everything you see? One pound is too much, you can't finish it!"
"Why can't you finish it? If you can't finish it, take it back! Yulan and her family are coming tomorrow, the second day of the new year, and there are so many people at her house!"
"I bought peanut candy and milk candy before the Chinese New Year..."
Before she could finish her words, the old woman selling sesame candy had already weighed and packed some and handed them to her. "Oh, it's so cold now, you can buy some and eat them slowly at home!"
Liang Shengdi agreed with her and paid for it without even remembering to bargain.
Chen Chunhua:...Okay, it’s all earned by your own hard work anyway.
With Liang Shengdi leading the way, the four little kids had a lot of fun shopping. Whenever they saw something they wanted to eat, they would just ask their grandmother if she wanted to eat it. If her grandmother wanted to eat it, she would buy more, and if not, she would buy less.
Anyway, you can taste it.
Standing in front of a stall selling cakes, Liang Shengdi almost wanted to ask for a pound of each, but was really stopped by Chen Chunhua.
"Mom! This is glutinous rice! All glutinous rice! Have you forgotten the last time you ate too much Qingming cake? Tangerine cake and lard cake will become hard and inedible if left out tomorrow. Just buy some and try it!"
Indigestion is really uncomfortable. Liang Shengdi was still frightened when she thought about the last time she was groaning in the middle of the night. After thinking about it, she changed her mind and said, "Give me one or two of each and try it."
Lin Guoqing breathed a sigh of relief. The basket he was carrying was already filled with all kinds of cakes and pastries. These four children, one old man and four children, really knew how to eat...
"Chunhua?" Three or four stalls away, there was another stall selling boiled corn. A man and a child stood in front of it. The child was chewing on a piece of corn. The man poked his head out and looked at the Lin family for a long time before confirming, "Is it really you?"
"Secretary Shen?" Shen Chunhua walked over quickly. Isn't this the village secretary of Shenjia Village? Why did he come all the way from neighboring Su County to burn incense during the New Year?
Secretary Shen rubbed his hands together, grinning innocently. "I'm not visiting friends on New Year's Day, so I took the kids out for a walk. And now, he refuses to move from food. There's a pile of corn at home, but he doesn't even want to eat it. He insists on spending money on it!"
Who said it wasn't! The ones behind her who hadn't seen her were also like this! Chen Chunhua could empathize with her very much, and the two of them stood together and chatted for a while.
"By the way, there's something I need to tell you. It happened before the New Year. There was a road in your place, and everyone was busy, so they kept calling people over to tell you."
Secretary Shen was a little hesitant when he talked about this. Chen Chunhua had a premonition and did not hesitate.
"You say!"
"It's the piece of land your parents left behind, right? Actually, it belongs to your second brother. He doesn't farm those few acres, and no one else does. They didn't even pay the public grain tax this year, and Chen Xiasheng was desperate, saying he had no money. In the end, the village had to pay for it!"
Secretary Shen felt distressed when he talked about this. Although the public grain from a few acres of land was not much, it was also paid out of the village's real money.
"So, the village took the land back and planned to include it in the village's public land after the New Year, so at least someone would be farming it.
Your parents are gone, and Qiu Sheng is also... married, and hasn't been home in the past few years. Xia Sheng is like that, I think someone in your family must know about this, otherwise I'm afraid that when the time comes..."
When the time comes, if Chen Xiasheng starts talking nonsense and goes out to say that the villagers have occupied his land, it will be very annoying.
In fact, the land reclaiming was based on facts, and even if he went to petition, there would be nothing to say, as he was afraid that the other party would not explain the law to him. For thousands of years, it has been common for rural people to bring together a group of relatives from unknown distance to fight and kill in order to obtain land.
That's why Secretary Shen wanted to tell her in advance, mainly because Shen Qiusheng was no longer here. Otherwise, it wouldn't be Shen Chunhua's turn to tell her. He had no choice. Of the five children in the Shen family, excluding Shen Xiasheng, Shen Chunhua was the only one he could find when he needed help.
Although she is married, she is still the aunt of this family. If it comes down to it, she can help to testify.
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