On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, An Dashan carried a bamboo basket on his back, put a piece of pork head, a pork elbow, and a roast chicken at the bottom, put incense, candles, and paper money on top, and filled a jug with rice wine, then went to An Dashan's uncle's house.
When An Dashan arrived, Uncle An and his cousin An Dalin were already ready. An Dashan greeted everyone, and An Dalin's two sons also called him "Uncle."
When Uncle An saw that everything was ready, he said, "Let's go!" So An Dalin supported his father, followed by An Dashan, and An Dalin's two sons also followed. The five of them went to the An family's ancestral tomb.
When they arrived at the cemetery, An Dashan and An Dalin placed the offerings. An Dalin was slightly surprised to see that An Dashan had taken so many offerings. Although he knew that An Dashan's family had built a new house, he didn't know that An Dashan's family was so rich now and that they took so many offerings.
Last time An Dashan's family moved to a new house, I went to his house to deliver a letter, but no one from my family went. I just gave him five kilograms of flour. In the past, this five kilograms of flour would have been considered a generous gift, but when I saw the offerings An Dashan brought out today, An Dalin suddenly felt that his gift was too shabby.
An Dashan had no idea that An Dalin had so many thoughts in his mind. After placing the offerings, he retreated behind Uncle An.
After the five people knelt down, Uncle An kept muttering and burning paper money.
After burning the paper money, An Dashan went to his parents' grave and knelt down, recounting what had happened in his family this year, and then took out another piece of paper money and burned it.
After all the paper money was burned, An Dashan kowtowed three more times and stood up.
Uncle An saw An Dashan getting up and said, "Come to my house for dinner today. Your eldest cousin hasn't been home for a long time, so you two brothers should catch up."
An Dashan did not refuse, nodded, and said, "Okay, I'll go home and get a pot of wine."
An Dalin said, "No need, Dashan, I brought back a jar of good sake from town, we can just drink that."
Before An Dashan could say anything, Uncle An spoke up and said, "Let Dashan get it. The pot of Bamboo Leaf Green that Dashan brought last time was much better than sake. I'm still craving for it now."
An Dashan chuckled and said, "Okay, I'll bring more this time and make sure you have enough to drink."
Uncle An laughed when he heard this, like a child craving for candy.
An Dalin's heart was filled with turmoil at this moment. He had bought the sake just to save face, and he gritted his teeth. The price of Bamboo Leaf Green was twice that of sake. It seemed that he had to get to know his cousin again.
When they arrived at the village entrance, An Dashan and An Dabo's family went their separate ways. An Dashan went home to get some wine and told Gao's mother and daughter that they would not be home for lunch.
Uncle An and his family went straight home. On the way, An Dalin asked his father, "Dad, is Dashan prosperous this year? I see that he has brought more offerings than our family this year, and the Bamboo Leaf Green is twice as expensive as sake, but I couldn't bear to buy it."
Uncle An looked at his son and said, "Yes, Dashan's family has become prosperous this year. I have told you a long time ago that you should not think that you are superior to others just because you can read a few words. You should know that there are always people who are better than you. I have said before that you two brothers are the only two of us in our An family. You should move around well, but who knew you would not listen to my advice. Last time, Dashan came to our house to deliver a letter saying that he was moving to a new house, and you sent him away with five catties of flour. I see that Dashan does not take these things to heart. Today, while we are drinking, I will have a good talk with Dashan and ease the relationship."
An Dalin quickly said, "Dad, I understand."
When An Dashan returned home, An Ning and Gao were talking in the main hall. He said to Gao and An Ning, "I'm not going to have lunch at home today. My uncle told me to go to their house for lunch."
Gao didn't object. An Dashan was her only uncle, so she should go out to meet him. So she said, "Okay, go ahead!"
An Dashan nodded and went to the storeroom to get some wine. An Ning thought that since there were so many smoked bones at home, it would be better to let An Dashan take some, so she said, "Mom, I'll go get some bones and let Dad take them, which will be an extra dish."
Gao nodded and said, "Well, bring more. We can't eat all the food at home."
An Ning agreed to what Gao said and went to the kitchen. When An Dashan finished drinking, An Ning came out of the kitchen with a porcelain basin covered with a piece of cloth and said, "Dad, take these with you. It's also an extra dish."
An Dashan nodded and said, "Okay, my daughter is really thoughtful." Then he strode out with the porcelain basin in his hand.
When they arrived at Uncle An's house, Aunt An and An Dalin's wife were busy cooking in the kitchen. An Dashan brought the porcelain basin to the kitchen and said, "Aunt, I brought some smoked bones over. You can steam them and add another dish."
Aunt An said with a smile: "Okay, go to the main room to eat, your uncle and others are waiting for you."
When An Dashan left the kitchen, An Dalin's wife came over and lifted the cloth covering the porcelain basin, exclaiming, "Mom, look at all these big bones, and there's still a lot of meat on them!"
Aunt An came over to take a look and saw that it was indeed the case. She said, "Okay, put it in the pot and heat it up quickly."
When An Dashan entered the main room, he saw two dishes on the table, one was the Chinese sausage he brought, and the other was scrambled eggs. Uncle An saw An Dashan coming in and said hurriedly, "Sit down quickly, bring the wine, I'll put it in the brazier to heat it up for a while. It's too cold today, and drinking cold wine is bad for your health."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
