Chapter 13
When Chen Qing walked out of the street, he searched for a while before finding his way. He was going to a place that specialized in selling incense, candles, and paper money. These shops were not located in the bustling city center, so Chen Qing lowered his head and walked towards the edge of the city.
Just as he reached a secluded path, his sleeve was tugged. Chen Qing's heart leaped into his throat in an instant. Before he could react, his hand was covered with a warm substance.
Chen Qing looked down and saw two steaming hot buns wrapped in oil paper. He was a little stunned. When he looked up again, he saw a very tall shadow at the end of the road.
It's Zhou Yuan.
Chen Qing looked at the two large meat buns in his hands, unsure whether he should eat them or not. Did Li Xin know that Zhou Yuan bought him the buns?
Two steamed buns cost four coins. Should I give him this money in front of Li Xin later?
After hesitating for a while, Chen Qing lowered his head and started eating the steamed bun. The meat buns in town cost two coins each, and they were almost bigger than Chen Qing's face. The dough was fermented very well, and the whole bun was fluffy and soft, but every crevice was soaked with the aroma of oil. The meat filling of the bun had some bamboo shoots added, which made it more chewy. No wonder it could sell for two coins each.
Chen Qing ate only one, and carefully put the remaining one into his pocket, intending to take it back to share with his mother.
Chen Qing soon found a shop selling incense, candles, and paper money. However, since it was the Ghost Festival in July, there were many people buying things. Chen Qing felt a chill run down his spine just looking at the crowded people. He waited for a while and only went over to buy some when the crowd thinned out.
It took a while. Chen Qing carried his things to the main street, not knowing what to do. While he stood there in a daze, Li Xin startled him from behind.
"Why did it take you so long to shop?" Li Xin glanced at what he had bought. "Is this all you bought?"
Chen Qing nodded: "The Ghost Festival is just around the corner, I'll buy him some."
"You keep mentioning Meng Tao like that?" Li Xin's expression was a little strange.
Chen Qing replied matter-of-factly, "Isn't this what I should do? Have you finished shopping?"
Li Xin had only gone to town to get medicine for his mother, and he had already gotten it and was waiting for Chen Qing here.
Chen Qing wanted to ask about the steamed buns, but he held back.
"Shall we go back then?" Chen Qing asked.
“Okay.” They walked together to the place where the oxcarts were parked in town and saw Zhou Yuan sitting by the oxcart waiting for them.
Chen Qing thought Zhou Yuan should have left long ago by the time he had dawdled, but he didn't expect him to be willing to wait for Li Xin for so long.
On the way back, the three of them were together again. Chen Qing held four copper coins in his hand, unsure when to give them to Zhou Yuan. He wondered if Li Xin knew that Zhou Yuan had bought him steamed buns. If Li Xin didn't know, Chen Qing was afraid that giving the money rashly would affect their relationship.
Li Xin looked at Chen Qing, grabbed his hand, pried open his palm, and saw the four copper coins in his hand: "What are you doing holding those copper coins?"
Zhou Yuan turned to look at him upon hearing this.
Chen Qing kept his head down very low and his voice was very soft: "No, it's nothing."
Zhou Yuan said "Oh," and replied, "This is to pay for my oxcart. I used to pay for every ride."
Chen Qing turned to look at him, and he inexplicably sensed the sarcasm in Zhou Yuan's words: "No, I didn't."
Li Xin looked them over before saying to Chen Qing, "Then you should put the money away."
"oh."
The three of them remained silent on the way back. When they reached the village entrance, Li Xin jumped off the oxcart and said, "Aqing, I'll come find you again this afternoon."
After Li Xin left, only Chen Qing and Zhou Yuan remained in the car.
Chen Qing held out his hand, four copper coins still clutched in his palm: "This is the money you gave me to buy steamed buns. Li Xin was in the car earlier, and I was worried..."
"What are you afraid of?" Zhou Yuan didn't take his money, but he did respond to his words.
"Huh? That, Li Xin, you guys are..." Chen Qing stammered for a long time, but still couldn't get a straight answer. For the first time, he was so bold that he grabbed Zhou Yuan's hand, gave him the copper coin, jumped off the oxcart, and ran away quickly with his basket on his back.
Zhou Yuan looked at the copper coin in his palm and almost laughed in anger.
When Chen Qing returned home, Aunt Sun immediately pulled him aside and asked about the day's events. Chen Qing's mind went blank, and he could only say, "They went to sell their game together..."
Grandma Sun laughed and said, "That's good."
Chen Qing remembered the steamed buns in his arms and quickly handed them to Aunt Sun: "Mom, have a meat bun."
"Oh dear, you bought me this again? Have you eaten any yourself? Have you spent all your money? I'll give you some pocket money later." Grandma Sun rarely ate the big meat buns from town; after all, no one with spare money would spend it like that.
"I still have money, I haven't spent it all." Chen Qing took a deep breath. "I'll go back to my room and rest for a while."
"good."
Just as Chen Qing returned to his room and lay down, Zhou Yuan arrived. Aunt Sun smiled and teased him, "Oh dear, what brings you here? You look so energetic; it's true that good things always bring joy!"
Zhou Yuan frowned: "What happy news?"
"What happy news do you have that you're asking me about?" Aunt Sun said with a smile. "What's the occasion?"
"The Ghost Festival is just a few days away. Today I went to town to buy some incense, candles and paper money, but I found they were all sold out."
Looking at what Chen Qing had bought, Aunt Sun said, "Here, take some. Qing bought too much; we can't use all of it."
"Thank you very much, Auntie."
Grandma Sun added, "It was all Aqing's own pocket money that he spent, saying he wanted to do something for Taozi."
Zhou Yuan: ...
Zhou Yuan remained expressionless and took out four coins from his pocket: "I ate his cornbread this morning and found out he hadn't eaten breakfast. I bought him two meat buns, but he insisted on giving me the money. Auntie, please give it back to him."
Grandma Sun was taken aback, glanced back at the room, and then said somewhat embarrassedly, "A cornbread bun isn't as valuable as a meat bun..."
"Then remember to think of me when you make cornbread in the future, Auntie." Zhou Yuan handed the copper coin to Aunt Sun, then took out incense and paper money from Chen Qing's small basket, gave Aunt Sun some more money, and left before she could refuse.
Knowing that Chen Qing was easily embarrassed, Aunt Sun stopped talking to him about it and focused on preparing for the Ghost Festival in July.
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, is a very important day for ancestor worship in Luohe Village.
That morning, Granny Sun got up early to kill a chicken. Chen Qing was boiling water on the side. He watched as Granny Sun stabbed the rooster in her neck with a pair of scissors, and blood gushed out.
Chen Qing shrank his neck and grabbed a bowl to catch the chicken blood.
The pot contained boiling water, and Chen Qing used a ladle to scoop the water into a bucket. Then, Aunt Sun put the chicken into the bucket as well. After being scalded by the boiling water, the chicken feathers could be easily plucked.
Chen Qing didn't throw away the plucked chicken feathers. He picked them up, planning to wash them clean by the river and then dry them on a bamboo mat. It was summer, so they should dry quickly.
They don't kill chickens very often, only two or three times in the past five years, so Chen Qing's bag for collecting chicken feathers is only a very small one.
After plucking the chicken's feathers, Grandma Sun gutted the whole chicken, removed its internal organs, and Chen Qing also put them in a bowl. He cleaned the chicken intestines, gizzards, hearts, and livers, and stir-fried them with pickled cabbage to make a very fragrant bowl of chicken offal noodles.
While Aunt Sun cooked the chicken, Chen Qing squatted down to clean the chicken giblets. The chicken intestines were small, so he used a bamboo strip to turn them inside out and then rinsed them clean with water. He carefully peeled off the outer shell of the chicken gizzard and set it aside to dry, as it would become a Chinese medicinal herb.
By the time Chen Qing finished cleaning up, Aunt Sun's chicken was already cooked.
The whole chicken, which was originally limp, stood upright after being boiled in boiling water. When Aunt Sun propped up the chicken's head and placed it on the plate, you could still see that the chicken had looked proud and majestic when it was alive.
This chicken must be taken to the mountain and placed in front of Meng Tao's grave as the most important offering.
After the sacrifice is completed, they will be able to eat the chicken.
Before Meng Tao returned, when they offered sacrifices to Father Meng, they didn't kill any chickens; they just bought a piece of pork from the butcher, which was the same thing. This year, Meng Tao was added to the offerings, and Aunt Sun still felt sorry for her son.
They packed their things and headed up the mountain. Many families were going up the mountain today, some even traveling in groups.
"Are you going to Old Meng's or Meng Tao's first?" Aunt Liu asked. Her family was going to pay respects to an elderly relative who had passed away.
“Of course we should go to Old Meng’s first. He’s the father. How can you ignore your father and go to see your son first?” Aunt Sun replied.
Chen Qing followed behind them with a basket on his back, at a moderate pace.
When they arrived at Grandpa Meng's grave, it was already overgrown with weeds. Chen Qing didn't lift a finger, but watched as Grandma Sun, with red eyes, took a wood-chopping knife and carefully cleared the weeds around the grave.
She talked as she cleaned, and Chen Qing felt a pang of sadness as he listened.
Grandma Sun talked on and on, recounting the past, the present, and the future. Chen Qing stayed by her side, helping her burn incense and paper money.
After watching the last spark die out, Aunt Sun wiped her eyes and headed towards Meng Tao's grave.
Meng Tao's grave was new and didn't need weeding. Chen Qing placed the chicken carefully in front of his grave, and then he and Aunt Sun lit some incense and candles.
Chen Qing should have spoken to Meng Tao like Aunt Sun, but the two were not familiar with each other, and Chen Qing was not good with words, so he could only remain silent.
Seeing that Chen Qing remained silent, Aunt Sun spoke up herself, specifically mentioning that Chen Qing had bought all the incense offerings for today, and hoping that he would bless Chen Qing from heaven.
Chen Qing could only force a smile and say that it was all he should do.
Many people went up the mountain to burn paper money for the deceased. The village chief had told them several days earlier that they must watch the fire until it was completely extinguished before leaving. Chen Qing waited on the side until the fire was completely out before going down the mountain with Aunt Sun.
The people who originally said they would come to pay their respects didn't wait for Aunt Sun. They all knew where Meng Tao's grave was and didn't need to be there.
At this time, everyone was in a low mood. When they met on the street, they would just exchange a quick greeting before going home.
Looking at the fat chicken that had been put away, Aunt Sun smiled and said, "Thanks to those two, we can finally have a good meal."
Chen Qing smiled, pursing his lips.
But before their smiles could even fade, the door was pushed open, and Grandma Sun's smile instantly froze, turning into a grimace.
What are you doing here?
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