Chapter 34 Ghost Festival
The past few days have been filled with torrential rain in the middle of the night, and the recent days have been characterized by continuous high temperatures. The cicadas in the yard are chirping so loudly that it's making me irritable.
Li San Niang spent the whole morning with Lu Zhu'er and Li Si Lang, without even having breakfast, having Li Si Lang climb a tree and catch four cicadas one by one.
Of course, when Li Silang took action, Li Sanniang and Luzhu'er cheered him on from under the tree.
The cicadas that were caught were immediately roasted and eaten by Li Silang in the stove fire. Li Silang even wanted to give some to Luzhu'er, but Li Sanniang quickly stopped him.
Li San Niang knew that insects were high in protein, but she couldn't get over her mental block and decided not to eat them.
Li San Niang invited Shen Qiu Niang, who lived in the same courtyard, to have breakfast together. Shen Qiu Niang wasn't embarrassed at all, because she now completely regarded herself as a servant.
Why do I say that?
After she finished her breakfast, she saw that Lu Zhu'er was being taken care of by Li San Niang, and only Li Da Sao was busy in the kitchen, so she took the initiative to help clean up the dishes and wash them. She did it very efficiently.
Sister-in-law Li said she didn't need to do anything; she had a head injury and could just go back inside and lie down.
Chen Qiuniang didn't listen and just kept working.
After helping Sister-in-law Li finish the kitchen work, she even asked if there were any clothes that needed washing.
Li San Niang quickly said, "Where can I find clothes to wash? All of the Li family's clothes are outsourced to the neighbors."
Finally, Sister-in-law Li took out a basket, found a tangled mess of thread, and asked Chen Qiu Niang to help her sort the thread, which was a good way to keep her busy.
Li Ersao also carried Xiao Wulang out of the house, and the group sat around under the jujube tree chatting.
Xiao Wulang is almost two months old. Li Ersao took good care of him during his postpartum period, and she had plenty of breast milk. Xiao Wulang is chubby and cute, and everyone who sees him wants to hold him. He looks like a big, chubby little boy.
Dewdrop had a new "toy". Every time Li San Niang took her to see Xiao Wu Lang, she would hold Xiao Wu Lang's little hand like a little adult and say earnestly, "Wu Lang, you must grow up quickly so that your older sister can play with you."
Then, turning to Li Sanniang, he asked, "Mother, when will Wulang grow up?"
Just as they were watching Lu Zhu'er teach Kogoro to call her "elder sister," Li Gui came in and delivered a letter to Li San Niang.
Li San Niang quickly took the letter and saw that it was written by Doctor Gao. He said that he and more than ten members of the alliance had decided to give Li San Niang an interview opportunity and agreed to meet her in five days at the Peony Room on the second floor of Jun You Lai Restaurant.
Holding the invitation, Li San Niang began to ponder: what was the purpose of this alliance? Perhaps she should discuss it properly with her father and second brother later.
The group chatted about everyday matters. Chen Qiu's mother didn't say much, but she would nod to show that she was listening, which was a good response. Time flew by.
It was too hot, so Li's father asked Li San Niang to help him gather a pot of cooling herbal tea. He planned to brew a pot, let it cool, and then put it in a bucket to be placed at the entrance of the clinic to be provided free of charge to the neighbors and people who came to see the doctor and get medicine.
Mr. Li felt that the temperature had been unusually high these past few days, and he was worried that people with weaker constitutions might suffer from heatstroke or fall ill and not be able to get timely treatment. Therefore, he decided to provide free cooling herbal tea to relieve the heat.
This was something that Li's father had always done. In the past, it was Li's second brother who would handle it, but since Li's third sister-in-law was home this year, Li's second brother could take a break and Li's third sister-in-law would do it.
When Brother Li finished his shift and went home in the evening, Third Sister Li specially gave him a packet of salt and sugar powder that she had wrapped in paper that afternoon, instructing him to take one packet in the morning and one packet in the afternoon when he was on duty during the day, and to mix it with water and drink it.
This candy was specially bought from a shop, the best kind, just for Brother Li.
Brother Li was not at all shy. He dipped his little finger in the mixture and tasted it. "Is it salt and sugar? Third Sister is so thoughtful. I understand. I'm keeping an eye on things. Don't worry."
...
Today is the Ghost Festival, and Brother Li and the four little ones are all on holiday.
In the morning, Brother Li, along with his sister-in-law, eldest son, and second son, first set up offerings in front of the memorial tablet of their father, Sun Datou, in their own house, lit incense, and kowtowed before leaving the house.
Then they went to Li's parents' place, and together with Li's father, Li's second brother's family, Li's third sister, and Luzhu'er, they offered incense and kowtowed to the memorial tablets of Li's father's parents.
After everyone else finished kowtowing, they left the room, leaving Li's mother inside to keep Li's father company.
Every year at this time, Li's father is always taciturn. Apart from his eldest brother and sister-in-law, who know some inside information, his second brother and third sister-in-law know very little about it. They don't know what happened in the previous generation that made Li's father still unable to forgive his deceased uncle.
I vaguely know it involves a life, but Li's father won't allow me to mention the specifics.
About half an hour later, Li's father and mother came out of the house.
The whole family, along with Shen Qiuniang who was staying at the Li family's house, went out to take a car to Xuandu Temple to pray. Even Xiao Wulang was wrapped in a blanket and carried out by Li Erxiong.
Actually, in the morning, Li San Niang burned paper money in a brazier in the house beforehand. It was for the original Li San Niang, and she even pulled Lu Zhu'er to kowtow to the brazier.
Li San Niang thought to herself, "Now that I've taken your body, you should naturally take on the responsibilities. I must raise Lu Zhu'er well and she will be filial to my parents."
Don't worry, I mean what I say.
Li San Niang thoughtfully gave Chen Qiu Niang next door a brazier, telling her that if any relatives needed to be worshipped, she should use it.
Luckily, I had arranged a driver in advance, and we were rushing to Xuandu Temple early. I estimated that at least half of the people in Chang'an would be going to Xuandu Temple today, and the roads would be incredibly congested.
More than an hour later, they arrived at the entrance of Xuandu Temple. Carriages and horses were coming and going in an endless stream, showing that there were quite a few people who believed in Taoism in Chang'an City. Of course, there were also quite a few people at Xingshan Temple across the street.
I accepted the incense from the young Taoist boy at the door, gave him money for incense oil, and bowed. This time, I didn't need to ask the Taoist priest for my name or ask the abbot for answers. Spending less money was already a gain.
At Xuandu Temple, I participated in a ritual ceremony with the others.
This was a truly novel experience for Li San Niang. The ceremony was very solemn and could be described as spectacular. The fully armed abbot and Taoist priests truly looked like "enlightened masters."
Li's mother was still very devout. She donated another five taels of silver as incense money and received vegetarian fruit from the temple. It was actually a kind of baked flatbread with a salt and pepper flavor, which was quite delicious.
Li Ersao even went to get a peace charm for Xiao Wulang to wear.
Because of this delay, it was past noon by the time we got home.
By the time I got home, it was almost evening.
When I got home, I ate a bowl of porridge with pickled cowpeas to fill my hungry stomach.
Li San Niang was very curious about what had happened to Li's father's previous generation, so she asked Shen Qiu Niang, who was also in the yard, to look after Lu Zhu'er, who was playing with Xiao Huang'er in the yard, for a while, and went directly to Li Er Xiong's room.
"Second brother, do you have a moment? I have a question."
"What's wrong? Third Sister, are you remembering that you have a second brother?"
Hearing Li Erxiong teasing Li Sanniang, Li Ersao, holding Xiao Wulang in one arm, punched Li Erxiong. Li Erxiong cooperated, falling back and pretending to be in pain, saying, "Ah, that hurts, Sanniang, your second sister-in-law is avenging you."
"Haha, Second Brother, stop joking. I really have something important to say. Do you know why Father is so quiet and so serious every year on this day? What happened in the previous generation? I have no recollection of it at all?"
Upon hearing this question, Li Erxiong frowned and became serious. "Third Sister, I don't know the details either. This matter is a grudge from the previous generation. Father has his reasons for not wanting to talk about it. When Father wants to talk about it, we will naturally know."
"If you know anything, tell me."
"Alright, let's go back inside and rest. A trip to Xuandu Temple isn't tiring at all."
Li Erxiong clearly didn't want to talk, so Li Sanniang had no choice but to leave, feeling that she had missed a big piece of news.
For dinner, Li Da Sao made vegetarian noodles. After eating, Li's father led them to burn paper clothes for their ancestors in the courtyard, but Lu Zhu'er and Xiao Wu Lang were not allowed to go. Li Er Sao stayed inside to take care of them.
The elders always say that young children have pure eyes and might be bewitched by wandering spirits, so young children are not allowed to go out.
Then go to the entrance of the clinic to burn paper clothes for the wandering souls.
As darkness fell completely, it was no longer just the Li family burning clothes at their doorsteps on this street. Li San Niang, kneeling behind Li Er Xiong, watched this scene without feeling any fear.
Having experienced the miraculous event of time travel, Li Sanniang should have been the most devout believer, but she remained a staunch materialist.
How so? The self-contradiction of a time traveler?
After burning the paper clothes, Li's mother said that although her family believed in Taoism, they could not neglect Buddha, so they should also release river lanterns.
The closest place to the Li family is Anqu, which is open to the public every year during the Ghost Festival, allowing people to release lanterns on that night.
Father Li said he was tired and didn't want to go. In the end, Father Li went back to his house. Second Sister Li stayed at home to take care of Xiao Wulang and Luzhu. At this time, Chen Qiuniang also said that she would not go and would stay at home.
Of the four little ones, only Li Dalang was allowed to go; the other three were not.
Upstream from Anqu, there are merchants selling lamps. They're not expensive, only five copper coins a lamp. If you can write, you can even inscribe a message.
Li San Niang bought a lamp, wrote "May my son Wang Wanlu have a peaceful and prosperous life," lit it with a tinderbox, and placed it in the canal on the bank.
Looking at the hundreds of lights in the ditch, Li Sanniang thought the scene was really beautiful. She regretted not having a mobile phone to take a picture so she could look back on it later.
By the time the group arrived home under the moonlight, it was almost curfew. As soon as they reached the entrance of the clinic, Li San Niang sensed something was wrong.
This feeling of unease could be described as a sixth sense. Li San Niang even told Li Da Sao that she felt something was off, but when asked to explain what was strange about it, she couldn't.
Sister-in-law Li said she was too tired and should go back to wash up and rest.
Li San Niang shook her head, putting this strange feeling aside, went to Chen Qiu Niang's house next door to fetch the sleeping Lu Zhu'er, and went to the kitchen to fetch water to prepare for washing up and going to bed.
As a doctor, I may not be able to detect other smells, but the smell of blood is really hard to ignore.
Li San Niang smelled a faint smell of blood in the kitchen, the kind of fresh blood.
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