Chapter 185: Ancestor Worship and Heavenly Father
Fucai hurriedly explained: "Brother, he didn't mean that. We just don't understand why Zhang Jianye, who only has four people in his family, occupied so many residential plots!"
Zhang Yongnian knew what these people were thinking and warned them, "They have more homesteads because their fathers are capable! If you don't agree, go find your fathers! This is a civilized era of rule of law. They have proof. You can't do anything even if you are jealous!
Instead of being jealous of others, you should think about why you are so useless. You were all equally poor before, so why are they doing so well now, while you can’t even build a 50-square-meter house! "
The three of them turned pale and blue in the face after hearing what Zhang Yongnian said, and left Zhang Yongnian with a lot of anger. However, although they were jealous, they did not dare to do anything. They just spread some ugly rumors around the village. Those words did not hurt the four members of the Zhang family at all, so they did not care.
Father Zhang was happy when he thought of Zhang Yongnian's shock and proactive attitude to make peace. He walked with the wind and soon led Zhang Wanwan back to the old house. Mother Zhang and Zhang Baiyan came back at that time. The four of them hurried to work and prepare lunch for the ancestor worship.
After Zhang Wanwan helped fold the vegetables, she saw that Zhang Boyan had already prepared the other ingredients and Zhang's father was helping Zhang's mother, so she simply went to the side to fold gold and silver paper.
It must be said that Zhang's mother was exaggerating, because she hadn't offered sacrifices to her ancestors for many years, and it was as if she wanted to make up for all the debts at once. She bought several stacks of gold and silver paper alone. Other people would use at most a dozen rolls for ancestor sacrifices at a time, and the amount she prepared was more than ten times that of others. It was impossible for her to fold it all, so she just did it to kill time out of boredom, and it was at least a token of her appreciation.
It was past noon when Zhang's mother and father finally prepared the dishes for the ancestor worship. There were eighteen full plates with various meats, seafood, fruits and vegetables. The dazzling array dazzled Zhang Wanwan.
The ancestor worship activities were not completed until 1:30 pm. The gold and silver paper burned for nearly an hour, attracting the attention of all the neighbors who came over to see what was going on.
After Mr. and Mrs. Zhang finished their ancestor worship, they turned around and began to prepare for the evening worship of the God of Heaven.
Zhang Wanwan felt tired seeing them busy in the kitchen all day. Perhaps because there was nothing for the brother and sister to do, they took the time to visit the fields and homesteads at home. Relying on their memory, Zhang Wanwan and Zhang Baiyan visited some places and met some villagers during the trip. They found that some of them were hostile to them.
Zhang Wanwan frowned slightly, but said nothing. She turned around and left without saying hello to those people.
When they returned, some people started saying that they were impolite and looked down on country people. Of course, those people could only vent their jealousy and dissatisfaction in this way.
After eating and drinking, the afternoon passed in a flash. When night fell, fireworks began to bloom in the sky above Qingpu. However, the sound came from a relatively far distance, and the fireworks had not started here yet.
The wind was strong and cold in the seaside village at night. If you stood outside for a while, you would start to shiver. Zhang's mother asked the two siblings to sit in the main house.
Bored, the two started playing games, while Zhang's mother and father were still busy in the yard, placing offerings on the table, lighting incense and candles, hanging yellow paper, etc. It was almost ten o'clock before they stopped.
The worship service had to wait until midnight, which was still two hours away. With nothing to do, Zhang's mother simply took out a few hundred-yuan bills from her pocket and handed them to Zhang Baiyan, "Take your sister to the village store to buy some fireworks. We will also set off fireworks tonight."
Seeing how happy and generous Zhang's mother was, the brother and sister found it a little unbelievable. They looked at each other, then stood up together, took the flashlight from their home and went out.
There are usually no street lights in the village, and only on the main roads where people are coming and going is there a light bulb installed. They go to the village store and walk on narrow paths that are so dark that they can't even see the road under their feet, and it is common for them to step into potholes.
Zhang Wanwan followed Zhang Baiyan closely, relying on the faint light of the flashlight to find her way to the village store.
This place is close to the temple, and it is quite lively with lights on. However, the store is a bit shabby, and the things you buy there seem to be of poor quality. Perhaps because it is New Year, the most conspicuous place in the store is filled with fireworks and firecrackers.
The two men did not ask the price every time they bought something like the villagers did. They just picked out all kinds of fireworks and paid for them readily. Before leaving, Zhang Baiyan gave his home address. Most grocery stores would deliver items as big as fireworks to your door. The two men came empty-handed and left empty-handed, with two or three hundred yuan less on them.
Zhang Baiyan returned the remaining money to Zhang's mother and told her about what he had bought. Zhang's mother just nodded to show that she understood and didn't say anything.
At around eleven o'clock, the people from the convenience store finally delivered the goods on a motorcycle.
Before Zhang Wanwan could move, her mother ran out to greet her impatiently, shouting at the top of her voice, "Old Zhang, Bai Yan, come and help!"
Zhang's father smiled helplessly, and as he walked out he kept muttering, "How come your mother is even more childish than you are? You just set off some fireworks to make her happy!"
Despite what he said, Zhang's father was not slow and quickly helped Zhang's mother move things into the yard.
Zhang's mother reminded: "You guys set off the fireworks later, I want to set off the firecrackers!"
"Mom!" Zhang Wanwan was a little surprised.
Mother Zhang smiled awkwardly, her face slightly red, but no one else could see it in the darkness. "In the past, our family didn't have the means. When I was little, I envied other families who could set off fireworks and firecrackers all the time during the New Year. Even setting off small fireworks was a luxury for us. Later, when I married your father, it was like that again. I haven't had a good New Year in Qingpu for a long time. This year, I have a rare opportunity, so I want to set off as many fireworks as I can!"
"Okay! Put it in! Put in as much as you want! If it's not enough, I'll buy more!" Zhang's father echoed lovingly.
These words made Zhang's mother so happy that she seemed to be floating on the ground.
The two showed their affection, which was unbearable to watch. Zhang Wanwan asked Zhang Boyan, "Mom and Dad are showing off their love. Did you receive it?"
Zhang Baiyan nodded seriously.
"Don't you have any ideas?"
Zhang Baiyan shook his head.
Zhang Wanwan: “.” Is this really the sign that I’m destined to be alone?
As soon as it was midnight, Zhang's mother started to burn incense and asked the whole family to come and worship. They kowtowed several times in a row. Zhang's father and mother both looked pious and serious. Zhang Wanwan and the others did not dare to just go through the motions. They obediently followed suit and completed the rituals. It was not until Zhang's mother asked his father and Zhang Baiyan to burn gold and silver paper that Zhang Wanwan hurried over to help.
There were also several piles of them, with circles of smoke drifting away with the cold wind. The air of the entire Qingpu was filled with the smell of smoke tonight.
(End of this chapter)
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