Chapter 339: Demonstrating Divine Power at the Husband's House
The next day.
Deng Shirong's family, relatives and friends took the bus home to celebrate the New Year.
Deng Yunzhen is now married, so naturally she goes back to Shanxin Village, Songwang Township with the Zhu family to celebrate the New Year.
There are many things to do during the Chinese New Year, such as cleaning, making sweet rice dumplings, ash water rice dumplings, rice dumpling and other necessary rice dumplings for the Chinese New Year, as well as offerings to various gods.
In Shuangwang Township, the most popular deities are generally Guanyin Bodhisattva, Huaguang Emperor and Tudibogong, which are worshipped by every household.
In addition, a godfather must also be offered sacrifices.
In the southern Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong and Macao, "godfather" is a name for godfather.
According to superstition, people who are deficient in the five elements must make up for it by eating food from their godfather or godmother, so that they can grow up healthily and live a long life.
Therefore, families with children like to find a fortune teller to calculate whether there are any defects in the five elements of gold, wood, water, fire and earth. If so, they will find a godfather or godmother in time to make up for the deficiency.
Adopting a godfather or godmother is commonly known as "entering the bond".
There is a rule for eating the meal of godfather or godmother: if it is a boy, he must recognize his godmother, and if it is a girl, she must find a godfather. First, find an adult man or woman with a good "fate" similar to that of the godfather, then buy gifts and go to the door to ask for rice. If the godfather agrees, then he will have the status of godfather, godmother, godchild, and goddaughter, and he must visit the godfather frequently for the rest of his life.
Of course, the above is the way of contract recognition in Guangdong and other places.
However, in Shuangwang Township, the practice of godfathering is quite different. In addition to recognizing people as godfathers, there are also gods and objects.
Recognizing gods means recognizing various gods, for example, the Qi recognized by the author is Emperor Huaguang, and recognizing objects is also strange, such as recognizing stones, trees, etc.
It is about recognizing people as the contract, which is a little different from other places, but generally speaking it is similar.
As for those who believe in gods and objects, they need to offer sacrifices to them every year, and usually they can only break away from the bond after the children grow up and get married.
The ceremony of breaking off the bond is quite particular and requires a master of this field to preside over it. Some people need to prepare three kinds of animals (chicken, fish and meat) for the ceremony, while others need all four parts of the pig to be complete (all parts of the pig must be included). In short, it is a very troublesome matter.
In addition to offering sacrifices to the godfather, one must also repay the blessings.
At the beginning of every year, the villagers of Shuangwang Township would pray for good fortune, and then return the good fortune at the end of the year, repeating the cycle over and over again.
There is no unified way to pray for blessings. Some people pray in the A-Zugong Hall, some pray in the Land God Hall, some pray in front of the Huaguang Emperor, and some even pray in front of those "masters".
Simply put, you can look for the deity you believe in to bless you.
The end of every year is the time for villagers to return their blessings.
With so many things happening at the same time, it’s hard not to be busy at the end of every year.
In addition to doing these things, there is also a scholarship meeting and family gathering at the end of each year.
Originally, Deng Shirong wanted to propose rebuilding Naye Primary School at this year's clan meeting, but thinking that the clan members had just spent a lot of money on rebuilding the ancestral hall, he thought that he should let the clan members wait until the Spring Festival travel rush was over and the dividends from the passenger transport company were paid out.
It’s not that Deng Shirong was anxious, but if he remembered correctly, in 1987, for some unknown reason, the whole county was suddenly swept by a wave of fundraising for school construction. The total amount of funds raised exceeded 10 million, and many teaching buildings and dormitory buildings were built in the county seat and various towns.
Once this wave of fundraising for school construction arrives, the Naye Deng family, as the most famous clan in Shuangwang Township, will definitely shed a lot of blood.
When raising funds to build schools, the primary target is naturally Naye Primary School. Deng Shirong plans to build this village primary school into one of the primary schools with the best hardware facilities in the county.
Only in this way can we keep up with the development pace of Naye Deng family.
If there is any spare capacity, the Deng family will naturally contribute to the construction of Shuangwang Junior High School.
There are also projects such as road construction, bridge construction, river dam construction, etc., which need to be put on the agenda.
Even if conditions permit, Deng Shirong wants to build villas of a unified style in the village.
However, we must eat one bite at a time. We don't need to rush into these big projects for now. We should at least give the villagers some time to develop. We can't just start another project and squeeze everyone dry as soon as we have some money on hand.
…
In the busyness, New Year’s Eve arrived in the blink of an eye.
The meal was still so rich. When they started eating, Xiao Dong'er asked in confusion, "Grandpa, where is my aunt? We've already had the reunion dinner, why hasn't she come back yet?"
The person who has taken care of Xiaodong'er the most since she was a child was not her parents, nor her grandfather or grandparents, but her great aunt. Therefore, Xiaodong'er has the deepest feelings for her great aunt, so it is not surprising that she would be asked this question.
Deng Shirong reached out and touched his granddaughter's head, and said with a smile: "Xiao Dong'er, your eldest aunt has married. She will have reunion dinner with her husband's family in the future, and will not come back to our house for reunion dinner!"
The son, daughter and daughter-in-law all sighed after hearing this. Once a woman gets married, many things are indeed different.
Xiao Dong'er asked gloomily, "When will the eldest aunt come back?"
Zhang Xiuping comforted her, "Eat well, your aunt will be back the day after tomorrow!"
Xiao Dong'er said "oh" and ate obediently.
As for the "heartless" Dongzi, he was chewing a braised pig's trotter with his two little hands! ...
at the same time.
Songshan Township, Shanxin Village.
Since the separation, the Zhu family has celebrated the New Year separately and has never gathered together to celebrate the New Year.
But this year is different. Brother Zhu's family and Brother Zhu's family brought chickens, ducks, fish and meat from home to the old house to celebrate the New Year with their elderly parents.
This year's reunion dinner was prepared by the new daughter-in-law, Deng Yunzhen, with help from Zhu Dasao, Zhu Ersao and the younger women, who prepared a table full of delicious dishes.
After all the dishes were ready, when Deng Yunzhen was washing her hands at the sink, Zhu Junjie came over and helped her take off her apron while laughing, "Wife, you've worked hard today!"
Deng Yunzhen shook her head and said, "It's not hard. My eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law helped me wash and cut the vegetables. I just simply cooked some vegetables."
Zhu Junjie put his untied apron aside and praised her with honey on his lips, "You are not just simply cooking, you are turning decay into magic, cooking these side dishes into delicious delicacies. We are so lucky this year. After more than 20 years of growing up, I am afraid that this year's reunion dinner will be the best meal we can eat."
Deng Yunzhen glanced at him and said with a smile, "Keep your voice down. Mom will be unhappy if she hears you later."
"I'm telling the truth. Mom is not that stingy!"
At this point, Allen Chu took her hand and said, “Let’s go, let’s go eat, the food will be cold later!”
There is no doubt that when the meal started, Deng Yunzhen's cooking skills were praised by all the Zhu family members.
Compared with Deng Yunzhen, the cooking skills of Old Mrs. Zhu, Mrs. Zhu's eldest sister-in-law, and Mrs. Zhu's second sister-in-law are really far inferior. It was indeed the first time in the Zhu family's lives that they had a reunion dinner that tasted so good.
While eating, Deng Yunzhen naturally thought of her family. In previous years, she would have a reunion dinner with her family, but starting this year, the family she was with was no longer named Deng, but Zhu! Zhu Junjie was very attentive. While drinking with his elder brother, second brother and nephews, he was always paying attention to his wife. Seeing the subtle changes in her expression, he guessed that she was thinking of her family.
He didn't say much, just reached under the table and held her hand.
Deng Yunzhen's mood was just a temporary change. Her husband's thoughtfulness quickly made her happy. She ate and drank with her husband's relatives, and it was very lively.
After three rounds of drinks, seeing that the atmosphere was right, Mrs. Zhu asked under the influence of alcohol: "Ah Zhen, we have been farming at home for so many years, and our life is very hard. You are a person who has seen the world and has great abilities. Can you help the children find a job in the county?
Whatever you do is better than living a hard life with us at home."
As soon as these words came out, Zhu Junjie couldn't help but frown. He felt that his sister-in-law really shouldn't say such things at this time and in this occasion. Ah Zhen had just married into the family, and it would be difficult to agree or not to make such a request to her. Isn't this making things difficult for her?
Brother Zhu also glared at his wife fiercely. He originally planned to wait until the reunion dinner was over and then find a chance to discuss the matter with his brothers in private. He didn't expect that the wife couldn't wait and spoke directly to his brother's wife who had just married. This was really fucked up.
Old Mrs. Zhu's expression also changed slightly. She certainly hoped that her grandchildren would have a bright future and would not have to stay in the village to farm the land, but her eldest daughter-in-law was really short-sighted. Couldn't this matter wait a little longer, or discuss it with Ajie first?
Speaking directly to the young daughter-in-law who had just married a few days ago left a bad impression on people.
Second Brother Zhu had the same idea as his eldest sister-in-law. Now that he saw that his eldest sister-in-law was willing to take the lead, he was no longer in a hurry.
Zhu Ersao glanced at her eldest sister-in-law. She was not as thick-skinned as her eldest sister-in-law. The girl had just been married for a few days, and it was really inappropriate for her to speak like that.
Brothers Zhu Wang and Zhu Sheng were both excited and embarrassed. They also felt that their mother's behavior was a bit hasty, and that the person they should ask was Uncle Man instead of Aunt Man.
This is a long story, but it actually just happens in a moment.
Although Deng Yunzhen felt that her sister-in-law's request was a bit abrupt, she had only been married for a few days and did not know much about Sister-in-law Zhu's personality and character. Anyway, so far, Sister-in-law Zhu had been quite enthusiastic in front of her.
Therefore, Deng Yunzhen did not think much after hearing this and replied: "Sister-in-law, it is not difficult for me to arrange a job for my nephews and nieces, but I don't recommend them to work in the county town, because the salary of jobs in the county town is not high, only 20 to 30 yuan a month.
Instead of working in the county town, it is better to work in Guangdong, where you can earn more than 100 yuan a month in any factory."
It is now the late 1980s, and more and more people from Bobai County are going to Guangdong to work. Although it is not so exaggerated that there are people from every village going to Guangdong to work, it is certain that there are people from every township going to Guangdong to work.
However, since many people who go to Guangdong to work hide their income and do not disclose it, not everyone knows that the wages for working in Guangdong will be so high.
It was not until the 1990s that the high wages in Guangdong spread in Bobai, triggering a large-scale trend of going to Guangdong to work.
It can be said that in the 1990s, in the rural areas of Bobai, 99% of those who were no longer in school and not married, regardless of gender or whether they were 18 years old or not, went to Guangdong to work with their friends in the village.
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Even those who are already married, as long as they don't have children to burden them, will go to Guangdong to work.
It is still a few years before people start to migrate to Guangdong for work on a large scale, and the people in Shanxin Village obviously don’t know that they can make so much money by working in Guangdong.
Therefore, when they heard what Deng Yunzhen said, eldest brother Zhu and his wife, second brother Zhu and his wife, as well as all the younger generations of the Zhu family, were all shocked.
Mrs. Zhu asked in surprise, "Ah Zhen, are you telling the truth? If you go to Guangdong to work, you can get more than 100 yuan a month in any factory?"
Deng Yunzhen smiled and said, "Of course this is true. Our Deng family has established a passenger transport company in the county, with dozens of buses running to Guangdong. We all know the development situation in Guangdong. Now more and more people are going to Guangdong to work, because the salary there is indeed high enough."
Zhu Erge continued, "The factory over there pays well, but it's hard to get a job there, right? If you can't get in, it doesn't matter how high the salary is!"
Deng Yunzhen said, "There are countless new factories being established in Guangdong every day, all of which are looking for workers. As long as you have the will, it shouldn't be difficult to get into a factory. However, there are all kinds of people there, so safety may not be guaranteed."
Mrs. Zhu was very conflicted when she heard this. Originally, she just wanted to ask her sister-in-law Deng Yunzhen to help arrange jobs for her children in the county town. Even if they were just waiters in a restaurant, they would still have a salary, which was certainly better than farming at home.
Unexpectedly, this sister-in-law brought her a great news: working in a factory in Guangdong, the salary was so high that she was very excited. After all, there was a chance to earn more than 100 yuan a month. Who would be willing to work for 20 or 30 yuan a month? However, just when she was excited, this sister-in-law said that there were all kinds of people there and there was no guarantee of safety, which made her feel torn.
Deng Yunzhen paused for a moment, then continued, "Whether you work in the county or go to Guangdong to work, you only get a fixed salary. It is very difficult to get rich. It is better to start a small business by yourself, and then expand it slowly after gaining experience. In the future, you may have the opportunity to become a big boss. This is much more promising than working as a worker."
When Zhu Junjie saw that his wife easily resolved his sister-in-law's somewhat "difficult" request, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.
Seeing that the conversation had come to this, Brother Zhu put aside his concerns and asked, "Ah Zhen, when it comes to doing business, no one in our family can compare to you. What kind of small business do you think they are suitable for?"
The other members of the Zhu family all agreed with this statement.
When it comes to doing business, let alone their Zhu family, even in the entire Songwang Township, I'm afraid there is no family that is better at business than Deng Yunzhen's family.
Deng Yunzhen was not modest. She smiled and said, "I actually have a very good small business here. Not only does it require a small investment, but it also pays off quickly. Conservatively speaking, it shouldn't be difficult to make two or three hundred yuan a month."
When these words came out, everyone in the Zhu family was shocked, and even Zhu Junjie showed a surprised expression.
At this time, Mrs. Zhu's eyes were like Sun Wukong's fiery eyes, constantly radiating light. She couldn't wait to ask, "Ah Zhen, what kind of business are you talking about? Can you really make so much money in a month?"
Others also looked at Deng Yunzhen with an expression of both expectation and trepidation.
In later generations, even if you are a migrant worker at the lowest level, as long as you are not afraid of hard work, it is not difficult to earn two or three hundred yuan a day. But in this era, earning two or three hundred yuan a month is a real big business for rural people.
Deng Yunzhen didn't hide anything and said directly: "The business I'm talking about is selling fried shrimp dumplings."
The Zhu family looked at each other in bewilderment. Zhu Wang asked, "Aunt Man, what is this shrimp dumpling?"
In later generations, everyone living in Bobai knows about Xiagongzong. It is sold in the markets of counties and towns. It can be said to be the most popular snack for many people born in the 80s and 90s when they were young. It is a precious memory that can never be erased on their path to growth.
However, at this point in time, shrimp dumplings are still a strange thing to most Bobai people.
This is actually understandable. After all, shrimp dumplings are fried food, and except for a few families in rural areas at that time, most families were extremely short of oil. Who would have the time to use oil to fry shrimp dumplings?
Therefore, now not only are there no shrimp dumplings for sale in the towns and villages, but even in the county town there are no shrimp dumplings for sale.
Deng Yunzhen briefly talked about the ingredients for making shrimp dumplings, and then concluded: "To make shrimp dumplings, apart from the pot, the oil is the only thing that is valuable. A total investment of a few dozen yuan is more than enough."
Zhu Wang continued, "Aunt Man, we know the ingredients for making shrimp dumplings, but we have never seen how to make it, so we don't understand it!"
Deng Yunzhen smiled and said, "You don't understand, but I do. Think it over first. If you are willing to start your own small business, I will take some time to teach you how to make this shrimp dumpling. It's not complicated to make, and you will understand it after watching it once."
Mrs. Zhu asked worriedly, "Ah Zhen, is it really that profitable to sell fried shrimp dumplings?"
Deng Yunzhen did not answer directly, but said: "Sister-in-law, let me do the math for you first. Among the ingredients for making shrimp dumplings, the most expensive is oil, followed by rice, sweet potatoes and chopped green onions. As for small shrimps, there are plenty in the river, you just need to spend some time to catch them, and there is also a little firewood.
Oil is reusable, and a pot of oil can be used for at least several days.
And things like rice, sweet potatoes and chopped green onions don't cost much.
A shrimp dumpling sells for two cents. It should not be difficult to sell a thousand shrimps a day in the county town, which means twenty yuan. The cost of this thing will definitely not exceed ten yuan, so it is definitely no problem to make ten yuan a day.
If you are in a rural town, business may not be very good on ordinary days, but on market days, it should not be difficult to sell one or two thousand.
So, earning two or three hundred yuan a month is indeed a possibility.”
These reasonable words made the Zhu family members very excited.
Just as Deng Yunzhen said, the production cost of this thing is indeed not high, and the selling price is not expensive.
It is already the late 1980s, and even though many rural people still have poor living conditions, the country folk in Bobai attach great importance to market days. They usually stay in the village and do not go out, but on market days they flock to the towns and villages.
This is the main reason why the number of people attending the fair in the county town exceeded 40,000, the number of people attending the fair in Shahe town exceeded 30,000, and the number of people attending the fair in Longtan town exceeded 27,000.
Generally speaking, going to the market means spending money, it's just a matter of how much you spend.
Moreover, in addition to buying necessities for the home, parents will definitely have to bring some snacks for their children, such as some fruits or candies and biscuits. Parents may be reluctant to spend a dollar or a few cents to buy snacks for their children, but most parents are willing to spend only a few cents.
Zhu Junjie looked at his nephews and nieces and said, "Your Aunt Man has already told you very clearly that working as a laborer is a dead end. If you want to make a lot of money, you should work hard to run this small business well. When you have earned enough capital, you can start a bigger business."
"Uncle Man, we got it!"
"Thank you Aunt Man!"
"Thank you Aunt Man!"
“…”
Deng Yunzhen smiled and said, "You're welcome. If you brothers and sisters all want to do it, then you can discuss and disperse to different places. For example, who will set up a stall in the county town and who will set up a stall in the township. It should be divided in advance, so that there will be no need for brothers and sisters to compete for business."
"Whether you set up a stall in a county or a town, you don't have to fight for it. The county has the highest customer flow, which goes without saying, but towns also have their advantages."
Zhu Junjie added: "For example, the market days in Songwang Township are the 3rd, 6th and 9th, while the market days in Longtan Township next door are the 1st, 4th and 7th, and the market days in Dongping Township are the 2nd, 5th and 8th. If you set up a stall in a township, you can catch a market day every day. Although it is a bit harder, it also has the largest customer flow, and you can definitely earn more than setting up a stall in the county seat."
After hearing this, the younger generations nodded repeatedly and began to make plans in their minds.
Old Man Zhu and Old Lady Zhu listened in silence.
At this time, seeing that the problem raised by the eldest daughter-in-law was perfectly solved by the younger daughter-in-law, Mrs. Zhu was relieved and said with a smile: "Ah Zhen, don't talk about it for now, let's eat quickly, otherwise the food will be cold."
Deng Yunzhen responded and then continued to enjoy the various dishes she had made herself.
(End of this chapter)