On the day of the Ghost Festival, Zhao Shiyun rarely had to get up early. Few people bought tofu during the festival, so the family discussed it last night and decided not to make tofu for the next two days and to have a good rest.
Zhao Shiyun hugged Lin Yan and slept comfortably. It was almost 9:00 a.m. when he opened the door with a yawn. In the yard, his father and mother had already killed the ducks and were squatting to pluck their feathers. Zhao Shiyun quickly took two small stools for them to sit on, and went to wash up.
After washing up, Zhao Shiyun also came forward and planned to join the group plucking duck feathers. Li Yuemei thought he was in the way and asked him to boil water and cook the duck later.
As soon as Zhao Shiyun boiled the water, Li Yuemei brought in the plucked duck and put the whole duck into the pot. She also put the duck offal in a bowl and set it aside, waiting until the duck was half cooked before putting it back into the pot.
Zhao Shiyun poured a bowl of porridge and drank it with some dried radish before going into the house to wake Lin Yan. He let him sleep as long as he could. He heard that as his belly got bigger, he wouldn't be able to sleep well at night.
Lin Yan was sleeping soundly with the quilt in his arms, when he suddenly felt he couldn't breathe. He opened his mouth and took a few deep breaths before struggling to open his eyes. He saw Zhao Shiyun pinching his nose and looking at him with a wicked smile.
Lin Yan angrily slapped his hand away, sat up and glared at him.
"Okay, get up quickly, it's already 9 o'clock." Zhao Shiyun pulled Lin Yan up and put on his coat.
Lin Yan rubbed his eyes, put on his clothes, and went out to wash up.
The aroma of the duck was already wafting through the courtyard. After finishing his breakfast, Lin Yan placed the snacks and peaches he had bought on the altar. He would wait until the duck and pork belly were cooked before serving them.
Lin Yan went to the field to pick some vegetables, eggplants, and bitter melons. He washed them and put them aside to deal with them later.
The Ghost Festival usually starts in the afternoon. After the duck is cooked, it is placed on a plate and taken to the altar, along with cooked pork belly, vermicelli, and eggs.
Divide the pork belly, vermicelli and eggs into two portions, place one portion on the altar, then place five small wine glasses and pour a little wine.
The other one is placed on the chair at the door of Li Yuemei's room, along with fruits, candies, snacks and other offerings, as well as a pair of scissors. This is called worshiping the bedside lady.
Praying to the Bed Head Lady prays for family happiness and for the safe and healthy growth of younger generations, especially children. If a child cries frequently at night, a special prayer is offered to the Bed Head Lady. She is considered the guardian deity of children, believed to protect them from "invasion" by evil spirits, ensuring they sleep peacefully and grow up safely. Therefore, offerings are typically made to her on the third day after birth. Children are also worshipped for protection when they are sick or encounter other difficulties. Worship is also performed on traditional festivals such as the 15th day of the first lunar month, Qingming Festival, and the Dragon Boat Festival.
After lighting the incense sticks and candles, the family prayed devoutly and burned paper money and gold ingots before the worship was over.
Lin Yan fastened his jacket and took the duck to chop it, but Zhao Shiyun took it and said, "Let me do the hard work."
Lin Yan didn't fight with him. He took off his shirt and put it on Zhao Shiyun, while he cooked vermicelli on the side.
"Brother Shi Yun, please cut the duck offal for me first." Lin Yan instructed. There was still some soup left in the pot from cooking the duck just now. There was quite a lot of soup, so Lin Yan found a large basin and scooped up half of it, and boiled the rest on a fire. When the water boiled, he added vermicelli. When the vermicelli was almost cooked, he added a handful of green vegetables and the cut duck offal.
The soup has a layer of duck fat, so there is no need to add additional oil. Finally, add appropriate amount of salt and soy sauce to season and it is ready to be served.
Zhao Shiyun on the side was chopping the duck with bang bangs, and soon he had prepared a plate.
Lin Yan took out the eggplant that had been steamed with the rice and quickly mixed it into some shredded eggplant. Finally, he fried some bitter melon and scrambled eggs, and the meal was almost ready.
The duck meat should be eaten with a dip. Lin Yan chopped a handful of green onions and some minced ginger, heated oil in a pan, poured in the chopped green onions and minced ginger, added soy sauce, grass fruit powder, chili sauce, and a little salt, stir-fried for a few times, and the dipping sauce was ready to be served.
The meal was ready, and the family gathered around the table, the steaming food emitting an enticing aroma. Lin Yan took small bowls to serve everyone the dipping sauce, while Zhao Shiyun first served Lin Yan a bowl of vermicelli, scooping a spoonful of dipping sauce into it and mixing it. This made the vermicelli particularly flavorful and fragrant. Lin Yan took it with a smile, picked up the vermicelli and slurped it up.
Everyone started to eat. Li Yuemei picked up a piece of duck meat and put it into the dipping sauce bowl, covered it with a layer of dipping sauce, and began to eat. "Hmm, Brother Yan, your dipping sauce is really delicious." In the past, their family just added chopped green onions and a little soy sauce as dipping sauce. They had never eaten this kind of dipping sauce. Lin Yan smiled a little embarrassedly.
While Zhao Shiyun was eating, he picked up a duck wing for Lin Yan. Lin Yan had a good appetite today, and his mouth was shiny with oil, just like Yu Ge'er. After Yu Ge'er finished gnawing on a duck leg, he moved on to other dishes on the table.
After dinner, Yu Ge'er took the initiative to clean up the dishes and wash them, while Lin Yan stayed beside him. The two of them talked quietly, occasionally laughing. Zhao Shiyun looked at the two boys in the kitchen inexplicably, not knowing what they were laughing at.
As night fell, the family sat in the courtyard, enjoying the cool breeze and gazing at the stars, feeling the rare tranquility and happiness. "Pah!" Yu Ge'er swatted a mosquito to death on his hand with a palm-leaf fan. The mosquito had drunk its fill of blood, and now it stained his hand. Yu Ge'er sighed in disgust and quickly got up to wash his hands. Zhao Shiyun saw this and went to light moxa sticks in each room to smoke out the mosquitoes so that they wouldn't be disturbed by the annoying buzzing noise when they went to sleep.
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