After seven or eight days, the Lu family's house was finally completed, and the final and most crucial step was to raise the roof beam.
Raising the roof beam is a major event, and an auspicious day was specially chosen.
Two days in advance, Lu Laoda went to the county town to buy some firecrackers. Firecrackers were still a rare and expensive item in those days, but considering it was such a big event as moving to a new house, he still bought quite a lot despite the pain.
Lu Lao Er found some copper coins for the ceremony later. Zhang Song and Zhang Yong made an exception today and didn't go to collect the feathers, but instead helped with the household chores.
The women got up early to busy themselves. Yu Shi Lianhua was busy preparing breakfast, Qin Shi was grinding rice into powder to steam brown sugar rice cakes at noon, and He Jiu Niang, Lu Guilan and Shen Shi joined the washing team. They wanted to wash everything that could be washed, and they were busy as bees.
Mrs. Sun was instructing her children: "Today is a good day, everyone smile, understand? No fighting, no crying, and no swearing, or I'll slap your mouth!"
The little radish heads stood in a row, nodding obediently.
Last night, each family's parents told them that they must be happy today so that they could have an even happier life after moving into their new house.
Seeing how sensible the children were, Mrs. Sun nodded in satisfaction and went with Old Man Lu to prepare offerings and an incense table to worship the household gods.
The Lu family's house was built in a grand style, and people came to see what was going on as soon as the family finished breakfast.
The men invited by the village to raise the roof beam arrived one after another, and He Jiuniang took a moment to pour tea for them.
When the auspicious time arrives, the process of raising and installing the beam will begin.
Adorned with red and green decorations and inscribed with the words "May the roof beam be raised auspiciously, and may the purple stars shine brightly," the beam was lifted up by the men while they sang the "Raising the Roof Beam Song," and carried to the ridge of the roof.
As the firecrackers went off, the children covered their ears, but their faces were filled with excited smiles.
After the men carrying the beam came down, the bricklayer carried a tray with copper coins and auspicious steamed buns on his head to the roof ridge, chanting loudly as he went: "Holding the golden ladder, you ascend step by step, like sesame flowers blooming higher and higher. Wishing the host a thousand years of wealth, and a house full of children and grandchildren for ten thousand generations!"
After saying this, he threw the steamed buns and copper coins from the tray down, which is called "throwing the beam".
Adults and children alike rushed forward to pick up the lucky charms, believing that whoever found one would also have good luck.
After the activities were over, the Yu family took out the red sugar rice cakes that had been offered as sacrifices and distributed them to the children. Then, adults and children alike drank a bowl of sweet soup.
Today we are hosting a banquet for everyone, including members of the Lu family, the village chief, and everyone who helped build the house during this period.
There were quite a few people. The eldest and second eldest Lu brothers went to the county town to sell fresh meat and vegetables, while the Zhang brothers, Zhang Song and Zhang Yong, accompanied the guests to drink tea and chat. The Zhang brothers were more eloquent than the Lu brothers, so this arrangement was not wrong.
As a result, everyone enjoyed a meal that was even more sumptuous than during the Lunar New Year.
More importantly, the host was generous, providing meat, vegetables, and wine, so everyone could eat their fill and burp with satisfaction.
The house had been cleaned in advance, and the basic wooden beds and bedding were complete. Each couple had their own room, and the three children shared a room.
The boys Leizi, Jiezi, and Huzi live together. They are all students, and living together makes it convenient for them to learn from and supervise each other.
The girls Lianhua, Youya, and Tingya live together, while only the younger girls Gou'er, Shanya, Xiuya, and Xiaoliangzi sleep with their parents.
The two embroiderers finally settled down at the Lu family home and no longer needed to travel back and forth every morning and evening.
Several young couples haven't slept together since they fled famine. They're all young people, and now that life is better and they've settled into new homes, the saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder" is quite apt.
Before they could even exchange a few whispered words, commotion could be heard coming from each of the rooms.
He Jiuniang, who still had her son by her side, could not be considered a widow. After putting her son to sleep, she sat down at the table and began to draw design drafts. She had had the idea for a few days, but had not yet put pen to paper, mainly because having a house full of people made it difficult for her to work out.
After working late into the night, she felt a bit thirsty, so she secretly took out a bottle of cola from her spatial storage and took a sip: "Tsk, so refreshing!"
Since transmigrating, I've always lived with a large family, with little private space, and I didn't dare use many good things. Now, I'm free.
After drawing many design drafts, He Jiuniang stretched, but was still not sleepy. However, she didn't want to work on it anymore, so she opened the door and went out for some fresh air.
result--
She returned feeling quite embarrassed, closed the door, and lay down regardless of whether she was sleepy or not.
Before falling asleep, she thought that she would probably have to get up early to make breakfast the next morning, as her sisters-in-law and other female relatives probably wouldn't be able to get up...
Sure enough, everyone woke up late the next day. Those who knew, knew. Sun and Old Man Lu were all smiles all morning. Their son and daughter-in-law had a good relationship, which was what they were most happy to see. If things continued like this, they thought it would be a wonderful thing to have another child in the family.
However, despite her initially good mood, seeing He Jiuniang already busy in the kitchen when she went out, Sun Shi couldn't quite describe her feelings.
In this large family, everyone was in pairs, except for He Jiuniang, who was all alone.
Even people who are usually afraid of cooking can be considerate of their sisters-in-law and take the initiative to cook.
Mrs. Sun pursed her lips, thinking about what her daughter had secretly told her a couple of days ago—that she had already spoken to her third son's wife. Suddenly, she felt a little uneasy.
People are selfish, so naturally she couldn't bear to see He Jiuniang really remarry.
But people are all made of flesh and blood. She treated He Jiuniang like her own daughter and naturally hoped that she could live a good life.
As for his son, he may never see him again in this lifetime.
Suppressing her distress, she volunteered to go into the kitchen to help.
"Good morning, Mother!"
He Jiuniang saw her, greeted her with a smile, and then continued with her own business.
Remembering the feather clothing design sketches he had drawn last night, he added, "I drew a few sketches last night. After dinner, everyone can take a look. If they're okay, we can start working on them."
He Jiuniang was quite confident in her design; she was just being polite and showing off a little.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Mrs. Sun felt even more distressed. While others were enjoying themselves, her third son's wife was still worrying about the family business...
"Since you went to bed late last night, why are you getting up so early?"
She spoke with a touch of sympathy, sitting down by the stove to help add firewood.
"I couldn't sleep, so I got up. You know, people are just like that. I could sleep well even when I was sleeping outdoors, but now I can't sleep in this big brick house!"
This was obviously a lie, but she said it so casually that it didn't arouse suspicion.
Sun looked up and asked, "You're like this too?"
Hearing this, Sun also had insomnia last night, so He Jiuniang followed her words and said, "Yes, it may take a few days to get used to it."
“Who says otherwise!” Mrs. Sun exclaimed. “These conditions are so much better than what we used to have. I still feel uneasy, like I’m dreaming…”
As they were talking, the doors to all the rooms opened, and the young wives, each with a rosy complexion and a shy expression, appeared.
The men, however, seemed somewhat listless; after all, it was physical labor.
He Jiuniang could tell at a glance that the battle last night had been fierce.
Tsk tsk, young people really need to take better care of their health!
As a result, the Lu family members discovered that there were quite a few goji berries in today's tea.
Although she didn't know what the goji berries were for, she thought that He Jiuniang had been reading medical books recently, so she figured they must be good stuff. So she ate them all, water and goji berries.
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