Chapter 167 166. It’s Over! The Prefect’s Daughter Has Her Eyes on…
The Ghost Festival is on July 15th.
This is also the birthday of the Earth God. The people of Xiling Prefecture get up early and take the prepared five grains and three beans - rice, millet, sorghum, wheat, beans and red beans, mung beans and yellow beans, to go to the Earth God Temple to burn incense.
Lei Li and his group were no exception.
They also have the custom of offering sacrifices to the God of Earth in Qingmi County, but they do not offer five grains and three beans. They just offer whatever they grow at home.
If you have rice, take a few ears of rice; if you have sweet potatoes, take a few sweet potatoes; if you have chickens and ducks, you can take a couple of eggs; if you don’t grow or raise anything at home, you can just take a few fruits and a few green onions.
The old man and the monks in the temple said that as long as the offering is sincere, it will be enough. The Earth God loves the people and is friendly, and does not care about the offering or how much it is.
The Temple of Diguan Dadi is very lively.
There are many more stalls and vendors on the way to the temple than usual, selling food, toys, incense, as well as some cultural and creative products such as wood carvings, ceramics, calligraphy and paintings related to the three emperors, which sell quite well.
Seeing that little Jiang was finding it interesting, Lei Li bought him a small ceramic statue of the Earth God. Little Jiang was so happy that his eyes curved and his little teeth showed.
"elder brother!"
When little Jiang got the good thing, he started to wonder if his brother was still alive. Seeing that his brother Xiaobao had nothing in his hands, he grabbed Xiaobao's sleeves with his little hands.
"What's the matter?"
Xiaobao was just looking at something new and when he felt a small warm and soft spot on his arm, he knew it was his little ginger brother. When he turned around, he saw big eyes like black grapes.
"Brother Xiaobao!"
Little Jiang presented the new toy to him like a treasure, with a sweet and soft baby voice.
"Official! Give it to my brother!"
"Is this what Uncle Li bought for Jiang?"
Xiao Bao pursed his lips and smiled, rubbing the little ginger's head, "Brother, no need. If you like it, keep it for yourself. The Earth God loves children the most and will bless my brother to grow up safely and smoothly."
In fact, I don’t know how this saying came about. Maybe it’s because the Earth God can forgive the sins of the dead, so some people think that the Earth God can also scare away ghosts?
Anyway, everyone in Xiling knows that the Earth Emperor loves children.
Ask for a small statue or portrait of the Earth God and have the child carry it with them, or place it in the child's room. The God will then protect the child from being abducted by ghosts.
If a child is weak and sickly, and the adults in the family think that the child is easily possessed by ghosts, they will go to the Temple of the God of Earth to ask for a peace amulet and have the child wear it close to the body.
Zhou Yi felt that this was probably a marketing trick by the merchants who sold cultural and creative products of the emperor, but it was true that parents loved their children deeply, so whether it was true or not, it was good to have peace of mind.
The Lei family also believed in this. For example, in the room of little Jiang in the Lei residence, there was a portrait of the Earth God hanging on the wall, and there were also several small wooden statues of the God.
The small wooden statue was carved by Lei Dashan himself, and he also spent money to send it to the Temple of the Earth God to receive incense for a few days and absorb the divine power and immortality of the emperor.
"Brother is safe too."
Little Jiang was a little stubborn. He looked at Xiaobao with his watery eyes, and held the small ceramic statue of the Emperor of the Earth in his little hands, insisting on giving it to his brother Xiaobao.
Xiaobao hesitated for a moment whether he should accept it.
The adults who had been paying attention to the two children were already amused, and Sheng Jiang's father was laughing so hard that he leaned on his husband's shoulder and laughed wildly.
"You're so eager to give a little statue to your brother. Jiang, do you really want to marry your brother Xiaobao? Huh?"
"Marry!"
When little Sheng Jiang heard this, he raised his little face and said seriously, "I told you, Sheng Jiang, Sheng Jiang will marry Brother Xiao Bao! Daddy, you are such a forgetful idiot!"
"What a forgetful idiot? Hahahahahahaha..."
Lei Li couldn't stop laughing again.
He just said yesterday that little ginger is a little fool, but he didn't expect that little ginger remembered it and changed the words. The stupid one is a fool, and the forgetful one is a forgetful one?
So cute!
"... Stop laughing so hard that you can't breathe."
Zhou Yi supported Lei Li's waist to prevent him from falling. The Miao husband also bought a small ceramic statue of the Earth God and gave it to Xiao Shengjiang, saying with a smile,
"Ginger, this is for Brother, and Brother's is for Ginger, okay?"
"OK!"
Little Jiang happily accepted it. Looking at his little ceramic which was the same as his brother Xiaobao's, he suddenly felt shy for some reason. With a blushing face, he threw himself into Uncle Miao's arms.
"Ouch……"
Mr. Zhu laughed so loudly that everyone nearby looked over and said, "Is our Jiang shy? Why should a real man be shy? He should be open and honest!"
"Ginger is still young, not as shameless as you, Dad."
Zhu Zhuer followed with a laugh.
Thick-skinned Mr. Zhu was still serious, and taught the young Jiang with the air of an experienced person, "You have to be thick-skinned since childhood. Only with a thick skin can you marry a wife! You can't be reluctant to lose your face!"
"Dad, don't teach the kid bad things!"
"Ginger is so fond of Xiaobao that he has grasped the essence of it without any teaching!"
"Why are you still making trouble for Xiaobao..."
Liu Xiaocao and Niu Ershu performed like a crosstalk, one praising and the other echoing, and the others laughed out loud when they heard it. The person who glanced at them sideways couldn't help but laugh as well, thinking that this group of people were really interesting, both adults and children were very funny!
The group chatted and laughed as they worshipped the Earth God. When they were leaving the Earth God Temple, they happened to meet people from the prefect's family who came to burn incense and offer sacrifices. This time, they did not ask the maids and servants to clear the area, but came in to worship with other people.
The young lady from the prefectural family was not wearing a veil or anything like that, revealing her true face. Lei Li and his companions were not too far away and could just see what she looked like.
I saw the beautiful young lady with slender shoulders and a slim waist, who was very pretty with a little makeup on. Under her slender eyebrows were a pair of bright and shining eyes. She was wearing a silk dress like a rosy cloud, and her jade pendants jingled. She looked luxurious, bright and elegant without losing her elegance.
Not only was the man burning incense nearby stunned, but even the women and girls paid attention.
The young lady lit incense and smiled before she spoke. Her eyes were lively and bright, as if she wanted to say something to the lady. Her bright eyes glanced over inadvertently and met Lei Li's gaze.
In a moment.
The young lady's gaze seemed to be burned and she quickly withdrew, but soon turned to look back, covering her lips with a handkerchief, but her upturned eyebrows could be seen.
Lei Li sensed something was wrong.
Before he could figure it out, he heard Liu Xiaocao whisper excitedly, "This prefect's daughter is indeed... like a fairy from heaven. Just that glance just now, I felt like I was being seduced by her."
"Yes."
Liu Qishu also nodded and praised, "Yes, it's beautiful, but I still prefer my Aguo. In my heart, my Aguo is also the most beautiful."
Liu Guo blushed when she heard that and glanced at him lightly, as if angry and embarrassed. Liu Qishu felt happy and laughed foolishly a few times, feeling a little embarrassed.
"Virtue."
Seeing his son like this, the uncle laughed and said, "Aguo is your husband, you must be very fond of him. You wouldn't have lost your soul after seeing him once back then, and you wouldn't have been so anxious as to send your father to propose marriage overnight."
Lei Li was also amused when he heard this, and laughed at his cousin, "Who would propose marriage so late at night?"
"you do not say!"
My uncle also laughed and scolded, "It's because of this brat's impatience that he insisted that if it was too late, someone else would snatch it away. He hasn't even done the marriage proposal yet, and he's leaving me empty-handed."
"I had to go out before dawn the next day to buy things for him. When I got to the door, I even shocked Aguo's parents. They didn't know how the proposal came about."
This made the young husband feel even more embarrassed, especially since Sister Huaer was covering her mouth and laughing secretly, looking at her father and grandfather with a teasing look.
"If you ask me, it's because Ah Guo is so good that Qi Shu is obsessed with her. Qi Shu is also a good kid, so Ah Guo is willing to marry into our family. They are a perfect match!"
Liu Ye'er said cheerfully, "A lady like that rich young lady, a fairy-like person, should be paired with a man like the general, just like what they say in operas - a talented scholar and a beautiful woman, it's a wonderful story!"
"That's right!"
Everyone agreed.
No one noticed when the prefect left. The group chatted and laughed as they arrived at the street outside the Diguan Temple. They strolled around and bought some things, then sat down to eat a bowl of Xiling's unique cold rice noodles.
Add sesame oil and sesame seeds, as well as chopped sour beans and fried crispy peanuts, it’s so delicious!
"It just doesn't have chili peppers, otherwise the hot and sour flavor would be more delicious and refreshing."
Lei Li said while eating.
Zhou Yi nodded after hearing this. Indeed, there was a lack of chili pepper, but as he was eating, he suddenly thought, isn’t this Xiling rice noodles just a replica of Guilin rice noodles?
Since there are rice noodles, why not add some snail meat, water spinach, bean curd, fried eggs, pickled bamboo shoots and chili peppers, and some sweet and crispy diced radish, isn’t that snail noodles?
Snail noodles...
Thinking of the unique taste of snail noodles, Zhou Yi also became greedy. He decided to make it when he returned to Qingmi County. There was rice noodles in the county town, so why didn’t he think of making snail noodles!
What a mistake!
Not far from the Temple of the Earth God is Minwenhua Street. Some people in Xiling Prefecture think that four words are too long, so they simply call it Min Street, Wen Street, or jokingly call it Scholar Street.
Because this street has the most scholars, many scholars and gentry live near this street, and the best academy in the city is just two blocks away.
"Many students from academies whose families have money will rent or buy houses near the academy for them to live in. Therefore, even though the houses in this area are in the fourth or fifth ring road, the prices are very high. This is called school district housing."
Zhou Yi introduced.
Before coming, he had read books and travelogues related to Xiling and had some understanding of its culture and customs. He was also worried that everyone would be completely in the dark after arriving and wouldn't be able to have fun.
"Anything related to scholars is indeed expensive."
Lei Li curled his lips and said, "But it's my own child. It's fine if we don't have the money, but if we had the money and didn't buy him a baby, it would be unreasonable. If it hinders the child's future, I would be too ashamed to face my ancestors after I die."
"Yes."
Grandpa nodded first and touched Xiaomu and Xiaoshengjiang's heads lovingly. "If Xiaomu and Shengjiang can read it, then all the hardship we have endured as parents and grandparents will be worth it."
Girls and boys in the Dayou Dynasty were not allowed to take the imperial examinations, so my grandfather was only talking about two boys. If both girls and boys could take the examinations, they would naturally be treated equally.
Everyone agreed after hearing this.
Zhu Zhuer's son Zhu Shuo is also a little boy. He will naturally study and take the imperial examination in the future. "Fortunately, our families are doing well now. We can support a scholar and don't let the child suffer in our family."
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