On February 5, just as the family had packed their luggage, Xiao Zhen received a call from his grandfather. Xiao Zhen's carving master, Wang Shijiang, had passed away at home at 13:00.
When Xiao Zhen heard this boy, he was obviously stunned for several minutes. As for carving techniques, he had communicated a lot with his friend Old Man Huang, but Stonemason Wang taught him to respect craftsmanship and many principles of life and work.
Xiao Zhen is an "old revolutionary" who started revolution at the age of 6. No one taught him how to behave in society. It was mainly his grandfather Wang the stonemason and Old Zhang who taught him a lot. Otherwise, this guy would have been a straight man who was inflexible.
"Honey, what's wrong with you?" Ivanka asked her husband when she came downstairs and found that he was in a bad mood.
Xiao Zhen walked over and hugged his wife before saying, "My carving master passed away at 1:00 PM. We won't be driving back; it'll be faster to take a plane. I'll take you back to the fork in the road. Follow me to buy some memorial items. We'll go to my master's house to pay our respects. When we get there, just follow me. Change your red clothes."
"Is that the old man we visit every year during the Spring Festival?" Ivanka asked.
"Yes, he's the same age as my grandpa, 89 years old this year!" Xiao Zhen said...
An hour later, Xiao Zhen and his group drove out of Jiangbei Airport in two cars. Xiao Zhen first sent the child back to the fork in the road. Ivanka went to the bedroom, changed into black clothes, and put on light makeup again. The couple handed the child to Xiao Jin and Xiao Duo. His father and mother also wanted to go to worship together.
Xiao Zhen and Xiao Zhengtang went to Lijiatuo to do some shopping. Xiao Zhen didn't know how to shop, but he just chose expensive items. It wouldn't cost much, and this wasn't about spending a lot; it was about whether you went when you were told to. Two cars were in front, followed by a cart of sacrificial supplies for the father and son.
When they arrived at the fork in the road near Wang the stonemason's house, Xiao Zhen pulled over and went to the truck behind to move the cannon. Xiao Zhengtang also stopped his car and helped to move the cannon and connect them.
Xiao Zhen asked his mother and his wife to carry a wreath each, and he and his father worked with the truck driver to move the sacrificial items to a farther place. After paying the truck driver, Xiao Zhengtang stood aside, and Xiao Zhen lit the cannon.
As soon as the cannon sounded, the head family knew that relatives and friends had come to pay their respects, so several people came out. The filial son knelt down to pay his respects to Xiao Zhengtang according to his generation. Xiao Zhen turned sideways as they were of the same generation. After Xiao Zhengtang pulled up his master's son, Xiao Zhen bowed to the others.
Then his senior brother called for help to move the sacrificial items to the yard.
Xiao Zhen held his wife's hand and followed behind his father, holding the incense given by the people next to him. His father, as a peer, just bowed three times and the family members kowtowed in response.
It is no exaggeration to say that Xiao Zhen is the last disciple of Wang the stonemason, so he and Ivanka knelt down and performed the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows to his master, and the filial son of the family returned the ceremony with three kowtows.
After the sacrifice, Xiao Zhen followed Xiao Zhengtang to the place where gifts were hung. Both father and son gave 30,000 yuan in cash.
Xiao Zhen then pulled his master's eldest son aside and asked his senior brother: "Senior brother, does the master want to change the coffin to nanmu? If so, he will have someone transport the goods to Yuzhou."
"Junior brother, will this be troublesome?" his senior brother asked.
"No trouble, brother. I'll have someone bring it here at 8:00 PM tonight. You don't have to worry about anything else. This is just my little disciple's contribution!" Xiao Zhen said hurriedly.
"Thank you, Junior Brother. Please arrange for it to be transported here!" His senior brother also knew that his Junior Brother did not care about this.
"Is this a problem or not?" Xiao Zhen said...
Xiao Zhen hurriedly called Tottori Xun and asked him to go to Taiping Mountain to pull a nanmu coffin back to his hometown for his master to use.
Taipingshan made several pieces of nanmu coffins a few years ago, which were prepared for his grandparents and other elders. Unexpectedly, the first person to use them was his master.
Xiao Zhen and Ivanka had dinner. Xiao Zhen asked Ivanka to go back with his parents first, as he had to wait until the funeral supplies were delivered before going back. There were two small classes of children at home, and his younger brother and sister could not handle these two naughty little brats.
At 20:30, the truck carrying the coffin arrived. Xiao Zhen prepared a string of firecrackers. His senior brother called a few neighbors to help carry two benches to the side of the truck. Many of his disciples worked together to place the nanmu coffin flat on the prepared benches.
After Xiao Zhen handed the driver a red envelope, he lit the cannon, and then his senior brother tied up the coffin. Because it was a bit heavy, it took 16 people to lift it up and transport it to the main hall. After the Yin-Yang master was busy, he laid out the things, and then the eldest son and the filial son went to join his master in entering the customs. Xiao Zhen handed over a jewel box and asked his senior brother to put the gem into his master's mouth. Xiao Zhen lit incense and kowtowed before saying goodbye and going home.
He came to keep watch again the night before the funeral the day after tomorrow. It was already 10:30 pm when he got home. After washing up, he went to the next door to see his son who was sleeping like a pig before going back to his bedroom to sleep.
The next day, Xiao Zhen drove to visit his grandparents. Both elderly people were in good health. Wen Dalu was also moved when he mentioned his deceased old friend.
After having two meals with his grandparents and their family, Xiao Zhen returned to the fork in the road with his wife and children.
The next morning, the couple got up early and explained to their sleepy sons that mom and dad would not be back tonight and asked them to listen to their uncle and aunt at home. Then they went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the six adults in the family to eat.
Xiao Zhengtang drove with Wen Yunshu, and Xiao Zhen took Ivanka to his master's house eight kilometers away.
The ritual started at 3:30 pm, starting with the large water and land ceremony. Throughout the afternoon, Xiao Zhen followed the filial son and his senior brothers and disciples to circle around 81 times.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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