Chapter 778: Evergreen
"...Probably after sending the God of Wealth to the God of Wealth, the offerings in front of the Buddha should be arranged in every household, and incense should be burned and scattered. All the houses should also be tidied up. It’s time to put up all the New Year pictures, and the New Year’s couplets have been put up in bright red. In the past, there was a saying that as long as the New Year’s Eve, once the couplets are put up, there will be no need to put up the couplets. The would-be creditor came to this house to 'demand a debt'."
"Although this is said, I have never seen such a fact. He can talk like a clever boy. If he really wants to pay, he will still come even if he mounts a machine gun. The yard must also be cleaned and everything is neat and tidy. Firstly, it’s the New Year, and secondly, who doesn’t have a family with three relatives who usually don’t have time to come and go? "
"However, the yard will not be kept clean for long. Once it gets really dark, the yard will be messed up again because according to the old calendar. They also spread sesame stalks on the ground in the courtyard. They are scattered everywhere. ”
"What is sesame straw? It is the sesame straw that is left over after the sesame seeds are fully cooked, punched down through the head, and all the sesame grains are knocked out, which can be used to make fire. This thing was used on New Year's Eve in the past. , it is an indispensable thing. They only sell it by the handful. How many trees each family buys depends on the size of the yard."
" What are they used for? They are made of completely dried sesame straw. When people walk on it, they will squeak and squeak under their feet. , so I asked for good luck, taking the meaning of 'stepping on the New Year'."
Kang Shude sat at the dinner table with the leftovers, immersed in the old days.
He sipped the fragrant tea after the meal and spoke slowly about the past years.
As a result, as we talked about it, inadvertently, the traditional customs mentioned by the old man actually had something in common with Western Christmas.
"Inseparable from the sesame straw, there is another kind of New Year decoration. It is pine branches and cypress branches. These kinds of things are sold together. The closer the New Year is, the more you can pick from all over the countryside. The more they sell in the city, the more people shout about it. Ma's Garden is different from other families in that there is no need to buy any. Every year, there is a fixed number of people who will visit the tombs of Ma's family. I made a trip and brought it by cart on New Year's Eve and put it in the garden."
"But unlike sesame straw, pine and cypress branches are not meant for stepping on, but for decoration. , taking a bit of the green vitality of nature, to symbolize the evergreen pines and cypresses. Although they will be scattered on the ground, they must be spread on top of sesame straw. In the past, the grass under the roots in Beiping was withered and yellow. , There are only dead branches on the trees. It is too difficult for ordinary people to see some fresh colors."
For this, Ning Weimin couldn't help but be surprised, and at the same time he was moved.
He suddenly thought of something.
Although the cultural differences between the East and the West are huge, they seem to be two worlds, and everything in life is therefore completely different.
But in fact, whether it is using religion as an excuse, or using cultural origins and values as excuses.
It seems that nothing can hinder or change human beings' basic aesthetics and yearning for happiness and beauty.
Festival customs can fully reflect this.
On the surface, the Spring Festival and Christmas are not even close to each other.
The time is different, the nature is different, the meaning is different, and the origin is also different.
But they coincide in many aspects.
For example, the two festivals are surprisingly consistent in terms of the necessity of family reunion, bright lights, and abundant food.
For example, we get sesame straw and step on it to seek good luck. Westerners also rely on mistletoe to pray for luck.
People everywhere, due to the cold and dryness of winter, are attracted by the vitality of evergreen plants as the best decoration for the festival.
This is the commonality based on human nature.
Through the old man's narration, Ning Weimin also discovered that our traditional customs are actually very interesting and rich.
It is not as interesting, dazzling and romantic as Western festivals as many people think.
Now he suddenly understood that these interesting traditions had just been forgotten by time.
The reason is nothing more than economic factors, because celebrating the festival costs money.
Just imagine, the country is weak, the people are poor, and materials are scarce. How can it be possible to maintain these traditional customs?
What can be left behind is probably just the basic needs for survival.
He couldn't help but feel regretful about this, because it was indeed a little late for Master to tell him about sesame straw.
Otherwise, if he had known earlier, this year he could have allocated a piece of land in the Temple of Heaven Park, got some sesame straw and spread it on it, so that the visitors to the New Year garden party could step on it.
This is also a restoration of tradition, which must be very attractive to everyone, and it is also meaningful.
He really doesn’t want to wait until the country becomes rich in the future and people don’t know how to enjoy life.
"...these things spread on the ground are not allowed to be swept away before the 'breaking five'. The euphemistic name is that they are afraid of sweeping away the 'wealth'. In fact, they are basically just to make the lazy people. During the New Year, besides eating, drinking and having fun, Sleeping and doing nothing. I can’t blame everyone for wanting to spend the New Year, right?”
“It’s just that most people have debts. In these chaotic times, those who have the conditions to enjoy it with peace of mind will still be able to enjoy it. So it’s no wonder that people in the old days were like wealthy people. In the past years, the first thing people said when they met was “get rich when they meet.” It's "Gong Xi Fa Cai". When eating dumplings during the New Year, you have to say that the dumplings are called "Yuan Bao". "Even the five-night dumplings on New Year's Eve must be wrapped with a small amount of money." It's Guangxu Tongbao or Banlazi. Even the children are scrambling to eat the dumplings. Everyone wants to eat the little money, hoping that good luck will shine in the coming year. But the result is that the more people want to eat, the more they eat. The more we eat, the less we can talk about it. Let’s talk about Mr. Song’s family. The dumplings they make every New Year’s Eve are all found by me and fall into my hands.”
< br>Perhaps the master and the apprentice really have the same mind to some extent.
Listening to the old man's story, Ning Weimin just thought about the need for financial support to maintain tradition.
Unexpectedly, the old man changed the topic and talked about why Chinese people always look forward to getting rich during the Chinese New Year, and cannot do without the word money.
Nowadays, there is a certain reason why people care about co-authoring. It is because in the years that they cannot look back on, people have been forced to use the word "poor".
Qi Qi was unprepared, and finally heard the old man ask himself such an interesting question.
Ning Weimin couldn't help but use his brain to think hard about the answer.
"Did you cheat? You made a mark, or you deliberately left the money-wrapped dumplings..."
"No, the dumplings were mixed together when they were being made. They were sent to the kitchen to unify the pot, and then fished out with a strainer. Can I find which one it is?" "Then... that means Mr. Song cheated. He I deliberately stayed here and cooked it alone for you to eat..."
"It doesn't matter, Mr. Song is not tired, not even for his own son. I'm just a little apprentice."
"Either you brought the dumplings, and when you came out of the kitchen, you kept touching them, and you could find traces of coins through the shape of the dumpling wrappers..."
< br>“Screw you, how could such a thing happen?”
"Then...then I really can't think of it. It can't be attributed to your luck, right?"
Seeing that the apprentice's thoughts were in vain, and finally had to admit defeat, Kang Shude felt happy for a moment. .
"Haha, you always think you are smart, but you can't figure out such a simple question."
As the answer was revealed, "Okay, let me tell you, what's going on? Just because the Song family's New Year dumplings require thin skin and large fillings, and the Japanese lady who makes the dumplings is too obedient to Mr. Song's instructions. Think about it, the skin of a good dumpling is too thin, and it will break if you are not careful. Not to mention the dumplings with money. Every time on New Year's Eve, the dumplings made by others are fine. Only the Japanese lady makes them. Every time, she puts in the money. It fell to the bottom of the pot. I drank dumpling soup and fished it out once, and I knew where to find money."
This answer was reasonable and unexpected, and Ning Weimin immediately laughed.
And he gave me a thumbs up, sincerely applauding.
"Master, you are really talented! Your paragraph is quite good, it is almost the same as Ma Sanli's "Secret Recipes of the Family". It is enough to make up a short cross talk!"
In this way, the master and apprentice spent half the night chatting and laughing.
When Luo Guangliang finished the New Year's Eve dinner with his family and came over at around eight o'clock in the evening, the energy of the father and son had not yet passed.
It just so happened that at this time, the old man talked about the old days of staying up late and the various games adults and children played to kill time in order to stay up late.
Ning Weimin became interested and asked the old man to follow the old way and take them to experience it for himself.
Kang Shude couldn't refuse, so he asked Ning Weimin to get a bigger bowl. He got three dice and taught them how to play "monkey chasing".
This is a dice game in the past where winning or losing was determined by the number of dice points. Any number of people can participate, but one person must be the banker.
The rules are also very simple.
The banker is afraid of throwing a little "eye monkey" and also afraid of throwing a "one, two, three", which is called "little whip".
Or "two, three, four", which is called "rubbing".
All of these are subject to compensation.
The best throw is "Sky Hou'er", or "Shun'er" of "Four Five Six", or three of the same "Bao Zi".
That is the way to achieve "complete victory".
If you find it too complicated, there is a simple way to play with two dices, to throw "seven consecutive, eight taking, nine-sided pot".
What does it mean? Two dice, at most a total of twelve points.
When playing, everyone agrees on a certain amount, and each person puts in a share.
Whoever throws out seven points puts another one in.
Whoever throws eight points will get one back.
If you can really throw nine points, no matter how much is in the pot, you will receive it all as a gift.
Except for the points of seven, eight or nine, everything else will not count and will be re-rolled.
So for the rest of the night, the old man and the young man had something to do.
The three ivory dice collected by Kang Shude were thrown into a large safflower bowl from the Xianfeng official kiln found by Ning Weimin.
This crisp sound of tinkling sounds is far more attractive than the Spring Festival Gala on TV.
A dollar-a-dollar gambling game is surprisingly exciting. Who wants to watch TV?
Not to mention Ning Weimin and Luo Guangliang were fully focused and enjoying themselves, even Kang Shude, who was playing with them, was equally devoted.
Actually speaking, it is not this kind of doll gambling that is so attractive to the old man.
The main reason is that I haven’t heard this crisp sound for many years, which reminds the old man of the old days.
In Kang Shude's impression, the white-bearded Mr. Lan who lived in the same house with him always used "monkey chasing" to win him, Li Li, and Xiao Zhong into crying at the end of the year. mom.
First they wiped out all their money, and finally they laughed and returned it intact, just to tease their children.
Unexpectedly, today, he would also play the role of Master Lan in the past.
Naturally, we are also determined to let Ning Weimin and Luo Guangliang experience this kind of life where extreme joy brings sorrow, and joy comes from sorrow.
Just spend money? Where can I buy this kind of music, right?
(End of this chapter)