Chapter 15 15

On this day, as soon as it got dark, the sound of firecrackers rang out one after another, and they were even set off in many places at the same time.This quiet street is now very lively.The sound of firecrackers shook the slate floor, and the same sounds were heard from all directions, and people couldn't tell where they came from.The voice is so urgent and loud, like a galloping horse and a raging tide. In Gao's house, the master, wife, young master, and ladies gathered in the main room, and all changed into new clothes, and the wives even put on skirts.As usual when worshiping the gods, the men stood on the left, the women stood on the right, and a large group of people stood on each side.In the main room, the candles were burning as brightly as daytime, and the two main doors in the middle were wide open.Under the shrine is a large rectangular altar, hung with red velvet curtains.There is a brazier stand in front of the altar, and a raging fire is burning in the brazier.Dozens of "charcoal round" mountains also seemed to be piled up high, burning into bright red balls.Someone put two or three cypress branches on the fire, and the cypress branches creaked and emitted a sharp smoke.A large dark yellow felt was spread on the ground, and some green cypress branches were placed here and there.In front of the brazier, another large prayer mat was placed, and a red velvet felt was covered on it.

There are a pair of large candlesticks and a large incense burner on the altar table, and many small wine glasses are placed on the inner side and the left and right sides. As for the number of wine glasses, only a few members of the family know.Keming presided over the ceremony, because Mrs. Gao felt that he was old, so he left these things to his son, and he waited until everything was ready before coming out to salute his ancestors and receive congratulations from his children and grandchildren.Keming and Ke'an, who were wearing long robes and mandarin jackets, each carried a jug and slowly poured Shaoxing wine into small cups.After the wine was poured, the incense in the censer was also inserted.So Keming went into the upper right room to ask the old man to come out and salute.

As soon as the old lady appeared, the whole hall immediately became silent.Keming gave the order to set off firecrackers, and Wende, the servant of the third room, hurriedly walked out in response, walked to the wide-open middle door and shouted: "Fire the firecrackers!" As soon as the fire was lit, the firecrackers suddenly sounded .The woman escaped from the side door.The man walked to the altar, turned his back to the altar, started from the old man, and kowtowed outward, saying it was a respect to heaven and earth, and then the three Keming brothers lined up and kowtowed.Juexin just lit the incense and brought the Kitchen God in from the outside, sent him back to the kitchen, and then returned to the main room.He came just in time, and led the five brothers Juemin, Juehui, Jueying, Juequn and Jueshi to salute in order.Then the people turned and stood facing the shrine.The female relatives who were peeking outside the door also hurried in.

It is still the old man who kowtows to the ancestors.The old man kowtowed and went into the room.Then came the eldest wife Zhou, followed by Keming, and then the third wife Zhang. If this continued, the fifth wife Shen was followed by Aunt Chen. These people kowtowed leisurely and took more than half an hour.Then it was the turn of Juexin's generation. First, Juexin led five brothers to kowtow, and they kowtowed the most, a total of nine. This kind of salute only happens once a year, so everyone is not proficient and can't do it very quickly. Kneel down together neatly and stand up together.Jue Qun and Jue Shi, who moved more slowly, had just knelt down, and before they had time to knock three times, others stood up, so they had to stand up in a hurry, and the others had already knelt down again.This caused everyone to laugh, and their mother, the fourth wife, Wang Shi, kept urging them.Amidst the laughter, the nine heads kowtowed quickly.They are young people after all, unlike their elders.Then Ruijue led the four sisters Shuying, Shuhua, Shuzhen and Shufen to the red carpet to salute.Their movements are naturally slower, but much more orderly.Although Shufen is young, she is flexible in her actions.After they saluted, Rui Jue led Hai Chen to kowtow on the red felt.

Several servants came and took away the prayer mat and spread out the red felt.Keming went in again and invited the old lady to come out. First, the sons and daughters-in-law of Keming's generation lined up in a line towards him, knelt down and kowtowed to pay his respects, and then the grandsons and granddaughters of the Jue and Shu generations paid homage to him.He accepted the ceremony with a smile on his face, and went into his room.After the old man entered, the main room became more lively.The members of the Ke generation, led by Mrs. Zhou, formed a semicircle, bowed down on the red felt, and congratulated each other.The young people of the Jue and Shu generations dispersed, kowtowing to their parents individually, or paying respects to their uncles, aunts and aunts.Finally, because of Zhou's suggestion, they gathered together and worshiped in a circle, saying auspicious congratulations, but this was not a blessing, but a joke.After saluting in this way, the younger generation dispersed in all directions.Juexin and his wife had to stay in the main room with their elders to be congratulated by the servants.

Juemin and Juehui ran out from the side door and hurried to their room.They were afraid that servants and maids would find them and come and salute them.But as soon as they passed under Zhou's window, they were stopped by someone.The leader was Lao Huang Ma, who greeted them respectfully and said a few words of blessing from her heart.They were moved to return the salute.Then Mrs. He, Mrs. Zhang and other maids came to pay their respects, all of them were hired by their house.Finally Mingfeng came over. She had a little powder on her face, her braids were neatly combed, and a padded jacket was covered with a piping Hsinchu shirt.She greeted Juemin first, and then walked up to Juehui with her innocent smile still on her face.She called out "Third Young Master", then lowered her head and bent her body, but she stood up quickly and smiled at Juehui.This is a blessed smile.Juehui happily returned the gift.At this time, a kind smile appeared on his face.At this moment, at this moment, he forgot everything in the past, and he thought the world was so beautiful.He had a reason for thinking this way, because at this moment in this mansion, there were indeed happy voices everywhere, and there were only happy voices.Everyone was laughing and saying blessings.But what about outside the walls of this mansion, in the vast world, young things.

"Put flowers!" Wende walked down the stone steps in front of the main room, shouting loudly, and someone outside answered.Then a fire appeared in the courtyard outside the middle gate, and many sparks shot straight into the air, golden and brilliant, one fell down, and the other rose again, and it rose higher than the previous one.In that dark courtyard, many fire trees appeared immediately, and countless silver flowers bloomed.After one tube of fireworks was finished, someone went to light the fuse of the second tube of fireworks.In this way, eight or nine tubes were set off one after another. These fireworks were sent by Mrs. Zhang.The old man also came out, took a chair and sat at the door of the main room to watch, his sons and daughters-in-law stood beside him.He looked at them and criticized the quality of these fireworks.

The brothers Juehui all went to the hall, where they could see better.Jueying, Juequn and Jueshi also bought some "Didijin", "Gopher Mouse" and "God Book with Arrows" to set off. After the fireworks were set off, everyone in the main room dispersed.Only the sound of "lifting the sedan chair" was heard.Juexin and his three uncles all went out in sedan chairs to pay respects to the guests for "Farewell to the New Year".Juehui was still standing in the hall watching Jueyings set off small fireworks. A card table was placed in the old man's room.There are four people at this table: the old man, the eldest wife, the third wife, and the fourth wife (Zhou has already taken off her plain skirt, and Zhang and Wang have also taken off their red skirts).The gorgeously dressed Aunt Chen just took off her pink skirt and sat next to the old man to read the cards for the old man. There were maids or maidservants standing beside the old man, ready to pack cigarettes and pour tea at any time.A card table was also set up in Juexin's room, and this table was occupied by Ruijue, Shuying, Shuhua and fifth wife Shen.The sister-in-law Rui Jue wanted Juemin to sit down, but Juemin insisted that she had something to do and would not play cards, so she just stood behind Rui Jue and walked out after watching her draw a deck of cards.

Juemin didn't go back to his room, but walked out of the hall.He was seeing Juehui setting off the "God Book with Arrows" for his younger brothers in the courtyard.He heard a noise, and something luminous shot straight into the sky, and disappeared in mid-air over the roof.Juequn and Jueshi hold Juehui and ask him to let him go again, but Juemin stops him.Juemin walked up to Juehui and whispered in his ear: "Let's go to my aunt's house." Juehui nodded and followed Juemin out without saying anything, regardless of Jueshi calling loudly behind her. . At the gate, the lantern under the eaves still shone with a dim red light, trembling in the cold air.The old man Li, the doorkeeper inside the gate, sat on the grand master's chair that had passed through countless ages, and talked with a bearer sitting on the opposite bench. When he saw them coming out, he stood up respectfully, and when they crossed the threshold, Just sit down.

They stepped out of the iron-clad threshold, and saw a dark and thin face next to the stone lion on the right.The dim light prevented them from seeing the old servant Gao Sheng's face clearly, so they ignored him and strode towards the middle of the street. This Gao Sheng worked as a servant in their family for ten years. Later, he became addicted to opium and stole the old man's calligraphy and painting to sell. He was discovered and sent to the police station for a while before being released.From then on, he wandered around and lived by begging.Every new year, as usual, I have to go to the old owner's house to ask for a few coins.He didn't dare to go into the mansion because he was dressed in rags, so he hid outside the gate, waiting for a servant who used to work with him to come out, and begged him to come in and report.His request was not great, but a few dimes, and when the masters were happy.So he always achieves his purpose.Over time, this has become an old practice.This time he got his bounty too.However, as usual, he was still hiding next to the stone lion, stroking the cold stone lion that did not reject his hand, while imagining the scene in the mansion at this time.Looking at the two shadows coming out, he recognized the two young masters, especially the third young master who had been lying on his bed next to the smoke lamp and heard him tell stories.He felt cordial, and he wanted to go out and hold them talking.But when he saw that his clothes were so tattered, his heart immediately became cold.He still hid in the corner, even squatted down, curled up into a ball, lest they see him.When they were far away, he stood up and chased after them.His eyes gradually blurred, and he could no longer see their shadows.He stood in the middle of the street in a daze, letting the cold wind mercilessly hit his thin body in only a ragged jacket.He rubbed his wet eyes and left.He turned his head and looked at the stone lion for the last time.He left, he walked slowly and feebly, holding the old master's bounty with one hand, and pressing his chest with the other.

At this moment, Brother Juemin was walking on the street.They walked through the embers of firecrackers, through the quiet and lively streets, through the grocery stores with a pair of huge candles burning in front of them, and finally came to Zhang's house.They thought of many happy things on the way, but they never thought of this man named Gao Sheng. The Zhang family looked very calm, and a kerosene hanging lamp was lit in the empty hall. There are three families living in this not very big mansion, with three different surnames.Among the heads of the three families were two widows, and only two or three grown men.Even though the three families live in the same courtyard, there is no bustling scene, and the life is very leisurely. Even on New Year's Eve, it is not much more lively than usual. The Zhang family is considered the quietest in this mansion, and the only reason is that there are no males, and the whole family only has mother and daughter.Qin has a grandmother who lives in a nunnery and doesn't come home often.In addition, a male servant and a maid are "old family members" who have worked in this family for more than ten years. They walked in, and Zhang Shenglai greeted them.They went to Mrs. Zhang's window and called "Auntie" first, and Mrs. Zhang agreed from inside.When they entered the main room, Mrs. Zhang was coming out of the room.They said "Farewell to Auntie", and knelt down to salute.Although Mrs. Zhang said "no need" repeatedly, it was too late to stop them, so she returned the gift with a smile.Then Jean came out of her room, and they bowed to her too.Mrs. Zhang asked them to sit in her room, and Aunt Li made tea and brought it in. From Mrs. Zhang's words, they knew that Keming and Juexin had come here one after another, and they left after sitting for a while.Mrs. Zhang had a lot of conversations with them.They invited her to stay at her natal home for a few days, and she promised to go on the second day of the new year. She would take Qin to the nunnery tomorrow to pay New Year's greetings to Qin's grandmother.She also said that she likes to be quiet, and she may not be able to stay for a few days this time, but she can let Qin stay for a longer time.This remark pleased them even more. They sat for a while.Jean invited them to her room, and they followed her. It never occurred to them that there was another person in the room.This is a young woman, wearing a light green lake crepe padded jacket and a dark green satin vest.She sat on the edge of the bed and buried her head in reading under the oil lamp.When she heard their footsteps, she put down her book and stood up. They stood there in a daze, staring at her face without turning their eyes, unable to say a word for a while. "You don't recognize her?" Jean asked them in deliberate surprise. Before they could answer, the woman laughed first.But it was a sad smile, a helpless smile, and the wrinkle on her forehead that made her whole face more beautiful and sadder was deepened by it. "Yes," Juehui replied with a smile.Juemin called out, "Cousin Mei." They still had her impression clearly in their minds.The past is quickly over.She stands in front of them now: she still has that beautiful and sad face, still has a slender figure, still has thick black hair, and still has a pair of watery eyes; only the wrinkles on her forehead are deeper, and her brain The last braid was changed into a bun, and only a little white powder was applied on the face.They didn't expect to meet her here at this time. "Second cousin, third cousin... How are you?... These past few years..." She said, although it was ordinary words, she struggled to speak them out. "We are all fine. Cousin Mei, how about you?" Juemin asked kindly, and he forced a smile. "I'm still like this. It's just that I've been easily sad in recent years, and I often feel sad for no reason. I don't know why." When she spoke, she frowned tightly, which was the same as before, but now she looked more moving.She added: "I was naturally sentimental." "Cousin Mei, I think the environment also has something to do with it," Juehui explained, "but you haven't changed at all." "Why don't you sit down? Everyone just stand. It's been so polite since we haven't seen each other for a few years!" Qin interjected. So everyone sat down, and Qin and Mei sat side by side on the edge of the bed. "After the farewell, I often miss you.... These past few years seem to be a miserable dream. Now I wake up from the dream, but there is nothing, and I still have an empty heart." She said, and then she corrected herself : "Actually, I am still in a dream now. I don't know when I will really wake up from the dream? I am not worthy of regret. What I am worried about is dragging down my mother." "Is Auntie okay?" Juemin asked politely. "My mother is fine, thank you very much. How is Second Aunt? I haven't seen you for a few years," Mei said with a smile and kindly. "Mom is fine, she misses you a lot," Juehui continued. "Thank you, Second Aunt, I'm afraid I won't see her again," Mei said sadly, and she lowered her head slightly. "Sister Mei, you really shouldn't be so pessimistic. You are still young, and you will still be happy in the future. How can you know the future in advance? You just say these depressing words!" Qin said, stroking Mei's shoulder; It's different. Maybe it will bring you happiness..." She put her mouth next to May's ear with a smile and whispered two or three words. May's eyebrows relaxed a little, and a gleam of light swept across her face.She glanced at Qin, and reached out to pick up the hanging hair on the right side.Her face was once again cast in a dark color.She gave Jean a sad smile, and said: "My third cousin just said that the environment has something to do with it. I think it's very interesting. Our circumstances are different. I can't keep up with the times. My life is just at the mercy of fate, and I can't make any decisions. How can I have happiness?" Mei said Then he pulled Qin's hand over and squeezed it lightly, turned his head to look at Qin, and praised: "Sister Qin, you are really enviable! You have courage, you are capable, you will not be like me." After listening to Mei's sincere admiration, Qin felt relieved for a moment, but it was like a breeze, blowing past and never coming back, leaving only a sad smile.This sad smile is a way for certain women to deal with unsolvable problems. Although Qin is praised as "courageous and capable", sometimes she can't help but turn to it. "Cousin Mei, although the environment has a lot to do with it, the environment is also man-made. Why can't we change the environment? People should fight against the environment no matter what. If you can conquer the environment, you can win back your happiness," Juehui enthusiastically Having said these words, he still feels that there are many words that he has not uttered. Seeing Mei's actions, Juemin had various feelings.He was sad, satisfied, frightened, and pityed at the same time, not only for Mei, but also for Qin, and also for himself.But when he saw Qin's smiling face, he gradually regained his calm state of mind. He even found words to comfort Mei and said, "You have been in a bad situation in recent years, so you often feel sad. In a few years, the situation will definitely change. You It won’t be like it is now. In fact, sister Qin’s environment is not much better than yours. You just have that extra marriage, which is like having an extra nightmare. There is only one world, and you look at it from a pessimistic perspective. , so sentimental; from an optimistic point of view, Qinmei feels that everything can be done." "Cousin Mei, I advise you to read more new books when you have time. Fortunately, sister Qin has them at home," Juehui said, thinking that new books could solve all problems. Mei smiled slightly, but she didn't answer right away, she just looked at them with those watery eyes.They couldn't read her mind.She suddenly narrowed her gaze, looked at the light, sighed softly, and wanted to speak, but held back, as if she had a lot of words hidden in her chest but couldn't speak them out.She bit her lower lip silently.After a while, she nodded her head and said, "Thank you very much, but although your intentions are good, they are of no use to me. For a person like me, what good is reading a new book?" She closed her mouth again and stopped. After a while, say again: "Everything is irreversible. No matter how the times change, my situation will not change." Juemin felt that he had nothing more to say, and he knew what she said was right.Everything is irreversible, she has been married, and her eldest brother has a sister-in-law.Even if the times change, how can it bring the two of them together?Besides, the mothers of the two have become enemies.At this time, even Juehui understood that not all problems can be solved by books. Everyone was looking for the right words in their stomachs, but Mei spoke again: "I just saw these copies of "New Youth" at Sister Qin's place," she said, looking at the table. Those books with dark yellow covers The sixteen-format magazines were stacked on the table in front of the bed. "Of course I don't understand some things, but there are some things I do understand. There are also some good comments, because I have been hurt, so I know. But when I read these books, I only feel uncomfortable. This seems to be another world, and the people in this world Everything is completely different from my environment. I may envy all this. But I also know that I can't do it myself. So reading these books is like a beggar standing outside the garden wall of a rich family and hearing the laughter inside, or walking past a restaurant. At the door, smelling the smell of meat and rice inside, I don't know how uncomfortable it is!" When she said this, the wrinkle on her forehead became more and more obvious.She took out a handkerchief from her bosom, covered her mouth and coughed a few times, and then said with a wry smile: "Recently I often cough, often suffer from insomnia at night, and my heart always hurts." "Sister Mei, forget about the past. Don't torture yourself with it. You have to take good care of your body, even if we see you like this, we feel distressed," Qin said as she leaned against Mei and almost shed tears. . Mei turned her head and smiled slightly at Qin, and nodded to express her gratitude.But she still said desolately: "Sister Qin, you know my temperament. The past seems to have been engraved on my heart. You still don't understand how I live. I am similar to you. Apart from our mother and daughter, I only have one more little brother than you. He prepares homework all day long and has to take the school exam. My mother is busy all day either playing cards or visiting. I am alone in the room, flipping through a few poetry books to read. Even one of them talks to me and listens to me. I couldn’t find anyone who complained. I shed tears when I saw the flowers falling, and I was sad when I saw the moon’s waning. All these brought back many painful memories for me. In Yibin, I came back from Zhao’s house and lived with my mother for nearly a year. I There is a sycamore tree in front of the window. When I first went there, new buds had just sprouted on the tree, and the leaves grew more day by day, and gradually became shaded by green leaves. Unexpectedly, in autumn, the leaves turned yellow one by one, and fell with the wind. .By the time we returned to the province, there were only dead branches left. I think this is similar to me. I have passed the season of green leaves and now I am on the road of falling....The one that fell all night the night before yesterday Rain, I tossed and turned on the bed, always unable to fall asleep. The raindrops knocked on the tiles, knocked on the window, and it kept ringing. The lights were dim. I thought of two poems: "The past is vaguely like a dream, and everything follows the wind and rain To my heart.' Think, this scene is not sad!...You all have tomorrow, how can I have tomorrow? I only have yesterday. Yesterday is painful, but it is the only thing that can comfort me. When she said this, she suddenly changed her tone, and asked Brother Juemin, "Is big cousin okay now?" Brother Juemin was listening to her attentively, and was very moved. He suddenly heard this unexpected question, and seemed to understand her meaning, so he couldn't answer right away. Later, Juehui spoke quickly and replied shortly: "He Fortunately, he said that he has seen you." Only Mei understood what he said, and both Qin and Juemin looked at him in surprise. "Really, we've met. I knew him right away. He's a little older than he used to be. He might resent me. I ignore him, but I avoid him. I'd like to see him, but I'm afraid to see him." One, I’m afraid to remind him of the past, the second is afraid of causing my own sadness, and the third is that my mother is there again.... He was here just now. I heard his voice, and I dare not open the door. He glanced at him, and only when he left, I secretly looked at his back." Juehui repeatedly said "he won't", which was just an answer to her sentence "he might blame me". Qin saw that Mei was sad when she mentioned the past, so she persuaded: "Don't mention those things anymore. You came to my place to play because you were afraid that you would be easily sad during the New Year's Day, so I specially invited you to my house to relax. Instead, it evokes more past events for you, just blame me for not bringing them in to meet you." Mei's sorrow gradually diminished.Although she was still frowning slightly, there was no dark color on her face anymore. She even said with a smile: "It doesn't matter. After talking so much, I feel refreshed. Usually at home, there is not even one person who talks to me." Not at all. And talking about the past, I am much happier.” So she asked Brother Juemin about their eldest brother and sister-in-law in a friendly tone.