Chapter 13 five pastries

On New Year's Eve, the heavy snow did not stop, and when it was dark, the ground was already several feet thick.I stepped on the snow to fetch water from the well, and the bucket pressed against the snow surface, creating two shallow ditches.Standing on the edge of the well to draw water, my foot slipped, and the "God of Wealth" reached out to help me. The name of "God of Wealth" is Zhang Datian. He is in his forties. Singing loudly outside, one set of auspicious words is followed by another.People brought out the boiled dumplings and poured them into "beggars" earthen jars. The "beggar" put a small ingot made of straw paper into the empty bowl.Bring the paper ingots home and offer them under the ancestral tablet, which is regarded as taking back the "God of Wealth" - people call him "God of Wealth", even adults and children, and he is not angry.

"God of Wealth" reached out to support me, and I smiled gratefully at him. "Carrying water? Eldest nephew!" His voice was rustling and sad. "Yeah." I agreed, and watched him slide the crock into the well and bring up a jar of water.I said: "Bringing water to cook dumplings? 'God of Wealth'!" He smiled strangely and said, "My dumplings are all being boiled by fellow villagers, put a pot of water to boil, and ask someone to shave a new head." I said Said: "'God of Wealth', read a few more episodes at my door this year." "Please, nephew Jin Dou, you are a great talent in our village, and you will become prosperous sooner or later. My uncle will curry favor with you earlier." Holding the water, he walked away with his shoulders crooked.

In the evening, the snow that had been falling for two days finally stopped.The night was not dark because of the snow.Grandpa asked me to set off two old firecrackers. It was the time of natural disasters, kerosene was supplied by ticket, and candles were difficult to buy even if you had money, so the matter of hanging lights all night had to be avoided. That night, Grandpa went to the breeding room again and said that he would come back to celebrate the New Year with us in the middle of the night.Since my father passed away, the production team saw that my family had no strong labor force, and I was studying in a town twenty miles away from home, so they handed over the job of looking after cattle to my family.Mother feeds the cows during the day, and grandpa is on duty in the breeding room at night.I sat in the dark with my mother and grandma, looking forward to grandpa Shan coming home for the New Year.

After finally looking forward to the three stars, the grandfather came back, and the mother lit up the two oil lamps in the house. The wicks were very large, and the room was very bright.Mother was lighting a fire under the stove, and the dried bean stalks were crackling.The flames reflected my mother's clear face, the ancestral tablets on the altar table, and the walls that were darkened and shiny by the smoke. A sense of solemnity and holiness seized my heart... year ah year!Who gave this ordinary day such a mysterious color?Why give this day a mysterious color?Facing such a mysterious question, I, a young middle school student, can only feel confused.

Grandma solemnly handed a burden to Grandpa, and said softly: "Give it up." Grandpa took the burden and held it in both hands, as if holding a sacred object.There are five pastries in the bundle, ready to be eaten by the gods of heaven and earth passing by.This is an old custom in the village, and five pastries are put out from the New Year's Eve.It has to be placed until the evening of the second day of junior high school before it can be taken back. I followed my grandfather to the yard, and a square stool had been placed in the middle of the yard. Grandpa squatted down and brushed the snow on the stool with his sleeve.Carefully first arrange the three pastries in a triangle shape, and in the center of the three pastries, put a pastry upside down, and then place a pastry on top of the reversed pastry.Five pastries form a very beautiful pagoda.

"Come on, child, kowtow to heaven and earth!" Grandpa knelt down and kowtowed in the four directions of east, west, north and south.I, a middle school student who claims to not believe in ghosts and gods, also knelt down and lowered my head until it touched the cold snow.Gods, ghosts, and immortals from all walks of life, please come and enjoy these five pastries! ... The white noodles for this steamed bun are picked out from the white noodles for making dumplings. This year, our family only has enough money to buy eight catties of white noodles. It entrusts our family's good wishes for the coming year.For some reason, my throat is choked and my nose is sore. If it weren't for the auspicious Chinese New Year, I really want to cry aloud.At this moment, in the alley outside Caimen, a loud singing sounded:

God of Wealth, stand in front of the door, Looking at your home for the New Year; The gate is so bright, Stone lions squat on both sides; On the gate, inlaid with gold bricks, The champion flagpole stands on both sides. Go through the gate and look in, Face to face is a screen wall; Dou Da Fu word hanging on the wall, Your children are blessed. Turn around the wall, it is the main room, Red lanterns hang on both sides; See your family prosper, Gold and silver treasures shine. I got up from the ground and stood in the yard in a daze, listening to the blessings of the "God of Wealth".He is going to say my house is Liu Wencai's big villa. "God of Wealth" has a wide voice, it is better to say that he reads than sings.He was half-chanting and half-singing in such a gentle and melancholy way that it seemed to change the appearance of everything in the world.

God of Wealth, every year, Your family attracts treasures and makes money; Gold is full, and silver is full. Packed in a sack of ten yuan tickets. Stacked one bag after another, piled into ridges, piled up into mountains, The ten-yuan ticket is holding the sky. I laughed, but didn't make a sound. With money, don't worry, buy cabbage, make sesame oil, Pick up the pig's head in the butcher's shop. And the chicken, and the egg, There are also fresh fish and white noodles. Fragrant fragrance, sweet sweet, Adults and children have round bellies. What a spiritual dinner!I was intoxicated by the beautiful scenery depicted by "God of Wealth".

Don't be dazed, nephew, Hurry up and send the dumplings out, Hurry up, hurry up, The urn is full of gold and silver. I suddenly realized that the "God of Wealth" was about to eat.I hurried into the house and picked up the rice bowl that my mother had prepared a long time ago.I saw that there were only four dumplings in the bowl, so I looked at my mother's face imploringly, and muttered: "Mother, give him two more!..." My mother sighed, and scooped up two more dumplings with a strainer. Put in a bowl.I walked into the alley with the bowl, and the "God of Wealth" rushed up to meet him, grabbed the dumplings and stuffed them into his mouth.

"God of Wealth, don't feel too little..." I said with shame.He made such a wonderful blessing for our family, and I only got six dumplings. I feel very sorry for him. "A lot, a lot. Eldest nephew, go home quickly to celebrate the New Year, and you will be the champion next year." "God of Wealth" sang all the way forward, and I went home for the New Year with an empty bowl. The "God of Wealth" didn't put ingots in my rice bowl, maybe he didn't even have the money to buy paper to make ingots! The real meaning of Chinese New Year is to eat dumplings.The dumplings were made by my mother and grandma, each one was small and exquisite, like exquisite works of art.There are four copper coins wrapped in the dumplings, grandma said, whoever eats them will have money to spend in the coming year.I ate two, and grandma and grandpa each ate one.

Mother smiled and said, "It seems that I am a poor god." "If your son has money, so will you." Grandma said. "Mother, it would be great if our family really had a sack of money like the God of Wealth said. Then, you don't have to feed the cows, grandma doesn't have to touch the dark to spin, and grandpa doesn't have to mow the grass." "I still use a sack." My mother said with a wry smile. "There will be, there will be, this year is going well, and the world has provided for the pastry."——Grandma suddenly remembered, and asked: "Jin Dou, mother, has the pastry been taken back?" "No, just listen to 'God of Wealth' singing poorly, forget it." My mother said to me, "Go and take back the pastry." When I came to the yard, I reached out to touch the stool, and my heart tightened suddenly.When I looked again, the stool was still empty. "The pastry is gone!" I cried.Grandpa and mother ran out and groped all over the yard with me. "Did you find it?" Grandma asked anxiously, unable to get off the kang, her face pressed against the window. Grandpa found the paper lantern and put the oil lamp in it.I searched all over the courtyard with a lantern, and the lantern illuminated the snow, the messy footprints, the silent old almond trees, the small haystacks like fortresses... Our family of four sat around the lamp.Grandma started nagging, thinking that her mother was unreliable in her work, and scolding herself for being stupid. Her complexion was pale, and two lines of tears flowed down her cheeks.It was late at night, and the village was extremely quiet.A desolate voice sounded from the west of the village. The "God of Wealth" was doing his final work. He wanted to send his blessings to the whole village that night.In the sound of blessings, my family lost five pastries. "Maybe it was stolen by the bastard 'God of Wealth'." Grandpa knocked the pipe and pot on the edge of the kang, and stood up sullenly. "Father, you can rest, let Douzi and I go..." Mother pulled Grandpa back. "This bastard is also pitiful...you go and have a look, if there is one, if there is no one, just pull it down. After all, it is a fellow countryman. Look up and see down." Grandpa said. My mother and I ran to the west of the village stepping on the snow.The snow creaked underfoot. "God of Wealth" is still singing, his voice has become hoarse, and it sounds even more desolate: take it fast, take it fast, Gold and silver climb home; Hurry up, hurry up, Gold and silver flow home. My body was shivering with cold, but my heart was filled with anger. "God of Wealth", you are so vicious, you are so greedy, you are so hateful... I rushed to his side like a little wolf, reached out and snatched the crock he was carrying. "Who? Who? The bandits! They robbed and robbed. I grinned and howled all night, and I just ordered so many dumplings. My hands were frozen and my feet were rotten..." "God of Wealth" yelled to grab the earthen pot. "Datian, don't make noise, it's me." Mother said calmly. "It's sister-in-law, what are you doing? Give me some dumplings and regret it? Eldest nephew, take them from the jar, give me some and take some back." There are only dozens of frozen dumplings in the crock, and there is no pastry. You can't go to the sky, and you can't get to the ground. Everyone in the village is celebrating the New Year, and you, the "God of Wealth", have been to my door.I firmly believe that Grandpa's judgment is accurate.I put the crock pot on the snow, and threw myself on the "God of Wealth", searching his whole body. "God of Wealth" didn't move, and let me search. "I didn't steal, I didn't steal..." "God of Wealth" murmured. "Datian, I'm sorry, I'm an orphan and widow, it's not easy to get something, so... Jin Dou, kneel down and kowtow to your uncle." "No!" I said. "Kneel down!" said the mother sternly. I knelt in front of the "God of Wealth" and burst into tears. "Get up, big nephew, get up quickly, you're killing me...'God of Wealth" reached out and pulled me up. The heart of humiliation made me turn my head and run home, unable to sleep for a long time amidst the sighs of the old people... At dawn, I had a dream. I dreamed that the five pastries were not lost, three on the bottom and two on the top, placed on a square stool in the shape of a pagoda. I got up and ran to the yard, stunned, I rubbed my eyes vigorously, and pulled my ears again, it hurt so much, I wasn't dreaming!Five pastries, two on top and three on the bottom, placed on a square stool in the shape of a pagoda... More than 20 years have passed since this incident, and I have changed from a young man to a middle-aged man.Last year, after I was appointed as the vice president of the Municipal People's Court, I went back to my hometown once and met the "God of Wealth" in the village. He was still the same, and he didn't look old.